Monthly Archives: February 2012

Mali 0 – 1 Ivory Coast

“The Ivory Coast set up an African Nations Cup final against Zambia after Gervinho’s solo goal saw them past Mali in Libreville. The Elephants will return to the same venue on Sunday seeking their second title after the Arsenal forward ran from his own half and slotted home. His side’s defence then kept their opponents at bay in the second half to ensure their progression to the final for the third time.” ESPN

Ivory Coast to face Zambia in African Nations Cup final
“Ivory Coast secured a place against Zambia in the African Nations Cup final after defeating Mali 1-0 in the semi-finals Wednesday. The two teams will face off in the Gabonese capital of Libreville on Sunday.” France24 (Video)

The 2012 African Cup Of Nations: The Semi-Finals”
“‘Check that’s not Jackie Chan, will you?’ after one particularly high challenge in the African Cup of Nations (ACN) semi-finals. Ah yes. Gary O’Reilly was back on Eurosport. And welcome back too. However, the most telling comment of any international football tournament is ‘no goals against.’ And that’s a quote from Cote D’Ivoire.” twohundredpercent

The rise and fall of Hoffenheim

“There are no Bundesliga statistics for distances covered by coaches on the sideline, but Holger Stanislawski would surely be well ahead of his peers in that particular discipline. The 42-year-old boss of TSG Hoffenheim 1899, a caffeine addict who confesses to drinking several pots (not cups) of the black stuff every day, often seems to cover more ground than one or two of his players.” SI

Harry Redknapp, Rube of the Year

“Harry Redknapp does not have a soul, but he has a sort of dead-eyed Cockney sparkle that’s served him as a pretty adequate replacement. England’s most successful English soccer manager, he’s also England’s most successful allegations-shrugger-offer, ‘Who, me?’-expression-haver, preposterous-quip-to-distract-your-attention deployer, and crafter of bespoke logic-annihilating narrative Möbius strips. When 60 police officers crash-swarmed his house as part of a conspiracy sting in 2007, Harry insisted that they were merely soliciting his help catching other people.” Grantland – Brian Phillips

Copa Libertadores Week One Round-up

“All the results from week one of the 2012 Copa Libertadores. Velez Sarsfield secured a comfortable win in the tournament opener as they overcame Defensor Sporting 3-0 in Uruguay. After going up just before the break through David Ramirez there was no doubt they would see the game out. Mauro Obolo and Seba Dominguez, with a scorching free kick, added the other goals.” Purple Patch

England disarray as Capello departs

“Another fine mess for the national team. ‘CAPELLO QUITS OVER RACE ROW AS JURY CLEARS REDKNAPP.’ The Daily Mail‘s headline on Thursday ran to nine words but they were enough to contain almost every drop of slop. England’s captain demoted by the Football Association until a charge of racially aggravated public disorder — which John Terry has always denied — has been heard in July; England’s manager resigning after publicly disagreeing with the FA’s decision; the favorite to succeed Fabio Capello, the Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp, being found innocent of tax evasion a few hours earlier.” SI

The Reducer: Week 24, Why We Fight

Fernando Torres
“‘It was a great game for the neutral watching,’ said Sir Alex Ferguson, in what might have been a knowing nod to the many Americans — new or newish to the English game — who had just casually watched Manchester United play out a six-goal draw with Chelsea on Sunday. Had United come up short in their comeback, or had they never mounted one at all, Fergie would probably not be feeling so concerned about the experience of the neutral, American or otherwise. He would have been too busy turning purple, inventing new Scottish profanities, and finalizing plans to sell Jonny Evans to a third-division club in Kazakhstan. But as it happened, all was full of love.” Grantland (YouTube)

Zambia 1 – 0 Ghana

“Emmanuel Mayuka’s second-half strike was enough to send Zambia through to the final of the African Nations Cup as they upset ten-man Ghana in Bata. Star Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan was made to rue his seventh-minute penalty miss, and a host of other chances, as the unfancied Zambians reached the final for the first time in 18 years.” ESPN

