Should Mourinho stay or go?

There is no doubt about it, managing a club like Real Madrid, seems to be like no other job in football, where what might look like the team itself has been having, up until now, a successful season, first in La Liga, record number of points for the Champion League group stage and a seven point league advantage over the best team in the World and fiercest rivals, FC Barcelona, there are still doubts over the work that José Mourinho has done at the club since he took over. So, given the history of Real Madrid being a club to take strange decisions, Del Bosque and Capello spring to mind, how long will it be that Mourinho himself either says enough is enough or the President Florentino Perez, starts to listen to the fans who recently were calling for his head, and lets another high profile manager go through the gates of the Santiago Bernabéu.

It seems that the supporters of Real Madrid seem a bunch who are difficult to please, but are they correct in being so? Well, yes, if the history of the club is looked at, with thirty one leagues and nine Champions Leagues won throughout its history, then yes success is something which the fans at Real Madrid are accustomed to, but if you look at the amount of titles they have won in their recent era, then the criticism of Mourinho and the team cannot be seen as just.

Remember this is a team where managers were coming and going left, right and center and Mourinho is the first manager since Del Bosque (1999 – 2002) who has stayed at the club for more than one season, an amazing fact and the constant change of managers at a football team can only mean one thing! They did not win trophies, although with Real Madrid this is not always the case, again Bosque and Capello sit on the tip of the tongue.

Mourinho, in his first season won the Copa del Rey, and looks on course to win the League this season, taking into account the points difference they have, and the lack of competitively in the Spanish league at the moment. Yes, the games against FC Barcelona are a minus, but in the most recent clasico, Mourinho played his strongest attacking team and easily matched FC Barcelona in that one and for most of the match dominated, so maybe the tide will be about to change in that perspective. Mourinho is an accomplished, intelligent and successful manager, and you don’t have the successes he has had throughout Europe by being nobody´s fool or as they say in Spanish ´No tener pelo de tonto´.

The fans in Real Madrid have to be careful, as shown before, when things are not going how Mourinho wants, he will easily leave when he wants, but if they want him to stay then I can see this Real Madrid team forming to become Spanish Champions and Champion’s League winners in what remains of his four year contract with “Los Merengues”.

One thing is for sure, for Madrid to regain the past glories, they need Mourinho, more than He needs them, and well, what is Madrid’s loss, will ultimately be a big club in England’s gain.

Published in Total Football Magazine the 26/2/2012 -  http://www.totalfootballmag.com/features/world-football/should-mourinho-stay-or-go/

How long will this great Barcelona team last?

Great teams come and go, as well, as managers, players, directors, coaches etc, and football, like life is one big evolutional cycle where things are constantly changing and nothing lasts forever. What can be described as probably one of the greatest teams (if not the best) in history, Barcelona, who have been able to mix success with playing a brand of football that has been anything but mesmerizing , and do it so well, that they have dominated Spanish and European football in the process; as well as being the envy of most teams throughout the world of football.
At the moment are showing no signs of letting up, and the question which seems to be circulating in football a lot these days, is for how long can this team continue to play the kind of football they have made famous, and also to keep enjoying the success (which is represented in the trophies they have won recently) that has come so frequently since the appointment of Pep Guardiola as manager with twelve trophies in three years being a statistic that speaks for itself and that doesn’t need further interpretation.

Start of an era

The appointment of Guardiola as manager in 2008, at that time, was seen by many as surprising, with many names being rumored, with one of those being Jose Mourinho, the current Real Madrid manager, something which now, seems impossible that will ever happen, being that he is Real Madrid manager and that he has somewhat of a turbulent relationship with the clubs fans.

At the time, the previous manager, Frank Rijkaard, seemed to be running out of ideas, and the club needed someone new, with a different perspective, to regain the title back from Real Madrid, who indeed won it in what was to be Rijkaards last season at the helm of the club.

Guardiola was given that task after managing the clubs B team, in what proved to be a short but successful stint, managing to help the team get into the second tier of the Spanish league. If anyone epitomizes Barcelona, then it is Guardiola, and that even though as mentioned before it was surprising, he is after all Barcelona through and through, he seems to tick all the boxes, Catalan, Catalan speaker, learnt his football in the famous “Masia”, played through all the ranks at the club, played most of his career with Barcelona and was captain for most of this time, lifting the European cup for the club, in what was the first in their history.

One of the most determining factors that seemed to influence the decision, of the then board, which included ex president Joan Laporta, to appoint him was indeed, most of these things, and also most importantly he understood the values of the club and football ideals that were put in place through Cruyff, based on the famous Dutch method of Total Football.

Dutch influence

Since the days of Cruyff, when he was manager of the club, and successfully won the European cup in 1992 with the dream team, Barcelona have been famous for its constant use of the 4-3-3 system, with it been used on a regular basis throughout the years by various managers, with the basis of playing short, passing football with lots of movement and the possibility for players to interchange positions without it being detrimental to the style of the team.

The simple, effective, and draining effect that this style of play has on teams, with teams having to put all their energies into trying to recuperate the ball, has been a joy to watch for football purists and those who don’t have much of a know how to the game, therefore attracting new fans of the game, and being given the chance to watch football in its most purest form. This style of football, which Guardiola has instilled into his team, has even managed to be awarded its own name, tiky taka, something which, all those years ago, of whom Cruyff, was a linchpin for, achieved the same feat, with Ajax´s and Holland brand of football on this occasion, being given the name of Total football.

Guardiola, has done though, what all aspiring coaches in the game should do, he has used his in-depth knowledge of this brand of football, and created his own style, by making minor tweaks in certain places, which have added a new dimension to the style. First of all, after he took over Barcelona, and before he could impose his view of how he wanted the team to play, he had to bring in those players who he thought were appropriate and could fit in easily and do the job he would ask of them, and get rid of those, who he thought, maybe were past it, in football terms and definitely in relation to their spells at Barcelona, and that would not compliment his style and philosophy of play.

A few big names were shown the door on that first summer in charge for Guardiola, Ronaldinho, Deco among those shown the door, and those brought in, were Danny Alves, Pedro, and Pique.

These new signings along with the addition of players from the B team, that Guardiola had previous experience of, from his tenure there, allowed Barca to build on total football and combine other elements into their play.

Total football and more

Barcelona’s play is all about passing and movement but there is one aspect of their tactics which has become almost as important as this. This is pressurizing the opposing team high up in their own half of the field so as to deny them space to get the ball down and play football. This tactic is based on the aspect of forcing the opposition into making a mistake, therefore upon this error, they will receive the ball and then move it quickly so that the opposing team has no time to make the transition from attack to defense, something that Barcelona are able to do with the upmost effectiveness.

The wide men don’t track back so if possession is lost then there is always an outlet to give the ball to, especially if one of the opposing full backs decides to go forward and join in the attack.

In modern football, and in the last ten or so years, there has been great emphasis on a defensive midfielder to break up the other teams attacks. Sergio Busquets in this aspect, performs this task very well, and with the growing emphasis being that this player has the ability to start attacks off, and give the ball quickly to the ball players, then his undoubted value to the team is second to none, as he has these abilities and more, with also being able to interchange with Xavi and Iniesta, to move the ball quickly with pace and precision, building on those aspects of total football as talked about before.

Xavi and Iniesta in the middle of the park, and also with the flexibility that the formation allows them, to drift and take up positions all over the pitch, meaning that there are always players available to pass the ball to. This of course, makes the possession bar look very favorable on the part of Barcelona in their matches but also adds another aspect, as the opposition can spend long periods of time chasing the ball and therefore wasting lots of energy, which can be taking advantage of later on in games.

So much so, that Barcelona look like they play in sync, in every game, looking like a well-oiled machine, with full backs encouraged to join in in attacks, centre backs able to step out with the ball and integrate as well, wingers taking on fullbacks and getting balls into the box and committing defenders, and this is also without the mention of the world player of the year, Lionel Messi, who scores on average thirty odd goals per season, as well, as countless assists to his teammates. The details are amazing, and it’s no reason that the last few years at Barcelona have been the most successful in their history and many see them as the best team in the world at the moment and probably in the history of the game.

