Now I am not Greg Sharko of the 'SHARK BITES' fame,neither am I James Buddle--celebrated statistician of the ATP, but I am an avid supporter of Tennis and a passionate one too. So please don't be too critical of my analysis. 'shrugs'
Most of us are aware that assertably the most prestigious Tennis tournament of every season starts in a few days and this time it only concerns the BEST EIGHT PLAYERS IN THE WORLD according to the ATP-SOUTH AFRICA AIRWAYS RANKINGS. This explains the title of this article, 'THE BATTLE OF EIGHT WARRIORS'. Below is a quick run down of what they have done to reach the BARCLAYS-ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS aka WTF! which will be contested from 20th to 27th November 2011 at the O2 Arena in London.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Oh! what a man. that roar from me best describes the 24 year old, new WORLD NUMBER ONE of Tennis. A man who has gone from the aspiring to the aspired....from the mountain climber to the mountain itself...from the wanna be to the real deal....and lastly from the hunter to the hunted. Nole as he is fondly called by friends and colleagues alike, took the Tennis circuit by storm from December 2010 when he exhilarated the Serbian team to Davis Cup glory at France's expense(defeating Simon and Monfils in singles)....(although it was Victor Troicki who ensured victory with a deciding win over Michael Llodra.) till now. He has compiled a 69-4 record which is BLISTERING AND INCONCEIVABLE. It will not be out of place to say only one of those losses has actually been a DEFEAT....the French Open semi-final loss to Roger Federer which was decided in 4 sets. Two have been as a result of a niggling shoulder problem which affected him in no small measure against Murray (Cincinnati) and Nishikori (Basel)...while the last one was a retirement v Del Potro in a Davis Cup semi-final singles match, probably because of fatigue. His season can be summed up like this---he has won 3 grand slams (Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open), 5 ATP MASTERS 1000 crowns (Indiana Wells, Miami, Rome, Madrid,and Montreal) and the ATP events in Dubai and Belgrade. Don't get it twisted, he defeated Nadal in six of those 10 title matches, something he had never done prior to Indiana Wells, he also got the better of the Spanish Matador in 2 of the 3 slam finals------something again he had never before managed. The big ones probably were the two victories over Nadal in Madrid and Rome on CLAY where Rafa is KING. He won those clay encounters in straight sets which was a FANTASTIC ACHIEVEMENT. The djoker also came back from two sets downs to defeat Federer in the US Open semi-final, thereby becoming only the second man to do so since the Swiss Maestro become a pro.
By reaching the Wimbledon semis (where he beat Jo-Wilfed Tsonga), he took over the Number one ranking from Rafael Nadal, thus becoming the only man to have broken the Nadal-Federer duopoly which had existed since 2005. He started his reign as the UNDISPUTED NUMBER ONE MALE TENNIS PLAYER IN THE WORLD on 4th July 2011----a day after winning Wimbledon.
There is no doubting the fact that the Serbian Champion is the BIGGEST FAVOURITE to win the 2011 season ending Tennis Championships. Something he achieved in 2008 (d.Davydenko) when it was still played on carpet at the Qizhong City Arena in Shanghai.
TOMAS BERDYCH
Finishing in the top 8 for two successive seasons is a rare feat only managed by an exclusive set of Tennis phenoms. Czech big hitter. St Tomas or Berdman is now part of that assemblage. Seen as a talented under achiever in years gone by, he has come out of obscurity and taken his destiny into his own hands in the last two years, reaching the semi-finals of the French Open(l to Soderling) and the final of Wimbledon (l.to Nadal) among others. This year he has been in great form, reaching at least the quarter finals of most tournaments he has entered. He also became the first Czech player since Petr Korda (91-92) to finish in the top 10 for two years on the bounce.
Berdych started gaining the right praises when he shocked Roger Federer in the quarter finals of Wimbledon last year.....a few weeks after he reached his 1st GS semi-final in Paris. The difference between last year and this one is his consistency in the latter. He ended a two year trophy drought last month at the China Open, defeating Marin Cilic in 3 sets. At the Paris Masters, Berdych reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champion, Roger Federer. In the quarters, he stopped Andy Murray's 17-match unbeaten run.(came from a set down). He will look to improve on his 1-2 round robin record earned on his debut last year when he faces off against the very best of his chosen career path.
DAVID FERRER
Rafael Nadal aside, no one embodies the 'never say die' attitude than the nimble World number 5, David Ferrer. The Alicante born Australian Open semi-finalist has been around the elite of Tennis for five years now. Since turning pro in 2000, he has grown in leaps and bounds, reaching at least the quarter finals in all GS(Grand Slams) except Wimbledon where he has reached the 4th round in the last two years. He is a perennial top 10 finisher and he also reached the final of the season ending tournament in 2007 (l.to Federer).
This year he has done very well, reaching the Australian Open semis (l.to Murray), the finals of Monte-Carlo and Barcelona(l.to Nadal both times) and winning the Auckland (d.Nalbandian) and Acapulco (d.Almagro) tournaments. He will hope to go one better this year by winning the World Tour finals event...easier said than done you know.
ANDY MURRAY
Muzza as he is affectionately called, has been terrific this year. I still believe he might have done a lot better if the British Press had given him a minute's rest. The pressure to become the first Briton to win a grand slam after 70 odd years is weighing him down and he has actually done his utmost.
This year has been simply tremendous for the 24 year old. He reached the Autralian Open final for the second consecutive year, this time losing to the bionic Djokovic. His first quarter was poor by his standards, but he picked up form during the clay season, enjoying his best clay court success yet, by reaching the semi-finals of Monte Carlo, Rome and the french open losing to Nadal, Djokovic and Nadal sequentially. He won the Stella Artois (Queen's Club)event(d.Tsonga) and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals (l.to Nadal)---for the 2nd straight year. Murray then won the masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and also reached the US Open semis where he again lost to Nadal. From then on, he kick started a novak-like run winning 17 straight matches from the Davis Cup manhandling of Luxembourg to the quarter-final of the Paribas masters in Paris (l.to Berdych). In that period he picked up three titles in quick succession and swept through the Asian wing with victories in Thailand (d.Young), Japan (d.Nadal) and Shanghai (d.Ferrer) where he hoisted his 8th masters 1000 shield. He will look to impress his home crowd by winning the title this year after almost nearly beating Nadal in last year's semi-final---a match described as the best 3 set challenge of 2010. The Dunblane native will look to finish the year as World number 3 for the first time--a position Federer also wants. For the first time in his astounding career, he reached the last four of all four majors.
JO-WILFRED TSONGA
The man popular referred to as the Mohammed Ali of Tennis because they look so much alike, I call him the Willy-man, some others call him the fat frenchman. Whatever name you choose to see him, Tsonga has cemented his place as one of the best players in the World of Tennis and he has worked extremely hard.
The man who rose to prominence in 2008 when he shocked the tennis world and alerted everyone of his burgeoning talent by giving Nadal a hiding in the Australian Open semi-finals, triumphing in straight sets (6-2, 6-3,6-2). He eventually lost the final to Djokovic in four sets,but a resounding message had already been passed.
This year has been a pretty good one for the lad. He has reached 5 finals---Rotterdam, London (Queen's Club), Vienna, Paris, Metz, and won two of them---Vienna and Metz defeating JMDP (Juan Martin Del Potro) and Ivan Ljubicic and losing others to Soderling (Rotterdam), Murray (London) and Federer (Paris). He scored a first at Wimbledon when he came from two sets down to defeat the Swiss magician (Federer) in the q-finals, thus becoming the 1st man ever to accomplish it. Federer revenged in Flushing Meadows at the US OPEN q/finals,making no mistake this time as he brushed the frenchman aside in straights.
Tsonga first participated at the season ending masters in 2008 and went 1-2 in round robin play. He is perhaps the most dangerous under dog in the eight-man group and has a chance to upset the odds.
MARDY FISH
The man who also bears Simpson as his middle name has been a hit this year. The top ranked American player for the 1st time in his career, he is making his first appearance in the tournament and it might not be his last, judging from the scintillating form he has been on all year long. He is something of a late developer considering his age (almost 30). Although he collected silver at the Athens Olympic games in 2004 (l.to Massu), and reached the final of Cincinnati in 03and '10 and Indian Wells in 08, he had never had such a fine year as this one.....2011 has been a very good year for Mardy--reaching the quarter finals of Wimbledon (l.to Nadal) for the first time, as well as winning his 6th career title in Atlanta (d.Isner). He also reached the Los Angeles and Montreal final losing to Gulbis and Djokovic. He however scooped the US OLYMPUS SERIES trophy by reaching the later rounds of all the tournaments he took part in during the US swing----including reaching the semi finals of Cincinnati (l.to Murray) defeating Nadal along the way for the very 1st time and the US OPEN 4th round (l.to Tsonga). He reached a career high World number 7 on August 15 and now occupies the number 8 spot on the rankings table. He has stated that he will play his very best at the Championships and I really fancy him to spring one or two surprises.
ROGER FEDERER
Finding himself in new surroundings as world number 4, The GREAT man has been called all the fanciest names in the world and he thoroughly deserves each and every one of them. Goodness gracious, the Basel native has redefined what it means to be a champion in any sphere of human endeavour. The name Roger Federer is synonymous with ABSOLUTE SUCCESS. He has won everything in Tennis. What more can you say about a man who has won 69 titles?????where will you begin to to delineate his awesome career? I will not finish today if I start spelling out his unmatched achievements. Perhaps if there was no Nadal, he might have reached heights even air planes will find a herculean task to get to. Such has been the BRILLIANCE of the man mostly referred to as FED-EXPRESS or FEDEx for short.
The 16 time grand slam winner rarely retires from a game and he has played almost a 1000. He has won an amazing 18 masters 1000 titles, his last coming just a few days ago in Paris (d.Tsonga). He holds the record for consecutive weeks as World number one at an awe inspiring 237 and was within 1 week of equalling Sampras' record of 286, when Nadal reclaimed it last year. Talk about a SUPERHUMAN and you wouldn't be exaggerating. It was Soderling who stopped him from reaching an astonishing 24 consecutive grand slam semi-finals at the 2010 French Open. His record of successive GS quarter finals continues as he has even bypassed Jimmy Connors' record of 29 straight appearances by setting his own (30) at the US OPEN earlier this year. There are many more which I cannot mention for obvious reasons.
In spite of the fact that this has been one of his poorest seasons, this year end tournament is the 10th in succession he is featuring in. Only Ivan Lendl (12) and Sampras (11) can boast of something better and he shares the record for most wins (5) with Lendl and Pistol Pete (Sampras). Fresh from winning two consecutive titles---Basel (d.Nishikori) and Paris (D.Tsonga), King Roger is the most in-form player on show and will look to extend his 12 match winning streak when he opens his campaign against a familiar foe, Jo Willy Tsonga. Asides that, he has 1500 points to defend as a result of his status as defending champion (d.Nadal last year) and is also aiming to finish as World Number 3---a position that he hadn't dropped to in 8 years until a few months ago.
RAFAEL NADAL
Without doubt one of the greatest tennis players in History, the majorcan powerhouse has found life difficult in recent time, no thanks to the effervescent Novak Djokovic who has accounted for six of his 13 surprising losses in 2011.
The Matador and winner of a record 19 ATP MASTERS 1000 shields, started 2011 as a man on a mission with the ultimate aim of winning all four majors successively. It was not to be as his run was halted by good friend and compatriot, David Ferrer at the Australian Open q/finals.....the same man who had earlier beaten him in the 07 US OPEN fourth round. Nadal was injured in the match, but that didn't make things any better for the KING OF CLAY who was very unhappy at the turn of events. He reached the finals of Indian Wells and Miami only to be beaten in three sets by Novak---a man who was soon turning into his worst nightmare. He was perhaps lucky that Djokovic pulled out of Monte Carlo as he won that for an unprecedented seven consecutive years,thus becoming the 1st man ever to achieve the feat in the Modern era. He also won the Barcelona open for the sixth time in 7 years (he didn't play in 2010)
His next stop was the Madrid masters where he was defending champion...he again lost to Djokovic and the same thing was repeated in Rome. The loss marked the 1st time Nadal had been defeated by the same player in two consecutive clay court matches, four consecutive times and four consecutive finals. Nadal must have seen enough of him by now, but there was more to come.
The Spanish master retained his french open crown by defeating Roger Federer in four sets and for the 5th time on Parisian clay (05 semis, 06-08 final, 10 final). This was the end of his trophy haul for the year as he was defeated at the Wimbledon and US Open final(s) by that man called Djokovic---again?????. Nadal alos lost in the third rounds of Montreal and the Shanghai masters to Dodig and Mayer. The losses did not end there. He also lost to Murray and Fish in Japan and Cincinnati....not forgetting the Doha semi-final loss vs Davydenko (for the 3rd time in succession) and the Queen's club q-final loss to Tsonga. He officially lost the number one ranking to Novak on the 4th of July after holding it for 56 weeks.
He vented his anger on Tsonga and Gasquet during the Davis Cup semi-final v France and withdrew from the Paris Masters to focus his attention on the season ending Championship in London and the Davis Cup final v Argentina next month.
On current form, Nadal is nowhere near any of the other seven contenders for the title and 1500 ATP-SA Airways ranking points, but no one should write him off as he has been in this situation many times before and for a man who reached the final here last year (l.to Federer) and accumulated 46 titles in his career, he might just have more than a lot to prove come Sunday when he squares up against Mardy Fish.
The draw for the Tournament was made some days ago and here is how they line up
GROUP A
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
ANDY MURRAY
DABID FERRER
TOMAS BERDYCH
GROUP B
RAFA NADAL
ROGER FEDERER
JO-WILFRED TSONGA
MARDY FISH
One can argue that the Nadal-Federer group is the group of death as football pundits will say. This is the first time that Nadal and Federer will meet before the later stages of the year end tournament....all thanks to the wondrous display of Novak and the persistence of Murray.
follow Ohis Eboreime on @ohiskaka1990
Thursday 17 November 2011
Wednesday 16 November 2011
EURO 2012 PLAY-OFFS....how the games went....
At long last, the D-day finally arrived. Friday November 11 was the most anticipated day in Football when the 11th month of the year started some fifteen days ago. It was the day in which the first episode of the play-off battle between 8 determined teams was to be played out and the day lived up to its hype with some explosive games on show. First of those combats to be analyzed is the Turkey-Croatia game which took place at the Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul.
TURKEY-CROATIA
Croatia and Slaven Bilic were on a revenge mission as Turkey, then managed by former AC Milan manager, Fatih Terim denied them the opportunity of qualifying for the semi-finals of Euro 2008 courtesy of a penalty shoot out victory. Despite the fact that Bilic & Corluka played down the revenge aspect of the game, it was the Media's own caption of the match-up which only made it more eagerly expected. In Guus Hiddink, the turks had a manager that had all the experience required at this level. His record with the Netherlands, South Korea, Russia and Australia are only bettered by a select few in World football. Coincidentally, Turkey and Croatia were the teams that prevented him on two separate occasions from collecting a bronze medal at the FIFA world cup (1998 (Croatia d. Holland), 2002 (Turkey d. South Korea) ).
Turkey did not call up one of its most influential players, Nuri Sahin as they felt it was too early...taking into consideration his recent return from a long term injury lay-off. But they still had the likes of Colin Kazim-Kazim or Kazim Richards as he was referred to during his time in England, Athletico Madrid's Arda Turan, and Skipper, Hamit Altintop to call upon for he needed quality. Croatia on the other hand, had to do without Niko Kranjcar and Mladen Petric, but welcomed back Bayern's Ivica Olic who had been out for a while.
The game started with the Croats on the front foot and it was no surprise when they took the lead courtesy of the enigmatic Olic who benefited from a Mandzukic cut back to stun the home crowd after just 100 seconds. Hiddink was dazed. That wasn't in the book and it all but punctured their well laid out plans for the game. Plan B had to replace the present one, but it was the same outcome as Mandzukic rose highest to divert a Corluka cross past Volkan Demirel in the Turkish goal. 2-0 after 32 minutes and the tie was seemingly out of reach for Hiddink's men. Turkey didn't carve out one clear cut opportunity with Srna and company limiting them to half chances and long rangers. The first half ended with Croatia holding on to a 2 goal lead.
The players had barely entered the pitch for the second half when Corluka rose highest to score his team's 3rd and game clinching goal. The match ended with Croatia taking a 3 goal lead back to Zagreb.
The second leg in Zagreb on Nov 15 was a very dull match. Shambolic with 8 yellow cards(5 for Turkey) issued. Turkey dominated possession (65%), but did absolutely nothing with it. You always had the gut feeling that it was going to be a very impossible mission for the team to defeat Croatia on their home turf and consequently overturn the deficit. The match ended 0-0 with Croatia qualifying for their 2nd consecutive Euro tournament. Modric and co will hope to improve on their last 8 finish achieved in 08.
ESTONIA-REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Giovanni Trapattoni aka Trap is no stranger to the big occasion. One of the most successful and revered tacticians in World football, he has managed in so many nations and had all the necessary tools to salvage the football situation in Ireland. That is why he was brought to Dublin. His record as manager, especially in European cup competitions can only be equalled by the likes of Ernst Happel and Udo Lattek. He has won at least one trophy everywhere he has been to and was Italy's manager for the '02 World Cup and the European Championships in Portugal two years later. He was denied by Thierry Henry's cheating tactic in the play-offs for the '10 World cup and he was well aware that the Irish had not won a play-off match or been to any tournament since the 2002 World cup (reached the second round only to be ousted by Spain on penalties).
The opponent this time was Estonia. The northern European country has been punching above its weight in recent time, beating the much fancied Serbia to the play-off spot in a group that was comfortably won by Italy. II Trap knew much better than to underestimate the threat they posed. The first leg was at the Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia and the coach knew his team had to take something from there to have any hope of making it to their first tournament in 10 long years.
If ROI had known that it would be so easy, they wouldn't have been sweating so much on the fitness of Shane Long, Leon Best and the suspension of Kelvin Doyle. It was a jolly good ride right from when Keith Andrews opened scoring until Robbie Keane scored his 52nd and 53rd international goals to seal a remarkable 4-0 mauling of the hosts right in front of their despondent fans. It was practically a walk in the park for the Irish with Walters also helping himself to an international goal.
The 2nd leg at the Aviva Stadium was only honoured by Estonia probably because they would be sanctioned or charged if they hadn't shown up. There was no way they could have clawed their way back. It would have been the biggest shock since human beings started existing. As predicted, the game ended 1-1 with Konstantin Vassiljev scoring the equalizer for the visitors after Stephen Ward put Trap's men in front. the final whistle heralded the start of WILD CELEBRATIONS for the entire people of the ROI. For the first time in 23 years (since Euro 88) they are back among the elite of Europe. Trap, Tardelli and co have etched their names in Irish Football History.
CZECH REPUBLIC -MONTENEGRO
Euro 96 runners-up and 2004 semi-finalists sure know their way around in European football. They might no longer boast of the likes of 2003 Ballon d'or, Pavel Nedved, Karel Pobosky and Jan Koller (all time top scorer with 55 goals in 91 apps), but they have a talented set-up led by former Borussia Dortmund midfield pearl, Tomas Rosicky. Youngsters like Tomas Necid, Vaclav Kadlec, Libor Kozak and Thomas Vaclik have all earned their places in the team, although the latter has to wait for some time, before he can stake a claim to the goalkeeper's gloves because in Petr Cech, Czech have one of the best GKs in the World. They also have Euro 2004's highest goal scorer, Milan Baros' in their ranks....Although he is now a shadow of his former self, he can still cause untold damage when he is on top of his game. The play-off draw pitched Michal Bilek's men against Montenegro. The small country which broke out from Serbia and Montenegro a few years ago, also possess weapons that are capable of hurting any squad. Individuals like Stevan Jovetic (jo-jo), Simon Vukcevic, and captain/talisman, Mirko Vucinic.
The first leg was hosted by Czech Republic and the venue was the Generali Arena in Prague. The Montenegrins had the better of the early exchanges, but they could not make their dominance count...Vucinic the chief culprit. However, the hosts began to settle and it was only a matter of time before they made their superiority and home advantage count as deep into the 2nd half, Pilar sent a beautiful curler past the surprised Bozovic for 1-0. The first didn't seem to galvanize Montenegro into action...the attacking trio of Vukcevic-jo-jo and Vucinic were lacklustre and couldn't fashion out any real opening. The midfield allowed Rosicky to stride along without pressure and it was the same player who hurt them in injury time with a well taken delivery that ended with Sivok heading Czech to a 2-0 aggregate lead heading into the return leg in Podgorica.
