“Roberto Martinez picked a ball up from by his feet, rolled it across a tray of thick brown paint and tossed it across the field to Victor Moses. Moses stopped its flight with his chest and let it fall to his feet. He moved forwards with the ball, lifted his head and sent the ball arcing across the field at knee height. The paint lightly sprayed as the ball spun, tracing a curved line over the grass.” Run of Play
“Beautiful women, sweet oranges, 3000 tapas bars and Real Betis – that’s my kind of European Football Weekend. Forget your swimming with dolphins nonsense: a visit to the Estadio Benito Villamarín has been on my ‘things to do before I die’ list for years. Betis are a fun club; one with a fan base possessing an all important – to me anyway – self-deprecating sense of humour. Think Manchester City before the money started to roll in. It may have been the thick end of 40 degrees today, but that didn’t stop a mad Englishman and around 40,000 Béticos going out in the midday sun.” European Football Weekends
“When it comes to explaining Barcelona’s draw against Real Sociedad – which doesn’t seem so bad when you consider Pep’s Dream Boys still have more points than this time last year – LLL falls into line with Mundo Deportivo. ‘It wasn’t the ‘FIFA Virus’ or the wrong line-up, nor bad luck. Barça dropped two points in San Sebastian because they fell for the old sin of complacency,’ writes Joan Poquí.” FourFourTwo
“Real Madrid seized an early advantage in the Spanish league by beating Getafe 4-2 on Saturday after Barcelona squandered an early lead to draw 2-2 at Real Sociedad. Madrid striker Karim Benzema and Getafe’s Nicolas “Miku” Fedor scored in an evenly matched first half at Santiago Bernabeu stadium.” SI
Barca held, Madrid win
“Barcelona were pegged back from two goals ahead as Real Sociedad snatched a superb and deserved 2-2 draw at the Estadio de Anoeta. Two goals in as many minutes from Xavi and Cesc Fabregas put Barca 2-0 up inside the opening quarter-hour and they appeared to be cruising, but Imanol Agirretxe’s header changed all that and Antoine Griezmann netted a bizarre equaliser – making good on his pre-match promise to prove his commitment to the club after the collapse of his longed-for summer move to Atletico Madrid.” ESPN
“Liverpool stumbled over a familiar hurdle at the Britannia Stadium as they slipped to their first defeat of the season. In four visits to Stoke since the Potters earned promotion to the Premier League, the Reds have collected just two points and lost their last two matches. Not since 1968 have Stoke recorded back-to-back home league wins over Liverpool and the result brought a side brimming with confidence before the international break back down to earth with a hefty bump.” ESPN
Stoke City record valuable victory over wasteful Liverpool
“After a start to the season that took them to the top of the table for the first time in two years, there had been growing talk of Liverpool having developed into genuine title contenders. But at a ground that has consistently proved to be a graveyard of success for the club came the feeling that even at this earliest of stages, their championship hopes may just have died a little.” Guardian
“In kicking off its season with a single match on a Friday evening, as if the start could not come soon enough after the first round of fixtures were postponed because of a players’ strike, the Lega Serie A displayed the kind of awkward creativity borne out of a crisis that seems to run in the Italian blood.” ESPN
Milan 2-2 Lazio: danger down the flanks
“The opening Serie A game of the season was excellent, with all four goals coming in a frantic first 35 minutes. Max Allegri continued with his 4-3-1-2 shape, with Antonio Cassano playing just off Zlatan Ibrahimovic upfront. Edy Reja gave debuts to two strikers, Miroslav Klose and Djibril Cisse, though the Frenchman played in a wide-left role. It was a similar, lopsided 4-2-3-1 to the system Lazio used last season. The main tactical interest here was how obviously vulnerable both teams were in certain positions – and, as it happened, they were both vulnerable in exactly the same ways, despite the difference in formations.” Zonal Marking
“When England took on Bulgaria in this month’s European Championship qualifiers the commentators mentioned the name of a little known Bulgarian striker of the 1960’s and remarked, “He was the Dimitar Berbatov of his day.” I can assure you he was far more than that. The name Georgi Asparuhov may not mean a great deal to a large number of people but in his native Bulgaria he was and still is a footballing icon. He was a talent of enviable proportions and a man of grace and humility but his untimely death robbed the world of his skills.” In Bed With Maradona
“Manchester United’s start to the season has been exemplary. Not only are they top of the league after winning their first three games, but they have also scored an impressive 13 goals in the process. They have already put North London to the sword, brushing aside Spurs 3-0 before spanking Arsenal 8-2 in one of the most extraordinary matches that the Premier League has ever seen.” Swiss Ramble
“Inter Milan. President Massimo Moratti has once again been cautious with the chequebook. Selling Samuel Eto’o makes much sense from a financial standpoint while the arrival of Diego Forlan seems to be more smart business. The same cannot be said for Mauro Zarate and the lack of investment looks risky, although adding talented young midfielder Andrea Poli is an incredibly smart move. Retaining the services of Wesley Sneijder may prove their best piece of business.” ESPN