Jose Mourinho era in Real Madrid

One of the ways in which the supremacy of Barcelona could be taken away in Spain and Europe, is Real Madrid. Since the arrival of Mour-inho (who spent time at Barcelona as coach and translator to ex man-ager Bobby Robson), Real Madrid have evolved into a TEAM, some-thing missing through previous managers, and this season have started to impress more because of their results and style of play.

Last season, at times they played spectacular football, but sometimes looked to have lots more in reserve with Mourinho seeming to hold back and play for results, which is good, but in a team as historic as Real Madrid where they have been known throughout their history for attractive football, the fans of the club seemed to be growing a little disgruntled with the style of football that they were playing.

This season is a different story though, as the tentative style that was encouraged last season, seeming to be a thing of the past and the team has played a mix of pretty, effective and stylish football, with an em-phasis of pressing high up the pitch when without the ball, very similar to Barcelona.

It also needs to be taken into consideration that Mourinho’s teams tend to play better their second year than their first, so if they did break their trophy duck last season by winning the Copa del Rey, then maybe this season, could be the season to try to put a stop to Barcelona’s domination In Spain and Europe, going on the point that has been highlighted in relation to teams Mourinho has trained in the past.

The pretenders

So the question is who can stop them? As discussed before Real Madrid seems to be the main takers in this aspect, definitely in Spain as the top two seem to be a forgone conclusion in that area, as no one outside of these two seem to have the team and resources to compete.

In Europe, England provides the biggest hurdle, with the Manchester teams and Chelsea being those who could threaten their grip on the Champions league, although, United seem to be the main contenders, but as has been seen in two finals in the space of three years between the teams, Barcelona have had no real problems with United or any other English teams in the competition in the last few years.

Elsewhere, the big two in Italy this season seem to be having a disaster so taking this into consideration, in this aspect and anywhere on the continent there doesn’t seem to be any big threats so probably these can be discounted from the equation.

The biggest threat seems to be therefore Real Madrid, who will push them hard this season on both fronts, Spain and Europe, and of course, all will depend on the desire of Pep (Guardiola) to keep signing on for more than one year, if the success of the club is to be continued.

There is one thing for sure though, and that’s that at the minute they are the best and the team that all others should aspire to be and who should try to play like.

Move to homeland working out for Ronaldinho

When players reach the latter days of their career, and have been plying their trade on foreign playing fields for the most of it, it seems quite inevitable that they should go on to finish their careers in their home countries or a league where the expectation levels are a little less. This has been quite the case in relation to players from Europe and South America for years now (though it does depend on the standard of the player’s relative league to an extent). Many players may see it as a way to enjoy the later stages of their careers, playing in a league which might not have the same degree of quality as to where they have been over the years or as a chance to play for their childhood team that they supported when they were growing up.

The Brazilian league in the past few years, has been going through somewhat of a renaissance period, with the attraction of players returning to their homeland so as to get noticed more by the national team coach, Mano Menezes, with the lead up to hosting the World Cup in 2014, and giving themselves more of a possibility of taking part in what promises to be a spectacular occasion, with Brazilians known for their fearsome appetite and reputation in football.

One of the players who decided to take this path most recently has been two time world player of the year Ronaldinho Gaúcho. Ever since his last year playing for Barcelona in 2008, those who love football, have been waiting for him to rescale the heights he achieved in his early days with the Catalan club, and return to the figure which was widely reputed as one of the greatest players ever in the history of the game. After moving onto Milan, where he showed glimpses of brilliance but lacked consistency, Flamengo came in for him, and give him the chance to play again in the country of his birth. The move, at the start, seemed to be one of hope, with expectations not being met, and it looked as though that Ronaldinho would not be grasping his last chance with two hands, or to say better in football terms, with two feet, and those that had hoped he could return to the old Gaúcho, would be left disappointed.

However, after one game where the Flamengo hardcore faithful, booed and cheered their star player, and he was subsequently taken of the pitch by the legendry Brazilian manager Luxemburgo, there has been a sharp and productive increase in quality of performances, so much so that he has achieved his goal of being called up again to the national team, and has appeared in the last three squad selections of the Seleção. The statistics in relation to Ronaldinho speak for themselves, and prove that he is starting to be the player of old that he once was.

In twenty six games for Flamengo, since he signed a 5.5 million euro per year contract, he has scored eighteen goals and made five assists, which compared to figures when he was at his most effective in his career look very favorable, and suggest he might have turned his back on his previous troubles, and is trying to achieve his ultimate objective and goal, which is to play for his country at the World Cup in Brazil, in little over two years’ time, an accolade which would be fitting for such a player as Ronaldinho and that would bring the curtain down on a great career.

This goal though depends on many things. Ronaldinho will be thirty four years of age by the time the world cup comes round, he has though altered his game in the last few years, as he has lost that blistering burst of speed that he was known for, and therefore seems to play more as a striker, or in behind the front two or one these days, threading passes, and beating players with skill, two attributes that he has always been known for, and that in two and a bit years he should still have. Consistency will be the key, and staying in shape, but he is in the right place at the moment to get noticed and therefore will need to keep performing well on a regular basis. Age could be the defining factor, but if he is playing then like he is at the moment, then no doubt the Brazilian manager (Manezes or not) should have no hesitation in calling him up for the showpiece.

Article published in 90Soccer the 11th of September, 2011
http://www.90soccer.com/international/move-to-homeland-working-out-for-ronaldinho/

To Sneijder or not to Sneijder.

Ever since the transfer window has been introduced in Football, and the option of signing a player as and when you would need them throughout the length of the season, was scrapped, long running sagas have been played out over the years, Ronaldo, Fabregas to name but a few of the most obvious ones. This summer, there was another epic episode of a tale to add onto the list, with the Holland and Inter Milan player Wesley Sneijder, fulfilling this role this time about.

The continuing saga of will He, wont He sign for Manchester United, being even more dramatic by the retirement of United midfield legend Paul Scholes, which meant that a direct replacement in the Scholes mold needed to be found by Ferguson so as to ease the costly loss of what would be a highly missed player.

In the end the saga ended with Sneijder staying with Inter and Manchester United without a player to step into the Scholes role for the forthcoming season, but, was this the case that they missed out on their man or was Ferguson always the cunning fox that He has always been and knew exactly that his team were always well equipped in this area and that finally maybe it was just gossip from the chatterboxes in the English press?

For me Sneijder was always the perfect replacement for Scholes. As a massive United fan, Scholes was my favorite player and for me one of the most technically gifted players to ever play football, anyone who saw his first touch and his technical ability to hit a ball will be able to testify to this. To receive compliments from players like Henry, Xavi and Zidane, that He was the best player they have ever played against, considering the career these players had in the game, and the amount of high profile professionals they come up against throughout their illustrious careers, means that there is no need to give any more glowing reports and words in relation to Scholes, only in being that he was world class.

It is always going to be a difficult task trying to replace a player of Scholes quality, and if this is to be taken into account, Ferguson himself said that "Only Xavi and Iniesta are comparable to Scholes" and giving that these two were voted among the three best players of the world this year, then it seems even more of a daunting task.

There was though undoubted interest in Sneijder from United, and there is no doubt that He would have been a great acquisition to their squad, as the need for a playmaker in the Premier League seems like the quintessential part of any team, or indeed in any league in the world, so as to vary from the English style of crossing balls into the box and the high intensity game that United plays. He would have given this option, of threading passes through defense’s and creating shooting opportunities, but Ferguson deemed it to be that in the end He was not needed and clarified this by saying " He's a fantastic player but he was not who we were looking for to replace Scholes". Who is to argue with someone who has the track record of Ferguson and who obviously knows the club and football inside out, and therefore knows what United needed this season.