The 2nd leg in Podgorica saw Vucinic and co try all they could to come back from two goals down but their efforts proved abortive as the Czechs sealed passage into the Euro 2012 main draw with a goal from Petr Jiracek-his 1st for his country in 5 appearances. 1-0 on the night, 3-0 on agg.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA - PORTUGAL
Safet Susic labelled himself a prophet and he said it to all those who cared to listen that there will be no repeat of the 2010 play-off loss to Portugal. He had every right to be bullish. In his armoury lay the likes of Zvjezdan Misimovic, Miralem Pjanic, Vedad Ibisevic and of course the most dangerous of them all, Edin Dzeko. Portugal on the other hand, weren't lacking in personnel.----With the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo (arguably the best footballer on planet earth), Luis Nani, Helder Postiga, Pepe, Ricky Quaresma, Nuno Gomez, Joao Moutinho etc. It promised to be an exciting duel.
The first game in Bosnia was marred by fans chanting Messi's name obviously to annoy and unsettle Ronaldo dos Santos. They even went the extra mile of directing lasers at his eyes. He couldn't stomach it anymore, so he gave them his middle finger.
The pitch was nothing to write home about. It is about the worst pitch in Europe. Despite all the complaints made by the Portuguese players and officials, UEFA didn't blink. The game went on with both teams carving out goal scoring chances, but none was converted, No one stepped up for either side and the game was wearing on until Ibisevic came on and he immediately missed two or three chances to give Bosnia the lead going into the 2nd leg in Lisbon. Ronaldo also missed a fine opportunity, but he blamed the pitch rather than his poor choice of placement for the horrendous miss.The 1st leg ended goalless much to the delight of both managers.
Before the commencement of the 2nd leg, Ronaldo and company warned their opponents that it will be a different ball game at the Estadio Luz in Lisbon, but Susic and Dzeko would hear none of it. The game began with Portugal asking all the questions and it wasn' t for long that they had to wait for the right answer.....Ronaldo was practically thrown to the floor by two Bosnians and from the resultant free-kick, he dispatched with customary panache to make it 1-0 Portugal both on the night and on agg. It was a goal worthy of winning even a World Cup final. Nani reminded everyone of his on and off ability midway through the 1st half with a pile driver which left Begovic scrambling. 2-0 and you couldn't see past the SELECCAO now. But in football, it is not over until it is truly over. The error supine Coentrao inexplicably handled in the box and Bosnia were deservedly awarded a spot kick and a route back into the tie. co-captain, Misimovic who hardly rejects favours duly sent Patricio the wrong way to make it 2-1. The 1st half ended with Paulo Bento very unhappy with the goal conceded. Susic on his part was elated with the scoreline as his team would have easily been 4 goals down.
The 2nd stanza began in similar fashion as the first with Portugal dictating the play and creating chances....Joao Moutinho who hadn't really imposed himself in the game, had a say in the 3rd goal with a perfectly weighted through ball to Ronaldo who escaped past the sprawling Begovic to score his 2nd and Portugal's 3rd...the two goal lead was restored. A few minutes later, as if the mountain was not high enough already for Susic's wards, Senad Lulic was sent off to an early bath for dissent. Bosnia didn't let that affect them as co-captain, Emir Spahic pulled one back to make it 3-2. Bento could not contain his disapproval of the way his defense was opened up for the easy finish. This was like a wake up call for the Seleccao who immediately went to the other end to put 3 past the hapless Begovic who was also bamboozled by Bolton a week prior. Postiga was on hand to score his 18th and 19th goal for Portugal and Veloso added the 6th with a superb left footed free kick which the keeper watched helplessly. 6-2 it ended and Portugal made it to yet another Tournament. Susic the soothsayer was wrong this time around.
The four pots for the EURO 2012 (co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine) DRAW has been confirmed by UEFA and they are as follows:
POT1 - Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Netherlands.
POT2 - Germany, Italy, England, Russia
POT3 - Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Sweden
POT4 - Rep of Ireland, Denmark, Czech Rep, France
The draws for the group stage will take place on the 2nd of December 2011 at the Ukraine Palace of Arts in Kiev.
Meanwhile, England superstar, Wayne Rooney will have to wait until December 9 to know if his and the FA's appeal for a reduction of the 3 game ban will be reduced or upheld.
Follow Ohis Eboreime on Twitter @ohiskaka1990
TURKEY-CROATIA
Croatia and Slaven Bilic were on a revenge mission as Turkey, then managed by former AC Milan manager, Fatih Terim denied them the opportunity of qualifying for the semi-finals of Euro 2008 courtesy of a penalty shoot out victory. Despite the fact that Bilic & Corluka played down the revenge aspect of the game, it was the Media's own caption of the match-up which only made it more eagerly expected. In Guus Hiddink, the turks had a manager that had all the experience required at this level. His record with the Netherlands, South Korea, Russia and Australia are only bettered by a select few in World football. Coincidentally, Turkey and Croatia were the teams that prevented him on two separate occasions from collecting a bronze medal at the FIFA world cup (1998 (Croatia d. Holland), 2002 (Turkey d. South Korea) ).
Turkey did not call up one of its most influential players, Nuri Sahin as they felt it was too early...taking into consideration his recent return from a long term injury lay-off. But they still had the likes of Colin Kazim-Kazim or Kazim Richards as he was referred to during his time in England, Athletico Madrid's Arda Turan, and Skipper, Hamit Altintop to call upon for he needed quality. Croatia on the other hand, had to do without Niko Kranjcar and Mladen Petric, but welcomed back Bayern's Ivica Olic who had been out for a while.
The game started with the Croats on the front foot and it was no surprise when they took the lead courtesy of the enigmatic Olic who benefited from a Mandzukic cut back to stun the home crowd after just 100 seconds. Hiddink was dazed. That wasn't in the book and it all but punctured their well laid out plans for the game. Plan B had to replace the present one, but it was the same outcome as Mandzukic rose highest to divert a Corluka cross past Volkan Demirel in the Turkish goal. 2-0 after 32 minutes and the tie was seemingly out of reach for Hiddink's men. Turkey didn't carve out one clear cut opportunity with Srna and company limiting them to half chances and long rangers. The first half ended with Croatia holding on to a 2 goal lead.
The players had barely entered the pitch for the second half when Corluka rose highest to score his team's 3rd and game clinching goal. The match ended with Croatia taking a 3 goal lead back to Zagreb.
The second leg in Zagreb on Nov 15 was a very dull match. Shambolic with 8 yellow cards(5 for Turkey) issued. Turkey dominated possession (65%), but did absolutely nothing with it. You always had the gut feeling that it was going to be a very impossible mission for the team to defeat Croatia on their home turf and consequently overturn the deficit. The match ended 0-0 with Croatia qualifying for their 2nd consecutive Euro tournament. Modric and co will hope to improve on their last 8 finish achieved in 08.
ESTONIA-REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Giovanni Trapattoni aka Trap is no stranger to the big occasion. One of the most successful and revered tacticians in World football, he has managed in so many nations and had all the necessary tools to salvage the football situation in Ireland. That is why he was brought to Dublin. His record as manager, especially in European cup competitions can only be equalled by the likes of Ernst Happel and Udo Lattek. He has won at least one trophy everywhere he has been to and was Italy's manager for the '02 World Cup and the European Championships in Portugal two years later. He was denied by Thierry Henry's cheating tactic in the play-offs for the '10 World cup and he was well aware that the Irish had not won a play-off match or been to any tournament since the 2002 World cup (reached the second round only to be ousted by Spain on penalties).
The opponent this time was Estonia. The northern European country has been punching above its weight in recent time, beating the much fancied Serbia to the play-off spot in a group that was comfortably won by Italy. II Trap knew much better than to underestimate the threat they posed. The first leg was at the Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia and the coach knew his team had to take something from there to have any hope of making it to their first tournament in 10 long years.
If ROI had known that it would be so easy, they wouldn't have been sweating so much on the fitness of Shane Long, Leon Best and the suspension of Kelvin Doyle. It was a jolly good ride right from when Keith Andrews opened scoring until Robbie Keane scored his 52nd and 53rd international goals to seal a remarkable 4-0 mauling of the hosts right in front of their despondent fans. It was practically a walk in the park for the Irish with Walters also helping himself to an international goal.
The 2nd leg at the Aviva Stadium was only honoured by Estonia probably because they would be sanctioned or charged if they hadn't shown up. There was no way they could have clawed their way back. It would have been the biggest shock since human beings started existing. As predicted, the game ended 1-1 with Konstantin Vassiljev scoring the equalizer for the visitors after Stephen Ward put Trap's men in front. the final whistle heralded the start of WILD CELEBRATIONS for the entire people of the ROI. For the first time in 23 years (since Euro 88) they are back among the elite of Europe. Trap, Tardelli and co have etched their names in Irish Football History.
CZECH REPUBLIC -MONTENEGRO
Euro 96 runners-up and 2004 semi-finalists sure know their way around in European football. They might no longer boast of the likes of 2003 Ballon d'or, Pavel Nedved, Karel Pobosky and Jan Koller (all time top scorer with 55 goals in 91 apps), but they have a talented set-up led by former Borussia Dortmund midfield pearl, Tomas Rosicky. Youngsters like Tomas Necid, Vaclav Kadlec, Libor Kozak and Thomas Vaclik have all earned their places in the team, although the latter has to wait for some time, before he can stake a claim to the goalkeeper's gloves because in Petr Cech, Czech have one of the best GKs in the World. They also have Euro 2004's highest goal scorer, Milan Baros' in their ranks....Although he is now a shadow of his former self, he can still cause untold damage when he is on top of his game. The play-off draw pitched Michal Bilek's men against Montenegro. The small country which broke out from Serbia and Montenegro a few years ago, also possess weapons that are capable of hurting any squad. Individuals like Stevan Jovetic (jo-jo), Simon Vukcevic, and captain/talisman, Mirko Vucinic.
The first leg was hosted by Czech Republic and the venue was the Generali Arena in Prague. The Montenegrins had the better of the early exchanges, but they could not make their dominance count...Vucinic the chief culprit. However, the hosts began to settle and it was only a matter of time before they made their superiority and home advantage count as deep into the 2nd half, Pilar sent a beautiful curler past the surprised Bozovic for 1-0. The first didn't seem to galvanize Montenegro into action...the attacking trio of Vukcevic-jo-jo and Vucinic were lacklustre and couldn't fashion out any real opening. The midfield allowed Rosicky to stride along without pressure and it was the same player who hurt them in injury time with a well taken delivery that ended with Sivok heading Czech to a 2-0 aggregate lead heading into the return leg in Podgorica.
The 2nd leg in Podgorica saw Vucinic and co try all they could to come back from two goals down but their efforts proved abortive as the Czechs sealed passage into the Euro 2012 main draw with a goal from Petr Jiracek-his 1st for his country in 5 appearances. 1-0 on the night, 3-0 on agg.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA - PORTUGAL
Safet Susic labelled himself a prophet and he said it to all those who cared to listen that there will be no repeat of the 2010 play-off loss to Portugal. He had every right to be bullish. In his armoury lay the likes of Zvjezdan Misimovic, Miralem Pjanic, Vedad Ibisevic and of course the most dangerous of them all, Edin Dzeko. Portugal on the other hand, weren't lacking in personnel.----With the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo (arguably the best footballer on planet earth), Luis Nani, Helder Postiga, Pepe, Ricky Quaresma, Nuno Gomez, Joao Moutinho etc. It promised to be an exciting duel.
The first game in Bosnia was marred by fans chanting Messi's name obviously to annoy and unsettle Ronaldo dos Santos. They even went the extra mile of directing lasers at his eyes. He couldn't stomach it anymore, so he gave them his middle finger.
The pitch was nothing to write home about. It is about the worst pitch in Europe. Despite all the complaints made by the Portuguese players and officials, UEFA didn't blink. The game went on with both teams carving out goal scoring chances, but none was converted, No one stepped up for either side and the game was wearing on until Ibisevic came on and he immediately missed two or three chances to give Bosnia the lead going into the 2nd leg in Lisbon. Ronaldo also missed a fine opportunity, but he blamed the pitch rather than his poor choice of placement for the horrendous miss.The 1st leg ended goalless much to the delight of both managers.
Before the commencement of the 2nd leg, Ronaldo and company warned their opponents that it will be a different ball game at the Estadio Luz in Lisbon, but Susic and Dzeko would hear none of it. The game began with Portugal asking all the questions and it wasn' t for long that they had to wait for the right answer.....Ronaldo was practically thrown to the floor by two Bosnians and from the resultant free-kick, he dispatched with customary panache to make it 1-0 Portugal both on the night and on agg. It was a goal worthy of winning even a World Cup final. Nani reminded everyone of his on and off ability midway through the 1st half with a pile driver which left Begovic scrambling. 2-0 and you couldn't see past the SELECCAO now. But in football, it is not over until it is truly over. The error supine Coentrao inexplicably handled in the box and Bosnia were deservedly awarded a spot kick and a route back into the tie. co-captain, Misimovic who hardly rejects favours duly sent Patricio the wrong way to make it 2-1. The 1st half ended with Paulo Bento very unhappy with the goal conceded. Susic on his part was elated with the scoreline as his team would have easily been 4 goals down.
The 2nd stanza began in similar fashion as the first with Portugal dictating the play and creating chances....Joao Moutinho who hadn't really imposed himself in the game, had a say in the 3rd goal with a perfectly weighted through ball to Ronaldo who escaped past the sprawling Begovic to score his 2nd and Portugal's 3rd...the two goal lead was restored. A few minutes later, as if the mountain was not high enough already for Susic's wards, Senad Lulic was sent off to an early bath for dissent. Bosnia didn't let that affect them as co-captain, Emir Spahic pulled one back to make it 3-2. Bento could not contain his disapproval of the way his defense was opened up for the easy finish. This was like a wake up call for the Seleccao who immediately went to the other end to put 3 past the hapless Begovic who was also bamboozled by Bolton a week prior. Postiga was on hand to score his 18th and 19th goal for Portugal and Veloso added the 6th with a superb left footed free kick which the keeper watched helplessly. 6-2 it ended and Portugal made it to yet another Tournament. Susic the soothsayer was wrong this time around.
The four pots for the EURO 2012 (co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine) DRAW has been confirmed by UEFA and they are as follows:
POT1 - Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Netherlands.
POT2 - Germany, Italy, England, Russia
POT3 - Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Sweden
POT4 - Rep of Ireland, Denmark, Czech Rep, France
The draws for the group stage will take place on the 2nd of December 2011 at the Ukraine Palace of Arts in Kiev.
Meanwhile, England superstar, Wayne Rooney will have to wait until December 9 to know if his and the FA's appeal for a reduction of the 3 game ban will be reduced or upheld.
Follow Ohis Eboreime on Twitter @ohiskaka1990
Saturday 5 November 2011
ALEXANDER CHAPMAN FERGUSON CBE----25 Hearty cheers...the story so far.
Wow!at long last, I finally find the courage and zeal to write this piece on SUCCESS's greatest custodian and an epitome of managerial ingenuity. I started writing sports and other related articles since I was 7, but never, I mean NEVER have I found it difficult to give a caption to any of the thousands of write-ups, until now. The reason is not far fetched. I mean how do you describe in a few words the unmatched accomplishments of the man dubbed the 'Scottish Wizard'. Hardly can I find words to exemplify the startling run of a certain MYTH called Alex Ferguson OBE CBE. But like all others before me, I will try my utmost.
Not many people know that I was once an Arsenal fan. Perhaps it will come as a huge surprise to those who know me as one of the most passionate MUFC fans who ever lived-----don't slate me just yet. There is an explanation for every action a man takes, however foolish or unconvincing it might sound or seem to be.
I am a Nigerian, born , bred and buttered and Kanu Nwankwo, who in my opinion is the greatest footballer to come out of the most populous black nation of the World, is one of my idols. Those who know the 2 time (96 & 99) African footballer of the year's rise to fame and rare ability to overcome a career and life threatening heart defect will of course share my sentiments. It was little surprise when after the recovery, he signed for London giants, Arsenal in February 1999, then I was already an Arsenal fan of 3 years standing, but Kanu's arrival even made my love for the club wax stronger. I also supported AC Milan and Real Madrid at that time, but the gunners topped the bill for me. To cut the long story short, I switched allegiance to Manchester United after watching video clips of Fergie's 13 years in charge just when he was being knighted in June 1999, then something struck me. Believe me, not even the recordings of my Parents' wedding was as captivating and spell binding as the phenomenal rise from grass to grace of the Manchester Club in just a short space of time. I didn't need any more convincing to join the band wagon of people singing the praises of the now knighted Alex Ferguson.
Now back to why we are here...... Scotland has produced some of the most talked about mangers in World football.----Shankly, Stein, Dalglish, Busby etc The Country has contributed at least 5 of the best managers in the history of football, but none can be compared to SIR ALEX FERGUSON. A friend of mine came up to me some days ago and asked why it is so special that this immensely gifted walking talking success story is so celebrated and revered and also that other managers have spent more years at various club sides in the world.....then came my question----who can spend such an amount of time at an ILLUSTRIOUS FOOTBALL TEAM like MANCHESTER UNITED??????he was tongue-tied. Then I concluded that he had found the answers to his questions.
Tomorrow, the Legends' Legend will clock 25 years as Captain of the Manchester United ship. Not all those years have been plain sailing, but you must agree with me that the better part of these unforgettable years has been filled with glory, passion and unrivaled eminence. From that fateful day in November 86 to this present time, it has been one victory or the other, one record breaking moment, one great player to another and indeed one great man. Ferguson has been the chief orchestrator and master tactician of different sets of players who have gone on to rewrite the history books and etch their names on the sands of time.
According to the MIRROR, the Messiah from Glasgow has signed a total of 100 players and by my reckoning, at least 70 of them have contributed in no small measure to the success that embodies the record English champions today.
We can decide to go into all what he has achieved as manager of MUFC. He has won just 37 trophies in his 25 years at the helm.JUST i said, well maybe I am being ungrateful, but on the contrary, it is a sarcastic statement of how he has performed in all of these years. A record 12 EPL Titles, 2 Champions League crowns, 5 F.A Cups, 4 League cups, 1 FIFA World Club trophy, 1 intercontinental cup, I European Cup Winners Cup, etc Perhaps his only regret till this very day will be that he hasn't equalled or eclipsed the European cup success of the late coaching spectacle, Bob Paisley. Whatever his weaknesses may be, his strengths and astonishing capabilities considerably outweigh them in all ramification. From the 750, 000 quid shrewd acquisition of Peter Schmeichel to the 19 Million pound signing of new Number one, David De Gea, Sir Alex has seen it all and done just about everything.
Like every other human being, he has made a few mistakes.....Massimo Taibi, the Italian who unfortunately is now a reference point when howlers and unforgivable mistakes are made not only by goalkeepers, but outfield players, is one of such noteworthy errors. When the indispensable Dane-Peter Schmeichel left just after the unprecedented and yet to be matched treble winning 98-99 season, SAF sought the apparent goal keeping dexterity of the then Venezia safe hands. It was one he would come to rue, as the dude was a complete shame, making only 4 league appearances for the treble winners......the last being the 5-0 whitewash by Chelsea in which of course he was the main culprit. Perhaps Sir Alex was trifled because he initially kept Milan's goal for a one year period. There were others like Juan Sebastian Veron who cost more than 25 million pounds from SS Lazio, but couldn't just become the player Fergie expected him to be, although he occasionally showed flashes of the unarguable quality he possessed, he never really lived up to expectation. Liam Miller, David Bellion, Eric Djemba-Djemba (who the supporters jeered with songs like he is so f*cked that they named him twice, in direct opposite of the Nigerian midfield maestro, Austin JAY JAY Okocha, who was praised for being named twice as a result of his immeasurable talent.)-----he played for, and captained Bolton Wanderers in that same period.- and a few others are examples of the rare loop holes in his celebrated 25 year reign.
He has also made some astute signings- rare gems like Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Andre Kanchelskis, Jaap Stam, Edwin Van Der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Javier Chicharito Hernandez, Fabian Barthez, Wayne Rooney, etc are some of the exceptional purchases he has made. Add that to his very well talked about 'FERGIE FLEDGLINGS' comprising of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, the Neville brothers, Nicky Butt, and the unmistakable David Beckham. One memorable accomplishment of the youngsters was when they went on to overturn Newcastle's seemingly unreachable lead of 14 points to win the 95-96 EPL Title and FA Cup, making it even more impressive. What made it all the more fantastic was that the team was dismissed as kids by former Liverpool defence stalwart and MOTD (Match of the day) pundit, Alan Hansen who quickly sent a firing shot at the youthful Manchester United team after only the first match of the season where they lost 3-1 at Villa Park----little did he know that it was a learning process.
