“Ajax went into this game, knowing that they needed to turn up the efficiency after their profligacy of the first leg, leading to a 0-1 loss with a goal scoring chances ratio of 17 to 3. But at the half hour mark they saw themselves two goals down and the game was virtually over. Spartak’s initial pressing dislodged Ajax formation and the home team took excellent advantage.” 11 tegen 11
“As anyone who has ever experienced one will know, a soccer match in England is not for the fainthearted. Even in these safer, more sanitary days, you’ll still hear things shouted from the anonymity of the crowd that you might not hear over the dinner table. And that’s a wonderful thing. For who among us did not giggle like schoolboys when the intricacies of David and Victoria Beckham’s love life were openly speculated upon.” SI
“José Mourinho has a problem. When fans approach the world’s most famous coach—and they do so in great numbers, from Madrid to London to Los Angeles—they are seldom satisfied with a typical autograph. They want something unique. Distinct. Dare it be said: special. ‘I’ll sign JOSÉ MOURINHO,’ says the Real Madrid manager after a practice in the Spanish capital. ‘But most of the people say, “No, no, no. You will sign THE SPECIAL ONE!” ‘ Mourinho sighs, the edges of his trademark smirk curling into a faint smile. ‘Everybody wants me to be The Special One. But I don’t worry. There could be a worse nickname.'” SI
“Inter progress on away goals after Goran Pandev’s late winner. Louis van Gaal changed his two centre-backs from the first game, but it was a familiar 4-2-3-1 for Bayern. Having started with a Christmas tree shape in the first leg, Leonardo switched to more of a 4-2-3-1ish shape here. Wesley Sneijder was used in a wide-left role, Goran Pandev started from the right but sometimes became a second striker, and Dejan Stankovic linked the holding midfielders and the attackers.” Zonal Marking
Man Utd 2-1 Marseille: two Hernandez tap-ins
“Manchester United survived a late scare to book their place in the quarter-finals. Sir Alex Ferguson made widespread changes from the weekend win over Arsenal. He played a 4-4-2 formation, Dimitar Berbatov was again left out, and Michael Carrick came into the midfield. John O’Shea got the nod over Rafael, but the Brazilian replaced him shortly before half time, due to injury.” Zonal Marking
“If true strength can come from real adversity, can ideals of beauty be pulled from an ugly defeat? Welcome to IBWM Brian McDonnell” In Bed With Maradona
“There are many aspects of this season’s Premier League that have made it one of the least predictable for a long time, not least the battle to avoid relegation, which is shaping up for a thrilling finale. Despite memorable home victories against reigning champions Chelsea and league leaders Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers find themselves firmly ensconced in this struggle.” The Swiss Ramble
“Miguel Delaney. Caveat: the teams must have at least come close to winning the European Cup. Those who dominated their domestic leagues but barely made a dint in Europe are not considered.” eircom
“Who’d be a top level referee? Abuse from players, fans & managers, constantly in the spotlight & every decision subject to trial by television. Here’s Jon Allison.” In Bed With Maradona
“This past Monday, a day after Stoke City qualified for the FA Cup semifinals, the morning headlines suggested that the team was set to travel to Wembley for the first time in 39 years. That figure is incorrect. In 2000, the Potters played at the old Wembley Stadium in the Auto Windscreens Shield Final, where they beat Bristol City 2-1.” ESPN
Once Caldas celebrate victory in the 2004 Copa Libertadores
“With Tottenham into the last eight and Chelsea likely to join them, London is in with another chance of ending its wait for the Champions League success. But London is not the only capital city to have missed out on Europe’s biggest club prize. Rome, Paris and Berlin have never won it either. It is a different story in South America, where the continent’s capital cities have had a stranglehold on the Copa Libertadores, their equivalent of the Champions League. The explanation is straightforward enough.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“It’s a slightly different time for our non-league videos of the week, and this week we’re focussing on clubs that are owned by their supporters again. First up is the match from the Evostik League Premier Division between FC United of Manchester and Worksop Town. A couple of months ago, we could have been forgiven for thinking that FC United’s league season was grinding to a halt, but they have won seven of their last nine matches and now have an excellent chance of making the play-offs at the end of the season. Their opposition, Worksop Town, are in mid-table but with several games in hand on the teams above them will surely not have given up on their ambitions of making the play-offs either.” twohundredpercent