So, the thing that I always thought, and have always said, that Sneijder was the perfect replacement for Scholes, seems now to be extinguished and been laid to rest, with my attention now turned to what United now have. A central midfield of players who can be drawn upon such as Anderson, Carrick, Cleverly, Fletcher with Giggsy able to play in there too, might not have the same ring to it, if Sneijder was there for example, but there is no doubt that from United´s more than impressive start to the season, Ferguson has to be handed it again, as someone who knows more about football than most, and who sticks to his philosophy of bringing young players through and giving them chances and more importantly doing the job they are expected to do at Manchester United. This is to live up to the increasingly high standards that the club demands. You could say then that Mr. Ferguson was the cunning fox that He has always been!

Published in http://www.90soccer.com/international/to-sneijder-or-not-to-sneijder/ the 15th September, 2011

Sevilla appoint new manager

After an eventful season, full of ups and downs over the year, which finally culminated in what some will say, was a somewhat lucky outcome, achieving a Europa league spot for next season, Sevilla, have stated their intentions for next year with the installation of Marcelino García Toral as manager, taking over from Gregorio Manzano. There has been no doubt that the club, as of late has been going through the transitional stage, with ins and outs, as previously explained in some of my previous articles, and that their was an obvious apprehension about, if Manzano was the man to lead Sevilla in the future, with names such as Luis Enrique and Puel being those mentioned to replace him. They have chosen however to name someone who was never mentioned on that list, and what will therefore come to those who speculated on those names of replacements, among myself included, a surprising selection, but who is this new manager and what can we expect him to provide Sevilla next season.

Times have changed at Sevilla, the club, through their recent successful and prosperous recent history, have become more demanding and have started to want the bigger things in football, one of the things that comes hand in hand with being successful. Since Juande Ramos, the team have been trying to get the right mix together, but have so far up until now not achieved that. Something that Toral will be hoping to instill as soon as possible, with clubs in Spain, and the continent not well known for their patience. A good start will be imperative, and the goal for the season has to be a finish in the top four of the league which will bring with it, a place in the champions league. Apart from this, good performances in the cup competitions will be demanded, with Sevilla being famous for being a cup team more than a league team. So does the credetials of Taron match up to those of what Sevilla needs in this moment in time and will he be able to meet those high standards?

Toral carved out a less than spectacular carear as a footballer, playing for teams such as Real sporting de Gijon, Real Racing Club de Santander, Levante UD and Elche from the period of 1985 – 1994. He played in centre midfield and reprecented Spain as a youth international and won the World Youth Cup in 1985 which took place in the Soviet Union.

It had been as a mangager where he has had more success and recognition, but has not been tested before at a club of the size and stature of Sevilla. He has had success in helping teams ascend divisions, for example, taking up, CD Lealtad, RC Recreativo de Huelva and Real Zaragosa in the past from the respective divisions that they were in.

It was with Real Racing Club de Santander where he has had the most significant success, over two spells at the club where in his first he helped the team classify for the UEFA Cup and reach the semi final of the Copa del Rey (both for the first time in their history) and then in his second spell with the club he was granted with the task to keep them in the first division for another year in 2012, something that he achieved.

So is He what Sevilla need? for me, I thought Luis Enrique was the perfect choice, because he has experience in Spanish football and is used to high pressure situations, having played for Barcelona and Madrid, but he has decided that Italy was the perfect place for him to continue his development. If you are looking along the terms of knowledgement of Spanish football then I think they have made a good appointment, but maybe a bigger name would have been better, although, another team, Porto of Portugal took the decision one year ago to appoint an unknown called Andre Villas Boas, and they ended up having their most successful season in their history, winning everything they entered. So with that in my mind, appointing a soemwhat unknown can work well, or have the complete opposite effect, Sevilla will be hoping that they can get back to where they were a few years ago, top four football and winning cups, time will tell!

Whats been happening at Valencia this summer?

Valencia have been stating there intentions this summer, and to move forward from their good performance of last season where Los Ches finished third in La Liga and performed to a high level in the Champions League.  As documented in previous article’s from myself, the previous two seasons the manager, Urai Emery, has been trying to form a new team by letting those players that have been deemed over aged and underperformers go, as well as those that could bring in some much needed revenue to the club, by bringing in a new mix, which will be a team for the future and hopefully with a little bit of luck be able to perform to a high standard as of now.

Last season was a good demonstrative of how the plan which was put into action was beginning to work, with as said before, a good performance throughout the season which culminated in a good result and somewhat better than what those involved with the club were expecting.  This summer, the club have been sticking to their philosophy, with Cesar, Vicente, Joaquin and Del Horno, being some of the old guard who have been let go, to leave space for those who will replace them and bring some new blood to the club with new desires and motivation.  There is no doubt that these group of players have been outstanding performers for Valencia in the past, but the decline in the amount of appearances which they have been making over the last few seasons, and the standard of these, have been few and far between, so the correct decision has been taken which will allow the club to move on, and keep improving as well as to look towards the future.

One of the new players that has come in, all be it on a one season loan from Madrid, is Sergio Canales, a very accomplished young footballer, who after one year in Madrid, in what proved to be somewhat of a disappointment, and underachievement for the player, will be looking to make an impression and show what he is capable off.  Emery should be looking to team him up with Mata for the forthcoming season, but with Arsenal from England pressurizing, it remains to be seen if Valencia will buckle and sell on their prize asset, something which I hope doesn’t happen as I would love to see these two team up next season, along with the other young talent they have at their disposal.

Apart from adding Canales, to an already impressive midfield, they have added other players who have La Liga experience, something very important as the player will need no time to adjust to the style of a different league, and will already know what to expect.  Some of the players they have added have been Parejo (Getafe), an impressive midfielder who will add even more to that area, as already mentioned, also with the loss of Cesar, the club were lacking some cover in the goalkeeping department, and Emery has been shrewd, as always, and added Diego Alves (Almeria) and Pereira (Sporting Braga, Portugal).  The defense has also been shored up, with the addition of the impressive defender Rami from Lille in France.  These players have added a youthful aspect to the squad, and those that have been there for a few years now, such as the old head Albelda, the impressive central midfielder Ever and Pablo Hernandez, a tricky winger in the now departed Joaquin mold will be looked upon, to take over the responsibility of helping these new recruits to settle quickly in, and help the team to click from the off.

This year, things will not be so easy in the Spanish league.  The big two, Barcelona and Real Madrid, have strengthened further, and as has been the case the last few years, it seems the rest will be chasing these two, so with reason all the others will be looking at third spot and the automatic Champions league place which comes along with it.  Apart from the usual suspects who will be looking to grasp this spot, Sevilla, Villareal and Athletico Madrid etc, who have all seen big changes in the summer, there should be a new challenger, in the form of Malaga, who with the help of their super rich owner, have been the most busiest team in the transfer market not only in Spain but the rest of Europe.  If Pelligrini gets this good group of individuals to play like a team, I would expect them to make a more than serious push towards the third spot in the league.  Nonetheless, I think, Valencia look the most exciting team, with a better squad than the others, and I would expect them to achieve this position, as well as a run to the quarter finals of the Champions League,  although, anything more, would be most unexpected.

Published August 11, 2011 in 90Soccer - http://www.90soccer.com/international/whats-been-happening-at-valencia-this-summer/

Saldado, the new Villa!!!!!!!

Trying to replace a striker such as David Villa, sounds like a daunting task, and one that’s not going to be too easy to accomplish, for after five years playing for Valencia from 2005 – 2010, it was deemed necessary for a few reasons to get rid of their prize asset. One determining influence was the fact that the club has a crippling debt problem and needed to solve it, so money had to be found from somewhere. Taking this into account Villa was sold for a nice sum of 40 million Euros, and thus brought to an end, a successful time at the club, where he scored 108 goals in a total of 166 appearances, was top scorer for the club in the five seasons he played for them, and won the Copa del Rey in 2008.

It was now up to the club to replace a striker who was not only an integral player for them but also the Spanish national team, where he has won the European championship, World cup and is also the countries leading scorer, with someone who was up for the task, and who could try to emulate Villa, in all ways, but of course without the hefty price tag that comes with buying a player to match these characteristics. So if the funds don’t allow thirty or forty million euro players to be signed, its up to those involved, to scale down their efforts and look in and around the bargain buys, who normally play for the smaller clubs.