The sobriquet 'Fergie Fledglings', coined by the media, was seen as a re-incarnation of some sort, of the 'Busby babes'.(of which 8 members painfully lost their lives in the infamous Munich air disaster in 1958)
It is very uncommon these days to find your enemies or rivals eulogize your sterling endowments even if they were/are as glaring as Gervinho's forehead. But just like his impeccable Mancunian journey, the praises and tributes have been flying in from different areas of the World. Coaches, former players of the club, active players, football association bosses...just mention it, have all contributed their views as regards this significant day in the life of the Scot, Manchester United and the World of Sports in general. Arsene Wenger argued that SAF's record is remarkable and will be very difficult, if at all possible to match. Today's opposing manager (we play Sunderland later today) and former captain, Steve Bruce was always going to offer kind words in respect of his former manager and a man he still calls BOSS. He said Fergie has been a mainstay and a colossus and that he often used anger to get the best out of his players. He also added that his attitude and passion for the job is unparalleled. In his words, 'how can you just describe a man who had a champions league game the previous night and is back at work at 7.40 am in the morning?' I would say Divine. El Tel (Terry Venables) wasn't left out in admiration of the British knight. He put him above the likes of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and others and called him the PERFECT MANAGER. Even old foe, Kenny Dalglish could not hold back his adulation of the most successful British manager living or dead....calling him all the nice things on planet . Players like Javier Hernandez, Ryan Giggs etc, also made their voices heard in appreciation of what Fergie has done in the past 25 years. Although Chicharito Hernandez was not even conceived when SAF took over from Ron Atkinson, the period he has spent with him is enough to adore the veteran coach. Even David Beckham who perhaps bore the worst brunt of Fergie's fearsome rage (famously called the hairdryer treatment) in 2003, when after an F.A Cup 4th Round loss to Arsenal, the great Scot kicked a boot which hit the former England skipper just above his left eye and required stitches, never hides his love and admiration for the Sir of Carrington. At any given opportunity, he says very wonderful things about the man who everyone can't help but revere.He was again full of encomiums for his former manager when asked about what he felt concerning his forthcoming SILVER JUBILEE, calling him a great man and one of the few people (alongside his parents) who made him the SUPERSTAR he is today.
Aston Villa great, Dion Dublin has also laid claim to the fact that he is the reason why Fergie is so successful. He pointed out that had he not been injured, Fergie wouldn't have signed Eric Cantona from Leeds United. A few people might have agreed with him, but majority are of the view that a certain Mark Robbins,scorer of the late winner against Nottingham Forest in the 1990 Fa Cup third round clash, was the man who saved Fergie's job and now the rest is history.
Journalists and sportswriters also had their say in glowing admiration of the man who has defied logic and cemented his status as one of the greatest sportsmen who has ever lived. Perhaps, amongst all the people who said very esteemed things about Sir Alex, one person's statement of fact stands out in unequivocal terms. His son and now Peterborough manager, Darren Ferguson who was also under his tutelage as a player, was of the opinion that his father wouldn't have accumulated all these many titles if not for his mother, Lady Cathy Ferguson. I totally agree with him. It was SAF's wife who persuaded him to have a change of heart when he decided to resign his position as manager of the most successful club side in England (in terms of domestic titles won) at the end of the 2001-2002 season in which the team came 3rd behind Liverpool and champions, Arsenal (won the EPL AND FA CUP double). Nine years on, it has been a jolly good ride and he will continually thank his wife for convincing him to continue as he immediately claimed back the title in the very next season 02-03 after upturning the 10 point lead Arsene's Arsenal enjoyed 3 months to the end of the season. Ruud Van Nistelrooy being the main catalyst with 25 league goals (44 in total). From that time to this day he has added 5 EPL Titles, 1 FA Cup,I UCL, I FIFA World Club trophy among others. Such has been the devastatingly unbelievable run of Manchester United that all other clubs have been left in its wake, except recently, FC Barcelona. In that same year, after going back on his decision to abandon his managerial commitments with the red army, he made it categorically clear that his main priority was to 'KNOCK LIVERPOOL OF THEIR PERCH'. True to type, he has finally done that this year and he is in no mood to stop as Manchester City and Barcelona have brought upon him an entirely new, intense and very uphill challenge which he intends to rise to and be victorious before he finally calls time on his DISTINGUISHED AND OUTSTANDING CAREER. Who can bet against him??? I wouldn't even waste a penny.
This is my IDEA of FERGIE's FINEST XI---
Van Der Sar, G.Neville, Vidic, Bruce, Irwin, Keane, Scholes, Beckham, Giggs, Ronaldo, RVN (Ruud Van Nistelrooy)
Subs- Schmeichel, Stam, R.Ferdinand, Evra, Butt, Kanchelskis, Rooney, OGS(Ole Gunnar Solskjaer)
Honourable mentions- Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Jesper Blonqvist, Mark Hughes, Gary Pallister, Paul McGrath, Bryan Robson.
Follow me on Twitter @ohiskaka1990
Not many people know that I was once an Arsenal fan. Perhaps it will come as a huge surprise to those who know me as one of the most passionate MUFC fans who ever lived-----don't slate me just yet. There is an explanation for every action a man takes, however foolish or unconvincing it might sound or seem to be.
I am a Nigerian, born , bred and buttered and Kanu Nwankwo, who in my opinion is the greatest footballer to come out of the most populous black nation of the World, is one of my idols. Those who know the 2 time (96 & 99) African footballer of the year's rise to fame and rare ability to overcome a career and life threatening heart defect will of course share my sentiments. It was little surprise when after the recovery, he signed for London giants, Arsenal in February 1999, then I was already an Arsenal fan of 3 years standing, but Kanu's arrival even made my love for the club wax stronger. I also supported AC Milan and Real Madrid at that time, but the gunners topped the bill for me. To cut the long story short, I switched allegiance to Manchester United after watching video clips of Fergie's 13 years in charge just when he was being knighted in June 1999, then something struck me. Believe me, not even the recordings of my Parents' wedding was as captivating and spell binding as the phenomenal rise from grass to grace of the Manchester Club in just a short space of time. I didn't need any more convincing to join the band wagon of people singing the praises of the now knighted Alex Ferguson.
Now back to why we are here...... Scotland has produced some of the most talked about mangers in World football.----Shankly, Stein, Dalglish, Busby etc The Country has contributed at least 5 of the best managers in the history of football, but none can be compared to SIR ALEX FERGUSON. A friend of mine came up to me some days ago and asked why it is so special that this immensely gifted walking talking success story is so celebrated and revered and also that other managers have spent more years at various club sides in the world.....then came my question----who can spend such an amount of time at an ILLUSTRIOUS FOOTBALL TEAM like MANCHESTER UNITED??????he was tongue-tied. Then I concluded that he had found the answers to his questions.
Tomorrow, the Legends' Legend will clock 25 years as Captain of the Manchester United ship. Not all those years have been plain sailing, but you must agree with me that the better part of these unforgettable years has been filled with glory, passion and unrivaled eminence. From that fateful day in November 86 to this present time, it has been one victory or the other, one record breaking moment, one great player to another and indeed one great man. Ferguson has been the chief orchestrator and master tactician of different sets of players who have gone on to rewrite the history books and etch their names on the sands of time.
According to the MIRROR, the Messiah from Glasgow has signed a total of 100 players and by my reckoning, at least 70 of them have contributed in no small measure to the success that embodies the record English champions today.
We can decide to go into all what he has achieved as manager of MUFC. He has won just 37 trophies in his 25 years at the helm.JUST i said, well maybe I am being ungrateful, but on the contrary, it is a sarcastic statement of how he has performed in all of these years. A record 12 EPL Titles, 2 Champions League crowns, 5 F.A Cups, 4 League cups, 1 FIFA World Club trophy, 1 intercontinental cup, I European Cup Winners Cup, etc Perhaps his only regret till this very day will be that he hasn't equalled or eclipsed the European cup success of the late coaching spectacle, Bob Paisley. Whatever his weaknesses may be, his strengths and astonishing capabilities considerably outweigh them in all ramification. From the 750, 000 quid shrewd acquisition of Peter Schmeichel to the 19 Million pound signing of new Number one, David De Gea, Sir Alex has seen it all and done just about everything.
Like every other human being, he has made a few mistakes.....Massimo Taibi, the Italian who unfortunately is now a reference point when howlers and unforgivable mistakes are made not only by goalkeepers, but outfield players, is one of such noteworthy errors. When the indispensable Dane-Peter Schmeichel left just after the unprecedented and yet to be matched treble winning 98-99 season, SAF sought the apparent goal keeping dexterity of the then Venezia safe hands. It was one he would come to rue, as the dude was a complete shame, making only 4 league appearances for the treble winners......the last being the 5-0 whitewash by Chelsea in which of course he was the main culprit. Perhaps Sir Alex was trifled because he initially kept Milan's goal for a one year period. There were others like Juan Sebastian Veron who cost more than 25 million pounds from SS Lazio, but couldn't just become the player Fergie expected him to be, although he occasionally showed flashes of the unarguable quality he possessed, he never really lived up to expectation. Liam Miller, David Bellion, Eric Djemba-Djemba (who the supporters jeered with songs like he is so f*cked that they named him twice, in direct opposite of the Nigerian midfield maestro, Austin JAY JAY Okocha, who was praised for being named twice as a result of his immeasurable talent.)-----he played for, and captained Bolton Wanderers in that same period.- and a few others are examples of the rare loop holes in his celebrated 25 year reign.
He has also made some astute signings- rare gems like Eric Cantona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Andre Kanchelskis, Jaap Stam, Edwin Van Der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Javier Chicharito Hernandez, Fabian Barthez, Wayne Rooney, etc are some of the exceptional purchases he has made. Add that to his very well talked about 'FERGIE FLEDGLINGS' comprising of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, the Neville brothers, Nicky Butt, and the unmistakable David Beckham. One memorable accomplishment of the youngsters was when they went on to overturn Newcastle's seemingly unreachable lead of 14 points to win the 95-96 EPL Title and FA Cup, making it even more impressive. What made it all the more fantastic was that the team was dismissed as kids by former Liverpool defence stalwart and MOTD (Match of the day) pundit, Alan Hansen who quickly sent a firing shot at the youthful Manchester United team after only the first match of the season where they lost 3-1 at Villa Park----little did he know that it was a learning process.
The sobriquet 'Fergie Fledglings', coined by the media, was seen as a re-incarnation of some sort, of the 'Busby babes'.(of which 8 members painfully lost their lives in the infamous Munich air disaster in 1958)
It is very uncommon these days to find your enemies or rivals eulogize your sterling endowments even if they were/are as glaring as Gervinho's forehead. But just like his impeccable Mancunian journey, the praises and tributes have been flying in from different areas of the World. Coaches, former players of the club, active players, football association bosses...just mention it, have all contributed their views as regards this significant day in the life of the Scot, Manchester United and the World of Sports in general. Arsene Wenger argued that SAF's record is remarkable and will be very difficult, if at all possible to match. Today's opposing manager (we play Sunderland later today) and former captain, Steve Bruce was always going to offer kind words in respect of his former manager and a man he still calls BOSS. He said Fergie has been a mainstay and a colossus and that he often used anger to get the best out of his players. He also added that his attitude and passion for the job is unparalleled. In his words, 'how can you just describe a man who had a champions league game the previous night and is back at work at 7.40 am in the morning?' I would say Divine. El Tel (Terry Venables) wasn't left out in admiration of the British knight. He put him above the likes of Bill Shankly, Bob Paisley and others and called him the PERFECT MANAGER. Even old foe, Kenny Dalglish could not hold back his adulation of the most successful British manager living or dead....calling him all the nice things on planet . Players like Javier Hernandez, Ryan Giggs etc, also made their voices heard in appreciation of what Fergie has done in the past 25 years. Although Chicharito Hernandez was not even conceived when SAF took over from Ron Atkinson, the period he has spent with him is enough to adore the veteran coach. Even David Beckham who perhaps bore the worst brunt of Fergie's fearsome rage (famously called the hairdryer treatment) in 2003, when after an F.A Cup 4th Round loss to Arsenal, the great Scot kicked a boot which hit the former England skipper just above his left eye and required stitches, never hides his love and admiration for the Sir of Carrington. At any given opportunity, he says very wonderful things about the man who everyone can't help but revere.He was again full of encomiums for his former manager when asked about what he felt concerning his forthcoming SILVER JUBILEE, calling him a great man and one of the few people (alongside his parents) who made him the SUPERSTAR he is today.
Aston Villa great, Dion Dublin has also laid claim to the fact that he is the reason why Fergie is so successful. He pointed out that had he not been injured, Fergie wouldn't have signed Eric Cantona from Leeds United. A few people might have agreed with him, but majority are of the view that a certain Mark Robbins,scorer of the late winner against Nottingham Forest in the 1990 Fa Cup third round clash, was the man who saved Fergie's job and now the rest is history.
Journalists and sportswriters also had their say in glowing admiration of the man who has defied logic and cemented his status as one of the greatest sportsmen who has ever lived. Perhaps, amongst all the people who said very esteemed things about Sir Alex, one person's statement of fact stands out in unequivocal terms. His son and now Peterborough manager, Darren Ferguson who was also under his tutelage as a player, was of the opinion that his father wouldn't have accumulated all these many titles if not for his mother, Lady Cathy Ferguson. I totally agree with him. It was SAF's wife who persuaded him to have a change of heart when he decided to resign his position as manager of the most successful club side in England (in terms of domestic titles won) at the end of the 2001-2002 season in which the team came 3rd behind Liverpool and champions, Arsenal (won the EPL AND FA CUP double). Nine years on, it has been a jolly good ride and he will continually thank his wife for convincing him to continue as he immediately claimed back the title in the very next season 02-03 after upturning the 10 point lead Arsene's Arsenal enjoyed 3 months to the end of the season. Ruud Van Nistelrooy being the main catalyst with 25 league goals (44 in total). From that time to this day he has added 5 EPL Titles, 1 FA Cup,I UCL, I FIFA World Club trophy among others. Such has been the devastatingly unbelievable run of Manchester United that all other clubs have been left in its wake, except recently, FC Barcelona. In that same year, after going back on his decision to abandon his managerial commitments with the red army, he made it categorically clear that his main priority was to 'KNOCK LIVERPOOL OF THEIR PERCH'. True to type, he has finally done that this year and he is in no mood to stop as Manchester City and Barcelona have brought upon him an entirely new, intense and very uphill challenge which he intends to rise to and be victorious before he finally calls time on his DISTINGUISHED AND OUTSTANDING CAREER. Who can bet against him??? I wouldn't even waste a penny.
This is my IDEA of FERGIE's FINEST XI---
Van Der Sar, G.Neville, Vidic, Bruce, Irwin, Keane, Scholes, Beckham, Giggs, Ronaldo, RVN (Ruud Van Nistelrooy)
Subs- Schmeichel, Stam, R.Ferdinand, Evra, Butt, Kanchelskis, Rooney, OGS(Ole Gunnar Solskjaer)
Honourable mentions- Yorke, Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham, Jesper Blonqvist, Mark Hughes, Gary Pallister, Paul McGrath, Bryan Robson.
Follow me on Twitter @ohiskaka1990
Wednesday 19 October 2011
Why Real Madrid are getting ever so close to Barca and the surprise emergence of Levante
Barcelona set the pace in football -Didier Descamps (Marseille Coach).....Barcelona are the benchmark of football - AVB (Chelsea manager). They are certainly the best team on the planet and it is a huge challenge to match them - SAF (MUFC coach). All these and more have come out of the mouths of distinguished coaches, legendary footballers and long time football supporters. I cannot agree more. The Catalan giants have set a bar no one can reach just yet. Since PEP GUARDIOLA took over from Rijkaard in 2008, he has instilled a rare and unique brand of football difficult to copy. The metronomic passing of Xavi and Iniesta is a sight to behold every day of the week. The mystic style of MESSI is simply beyond the analysis of even the most celebrated soccer pundits in the game.
There are many more abilities this Barca team possess that beats my imagination. They make the best teams look so ORDINARY. The blessed triumvirate of MESSI-INIESTA-XAVI are together the best trident in the universe. Their understanding is telepathic and scary. Manchester United and Real Madrid were literally put to the sword in astonishing fashion. Although the team displays a low degree of gamesmanship sometimes, the nature of football they exhibit has never been seen by the naked eye(s). There are similar teams today who are believers of the passing game, but Barcelona tops the bill unarguably.
Nevertheless, other teams in La Liga and the World over have taken up the challenge of usurping the 2011 UCL, UEFA SUPER CUP AND SPANISH SUPER CUP CHAMPIONS. In my humble and honest opinion, Real Madrid have come the closest and are working very hard to stop the Barca dominance. It is now a matter of sooner, rather than later. The los merengues* have all the weapons in their armory to achieve their major objective.
Jose Mourinho is a man of many parts. One very interesting and beautiful aspect of him is his ability to rise up to any challenge and he has the results to back up his arrogance ad self-adulation. He is among the few people I respect on earth and if anyone is capable of putting an end to BARELONA's preeminence, he certainly and definitely is the one MAN. He has done it with Chelsea, Inter Milan and FC Porto and Madrid will be no exception, I get really baffled when people describe his 1st season at the helm of the blancos as a FAILURE. My God!the man won the Copa del Rey after 18 long years, and he did it by defeating Barcelona. He also got to the UEFA Champions League semi-final------something the Spanish giants hadn't achieved in 8 years and was just a few points behind Barcelona in the final La Liga standings. That to me is a fabulous start to life in a new environment. The only bad day he really had last season was the amazing capitulation of his team at the Camp Nou last November when they were humbled by 5 unanswered goals.........that loss represented the biggest ever in his coaching career. He started this season by losing once again to Guardiola in the Super Cup, but this time, his team fought gallantly and proved to the World that Barcelona are not actually supernatural.......although the return leg was marred by very condemnable and regrettable scenes, much of which was played out by the Portuguese magician.
This season, both teams haven't exactly started well. They have both dropped points in situations they would never have. For both teams, there is little margin for complacency and they are very much aware that the likes of Sevilla, Villareal, Valencia, mega rich Malaga, etc (domestically) and Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, free spending Man City etc (in Europe) are hot on their trail. Messi and Ronaldo have began where they left up in the latest show of their personal rivalry (they will never admit it) with the Argentina setting the pace with 16 goals (10 in La Liga) this season already.....not only that, he has also blown past Ladislao Kubala (194) as the 2nd highest goal scorer (196) in Barcelona's history and is just 5 behind Di Stefano as the highest goal scorer in CLASICO (RM V BARCA) MEETINGS. Ronaldo has scored 9 (7 in la liga) goals and will not be worried by his rival's blazing start to the season because it was the same last season and they both ended with a breathtaking 53 goals apiece in all competitions.
The things worthy of note this season is the depth in/of Mourinho's squad. The Portuguese is licking his lips with joy and happiness as a result of the players he has at his disposal. 2007 World and European footballer of the year and attacking midfield god, Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite....commonly called KAKA has resurrected. His resurgence has been greeted with appreciation and applause from the entire people of Madrid, Brazil and his fans all over of which I am by far the biggest (he is my favourite footballer ever). This, coupled with the recoveries of Turks, Sahin and Altintop, the versatility of Coentrao, the return to fitness and form of both Benzema and Higuain has made it an easier task for Real Madrid in their quest to unseat Barca as the greatest club team on the planet.
There are encouraging signs for the 'whites' as the dynamics of the team is fast changing. The over -reliance on Ronaldo dos Santos is beginning to diminish as evident in their last three games where they won fair and square v Espanyol, Real Betis Sevilla and OL (Lyon) 4-0.4-1 and 4-0 respectively. This is not to say the ex-MUFC player is not an important member f the team, it only supports the fact that now other players trust themselves more and they now shoulder the responsibilities together.......as portrayed in the last three games, Ronaldo has had assists in each of them, but failed to find the back of the net. Although he hasn't been pleased with his mini drought, he has become more effective as an all-round player, reducing his self centerdness ......and the team as a whole has become better and more organised with every player contributing more to its success. Gonzalo Higuain (El Pipita) has scored 2 consecutive hat-tricks in la liga (Espanyol and Betis) and he was only in the starting line-up due to the absence of Karim Benzema. Kaka now starts almost every game at the expense of either Di Maria or Ozil. This hardly occurred in the previous season where Ozil and the Argentine speedster were almost indispensable. It is a huge improvement and this has made the team much stronger, compact and ambitious. Every player, except Ronaldo, Alonso, Casillas, and Sergio Ramos knows that his inclusion in the starting 11 is not a certainty.