“As a rule, English players rarely move abroad. These days, it’s arguable they don’t need to — the money is in England, as are many of Europe’s best clubs — but even when Italy and Spain find themselves in similar privileged positions, you see their players venturing to different countries. The English stick to what they know, for various reasons — poor language skills, perhaps, or a reluctance to experience a different culture. The lack of knowledge from overseas is arguably one of the many reasons that has made English football so insular.” ESPN
“Spain’s unsurprising 6-0 win over Liechtenstein on Tuesday night sealed a wrinkle-free qualification through to the Euro 2012 finals in Poland and the Ukraine. And that got LLL’s noggin a-bogglin’. While the make-up of the Spain squad for that competition and even the World Cup in 2014 could look similar, barring a few Xavi- and Puyol-shaped tweaks, the blog started contemplating how a 4-3-3 Spain in five years’ time may well look for Euro 2016 in France…” FouFourTwo
“Jamie Casey on why his enforced desertion of Armagh City is part of a wider problem affecting football both sides of the Irish border. The last time I went to watch my hometown team, Kevin Pressman was keeping goal for the opposition. It shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise, really, given that the former Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper was 39 years old and carrying even more weight than his usually plump self.” In Bed With Maradona
Dennis Bergkamp, Holland 2-1 Argentina, World Cup quarter-final
“A selection of eight games that really shouldn’t have been wasted on the earlier rounds of the tournaments they took place in.” SI
“Substitute Giampaolo Pazzini ensured Italy became the second team after Germany to qualify for next summer’s Euro 2012 finals as his late goal handed them a 1-0 win over Slovenia in Florence. The Slovenians had put up a brave fight before Pazzini, a 61st-minute replacement for Antonio Cassano, pounced five minutes from time to give his side an unassailable lead at the top of Group C. Serbia took full advantage to move into second place with a 3-1 stroll over the Faroe Islands in Belgrade with goals from Milan Jovanovic, Zoran Tosic and Zdravko Kuzmanovic, while Estonia are still in with a shout after ending Northern Ireland’s hopes with an impressive 4-1 win in Tallinn….” ESPN
“Sometimes soccer can seem a very simple sport. The great Dutch coach Rinus Michels, the father of the Total Football school of the late sixties and early seventies and the man who took that style of soccer to Barcelona, believed that his side should always play one more defender than the other team had attackers. If the opponent played three up, Michels liked four back; if two up, then three back. To an extent, that has been the theoretical orthodoxy ever since.” SI
“Football and war have had a strange relationship over the years and have often come together in the most unlikely of circumstances. One famous example is the now legendary (and somewhat mythical) First World War truce in no man’s land when despondent troops from opposing trenches supposedly stopped on Christmas day for a good-natured kick-about. There have been many other instances where football has been affected by war such as the time in 1938 when Liverpool Manager George Kay, along with dozens of top flight footballers, joined the Territorial Army in readiness for the inevitable conflict with Nazi Germany. When the war came many players hung up their boots and took up arms to fight for their country and inevitably some never returned.” In Bed With Maradona
“Writing in The Guardian a couple of days ago, columnist Charlie Brooker bemoaned his inability to partake in the nation’s passion for sport, going through each major national pastime in turn and finding fault with almost every one. Football was quickly dismissed. He did not feel remotely like roaring with delight at the sight of a multimillionaire kicking a ball at a net.” Guardian
“Guided by a superb performance of playmaker Wesley Sneijder, Holland managed an eighth straight Euro 2012 victory by beating Finland by two goals. Smart exploitation of the space conceded behind the Finnish defensive line allowed a fair share of through ball, one of which was beautifully finished by Strootman, who scored his first international goal in an otherwise strong appearance.” 11 tegen 11
“Engineers build things, economists study efficiency, and kids who live above pubs learn a lot about soccer. These three backgrounds are the source of Arsene Wenger’s managerial success at Arsenal. He builds clubs, finds players from every corner of the world in a cost-effective manner, and teaches them the art of soccer. After the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, combined with the humiliating defeat at Old Trafford, Arsene Wenger’s professorship is under question.” EPL Talk
“Another slightly delayed post on our recent national team’s performance. And yet again, for future reference and for the message conveyed in this particular match, it still is important to review Holland’s performance against a stubborn and, apart from the first 20 minutes, well organized Finland side. Oranje, as always, lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with man-in-the-hole Sneijder given a high degree of positional freedom, looking to see a lot of the ball and being involved in a very high proportion of the attacking plays.” 11 tegen 11