The one they went for, was one called Roberto Saldado, who although was born in Valencia, played his youth and early career football with Real Madrid, where he had an impressive goal every two games ratio for the B side. There he stayed for four seasons, and made the progression to the first team, where things were to prove a little bit more difficult for him, and after just sixteen appearances and two goals over a period of three seasons, he was loaned to Osasuna, and then subsequently sold after one season to Getafe for a price of four million Euros, after impressing highly during the one season in Osasuna where he scored eleven goals in thirty appearances.

His time at Getafe would prove fruitful, and although in what was a Getafe team that would constantly be fighting against relegation during his time there, he still managed to bang in twenty nine goals in sixty appearances. This type of constant scoring, brought about the attention of the so called big boys, and it would be one of those, who was looking to replace a striker who had been hitting the target for them on a constant basis before with one who they thought would do an equally as good job or if not better. This club, being of course Valencia, as already has been mentioned, spent in the region of ten million Euros to take him to the Mestalla.

As it is only the first season, and as is normal in football, its difficult to judge on this, with the usual clichés popping up, new club, transition period etc, but Saldado, has definitely had his moments, with his record in the Champions league being impressive, and some good performances as well in the league, most notably against his old team Getafe, where he scored all Valencia’s goals in a 4 – 2 away win. The problem seems to be consistency, but there is no doubt that he has talent and if this can be nurtured and improved upon, as he is only twenty five years old, then he could turn out to be a great signing. Time will tell, but to give an accolade such as the new David Villa, I think it is a bit too premature for that. If Valencia can keep their manager Urai Emery for a few more seasons, and the team continues to improve, as has been the case under this manager then big things could be on the way for Saldado and Valencia. Let’s see what happens!

Published 13th April, 2011 in 90Soccer http://www.90soccer.com/international/saldado-the-new-villa/

A week to forget for Valencia

Every team has them, at some stage of the season, some for a few games, some for a month, others longer, but it’s not good to have one when you are in the Champion’s League and being intent on opening a gap between those teams pushing you in the on going battle for a place in next season Champion’s League. What you can probably tell, from the various clues, would be in relation to a ´bad patch´. Valencia last week had one, but one which was no doubt emphatic and one which if not dealt with, could disrupt what had looked like being a successful season.

First of all they were dumped out of the Champion’s League, 4 – 2 on aggregate, against what looked like a very average side in Shalke 04 of Germany, who are struggling domestically and have just recently got rid of their manager Felix McGath. They needed a good performance away from home after drawing the home leg in the Mestalla in Valencia 1 – 1 (with the away goal in Europe being of the upmost importance). Things seemed to be going well, when an early goal from the Portuguese central defender Costa in the seventeenth minute give them the lead in the tie, and an important away goal. Then just before half time Farfán scored a nice curling free kick to level the tie score wise and cancel out the away goal from Valencia. Everything was to play for, and both sides were well matched in a fairly even tie. What was needed was for Valencia to demonstrate the stylish but effective football that has served them well so far this season. This however was lacking, with the Germans producing a strong second half, typical performance and scoring two more goals in the form of another from Farfán and one from Gavronovic and put them into the next round.

Manager Urai Emery voiced his disappointment after the game, by saying "We've been knocked out unjustly, we've missed an opportunity with everything in our favour. It was a game where we had more chances and we lost. I went back into the dressing room so disappointed that I couldn't say anything to the players, but I have nothing to blame them for." This statement was maybe in some opinions not a fair reflection on the game, although it is easy to say that scoring in the first half give them the benchmark to move on and score a few more and advance to the next round. An opportunity they seized to take and are thus paying the price.

After the disappointment of the knock out from the Champions League it was up to Valencia to lift themselves and get back into the bread and butter, as they say, of the league. They were given a fixture which looked in hindsight, a good way to recuperate from the disappointment of midweek, against a team that has been hovering around the basement and relegation places all season. An away tie against a Zaragoza side, seemed perfect, but turned out to be a nightmare. Valencia went down 4 – 0, in what was a disastrous performance, which was culminated by a sending off as well. This in turn lead to the club captain, David Navarro, giving a public apology to fans after the game, something which in football is pretty much unheard off.

The pressure is on the manager Urai Emery and his players now to step up after a disappointing week and move forward and secure their objective of a champion’s league place for next season. Their will be no more distractions now, as they are already out of the Spanish Cup and as has been mentioned, the Champions League and will therefore maybe take this as a positive, in the fact that there are no more distractions from now until the end of the future.

First up, is Sevilla, another massive game, and against one of the those that are after the coveted Champions League places, although it has to be said, that Valencia are in a far better position in regards to this. Any game for any team though against Sevilla is always difficult, but no doubt a win will help Valencia and maybe they can extend their gap between the chasing teams. The season will not end on this game though, with as well as Real Madrid to play, they have games against other teams in and around them, so after a disastrous week, its time to lift those heads again, and move forward, and get back to how they have been playing so far this season, impressively.

Published in http://www.90soccer.com/imported/a-week-to-forget-for-valencia/

Adios to a legend

The evolution of Sevilla has already started, with the club looking to start again, after a period of years that has reaped great rewards for the team on the pitch in the shape of cups, top four placed finishes in the league and their subsequent appearances in Europe’s top competition the Champions League (for the first time in their history). Things though, like in life and football, cannot and don’t go on forever, with football always being about cycles. It’s difficult for a team to reach a good level, but it is even harder for them to stay there, and then do it consistently for years to come after that. This inevitably leads to many of the players that were key in a period of success for a club, to have to move on, to pastures anew and for the club to replace these, with ones that will take over, and hopefully be better than those who they replaced.


One player key to Sevilla´s recent successful past, has been Luis Fabiano, the Brazilian played instrumental parts in the re-establishment of Sevilla as a major force in Spain and in Europe. Fabiano up until he joined Sevilla, had enjoyed very limited success in Europe with spells in the French league with Rennes and in the Portuguese with Porto. Both were only to be for a period of one season each, as he found goals very hard to come by, so much so that he only scored three goals, with these coming for Porto, and managing none with Rennes. The spell with Rennes was sandwiched between the other club where he enjoyed success, that being Sao Paulo of Brazil and whom he has recently rejoined again after six and a half seasons playing in Europe. Porto decided to sell on the player to Sevilla where his first season would be much more significantly successful than his previous campaigns in European leagues.

In his first season, Fabiano finished second to David Guiza (then of Getafe) in the top goal scorer ranks with a total of 24 goals and more importantly scoring in the final of the UEFA cup in the 4 – 0 hammering of English side, Middlesborough and was also pivotal in his sides successful defense of the same cup the season after as well as their great league performance, which meant they qualified for Europe’s main competition the Champions league.

He would go on to score a total of 72 goals in 147 appearances for Sevilla, which was nearly a goal every other game, an achievement not so easy to accomplish in a league as tough as the Spanish, placing him as one of the most successful foreign imports to play there in the history of the league.

Fabiano continued to impress in the following seasons at Sevilla, and as is always the case with players performing at high levels consistently well, was linked regularly with moves abroad to big clubs playing in the other main competitions in Europe. The most serious bidders were that of Tottenham Hotspur of the Premier League and also AC Milan of Serie A, where it was reported the striker pleaded with the club to let him go, but as history states, this request was rejected by Sevilla and thus Fabiano continued plying his trade in Spain, and even signed a new contract until 2013 and stating his willingness to stay "This is my home, I've been here six seasons and I will try to continue scoring goals and continue making history for Sevilla". In the end though Sevilla and Fabiano give into their thoughts and Fabiano returned to Brazil and the club received a nice sum of money in the form of 7.6 million Euros, a good bit of business for a player who is now thirty years of age, and who had served them for many years.