What this means is that Real Madrid can comfortably play a very solid, well organised and disciplined team that can hold their own against Barcelona, and do so without Ronaldo necessarily playing at his best......with Kaka back on point, Sahin, coentrao,Altintop working hard in midfield, these are surely happy days for the Capital club.
Levante UD is a club that is hardly spoken of when the elite sides of the Spanish 1ST DIVISION are mentioned. But they have surprised everyone, including themselves with their spine-tingling start to this campaign, despite the loss of prolific marksman, Felipe Caicedo Salvador Corozo (went to Lokomotiv Moscow) who managed an impressive 14 goals in 29 games for the club last season. .....no one would have imagined the Valencia based club sitting joint top of La Liga with Barcelona who are only ahead on GD.....leaving Real Madrid behind in 3rd. They haven't achieved such a fantastic position with luck, but hard work and extreme solidity...The 5 wins in 7 games has included victories over more favoured sides like RM & Malaga, the latter were trashed 3-0 at the Ciutat de Valencia---their home ground. They are not going ahead of themselves in spite of this very encouraging and illustrious start to the season...Coach Ignacio Martinez has said that they will take every game as it comes and the players are sure doing well with their tasks. They have no Xavi, Ronaldo, Kaka, or even Villa, but the team skippered by 36 year Sergio Ballesteros are very disciplined and efficient in what they do. Bolstered by the loan signings of Sevilla's Arouna Kone, Xavi Torres from Malaga and Gustavo Cabral of Arsenal de Sarandi (Argentine club) and the acquisition of 32 year old left footed attacking midfielder, Jose Barkero from Numancia, the club has been all guns blazing this past months. Let's see if they will be able to maintain their composure and strong start through the season. I wish them all the best.
OHIS
Follow me on twitter @ohiskaka1990
There are many more abilities this Barca team possess that beats my imagination. They make the best teams look so ORDINARY. The blessed triumvirate of MESSI-INIESTA-XAVI are together the best trident in the universe. Their understanding is telepathic and scary. Manchester United and Real Madrid were literally put to the sword in astonishing fashion. Although the team displays a low degree of gamesmanship sometimes, the nature of football they exhibit has never been seen by the naked eye(s). There are similar teams today who are believers of the passing game, but Barcelona tops the bill unarguably.
Nevertheless, other teams in La Liga and the World over have taken up the challenge of usurping the 2011 UCL, UEFA SUPER CUP AND SPANISH SUPER CUP CHAMPIONS. In my humble and honest opinion, Real Madrid have come the closest and are working very hard to stop the Barca dominance. It is now a matter of sooner, rather than later. The los merengues* have all the weapons in their armory to achieve their major objective.
Jose Mourinho is a man of many parts. One very interesting and beautiful aspect of him is his ability to rise up to any challenge and he has the results to back up his arrogance ad self-adulation. He is among the few people I respect on earth and if anyone is capable of putting an end to BARELONA's preeminence, he certainly and definitely is the one MAN. He has done it with Chelsea, Inter Milan and FC Porto and Madrid will be no exception, I get really baffled when people describe his 1st season at the helm of the blancos as a FAILURE. My God!the man won the Copa del Rey after 18 long years, and he did it by defeating Barcelona. He also got to the UEFA Champions League semi-final------something the Spanish giants hadn't achieved in 8 years and was just a few points behind Barcelona in the final La Liga standings. That to me is a fabulous start to life in a new environment. The only bad day he really had last season was the amazing capitulation of his team at the Camp Nou last November when they were humbled by 5 unanswered goals.........that loss represented the biggest ever in his coaching career. He started this season by losing once again to Guardiola in the Super Cup, but this time, his team fought gallantly and proved to the World that Barcelona are not actually supernatural.......although the return leg was marred by very condemnable and regrettable scenes, much of which was played out by the Portuguese magician.
This season, both teams haven't exactly started well. They have both dropped points in situations they would never have. For both teams, there is little margin for complacency and they are very much aware that the likes of Sevilla, Villareal, Valencia, mega rich Malaga, etc (domestically) and Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, free spending Man City etc (in Europe) are hot on their trail. Messi and Ronaldo have began where they left up in the latest show of their personal rivalry (they will never admit it) with the Argentina setting the pace with 16 goals (10 in La Liga) this season already.....not only that, he has also blown past Ladislao Kubala (194) as the 2nd highest goal scorer (196) in Barcelona's history and is just 5 behind Di Stefano as the highest goal scorer in CLASICO (RM V BARCA) MEETINGS. Ronaldo has scored 9 (7 in la liga) goals and will not be worried by his rival's blazing start to the season because it was the same last season and they both ended with a breathtaking 53 goals apiece in all competitions.
The things worthy of note this season is the depth in/of Mourinho's squad. The Portuguese is licking his lips with joy and happiness as a result of the players he has at his disposal. 2007 World and European footballer of the year and attacking midfield god, Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite....commonly called KAKA has resurrected. His resurgence has been greeted with appreciation and applause from the entire people of Madrid, Brazil and his fans all over of which I am by far the biggest (he is my favourite footballer ever). This, coupled with the recoveries of Turks, Sahin and Altintop, the versatility of Coentrao, the return to fitness and form of both Benzema and Higuain has made it an easier task for Real Madrid in their quest to unseat Barca as the greatest club team on the planet.
There are encouraging signs for the 'whites' as the dynamics of the team is fast changing. The over -reliance on Ronaldo dos Santos is beginning to diminish as evident in their last three games where they won fair and square v Espanyol, Real Betis Sevilla and OL (Lyon) 4-0.4-1 and 4-0 respectively. This is not to say the ex-MUFC player is not an important member f the team, it only supports the fact that now other players trust themselves more and they now shoulder the responsibilities together.......as portrayed in the last three games, Ronaldo has had assists in each of them, but failed to find the back of the net. Although he hasn't been pleased with his mini drought, he has become more effective as an all-round player, reducing his self centerdness ......and the team as a whole has become better and more organised with every player contributing more to its success. Gonzalo Higuain (El Pipita) has scored 2 consecutive hat-tricks in la liga (Espanyol and Betis) and he was only in the starting line-up due to the absence of Karim Benzema. Kaka now starts almost every game at the expense of either Di Maria or Ozil. This hardly occurred in the previous season where Ozil and the Argentine speedster were almost indispensable. It is a huge improvement and this has made the team much stronger, compact and ambitious. Every player, except Ronaldo, Alonso, Casillas, and Sergio Ramos knows that his inclusion in the starting 11 is not a certainty.
What this means is that Real Madrid can comfortably play a very solid, well organised and disciplined team that can hold their own against Barcelona, and do so without Ronaldo necessarily playing at his best......with Kaka back on point, Sahin, coentrao,Altintop working hard in midfield, these are surely happy days for the Capital club.
Levante UD is a club that is hardly spoken of when the elite sides of the Spanish 1ST DIVISION are mentioned. But they have surprised everyone, including themselves with their spine-tingling start to this campaign, despite the loss of prolific marksman, Felipe Caicedo Salvador Corozo (went to Lokomotiv Moscow) who managed an impressive 14 goals in 29 games for the club last season. .....no one would have imagined the Valencia based club sitting joint top of La Liga with Barcelona who are only ahead on GD.....leaving Real Madrid behind in 3rd. They haven't achieved such a fantastic position with luck, but hard work and extreme solidity...The 5 wins in 7 games has included victories over more favoured sides like RM & Malaga, the latter were trashed 3-0 at the Ciutat de Valencia---their home ground. They are not going ahead of themselves in spite of this very encouraging and illustrious start to the season...Coach Ignacio Martinez has said that they will take every game as it comes and the players are sure doing well with their tasks. They have no Xavi, Ronaldo, Kaka, or even Villa, but the team skippered by 36 year Sergio Ballesteros are very disciplined and efficient in what they do. Bolstered by the loan signings of Sevilla's Arouna Kone, Xavi Torres from Malaga and Gustavo Cabral of Arsenal de Sarandi (Argentine club) and the acquisition of 32 year old left footed attacking midfielder, Jose Barkero from Numancia, the club has been all guns blazing this past months. Let's see if they will be able to maintain their composure and strong start through the season. I wish them all the best.
OHIS
Follow me on twitter @ohiskaka1990
Friday 14 October 2011
INTERNATIONAL BREAK---FOOTBALL WRAP UP
Before I begin, I have to tender my apologies to all readers of my blog articles for the long silence. I have been extremely busy. I will try to be more regular and consistent. Thanks.
The International breaks never go down well with me and a lot other soccer fans all over the globe because it temporarily halts the excitement of club football. But what must take place, must definitely take place.
The last couple of games were very pivotal for a host of prestigious countries who aimed to qualify automatically for the various tournaments that concerned them. The three lions of England were faced with a daunting task of taking at least a point off a determined Montenegro side in Podgorica. The Turks and Belgians were also in a battle to take second spot in a group that had already been won by Germany. Scotland also had the unenviable mission of taking all three points against Spain in Alicante. Serbia had to win against Slovenia in Maribor to have any chance of claiming a play-off spot. Sweden had to win their last 2 games to qualify at worst for the play-offs,or as best runner-up.
Nigeria , Cameroon, South Africa and Egypt were all in precarious situations with regards to qualification for the AFCON 2012 in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea. Also, the 2014 World cup qualifiers kicked off in the American Region without Brazil as expected--------naturally because they are the host nation.
I am going try to elucidate what transpired over the past one week or so...... region by region....sit back and enjoy reading.
AFRICA
One would have thought that teams like Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, and South Africa who have a lot of talented players plying their trade in some of the biggest Leagues in world football, and considering the number of national and international titles they have accumulated in years gone by, will qualify easily. But as they say, football is not mathematics. Nigeria needed to defeat Guinea to qualify and they had the advantage by virtue of the fact that the match was to be played at Abuja. Cameroon and Egypt on the other hand, were all but certainties to miss out of the draw ceremony which is slated for 29 October in Equatorial Guinea.
The Super eagles of Nigeria and the Bafana Bafana of South Africa had it all to play for in their respective make or mar encounters with Guinea and Sierra Leone. Coach Samson Siasia stuck to his guns, with regard to the non-invitation of asst captain and number one goalie, Vincent Enyeama.....asides this, the squad was full strength. The fans and supporters of the West African nation were in high spirits and very optimistic about their nation's chances of reaching the group stages of the biennial showpiece.
The match began with Nigeria expectedly piling pressure on the men from Conakry, hoping to stamp its authority on the match from the off. It was not to be as the well marshaled defense of the east African side, coupled with the inexplicable misses of Osaze Peter Odemwingie, and his compatriots ensured that the scoreline still remained goalless. At this time there was some unrest in the Nigerian camp and coach Siasia wasn't at all pleased with his side's mediocre performance. The supporters were seen in the terraces soaked in disbelief and utter shock. But it was only 45 minutes and there was still time for improvement........so they thought, or rather wished.
Ten minutes into the 2nd half, Former Dynamo Kyiv hotshot and Dubai based versatile player,--- Ismael Bangoura silenced the already devastated Abuja crowd with a goal that all but made matters worse for the Eagles. Victor Obinna Nsofor restored parity minutes later, and IK Uche put Nigeria ahead......a lead that would have been enough to see them in yet another football fiesta. At this time, the entire Nigerian populace had found their voices, singing and raining praises on the entire team for a job well carried out.....but the Syli Nationale (nickname for the Guinean National team) had other plans.....with just a few minutes to the final whistle, Ibrahim Diallo put a very sharp dagger through the hearts of the most populous black nation in the world with an all important, qualification clinching goal. That was the end of the NIGERIAN DREAM. It came as a shock to everyone in and out of the National Stadium. The failure to qualify represented the 1st time it had happened for 25 years (since 1986, although the country did not participate in the 1996 and 98 tournaments due to political disagreement and suspension).
South Africa on the other hand was a story of unprofessionalism and ignorance of CAF rules for qualification. It was inscrutable when Pitso Mosimane, the coach of the Bafana Bafana and the governing body (SAFA) came out to say they were unaware of the qualification requirements. The southern African nation were held to a draw by the Leone stars of Sierra Leone and it was purely intentional, when instead Pitso and his boys should have gone out to win outright. FUNNY, isn't it? I found it gut-busting.
After the last round of qualifying matches, it was astonishing to find out that 8 of the last 9 winners of the previous AFCON tournaments and 4 of the 6 representatives of Africa in the last World Cup finals will not be present in next year's football party.
The 16 PROFICIENT teams that will fly their countries flags are:
GABON, EQUATORIAL GUINEA (Debut appearance)--both co-hosts, MALI, GUINEA, ZAMBIA,MOROCCO, SENEGAL, NIGER, LIBYA, BURKINA FASO, GHANA, COTE D'IVOIRE, ANGOLA, BOTSWANA, TUNISIA, and SUDAN.
For the draw ceremony in about two weeks time, the POTS will be like this:
POT 1-Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast
POT 2- Angola, Tunisia, Zambia, Guinea
POT 3- Mali, Senegal, Morocco, Burkina Faso
POT 4- Sudan, Libya, Botswana, Niger
EUROPE
Before the penultimate qualifying match-day, Germany, Italy, Spain and Netherlands had already sealed their places in the football festival to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. Nations like England, France, Denmark, Portugal, Czech Republic Sweden etc were looking to join them.......But they had to negotiate past some very tough matches to achieve their objectives. It had all the makings of a great show.
England flew to Podgorica knowing that only a draw will cement its position as group winners and secure automatic qualification, rather than go through the avoidable heartache of the play-offs. Capello' team reached their aim, but not without a price. The three lions took a 2-1 lead into half time courtesy of Ashley Young and Darren Bent......at this point, they were home and dry and could even have added more in a half that saw them dominate for long periods, until a very costly error led to Montenegro pegging one back on the stroke of half time. It proved very detrimental as Talisman and Super star Wayne Rooney rolled back the years by inexcusably kicking out at an opponent (Miodrag Dzudovic) 14 minutes from time.... which resulted in Wolfgang Stark---the match referee sending him off. There was no challenging or criticizing the decision as it was spot on. UEFA on Thursday piled more misery on the Merseyside born striker and dented England's slim hopes of performing well in the Euros by announcing that he will sit out the entire group stage. The FA hope to get a reprieve when they appeal. Montenegro secured their own place among the play-off teams by scoring a late equalizer to make it even more annoying for Fabio Capello and England. 2-2 it ended.
Mesut Ozil is a turkish-german but chose to play for the DIE MANNSCAFT. El Cuervo or der-rabe (which means the raven)as Ozil is affectionately called, was in for a very nasty reception because of his Turkish roots, but luckily for him, he was hampered by a slight injury. The German National team had a 100% record alongside the Oranje (Holland) and the la furia roja (Spain) and weren't in any mood to repudiate it. Istanbul is an electrifying and intimidating stadium with all its vociferous fans and they also had Guus Hiddink ....easily one of the best managers in the History of the sport. It promised to be a masterpiece. Joachim Loew has over the years built a fantastic team only second to Spain in terms of performances in the last two international competitions. If not for the Spanish team, Germany would probably have raised the '08 European trophy and the '10 World Cup. Players like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski, Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, etc have made them too difficult to play against, talk more of defeating them.
They started in customary fashion in Turkish soil, scoring the first two goals courtesy of in-form Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller, Hakan Balta replied for the Turks, but Bastian's penalty made sure of the victory and continued the near impeccable record of 9 out of 9 for the German machines. 3-1 it ended.
Del Bosque's Spain defeated Czech Republic in Prague by 2(Mata and Alonso) goals to nothing, Sweden defeated Finland 2-1 in Helsinki and France trounced Albania by 3 goals to nil.-----Remy, Malouda and Reveillere on the score sheet.
Craig Levein's Scotland put themselves within touching distance of a play-off slug out with the Czechs with a slim 1-0 win at Liechtenstein all thanks to a Craig Mackail-Smith goal in his 1st competitive start. They then had the 'very difficult' job of beating Spain to at most, make the play-offs. Wales and Gareth Bale easily swept the Swiss team away. Nani scored two goals en route to the Selecao's (Portugal) 5-3 win v Iceland. As for Bosnia,......-Dzeko, Missimovic, Pjanic and co scored five past a hapless Luxembourg side to set up a gran stand finish in Group D.
The last match day had many FINALS. Denmark-Portugal, France-Bosnia, Germany-Belgium (crucial for Belgium), Turkey-Azerbaijan, Slovenia- Serbia (a Serbia win essential), Spain-Scotland, Lithuania-Czech Rep, Sweden-Netherlands, Rep of Ireland-Armenia.
Denmark, inspired by Ajax wonderkid, Christian Eriksen outshone Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal's own Christian) and the Portuguese team.........the teenager put in a phenomenal performance in midfield where more established stars like Meireles and Martins were present, but out of sorts. The match ended 2-1 with Arsenal cast away, Niklas Bendtner scoring once again against the Bento propelled team. Brondby's Krohn-Dehli opened scoring in a match that the Danes dominated from start to finish. The World's best player (alongside Messi)----Ronaldo sent a thunderous trademark set piece past Sorensen in the Danish goal in the dying seconds of the encounter, but it proved to be nothing more than a consolation for the fans who came all the way from Portugal only to witness such a forgettable performance. Nani again was the only player worthy of praise in the entire team....Ronaldo inclusive.
Germany made light work of Belgium with Ozil, Schurrle and Gomez again on the score sheet in a 3-1 win. Everton's Fellaini scored a consolatory goal for the opponents. The mannscaft finished the qualifying phase with a perfect 10 in 10 record. The best in the whole of Europe if you consider the fact that they played 2 more matches than the roja. -----(Spain 8 out of 8). Turkey were saved from a disappointing campaign by a Yilmaz second half goal v Azerbaijan
The French national team were for the second consecutive qualifying campaign helped by bad refereeing decision. Bosnia's tall and dangerous forward----Edin Dzeko stunned the les blue faithful by putting the underdogs in the lead with a brilliant curling shot that went past Hugo Lloris.. and it lasted until about 15-20 minutes to the end of the match when Samir Nasri tumbled quite easily under the challenge of Emir Spahic and the referee undoubtedly pointed the spot. The Manchester City playmaker dusted himself up and scored to send France into EURO 2012 as Group D winners.
Sweden knew that to defeat the 'flawless' Oranje, it had to take something special and that they did in Stockholm. It wasn't a smooth ride though they started brightly....Kim Kallstrom, the man widely known as the <Swedish Gerrard>. scored a wonderful free kick to put his side in the lead...The Netherlands equalized via the deadly Klaas Jan Huntelaar who scored his 30th International goal in 48 appearances and his 12th of the qualifying race. The first half ended with both sides at par.
IN the second half, the Oranje stepped it up a level and it was no surprise when Dirk Kuyt scored after good work from RVP and Strootman. The lead lasted two minutes as Seb Larsson restored parity with a well taken penalty after a handball in the box.It did not end there.......OLA TOIVONEN, the PSV attacking jewel sent the fans into frenzy by scoring the winner. Sweden went through as best runners-up, but in doing that, ended Holland's winning record in Group E.
The AVIVA Stadium in Ireland was buzzing- It was a do or die affair between the hosts (Rep of Ireland) and Armenia. Armenia had to win to qualify for the play-offs....Advocaat's Russia had already secured their place in next year's sporting feast by thrashing minnows Andorra by six very good goals. Dzagoev of CSKA MOSCOW was the star of the show. The Irish began brightly and even had the advantage of playing against 10 -men early on when Armenia goalkeeper, Roman Berezovsky was wrongly given the marching orders for coming out of his restriction to handle the ball. Replays showed that it was even Cox (The Rep of Ireland player) who used his arm to control the ball and the ball didn't actually hit the goalie's hands...the deed had been done. Defender Aleksanyan made matters worse when he diverted Doyle's back heel into his own net..talk about adding fuel to a furnace and you won't be far from the truth. Richard Dunne found the opponents net this time with the second goal for his country and that all but sealed Ireland's place among the play-off countries. Armenia got a goal through Henrikh Mikhitaryan who was very fortunate to have benefited from a rare Shay Given error. That ended the Irish record of 8 successive clean sheets and more than 800 minutes without conceding a goal. They end someday, don't they?