Zambia 1-0 Ghana: Ghana fail to break down deep opposition and Zambia subs win it
“Emmanuel Mayuka came off the bench to score an excellent goal, and Zambia are in the final. Zambia coach Herve Renard made a couple of surprising moves, dropping Mayuka to bring James Chamanga in the side upfront. He also went more defensive in midfield, meaning no place for the tricky Chisamba Lungu, and Isaac Chanca pushed out wide. Ghana coach Goran Stefanovic was without Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, so Derek Boateng started in the centre of midfield. Sulley Muntari was only on the bench, with Kwadwo Asamoah and the Ayew brothers supporting Asamoah Gyan.” Zonal Marking

The 2012 African Cup Of Nations: The Quarter-Finals
“They huffed and puffed. And Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana, Africa’s two best footballing nations according to Fifa’s rankings (so it must be true), are looking good to contest Sunday’s African Cup of Nations final, without looking good in getting there. That said, they form half of what was nearly a semi-final line-up that some (i.e. me) thought ideal – the two favourites against the two most exciting and capable underdogs. Zambia have been in that latter category literally from day one and their expansive first-half display against tournament flops Senegal. Co-hosts Gabon, and their vibrant young side with a vibrant old centre-forward, would have been ideal semi-finalist number four.” twohundredpercent

A life less ordinary
“Almost anywhere in the world you can get a t-shirt with a variation of the expression, ‘Football is life, everything else is only detail,’ emblazoned on it. In most places the actual meaning of that slogan is nothing. It’s cute, it’s catchy, it speaks to the dedication, commitment, passion and even obsession of lovers of the game but it still does not amount to anything but words.” ESPN

Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham: neither side step it up in the second half

“A decent game but no goals. Kenny Dalglish had Luis Suarez available again but kept him on the bench. Jose Enrique missed his first game of the season, so Glen Johnson moved to the left with Martin Kelly at right-back. Harry Redknapp was absent from the match. Tottenham had various injury problems so went for a conservative 4-5-1 shape, with Jake Livermore in the centre and Niko Kranjcar out wide.” Zonal Marking

Liverpool 0 – 0 Tottenham Hotspur
“Luis Suarez’s long-awaited return from suspension could not inspire Liverpool to victory over Tottenham at Anfield as the two sides played out a 0-0 draw. The Uruguay international, having served an eight-match suspension for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, had not played since Boxing Day. And although he gave his side another dimension when he appeared as a second-half substitute, he could not end six weeks’ of frustration with a decisive intervention, missing a golden chance from close range late in the game.” ESPN

Match Of The Week: Liverpool 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
“The weather has not been a friend to football supporters of late. The cold snap did for a majority of matches scheduled below the Premier League, and this evening, an hour before kick-off at Anfield, there is a possibility that it might strike again, with a thick fog over Liverpool. The fog clears in time for kick-off, though a lack of clarity will turn out to be a common feature of the evening. The top of the table has the feeling of being a house built on shaky foundations.” twohundredpercent

Miracle man Kalusha Bwalya behind Zambia’s rise as they take on Ghana

“Look at all that is good about Zambian football and you will see the hand of Kalusha Bwalya. He scored a hat-trick when Zambia beat Italy at the 1988 Olympics. After the air-crash of 1993 had wiped out almost the entire team, he was the rallying point the new side was built around. And, as Zambia look to reach their first Cup of Nations final since that remarkable renaissance side of 1994 in Wednesday’s semi-final against Ghana, it is Kalusha, now president of the football federation, who drew the blueprint.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Africa Cup of Nations 2012: Mali’s heroes weep for a nation at war
“There were a lot of tears in Libreville on Sunday. There were the tears of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, overwhelmed by having missed the decisive penalty in Gabon’s shootout defeat to Mali and there were the tears of Seydou Keita as he used his side’s progress to the semi-final for the first time in 10 years to highlight the crisis overwhelming his country.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Kljestan’s brilliance in Belgium merits long look from Klinsmann

“When the NCAA men’s basketball tournament takes center stage in about a month, we’ll hear plenty usage of the term “blind résumé.” It is a comparison method for decision-makers to look at the body of work for teams on the tournament-field bubble without being clouded by predetermined bias linked to a school’s name or conference affiliation. While it is far from an exact science, the blind résumé provides a meat-and-potatoes breakdown of who merits consideration for inclusion based on tangible accomplishments, leaving name and reputation out of the equation.” SI

