With Serie A and Liga finally getting underway this weekend Europe is now firing on all cylinders. Good matches in prospect in every league you might wish to turn to.
Aston Villa v Liverpool
This is the sort of game that both teams need to win. Aston Villa to regain face after last week’s loss to Stoke and to show that they can worry the big four. Liverpool to solidify their impressive start in the Premiership from the perspective of a 100% record and to flush memories of their struggle in midweek against Liege in the Champions league.
History is certainly in favour of Liverpool. After winning five of the first six home matches against Liverpool in the Premiership, Villa is winless in the last ten having lost six of them. They have also been outscored 5 – 16. Ironically the only current member of the Villa squad to score against Liverpool at Villa Park is Rafa’s favourite left footed player Gareth Barry.
Villa’s last home win came on February 28, 1998 – over a decade ago – with a double (goals that is) from Stan Collymore with a young Michael Owen getting Liverpool’s lone marker.
Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur
This is most one sided fixture in the history of the Premiership with Chelsea owning Spurs. In thirty-two games Chelsea have won 20, drawn 11 and lost only once. Considering that Chelsea is also unbeaten in their last 23 Premiership games and unbeaten at Stamford Bridge in 83 Premiership games things do not look good for a Spurs team that has once again started the season with two losses.
Last season game number three brought Derby and the false dawn of a 4-0 win. Optimists can point to Spurs Carling Cup win over Chelsea last March but since then Tottenham has only won three league games. This is a fixture with a history of some high scoring games – a 4-4 draw at WHL was a classic and we have also seen 4-3, 6-1, 3-2, 4-0, and 4-2 over the years. Another high scoring game is in prospect although it is unlikely to be one that will bring Spurs three points.
Fiorentina vs. Juventus
The Italian season normally starts off with the bigger clubs being kept apart as much as possible over the first few weeks. That is not the case here with the two teams that finished 3rd and 4th and who have both qualified for the group stage of the Champions League.
Fiorentina has made some excellent additions to their squad with Alberto Gilardino (Milan), Juan Vargas (Catania), Zauri (Lazio) and Sergio Almiron on loan from Juventus.
Juventus has also been busy with big money spent to bring in striker Amauri from Palermo. Defender Olaf Mellberg is another arrival on a “Bosman” from Aston Villa together with midfielder Christian Poulsen (Seville). Poulsen could be as important addition as Amauri.
Deportivo La Coruna vs. Real Madrid
Real Madrid is going for a third straight title but a visit to Deportivo La Coruna is one place where the words success and Real Madrid ring very hollow. Real has not won there since 1991 and hasn’t earned a point since 2002. It will be a somewhat depleted Real Madrid squad with the Dutch trio of Wesley Sneijder (injured), Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rafael van der Vaart (both suspended) all missing.
Last season really was a story of two halves for La Coruna. Over their first nineteen games they took only 14 points; the second half of the season a very respectable 38 points and only lost once at home. The reason was simple – a defence that improved considerably going from 31 against to 16. We might find out how much of that improvement was down to Fabio Colocinni who has since moved on to Newcastle.
St Etienne vs. Lyon
A fiercely contested derby game in prospect (is there any other kind) although one that has been very one-sided for a long-time. It is fourteen years and sixteen games since St. Etienne tasted victory over rivals Lyon – a 3-0 win in April 1994.
St. Etienne came awfully close last season with Lyon needing a very late strike from Benzema to grab a share of the points. Lyon has made a good start to the season with seven points from three games and has yet to let a goal in. However, the attack has stuttered somewhat with four of their five goals coming from set-pieces.
For Saint-Etienne their start has been less than impressive. A 2-1 win over Sochaux has been bookended with 1-0 losses to Valenciennes and Le Mans, leaving them 15th in Ligue Une.
Celtic vs. Rangers
And taking of derby games we finish with one of the biggest of them all. While Celtic and their supporters can look forward to epic European nights at Parkhead against Manchester United and Villarreal, Rangers are left on the outside looking with no place at the European Inn for them.
Celtic beat Rangers twice last April as part of their SPL run-in. Ultimately Celtic overtook a rapidly tiring Rangers to make it three SPL titles in a row. The two wins brought to an end a run of four straight Rangers wins and Celtic being held scoreless.
However, Celtic has a solid record against Rangers at Parkhead with fourteen wins in their last nineteen meetings.
There will be a number of players making their Old Firm debut (possibly Maurice Edu) or first appearance at Parkhead (DaMarcus Beasley). But the most attention will be paid to the man who has not only crossed the great divide but re-crossed it as well. Kenny Miller is a man of many clubs but no other player has moved to Rangers (from Hibs) then to Celtic (via Wolves) and back to Rangers (through Derby County).
To say Miller’s arrival is controversial and divisive for the Rangers faithful is an understatement but it is not stopping Bet365 offering odds of 25-1 that Miller will score and kiss the badge in celebration.
After sixteen straight days of football we have a two-day break before the semifinals get underway. A chance perhaps to indulge in some observations?
In terms of entertainment and quality this edition of the European Championships far exceeds what was on show four years ago. It’s on par with 2000 but the latter stages of the tournament in Netherlands and Belgium had two fantastic extra time games and one that was not unlike the Spain and Italy (except this time Italy supposedly played with 11 men for the full 120 minutes) game yesterday. The last three games of Euro 2008 will decide where it will ultimately sit in the list of great tournaments.
And that partially segues to the fallout from the last quarterfinal match. Contrasting the column inches and tone of blog posts emanating from North America dedicated to Russia versus Netherlands against Italy versus Spain makes interesting reading and may give an indication of how far the game still has to go in these parts.
It seems to me that more effort has been dedicated to trashing the Italy - Spain game than celebrating and reveling in the quality of the play and the spectacle that was Russia versus the Netherlands.