Alicante was a hostile atmosphere, especially for away sides and Scotland found that out early enough when a David Silva first half double made it almost impossible for them to find a way past the red army of Spain. The Spanish armada did not end there...David Silva on his mission to prove to Del Bosque that he has the ability to stake a claim for a starting role, was doing just that with an unselfish pass to David Villa ten minutes into the second half.....typical of 'EL GUAJE', he didn't waste time before slotting the ball easily past Allan Mcgregor. The goal marked his 50th in national colours. Scotland grabbed a lifeline midway through the second half when David Goodwillie slotted a penalty passed Victor Valdes, after the Barcelona shot stopper had impeded the Blackburn new boy. It would have been 3-2 if Goodwillie had just been a little bit unselfish....he was in a good position to pass the ball to fellow striker, Mackail-Smith, who was two yards away from Valdess' goal,.... but chose to chase personal glory, which ultimately failed. The Xavi captained side sealed a perfect 8 out of 8 record in Group I and thus became the 2nd team (Germany as well) to complete the stage with a stainless winning record.
Nemanja Vidic pledged to give his all to the Serbian cause. The gritty defensive stalwart hadn't played since mid-August, but was determined to help his country qualify for its 3rd major tournament in 5 years. Life is a bitch and a wicked one at that. After Dare Vrsic scored a very very 'lucky' goal to give Slovenia the lead, the Captain of Manchester United had a chance to level the score from 6 yards out, but his tame spot kick was saved by 'penalty expert' Samir Handanovic in the Slovenia goal. It ended in Maribor 1-0 to the home team. Serbia unfortunately couldn't make the cut.
THE QUALIFIED TEAMS TO THE EUROS NEXT YEAR ARE:
POLAND, UKRAINE---co-hosts, GERMANY, SPAIN, HOLLAND, ITALY, FRANCE, ENGLAND, DENMARK,SWEDEN, RUSSIA,GREECE.
Four teams will join the privileged 12 after the play-offs in November (11th/12th and 15th)--
PLAY-OFF DRAW:
BOSNIA-PORTUGAL
CZECH REP-MONTENEGRO
TURKEY-CROATIA
REP OF IRELAND-ESTONIA
Some few STATS from the QUALIFICATION RACE
- Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored 12 out of his country's 37 goals to proudly sit on top of the goal scorers chart, three more than the next highest, Miroslav Klose
- David Weir of Scotland was the oldest player to feature in the competition at 40 years of age
- The 'divine' Jari Litmanen was the oldest scorer at the ripe young age of 39.
- Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku (then of Anderlecht) was the youngest player at 17 years.
- Czech's Vaclav Kadlec was the youngest scorer at the age of 18.
- Mesut Ozil and Kim Kallstrom of Germany and Sweden shared the award for highest assists with 7 apiece
EMERGING PLAYERS
- ALAN DZAGOEV-RUSSIA, JACK WILSHERE, PHIL JONES, DANNY WELBECK AND CHRIS SMALLING -ENGLAND, MARCO REUS, THE BENDER TWINS (SVEN AND LARS), ANDRES SCHURRLE, ILKAY GUNDOGAN AND MARIO GOTZE - GERMANY, JORDI ALBA AND THIAGO ALCANTARA-SPAIN, ROMELU LUKAKU-BELGIUM, etc.
In other reports, The World Cup Qualifiers kicked off in South America with Copa America champions, Uruguay, Argentina and co hoping to start off on a good note. The Celeste (nickname for Uruguay) defeated Bolivia in the first match by 4 goals to 2 with Suarez and Cavani among the goals. The second match for Uruguay was a re-match of the COPA AMERICA final-----this time it ended 1-1 with Richard Ortiz denying Forlan and co a 2nd win in 2 games. The La Celeste goal was scored by DIEGO FORLAN CORAZO----a goal which made him the highest goal scorer of all time for the South American team, adding that to his increasing cap record.
Alejandro Sabella started life as Argentina boss on a dream note...in his 1st competitive match, he put Claudio Borghi's Chile tot he sword.... bashing them by 4 goals to one with Gonzalo Geraldo Higuain (El Pipita) scoring his second hat-trick in a week (the first was against Espanyol in la liga for Real Madrid). The best CLUB footballer in the World and new albiceleste skipper, Lionel Messi---finally broke his international duck dating back to 4 months. Mathias Fernandez scored Chile's only goal. Sabella's world came crashing down in Puerto La Cruz. Once again Leo Messi failed to find the extraordinary form he shows for the Blaugrana (Barcelona) week in, week out. Higuain was like a lost sheep in the garden. Cesar Farias's side claimed Argentina's scalp for the first time in 19 meetings------everything that has a beginning , surely has an end. Chile fared better than their previous outing as they just did enough to edge past a determined and talented Peru side that shocked many in the Copa America months ago. They were still missing injured Alexis Sanchez, but the gifted midfield anchor, Gary Medel returned to the fold to boost their chances of taking all the 3 points. The match ended 4-2 with Medel and Suazo (pk) among the scorers. in-form Werder Bremen finisher, Claudio Pizarro and Schalke's Farfan were on the score sheet for the Peruvians, but it was not enough to take even a point.
Mano Menezes's Brazil are not involved in qualifying games by virtue of their status as tournament hosts......Despite the exemption, the samba boys still took part in some friendly games v Costa Rica and Mexico in the US and Mexico. They won both games,1-0 and 2-1 although not comfortably. The positives taken from both games was the performance of returning LEGEND, Ronaldinho Gaucho and the hard work of Fernandinho. stand in goalie, Jefferson, also saved an Andres Guardado penalty which was among the many fabulous saves he racked up in the Mexico match........It was also a send-off match for Mexican goalkeeper, Oscar Sanchez who was also in that kind of form where nothing just wouldn't go past him, until Ronaldinho delivered one of his truly special masterclass set pieces which flew past the veteran keeper like a missile.He had earlier saved from the buck toothed attacking wizard's right foot, but this wasn't going to be stopped. Neymar also put in encouraging displays crowned by his well taken goal v Costa Rica which won the game for the Selecao. The big surprise was Lucas Moura who was not as spectacular as he usually is.......It is a learning curve for the 19 year old and he will come good.
Done and Dusted.
OHIS
Follow me on twitter @ohiskaka1990
The International breaks never go down well with me and a lot other soccer fans all over the globe because it temporarily halts the excitement of club football. But what must take place, must definitely take place.
The last couple of games were very pivotal for a host of prestigious countries who aimed to qualify automatically for the various tournaments that concerned them. The three lions of England were faced with a daunting task of taking at least a point off a determined Montenegro side in Podgorica. The Turks and Belgians were also in a battle to take second spot in a group that had already been won by Germany. Scotland also had the unenviable mission of taking all three points against Spain in Alicante. Serbia had to win against Slovenia in Maribor to have any chance of claiming a play-off spot. Sweden had to win their last 2 games to qualify at worst for the play-offs,or as best runner-up.
Nigeria , Cameroon, South Africa and Egypt were all in precarious situations with regards to qualification for the AFCON 2012 in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea. Also, the 2014 World cup qualifiers kicked off in the American Region without Brazil as expected--------naturally because they are the host nation.
I am going try to elucidate what transpired over the past one week or so...... region by region....sit back and enjoy reading.
AFRICA
One would have thought that teams like Nigeria, Cameroon, Egypt, and South Africa who have a lot of talented players plying their trade in some of the biggest Leagues in world football, and considering the number of national and international titles they have accumulated in years gone by, will qualify easily. But as they say, football is not mathematics. Nigeria needed to defeat Guinea to qualify and they had the advantage by virtue of the fact that the match was to be played at Abuja. Cameroon and Egypt on the other hand, were all but certainties to miss out of the draw ceremony which is slated for 29 October in Equatorial Guinea.
The Super eagles of Nigeria and the Bafana Bafana of South Africa had it all to play for in their respective make or mar encounters with Guinea and Sierra Leone. Coach Samson Siasia stuck to his guns, with regard to the non-invitation of asst captain and number one goalie, Vincent Enyeama.....asides this, the squad was full strength. The fans and supporters of the West African nation were in high spirits and very optimistic about their nation's chances of reaching the group stages of the biennial showpiece.
The match began with Nigeria expectedly piling pressure on the men from Conakry, hoping to stamp its authority on the match from the off. It was not to be as the well marshaled defense of the east African side, coupled with the inexplicable misses of Osaze Peter Odemwingie, and his compatriots ensured that the scoreline still remained goalless. At this time there was some unrest in the Nigerian camp and coach Siasia wasn't at all pleased with his side's mediocre performance. The supporters were seen in the terraces soaked in disbelief and utter shock. But it was only 45 minutes and there was still time for improvement........so they thought, or rather wished.
Ten minutes into the 2nd half, Former Dynamo Kyiv hotshot and Dubai based versatile player,--- Ismael Bangoura silenced the already devastated Abuja crowd with a goal that all but made matters worse for the Eagles. Victor Obinna Nsofor restored parity minutes later, and IK Uche put Nigeria ahead......a lead that would have been enough to see them in yet another football fiesta. At this time, the entire Nigerian populace had found their voices, singing and raining praises on the entire team for a job well carried out.....but the Syli Nationale (nickname for the Guinean National team) had other plans.....with just a few minutes to the final whistle, Ibrahim Diallo put a very sharp dagger through the hearts of the most populous black nation in the world with an all important, qualification clinching goal. That was the end of the NIGERIAN DREAM. It came as a shock to everyone in and out of the National Stadium. The failure to qualify represented the 1st time it had happened for 25 years (since 1986, although the country did not participate in the 1996 and 98 tournaments due to political disagreement and suspension).
South Africa on the other hand was a story of unprofessionalism and ignorance of CAF rules for qualification. It was inscrutable when Pitso Mosimane, the coach of the Bafana Bafana and the governing body (SAFA) came out to say they were unaware of the qualification requirements. The southern African nation were held to a draw by the Leone stars of Sierra Leone and it was purely intentional, when instead Pitso and his boys should have gone out to win outright. FUNNY, isn't it? I found it gut-busting.
After the last round of qualifying matches, it was astonishing to find out that 8 of the last 9 winners of the previous AFCON tournaments and 4 of the 6 representatives of Africa in the last World Cup finals will not be present in next year's football party.
The 16 PROFICIENT teams that will fly their countries flags are:
GABON, EQUATORIAL GUINEA (Debut appearance)--both co-hosts, MALI, GUINEA, ZAMBIA,MOROCCO, SENEGAL, NIGER, LIBYA, BURKINA FASO, GHANA, COTE D'IVOIRE, ANGOLA, BOTSWANA, TUNISIA, and SUDAN.
For the draw ceremony in about two weeks time, the POTS will be like this:
POT 1-Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast
POT 2- Angola, Tunisia, Zambia, Guinea
POT 3- Mali, Senegal, Morocco, Burkina Faso
POT 4- Sudan, Libya, Botswana, Niger
EUROPE
Before the penultimate qualifying match-day, Germany, Italy, Spain and Netherlands had already sealed their places in the football festival to be co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. Nations like England, France, Denmark, Portugal, Czech Republic Sweden etc were looking to join them.......But they had to negotiate past some very tough matches to achieve their objectives. It had all the makings of a great show.
England flew to Podgorica knowing that only a draw will cement its position as group winners and secure automatic qualification, rather than go through the avoidable heartache of the play-offs. Capello' team reached their aim, but not without a price. The three lions took a 2-1 lead into half time courtesy of Ashley Young and Darren Bent......at this point, they were home and dry and could even have added more in a half that saw them dominate for long periods, until a very costly error led to Montenegro pegging one back on the stroke of half time. It proved very detrimental as Talisman and Super star Wayne Rooney rolled back the years by inexcusably kicking out at an opponent (Miodrag Dzudovic) 14 minutes from time.... which resulted in Wolfgang Stark---the match referee sending him off. There was no challenging or criticizing the decision as it was spot on. UEFA on Thursday piled more misery on the Merseyside born striker and dented England's slim hopes of performing well in the Euros by announcing that he will sit out the entire group stage. The FA hope to get a reprieve when they appeal. Montenegro secured their own place among the play-off teams by scoring a late equalizer to make it even more annoying for Fabio Capello and England. 2-2 it ended.
Mesut Ozil is a turkish-german but chose to play for the DIE MANNSCAFT. El Cuervo or der-rabe (which means the raven)as Ozil is affectionately called, was in for a very nasty reception because of his Turkish roots, but luckily for him, he was hampered by a slight injury. The German National team had a 100% record alongside the Oranje (Holland) and the la furia roja (Spain) and weren't in any mood to repudiate it. Istanbul is an electrifying and intimidating stadium with all its vociferous fans and they also had Guus Hiddink ....easily one of the best managers in the History of the sport. It promised to be a masterpiece. Joachim Loew has over the years built a fantastic team only second to Spain in terms of performances in the last two international competitions. If not for the Spanish team, Germany would probably have raised the '08 European trophy and the '10 World Cup. Players like Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski, Manuel Neuer, Philipp Lahm, etc have made them too difficult to play against, talk more of defeating them.
They started in customary fashion in Turkish soil, scoring the first two goals courtesy of in-form Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller, Hakan Balta replied for the Turks, but Bastian's penalty made sure of the victory and continued the near impeccable record of 9 out of 9 for the German machines. 3-1 it ended.
Del Bosque's Spain defeated Czech Republic in Prague by 2(Mata and Alonso) goals to nothing, Sweden defeated Finland 2-1 in Helsinki and France trounced Albania by 3 goals to nil.-----Remy, Malouda and Reveillere on the score sheet.
Craig Levein's Scotland put themselves within touching distance of a play-off slug out with the Czechs with a slim 1-0 win at Liechtenstein all thanks to a Craig Mackail-Smith goal in his 1st competitive start. They then had the 'very difficult' job of beating Spain to at most, make the play-offs. Wales and Gareth Bale easily swept the Swiss team away. Nani scored two goals en route to the Selecao's (Portugal) 5-3 win v Iceland. As for Bosnia,......-Dzeko, Missimovic, Pjanic and co scored five past a hapless Luxembourg side to set up a gran stand finish in Group D.
The last match day had many FINALS. Denmark-Portugal, France-Bosnia, Germany-Belgium (crucial for Belgium), Turkey-Azerbaijan, Slovenia- Serbia (a Serbia win essential), Spain-Scotland, Lithuania-Czech Rep, Sweden-Netherlands, Rep of Ireland-Armenia.
Denmark, inspired by Ajax wonderkid, Christian Eriksen outshone Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal's own Christian) and the Portuguese team.........the teenager put in a phenomenal performance in midfield where more established stars like Meireles and Martins were present, but out of sorts. The match ended 2-1 with Arsenal cast away, Niklas Bendtner scoring once again against the Bento propelled team. Brondby's Krohn-Dehli opened scoring in a match that the Danes dominated from start to finish. The World's best player (alongside Messi)----Ronaldo sent a thunderous trademark set piece past Sorensen in the Danish goal in the dying seconds of the encounter, but it proved to be nothing more than a consolation for the fans who came all the way from Portugal only to witness such a forgettable performance. Nani again was the only player worthy of praise in the entire team....Ronaldo inclusive.
Germany made light work of Belgium with Ozil, Schurrle and Gomez again on the score sheet in a 3-1 win. Everton's Fellaini scored a consolatory goal for the opponents. The mannscaft finished the qualifying phase with a perfect 10 in 10 record. The best in the whole of Europe if you consider the fact that they played 2 more matches than the roja. -----(Spain 8 out of 8). Turkey were saved from a disappointing campaign by a Yilmaz second half goal v Azerbaijan
The French national team were for the second consecutive qualifying campaign helped by bad refereeing decision. Bosnia's tall and dangerous forward----Edin Dzeko stunned the les blue faithful by putting the underdogs in the lead with a brilliant curling shot that went past Hugo Lloris.. and it lasted until about 15-20 minutes to the end of the match when Samir Nasri tumbled quite easily under the challenge of Emir Spahic and the referee undoubtedly pointed the spot. The Manchester City playmaker dusted himself up and scored to send France into EURO 2012 as Group D winners.
Sweden knew that to defeat the 'flawless' Oranje, it had to take something special and that they did in Stockholm. It wasn't a smooth ride though they started brightly....Kim Kallstrom, the man widely known as the <Swedish Gerrard>. scored a wonderful free kick to put his side in the lead...The Netherlands equalized via the deadly Klaas Jan Huntelaar who scored his 30th International goal in 48 appearances and his 12th of the qualifying race. The first half ended with both sides at par.
IN the second half, the Oranje stepped it up a level and it was no surprise when Dirk Kuyt scored after good work from RVP and Strootman. The lead lasted two minutes as Seb Larsson restored parity with a well taken penalty after a handball in the box.It did not end there.......OLA TOIVONEN, the PSV attacking jewel sent the fans into frenzy by scoring the winner. Sweden went through as best runners-up, but in doing that, ended Holland's winning record in Group E.
The AVIVA Stadium in Ireland was buzzing- It was a do or die affair between the hosts (Rep of Ireland) and Armenia. Armenia had to win to qualify for the play-offs....Advocaat's Russia had already secured their place in next year's sporting feast by thrashing minnows Andorra by six very good goals. Dzagoev of CSKA MOSCOW was the star of the show. The Irish began brightly and even had the advantage of playing against 10 -men early on when Armenia goalkeeper, Roman Berezovsky was wrongly given the marching orders for coming out of his restriction to handle the ball. Replays showed that it was even Cox (The Rep of Ireland player) who used his arm to control the ball and the ball didn't actually hit the goalie's hands...the deed had been done. Defender Aleksanyan made matters worse when he diverted Doyle's back heel into his own net..talk about adding fuel to a furnace and you won't be far from the truth. Richard Dunne found the opponents net this time with the second goal for his country and that all but sealed Ireland's place among the play-off countries. Armenia got a goal through Henrikh Mikhitaryan who was very fortunate to have benefited from a rare Shay Given error. That ended the Irish record of 8 successive clean sheets and more than 800 minutes without conceding a goal. They end someday, don't they?
Alicante was a hostile atmosphere, especially for away sides and Scotland found that out early enough when a David Silva first half double made it almost impossible for them to find a way past the red army of Spain. The Spanish armada did not end there...David Silva on his mission to prove to Del Bosque that he has the ability to stake a claim for a starting role, was doing just that with an unselfish pass to David Villa ten minutes into the second half.....typical of 'EL GUAJE', he didn't waste time before slotting the ball easily past Allan Mcgregor. The goal marked his 50th in national colours. Scotland grabbed a lifeline midway through the second half when David Goodwillie slotted a penalty passed Victor Valdes, after the Barcelona shot stopper had impeded the Blackburn new boy. It would have been 3-2 if Goodwillie had just been a little bit unselfish....he was in a good position to pass the ball to fellow striker, Mackail-Smith, who was two yards away from Valdess' goal,.... but chose to chase personal glory, which ultimately failed. The Xavi captained side sealed a perfect 8 out of 8 record in Group I and thus became the 2nd team (Germany as well) to complete the stage with a stainless winning record.
Nemanja Vidic pledged to give his all to the Serbian cause. The gritty defensive stalwart hadn't played since mid-August, but was determined to help his country qualify for its 3rd major tournament in 5 years. Life is a bitch and a wicked one at that. After Dare Vrsic scored a very very 'lucky' goal to give Slovenia the lead, the Captain of Manchester United had a chance to level the score from 6 yards out, but his tame spot kick was saved by 'penalty expert' Samir Handanovic in the Slovenia goal. It ended in Maribor 1-0 to the home team. Serbia unfortunately couldn't make the cut.
THE QUALIFIED TEAMS TO THE EUROS NEXT YEAR ARE:
POLAND, UKRAINE---co-hosts, GERMANY, SPAIN, HOLLAND, ITALY, FRANCE, ENGLAND, DENMARK,SWEDEN, RUSSIA,GREECE.
Four teams will join the privileged 12 after the play-offs in November (11th/12th and 15th)--
PLAY-OFF DRAW:
BOSNIA-PORTUGAL
CZECH REP-MONTENEGRO
TURKEY-CROATIA
REP OF IRELAND-ESTONIA
Some few STATS from the QUALIFICATION RACE
- Klaas Jan Huntelaar scored 12 out of his country's 37 goals to proudly sit on top of the goal scorers chart, three more than the next highest, Miroslav Klose
- David Weir of Scotland was the oldest player to feature in the competition at 40 years of age
- The 'divine' Jari Litmanen was the oldest scorer at the ripe young age of 39.
- Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku (then of Anderlecht) was the youngest player at 17 years.
- Czech's Vaclav Kadlec was the youngest scorer at the age of 18.