Copa Libertadores a cradle of talent

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“This year’s major international tournament, the European Championship, was first disputed in 1960 – which makes it a mere youngster in comparison with the South American version, the Copa America, held as far back as 1916. But in terms of club competitions, rather than national teams, the seniority is reversed. The competition now known as the Champions League, originally the European Cup, first kicked off in 1955. The South American equivalent, the Copa Libertadores, only came to life five years later – and was a conscious attempt to emulate the European competition, so that the champions of football’s two traditional continents could fight it out for the world title. Why the discrepancy? It is not too hard to explain.” ESPN – Tim Vickery

Ghana ‘lucky’ to be in Nations Cup semi-finals

Zambia 3-0 Sudan
“Ghana have admitted they are lucky to have reached the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals, after being gifted a quarter-final winner by Tunisia.” BBC

African Cup Of Nations: Ivory Coast, Ghana on collision course
“Thoughts on the winners from the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals…” SI

Six points on Ghana 2-1 Tunisia
“Ghana replicated the Ivory Coast’s tendency to rely on opposition mistakes and set-pieces to get their goals. Forcing errors in the opposition is a large part of attacking, and dead ball situations make up a high percentage of goals at any level of football. But the dependency on those two avenues is a damning indictment of the lack of creativity in the two sides considered to the best in the tournament. A final between the two is probable, but it could turn into a defensive stand-off.” Zonal Marking

Ivory Coast 3-0 Equatorial Guinea: Ivory Coast reliant on set-pieces and mistakes
“The individual quality of Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure proved too much for Equatorial Guinea, but the Ivory Coast are yet to convince. Ivory Coast coach Francois Zahoui has made plenty of changes to his side in this competition – always in a 4-3-3 shape. He seems keen to utilise his strong squad, and almost every position aside from the goalkeeper and centre-backs has seen rotation.” Zonal Marking

FC Barcelona 2 – 1 Real Sociedad: Barca Breaths a Sigh of Relief

“A massive sigh of relief could be heard in the aftermath of tonight’s game not only because Barca managed to eek out the victory and remain within striking distance of Real Madrid in the league, but also, and more importantly, because Sergio Busquets’ injury was determined to be not too serious. Painful and ugly, yes, but according to the medical reports, Busi should be back on the pitch soon. Thanks be to the football gods.” The Offside

Barcelona initially unconvinced that Leo Messi would succeed as a pro
“Rosario, Argentina, 2000. Leo Messi is 12 years old and, although coveted by both Newell’s Old Boys and River Plate, neither club can afford the approximate $1000 per month across two years for the growth hormone treatment that will correct a deficiency and allow him to reach his natural height at a normal rate of growth. His father, Jorge Messi, had persuaded his employers and another local business to sponsor the initial cost of treatment, but that, too, has become unsustainable. The story of the boy who would become the world’s greatest soccer player needed an another hero.” SI

Football and the Arab Spring

“It can include governments demanding that its national team be allowed to wear poppies on the shirts, regimes getting involved with the affairs of associations, militaries owning clubs and even the imprisonment of fans and players, but politicians and rulers around the world often seek to use football to their advantage. No wonder – it is the world game and has a unique power to bring people together.” ESPN

Diplomat Bielsa goes on the attack

Marcelo Bielsa
“If he needs help in his captaincy dilemma then perhaps Fabio Capello could take a leaf out of the book of Marcelo Bielsa. Currently with Athletic Bilbao after spells in charge of the national teams of Chile and his native Argentina, Bielsa believes that the role of the captain is to represent the squad – and on that basis he usually lets the players vote to determine who should lead them out. But that is where Bielsa’s democracy ends. In the late 90s when he first took the Argentine job there were some early problems – hardly a surprise given the unorthodox nature of his trademark 3-3-1-3 system.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Arsenal must make more of their chances

“When Marouane Chamakh signed for Arsenal in 2010, there were doubts about whether he was the type of striker Arsenal need. After all, his record, before the last two seasons, wasn’t very prolific and his, and his team’s form dramatically faltered in the second-half of the campaign. Arsène Wenger, though, had felt that his composure in front of goal could be corrected like other strikers he had signed previously, Thierry Henry and Emmanuel Adebayor to name two. But, a season-and-a-half later, Chamakh’s form has dropped since scoring 10 goals in 17 after he signed to just one in his last 14 this season. His confidence has disappeared and he now ambles about on the pitch, a shadow of his former self and looking to compensate his lack of penetration by constantly dropping deep.” The Arsenal Column