So what now for Fabiano? First of all he will be looking to make a big impression in the Brazilian league, which will be difficult, giving the amount of big names that have recently returned to their homeland to play again. Also on the horizon is the World Cup which will be held in Brazil in 2014, something which maybe coincides with the arrival of those returning from Europe, and with Brazilian coach Menezes liking a target man up front, this could be a good opportunity to press his claim for a tournament in which every Brazilian player will want to play in, and with Brazil short in this area, and the only obvious other, being that of Adriano, who also will return to Brazil, most probably with Corinthians, being in what seems a nightmare moment of his career, then the scene seems to be set for Fabiano to shine. He will be greatly missed by Sevilla, that’s for sure.

Published in 90 Soccer.com

Trying to get the wheels rolling again

A little over ten years ago, Sevilla FC were in the second tier of the Spanish league and looking for a new resurgence to take them back into the elite of Spanish football and kick start their history again. That history started, by winning the Second division under manager Joaquín Caparrós and from there Sevilla would move into a decade where they would end their trophy drought which had lasted for fifty eight years, and in addition adding more to this one, ending a period of financial suppression and seeing the club take a deserved place among Spain’s and Europe’s elite.

Having won the second division trophy at the end of the 2000-2001 season, the club set about sustaining itself both financially and in terms of position within the first division. The club gained stability in the league, although it wasn’t until the sale of homegrown superstar José Antonio Reyes to Arsenal in January 2004 for an initial fee of £10.5 million where the wheels of change started to roll and gather speed. In the 2003-2004 season the team reached the semi finals of the Copa del Rey (Spanish cup), after a period of twenty years, as well as earning a ticket to Europe as a consequence of finishing 6th in the league and well, from there, things really started to happen.

The appointment of Juande Ramos, as manager at the start of the 2005 – 2006 season, lead to also an influx of quality signings that would turn Sevilla into a club that others needed to start to take seriously. These players included Andrés Palop from Valencia, Julien Escudé from Ajax, Javier Saviola from Barcelona, Luis Fabiano from FC Porto and Frédéric Kanouté from Tottenham Hotspur and these in turn would go on to play an integral part of the success of the club in the upcoming years. The team went onto win the UEFA cup in style in that year, by beating Steve McLaren´s Middelsborough by the biggest margin of victory in a UEFA cup final. Sevilla also beat Lokomotiv Moscow, Lille, Zenit st Petersburg and Shalke along the way. As a direct consequence of winning the UEFA cup they played the Super cup final as well, and managed to beat the then champion’s league holders Barcelona 3 – 0 and with it double their trophy haul in the space of three months.

A fifth place finish in the 2005 – 2006 season and the following season a third place finish, and with it champions league qualification, ensured that the team was progressing well on the Spanish stage as well as the European. There status in Europe also increased as the team again won the UEFA cup beating fellow Spaniards RCD Espanyol on penalties after a result of 2-2 after 120 minutes. This put them in the history book as only the second team in Europe to defend the UEFA cup title, etching their name alongside another great of European history, Real Madrid.

The beginning of the 2007–2008 season saw two events that would change the club, with one being one of the biggest emotional shocks that would take place in modern day football. This came from the death of the Sevilla player Antonio Puerta who suffered from a series of cardiac arrests during a league game against Getafe CF. This sent shockwaves throughout football, and as a mark of respect Sevilla gave one minute of silence at every home game for the rest of that season. They also tried to retire the number sixteen shirt but the rule that La Liga clubs cant retire shirts numbered one to twenty five, meant that this was not possible, and as a consequence they give the shirt to Dsvid Prieto, although now it is worn by Diego Capel. Sevilla fans also show their respects, by clapping throughout the sixteenth minute of every game, because of the number sixteen that was worn by Puerta, at the time of his sudden death.

As well as this, Sevilla, would lose someone else who was instrumental in their success of recent times. Manager Jaunde Ramos would resign from his post to take up a rather unsuccessful stint at Tottenham Hotspur of England and leave behind a legacy of being the most successful Sevilla coach of recent times. He would be replaced by Manuel Jiménez Jiménez and this would in turn lead to two more managers in the following years.

The last few years have not been as successful as those earlier on in the previous decade, although the team did manage to win the Spanish cup the last year. They seem to be going through a transitional phase at the minute, and their league position seems to be consolidating this theory, with the team stagnating around the sixth to tenth position this season. New players have been coming in, and the players who have been pivotal in the success of the team in the last few years, seem to be on the way out, among those, Luis Fabiano, who is constantly linked with a move, and has publicly declared his intention to do so, in the last week. It seems the good times have passed, and the next stage being in its early days, although the team now, has more of a base from which to improve on, than that earlier transitional period at the beginning of the year 2000. Heres hoping that success will prevail again, for this wonderful city and its team.

This article was published at http://www.90soccer.com/imported/trying-to-get-the-wheels-rolling-again/ on the 28th of February, 2011

Back from the brink, a success story

There have been a few teams over the years, that have been either near to bankruptcy, or have gone into bankruptcy, and therefore have had to sell on there star players, so as to recuperate some of the money lost, and to keep the club afloat. Not many have been able to deal with this problem; Leeds United from England comes to mind. Having had to sell their star players, and the majority of the team, that reached the Champions league semi- final in the 2000 – 2001 season, against Valencia, 3 – 0 on aggregate, they proceeded to hurtle down two divisions in successive seasons. The redevelopment stage is difficult but by no means impossible. Which brings me along nicely to what I have been discussing before?

Valencia have had to do in the last two seasons what Leeds did back then, having had to sell players that were equally if not more important to them in the past few years. Any team which would have to sell players such as David Villa, David Silva, Carlos Marchena López, Raul Albiol, Fernando Morientes and Ivan Helguera, players who have played important roles not just at Valencia but also with the Spanish National Team, which has been so successful over the years, winning the World Cup and European Championship, would no doubt inevitably struggle, add to this as well, that work on their new stadium, a 75,000-seater, called Nou Mestalla, has been stopped, then, certainly the odds are stacked against them and having to do it under very tight financial constraints doesn’t by no means doesn’t help either.

As is always inevitable, and as teams evolve, for many different reasons, new players have to replace those ones that have been shipped out, so the task fell on the manager to find those, that were capable of filling these big boots. Unai Emery was the man asked to take charge of this and has proved a more than useful tactician in his first season with the club, guiding them to a sixth place finish in La Liga, quarter finals of the Copa del Rey and round 16º of the UEFA cup, this followed the next season, by the club finishing third and subsequent Champions League qualification, something of which is of the upmost importance for a financially struggling club.

The acquisition of Emery has been a shrewd move from the board of Valencia, who looked upon a record of having coached only 2 teams in the past for a period of four years, and handed him the reigns in trying to improve the image of the club again after a few years in the doldrums. Their gamble has paid of, with Valencia playing some of the prettiest attacking football in years, and one of the best teams to watch in La Liga and looking like a throwback to the team of the 1999 – 2004 era, that were Champion’s League runners up two years in a row, and that won the league championship twice along with the UEFA cup (now called the Europa League). He has managed to install the same mentality that was shown in these successful years by making Valencia a hard team to beat as well as playing football that is very easy on the eye.

This season the team has again demonstrated that it is continuing to improve, and has most importantly filled the gaps that were left by those that moved on in the summer. Those that have been brought in include Mehmet Topal, a Turkish defensive midfield player brought in from Galatasaray, after a successful Euro 2008, Ricardo Costa, a Portuguese Defender, bought form Wolsburg, Soldado a 25 years old, Spanish player who played for Getafe for two prolific seasons, as well as being a Real Madrid player in the past, Alberto Costa, a technical, penalty – taking, free kick taking Argentine and Aduriz, signed from Mallorca, whose early season form lead him to be called up for Spain for the first time at the age of 29.