“Tough to know where to stick Barcelona in today’s section. It was two points dropped – which a concerned Pep Guardiola would have probably taken before the clash – but it was a match that could easily have been won in the final minutes with Barça having efforts crashing against the bar and being cleared off the line.” FourFourTwo
Sevilla 1-1 Barcelona: Sevilla recover from poor first half to hold Barcelona to a draw
“Barcelona failed to win for only the fourth time this season in La Liga. Having favoured a 4-3-1-2 formation in recent weeks, Gregorio Manzano returned to a 4-2-3-1 system here. Didier Zokora came into the centre of midfield, and Diego Capel started over Diego Perotti on the right, so Jesus Navas was on the left.” Zonal Marking
“Finally, some six weeks after signing, Andy Carroll squeezed his considerable frame into a Liverpool shirt and entered the action from the bench. Against Manchester United his introduction appeared to change the game for the worse – although the game was effectively already won – but against Braga his slipped more seamlessly into the action.” Tomkins Times
“The weekend’s games from the fifth round of the 2011 Torneo Clausura are only getting written up all together now, due to my housewarming on Saturday night. Saturday saw Boca Juniors lose away to San Lorenzo in the weekend’s clásico, and Argentinos Juniors finally claim a win, against Arsenal de Sarandí, after opening with four straight draws. On Sunday, Racing visited Colón and thrashed them 4-0 to go out on their own at the top of the table. River Plate hosted Vélez Sarsfield and Leandro Chichizola, the goalkeeper who’s been so impressive filling in for Juan Pablo Carrizo, committed a howler to concede his first goal of the tournament, handing Vélez a lead they eventually turned into a 2-1 win, Santiago Silva bagging a double. All these goals and the others from the weekend are right here.” Hasta El Gol Siempre
“If I was to ask which British team have had the greatest impact on the formative years of European competition, who would you say? Hibernian, the first British team to play in a continental tournament? Tottenham, the first British winners of a European trophy? Perhaps Celtic, whose Lisbon Lions of ’67 defeated Helenio Herrera’s Internazionale?” The Equaliser
“Bayer Leverkusen gave themselves a four-point cushion in the Champions League spots after capitalising on a Mainz mistake to win a game that looked certain to end goalless. Both sides were in decent runs of form coming into this game, and won emphatically in the last round of fixtures: Mainz 4-2 at Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 at home to lowly Wolfsburg.” Defensive Midfielder
Werder Bremen 1-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach
“Borussia Mönchengladbach broke Bremen hearts with a surprise late equalizer after the home side failed to put the game to bed. Both sides came into this game locked in a relegation battle. Werder, sat in 15th because Kaiserslautern scored a 92nd minute earlier in the afternoon, were just two points above the drop zone coming into this game, and six points ahead of bottom side Gladbach. There was a degree of confidence in both camps pre-match, with Gladbach on a high after last weekend’s triumph against Hoffenheim, and Bremen likewise following their 3-1 success at Freiburg.” Defensive Midfielder
Hoffenheim 1-0 Borussia Dortmund
“Hard-working Hoffenheim punished a surprisingly unimaginative Dortmund side to deny the league leaders what would have been a record 12th away win of the season. These two teams came into this game on largely differing runs of form. Dortmund: top of the table by 12 points, 11 away wins in the league so far this season, and on a decent run. Hoffenheim, on the other hand, had fallen from credible Champions League contenders, to the mid-table positions they’ve made their home these last few seasons.” Defensive Midfielder
“Both sides had their chances, but Manchester United were more clinical. Sir Alex Ferguson had an injury crisis in midfield, so used Rafael and Fabio da Silva on either flank, with John O’Shea alongside Darron Gibson in midfield. Arsene Wenger was without Cesc Fabregas, so Denilson came into the side and Abou Diaby played further forward. Kieran Gibbs started at left-back, andAndrei Arshavin replaced Tomas Rosicky. The pattern of the first half was fairly simple – Arsenal dominated possession and territory, whilst Manchester United looked to play on the break.” Zonal Marking