There are far too many posters and writers overly concerned about the reaction from non-soccer fans and sportswriters in North America. It is if a multitude of North American soccer fans/bloggers/posters decided after yesterday’s game to strap on the cilices and whip themselves bloody before the soccer-haters of North America even had a chance to mobilize.
It is a reaction of a bullied child that would opt to inflict self administered pain rather than allowing the bully the pleasure. It is also the reaction that does nothing to grow the game in North America. It was a poor game yesterday - you get them from time to time and not only in soccer. That’s just the way it is and self-flagellation isn’t going to change anything.
Celebrate the great, praise the beautiful, rejoice that on occasion we get to enjoy 120 minutes of footballing heaven the likes of which we were privileged to see on Saturday. No one every grew anything worthwhile by wallowing in the negative and when you respond to soccer-haters gripes all you are doing at best is reinforcing the darkside. At worst it runs the risk of becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy.
As group winners Portugal, Croatia and Netherlands fell at the first knockout stage you could hear a rising crescendo of “it’s not fair.” Perhaps it’s not fair, but there is nothing that grants a right to go on and win a tournament just because a team starts well.
Tournament play is about pacing, peaking at the right time and taking advantage of the breaks when they come your way. You don’t get bonus points for artistic impression, going unbeaten in the group stage or even qualifying after only two games.
You only have to glance at the history of major tournaments such as the World Cup and the European Championships to see how difficult it is to lead from start to finish (as it is in any competition in any sport). Now and again a country will come along and be able to pull off such a remarkable achievement.
Performances by the likes of Brazil in 1958 and 1970, and France in 1984 are extremely unusual and it is easier to find examples of teams burning intensely in the early stages but flaming out spectacularly while failing to reach their overall goal.
Hungary (1954), Netherlands (1974), Italy (1978), Denmark (1986), Spain multiple times, and the daddy of them all Brazil in 1982 played memorable football in the early going only to fail in the later stages.
Comment(s) of the Day “Previously, Daneiele de Rossi and Alessandro Di Natale had failed for Italy, while Daniel Guiza, of Italy, also had his effort saved.” –Kevin McCarra in the Guardian.
Now that I have seen that it can happen to the best I don’t feel so bad about Fernando Cannavaro!
It was later corrected to read - “Previously Daniele de Rossi and Alessandro Di Natale had failed for Italy, while Daniel Güiza, of Spain, also had his effort saved,” but as of this morning Antonio was still being referred to as Alessandro.
“European football has been at a crossroads for some time but the dull, negative style that won the championship for Greece four years ago – and let's be honest propelled Rangers to the UEFA Cup Final and to a lesser extent served Scotland well in their qualifying group – has been found wanting in the face of a new dawn.
Manchester United showed the way at club level by winning in Moscow and at least four of the quarter-finalists in the current tournament have also seen the light. If ever a tournament has rekindled our enthusiasm for the beautiful game and provided a hopeful vision of the future, this has been it. If we are honest, we must also admit that this vision has been helped by the fact that the home nations were not there to cloud the view.” – Pat Nevin in the Scotsman on Sunday.
Prediction Update With three games to go here is a list of the top fifteen. *Indicates no countries left.
Netherlands Antilles 0-1 Haiti Haiti wins 1-0 on aggregate.
Cuba 4-0 Antigua and Barbuda Cuba wins 8-3 on aggregate.
Guyana 1-2 Suriname Suriname wins 3-1 on aggregate.
Barbados 0-1 United States United States win 9-0 on aggregate.
Costa Rica 3-0 Grenada Costa Rica wins 5-2 on aggregate.
Mexico 7-0 Belize Mexico wins 9-0 on aggregate.
St. Lucia 1-3 Guatemala Guatemala wins 9-1 on aggregate.
Canada 4-1 St Vincent & Grenadines Canada wins 7-1 on aggregate.
You can find the make-up of the groups for the next stage by following the link.
It is poorly laid out but it is supposed to indicate three groups of four with the the top two moving onto a final group round. The top three will qualify and the fourth place side finisher will play-off against the fifth team from South America.
Thank you to all the posters and readers who take the trouble to read the blog each day. A special thanks to some of the new posters who have come to the blog during the Euros. I hope you can stick around.
Quarter Final Spain vs. Italy Preview – Of all the quarter finals this one is the most beautifully and finely balanced. For each Italian ying, you can find a Spanish yang. Recent history in major tournaments suggests a win for Italy, but current form points towards Spain.
If Gianluigi Buffon is the best goalkeeper in the world then Iker Casillas can’t be far behind. I.D. Luca Toni as the definitive target man and scorer and Spanish fans can counter with the speed and strength of David Villa and Fernando Torres.
Cynics might even point out that the both sets of centre backs are on par – each pairing looks good when the ball is at the other end of the park. Spain is likely to be without Carles Puyol and a central defensive pairing of Valencia’s Raul Albiol and Carlos Marchena can only increase the level of confidence……if you are Italian.
There again, you also get the feeling that Christian Panucci and Giorgio Chiellini constitute a make shift solution to a defence that has lacked the composure normally provided by Fabio Cannavaro.
The full backs are another saw-off. At their best Zambrotta and Grosso (Italy) and Ramos and Capdevilla (Spain) can get forward and effectively support the attack from wide positions.
So where will this one be won and lost? Not surprisingly it will be probably come down to who can most effectively control the midfield. There is a difference in how both sides normally line up. Italy favour a 4-3-2-1, Spain 4-1-3-2. For Spain the first-choice defensive midfielder is Marcos Senna and he will prowl the area in front of the back four looking to control (probably) Cassano and Perrotta.
However, the most intriguing contest will be between Italy and Spain’s defensive and attacking midfield trios. Barring surprises Spain will start Xavi and David Silva with Iniesta (who hasn’t had a particularly good tournament so far) or Fabregas.
All three players are comfortable on the ball and are first rate passers – their problem is if it comes down to heavy lifting can they match Ambrossini and De Rossi? Ambrossini would appear to be the logical replacement for the suspended Gennaro Gattuso while Daniele De Rossi, who has enjoyed a great tournament since being left on the bench for the first game against Netherlands, will join him in the engine room.