These players have been able, to the surprise of many a football expert, to play together like a team that has done so for many years, and apart from displaying good football, get good results as well, with the team also not dropping out of the top five all season, and being above the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid for the first six weeks of the season. They have been able to maintain their form, and currently sit in forth position in the league, six points ahead of Bilbao in the race for the Champions League positions. They also demonstrated great matureness as a team, qualifying for the second round of the Champions League, by finishing second in a strong group that included Manchester United, Glasgow Rangers and Bursapor from Turkey, this in turn has given them a game against Schalke 04 in the next round and a great chance to progress to the quarter finals of Europe’s premier competition and also reached the quarter finals of the Copa del Rey (Spanish Cup).

To continue the good run they are on in this moment and to keep the momentum going for this season, with a Champions League position being the optimum prize (more for the financial stakes), they seem to have signed a rather interesting acquisition that will no doubt give them more of an edge in the attacking area and improve this element of their team that has already been very functioning so well this season.

The signing of Jonas Goncalves Oliviera, who was top scorer in the 2009 Serie A Brazilian Championship with Gremio, for what looks like a snatch at 1.25 million euros, especially for a team like Valencia that doesn’t have money to spend in abundance, seems like a good bit of business and one which will no doubt help the team continue to lift themselves out of the doldrums and back among the elite. Hopefully with signings like this, and the extra money that will come from a Champions League place, the team will be better both on and of the pitch, putting some money in the bank and moving into their new stadium, and rightfully taking their place back among Spain’s and Europe’s elite.
This article was published the 9th of February, 2011 at http://www.90soccer.com/

A few days with culture and sun

When are you in Spain, but the locals who live there, think this is anything but Spain? Where are you also in Spain, but the language predominately spoken there are is not Spanish. The answer to this is of course, Barcelona, situated in the region of Catalonia, which is a nation within-a-nation.

Catalonia, where the capital of this semi-autonomous region is the magnificent city of Barcelona, is one of the most busiest ports in the whole of the Mediterranean, and in terms of cultural, commerce and sport is not only one of the most important and greatest cities in Spain where it not only rivals Madrid but is on a par, but also in the whole of Europe.

One of the most defining moments in Barcelona’s history and which brought it to the attention of the World, was the 1992 Olympic games, staged in the impressive and purpose built Parc de Montjuic. After the success of the games, tourists came in there droves and continue too, with Barcelona one of the most visited cities in Europe.

There are many great and interesting things to do and see in this wonderful city, the city itself is best known for the immense amount of superb buildings which were left behind by the artistic explosion of modernisme in the decades around 1900.

One of the most impressive areas of the city is the Barrio Gótico (Gothic Quarter) which is seen as the true heart of Barcelona. The area has been the location for the cities administrative buildings since the Romans founded the colonia (town) here in 27 BC, here is where is situated the Catalonia parliament, and the Casa de la Ciutat, the town hall. Close by stands the Gothic Cathedral and Royal palace stand, where Columbus was received by the Catholic Monarchs on his return from the New World in 1492. This area no doubt gives you a feeling of Old Barcelona and gives you an sense of escapism from modern day life, with its relaxed and contempory style.

From an area known for its laid-back nature, to one which is busy around the clock. La Rambla, is one of the most famous streets in Spain. The central walkway makes a perfect introduction to Barcelona life. As well as taking in mansions, shops, and cafes, the street is also stuffed with, street vendors, tarot readers, musicians and mime artists. This has to be one of the most enthralling walks in the world, as the many different and wonderful sights can have you wondering where the last hour of your life has went? As you become totally immersed into the life of the street and the many goings on which engulf it?

One of the most iconic buildings in Barcelona, and which typifies the thinking of this city, is the Sagrada Familia, seen as an emblem, for a region which likes to think of itself as individualistic. An unconventional church, temple de la Sagrada Familia to give it its full name, is full of symbolism which is inspired by nature and strives for originality. Neo-Gothic in style, it is the work of the great Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. Designed, by him, it was his life’s work, so much that he lived within it for 16 years; in fact he is buried in the crypt. Such is the scale of the project, that only one of the towers was complete upon his death, in 1926. Work still continues today, after stalling during the Civil War, financed by public subscription.

It would be easy to chat about Barcelona all day, with its great array of sights to see and things to do. I still haven’t mentioned the Nou Camp, home of Barcelona F.C, recently crowned European Club Champions, the Museum of Picasso, Barceloneta, a really good option to relax, enjoy nice food and top up your tan, Montjuic and the Pyrenees are near also, which offers a range of magnificent scenery and activities to do. So my advice to you is just to go there and see it, do it and if you don’t do everything you want, then go back again another time.

City of Kings

What is one of the most visited cities in the world, where the visitors are in such a hurry to leave there, that they forget to look at and enjoy a city that has many unknown, interesting places to visit and things to do. When I was travelling the common reflection or judgment of Lima was one which tended to be the same with whomever I spoke too, one which was without a glowing reference or fond memory.

One of the most frequently visited places in South America is the city of Lima, capital of Peru. This statement can start of a train of thought, that makes the reader believe that Lima is droving with tourists, who come their to bask in the riches that makes anyone want to visit somewhere in the first place for example, culture, places of interest, history, etc. but this couldn’t be further from the truth, with Lima seen as something entirely different, a sort of stop over or gap filler so as to tour the other more popular areas of Peru such as Cusco, Arequipa, Trujillo, etc., with visitors, choosing to spend as little time there as possible.
Millions of people are squeezed into Lima, making it one of the most populous cities in South America. The city can transport you from somewhere that resembles in patches – Europe, with its business district and the modern Miraflores, with its hip and stylish shops, to somewhere that on the opposite end of the scale that seems like the third world, with many shantytowns dotted around the city, housing poor people, amongst very wretched and what seems like unlivable conditions.
Movement in Lima can be hectic and a little draining, with it being a fast-moving metropolis with a reputation for pollution, freneticism, being a dangerous place and the odd traffic jam!!!!. (Which incidentally, some might say is a very polite way to put it). Maybe this is one of the things which irritates the tourists when they arrive here, as straight away you are put right into it, head first when you make your journey from the airport to the most probable location of any tourist, back packer, etc. being Miraflores, within time it clearly becomes obvious that patience is a virtue that might well be needed and have to be used in abundance.

If the effort which comes from the aforementioned is called upon then the rewards can be plentiful, with a wide range of things to do, see and enjoy, for example, pre-Inca archeological places like Pachacamac and Huaca Pucllana and the lasting impression which the buildings and houses of Downtown can leave upon you, from the very influential period when the Spanish ruled this part of the world, and used Lima as the capital of their vast land spanning empire, thus naming Lima the City of Kings, with as well as leaving the Spanish language they also left lots of examples of typical Spanish colonial architecture, this being so much true, that the centre itself is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage List, not forgetting, also there are ultramodern shopping malls, the countries best museums like the Museum of Archeology, Anthropology and History of Peru, paragliding with a view of the cliffs in Miraflores, and the relaxed atmosphere of Barranco bars and discotheques.
These are, though, only but a few, the tip of the iceberg some might say, with along with being famous for its Incas history and infinite numbers of archeological sites, there is another thing that Peru is world famous for, food!!!!! Peruvian food is very quickly gaining a reputation world wide as having some of the most delicious and succulent that there are, with the

various types on offer, being able to cater for all tastes and preferences, as well as wanting to try something new which someone unfamiliar with these parts, might well want to do. On the subject of food and an area which in most cities in Europe, Asia and North America are accustomed to having, this being a Chinatown, but for example, South America is one continent in the world which has not being going with this trend, as in this moment the amount of these such areas in this part of the world are few and far between, with the Chinatown in Lima being the most distinctive, with as well as setting itself apart with its food, there are also other aspects which give the area a feeling of transporting you to a uniquely different experience from that which Lima gives you, to being able to enjoy Chinese architecture and decorations.

Peruvian food as stated before is growing in reputation, and Chinese food in Lima is no exception, with the quality, being second to none. There are over 6000 Chinese-Peruvian restaurants in Lima called Chifas and Peru is by far the country with the most Chinese restaurants in Latin America, which no doubt reflects the popularity of the food in this country, so a visit to Chinatown in Lima is a must, if you want to experience a unique atmosphere in a unique location in the world.

