Daily Archives: June 2, 2011

What makes Barcelona such a formidable team? – Part 1

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“On Saturday night Barcelona beat Manchester United comfortably to secure their third Champions League victory in just 6 years, and their second under Pep Guardiola. The manner of the victory – against undoubtedly their biggest European rivals over the last 5 years – has left many in no doubt that this is a special team up there with the best in history. Even the traditionally insular English media had to hold their hands up and admit that Barcelona’s blueprint was the way forward, after seeing their nation’s top club humbled on home soil.” The Backwards Gooner – Part 1, Part 2

Goals of the Season 2010-11

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“We’ve got halfway-line lobs! We’ve got net-ripping volleys! We’ve got… speculative shots from near the right-hand corner flag! Roll up, roll up, ladies and gentlemen, and feast your eyes on Football Further‘s Goals of the Season 2010-11 (goals presented in purely chronological order)…” Football Further

The 50 greatest European club sides

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“Alex Ferguson was left in no doubt. ‘In my time as a manager I would say yes, this is the best team I’ve faced.’ But then, on Saturday night at Wembley, the Manchester United manager wasn’t exactly analysing the issue with the most detached viewpoint. His team had just been utterly dismantled by Barcelona. And as he gets closer to the end of his career, it was a performance that will probably leave as deep an impression as that of Real Madrid at Hampden Park near the start of it in 1960.” The Football Pantheon

Three pivotal Euro 2012 clashes

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“In football, there’s very little rest for the weary. After a long European club campaign, many top players are being called back into action for Euro 2012 qualifying matches on June 3, 4 and 7. There will be over 20 games, so which ones should you focus on? Here are our picks for the three matches with the most at stake as teams continue their quest to qualify for Poland and Ukraine.” ESPN

The 2010-2011 Season: Five tactical observations

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Edwin van der Sar
“Despite being prefaced by a World Cup that was characterised by stodgy, unadventurous football and which produced the lowest goals-per-game ratio (2.27) since the notoriously defensive 1990 tournament (2.21), the 2010-11 European football season was generally a positive one for teams that sought to keep the ball on the deck and play an expansive game. Football Further examines some of the tactical trends that have emerged in the continent’s major leagues over the last 10 months.” Football Further

The tactical challenges facing Liverpool FC and how Kenny Dalglish can overcome them

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“THE sporting commentariat are often fond of cliché, and in football there is no phrase more well-worn than the one about it being a game of two halves. But in Liverpool’s case, the 2010-11 season truly was bi-polar. The club’s renaissance under Kenny Dalglish, following a grim six months with Roy Hodgson at the helm, has seen the side tighten up defensively while at times playing some wonderfully free-flowing passing football.” Daily Post

CSKA Moscow v Spartak Moscow

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“Upon the announcement in November that Prince William was to marry Kate Middleton, my overriding thoughts were not of joy for the happy couple, but of nausea and a desire for escape. Attention quickly turned to football: ‘where on earth could I go to get away from this inevitable show of unbridled patriotism?’ A scour through the European fixtures, shortly thereafter, showed that CSKA would host Spartak Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium that very weekend. The Russians would surely not care about Kate and Wills, and instead, I could watch two of the biggest teams in the Russian Premier League meet in the first derby of the season.” European Football Weekends