- Mesut Ozil and Kim Kallstrom of Germany and Sweden shared the award for highest assists with 7 apiece
EMERGING PLAYERS
- ALAN DZAGOEV-RUSSIA, JACK WILSHERE, PHIL JONES, DANNY WELBECK AND CHRIS SMALLING -ENGLAND, MARCO REUS, THE BENDER TWINS (SVEN AND LARS), ANDRES SCHURRLE, ILKAY GUNDOGAN AND MARIO GOTZE - GERMANY, JORDI ALBA AND THIAGO ALCANTARA-SPAIN, ROMELU LUKAKU-BELGIUM, etc.
In other reports, The World Cup Qualifiers kicked off in South America with Copa America champions, Uruguay, Argentina and co hoping to start off on a good note. The Celeste (nickname for Uruguay) defeated Bolivia in the first match by 4 goals to 2 with Suarez and Cavani among the goals. The second match for Uruguay was a re-match of the COPA AMERICA final-----this time it ended 1-1 with Richard Ortiz denying Forlan and co a 2nd win in 2 games. The La Celeste goal was scored by DIEGO FORLAN CORAZO----a goal which made him the highest goal scorer of all time for the South American team, adding that to his increasing cap record.
Alejandro Sabella started life as Argentina boss on a dream note...in his 1st competitive match, he put Claudio Borghi's Chile tot he sword.... bashing them by 4 goals to one with Gonzalo Geraldo Higuain (El Pipita) scoring his second hat-trick in a week (the first was against Espanyol in la liga for Real Madrid). The best CLUB footballer in the World and new albiceleste skipper, Lionel Messi---finally broke his international duck dating back to 4 months. Mathias Fernandez scored Chile's only goal. Sabella's world came crashing down in Puerto La Cruz. Once again Leo Messi failed to find the extraordinary form he shows for the Blaugrana (Barcelona) week in, week out. Higuain was like a lost sheep in the garden. Cesar Farias's side claimed Argentina's scalp for the first time in 19 meetings------everything that has a beginning , surely has an end. Chile fared better than their previous outing as they just did enough to edge past a determined and talented Peru side that shocked many in the Copa America months ago. They were still missing injured Alexis Sanchez, but the gifted midfield anchor, Gary Medel returned to the fold to boost their chances of taking all the 3 points. The match ended 4-2 with Medel and Suazo (pk) among the scorers. in-form Werder Bremen finisher, Claudio Pizarro and Schalke's Farfan were on the score sheet for the Peruvians, but it was not enough to take even a point.
Mano Menezes's Brazil are not involved in qualifying games by virtue of their status as tournament hosts......Despite the exemption, the samba boys still took part in some friendly games v Costa Rica and Mexico in the US and Mexico. They won both games,1-0 and 2-1 although not comfortably. The positives taken from both games was the performance of returning LEGEND, Ronaldinho Gaucho and the hard work of Fernandinho. stand in goalie, Jefferson, also saved an Andres Guardado penalty which was among the many fabulous saves he racked up in the Mexico match........It was also a send-off match for Mexican goalkeeper, Oscar Sanchez who was also in that kind of form where nothing just wouldn't go past him, until Ronaldinho delivered one of his truly special masterclass set pieces which flew past the veteran keeper like a missile.He had earlier saved from the buck toothed attacking wizard's right foot, but this wasn't going to be stopped. Neymar also put in encouraging displays crowned by his well taken goal v Costa Rica which won the game for the Selecao. The big surprise was Lucas Moura who was not as spectacular as he usually is.......It is a learning curve for the 19 year old and he will come good.
Done and Dusted.
OHIS
Follow me on twitter @ohiskaka1990
Monday 19 September 2011
Are Football fans right to criticize Frank Lampard?????is Torres done??????
First of all, I want to make it crystal clear that I am not among Lampard's many followers, neither do I consider him in my list of favourite players.
In spite of the aforementioned fact, it is absolutely certain that Frank Lampard is a living Legend. Without mincing words, the Englishman epitomizes greatness. The runner up in the 2005 World and European footballer of the year awards (both collected by the magical Ronaldinho Gaucho), three time Chelsea player of the year, two time English player of the year, amongst others is undoubtedly among the finest footballers of his generation.
In recent weeks, questions have been raised for the first time in Frank's exceptional playing career, about his ability to remain a consistent performer and command a starting shirt for club and country. This was confirmed when Fabio Capello left him out of the starting line-up in the Euro 2012 qualifier v Bulgaria in Sofia. That was the first time in 9 years that had happened. Capello explained his action...........pointing out the fact that Lamps was not in form. That is totally acceptable. The Italian coach was applauded for such a bold decision. I was also in support. In my opinion, Frank has never replicated club form for Country......he has always been very passive and ordinary in national colours, but for the 'Blues', no footballer (except Gianfranco Zola) has been more influential for them in all my years of watching football.
Chelsea Football club became a constant challenger for all the coveted trophies of Domestic and European trophies when Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003. In fairness, one of the few jewels he met at the London club was Frank Lampard---------a player Claudio Ranieri (the thinker man) signed from fellow London side, West Ham United in June 2001 for a bargain of 11 Million pounds. He didn't come unknown as he had already done great things for West Ham, including leading them to 5th position in the 98-99 EPL season (their highest ever). Then 22 years old, he played in all Chelsea's league games in his maiden season (except the ones he was ineligible for) and went on to garner an unbelievable 164 consecutive league appearances (ended December 28, 2005 v Manchester City), beating the records of David James(159) and Wayne Bridge (113-record for an outfield player). His consistency was unreal.
If Ranieri helped Lamps in his transition from a promising player to a good player, then it was Jose Mourinho who totally transformed the Romford born midfield god to the great player that he is today. When the Portuguese replaced the 'thinker man' in 2004, he immediately made Lampard a better player, by converting him from a central midfield to an attacking midfielder/support striker----------a role which is nicknamed 'trequartista' in Italy, 'enganche' in Argentina. It worked perfectly for all those involved with the West Londoners as it automatically coincided with the Club winning its first League title in 50 years........with the impressive Lampard scoring 13 league goals , including the League clinching brace at the Reebok in April. Lampard thrived in his new role as a result of his excellent goal scoring abilities and his astounding vision which was evident in Mou's first season where he led the EPL assists chart with 16. With Makelele doing the dirty job in midfield, Lampard again made light work of various oppositions in the next season as he improved his goal scoring stats to 16 league goals and 20 in all competitions. Chelsea secured the League title by trouncing Manchester United 3-0 at the Bridge.
Lampard has maintained his remarkable level since then and even the departure of the Portuguese miracle worker didn't in any way dampen his spirit. He has only scored below 20 goals in a season twice since 2003 (04/05-19,10/11-13). The 10-11 season was poor by his standards because he was out for up to four months with injury. In the 09-10 season, his 27 (22 in the league) goals in all competitions was what inspired Ancelotti's Chelsea to their 1st league title in 4 years. Till date, he is the only midfielder that has scored more than 20 league goals in an EPL season. He has broken all sorts of records in the Premier League-------------has scored four goals in one match on two separate occasions and many more. His 141 EPL goals places him at number 8 in the list of highest goal scorers in its history. He is the only midfielder in that exclusive club and if his amazing scoring record continues, he is tipped to displace Les Ferdinand and Michael Owen (who are joint 5th with 149 strikes) at the end of this season. It is no mean feat.
The lad has been capped 86 times (84 as a Chelsea player) by England and has scored 22 goals including holding the record for the highest conversion of successful penalties (7). You don't just achieve all these in a week. Your career has to be blessed to amass all these astonishing acquirements. There is no substitute for quality and class is permanent in any great football player. He hasn't been at his best this season, but as John Terry said when Fabio left Lamps out, 'you only write him off at your own peril'. He has proven time and again that he can deliver on the big days and I do not foresee anything to the contrary.
If I am to rate the best midfielder in the EPL for the last 10 years, FRANK J. LAMPARD is the outstanding and hands on choice. He has been there and he is still there right among the best footballers in World football typified by his breathtaking goals, eye catching assists and all round play. 171 goals, 110 assists as a blue is enough to convince anyone that his days as a major influence at the Bridge are far from over.
Spanish superstar and the World's best striker in 08-09, Fernando Torres is in probably the worst ever period of his phenomenal career. The prolific marksman was signed by Chelsea in January for a whopping sum of 50 million pounds, thus making him the most expensive signing in EPL history and of course in Chelsea 's too. Since then, he has only managed 2 goals (one of them when it was raining) in more than 20 appearances for the pensioners, but up until yesterday, his showing has never really given the fans hope that the dismal form was going to come to an end any time soon. He performed really well in Chelsea's first UCL game of the season vs Leverkusen, setting up 2 goals for Mata and Luiz, but for a man who managed 81 goals in just 142 appearances for Liverpool before jumping ship, it is the goals that will count more than anything else. Everyone, including those sadistic soccer analysts and pundits in Britain, has written him off already.......................a player they once dubbed the best striker in the World barely 18 months ago, has all of a sudden become the worst striker ever. However, yesterday at the TOD (Theatre of Dreams), He was fantastic all through, running at the United rearguard and causing all sorts of problems for the hosts. He capitalized on a rare error by red devils teenage defender Phil Jones, to score a quality goal seconds after the second half began, but the chance he missed afterwards was perhaps the most shocking sporting display of the entire decade.----------------not because other players in his class and level had not committed similar errors, but due to the magnitude of the bizarre way he threw away the opportunity to further pile pressure on Manchester United.
The certitude that El Nino is a World Class player is unarguable. It is only under a huge deal of threat. I have never been agnostic about the genuineness of his greatness, but I have questioned his ability not once, not twice. I mean who wouldn't. A player who scored 24 EPL goals in his debut season, thus eclipsing the record set by Ruud Van Nistelrooy (23 goals in his first season-01-02), destroying many great teams on the way and scored Spain's winner in Euro 2008,... a player who came third in both the European and World footballer of the year awards that same year and is only 27....now playing like someone who has never been on a football pitch. He no longer exudes the confidence of that fearsome predator who scored exceptional goals week in, week out for the merseysiders. Yesterday was different. I could see it in his eyes that he was a man on a mission....a man out to prove that he still has it in him to wreck havoc on any team as he has indeed always done. He is a very good player and he will show it in coming weeks. No one can say he is done because he is aging, he is only 27 and has many more years to torment opponents.
But it is about time he starts living up to his worth and status as a great player. 6 months is enough for even a foreigner to adapt in the League, talk more of someone who registered 65 league goals in 102 appearances for Liverpool. Contrary to most people's views, Fernando Torres is not finished and I am very optimistic and presumptuous that soon, he will prove the world wrong and get back to that frightening form that made him so loved, admired and adored.
I rest my case.
ff me on twitter @ohiskaka1990
In spite of the aforementioned fact, it is absolutely certain that Frank Lampard is a living Legend. Without mincing words, the Englishman epitomizes greatness. The runner up in the 2005 World and European footballer of the year awards (both collected by the magical Ronaldinho Gaucho), three time Chelsea player of the year, two time English player of the year, amongst others is undoubtedly among the finest footballers of his generation.
In recent weeks, questions have been raised for the first time in Frank's exceptional playing career, about his ability to remain a consistent performer and command a starting shirt for club and country. This was confirmed when Fabio Capello left him out of the starting line-up in the Euro 2012 qualifier v Bulgaria in Sofia. That was the first time in 9 years that had happened. Capello explained his action...........pointing out the fact that Lamps was not in form. That is totally acceptable. The Italian coach was applauded for such a bold decision. I was also in support. In my opinion, Frank has never replicated club form for Country......he has always been very passive and ordinary in national colours, but for the 'Blues', no footballer (except Gianfranco Zola) has been more influential for them in all my years of watching football.
Chelsea Football club became a constant challenger for all the coveted trophies of Domestic and European trophies when Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003. In fairness, one of the few jewels he met at the London club was Frank Lampard---------a player Claudio Ranieri (the thinker man) signed from fellow London side, West Ham United in June 2001 for a bargain of 11 Million pounds. He didn't come unknown as he had already done great things for West Ham, including leading them to 5th position in the 98-99 EPL season (their highest ever). Then 22 years old, he played in all Chelsea's league games in his maiden season (except the ones he was ineligible for) and went on to garner an unbelievable 164 consecutive league appearances (ended December 28, 2005 v Manchester City), beating the records of David James(159) and Wayne Bridge (113-record for an outfield player). His consistency was unreal.
If Ranieri helped Lamps in his transition from a promising player to a good player, then it was Jose Mourinho who totally transformed the Romford born midfield god to the great player that he is today. When the Portuguese replaced the 'thinker man' in 2004, he immediately made Lampard a better player, by converting him from a central midfield to an attacking midfielder/support striker----------a role which is nicknamed 'trequartista' in Italy, 'enganche' in Argentina. It worked perfectly for all those involved with the West Londoners as it automatically coincided with the Club winning its first League title in 50 years........with the impressive Lampard scoring 13 league goals , including the League clinching brace at the Reebok in April. Lampard thrived in his new role as a result of his excellent goal scoring abilities and his astounding vision which was evident in Mou's first season where he led the EPL assists chart with 16. With Makelele doing the dirty job in midfield, Lampard again made light work of various oppositions in the next season as he improved his goal scoring stats to 16 league goals and 20 in all competitions. Chelsea secured the League title by trouncing Manchester United 3-0 at the Bridge.
Lampard has maintained his remarkable level since then and even the departure of the Portuguese miracle worker didn't in any way dampen his spirit. He has only scored below 20 goals in a season twice since 2003 (04/05-19,10/11-13). The 10-11 season was poor by his standards because he was out for up to four months with injury. In the 09-10 season, his 27 (22 in the league) goals in all competitions was what inspired Ancelotti's Chelsea to their 1st league title in 4 years. Till date, he is the only midfielder that has scored more than 20 league goals in an EPL season. He has broken all sorts of records in the Premier League-------------has scored four goals in one match on two separate occasions and many more. His 141 EPL goals places him at number 8 in the list of highest goal scorers in its history. He is the only midfielder in that exclusive club and if his amazing scoring record continues, he is tipped to displace Les Ferdinand and Michael Owen (who are joint 5th with 149 strikes) at the end of this season. It is no mean feat.
The lad has been capped 86 times (84 as a Chelsea player) by England and has scored 22 goals including holding the record for the highest conversion of successful penalties (7). You don't just achieve all these in a week. Your career has to be blessed to amass all these astonishing acquirements. There is no substitute for quality and class is permanent in any great football player. He hasn't been at his best this season, but as John Terry said when Fabio left Lamps out, 'you only write him off at your own peril'. He has proven time and again that he can deliver on the big days and I do not foresee anything to the contrary.
If I am to rate the best midfielder in the EPL for the last 10 years, FRANK J. LAMPARD is the outstanding and hands on choice. He has been there and he is still there right among the best footballers in World football typified by his breathtaking goals, eye catching assists and all round play. 171 goals, 110 assists as a blue is enough to convince anyone that his days as a major influence at the Bridge are far from over.
Spanish superstar and the World's best striker in 08-09, Fernando Torres is in probably the worst ever period of his phenomenal career. The prolific marksman was signed by Chelsea in January for a whopping sum of 50 million pounds, thus making him the most expensive signing in EPL history and of course in Chelsea 's too. Since then, he has only managed 2 goals (one of them when it was raining) in more than 20 appearances for the pensioners, but up until yesterday, his showing has never really given the fans hope that the dismal form was going to come to an end any time soon. He performed really well in Chelsea's first UCL game of the season vs Leverkusen, setting up 2 goals for Mata and Luiz, but for a man who managed 81 goals in just 142 appearances for Liverpool before jumping ship, it is the goals that will count more than anything else. Everyone, including those sadistic soccer analysts and pundits in Britain, has written him off already.......................a player they once dubbed the best striker in the World barely 18 months ago, has all of a sudden become the worst striker ever. However, yesterday at the TOD (Theatre of Dreams), He was fantastic all through, running at the United rearguard and causing all sorts of problems for the hosts. He capitalized on a rare error by red devils teenage defender Phil Jones, to score a quality goal seconds after the second half began, but the chance he missed afterwards was perhaps the most shocking sporting display of the entire decade.----------------not because other players in his class and level had not committed similar errors, but due to the magnitude of the bizarre way he threw away the opportunity to further pile pressure on Manchester United.
The certitude that El Nino is a World Class player is unarguable. It is only under a huge deal of threat. I have never been agnostic about the genuineness of his greatness, but I have questioned his ability not once, not twice. I mean who wouldn't. A player who scored 24 EPL goals in his debut season, thus eclipsing the record set by Ruud Van Nistelrooy (23 goals in his first season-01-02), destroying many great teams on the way and scored Spain's winner in Euro 2008,... a player who came third in both the European and World footballer of the year awards that same year and is only 27....now playing like someone who has never been on a football pitch. He no longer exudes the confidence of that fearsome predator who scored exceptional goals week in, week out for the merseysiders. Yesterday was different. I could see it in his eyes that he was a man on a mission....a man out to prove that he still has it in him to wreck havoc on any team as he has indeed always done. He is a very good player and he will show it in coming weeks. No one can say he is done because he is aging, he is only 27 and has many more years to torment opponents.
But it is about time he starts living up to his worth and status as a great player. 6 months is enough for even a foreigner to adapt in the League, talk more of someone who registered 65 league goals in 102 appearances for Liverpool. Contrary to most people's views, Fernando Torres is not finished and I am very optimistic and presumptuous that soon, he will prove the world wrong and get back to that frightening form that made him so loved, admired and adored.
I rest my case.
ff me on twitter @ohiskaka1990
Saturday 17 September 2011
A LOOK AT THE STAND OUT MATCHES OF THE WEEKEND ALL OVER THE WORLD
The weekend of 17th and 18th September 2011 serves the football world some special football games. Supporters, spectators and fans of the round leather sport will be licking their lips in anticipation of these extraordinary matches. I mean what will you say about duels involving Manchester United and Chelsea, Napoli and Milan, PSV-Ajax etc. It is only Spain that there are no such matches this weekend.
Below is a run-down of what to expect from the heavyweight bouts.
- INTER MILAN - AS ROMA
Gian piero Gasperini is under so much pressure at the moment. He has every reason to be worried as he is at a club where the President (Don Massimo Moratti) is extremely impatient, but success driven. The former Genoa tactician took over from Leonardo in the summer, and has led the Beneamata to three consecutive losses, including the Italian super cup v AC Milan. The Uefa Champions League hasn't alleviated his problems, as his charges flattered to deceive in their shock 1-0 loss at the Meazza on Wednesday. It left a sour taste in the mouths of those who love the club and the divorce bells have already started ringing. Although the Inter Supremo allayed such fears, stating firmly that he believes in the manager, GpG will do well to ignore such leading statements, as his predecessors have learnt the hard way.
Today, the black and blue host another club in similar situation at the moment, AS Roma. Spanish manager, Luis Enrique has found life as a professional manager a herculean task. The Capital club is not having it their way at all, as they have also been knocked out of the Europa League, and lost in their own backyard to Cagliari last time out. All these coupled with the strained relationship between II Bimbo d'oro (Totti) and the manager, are reasons why the club must put things right as soon as possible if they are to turn their season around. Inter's loss to Palermo at the Barbera was largely due to the exceptional display of Fabrizio Miccoli who consistently tore the defence of Walter Samuel and co apart. Enrique will be full of belief and hope that new signings, Bojan and Oswaldo can inflict a similar harm on their more distinguished opponents. Promising Argentine youngster, Eric Lamela is fit again and ready to play his part.
Internazionale have players like the divine Javier Zanetti, Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito who amazingly missed a golden opportunity to put Inter ahead in midweek, Mauro Zarate, Diego Forlan, Gianpaolo Pazzini, Ricky Alvarez and others to count on. Despite Inter's loss last weekend, El Principe (Milito) still managed to register two goals and no one will bet against him adding to that tally tonight. Diego Forlan can also build on the confidence emanating from his debut goal against the Sicilians.
PREDICTION- An Inter win.
PSV -AJAX
Two of the most successful clubs in Dutch football history and two of the famous big three (ajax, feyenoord, and psv) lurk horns this weekend at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven. It hasn't been a flying start for the Boerens as they lie fifth in the table behind ajax, az, feyenoord, and fc twente. But they will aim to put one over one of their main rivals for the Eredevisie title. Ajax on the other hand, lead the table with 4 wins from 5 games, with the other a draw against an Ahmed Musa inspired VVV Venlo side who at a point led by two quality goals.