So if you have been to Lima or as yet have not been able to enjoy its many delights, please give it a few more days than the accustomed amount tourists usually tend to do, who knows, you might well be surprised and maybe even be able to persuade many others to come and see what the fuss is about, and start of a train of thought that co exists with that of a destination and not just a stop over. I hope so!

The World Cup 2010: the football party starts

One of the best things that happens every two years, but only if you are a football fan, or maybe not, if you tune in for the numerous pairs of legs on show, is after a packed domestic campaign, which includes the league, domestic cups, European cups and international friendlies/qualifiers is that then comes the major tournament, the most prestigious one in many peoples eyes. This year there is one which everyone is talking about, for numerous reasons. One reason is that it is the first football World Cup to be staged in Africa, after previous tournaments alternating between Europe, South America, North America and Asia.
As for the favourites for the tournament, as usual there is all the usual suspects, even if those classed among them, might well have struggled to get to the world cup itself in the first place, or maybe living on the past glories of their predecessors.
Among the usual ones, you have Brazil, England, Argentina, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Holland. All these teams have been kept apart, in the group stages, except Brazil and Portugal, which should prove a mouth watering tie and maybe one that might send one of the so called big boys home early.
After the most popular names which roll of the tongue when people talk about the favourites, we always have the next tier, the ones who if they play above their normal capacity levels and have a great deal of luck thrown their way, might indeed leave South Africa with the trophy.

Personally I think the African teams can be counted within these, maybe with the exception of the hosts South Africa, who on paper have maybe the weakest team among the home continent sides, although, host nations have normally tended to make good progression at the major tournaments, although I would expect South Africa, this time, to be an exception, with maybe the second round, a more, realistic objective.

There is though, no denying, the improvement from the African nations recently, with the improvement in tactics and technique, now being seen along with the strength and speed of the African teams of old. The fact that they are playing the biggest football tournament in the world on their own continent as well might also prove to be an extra bit of motivation for them.

Group A
Lots of eyes will be on this group, as the hosts will be playing in this one. Traditionally the host nations have did well in World Cups, and progressed from there groups and then beyond. This group sees a repeat of two teams from the same group of the 1998 world cup, France and South Africa, when France were the hosts, this time however the roles are reversed, with South Africa the hosts, and instead of Saudi Arabia and Denmark, the other two teams are Mexico and Uruguay. The game between the Latin America teams should be an interesting encounter, while France will obviously be the favourites for the group, but only on the reputation that precedes them, while there is always a keenness for the host nation to advance. I wouldn’t say that France are the favourites, but should pass through to the next stage, but with a little hic up along the way, and also South Africa to join them. There is no doubt however that the host side will need to play well, and have a great deal of luck, but as seen before in the Confederations Cup staged last year (where they reached the Semi Finals), they are capable, Mexico and Uruguay will push them close, but they need Diego Forlan to be firing on all cylinders.

Group B
Argentina should be one of the favourites to win the competition, but however, this does not appear so, even if they have the Worlds best player in Lionel Messi. There is no doubting that they have individuals who are exceptional, but there seems to be a doubt as to if they can play as a team. The manager Diego Maradona, so far it seems has not been able to get the mix correct, something reflected in there scraping through the qualifiers to reach this point.
They will face Nigeria, Greece and South Korea. Nigeria and South Korea now are regular attendees at World cups over the years, with Greece the same can’t be said. It should be a group with contrasting styles of football with Argentina, the typical South American style with lots of touches on the ball and patient build up, Nigeria with their strong Athletic style, South Korea and their incredible levels of fitness and Greece with their European style.
If Argentina gets their act together and Messi carries his form from Barcelona into the world cup, they should qualify with ease. All eyes will be on Messi, whom, people think hasn’t reached the high of domestic performances compared to those of international, so pressure and the hope of a nation will be on him. Apart from Argentina the second position could be anyone’s guess, although I would say Nigeria, with their strong athletic and technical players and also with the incentive of the tournament being in Africa, will be enough to see them through.

Group C
As always England starts the tournament as one of the favourites, but this time, deservedly so. Following a good qualifying campaign where they lost only once, and looked more of a secure outfit under Fabio Capello than Steve McLaren, England seem to have taken the extra step which everyone was waiting for. There is no doubt that over the last 10 or 15 years England have had good individual players, but there was always the inability for them to be bale to play together, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard being the most obvious and famous example. However under the shrewd old head of Capello, these things seem to be ratified and ironed out. Of course there are some problems, for example in the goalkeeper position, but all in all England look a excellent bet to progress from this group, and to advance even more, with the semi finals looking very promising.
USA is now very experienced old heads in the World Cup and has been improving every time. No doubt the introduction of the MLS has helped and also with many players playing in Europe this has added greater experience of playing against quality player’s week in, week out. With this in mind, and the inexperience and lesser quality of the other teams, Algeria and Slovakia, I would expect them along with England to advance to the second round.

Group D
Until about a few weeks ago, Germany looked odds on to progress out of this group, but following the injury to Michael Ballack, this has been cut down a peg or two. There is no doubt that the lose of such a protagonist will be huge for Germany, so someone else will now have to step to the fore, one person who this might be might be Sebastian Schweinstiger, who has been a mainstay of the team for years now and his experience could prove invaluable more so now, with the lose of Ballack.
Another team that will lament the loss of their star player, and another Chelsea player, is Ghana, who are without missing captain Essien, who, without him, don’t seem somewhat the threat they were to others in the group, although this should be a keenly contested group in itself, with both the other teams having improved since the last world cup in Germany, and all having players capable of winning any match. Germany should progress to the next phase, with maybe Serbia piping Australia and Ghana for the other spot.

Group E
Clear favourites for this group have to be the Dutch, who qualified with ease for the tournament. There is no doubt that when they play football the typical Dutch style with quick counter attacks and flowing passing football, then they are a match for any team on there day, but as always with them, it depends on their mood on the day.
For second place in the group, this can be anyone’s guess, with all teams appearing equally matched, with lots of experience of previous World Cups under their belt, and all of them with players who are capable, on their day, to do that something special so as to win a game. If I had to make a calculated guess then I would say Denmark, but it will be a close call.

Group F
Group F sees the defending champions pitted against what looks on paper a very easy group to progress from, although giving Italy’s form recently and their not so easy qualification for the tournament, this would therefore seem that they might not have things all their own way. This has been said before on numerous occasions, but it has to be stressed that when Italy need to perform they indeed perform, so, all the negative publicity, should be taken like water of a dogs back. The poorish standard of the teams in the groups may have helped them this time, but time will tell, though to progress, I would say near certainties, although, as those who know, nothing is certain in football.
No doubt helped by the decision of the Football Federation Australia to move from the Oceania Football Confederation to the Asian Football Confederation, New Zealand have qualified for their first World Cup since 1982 in Spain, but as in that time, they will have their work cut out, to get any results, with their performance in last years confederation cup a reflection of this.
As expected the second place position will be keenly contested between Paraguay and Slovakia, with the south Americans performance putting them slightly ahead as favourites, in this respect, where they will be hoping that Manchester City misfit Roque Santa Cruz will fire the goals for them, to help them progress to the second round just as they did in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.
Somewhat unknowns are Slovakia, who have qualified for the first time for a International tournament since breaking up from the old Czechoslovakia. They will be looking for star player Marek Hamsik to lead them to the second round, and should not be underestimated, as the luck of the draw has put them in a weak group.

Group G
Three words can sum up this group – Group of Death. Every major football tournament always has one group where the big boys are drawn together, and this time round, the pot has drawn Brazil, 5 times winner, Ivory Coast, one if not the best African team, North Korea, a team that shouldn’t be underestimated and Portugal which has one of the best players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo, and who themselves are not a bad team. As is correct, Brazil, in every tournament, rank among the favourites, but this time, will be looking to out in a much better performance than 4 years ago, when the big name players failed to perform, most notably the best player in the world at that time Ronaldinho.