The suspension of Andrea Pirlo means that Italy needs to find another playmaker to centre Ambrossini and De Rossi and only option is Roma’s Alberto Aquilani. The responsibility will be a test for Aquilani who at 24 next month is the youngest member of Italy’s squad.
His international experience for country and club is limited and we have become use to him being revered to as a future star. If Italy is to move on to the semi finals it may well be that being a star of the future just won't hack it anymore and the future must start today.
Referee: Herbert Fandel, assistants: Carsten Kadach, Volker Wezel (all Germany), fourth official: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)
Spain 0-0 Italy (Spain win 4-2 on penalty kicks) It was a terse, tense and and a largely forgettable one-hundred and twenty minutes with the penalty kick decider providing the only moment of sustained excitement.
While the absence of Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo did not hurt Italy defensively, they certainly missed the playmaking of Pirlo. What he would normally accomplish in one pass was taking two of three today. And when the pass finally arrived at its intended target, Spain had anticipated the danger.
Spain enjoyed the vast majority of possession but with De Rossi and Ambrosini sitting deep their midfield found it difficult to spring Villa and Torres as Italy plugged the passing lanes. And so chances for both sides were extremely limited. Even the substitutions made by both coaches failed to break the predictable pattern.
And so it came down to penalties. De Rossi’s miss gave Spain the upper hand but Buffon’s save from Guiza opened the door for a turnaround. However, Casillas got the better of Di Natale and it was left for Fabregas to sink the fifth and winning penalty for Spain.
Best for Italy on the day were Chiellini and De Rossi while for Spain Silva and Senna worked tirelessly. Spain goes on to play Russia in the semifinal, and for Italy it is Goodnight Vienna.
Comment of the Day “I’ve been reading what foreign journalists say about Holland. There is one recurring story: the Dutch always destroy themselves through infighting, but this time they haven’t yet. This shoddy half-truth misses the point about Dutch football. Holland are good precisely because our players quarrel about football.” – Simon Kuper.
Prediction Update Russia’s win yesterday was more bad news for many of you who posted predictions. Netherlands was a popular pick to make it to at least the semi final stage while those picking Russia to progress that far was limited to two or three. The updated standings will be posted tomorrow at the conclusion of the quarter finals.
Romania took an ultra-extra
cagey approach to this vital match trying to ensure that they didn’t offer Netherlands
a chance to counter attack. By the end of the ninety minutes they had won the
battle but had categorically lost the war.
The safety first approach
worked in the first half as the Netherlands were forced to build their attacks rather
than benefitting from the super quick passing that had caused Italy and France
so much trouble.
However, Netherlands did
have chances with the best falling to Robben but he shot wide with only Lobont
to beat. Boulahrouz of all players was enjoying far too much space when
attacking down the Dutch right and more might have come from a couple of his raids.
Romania’s passing was
inconsistent with far too many sloppy passes or players being caught in
possession. Early in the second half any thoughts Romania may have harboured
about holding back and then pushing for a late winner were crushed when their
sloppy play infected the back four.
The Romanian defence
allowed Afellay to chase down an errant Robben cross completely unmolested. The
Dutch midfielder played the ball back into the box and again the defence failed
to deal with it. This time the ball found Huntelaar and Romania was in trouble.
Needing to up the tempo
Romania was unable to change gears as their passing deteriorated under the
pressure of now having to chase the game. Maruis Niculae who started in place
of his namesake Daniel was a willing front runner but sorely lacking the skills
to bother the Dutch defence.
Mutu was a sporadic
presence as the two received virtually no support from the midfield. The replacement of Maruis by Daniel made no
difference as the Dutch continued to deal with any Romanian threat with a
minimum amount of trouble.
Another goal from the
Dutch, this one from Robin van Persie, only served to highlight the gulf
between these two teams on the day.
Romania go home and leave thinking
of what might have been if only Buffon had been a split second slower or even
a fraction of a second quicker. But even then the game against the Netherlands offered up a second
chance to Romania and they bottled it.
France 0-2 Italy The share of the play
might have been even but Italy should have had France dead and buried before
half time. French supporters can look to the penalty kick awarded against Eric
Abidal and the red card he received as the turning point in this game but there
ominous signs before that moment for
France.
The injury to Franck
Ribery early in the game was another blow to France but even a fully fit Ribery
for ninety minutes would not have mitigated the problems caused by a porous
central defence and a ponderous in midfield.
The lead up to the penalty
decision was a microcosm of France’s early problems. A free kick in the centre circle
was played to Pirlo. With no pressure on him Pirlo had time to look up and clip
a 35-yard pass over the head of Abidal and onto the toe of Toni. Abidal attempted
a tackle was never going to finish up as anything but a dead-cert penalty kick.
Toni was giving the French
defence fits before Abidal’s sending off and he continued after the dismissal.
Grosso also hit the post from a free kick and Perrotta came close to breaking
through. French coach Raymond Domenech’s
decision to withdraw substitute Nasri (he had replaced Ribery) shortly after Abidal’s
red card will be a source of heated discussion amongst French fans. A more fateful
decision was perhaps taken before kick off in opting to deputize full back
Abidal as a centre back.
You can certainly argue
about the merits of centre backs Jean-Alain Boumsong and Sébastien Squillaci. But asking a regular full back to play centre
half when Domenech had two specialist centre-backs available begs the question
why did he bother picking Boumsong and Squillaci to start with?
Daniele
De Rossi’s deflected free kick was the clincher and put the game well beyond
10-man France. De Rossi was excellent throughout and his performance was a
reminder of Donadoni’s mistake in not playing the Roma midfielder against
Netherlands in the first game.
Comment of the Day
"That is the happiest
I have ever been after a match in which I didn't score," Ruud van Nistelrooy
after Holland beat France 4-1.