“I took a wander from my apartment here on Monday and one of the first people I saw was Ronaldinho, sitting enjoying a leisurely beer in a temporary break from the revelries of Carnaval. Seated to his right was another Ronaldinho, doing the same thing. On his left, yet another … In truth, they were all just people wearing Ronaldinho masks, one of the big hits of this year’s festivities. But the real thing has been just as omnipresent, making up in 2011 for all those carnivals he missed while he was freezing on the other side of the Atlantic.” SI
“Exactly a month ago, Football Further speculated that, were Lille to fail to win Ligue 1, Dariusz Dudka’s late equaliser in their 1-1 draw at Auxerre would be pinpointed as a key turning point. Should they go on and triumph, however, Pierre-Alain Frau’s 91st-minute winner at Marseille last Sunday could be seen as the goal that changed the course of the title race.” Football Further
“Valencia had plenty of chances, but Schalke were more clinical. Felix Magath made two changes from the first leg, both enforced. Sergio Escudero replaced the suspended Lukas Schmitz at left-back, whilst Mario Gavranovic came in for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who was out with a knee injury. Having played a fluid system in the first leg that had no set shape, Unai Emery selected a standard 4-2-3-1 system here. The major news was that Artiz Aduriz started upfront, with Roberto Soldado on the bench.” Zonal Maiking
“The year is 1975. By the banks of the Tyne in Dunston, newly absorbed into the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, an 8-year-old boy by the name of Paul Gascoigne dreams of emulating fellow local lad and future Gol TV commentator Ray Hudson, then a 20-year-old midfielder for Newcastle United. Brian Johnson, born in Dunston in 1947 and better known nowadays as the lead singer of AC/DC, is touring with the band Geordie and the Masters of Rock album they released the previous year. The Dunston staithes, first constructed in 1893 and the largest wooden structure to be found anywhere in Europe, are still being used to load coal from nearby coalfields into ships on the River Tyne, and workers at the Her Majesty’s Stationery Office have just entered their own team, called Whickham Sports FC, in the Newcastle City Amateur League.” The Accidental Groundhopper
“Milan had the majority of possession in both matches, but failed to score in 180 minutes of football. Harry Redknapp made one change from the first game, with Luka Modric returning in place of Wilson Palacios. Gareth Bale was only fit enough for the bench. Max Allegri named a surprisingly attacking side, even when considering this was a game Milan needed to win. Clarence Seedorf and Kevin-Prince Boateng were in a midfield three alongside Mathieu Flamini, with Robinho in the hole.” Zonal Marking
Tottenham 0-0 (1-0) Milan – Overall Match Analysis
“Some matches pose very interesting tactical conundrums for managers, pundits and fans to consider, with several potential approaches to a game all carrying pros and cons and needing to be weighed up against each other to ascertain which is the set of instructions most likely to result in victory. Perhaps the ultimate of these is currently “how do you beat Barcelona?”, which can offer numerous different strategies based on your team’s strengths and qualities versus their obvious strengths and perceived weaknesses.” Footballistically
“Outplaying your opponent for ninety percent of the match, yet still ending up on the wrond end of the score. It’s not the first time such a turn of events happened to Ajax. They managed to impress with their possession-based high pressing game and creating a fair share of chances along the way, but despite the 20 – 3 advantage in terms of goal scoring chances, Ajax failed to find a way past Spartak goalkeeper Dikan.” 11 tegen 11
“I’m biased, of course, but I reckon that this place is a bit special. Packed with believers and full of noise, illuminated by floodlights and bursting with passion, it’s a thrilling place to be on a matchday. But even empty and silent on a cold winter’s morning like this one, St James’ Park retains a special ambience and splendour that make it deserving of its place in the hearts of the Toon Army and at the heart of this great city.” Stuff by Paul Brown