The coach brought in after the disaster of 2006, was Dunga, renowned as a player, but up until then, inexperienced and untried as a coach. First thing that was carried out was to drop those who were deemed to have outgrown their stay, although some saved themselves the pain and retired from International football, greats such as Cafu, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos and Ze Roberto were among those and focus was diverted to a younger generation of exciting players, such as Fabiano, Kaka, Robinho etc.

One player who wasn’t given the preverbal axe was Ronaldinho, given chances by Dunga to recuperate the form that had eluded him. Dropped after two years of chances, although expected to return this year, after improved form for Milan, Dunga chose not to include him in this squad of 23 for the tournament, as well as another big name given numerous chances by Dunga, Adriano.
Time though has proved Dunga to be correct with Brazil winning the confederations cup, Copa America and qualifying with ease for the World cup. It would be a surprise if they didn’t keep up the trend with a at least a semi-final appearance or maybe winners!
There is no doubt that if the Ivory Coast has all their big guns fit and playing well, then they will be a match for any team on their day. Players such as Drogba, the Toure brothers and Eboue are the lynchpins of the side and have plenty of big game experience throughout their careers playing in big league and domestic games, and all especially Drogba will have need to be on top form, in what looks like a three way competition to progress from to the next round.

Ronaldo like Drogba is the most important player in their respective teams, and there is no doubt, Ronaldo will be looking to overshadow the other great player expected to shine in this tournament, Messi, so this should make an interesting group like this one even more interesting, if it can be that.
One team is missing though, North Korea, and although they may well be significant underdogs, I wouldn’t be surprised if they sprung at least a surprise or two along the way with the element if surprise being a key factor for them, though I would expect Brazil and Portugal to progress, in those respective positions with the encounter between the two looking mouth-watering.

Group H
Group H is the battle of the Spanish speaking countries, with of course the exception of Switzerland. Spain go into the tournament deservedly among the list of favourites because of, in no doubt due to the attractive and productive football they have played within the last four years, with evidence, in that they are the reigning European champions, having defeated Germany 2 years ago.

The list of players at their disposal is countless, with the best team in Spain and for some if Europe and the world providing the nucleus of the squad, with eight players involved. The quality does though not only come from Barcelona, as the team has limitless options from other teams on the bench. Spain’s former tag of underachievers has been extinguished with a new one now in place, ‘favourites’, expect them to do well with at least a semi final or maybe winners, with Xavi, one of their most important players, pulling the strings in midfield, if he pays well, then no doubt the team will play well.
Chile has progressed to the finals after an impressive qualifying performance in the South American section. Somewhat relatively unknowns along with Honduras, the European teams will have to do their research so as not to be taken by surprise. I would expect both of them to be decent technically with the big tackle never shied away from, if Honduras player William Palacios´s performances in the English Premier League are anything to go by. Along with those two teams it looks like it being a three way fight with Switzerland joining Chile and Honduras for second position. Switzerland are by no means a spectacular team, however they are very efficient, without playing spectacular football, but as demonstrated when Inter Milan won the champions league this year, and knocked Barcelona out in the process, beautiful is not always best, although I would expect Spain to easily qualify and Chile to progress with them.

Latter Stages

The ending of the group stages doesn’t however bring to an end the football, it brings a start to what is the most exciting part, the knock out stages, which in itself brings nerves, “dramaticness”, extra time and either love it or loathe it, penalties.

Looking at the draw, what seems for most, the picturesque final, might be at risk, with Brazil and Spain in the same section of the draw, but never say never. England look in a good position as well, and will be looking to break their quarter final jinx where they have met Portugal on many occasions, and Argentina shouldn’t be ruled out, even with their terrible qualifying campaign, and don’t forget the reigning World champions, Italy , as they showed in the last World cup, are more than capable.
Normally when the world cup comes around, one team stands out; that one might think will win. This time however there, there doesn’t seem to be. At a stretch the winner could come from three teams, in my opinion, Brazil, Spain or England, with it being winter in South Africa, this cooler climate might favour the English though if forced I would put my money on Brazil, as there record in recent tournament since the last world cup has been the most impressive, although time will tell, as they say. No doubt there will be many highs and lows over the next month.

Belfast: An exhilarating experience-Offering Locals and Tourists the old and the new

Name one of the most visited places in Europe, well, except for the obvious places, London, Paris, Amsterdam etc…………. Belfast, not a name you would be expecting, but now, a city, on most travelers’ ternaries. When was the last time, as a resident of Northern Ireland, have you went to Belfast, to enjoy and delve into the cities immense culture and history, to this question, you might say, never or a few times, and this would relate to those who go out on a Saturday night to the various ranges of bars or clubs which the city has to offer, or just going to the George Best Airport to collect a friend or relative!!!!!.

Why Belfast?

Why not???? Might be the answer here. Since the end of the troubles, which brought disruption, conflict and destruction to the whole of Northern Ireland, but most notably in Belfast, the city has undergone a sustained period of calmness and growth.
Although the climate in Northern Ireland has never been a reason why tourists come to visit these shores, the rich mix of history, culture and increased modernization most certainly has.

Influx of Tourists

As the numbers tell, during January – December 2007 visitors to NI increased by 6% (+128,000) compared to 2006, During January – December 2007 visitors to NI increased by 6% (+128,000) compared to 2006., Overseas visitors (excluding GB and ROI) increased by 19% to 500,000, twice the number recorded five years ago in 2002. The most significant increase over 2006 was recorded in visitors from Europe (+27%) with North America (+12%) and Australia/NZ (+36%).

What attractions might Belfast have for tourists and locals to see, you might well ask? Well, there is no denying that for someone not from these shores, Belfast offers a very interesting insight into the troubles, for example, it is easy to hop into a black cab, situated in and around the city hall, and be mesmerized into the deep informative and culturally diverse area, which is West Belfast, in 1 hour, someone who knows nothing about the conflict which occurred here for 30 years, can get a good knowledge of what went on in these parts. This is not just for tourists, locals can do this as well, and be equally embroiled into the one of many interesting stories that the black cabbie will foretell, leaving the person to ask question to themselves as, oh that’s where that happened, or oh yes, that’s what that means.

One interesting aspect which has occurred recently is the ever changing face of the murals’ which are predominant in this area, there has been a view taken to change these, so as not to be too paramilitarised, with this in mind, there might not be no time like the present to see than the way they are now, which, is convening the history of the troubles.

Not just history

Although a very interesting part of Belfast, the troubles aspect is not the only thing interesting in this part of the world. Mixing old with new, the lavish setting of the Odyessy Arena, offers everything from food to sports, and is well worth a gander, Belfast castle, also, offers amazing views of the city, even if you don’t, fancy the walk up cave hill (but well worth the effort), Belfast bus tours, offering an more in-depth look at Belfast, and not just the political aspect, giving more information and history into the city.

If this is not good enough for you, then who not savor the tastes of the local cuisine, a good old Ulster Fry or Fish and Chips, but if your new years resolution was to hit the gym, then overindulgence in these will lead you to work a bit harder the next time you go there.
Another incredible aspect of Belfast is the amount of cosy little cafes and restaurants on offer, with all ranges of food’s catered for, leaving you to think, that I didn’t know Belfast had this on offer.

Whats for the future?

There is no doubt that Belfast is still a work in progress, with some parts still stuck in the early 70’s, as I heard someone say ‘Belfast reminds me of a city stuck in the 70s but with some degree of modernisation’ and this is no doubt the case.

This will undoubtedly change though, with the development of the Titanic quarter dramatically modernizing this area, as the Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie recently said ‘Belfast is in the midst of an amazing urban renewal. We have clear evidence of the peace dividend across the city centre – with normalisation, job creation and business growth fuelling a virtuous circle’. So with this in mind, locals and tourists have even more reason to visit this magnificent city and enjoy the range of activities which is on offer there, leaving them thinking that they will want to come back again, and again.

This article was published in the Tyrone Herald.February 2009.
For more information about Northern Ireland see:
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/opinion/Castillo/fantasma/elpepiopi/20091004elpepiopi_11/Tes/