Prediction Update
LHJS, Sounderfan, knvoetbal
all recorded 100% scores is predicting the outcome of Group B. Sounderfan is
the only poster with a 100% record at the conclusion of the first two groups.
He leads everyone by at least two points.
This was an amazing and
enthralling match that hung in the balance right through to the final whistle. And
in the end Italy and Romania remain in contention for a place in the last eight
come the final round of group play next Tuesday.
Italy has Gianluigi Buffon to
thank for their first point of the tournament and making sure that they
maintained a fragile grip on continued participation. Panucci was got caught red-handed trying to hog tie Niculae for little apparent reason and with ten minutes left Romania got a chance to almost certainly send Italy home.
But the Italian keeper guessed right on a well struck but poorly directed penalty kick from
Adrian Mutu. Buffon got his right hand to the shot which then deflected onto
his trailing leg and clear.
Earlier in the second half
Mutu turned opportunist has he anticipated a header from Zambrotta back to
Buffon. By the time the Italy right back had realized what he had done Mutu had
struck a rising shot behind Buffon and high into the net. It was however a very
short-lived lead as Italy equalized with their next attack.
Giorgio Chiellini intelligently
opted to direct a header down and across the Romanian goal rather than go for
glory and Panucci snuck in at the back
post to tie the game up.
It was almost
inconceivable that this match could reach half time scoreless. Italy set off at
a cracking pace and keyed on the right side of the Romanian defense early.
Contra came in for special attention as Grosso moved forward to support the
Italian attack and Petre instead of playing in midfield found himself
augmenting Contra at right back.
It took fifteen minutes
for Romania to find any attacking intent but once they settled chances were
created in quick succession. Tamas and Mutu had shots well saved by Buffon while
Rat went narrowly wide from a long range effort and a deflected Chivu free kick
came back of the post with the keeper helpless.
The series of close
encounters reinvigorated Italy and the first half finished with Lobent making a
couple of fantastic saves before being beaten by a Toni header. Fortunately for
Romania the assistant referee’s flag went up for offside; replays showed that Toni
was not offside.
The best game of the
tournament so far in my book and the Group of Death, for once, has lived up to
the pre-billing.
France 1-4 Netherlands
It was the sort of day
that you want to bottle and preserve only to be opened when you need reminding
of how compelling, beautiful and thrilling this sport can be. While Italy and
Romania produced an opening act that threatened to one up the main attraction,
the Netherlands and France rose to the challenge and produced a display for the
ages.
A look at the final score
might lead you to conclude that this was a terrible performance by the French. But
rather this was a case of an astonishing performance from the Dutch. Think the
World Cup Final of 1970 when Brazil beat Italy 4-1. Was Italy that bad? The
truth is it didn’t matter because on that day Brazil was just so brilliant it
did not matter who wore the other jerseys.
And so it was today as the
Dutch put on a master class of passing, movement, shooting and finishing that was
quite breathtaking. While 4-2-4 made way for 4-3-3, then 4-4-2 and now 4-5-1 or
4-2-3-1 the basic premise of attacking and defending has remained stunningly
simple. When you attack you want to create space, when you defend you want to
shrink the space. A simple concept yes,
but something that is exceedingly difficult to pull-off - especially when the
opposition is constantly trying to counter.
It was concept that the Dutch executed today to perfection as they sliced open a
French midfield with a display of passing that was devastating. No ten yard
square passes to slow the tempo ala Makelele. The Dutch bypassed the French
midfield with passes that changed defence to attack in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile,
the French midfield with two anchors (Makelele and Toulalan), that should in
theory have been the perfect foil to the Dutch counter attack was left gasping
and chasing shadows.
Netherlands back to back
wins against the World Cup winners and runners up from only two years and by a
clear three goals each time is unprecedented in my memory. The question for the
Dutch is what do they do for an encore? France and Italy both
remain alive with the winner of Tuesday match also needing the Dutch to maintain
their undefeated streak when they face Romania in order to move on.
What a day.
Man of the match - Rafael van der Vaart. Amongst a number of very honourable mentions Ruud van Nistelrooy. Can't play as a lone striker? Hmmm.
Comment of the Day
"If someone talks about my
private life, for example, I'll give them a good punching. I'm not interested
in suing. I like to sort things out my way" - Luiz Felipe Scolari.
Group C Only France and Germany have won the Henri Delaunay Trophy more than once. The French won as hosts in 1984 and again in 2000. There were a number of occasions when the 2000 win could have turned out very differently. Spain’s Raul could have sent the the quarter final into extra time but missed a last minute penalty for Spain and France won 2-1.
The semi final against Portugal was decided in favour of France by an extra time golden penalty kick from Zidane. And in final Italy was only seconds away from winning when Sylvain Wiltord equalized sending the game into extra time. David Trezeguet then scored a golden goal winner just before the break.
How they qualified France’s two losses to Scotland made the headlines but once all was said and done the French still scored more goals (25) and conceded fewer (5) in finishing second by three points to Italy in Group 8. Thierry Henry was France’s leading scorer with six goals.
The Coach Outspoken and eccentric Raymond Domenech continues to prove the old adage about never underestimating an over achiever. Domenech succeeded Jacques Santini after France lost in the last eight of Euro 2004 to the eventual winners Greece.
Although France made heavy weather of World Cup qualification and the first two games of the finals against Switzerland and South Korea they did reach the World Cup Final before losing on penalties to Italy.
His selections are rarely anything but controversial and he has done it again setting off a heated debate after leaving the likes of Djibril Cisse, Philippe Mexes, Mathieu Flamini (recalled later as cover for a Patrick Vieira) and Hatem Ben Arfa out of the final squad of twenty-three named last week.
Key Players Karim Benzema does not have the name recognition of some of his illustrious team mates but over the next decade this youngster could become one of the world’s best players. Don’t be surprised if Domenech uses him sparingly but given a chance the 20-year-old could turn a game or two France’s way.