“Arsene Wenger told Pep Guardiola to congratulate Massimo Busacca, but the Barcelona coach was more interested in congratulating his players. The Swiss referee might have been important during Barcelona’s 3-1 victory against Arsenal in a Champions League match Tuesday at the Camp Nou. He might even have been decisive. But Guardiola preferred to believe it was his players who were the difference. The trouble is, on their own, they might not have been. With Busacca, they won the match, eliminated Arsenal and advanced to the quarterfinals; without him, we will never know if they would have done so. The doubts will not go away. Nor will the anger and the accusations.” SI
“Twente has had a very respectable season so far. Given the fact that their successful manager Steve McLaren and several influential first team members had left during the summer, a sort of ‘transition season’ might have been expected. But those expectations have been superseded as the club had a respectable Champions League campaign, with home draws against defending European Champions Inter, and against Tottenham and Werder, finishing third in their Champions League Group. In the first Europa League knock-out stage they defeated Russian side Rubin Kazan, with a solid 2-0 away win proving the base for that victory.” 11 tegen 11
Harry Redknapp
“‘Parking the bus’ is not usually the Tottenham way. A club famed for its commitment to good, open, attacking football throughout the years, it’s maintained that reputation with its European performances this season. In the group phase, Spurs being involved in a 0-0 game was unthinkable.” ESPN
Tottenham 0-0 Milan: Spurs hang on
“Milan had the majority of possession in both matches, but failed to score in 180 minutes of football. Harry Redknapp made one change from the first game, with Luka Modric returning in place of Wilson Palacios. Gareth Bale was only fit enough for the bench.” Zonal Marking
“Rangers’ triumph over Sporting Lisbon will go down as one of the narrowest European two-legged victories of the season. Maurice Edu scored in the 92nd minute to take the tie on away goals, and Rangers progressed with a 2-2 draw having recorded only two shots on target in the entire second leg. Few matches illustrate so eloquently that football is a game of fine margins.” stv
“2011 marks the fifth anniversary of the Calciopoli scandal and the subsequent relegation of Italian football’s grandest club, Juventus. Many times the players who left la vecchia Signora in the aftermath of that blackest of marks on the sports great history have been spoken of; called traitors, mercenaries and cowards. But what of those who stayed, the heroes who have become a part of club legend, names that will be forever loved by the Bianconeri faithful?” In Bed With Mardona
La Batalla de San Romano, Paolo Uccello
“Arsenal didn’t manage a single shot, as Barcelona go through to the quarter-finals. Pep Guardiola chose Eric Abidal and Sergio Busquets at centre-back, as expected, though there was a surprise at left-back, where Adriano started over Maxwell. Both Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie were fit to start. Arsene Wenger decided to play Tomas Rosicky on the right, and Abou Diaby got the nod over Denilson.” Zonal Marking
Barcelona 3 – 1 Arsenal
“Arsenal were left with a sense of injustice after seeing Robin van Persie controversially sent off as they were knocked out of the Champions League again by Barcelona in the Camp Nou following a 3-1 loss. The Dutchman was a shock inclusion for the Gunners, who led 2-1 from the first leg, having recovered quicker than expected from the knee injury he sustained in the Carling Cup final.” ESPN
Barcelona sends Arsenal crashing back down to earth
“Arséne Wenger’s men are often too ready to accept their role as beautiful martyrs, highlighting the negativity of their opponents and bad refereeing as causes of their downfall. At Camp Nou, they may have been right to aggrieve the latter, never the former, although in football, much is about managing luck and that Arsenal escaped two penalty decisions has seemingly not registered with their arguments. Perhaps there is a saneness to that action because a penalty at 0-0 and subsequently at 1-0 when Pedro was brought down, wouldn’t have “killed the game” as Wenger exclaimed. When the harsh red-card was given, it certainly deprived the encounter of its competitive edge.” Arsenal Column
Arsene Wenger: From Dumbledore to dunce
“Until around 22.30 on Tuesday night, Arsene Wenger had a well-earned reputation in Spain for being a bit of an avuncular, Dumbledore type figure: unthreatening, cultured and a proper gent famous for relishing in the finer side of football. So much so, in fact, that Florentino Pérez – seeing the Frenchman’s name in a sticker album one afternoon – even tried to bring the Arsenal boss to the Bernabeu on his return to the Real Madrid presidency in 2009.” FourFourTwo
Envious of Arsenal.
