Cristian Ledesma
“Last season was a bittersweet symphony for Lazio, as they missed out on qualifying for the Champions League by the narrowest or margins. They finished up with the same points total as fourth placed Udinese, had the same record in the head-to-head against the team from Friuli, but lost out due to an inferior goal difference. Although this must have been disappointing, as Lazio occupied a Champions League place for most of the season, in the cold light of day it was still a notable achievement.” SwissRamble
Daily Archives: September 2, 2011
Subpar opposing defense helps Manchester clubs excel
“In 1968, Manchester City won the league and a few days later Manchester United won the European Cup. In May, City won the FA Cup; later the same afternoon, United won the league. It was typical of the relationship between the Manchester clubs that after City had thumped one north London team 5-1 on Sunday, United went and thrashed the other one 8-2. Of more concern to the Premier League and football in general, though, is what Sunday said about the relationship between the Manchester clubs and everybody else.” SI
Barcelona 5-0 Villarreal: Guardiola switches to a 3-4-3 (diamond) and Barca run riot
“Barcelona demolished a lacklustre Villarreal side in their first La Liga game of the season. Pep Guardiola was without Dani Alves, Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique, so played just one nominal defender, Eric Abidal, and used Sergio Busquets and Javier Mascherano alongside him. Xavi Hernandez and David Villa were benched with Thiago Alcantara, Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez all starting.” Zonal Marking
In praise of Non League Day
“This weekend sees the second Non League Day. With Engerland playing on Friday night and no distractions of the Premier and Football League, Non League clubs up and down the country are throwing open their gates to encourage those fans who have never really experienced real football to give it a go.” The Ball is Round
Five-star England hammer Germany
“In 2001, before the distraction of the transfer window arrived, there was some important football to played on September 1 and on the international stage England completed one of their finest ever results on this day – a 5-1 hammering of the old enemy Germany at the Olympiastadion in Munich.” ESPN
Trouble in paradise
“My first, already fading, memories of a Real Madrid-Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu go back to December 1990. After a long history of failed efforts, a bunch of friends and myself finally managed to get tickets to watch the two giants face to face live. It was the second leg of that season’s Supercopa, and even though the tournament was perceived as second-rate when compared to La Liga or the old European Cup, the atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic.” ESPN
15 Brilliant remixes
“THERE are remixes and then there are remixes… When I first started buying 12″ records around 1986, it seemed every single had a dance remix available to buy for a pound or so more. Less so much a remix, more a lengthening procedure – what you got was essentially just the same record but extended at the start for four minutes or so with some pre-house disco beats knocked out by the likes of Shep Pettibone, Jellybean Benitez or Arthur Baker.” The Anfield Wrap