“While Uruguay’s players were still celebrating their recent Copa America victory, their coach Oscar Washington Tabarez, with typical wisdom, was guarding against complacency. ‘Winning the Copa doesn’t give us any guarantees in terms of the World Cup qualifiers,’ he said. ‘They are much more competitive than this tournament.’ On Friday, in their first outing since the triumph in Argentina, it took Uruguay just 13 seconds to realise that the Copa belongs to the past.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“For almost a century, money and soccer lived an uneasy relationship. Teams scraped by on modest sponsorships and reliable but not cosmic TV deals. They competed for players, but dollars and cents arms races were rare. Then came the Galácticos. If the Bosman ruling allowed the snake of commerce into Football’s Garden of Eden, then Florentino Perez swallowed an entire barrel of apples without thought. Looking back, a Madrid fan doesn’t feel vindicated by the trophies. Rather, he or she wonders how they won anything at all.” The Equaliser
“Real Madrid duo Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria were amongst the goals as Argentina defeated Nigeria 3-1 in an international friendly in Bangladesh. Higuain and Di Maria both netted in quick succession to put Argentina 2-0 up after 26 minutes and in control of the contest. Nigeria pulled a goal back right after half-time through Chinedu Obasi, but Argentina sealed the victory when Uwa Elderson inadvertently deflected the ball into his own net midway through the second period.” ESPN
“Last night Fulham’s Craven Cottage stadium hosted the international friendly between Ghana and Brazil. As friendlies go, this was a particularly enticing prospect, with the likes of Ronaldinho and Neymar on show to people who perhaps haven’t had chance to see them play live before. Not to mention chance for London’s sizable Ghanaian community to see the Black Stars in action against the most famous international team in the world.” Narrow the Angle
“In the last couple of years a number of Italian footballing personalities have moved to Russia to ply their trade. Luciano Spalletti, the current Zenit St Petersburg manager, and Salvatore Bocchetti of Rubin Kazan are enjoying successful stints, while Domenico Criscito looks set to emulate them under the tutelage of Spalletti at Zenit. But the story of one Italian player, whose promising talent disappeared off the radar during a horrific spell in Russia, is in stark contrast to the positive experiences of his compatriots.” In Bed With Maradona
Charles le Brun, Alexander and Porus
“Wayne Rooney hit a brace as England took a significant stride towards Euro 2012 with an impressive 3-0 hammering of Bulgaria in Sofia. A decade after that memorable 5-1 win over Germany in Munich, Fabio Capello’s men could not quite come up with a repeat performance. Nevertheless, their hosts had no answer to a three-goal first-half salvo – with defender Gary Cahill opening the scoring – that means four points from their final two games will book England a ticket to next summer’s Finals in Poland and Ukraine.” ESPN
Chris Smalling shows why England is no longer a country for old men
“Looking on the bright side, as Wayne Rooney is prone to doing these days, England have won every away game since the World Cup. The striker’s optimism may overlook some questionable performances at home and a World Cup that was more dire than anything that had gone before, but thanks to England’s success on the road – and Wales doing them a favour against Montenegro on Friday – the route to Euro 2012 qualification now seems straightforward.” Guardian
Scotland 2-2 Czech Republic
“Scotland’s Euro 2012 qualifying hopes are all but over after a controversial last-minute penalty gave Czech Republic a draw in their Group I qualifier at Hampden. Kenny Miller put the home side ahead a minute from the break from a pass by skipper Darren Fletcher but that was levelled in the 78th minute by midfielder Jaroslav Plasil.” ESPN
Ireland 0 – 0 Slovakia
“Hollywood newcomer Robbie Keane fluffed his lines as he passed up a glorious opportunity to keep the Republic of Ireland firmly in the race for the Euro 2012 finals. The 31-year-old LA Galaxy striker, who missed a penalty in the reverse fixture in October, headed wide from just five yards with 16 minutes of a distinctly uncomfortable contest against Slovakia remaining to let slip a victory his side never really deserved.” ESPN
Albania 1 – 2 France
“France had to cling on in Tirana as three points against Albania moved Laurent Blanc’s team closer to an automatic place at Euro 2012. Early goals from Karim Benzema and Yann M’Vila looked to have put Les Bleus in complete control inside the first quarter of the match, but Albania rocked the visitors with a reply from Erjon Bogdani in the opening minute of the second half. The hosts had chances to net an equaliser but France stayed ahead.” ESPN
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
“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 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
“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
“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
“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
“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
Scissors Kick 