“Humiliated in the manner of their League Cup Final defeat, and given an awe-inspiring runaround in Barcelona, it seems that Arsenal’s long wait for a trophy will endure. And yet, despite the heartbreak their fans must have suffered of late, as a Liverpool fan I remain envious.” Tomkins Times
FC Barcelona 3-1 Arsenal – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
The 90th Minute
“Childhood is seemingly the defining factor in what position someone ends up spending the majority of their life playing the beautiful game in. The sprinter on the wing, the disciplinarian in the middle and the big lad will play at the back. These are formulaic standards that characterize most people’s earliest associations with football. For some people though there is a hole in this and it’s referee shaped.” In Bed With Mardona
“Last month Deloitte published the latest edition of the Football Money League, their annual ranking of European clubs by revenue. Once again, the Premier League featured prominently with seven English clubs listed in the top 20, though the two highest earning clubs were still the Spanish giants, Real Madrid and Barcelona. On the face of it, this was yet another demonstration of the Premier League’s ability to generate revenue, while defying the effects of the economic recession.” The Swiss Ramble
“I. The Fourth Foer Brother. Every so often, when I’m faced with a lonely hour, I like to wile away some time by inventing a career for a hypothetical fourth Foer brother. You know the Foer brothers, of course: there’s Franklin, the oldest, who edited The New Republic and wrote How Soccer Explains the World; Jonathan Safran, the next-oldest, the whimsical-melancholy (whimsicholy?) novelist who published Everything Is Illuminated at 25 and instantly became a darling among the brownstones; and Joshua, the youngest, a national Memory Champion (he memorized the order of a complete deck of cards in under two minutes), the author of a new book about the world of competitive remembering, the secretary of the Athanasius Kircher Society, and the co-founder of Atlas Obscura, ‘a Compendium of the World’s Wonders, Curiosities, and Esoterica.’” Run of Play
“Charlie Davies has seen the photograph. Taken on the morning of Oct. 13, 2009, it shows the back section of a gray Infiniti SUV, sheared clean in half by the impact of a horrific one-car accident on the George Washington Parkway in northern Virginia. One passenger in the vehicle died. Davies, a blazing striker who had emerged as a vital piece of the U.S. World Cup puzzle, was in the back. Partway through the ride he had put on his seat belt, a move that probably saved his life. ‘When I saw the car, I thought, Was I really in there?” says Davies. “How could someone just six inches in front of me die and I’m still alive?'” SI
“Discounting Liverpool fans marching from a pub to the ground or Manchester United supporters wearing gold and green scarves to show their opposition to their owners, protest at football is not something we are used to in England. In Spain, public displays of disaffection by fans are a bit more common. In 2009, tens of thousands of Real Betis fans marched through the streets of Seville to demand the resignation of then president José León Gomez. Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad fans (and sometimes players) have long been known for publicly supporting the cause of Basque independence, while the same goes for Catalan self-determination at Barcelona.” In Bed With Mardona
“As I was dealing with a near-death experience recently (the doc later, somewhat laconically, described it as a case of tonsillitis, but what does he know about disease?), oddly enough, my life didn’t flash before my eyes as you’d expect it to. Maybe my life up until now has simply been too dull to be worth a re-run? Maybe I wasn’t really dying – who knows? The fact of the matter is that the feature film in the Last Chance to See (Anything) Cinema had nothing to do with myself but a whole lot to do with a country in an epoch so foreign to us 21st century boys (and girls) that it might as well have been a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” The Equaliser
“Being left-handed helps athletes in one of two ways. If you are a left-handed batter in baseball, most of the pitches you see, because most pitchers are righties, start away from your body and come towards you. The angle works in your favor: you don’t have to turn your head as far, you get a better and longer look at the ball. That’s the less common kind of advantage, and perhaps confined to baseball and (maybe?) cricket: the more common one is simple unfamiliarity.” Run of Play