Chelsea 3-3 Manchester United: Chelsea move into 3-0 lead but lose control

“An exciting game featuring a classic Manchester United comeback. Andre Villas-Boas was without Ashley Cole and John Terry, so had to field Jose Bosingwa at left-back and give a debut to Gary Cahill in the centre of defence. Frank Lampard and Ramires were also both out, so Florent Malouda came into the side with Chelsea changing formation. Sir Alex Ferguson picked the expected side in a 4-4-1-1 shape. Chris Smalling had picked up an injury the day before, otherwise his promising partnership with Jonny Evans might have been retained at the back.” Zonal Marking

What’s stopping you, Kenya?

Watching the current African Cup Of Nations (ACON), it is somewhat tellingly awkward how there isn’t a stronger presence from countries from East Africa, although the same could be said for almost every ACON and since it began. The harsh reality for teams from that region is that for all the players they might have, what often trips them up is perpetual incompetence of the football administrations of these countries. With bickering in the upper echelons of the footballing set-up, the final product on the pitch is often scrappy and beset with constant managerial changes and poor organisation.” Just Football

Football ultras have a history of political violence

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“Exactly what happened in Port Said on Wednesday night, and exactly who was to blame for the 74 deaths, remains unclear. What is certain, though, is that football “ultras” have become increasingly visible – and not just in Egypt. The ultras are, essentially, radical supporters’ groups, but to dismiss them as hooligans is overly simplistic, underplaying both their level of organisation and what makes them so attractive to disaffected male youths in particular.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Sheffield United – Blades Rediscovering Their Edge?

“Sheffield United have made a promising start to life in League One, as they seek to gain promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt. Although many Blades fans were against the appointment of Danny Wilson as manager, because he previously held a similar role at bitter local rivals Sheffield Wednesday, his experience has helped guide United into the play-off places.” Swiss Ramble

Hoffenheim 2-2 Augsburg

“Augsburg remain rooted in the relegation zone after failing to overcome an alarmingly poor Hoffenheim side. Although the hosts played some good stuff to get their noses in front for about 20 minutes at the start of the second-half, they were lucky to go in with the score at 1-1 at the break after putting in a 45-minute performance that lacked concentration, creativity, movement and fight. Augsburg deservedly took the lead shortly after the 30-minute mark, before a mistake allowed Hoffenheim to grab an equalizer just under ten minutes later. After then falling behind early in the second half, Augsburg again grew into a position of command, but could only manage one more goal, albeit an equalizer.” Defensive Midfielder

Football’s Winter Of Discontent Reaches Arsenal

“There’s something in the air at The Emirates Stadium. Arsenal Football Club has had a difficult 2012 so far, and patience – for some, at least – is starting to wear thin, leading to a protest that has brought puzzled expressions from elsewhere. At this lunchtime’s match against Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League, a group of supporters plans to place black bin bags on seats at the ground prior to the match.” twohundredpercent

Egyptians See Political Overtones in Deadly Soccer Riot

“Updated | 11:46 p.m. As my colleague David Kirkpatrick reports, Egypt’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that at least 73 soccer fans were killed, and hundreds more wounded, in clashes that erupted after a match that night in the city of Port Said. Television images of the mayhem showed that hundreds of fans of the home team, Masry, poured onto the pitch after a 3-1 victory and began chasing players from the visiting team, Ahly, which is from Cairo. There were immediate questions about the apparent lack of security at the stadium, and instant replays after the game focused not on the action on the field, but on images of police officers standing by as fans rushed past them.” NY Times (Video)

Egypt football violence: Hundreds injured in Cairo clashes
“Nearly 400 people have been injured in Cairo in fresh clashes between police and protesters angered by the deaths of 74 people on Wednesday after a football match in the city of Port Said. Thousands marched to the interior ministry, where police fired tear gas to keep them back. Earlier, the Egyptian prime minister announced the sackings of several senior officials. Funerals of some of the victims took place in Port Said.” BBC (Video)