Franck Ribery impressed everyone in Germany two summers ago and a move to Bayern Munich last year led to him being named Bundesliga Player of the Year. Ribery has skill, close control, pace and creativity in a package that makes even the best defenders fear him.
Great Euro Memory Two second half goals from Platini and Bellone gave France a 2-0 win over Spain in the 1984 final in Paris. The 90th minute clincher from Bruno Bellone was the fourteenth goal scored by France in the tournament finals and the only goal scored by a French striker.
Synopsis Every tournament has to have a GROUP OF DEATH and for Euro 2008 Group C is it. When you look at the players available to Domenech it is impossible to dismiss France as legitimate challengers for the trophy. They have talent in every area but a nagging feeling persists that they may find it difficult to breakdown a resolute defence – ala Scotland.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Austria, Romania, Serbia, Lithuania and Faroe Islands will be the opposition in Group 7.
Italy has now made it to the last four finals and won the tournament in 1968.
How they qualified After an opening game home draw to Lithuania and a loss in Paris to France Italy then rattled off a sequence of nine wins and a draw to win Group 8 by three points over France and five points ahead of third place Scotland. With five goals Luca Toni led the scoring for Italy.
The Coach Roberto Donadoni has achieved something that Italy failed to do after winning the 1982 World Cup and that is reaching the following European Championships finals.
Key Players Luca Toni may have only scored twice in Germany in 2006 but he was pivotal to Italy’s success. A massive player -both in size and in temperament.
The reigning bad boy of Italian football Antonio Cassano is in Donadoni’s squad and all eyes will be on how both deal with a situation that may be inherently unstable. Cassano was the only bright spot for Italy four years ago in Portugal but missed out on the 2006 World Cup after falling out with everyone except the baker, the butcher and the pizza-maker.
There is a quality to the Italian squad that few can match.
Great Euro Memory The Championship win in 1968 against Yugoslavia after a replay takes pride of place. Down by one to a first half Dragan Dzajic goal with around ten minutes to play, Domenghini’s equalizer took the final to a replay. Goals from Luigi Riva and Pietro Anastasi saw Italy lift the trophy in the rematch.
Synopsis Enter the tournament as World Champions although they were not assured of qualification until they had faced Scotland in the last group game. A
A team that should probably be building for a title defence in two years in South Africa but Coach Roberto Donadoni has generally stuck to experience with a significant number of World Cup winners returning two years on.
The trio of Antonio Di Natale, Marco Borriello, and Fabio Quagliarella does however offer the coach some interesting options up front. No one would be surprised if Italy won the tournament but by the same token a traditionally slow start in the anointed GROUP OF DEATH could prove very costly.
Coming Up in World Cup Qualifying Drawn in Group 8 with Bulgaria, Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Georgia and Montenegro.
Cardiff’s Aaron Ramsey might be the story of Saturday’s FA Cup Final.
Another angle? The Cardiff squad
has a significant Scottish presence. If you are looking for an omen it
was a Scot, Hughie Ferguson, who scored the winner eighty-one years ago
to beat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final.
Nwankwo Kanu is setting up a foundation to offer help to African players.
Foolishmoose - I have a tough one for you. Since the majority of my TV time is spent watching FSC, Setanta, GOL and ESPN Soccer programming, and with to my knowledge only ESPN carrying HD, but the minimum amount of soccer programming, my question is, do you have any inside info on when FSC may go HD?
Bobby – Sorry, I do not have a clue what is planned. What’s more I am not looking forward to that day. My imperfections will show up!!!
JayAlves – It’s going to be an interesting transfer season. Kudos to Spurs for firing the first shot and setting the tone as the season isn't even over and teams are going to have to line up their targets quicker or be left in the cold.
Bobby – I find it interesting that the move was made before the European Championships. A good summer tournament would have boosted the price considerably you would have thought.
RonW - Next year I believe they're increasing the number of substitutes who can suit up in the EPL... what effect do you think it will have on the games(if any, besides being better for the big spending/squad teams)?
Bobby – As long as the number that can be used sticks at three I really can’t see how will make much of an impact. Coaches who have been tempted not to name a goalkeeper will no longer have an excuse. Maybe the Premiership missed an opportunity to encourage a little bit more youth development by insisting that at least two of the seven named substitutes be under-21.
Gregz - 1. Bobby, what do you think of Fernando Gago? In recent weeks he has been putting on some remarkable performances for Real Madrid 2. Lots have been said about Hatem Ben Arfa maybe going to Arsenal. If it were to happen do U think he would make it? I'm thinking he is a bit light weight and every summer Arsenal's midfield players get smaller.
Bobby – 1. I have not watched Real Madrid the last two weekends so I can’t really comment on Gago’s recent performances. From what I have seen of him previously I would have said his performances have been underwhelming.
2. How many times has Arsenal been linked with a player they have actually signed? Eduardo, Adebayor, Rosicky, Hleb, Sango? I don’t remember of any of these being on the radar screen prior to signing so I would not put too much reliance on reports of Arsenal’s supposed transfer targets until a deal is actually done.
As for being light weight – he’s played as a striker (and on the left side) so he can’t be that soft can he? As for summer transfer targets I’ll throw out the name of Luis Suarez as someone one of the big clubs might move for this summer.
Thierry_Henry - I don't know if you watched Liverpool v. Birmingham on the weekend. But the 2nd Birmingham goal should never have counted. Jahidi was in between the wall and the goal keeper wanting to make it difficult for the keeper to view where the ball is headed. In that case I think he was interfering with play, even if the free kick went right in. Therefore he was offside. What's your take on it?
Bobby – I did watch the game and the referee’s decision was correct. First of all you have to consider the meaning of “interfering” and the regulations provide a clear definition. In terms of interfering with play a player is judged as such if he plays or touches the ball “passed or touched by a team-mate”. As Jahidi did not receive the ball then he cannot have been interfering with play.