Fred Rutten has dismissed Media reports and assertions that his team will be favourites when they do battle, but in his heart of hearts, he will be very optimistic that the Landlords of the Philips Stadion can be the first team to bring the godenzonen to their knees this season. He has every reason to be.........new signing, Dries Mertens has been a revelation this season in spite of PSV's not too exemplary start. The Belgian has scored in each of his five league games for the club and tops the scorers charts with 7 goals. He was signed alongside dutch international, kevin strootman from fellow dutch club, fc Utrecht for about 13 million euros and has proved a bargain ever since.
Frank De Boer, one of the best footballers of his generation and manager of Ajax has been a blessing to the Eredevisie giants since he joined first as caretaker coach in the middle of last season. He led the Amsterdam club to their first league title in 7 years last season---a triumph that qualified them automatically for the UCL. He hasn't done badly this season either as he is sitting atop the league standings with his team largely due to the astonishing form of Miralem Sulejmani, Icelandic sharp shooter, Kolbeinn Sigporsson, captain, Jan Vertonghen, new signing from twente, Theo Janssen,(now vice captain), Danish teenager wonder, Christian Eriksen and other quality players. The stand out performers for them this season has been Sigporsson and Sulejmani who will look to continue their scary partnership up front. Undeterred by the loss of Dutch first choice goaltender, Martin Stekelenburg to DiBenedetto's revamped Roma, De Boer swiftly made Kenneth Vermmer the first choice safe hands and it hasn't been a bad decision up till now.....they face a daunting task this weekend against one of their arch-enemies, but winning is the objective as it is this kind of games that differentiates a good team from a great team.
PREDICTION: an entertaining draw.
NAPOLI - MILAN
It has been a fantastic rebuilding process and the turnaround has been breathtaking as only a few years ago, Aurelio De Laurentiiss' Napoli was Languishing in the lower tier of Italian football, but within a space of 3 to 4 years, they are back among the exclusive class of Italian Football, hoping to redeem their lost pride and place.
Walter Mazzarri has been charged with the unenviable task of leading them to diadem once again. They came third in the league last season thereby qualifying for the prestigious UCL and they have started brightly, taking a point of mega rich and quality assembled Manchester City at the Etihad stadium. Paolo Cannavaro and his colleagues have also started the season brightly, picking up their first points of the season away at Cesena with a goal from Hugo Campagnaro who miraculously recovered from a fatal accident which occurred in June.
Milan, on the other hand, haven't started as they expected. Maxi Allegri was very ecstatic especially when they defeated Inter in the Super Coppa Italia title match, that this season will be a continuation of the last where they ran away with the Serie A crown for the first time in seven years.
The Italian champions started the season with a very watchable feisty 2 all draw with Lazio, who had new signings, Klose and Cisse to thank for putting them two goals up in the early stages of the first half.....the Rossoneri rallied back to even matters with goals from Ibra and Cassano. The performance was satisfactory, but the end result was disappointing. The however went to the Camp Nou in mid-week to pull an unlikely draw v European Champions, Barcelona. Alex Pato the 'duck' scored a goal in the 24th second of the match to the dismay of of the Spanish side. Nevertheless, It was Thiago Silva's injury time bullet header that ensured that Milan did not leave Barca empty handed.
The match will be a great duel between two excellent teams who know themselves very well..Stars like Hamsik, Lavezzi, Edison 'el matador' Cavani, Clarence Seedorf, Pippo Inzaghi and co will be on show.
PREDICTION: A narrow win for Milan
SCHALKE - BAYERN
Gelsenkirchen which hosted the 2004 UCL final between Porto and Monaco is owned by Ralf Rangnick's Schalke. They play host to a very dangerous and in-form FC Hollywood (Bayern Munich/Munchen) on Sunday.
The match holds a lot of importance in many ways. It is the clash of two Bundesliga giants and then the small matter of Mnauel Neuer coming back to his old stomping ground. The Germany goalkeeper captained the team last season to a respectable quarter-final (l to Man Utd) place in the UCL and the DFB Pokal crown, beating his new employers Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, courtesy of a Raul goal. The 25 year old is expected to face a hostile crowd when the game kicks-off.
Bayern Munich are top of the pile in Germany, albeit only on goals difference and are looking so good under Jupp Heynckes, who is in his 3rd spell at the Bavarian club. In domestic matters, Freiburg were the latest victims of the rampaging bavarians as they romped to a 7-0 victory with Mario Gomez scoring a quadruple(4 goals) and Ribery contributing two fine goals. In Europe, they were again impressive as a Toni Kroos first half strike and a Rafinha clincher secured a 2 goal win for them at the El Madrigal v Villareal.
Schalke in their own case haven't done badly for themselves,taking 9 points from their 1st 5 games. However, last weekend they lost to Magath's Wolfsburg at the Wolkswagen stadium by 2 goals to one and will look to get back to winning ways. They have the awesome strike force of the bionic Raul and the predatory Klaas Jan Huntelaar 'the hunter' to rely for the goals, with the indefatigable Jefferson Farfan supplying the balls.
FC Hollywood have a lot of quality players in their ranks-.....the likes of Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, and goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer have it in them to turn a match on its head and in their team's favour, but they will miss the goals of Gomez and the attacking wizardry of Arjen Robben.
PREDICTION:a great game with both teams sharing the spoils.
MAN UTD - CHELSEA
Premiership Champions and European cup finalists, Manchester United host AVB's Chelsea for the 19th time at the Theatre of Dreams (OLD TRAFFORD), The red devils have a slim advantage over their new found rivals with six wins to Chelsea's 5. There is not much between them in the EPL standings too as United are only 2 points ahead of the pensioners and know quite alright that despite that jaw dropping start to the season, have it all to play for, come Sunday.
It will be a disservice to say Manchester United haven't been ferocious this season and that is putting it mildly. The red devils have glowingly set the pace for others so early in the season, going against their traditional way of playing catch up in the early stages in previous years. Wayne Rooney and co have scored a record 18 goals in 4 games and let in a paltry 3. The highlight of the season was an 8-2 annihilation of fellow top four side and previous main rivals, Arsenal. That performance sent a direct message to challengers that they are not prepared to relinquish the Title this season. Rooney has scored a career first 8 goals in 4 EPL games and equalled Ruud Van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in the first four games of an EPL season for the Manchester giants. New signings,Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David De Gea have contributed their parts in the amazing run, with Ashley and Phil racking up 2 goals and more than 5 assists between them. It has been a dream start for the lads who have already bagged the Community Shield and it was even sweeter because it was at the expense of Manchester City.
AVB and Chelsea may be third in the League, but they have just managed to win their matches so far and there is nothing really exceptional about them thus far. Fernando Torres is still searching for his scoring boots, DD is out injured, Lampard, a shadow of his former self, ALex and Luiz are error prone and Malouda hasn't really found his form. They have been however boosted by the return to fitness of Petr Cech, the acquisitions of Mata and Merieles and the good form of Daniel Sturridge who scored the winner in their last domestic outing v Sunderland. They can build on the victory over Bayer Leverkusen in midweek as Torres showed flashes of his old form when he set up two goals for luiz and compatriot, Mata to seal a 2-0 win.
The hosts will be without Vidic, Rafael, and Cleverley who are long term absentees. Welbeck is back in training, but will not feature and Rio is fit and raring to go. The team will be once again led out by new vice captain, Patrice Evra and they hope to continue from where they left off last weekend when they steamrolled Bolton. Chelsea represents a tougher proposition and they will go all out to prove a point as their young and very intelligent manager has not lost a League game since April 2010 and hopes to prolong that record at least for another week.
PREDICTION:Man Utd to win
That does it.
ff Ohireime Eboreime on twitter at @ohiskaka1990
Below is a run-down of what to expect from the heavyweight bouts.
- INTER MILAN - AS ROMA
Gian piero Gasperini is under so much pressure at the moment. He has every reason to be worried as he is at a club where the President (Don Massimo Moratti) is extremely impatient, but success driven. The former Genoa tactician took over from Leonardo in the summer, and has led the Beneamata to three consecutive losses, including the Italian super cup v AC Milan. The Uefa Champions League hasn't alleviated his problems, as his charges flattered to deceive in their shock 1-0 loss at the Meazza on Wednesday. It left a sour taste in the mouths of those who love the club and the divorce bells have already started ringing. Although the Inter Supremo allayed such fears, stating firmly that he believes in the manager, GpG will do well to ignore such leading statements, as his predecessors have learnt the hard way.
Today, the black and blue host another club in similar situation at the moment, AS Roma. Spanish manager, Luis Enrique has found life as a professional manager a herculean task. The Capital club is not having it their way at all, as they have also been knocked out of the Europa League, and lost in their own backyard to Cagliari last time out. All these coupled with the strained relationship between II Bimbo d'oro (Totti) and the manager, are reasons why the club must put things right as soon as possible if they are to turn their season around. Inter's loss to Palermo at the Barbera was largely due to the exceptional display of Fabrizio Miccoli who consistently tore the defence of Walter Samuel and co apart. Enrique will be full of belief and hope that new signings, Bojan and Oswaldo can inflict a similar harm on their more distinguished opponents. Promising Argentine youngster, Eric Lamela is fit again and ready to play his part.
Internazionale have players like the divine Javier Zanetti, Wesley Sneijder, Diego Milito who amazingly missed a golden opportunity to put Inter ahead in midweek, Mauro Zarate, Diego Forlan, Gianpaolo Pazzini, Ricky Alvarez and others to count on. Despite Inter's loss last weekend, El Principe (Milito) still managed to register two goals and no one will bet against him adding to that tally tonight. Diego Forlan can also build on the confidence emanating from his debut goal against the Sicilians.
PREDICTION- An Inter win.
PSV -AJAX
Two of the most successful clubs in Dutch football history and two of the famous big three (ajax, feyenoord, and psv) lurk horns this weekend at the Philips Stadion in Eindhoven. It hasn't been a flying start for the Boerens as they lie fifth in the table behind ajax, az, feyenoord, and fc twente. But they will aim to put one over one of their main rivals for the Eredevisie title. Ajax on the other hand, lead the table with 4 wins from 5 games, with the other a draw against an Ahmed Musa inspired VVV Venlo side who at a point led by two quality goals.
Fred Rutten has dismissed Media reports and assertions that his team will be favourites when they do battle, but in his heart of hearts, he will be very optimistic that the Landlords of the Philips Stadion can be the first team to bring the godenzonen to their knees this season. He has every reason to be.........new signing, Dries Mertens has been a revelation this season in spite of PSV's not too exemplary start. The Belgian has scored in each of his five league games for the club and tops the scorers charts with 7 goals. He was signed alongside dutch international, kevin strootman from fellow dutch club, fc Utrecht for about 13 million euros and has proved a bargain ever since.
Frank De Boer, one of the best footballers of his generation and manager of Ajax has been a blessing to the Eredevisie giants since he joined first as caretaker coach in the middle of last season. He led the Amsterdam club to their first league title in 7 years last season---a triumph that qualified them automatically for the UCL. He hasn't done badly this season either as he is sitting atop the league standings with his team largely due to the astonishing form of Miralem Sulejmani, Icelandic sharp shooter, Kolbeinn Sigporsson, captain, Jan Vertonghen, new signing from twente, Theo Janssen,(now vice captain), Danish teenager wonder, Christian Eriksen and other quality players. The stand out performers for them this season has been Sigporsson and Sulejmani who will look to continue their scary partnership up front. Undeterred by the loss of Dutch first choice goaltender, Martin Stekelenburg to DiBenedetto's revamped Roma, De Boer swiftly made Kenneth Vermmer the first choice safe hands and it hasn't been a bad decision up till now.....they face a daunting task this weekend against one of their arch-enemies, but winning is the objective as it is this kind of games that differentiates a good team from a great team.
PREDICTION: an entertaining draw.
NAPOLI - MILAN
It has been a fantastic rebuilding process and the turnaround has been breathtaking as only a few years ago, Aurelio De Laurentiiss' Napoli was Languishing in the lower tier of Italian football, but within a space of 3 to 4 years, they are back among the exclusive class of Italian Football, hoping to redeem their lost pride and place.
Walter Mazzarri has been charged with the unenviable task of leading them to diadem once again. They came third in the league last season thereby qualifying for the prestigious UCL and they have started brightly, taking a point of mega rich and quality assembled Manchester City at the Etihad stadium. Paolo Cannavaro and his colleagues have also started the season brightly, picking up their first points of the season away at Cesena with a goal from Hugo Campagnaro who miraculously recovered from a fatal accident which occurred in June.
Milan, on the other hand, haven't started as they expected. Maxi Allegri was very ecstatic especially when they defeated Inter in the Super Coppa Italia title match, that this season will be a continuation of the last where they ran away with the Serie A crown for the first time in seven years.
The Italian champions started the season with a very watchable feisty 2 all draw with Lazio, who had new signings, Klose and Cisse to thank for putting them two goals up in the early stages of the first half.....the Rossoneri rallied back to even matters with goals from Ibra and Cassano. The performance was satisfactory, but the end result was disappointing. The however went to the Camp Nou in mid-week to pull an unlikely draw v European Champions, Barcelona. Alex Pato the 'duck' scored a goal in the 24th second of the match to the dismay of of the Spanish side. Nevertheless, It was Thiago Silva's injury time bullet header that ensured that Milan did not leave Barca empty handed.
The match will be a great duel between two excellent teams who know themselves very well..Stars like Hamsik, Lavezzi, Edison 'el matador' Cavani, Clarence Seedorf, Pippo Inzaghi and co will be on show.
PREDICTION: A narrow win for Milan
SCHALKE - BAYERN
Gelsenkirchen which hosted the 2004 UCL final between Porto and Monaco is owned by Ralf Rangnick's Schalke. They play host to a very dangerous and in-form FC Hollywood (Bayern Munich/Munchen) on Sunday.
The match holds a lot of importance in many ways. It is the clash of two Bundesliga giants and then the small matter of Mnauel Neuer coming back to his old stomping ground. The Germany goalkeeper captained the team last season to a respectable quarter-final (l to Man Utd) place in the UCL and the DFB Pokal crown, beating his new employers Bayern Munich in the semi-finals, courtesy of a Raul goal. The 25 year old is expected to face a hostile crowd when the game kicks-off.
Bayern Munich are top of the pile in Germany, albeit only on goals difference and are looking so good under Jupp Heynckes, who is in his 3rd spell at the Bavarian club. In domestic matters, Freiburg were the latest victims of the rampaging bavarians as they romped to a 7-0 victory with Mario Gomez scoring a quadruple(4 goals) and Ribery contributing two fine goals. In Europe, they were again impressive as a Toni Kroos first half strike and a Rafinha clincher secured a 2 goal win for them at the El Madrigal v Villareal.
Schalke in their own case haven't done badly for themselves,taking 9 points from their 1st 5 games. However, last weekend they lost to Magath's Wolfsburg at the Wolkswagen stadium by 2 goals to one and will look to get back to winning ways. They have the awesome strike force of the bionic Raul and the predatory Klaas Jan Huntelaar 'the hunter' to rely for the goals, with the indefatigable Jefferson Farfan supplying the balls.
FC Hollywood have a lot of quality players in their ranks-.....the likes of Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, and goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer have it in them to turn a match on its head and in their team's favour, but they will miss the goals of Gomez and the attacking wizardry of Arjen Robben.
PREDICTION:a great game with both teams sharing the spoils.
MAN UTD - CHELSEA
Premiership Champions and European cup finalists, Manchester United host AVB's Chelsea for the 19th time at the Theatre of Dreams (OLD TRAFFORD), The red devils have a slim advantage over their new found rivals with six wins to Chelsea's 5. There is not much between them in the EPL standings too as United are only 2 points ahead of the pensioners and know quite alright that despite that jaw dropping start to the season, have it all to play for, come Sunday.
It will be a disservice to say Manchester United haven't been ferocious this season and that is putting it mildly. The red devils have glowingly set the pace for others so early in the season, going against their traditional way of playing catch up in the early stages in previous years. Wayne Rooney and co have scored a record 18 goals in 4 games and let in a paltry 3. The highlight of the season was an 8-2 annihilation of fellow top four side and previous main rivals, Arsenal. That performance sent a direct message to challengers that they are not prepared to relinquish the Title this season. Rooney has scored a career first 8 goals in 4 EPL games and equalled Ruud Van Nistelrooy's record of scoring in the first four games of an EPL season for the Manchester giants. New signings,Ashley Young, Phil Jones and David De Gea have contributed their parts in the amazing run, with Ashley and Phil racking up 2 goals and more than 5 assists between them. It has been a dream start for the lads who have already bagged the Community Shield and it was even sweeter because it was at the expense of Manchester City.
AVB and Chelsea may be third in the League, but they have just managed to win their matches so far and there is nothing really exceptional about them thus far. Fernando Torres is still searching for his scoring boots, DD is out injured, Lampard, a shadow of his former self, ALex and Luiz are error prone and Malouda hasn't really found his form. They have been however boosted by the return to fitness of Petr Cech, the acquisitions of Mata and Merieles and the good form of Daniel Sturridge who scored the winner in their last domestic outing v Sunderland. They can build on the victory over Bayer Leverkusen in midweek as Torres showed flashes of his old form when he set up two goals for luiz and compatriot, Mata to seal a 2-0 win.
The hosts will be without Vidic, Rafael, and Cleverley who are long term absentees. Welbeck is back in training, but will not feature and Rio is fit and raring to go. The team will be once again led out by new vice captain, Patrice Evra and they hope to continue from where they left off last weekend when they steamrolled Bolton. Chelsea represents a tougher proposition and they will go all out to prove a point as their young and very intelligent manager has not lost a League game since April 2010 and hopes to prolong that record at least for another week.
PREDICTION:Man Utd to win
That does it.
ff Ohireime Eboreime on twitter at @ohiskaka1990
Wednesday 14 September 2011
Why Manchester United should not underestimate Benfica!
The UEFA Champions League is here again. The World 's most prestigious club competition (arguably) is back on our TV screens. This year's group stage draw pitched Manchester United against Benfica for the third time in seven campaigns. The red army from Manchester will not forget in a hurry how the 'encarnados' put paid to their ambitions of reaching the knock out stages of the competition six seasons ago(05-06) when Geovanni dieberson mauricio gomez, simply known as 'geovanni' and Giberto galdino dos santos also known as 'beto' scored two first half goals to cancel out paul scholes' 6th minute opener. That season marked the first time that Fergie had failed to qualify for the knock out stages in as long as I can remember.
Although the Manchester giants got their revenge when they were drawn against each other in the next CL competition (06-07)..........(beat the Portuguese giants home and away 3-1,1-0), the pain has not really gone away. This season marks another chance to make amends for that grueling night in Lisbon.
Nothing will satisfy Sir Alex more than an impressive display capped by a very comfortable victory to kickstart the 11-12 UCL season. But, it is going to be far from easy. Looking at the 'aguias'(nickname for Benfica), you will agree with me that they have a wonderful and immensely talented squad............One better than the aging one of six years ago. The Scottish gaffer of Man Utd knows quite alright that this will definitely be far from a stroll in the park.
Jorge Jesus possesses a team capable of inflicting harm on any clubside in the world, including Barcelona.... If a team was all about names and talent, Benfica have that in abundance. If it is about quality, they also have that in droves. In Pablo Aimar aka 'EL PAYASO', they have a player who on his day, is World class. From his days in the Valencia team that had the likes of Claudio Lopez, Gaizka Mendieta, Sanchez, John Carew, Ruben Baraja, Santiago Canizares, et al, he has always shone brilliantly both for club and for country. If not for injuries, ill-luck and inconsistency, the diminutive Argentine playmaker would have been mentioned in the same breath as the Stevie Gs of this world. Aimar is only one out of many at the Lisbon club these days. Despite the loss of Coentrao to Real Madrid, they have in their Arsenal, weapons that can tame any army. Experienced players like skipper Luisao, Javier Saviola (the little rabbit), Maximiliano pereira, Oscar Cardozo(103 goals in 168 apps for Benfica) and exceptional talents such as axel witsel, Manuel agudo duran(also known as NOLITO), nicolas gaitan, nemanja matic make them an even tougher nut to crack.