“You might know Jonathan Wilson as a football journalist (Guardian, World Soccer magazine, Sports Illustrated etcetera) and author of four books (including Behind the Curtain: Football in Eastern Europe, Inverting the Pyramid), a tactics genius and historian, an expert on Slavic and Eastern European football, a Guardian Football Weekly regular, and a giant brain sitting in a tub of nutrient solution hooked up to a talking computer wheeled around by some lackey in a janitor suit, writes Richard Whittall. Well, he’s certainly most of those things, but now he’s also the editor of a massive (184 pages!) new football quarterly called The Blizzard.” European Football Weekends
“The Rough Guide to Cult Football is the ultimate companion to the beautiful game. The only football book of its kind, it goes beyond the usual back page material to uncover the most amazing stories and unlikeliest personalities on Planet Football. It reveals the stories behind the mavericks and cult figures that make up the real heroes of the game – from cultured mid fielders to jailbirds, drinkers to hard men, local legends to international wanderers.” amazon, Cult Football
“Liverpool’s resurgence under Kenny Dalglish appeared to have been derailed by last week’s loss to West Ham, but the Reds emerged triumphant in this fixture, prevailing over a Manchester United team that has now lost three out of five Premier League games for the first time since 2004.” Tomkins Times
Liverpool v Manchester United chalkboard analysis
“Dirk Kuyt was the hero with his three goals, but aside from his poaching the Dutchman had a good all-round game as the lone striker, coming short to pick up the ball and creating space for the Liverpool midfielders to exploit. The chalkboard shows that he rarely came deep into central positions, but instead pulled out to the flanks and combined with Liverpool’s wide players.” Guardian
“Below are MOTD video highlights for all the EPL matches on March 5, 2011. The full edition of MOTD can be viewed here.” The 90th Minute
“Is David Luiz destined to be a pillar of the defence and a leader of men for club and country? With their latest Brazilian acquisition, have Chelsea signed the new Lucio? There are clear similarities, not all of them complementary. Luiz, already in Portugal with Benfica, first appeared on the radar screen of the average Brazilian fan during a disastrous World Youth Cup campaign in Canada in 2007, mixing up some slipshod defending with disciplinary problems.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“It is easy to be disillusioned with modern football. In a game where clubs are willing to trade their heritage for a new flat-pack stadium and some supporters burn replica shirts when their star striker moves to another Premier League club, football has departed from its origins and core roots. It is only when you analyse how the game has evolved since the 1800’s, though, that you realise that it has been inevitable for several decades.” In Bed With Mardona
“Not too much to talk about with Barcelona and their 1-0 home win over Zaragoza best described as perfunctory. But it’s a better day for Pep Guardiola, who got the go-ahead to leave hospital on Monday after two nights being bed-bathed by buxom Barça-loving nurses whilst suffering from a hernia in his back.” FourFourTwo
“There are several things to do in a city at night. Sleep is typically the most judicious, but in a culture that disproportionately rewards crime, overtime and dance parties, it takes a conscious effort to honour your dreaming life.” Run of Play
“Atletico dominated here, and recorded a deserved victory in a good, open game. Qique Sanches Flores made various changes from the side that drew with Getafe in Atletico’s previous league game. He reverted to Atletico’s usual 4-4-2. Juan Garrido made only one change – Carlos Marchena dropped to the bench, so Mateo Musacchio came into the side at centre-back. The match was contested by two broadly similar sides, in terms of strategy and tactics. In formation terms, Atletico were 4-4-2 with the wingers looking to come inside, Villarreal were more of an obvious 4-2-2-2 with the interiores retreating to wide positions without the ball.” Zonal Marking
“Liverpool’s fully deserved 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Anfield may not ultimately prevent their arch-rivals surpassing the Reds’ 18 league titles at the end of the season. It has, however, dented Sir Alex Ferguson’s side’s hopes of a straightforward run-in and at the same time restored some pride for the Reds after two defeats at Old Trafford already this campaign. Dirk Kuyt grabbed the headlines with a first Liverpool hat-trick against United since Peter Beardsley’s in September 1990, before Javier Hernandez headed an injury-time consolation – but there were many more who deserved the plaudits.” ESPN
Kuyt delighted with ‘perfect’ day