Then it is a case of whether or not he was interfering with an opponent. “Interfering with an opponent means preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or movements or making a gesture or movement which, in the opinion of the referee, deceives or distracts an opponent.”
Larsson hit the ball from well outside the penalty box. Reina’s view of Larsson was never hindered or obstructed – you can see that clearly from the camera view from behind the net. The Birmingham player didn’t make a gesture or movement. The goal was rightfully given.
Jahmikes - 1. I think Arsenal's main weak spot is defense and have my opinions, can you give an analysis of our starting defenders and the bench ones, mine is we have a good starting 4 but on the bench we look awful sparse from Traore who was underutilized.
2. Do you think the recall of Vela will become Wenger's answer to his wing problems? I see him and Walcott becoming our version of Nani and Ronaldo.
3. I felt that Torres should have received player of the year due to the many external and internal challenges he faced in his season. Ronaldo's ability is without question but being in a stable team made it much easier for him to shine, wouldn’t you agree?
4. What’s your verdict for tomorrow? I think Ferguson is playing a risky game. He used similar tactics against Roma in the semi's and was able to go through because Roma had no real strike force up front to capitalize on their attacks, Barcelona is a team built to score goals, and if Ferguson plays an open game they will score, if he plays defense it will be a stale mate with Barca going through.
Bobby – 1. Biggest problem is dealing with crosses and high balls down the middle. I don’t see much wrong at full back except perhaps trying to cut down on the balls getting into the box. I don’t see the problem as a lack of depth if your central two are not dominant enough. Fix the first problem before you consider depth.
2. What wing problem and with the exception of Marc Overmars when has Arsène Wenger ever played wingers? Arsenal looks to get width from full backs not wingers. Pinning your hopes on a 19 year-old who has not kicked a ball in English football sounds desperate to me. There is nothing to indicate that Wenger is suddenly going to dump his system to incorporate two rampaging teenage wingers. (I’m not even convinced that Vela and Walcott are going to be wingers in the long-term.)
3. No I wouldn’t agree. The award is supposed to go the best player not the best player in an on-going transatlantic soap opera.
4. I have looked into the crystal ball and I can see United winning 1-0 with Paul Scholes scoring a scorching goal around the 14th minute after Zambrotta makes a hash of a pass. As for Barcelona being built to score goals – this version must have been built on a Monday after a boozy weekend.
LGB -1. Which team (in any top league) has been the most disappointing this season? 2. Do you believe Mourinho will end up in Barca, Madrid or Milan (blue or red)? 3. What do you make of Ballack and Drogba's on-the-field spat? Not much has been made of it because of United's antics and, of course, Chelsea won but is this kind of competitive edge what you need in a game like this, especially at such a crucial time? 4. What do you make of seedings in tournaments such as World Cup, Euro Championships and Euro Cup? Worth it or worthless? 5. How many goals do you see Liverpool needing to score at the Bridge for them to progress? How many for Barca at OT? 6. Final question: Why in the world is the PFA player of the year award handed out before the season is over?
Bobby –1. Barcelona.
2. Yes……or some other team.
3. I thought it was very funny. It was playground stuff.
4. It makes sense to me for a number of reasons. There are also different sort of seedings – there is rankings and also the system that makes sure you don’t draw three CONCACAF teams in the same World Cup Final group.
5. Two for Liverpool. And one for Barcelona!!!!
6. I don’t know and neither do I know why the voting takes place around February.
Jahmikes - How many goals has Arsenal conceded from set plays? And what’s their rank in this statistic?
Bobby – Arsenal 11 of 31. I don’t know how they rank but here are the others from the top six. Aston Villa 14/47; Chelsea 11/25; Everton 12/31; Liverpool 18/27; Manchester United 6/21.
ReggaeGunner - Who's been the best RB for the 07/08 season throughout Europe? I've seen quite a lot of matches still trying to come to a final conclusion.
Bobby – How about Maicon?
Redfan4ever – 1. As the season draws to a close and we all reflect on what has been, I was a wondering what for you have been the best, say top three, highlights of season from the various leagues (not cups) you watch around the world? 2. Norman Hunter was related to Ron Harris and Tommy Smith in some weird way was he not?
Bobby – 1. I will go with these three. Chelsea and Spurs sharing 8 goals in the Premiership. Fiorentina’s 3-2 win over Juventus. Villarreal’s 4-3 away win against Atletico Madrid.
2. Chiseled from the same piece of granite.
Redfan4ever – 1. If Chelsea fork out 55 million for Kaka, who would you see them using as a holding midfielder? 2. Also, do you think they would be able keep Lampard and Ballack happy if Kaka arrives? 3. Do you think Drogba is on the way out this summer especially after his temperamental attitude with Ballack over a free kick and his general demeanor against the Mancs last weekend? I do not think he is happy at all.
Bobby – 1. The same one they were going to use anyway – Mikel.
2. Neither appears to have been particularly happy since Ballack arrived so adding Kaka to mix will not improve the situation.
3. Drogba has been unhappy since Mourinho left so I would not read too much into the Drogba/Ballack tantrums as being some sort of turning point.
LGB - I like the offside rule that is going on right now. If we go back to the other way then we'll get goals like Roy Keane's getting ruled out in the 99 FA Cup semifinal.
Keep the rule the same as it is now. I like the fact that goalies can be "distracted". They are protected way too much as it is.
Bobby - You make a good point. Confusing a keeper is not the same as distracting him.
AlbertaGooner – Who was your team of the season?
Bobby – I’ll wait for the post season to list mine I think.
thewobengonboy - Recently Martin Samuel asked the punters to put forward selection recommendations for Fabio Capello. I was slightly surprised that no one went to bat for Tom Huddlestone. I have seen performances where, on his day, he looks like a poor man's Andrea Pirlo with his range of passing, and seems worthy of a look in an England squad where Beckham is clearly past his best. How do you rate him? Additionally, has Juande Ramos done him any favors by trying him out in defense?
