Monthly Archives: November 2011

Five points on Arsenal 3-0 West Bromwich Albion

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“Arsenal crept out of the negatives for goal difference this season and into the positives for the first time, and for that they can say they have finally moved on from their disastrous start. The victory was more symbolic than being noted for the actual performance which was once again dominant without having to hit second gear. The Gunners added vigour to victory and while Robin van Persie was a major influence in all three of the goals, it was very much a collective endeavour.” Arsenal Column

Athletic 2-2 Barcelona: Bielsa stifles Barca by telling his players to stick tightly to opponents

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“Marcelo Bielsa’s tactics managed to hold Barcelona to a draw in an exciting match at the San Mamés. Bielsa went with a 4-3-3ish shape, with Javi Martinez at centre-back, and Iker Muniain out on the right – a slight surprise, given the winger has started on the left for much of the season. Pep Guardiola picked a 4-3-3, but with a front three featuring a deep-lying forward, a central midfielder and a wing-back, as David Villa was left out. This was a match that could have gone either way – Barcelona had four times as many attempts as Athletic, yet needed a last minute goal to snatch a draw.” Zonal Marking

Athletic Bilbao 2 – 2 Barcelona
“Lionel Messi scored in injury time to preserve Barcelona’s unbeaten start to the season as they struggled in heavy rain in Bilbao. Barcelona conceded for the first time in 900 minutes of football and appeared destined for defeat when Gerard Pique’s own goal gave Athletic the lead with ten minutes to go. But Messi took advantage of a slip from Gorka Iraizoz in a drenched penalty area to lash home a late equaliser. Cesc Fabregas had earlier cancelled out Ander Herrera’s opener.” ESPN

Barcelona will never be for sale, says club president Sandro Rosell
“Sandro Rosell, the Barcelona president, has criticised the corporate and foreign ownership of major Premier League clubs, saying that while he is in charge his club, which is owned by its 180,000 members, will ‘never, ever be for sale’.” Guardian

The Story of Football In East Germany

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“Following the Autumn of Nations in 1989, many of the football leagues in Central and Eastern Europe went through revolutions of their own. The main leagues of Czechoslovakia split to form two new leagues in the newly independent Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Soviet Supreme League was disbanded and new championships were formed in the former Soviet Republics. The likes of Dynamo Kiev, Dinamo Minsk, Dinamo Tbilisi and Neftchi Baku were no longer faced with long trips to Moscow or St Petersburg and the perceived bias in favour of the Russian teams. Instead they were founder members of new competitions in Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and Azerbaijan respectively. Whilst Hungary, Poland and initially Yugoslavia remained sovereign states, even their leagues were hugely affected by the collapse of communism, with many teams no longer able to rely on the State for their budget, recruitment and influence.” In Bed With Maradoma

Peruvian striker Andy Polo makes headlines

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“A special player is coming to my adopted city of Rio de Janeiro this Wednesday. Universitario of Peru are visiting Vasco da Gama in the quarter-finals of South America’s Europa League equivalent [called the Copa Sul-Americana in Brazil, the Sudamericana elsewhere on the continent] and in their ranks is 17-year-old striker Andy Polo. Already linked with Liverpool and Arsenal, Polo is of particular interest to me. He is something I have been waiting for.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Mihajlovic doomed from the start

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“Sinisa Mihajlovic’s departure from Fiorentina on Monday came as no surprise, after a poor run of form at the beginning of the season and constant calls for the manager to leave from the club’s supporters. Replacing Cesare Prandelli was an almost impossible task. Prandelli had taken charge of Fiorentina in the summer of 2005, when it had narrowly avoided relegation to Serie B on the convoluted basis of its head-to-head record against two other sides. By the time Prandelli left, Fiorentina had enjoyed two consecutive Champions League campaigns — and it would have been more were it not for the penalties of the calciopoli scandal.” ESPN

How Mario Balotelli Became MARIO BALOTELLI!!!

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Mario Balotelli
“Sometime during the early morning of October 22, around the moment when the first reports started appearing on the Internet, Mario Balotelli ceased to exist. The headlines that caused his sudden dematerialization were, for the most part, surprisingly restrained, especially for the British press. You could even call them tasteful. “Mario Balotelli rescued by fire brigade after setting his house alight with fireworks,” the Mirror murmured. “Mario Balotelli’s house set on fire as he shoots fireworks from window,” the Guardian agreed. Maybe the copy editors were struggling just to fit in all the facts — none of them even alluded to the best detail of all, which was that the fireworks that ignited Balotelli’s mansion had been launched from the bathroom window. Or maybe the basic outline was weird enough that not even the tabloids needed to dress it up.” Grantland – Brian Phillips (Video)