“Dirk Kuyt hailed a “perfect” day after his hat-trick gave Liverpool a 3-1 win over Manchester United. Kuyt scored from close range on three occasions to put a dent in United’s title charge, but owed a lot to Luis Suarez who laid on two of the goals for him.” ESPN
Liverpool 3-1 Manchester United: Kuyt x 3
“Dirk Kuyt scored all three goals in a comfortable victory for Liverpool. Andy Carroll was fit enough only for the bench, so Kuyt and Luis Suarez played upfront. Daniel Agger was out, and Kenny Dalglish moved to four at the back, after last weekend’s poor performance with a back three at West Ham. Sir Alex Ferguson surprisingly named a 4-4-2 shape. Darren Fletcher dropped to the bench, Ryan Giggs came in and Nani switched flanks. Wes Brown replaced the suspended Nemanja Vidic.” Zonal Marking
Dirk Kuyt hat-trick fires Liverpool to victory over Manchester United
“Liverpool are not contenders for the Premier League title but there was deep satisfaction in damaging the prospects of the leaders. Manchester United, who scored only in stoppage time, were defeated resoundingly at Anfield by a hat-trick from Dirk Kuyt and could not hide the flaws at the core of a defence weakened by injury and suspension.” Guardian
Kuyt hat trick leads Liverpool to a 3-1 rout over Manchester United
“Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt’s hat-trick dealt a body blow to Manchester United’s Premier League title hopes as the faltering leaders were beaten 3-1 at Anfield on Sunday. United suffered their second league defeat in a week, after losing 2-1 at Chelsea on Tuesday, and their third in five league games to leave them just three points ahead of Arsenal who have played a game less.” SI
Liverpool v Manchester United: Five things we learned
“Kenny Dalglish should be appointed permanently, Michael Carrick disappointed and Luis Suárez is no Dutch flop” Guardian
United Routed By Reds’ Unsung Heroes.
“Although United pulled back a last-minute consolation goal, there was no denying that this was a rout; not a total thrashing, but about as comprehensive as you normally get in these types of game, where often a single goal decides things.” Tomkins Times
“A decisive second half performance from Mainz saw them defeat inconsistent Hamburg after the home side had taken a controversial lead via a goal that didn’t actually cross the line. Mainz came into this game knowing a win would lift them above Bayern Munich and into fourth spot. Hamburg knew a win by two clear goals would lift them above Mainz into fifth. As if to spice things up even further, it was the home side who ended Mainz’s spectacular start to the season, winning at the Bruchweg stadium with a late Jose Paolo Guerrero goal back in October.” Defensive Midfielder
“Only three months after their match in the Dutch Cup quarter final, where Frank de Boer made his debut as Ajax manager, Ajax and AZ met again in the ArenA. An early goal gave Ajax a comfortable start on which they built a patient game, pressing AZ just enough to stay clear of trouble, preferring to save their energy for later this week.” 11 tegen 11
De Graafschap 2 – 1 Willem II: Fancy tactics don’t guarantee a fancy game
“A late comeback ensured a home victory for De Graafschap in a game many wouldn’t like to have stuck in their memory for too long. Despite the disappointing performance and lots of mistakes on both sides, this game carried some fancy tactics that I didn’t want to keep to myself.” 11 tegen 11
“For around three decades after the foundation of the Football League in 1888, the game remained unchanged. Teams played with two backs, three halves and five forwards, and soccer was all about getting the ball out to the winger so he could cross for the center forward. Pattern-weaving — working the ball in neat triangles between midfield and attack – was seen as the ideal and soccer was largely formulaic.” SI
“Barcelona beat Zaragoza 1-0 on a first-half goal by Seydou Keita to provisionally move 10 points clear of second-place Real Madrid in the Spanish league on Saturday. Keita scored what proved to be the winner for the defending champions two minutes before halftime, tapping in a pass from Lionel Messi from close range.” SI
“Rino Gattuso’s scrappy goal settled a game lacking in creativity. Gigi Delneri made various changes, with Gianluigi Buffon, Armand Traore, Luca Toni and Frederik Sorensen all coming into the side, in the usual 4-4-2. Max Allegri was without Pato, so Antonio Cassano started alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with Kevin-Prince Boateng just behind.” Zonal Marking