Bobby – He has a great touch and is a very good passer of the ball. His lack of pace and mobility is a problem and that would be a bigger problem at the international level. Huddlestone played a good number of games at Derby in central defense before he moved to Spurs and it might well become his accepted position.
Thierry_Henry - 1 - Given the British malaise of not finishing project in timely manner, i.e.: Wembley stadium, London airport terminal death row, sorry, Heathrow... are you surprised on how smooth the construction of the Emirates stadium went?
2 - Do you think Tottenham Hotspurs will avoid relegation next season?
Bobby – 1. Amazed. Just wait for the Daddy of them all – the 2012 Summer Olympics. It will make the costs overruns for Montreal 1976 look like petty cash. 2. Yes – along with Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton, Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United…….
Roseboy64 - Eriksson to be sacked.....What are your opinions?
Bobby – Thirteen points up on last season’s position with two games left - difficult to justify him being fired. Only explanation is Sven becoming another victim of an egomaniac owner.
No doubt Sven will walk away with another big cheque and he does have his new TV career to fall back on this time. However, I think he does have to work on his camera presence – he seems a bit “wooden” – almost puppet-like - at times.
Ringo - Will Hamilton be allowed to play home games at home next season? I see their ground holds 5,400 will that be enough to keep the SPL happy?
Bobby – They have a Field turf artificial surface at the moment and it is being replaced this summer with under soil heating and a proper grass surface. I don’t know what the situation is with the capacity but my understanding is that the SPL has signed off on Hamilton’s plans.
MasMaz - When do we get your team of the season?
Bobby – At the end of the season and probably with a twist.
Thierry_Henry - Is Rijkaard done? He did not show any desire to win today. Starting Henry on the bench was fatal from what I believe. What's your take?
Bobby – His time was up well before today. He has come to the end of the normal life-cycle of a manager.
Zuco2 -Looking at the recent "achievement" of Zenit in the UEFA cup, does it mean that the Russian League is perhaps a stronger league then we might think?
Bobby – It depends on who “we” are. When CSKA Moscow was on route to their UEFA Cup win of 2005 I suggested that Russian clubs would soon be making their mark in Champions League.
To date that hasn’t happened so from my perspective the Russian teams have been disappointing over the last three seasons in Europe. There is money behind the teams and they have brought in some excellent talent. At the moment they are punching below their weight.
I really do not know what to make of this. On a weekend when I don’t write a preview the blog gets two hundred plus postings!!! I don’t ever remember hitting a number as high as that even during the World Cup. Am I really needed? Thanks for all the contributions over the last three days – fantastic stuff.
The Gretna fairytale has turned into something much darker as reality set in.
Before step-overs in English football there were comb-overs and Ralph Coates had one of the most famous.
Spurs had some of their legendary players in attendance at the Carling Cup Final. But one legend was tragically struck down in his prime. As a youngster John White’s death was a “Kennedy moment” for me only months after the original “Kennedy moment.”
A piece on Sky’s Jeff Stelling who we see from time to time in North America.
Monday Topic This goes back to the sending off of Marco Materazzi on Tuesday for Inter against Liverpool after receiving two yellow cards. There seems to be a general consensus that by the rules the referee was probably correct but that the eventual punishment seemed harsh.
The “two soft yellow cards and you are off” predicament has been bothering me for a while. On one level tugging on a shirt or holding a player back is cheating and robbing the fans of excitement and entertainment. Same thing goes for time wasting. On another level does the punishment really fit the crime?
And then I found myself reading the latest copy of Champions. The final article is an interview with 1970 World Cup winner Tostao. One of the questions that he was asked was whether he saw the need for drastic rule changes in the game.
He suggested three areas. The first was am electronic chip in the ball to indicate whether or not the ball crossed the line. The second was that it should be forbidden to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper – not just with the feet.
The third suggestion I thought was the most interesting. He said, “I would limit the number of fouls by a player and by a team with a light punishment – perhaps forcing the offending player to be substituted.”
Perhaps that is an option in the case of “two soft yellow cards and you are off” predicament. Why not have the offending player substituted? He’s out of the game and the coach loses a possible substitution – but the team still has 11 men on the field.
If all the substitutions have been made then the team is forced to play with one less player. What do you think or do you have some other creative options?
African Cup of Nations After going four-for-four in the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations it was just too good to last and although both my semi final picks have made it through to a final game it has turned out to be for third place rather than the actual final.
Although Ghana enjoyed an edge in the play a lack of sharpness in the penalty box cost them a place in the final. Cameroon was bound to create and take a chance and sure enough it happened. Apart from the goal an outstanding moment was Geremi's 30+ yard free kick that hit the junction of the bar and the post - an absolute cracking shot.
I thought the Egyptian back four looked a bit perturbed by the physical play on Angola’s Manucho in the quarter finals and felt that Drogba would cause the defense nightmares. As it turned out the defense played exceptionally well and overall I thought the Egyptians were outstanding for ninety minutes.
They got a couple of breaks from deflections but even so they showed as a well drilled and composed side that were worth their 4-1 win. However, I would be amiss not to mention the rocket of a shot from Keita cutting in from the left that looked to have got the Ivory Coast back in the game.
After handling Cameroon in the group stage and then the semi final victory over the Ivory Coast, Egypt will start as favourites to take their 6th African Cup of Nations title. At the risk of hexing Egypt I will take them to win 2-1.
Serie A One of the best games in prospect in Serie A is Juventus at Udinese. Udinese have only one win in their last six games and are slipping down the table. On the other hand Juventus is unbeaten in their last twelve games but six draws in the run means that although they remain in third position their points total has suffered.
When compared to Inter and Roma Juventus have slipped behind by 8 points and 3 points respectively. If history is a pointer then this game is good news for Juventus. Juventus has only lost three times in 33 visits.