Liverpool 0 – 0 Swansea City

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“Striker Andy Carroll was the fall-guy for Liverpool after missing a first-half sitter in the goalless draw at home to Swansea. For the second successive home match against a newly-promoted team Kenny Dalglish’s side failed to convert their chances. Carroll’s was the miss everyone will remember, although there were enough opportunities created afterwards to have prevented a third home draw in a row.” ESPN

Dalglish laments disappointing performance
“Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish refused to blame Andy Carroll for his close-range first-half miss but said his side’s performance in the goalless draw at home to Swansea was unacceptable. For the second successive home match against a promoted team the Reds created a number of chances but could not convert. Their frustration was not helped by a couple of brilliant saves from Michel Vorm late on to deny Luis Suarez and Glen Johnson but the major talking point was Carroll’s miss from six yards in only the seventh minute.” ESPN

Liverpool FC 0 Swansea City 0 – Final whistle report
“LIVERPOOL’S poor home form continued as they were held to a goalless draw by newly-promoted Swansea City on a frustrating afternoon at Anfield. It was the Reds’ third successive home stalemate in the Premier League and they have now won just two of their six home matches. Boss Kenny Dalglish will rue another stack of missed chances and Swans keeper Michel Vorm pulled off some stunning saves.” FC Liverpool Echo

Fabio Capello a lost soul looking for a new leader in English football’s moral maze

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“The contrast with the calm demeanour and technical calibre of this week’s opponents, Spain, the champions of the world and fine ambassadors for the sport, must be painful for Capello to behold. As he outlined his views on the England squad yesterday, and particularly sought to justify his inclusion of John Terry but not Rio Ferdinand, the Italian was again accompanied by an interpreter; what he really needs is a guide to steer him through the moral maze of English football.” Telegraph – Henry Winter

All time Har Low

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“Football on TV was restricted to Match of the Day on Saturday and The Big Match on Sunday tea time. Occasionally, we were also treated to extended highlights on Sportsnight, presented by Harry Carpenter, during the week if there was an England game on or some FA Cup replays. Back then the football authorities were sensible. None of this “we need 10 days to sort out replay days” malarkey. It was as simple as “if we draw on Saturday, we replay on Tuesday”…and if that one is a draw then we will toss a coin to determine where the 2nd replay will be two days later (or on some instances the 3rd and 4th replays).” The Ball is Round

The Reducer: Week 10, Happiness Is a Warm Gun

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“What do you call a match that had eight goals, was played at Red Bull-on-an-IV-drip pace, and featured breathtaking passing movements executed at fast-forward speed? A match that had the heartwarming rise of one of Britain’s best young talents, a telepathic assist from a man with a very strange hairline, a world-class performance from one of the hottest strikers in Europe, The Reducer’s favorite kind of goal celebration, and a cameo from Epithetus, the Greek god of alleged racial abuse? Why, it’s the match of the season, comrades! Arsenal and Chelsea had a throwdown on Saturday, with the Gunners winning, away. 5-3. And it was one of the great football matches in recent memory.” Grantland (Video)

How Bosnia’s pioneering footballers are succeeding where the politicians failed

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“A cold autumn mist seasoned with woodsmoke hangs over the stadium on what was no man’s land during Sarajevo’s four-year siege – the first Serbian machine-gun post was just behind the goal where the ‘maniac crew’ of Željeznicar Sarajevo sing and the electronic scoreboard now stands. Tonight, it shows a result of 2-0 in favour of Željeznicar against Celik Zenica in the Bosnian cup.” Guardian

Borussia Dortmund 5-1 Wolfsburg

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“Borussia Dortmund capitalised on yet another mistake-ridden defensive performance by Wolfsburg to move up to second place in the Bundesliga. Felix Magath started the match with an extremely defensive line-up in a bid to crowd out Dortmund’s midfield-based passing game, and despite these tactics working perfectly in the opening ten minutes of the match, a mistake at the back allowed Dortmund to score, forcing Wolfsburg to come out and play, thereby leaving themselves open to the magic of Shinji Kagawa and Mario Götze – both of whom gave attacking-midfield masterclasses. The 5-1 defeat leaves Wolfsburg in 14th place with the second-worst goal difference in the Bundesliga, and you can’t help but feel that if it was anyone but title-winning coach Felix Magath at the helm, the board’s trigger finger would be getting twitchy.” Defensive Midfielder