“While we much prefer to bask in their refracted glory, it’s important to note that 2010-11’s all-conquering superteam known as Barcelona stood on the edge of a very different and much more depressing era not too long ago. Before lawyer/politician Joan Laporta took over in 2003, the club had been mired in rising debts and dismal on-pitch performances, so much so that Real had become dominant while the Blaugrana could only reflect on their last trophy, the 1998-99 La Liga title. It took time, effort, and a great deal of patience for Laporta’s vision to take shape, but in the years since, life at the Nou Camp has never been better.” James T
Valencia 0-1 Barcelona: both sides try different systems, but both switch back to the usual
“Lionel Messi had an off-day…and yet still scored the winner as Barcelona temporarily move ten points clear at the top. Unai Emery had been trying Juan Mata as a number nine all week in training, and used him that position here, as Valencia went into the the game with no real striker. There was a reshuffle at the back, and two full-backs were used in tandem down the left flank.” Zonal Marking
Valencia 0-1 FC Barcelona – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – La Liga
The 90th Minute
“It has but been confirmed, as of the start of the 2012 season Serie A will only be allocated three Champions League spots. The confirmation came after all three Italian sides lost their first leg matches in the Champions League whilst Napoli was eliminated from the Europa League. These results have made it impossible for Serie A to catch the Bundesliga in the UEFA Coefficient Rankings so consequently Serie A will remain in fourth spot.” Serie A Weekly
“The compressing and expanding accordion that is the Ligue 1 title race was squeezed together once again in Week 25, with just four points now separating the top five after Lille’s 1-1 draw at home to Lyon.” Football Further
“The Scottish delegate rose and proposed an amendment to Law 1, concerning the field of play. He moved that it be made compulsory for all fields to be surrounded by digital advertising boards, whose height would be no less than seven feet (2.14m) and would not exceed fifteen feet (4.57m). The chair enquired of the Scottish delegate as to the purpose that would be served by such an amendment.” sport is a tv show
“It would be impossible to write a collection of articles on the subject of football in the 1950s without paying homage to the Mighty Magyars. One of the greatest teams to have ever graced the game, for the best part of six years Gusztáv Sebes’ Hungary thrilled audiences across Europe with their innovative and unique style, going down in history as one of the finest sporting collectives there has ever been.” The Equaliser
It’s 1950s month on The Equaliser
“The ‘Decade by Decade’ series continues in March with a look at football in the 1950s. With the game back on its feet after the Second World War, this was a decade which saw the game begin to flourish once again, World Cups resuming and a series of rich footballing narratives being played out against the backdrop of an unprecedented global economic boom and yet growing Cold War paranoia.” The Equaliser
“Llanelli have enjoyed success from being one of the most consistent teams in the Principality Welsh Premier League over the last few seasons. The West Wales side have not finished outside of the top three in the last five seasons and in 2008 they were crowned Welsh Premier League champions. In each of the last four campaigns they have boasted the Welsh Premier’s leading goalscorer in Rhys Griffiths and the striker is currently challenging for an unprecedented sixth consecutive golden boot award despite the side occupying an unfamiliar fourth place as they head into the business end of the season.” In Bed With Maradona
“I have a new piece in Slate on parity in soccer, which of course means the lack of parity in soccer, which means the fact that Real Madrid and Barcelona have combined to win 51 La Liga titles compared to 28 for all the other clubs in Spain, and Blackburn is still the only club outside the Functional Big Three ever to win a Premier League title, and even a plucky underdog like Leyton Orient, after bravely winning an FA Cup draw against Arsenal at home, can expect to be roto-rooted into oblivion by Nicklas Bendtner at the Emirates.” Run of Play
“Fernando Torres, the £50 million mercenary, can’t score goals. Ashley Cole shoots people, Glen Johnson steals toilet seats, and Wayne Rooney probably shuns direct deposit just so he can wrap his grubby, calloused hands around somewhere in the neighborhood of £250,000 every week. In Rooney’s case, his astronomical paycheck is his reward for verbally accosting referees, assaulting fellow professionals, and the occasional exquisite bicycle kick. At least that’s what the interwebs and media outlets tell me when they aren’t telling me how special he is.” Nutmeg Radio
Scissors Kick 