Bundesliga The Bundesliga may have only been back for one week but the second round of the second half has a thrown up a top of the table clash between leaders Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen. Werder went into the winter break tied on points with Bayern but an unexpected loss to Bochum last week (the first Bochum win at Bremen in 31 tries) means they trail the Munich side by three points.
Bayern defensive home record is impressive with only two goals conceded in eight games. However, three draws means that their home points total does not necessarily reflect their defensive dominance.
On the other hand Werder Bremen’s away form has been poor with only 12 points from 8 games. Diego is Werder Bremen’s leading scorer with 9 to date and he is tied at the top of the Bundesliga scoring charts with Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose. Werder Bremen has also been buoyed by the return of Croatian international striker Ivan Klasnic after a second and this time successful kidney transplant.
La Liga The top game in Spain would appear to pit Sevilla against Barcelona. Sevilla is up to 7th position but is still making heavy weather of this season. As a precaution they also announced this week that they will take part in the Intertoto Cup if necessary in order to find a route to next season’s UEFA Cup.
Fabiano is having an outstanding season and has more than carried the goal scoring load so far this season with 16 goals to Freddie Kanoute’s 8. Previous to signing for Sevilla in 2005 Fabiano had been a bust at Rennes in France (2000) and then after returning to Brazil he signed for Porto in 2004. With a record of only 5 goals in 20 plus games he was not considered a success in Portugal. But since moving to Sevilla he has now made over 100 appearances and has scored around a goal every two matches.
Barcelona, on the other hand, has spread their scoring around with 13 different players contributing at least a goal so far this season.
Premiership What are the chances of getting through the minute of silence at Old Trafford without a Neanderthal contributing to the occasion? Not very good I am guessing. City has not had much success at Old Trafford and you have to go back to 1974 for their last league win.
It was the game decided by Denis Law’s back heeler with only a couple of minutes left. United fans then invaded the field, the game was abandoned, the result stood and six years after winning the European Cup Manchester United was relegated. Law’s goal is often described as one that relegated United but the fact is that United would have gone down anyway.
Although City is winless in 34 years and obviously without a win in ten Premiership visits they have drawn four times when visiting Old Trafford on Premiership business. City’s form has dropped off and when you look at the points they have garnered in blocks of five games it becomes quite clear - (from start of season) 9 pts, 13 pts, 8 pts, 6 pts, 5 pts.
Chelsea is hoping to extend their unbeaten home record and based on Liverpool’s record over the last number of years at Stamford Bridge it is a record that looks like being extended. Liverpool has been blanked on their last seven visits to Stamford Bridge and has only scored two goals in the last 12 visits in all competitions.
The only current Liverpool player to have scored at Stamford Bridge is Sammi Hyypia and Liverpool has only one win in 14 Premierships trips to Stamford Bridge. Over the last six league games Chelsea has picked up 16 points (best in the Premiership) against Liverpool’s record of four draws combined with a loss and a win – only good for 12th in the current form table.
So you have Chelsea riding the crest of a wave in terms of their recent premiership form against a team that they have largely owned in Premiership meetings at Stamford Bridge. Looks like a banker home win but this might just be the match that brings Chelsea’s unbeaten home run to an end.
There was a comment on the previous blog from travel coach.
“I've seen Bobby has no love for the England team -- though I do and support Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland whenever they play -- but I feel the need to rant about our abysmal performance--beginning with the $25 we had to pay to watch the game (so I missed it live)!”
Normally I let this sort of remark go but being in a particularly foul mood this morning I don’t think I will let this one pass. First of all any Scottish (Welsh or Irish) view of English football is ambiguous. Being the small neighbor there is the reality of living in the shadow of a larger, more powerful and richer neighbor. Travel coach you may support (I notice that you don’t love) Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland but you are an exception if you actually take an interest in the game in these countries.
It is rarely the case in reverse. If you are a football fan in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland it is almost impossible not to have a lively and long standing interest in English football. For years our best players have played in the English league to the point that up until fifteen years ago it was almost inconceivable that a good English club side might not contain key players from the other three UK countries.
The performance of the English national team has always been given more prominence particularly around World Cup and European Championship time. However, much of that coverage is insular, myopic and in many cases xenophobic.
The problem comes when someone dares to criticize the English team. Many English fans are ill-equipped to come to a carefully considered opinion of their side and so criticism is often met with open hostility and an attempt to belittle. (It is usually the case that the people most openly hostile to comments are the ones that are the most critical when things do actually implode. Where is the "England must have an English manager" crowd now?)
The issue is not whether I love the English team or not. The issue is whether I am providing a fair and rationale assessment of the English team and performance. Based on my comments prior to the last World Cup and views on the hiring of Steve McClaren I am happy to allow others to come to their own conclusions.
Part 2
Passion - England (and often Scotland's) answer to any football problem. Could someone please explain to me why so many British fans seem to believe that passion is some sort of differentiator between British sides and foreign teams?
How does that square with the foreign (particularly Latin) stereotype of being hot tempered and dare I say overly "passionate"? Isn't the constant use of the word "passion" just another way of saying technically inferior and the only way that it can be covered up is running around more and trying harder? It may work in the short term but it has a limited shelf life.
Doesn't it strike everyone as a bit odd that while British fans worship at the altar of passion that it is other countries - who apparently are not so passionate - produce teams that win the WC and European championships?
The commitment to passion leads to the an over emphasis being placed of players that may be poor but try hard to the exclusion of players that are skilled but are seen as a liability because they don't show passion.
The media in the UK doesn't help either. With a few exceptions it continues to be distrusting of anything foreign and coaching to name only two.
How many times have you heard a commentator make a remark about a foreign signing - "they will soon find out that there are no easy games in the Premiership." What rubbish. First of all the idea that the Premiership is the only competitive league in the world is nonsense. Second it perpetuates the myth that somehow the rest of world lacks a competitive spirit.
And it is not only the English media. I heard one on the week