Counting the cost at Liverpool

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“Roy Hodgson 0-9 Kenny Dalglish: not the score at The Hawthorns on Saturday, comfortable as Liverpool’s win was, but the number of men recruited by the Merseysiders’ last two managers who were named in the visitors’ matchday squad of 18. Six started, showing 2011 has been a year of rapid transformation as well as heavy investment at Anfield. But, while Dalglish invariably insists players are signed for the long term and snap judgments can be deceptive, how are the signings shaping up? And are they delivering value for money?” ESPN

Joe Cole enhanced by life beyond the Premier League

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“Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne. The Englishman receives the ball inside the opposition half and embarks on a purposeful run towards the goal in front of the Tribune Charles Paret. He is with new company in unfamiliar surroundings but, with the ball at his feet, he is reassured to find that the sensations are the same. Defenders disappear in his slipstream before a body-swerve takes him past another opponent and into the penalty area. With one sweep of his right foot, a new chapter in his life begins.” Football Further

Race, Language and Symbolism

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William Blake – Los Painting
“I begin with a basic and ironic premise: when dealing with racism, we too often think in terms of black & white. No, not black people and white people, but rather innocence/guilt, right/wrong, good/evil. The most dangerous aspect of evil is its ability to snuff out empathy, even for its own evil bad-ass self. These past few weeks, we’ve seen instances of Spanish-language players, Luis Suarez and Cesc Fabregas, allegedly uttering racist insults. Yet I ask—do our Anglo racial linguistic norms really offer the right and only lens by which to judge them?” Run of Play

Tactics: the formation that cost Inter coach his job

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“A 3-1 defeat at promoted Novara brought a swift end to Gian Piero Gasperini’s three-month reign as coach of Internazionale, and the day after he was sacked the 53-year-old was in belligerent mood. ‘I know that results determine everything,’ he said. ‘Inter knew that my system was 3-4-3. It is not that I do not know another system, but I believe that with this one the team I coach play better. I explained this to Inter’s chiefs three times when I spoke with them. I believe that the controversy about the formation was used as an excuse [to sack me]. If Inter did not believe in my work, why did they sign me?’” World Soccer – Jonathan Wilson

The APOEL miracle continues…

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“The clear outsider in a very strong group coming into the tournament, APOEL now find themselves top of Group G after a 2-1 win over Porto. There was an element of fortune to their victory over Porto last night. Having deservedly got themselves into a 1-0 lead, they were content to sit on that slender advantage going into the final minutes. A rash challenge and a Hulk penalty later, they look like they’d blown their chance. But APOEL showed character to get up the pitch and score a 90th minute to clinch the win.” Zonal Marking

APOEL Nicosia have justified Michel Platini’s decision to revamp the Champions League
“In the rather obscure village of Mosfiloti on the island of Cyprus, probably the last thing you would expect to find is a shrine to Michel Platini. While the lengths that supporters go in their adoration of football legends is no secret, the Maradonian Church the prime example, the ‘House of Platini’ – part restaurant, part museum and part one man obsession with the former Juventus midfielder – in a village with a population of roughly 1500 residents, is just plain random.” World Soccer

Derby County’s American Dream

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Theo Robinson
“In the notoriously competitive Championship it is perhaps unsurprising that so many clubs lose patience with their managers in their eagerness, almost desperation, to reach the promised land of the Premier League. Indeed, four have already exited stage left this season, including two former England managers in the form of Sven Göran Eriksson and Steve McClaren. So, when Derby County’s board extended Nigel Clough’s contract until 2015, it somehow seemed more extraordinary than the customary news of another manager’s sacking.” Swiss Ramble

WBA 0 Liverpool 2: In-Depth Tactical Analysis

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“West Bromwich Albion won last season’s meeting between the two teams 2-1, ending their sequence of nine straight defeats without a goal against Liverpool. It meant that last season Roy Hodgson won both Liverpool-West Brom games – one with each team. This game however was closer to the long-term trend, and was also only the second time that Liverpool have won back-to-back Premier League matches away from home since September 2009.” The Tomkins Times

Eduardo fails to track Igor Denisov, and Zenit get the upper hand in important victory

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“After such an exciting first game between these two sides, the return match was something of a disappointment. The match essentially revolved around a single key battle in the centre of the pitch. Zenit are usually 4-3-3 with one midfielder in the holding role, whilst Shakhtar generally line up 4-2-3-1. As in the first game, the midfield triangles were set to match each other. Mircua Lucescu sprung a slight surprise in his side, though, with the use of Eduardo in the centre of the pitch, in support of Luiz Adriano. Eduardo has usually been used either on the flank or as the centre-forward – this was the first time he’d been used as a central player in the attacking band of three, with Willian and Alex Teixeira in the wide positions.” Zonal Marking