The champions league runners-up should be under no illusion that this is going to be an easy day out. Confidence is sky high and rightly so, as a result of their scintillating start to the season to the season where they have registered 21 goals in 5 games (18 in 4 league games--------a record), and let in only 5. The red devils have capable hands too in Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney (has contributed 8 out of the 18 goals and a couple of assists), Chicharito, new signings Ashley Young and Phil Jones, Portuguese player, Nani, former Porto starlet, Anderson, etc. All these however count for little when proceeding go underway at the Estadio Luz (Stadium of light) as it is a completely different scenario from the domestic form they have shown. The Lisbon club will want to prove that they have the game to beat a European superpower like United. Therefore, all hands must be on deck that ensure that there are no loose ends and no regrets. There is still a lot of skepticism regarding the goalkeeping abilities of new number one, David De Gea..... The young man has done extremely well in my opinion as it isn't easy to acclimatize to the harshness of the English Premiership and all its head hunting, error searching analysts. He will do himself more favours by shutting the hungry and skillful attacking force of Benfica.
The central defense is a worry because of the absence of Leader and Captain, Nemanja Vidic and his partner, Rio Ferdinand who was left at home with Sunday's cracker with Chelsea in mind. Teenager, Phil Jones has found it so easy to adapt to life as a Manchester United player, with his eye catching performances, especially against Bolton at the weekend. Evans is a doubt, but in Chris Smalling, United have another good replacement. But it is the Champions league and more often than not, experience says a lot in determining the outcome of games of this magnitude. Cardozo, Aimar and co will want to exploit this seeming weakness. We will see how well the young jewels can cope with this kind of pressure.
The game promises to be a cracker as of course most meetings between the two have turned out to be. For Man Utd fans, it was this same club, that Sir Bobby Charlton and co defeated in 1968 to claim its first European Cup, ten years after the Munich air disaster which claimed the lives of supreme talents of the EPL defending champions.
Although the Manchester giants got their revenge when they were drawn against each other in the next CL competition (06-07)..........(beat the Portuguese giants home and away 3-1,1-0), the pain has not really gone away. This season marks another chance to make amends for that grueling night in Lisbon.
Nothing will satisfy Sir Alex more than an impressive display capped by a very comfortable victory to kickstart the 11-12 UCL season. But, it is going to be far from easy. Looking at the 'aguias'(nickname for Benfica), you will agree with me that they have a wonderful and immensely talented squad............One better than the aging one of six years ago. The Scottish gaffer of Man Utd knows quite alright that this will definitely be far from a stroll in the park.
Jorge Jesus possesses a team capable of inflicting harm on any clubside in the world, including Barcelona.... If a team was all about names and talent, Benfica have that in abundance. If it is about quality, they also have that in droves. In Pablo Aimar aka 'EL PAYASO', they have a player who on his day, is World class. From his days in the Valencia team that had the likes of Claudio Lopez, Gaizka Mendieta, Sanchez, John Carew, Ruben Baraja, Santiago Canizares, et al, he has always shone brilliantly both for club and for country. If not for injuries, ill-luck and inconsistency, the diminutive Argentine playmaker would have been mentioned in the same breath as the Stevie Gs of this world. Aimar is only one out of many at the Lisbon club these days. Despite the loss of Coentrao to Real Madrid, they have in their Arsenal, weapons that can tame any army. Experienced players like skipper Luisao, Javier Saviola (the little rabbit), Maximiliano pereira, Oscar Cardozo(103 goals in 168 apps for Benfica) and exceptional talents such as axel witsel, Manuel agudo duran(also known as NOLITO), nicolas gaitan, nemanja matic make them an even tougher nut to crack.
The champions league runners-up should be under no illusion that this is going to be an easy day out. Confidence is sky high and rightly so, as a result of their scintillating start to the season to the season where they have registered 21 goals in 5 games (18 in 4 league games--------a record), and let in only 5. The red devils have capable hands too in Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney (has contributed 8 out of the 18 goals and a couple of assists), Chicharito, new signings Ashley Young and Phil Jones, Portuguese player, Nani, former Porto starlet, Anderson, etc. All these however count for little when proceeding go underway at the Estadio Luz (Stadium of light) as it is a completely different scenario from the domestic form they have shown. The Lisbon club will want to prove that they have the game to beat a European superpower like United. Therefore, all hands must be on deck that ensure that there are no loose ends and no regrets. There is still a lot of skepticism regarding the goalkeeping abilities of new number one, David De Gea..... The young man has done extremely well in my opinion as it isn't easy to acclimatize to the harshness of the English Premiership and all its head hunting, error searching analysts. He will do himself more favours by shutting the hungry and skillful attacking force of Benfica.
The central defense is a worry because of the absence of Leader and Captain, Nemanja Vidic and his partner, Rio Ferdinand who was left at home with Sunday's cracker with Chelsea in mind. Teenager, Phil Jones has found it so easy to adapt to life as a Manchester United player, with his eye catching performances, especially against Bolton at the weekend. Evans is a doubt, but in Chris Smalling, United have another good replacement. But it is the Champions league and more often than not, experience says a lot in determining the outcome of games of this magnitude. Cardozo, Aimar and co will want to exploit this seeming weakness. We will see how well the young jewels can cope with this kind of pressure.
The game promises to be a cracker as of course most meetings between the two have turned out to be. For Man Utd fans, it was this same club, that Sir Bobby Charlton and co defeated in 1968 to claim its first European Cup, ten years after the Munich air disaster which claimed the lives of supreme talents of the EPL defending champions.
Friday 9 September 2011
ITALIAN SERIE A - 2011-2012 SEASON PREVIEW
The 2011 Serie A champions, AC Milan were all smiles at the Birds' nest in China last month when they defeated city rivals and neighbors, Inter Milan to the Super Cup title with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ghana's KP Boateng scoring to secure a 2-1 victory, despite being 1-0 down, courtesy of Wesley Sneijder's gorgeous free kick in the first half.
Serie A runners-up, Inter Milan, let the third coach out of their grasp, when Brazilian manager, Leonardo left for PSG. Former Genoa Tactician, Gian piero Gasperini has since been given the mantle of leadership. They also sold Samuel Eto'o to big spending Russian clubside, Anzhi Makhachkala - A deal which made the Cameroonian great, the highest paid footballer ever. The Nerazurri also sold Davide Santon to English club, Newcastle. They brought in the likes of Ricky Alvarez from Velez Sarsfield, Diego Forlan Corazo from 2010 Europa cup winners, Atletico Madrid and a few other quality additions. The black and blue will be looking to recover the Scudetto from the hands of Berlusconi's Milan.
The SENSI family finally relinquished control of the Capital club, Roma after almost two decades at the helm. Although it was officially agreed in the summer of 2010, Rosella Sensi was still a Director until Thomas DiBenedetto, a wealthy entrepreneur and his consortium, signed an agreement with UNICREDIT to buy about 67% of the club, thus becoming the Largest shareholder. He immediately went into action, bringing in the likes of Walter Sabatini as Club Director, signing a deal with the England assistant manager, Franco Baldini to take over as general manager after the European Championships next year, and recruiting former Spanish playmaker and Barcelona B coach, Luis Enrique to take over as Head Coach.
It is not only the board room that experienced bounteous changes. The playing staff was also altered and bolstered with the likes of Bojan Krkic, highly rated Celeste, Eric Lamela, Pablo Oswaldo, and Netherlands safe hands, Martin Stekenlenburg coming in. Free agent, Gabriel Heinze also joined the giallorossi. Roma seem to love south americans, especially argentines a lot. After the captures of heinze, lamela, and Oswaldo(argie-italian), the club added another argie in Fernando Gago, the much maligned midfielder who came from Real Madrid on a season long loan. The Italian giants also let the likes of Jeremy Menez, John Arne Rise and Mirko Vucinic leave for PSG, FULHAM AND JUVENTUS respectively.
There are some internal issues to be resolved though. The roman army was struck a major blow last month as they fell to lowly rated minnows, Slovan Bratislava in the Europa League Qualifying rounds. That isn't as burdensome to them as the rift between their most decorated and successful player, Francesco Totti and new manager, Enrique. Something that started when the new manager decided to leave the talismanic captain out of the matches against the Slovakian club. The President and Directors have however been working round the clock to reconcile the pair. The hierarchy of the team made it clear from the onset that nobody is bigger than the team-------but we all know that some players are almost indispensable and Er pupone (TOTTI) falls into that category. For a player that has been at the club for 19 years and scored more than 200 league goals, some rules can be bent to accommodate his excesses.
Roma's city rivals, SS Lazio haven't been shy in the transfer market either. If you take into account, the dealings they have made, they certainly mean business. Club Supermo, Claudio Lotto managed to tempt seasoned and experienced players like Miroslav Klose------ a player who is 6 goals short of equaling the all time record of Gerd Muller for the German national team and just one goal behind the great Ronaldo Da Lima as the highest goal scorer in World Cup History. Coincidentally, it is 'Da Bomber' Muller's world cup record that he equaled in South Africa. the Biancoceleste haven't stopped there. Players like Djibril Cisse, Marius Stankevicius, Abdoulay Konko and former Marseille skipper, Lorik Cana have also teamed up with the 'sky blue and white'. They let Mauro Mathias Zarate join Inter Milan on loan, but still have the likes of Tomasso Rocchi and major threat, Hernanes to depend on. No one would argue against them staking a claim for at least a UEFA champions League spot come the end of the season.
AC Milan won their 1st Italian League title (Scudetto) in seven years. They have Swedish Superstar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the ever reliable Dutch great, Clarence Seedorf, the ' duck' from Brazil, Alex Pato, Robinho and co, to thank for leading them to GLORY, after so many near misses in years gone by. Since the Departure of KAKA, no other player had really taken the bull by the horn, until they signed 'Ibracadabra' from Barcelona......by winning the 2011 Scudetto, it extended the giant Swede's incredible run of 9 league titles in 9 straight years with Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona and of course Milan.
Coach, Maximilliano Allegri has brought in the likes of Taye Taiwo, Stephan El Shaarawy, Philippe Mexes, and Alberto Aquilani who is on loan from Liverpool. Aquilani was brought in to fill in the void left by long serving Andrea Pirlo who transferred to rejuvenated Juventus after 10 successful years with the Rossoneri. The Milan side will hope to bring back the glory days in Europe this season after falling in the second round to Spurs in the previous campaign. They officially kick start the 11-12 League season with a home game vs Lazio later tonight.
Since the Calciopoli scandal that rocked the Italian League some years ago. The 'old lady'----a sobriquet used to describe Juventus, has suffered a great decline both in form and in finesse. Last season was one of the worst in recent history. I cannot remember when Juventus failed to qualify for any European competition. Luigi Delneri was immediately shown the exit door by Andrea Agnelli and former player and legend, Antonio Conte installed to try and return Juve to the summit of Italian football where they truly belong. The most successful club in Italian football history with 29 Serie A titles, they spent heavily to tempt the very best players of the jump to jump ship. The club also officially opened their new home, the 'JUVENTUS ARENA' on the 8th of September with a friendly match against Notts County.
Quality players like Andrea Pirlo, Mirko Vucinic, Arturo Vidal, Eljero Elia, Stephan Lichtsteiner have been purchased from the likes of Hamburg, Bayer Lverkusen, etc..Marcelo Estigarribia, the flying Paraguayan has also become a Bianconeri. All these in their bid to at least challenge for honours when the season starts. Carvalho Amauri has returned from a successful spell at Parma and will fight for a place in the starting 11 with the likes of Quagliarela, Vucinic, Matri. Luca Toni, Ianquinta, and captain, Alex Del Piero.
SSC Napoli, the 4th most supported club in Italy, has returned to the European stage (UCL). The main catalyst behind their recent success is 2010 summer acquisition, Edison Cavani...........El Matador as he is affectionately called, scored 26 league goals to propel the Napolitans to the third and last automatic qualifying spot in the League. The partenopei predator was only just beaten to the Caponcannonierie (highest goal scorer) crown by lethal Zebrette veteran, Antonio Di Natale----scored 28 league goals to scoop the award for the second consecutive year. It will be unjust to neglect the excellent contributions of Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Captain Paolo Cannavaro and others......as a team they were almost unstoppable. The club which has boasted the likes of Diego Maradona and Fabio Cannavaro in their ranks, will hope to go one or two places better in their quest to restore the victory times the club enjoyed in the late 80s and early 90s. They are certainly title challengers and they signaled their intention of gatecrashing the big two of last season, with the inclusion of Goran Pandev who has enjoyed success with Lazio and Inter Milan. Swiss midfield gem and ex-Udinese star, has also teamed up with the Walter Mazzarri led team.
Udinese Calcio began the summer with the fight for the signature of speedy winger, Alexis Sanchez who was chased by Barcelona, and both Manchester Clubs. He eventually joined Barcelona after Chile's elimination from the Copa America. Giampaolo Pozzo immediately replaced him with Gabriel Torje.......a Romanian winger who is blessed with similar characteristics. Cristian Zapata, one of the reasons the Italian outfit came fourth last season, has been sold to Villareal. They also lost Gokhan Inler to Champions league campaigners, Napoli. Despite the set backs, they can continue to count on the dependable Tonio di Natale who has provided 57 goals in 71 League games in 2 seasons.
Other clubs like Palermo, Fiorentina, Genoa and co will have to make do with scampering for top 10 positions or at best Europa League spots.
Ohireime Eboreime
ff me on Twitter @ohiskaka1990
Serie A runners-up, Inter Milan, let the third coach out of their grasp, when Brazilian manager, Leonardo left for PSG. Former Genoa Tactician, Gian piero Gasperini has since been given the mantle of leadership. They also sold Samuel Eto'o to big spending Russian clubside, Anzhi Makhachkala - A deal which made the Cameroonian great, the highest paid footballer ever. The Nerazurri also sold Davide Santon to English club, Newcastle. They brought in the likes of Ricky Alvarez from Velez Sarsfield, Diego Forlan Corazo from 2010 Europa cup winners, Atletico Madrid and a few other quality additions. The black and blue will be looking to recover the Scudetto from the hands of Berlusconi's Milan.
The SENSI family finally relinquished control of the Capital club, Roma after almost two decades at the helm. Although it was officially agreed in the summer of 2010, Rosella Sensi was still a Director until Thomas DiBenedetto, a wealthy entrepreneur and his consortium, signed an agreement with UNICREDIT to buy about 67% of the club, thus becoming the Largest shareholder. He immediately went into action, bringing in the likes of Walter Sabatini as Club Director, signing a deal with the England assistant manager, Franco Baldini to take over as general manager after the European Championships next year, and recruiting former Spanish playmaker and Barcelona B coach, Luis Enrique to take over as Head Coach.
It is not only the board room that experienced bounteous changes. The playing staff was also altered and bolstered with the likes of Bojan Krkic, highly rated Celeste, Eric Lamela, Pablo Oswaldo, and Netherlands safe hands, Martin Stekenlenburg coming in. Free agent, Gabriel Heinze also joined the giallorossi. Roma seem to love south americans, especially argentines a lot. After the captures of heinze, lamela, and Oswaldo(argie-italian), the club added another argie in Fernando Gago, the much maligned midfielder who came from Real Madrid on a season long loan. The Italian giants also let the likes of Jeremy Menez, John Arne Rise and Mirko Vucinic leave for PSG, FULHAM AND JUVENTUS respectively.
There are some internal issues to be resolved though. The roman army was struck a major blow last month as they fell to lowly rated minnows, Slovan Bratislava in the Europa League Qualifying rounds. That isn't as burdensome to them as the rift between their most decorated and successful player, Francesco Totti and new manager, Enrique. Something that started when the new manager decided to leave the talismanic captain out of the matches against the Slovakian club. The President and Directors have however been working round the clock to reconcile the pair. The hierarchy of the team made it clear from the onset that nobody is bigger than the team-------but we all know that some players are almost indispensable and Er pupone (TOTTI) falls into that category. For a player that has been at the club for 19 years and scored more than 200 league goals, some rules can be bent to accommodate his excesses.
Roma's city rivals, SS Lazio haven't been shy in the transfer market either. If you take into account, the dealings they have made, they certainly mean business. Club Supermo, Claudio Lotto managed to tempt seasoned and experienced players like Miroslav Klose------ a player who is 6 goals short of equaling the all time record of Gerd Muller for the German national team and just one goal behind the great Ronaldo Da Lima as the highest goal scorer in World Cup History. Coincidentally, it is 'Da Bomber' Muller's world cup record that he equaled in South Africa. the Biancoceleste haven't stopped there. Players like Djibril Cisse, Marius Stankevicius, Abdoulay Konko and former Marseille skipper, Lorik Cana have also teamed up with the 'sky blue and white'. They let Mauro Mathias Zarate join Inter Milan on loan, but still have the likes of Tomasso Rocchi and major threat, Hernanes to depend on. No one would argue against them staking a claim for at least a UEFA champions League spot come the end of the season.
AC Milan won their 1st Italian League title (Scudetto) in seven years. They have Swedish Superstar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the ever reliable Dutch great, Clarence Seedorf, the ' duck' from Brazil, Alex Pato, Robinho and co, to thank for leading them to GLORY, after so many near misses in years gone by. Since the Departure of KAKA, no other player had really taken the bull by the horn, until they signed 'Ibracadabra' from Barcelona......by winning the 2011 Scudetto, it extended the giant Swede's incredible run of 9 league titles in 9 straight years with Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona and of course Milan.
Coach, Maximilliano Allegri has brought in the likes of Taye Taiwo, Stephan El Shaarawy, Philippe Mexes, and Alberto Aquilani who is on loan from Liverpool. Aquilani was brought in to fill in the void left by long serving Andrea Pirlo who transferred to rejuvenated Juventus after 10 successful years with the Rossoneri. The Milan side will hope to bring back the glory days in Europe this season after falling in the second round to Spurs in the previous campaign. They officially kick start the 11-12 League season with a home game vs Lazio later tonight.
Since the Calciopoli scandal that rocked the Italian League some years ago. The 'old lady'----a sobriquet used to describe Juventus, has suffered a great decline both in form and in finesse. Last season was one of the worst in recent history. I cannot remember when Juventus failed to qualify for any European competition. Luigi Delneri was immediately shown the exit door by Andrea Agnelli and former player and legend, Antonio Conte installed to try and return Juve to the summit of Italian football where they truly belong. The most successful club in Italian football history with 29 Serie A titles, they spent heavily to tempt the very best players of the jump to jump ship. The club also officially opened their new home, the 'JUVENTUS ARENA' on the 8th of September with a friendly match against Notts County.
Quality players like Andrea Pirlo, Mirko Vucinic, Arturo Vidal, Eljero Elia, Stephan Lichtsteiner have been purchased from the likes of Hamburg, Bayer Lverkusen, etc..Marcelo Estigarribia, the flying Paraguayan has also become a Bianconeri. All these in their bid to at least challenge for honours when the season starts. Carvalho Amauri has returned from a successful spell at Parma and will fight for a place in the starting 11 with the likes of Quagliarela, Vucinic, Matri. Luca Toni, Ianquinta, and captain, Alex Del Piero.
SSC Napoli, the 4th most supported club in Italy, has returned to the European stage (UCL). The main catalyst behind their recent success is 2010 summer acquisition, Edison Cavani...........El Matador as he is affectionately called, scored 26 league goals to propel the Napolitans to the third and last automatic qualifying spot in the League. The partenopei predator was only just beaten to the Caponcannonierie (highest goal scorer) crown by lethal Zebrette veteran, Antonio Di Natale----scored 28 league goals to scoop the award for the second consecutive year. It will be unjust to neglect the excellent contributions of Marek Hamsik, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Captain Paolo Cannavaro and others......as a team they were almost unstoppable. The club which has boasted the likes of Diego Maradona and Fabio Cannavaro in their ranks, will hope to go one or two places better in their quest to restore the victory times the club enjoyed in the late 80s and early 90s. They are certainly title challengers and they signaled their intention of gatecrashing the big two of last season, with the inclusion of Goran Pandev who has enjoyed success with Lazio and Inter Milan. Swiss midfield gem and ex-Udinese star, has also teamed up with the Walter Mazzarri led team.
Udinese Calcio began the summer with the fight for the signature of speedy winger, Alexis Sanchez who was chased by Barcelona, and both Manchester Clubs. He eventually joined Barcelona after Chile's elimination from the Copa America. Giampaolo Pozzo immediately replaced him with Gabriel Torje.......a Romanian winger who is blessed with similar characteristics. Cristian Zapata, one of the reasons the Italian outfit came fourth last season, has been sold to Villareal. They also lost Gokhan Inler to Champions league campaigners, Napoli. Despite the set backs, they can continue to count on the dependable Tonio di Natale who has provided 57 goals in 71 League games in 2 seasons.
Other clubs like Palermo, Fiorentina, Genoa and co will have to make do with scampering for top 10 positions or at best Europa League spots.
Ohireime Eboreime
ff me on Twitter @ohiskaka1990
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