The Ultras, the Military, and the Revolution
“The violence at Port Said last night has generated enormous commentary on twitter, and a beginning of media coverage of varying quality. One of the best summaries came last night at The Lede blog of New York Times — it’s quality largely due to the fact that it is composed of the tweets and videos generated on the ground in Egypt. You can read a good critique of a different, earlier, article by the New York Times — which like a certain number of other reports focused on the supposed ‘savagery’ of the ultras and downplayed the political context and valences of the event — here.” Soccer Politics

Egyptian Soccer Riot Kills More Than 70
“At least 73 people were killed in a brawl between rival groups of soccer fans after a match in the city of Port Said on Wednesday, the bloodiest outbreak of lawlessness since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak one year ago.” NY Times

James Dorsey
“Anto is joined by Middle East football expert currently at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies and is the author of the Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer to discuss the stadium tragedy at Port Said this evening which resulted in at least 73 killed and up to 1,000 injuries in the hours after bloody confrontations. James provides us some background and insight into the background of the ultra movement in Egypt and how these elements have connection to the uprising in Egypt during the fall of Mubarak in the past year.” Beyond The Pitch

Why Senegal should not make a scapegoat out of coach Amara Traoré

“They came with great expectations and the most vaunted forward line in the tournament, but Senegal limped home from the Africa Cup of Nations having lost all three of their matches. In the usual run of things, you’d expect the coach, Amara Traoré not to be long for his job. A scapegoat, says the logic of international football, must be found, and the coach is as convenient a figure to sacrifice as anybody.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Why Senegal failed to shine at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations
“To really grasp the nature of Senegal’s spectacular failure at this Africa Cup of Nations you need only look at the teams who finished above them in Group A. For Senegal to finish below Equatorial Guinea is surprising, unfathomable even. But to finish below Libya, given the vast gap in quality and wildly differing paths they travelled before meeting in Bata, is astonishing.” FourFourTwo

Kily keen to upset the odds for Equatorial Guinea against Ivory Coast
“Kily usually chugs up and down the right flank for the Spanish fourth-flight side Langreo. His chance of making it big in football seemed to have gone when Atlético Madrid released him – after 44 games for their B side – in 2008. But last week, he became the first hero of this year’s Cup of Nations as he arced a last-minute 25-yarder into the top corner to give Equatorial Guinea victory over Senegal, and take them through to Saturday’s quarter-final, in which they’ll meet Ivory Coast. Suddenly, he was a man in demand: there was talk of offers from teams in Russia and Saudi Arabia, while it’s safe to say that, barring something astonishing at the weekend, he will remain his adopted nation’s most celebrated player for some time.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

From Blue Square Premier to Football League

“Over recent months, we have called upon regular followers of non-league football in order to guess at which players might stand a chance of forging a career in the Football League, should they wish to take the opportunity. First up was Michael Hudson; the proprietor of The Accidental Groundhopper website running the rule over the Northern League. Then, Barry from The Cold End highlighted the Isthmian League’s potentialities. Now, regular TTU staffer Scarf analyzes those players operating in the most likely breeding ground of all, while sharing his forthright views following half a season’s Conference watching.” thetwounfortunates

What constitutes being good in the air?

The Exaltation of the Flower
“‘Good in the air’ – a stock football phrase that everyone understands. But it’s more complex than simply being ‘good’. This article from ZM in 2010 suggested that, whilst Peter Crouch often looks clumsy and awkward when trying to head the ball, his height meant that he was still a threat in the air. That sums up the fact that being ‘good in the air’ is dependent upon a variety of factors, and players can be ‘good in the air’ in different ways.” Zonal Marking

Feyenoord shows no mercy for naive Ajax

“Each match this season Ajax seems to have more ball possesion than her opponents, just like last sunday in De Kuip. But again it didn’t help them any further. With match statistics we evaluate how Koemans side succesfully countered the naive Ajax of De Boer back to Amsterdam. Koemans team didn’t have much possession, but when they did, they moved the ball to the strikers quickly, which gave them time and space to become very dangerous in front of Kenneth Vermeer. It ended in a historic 4-2 punishment leaving the Feyenoord fans celebrating.” Catenaccio

Mirandés’ miracle run in Copa del Rey captures Spain’s imagination

“The miracle continues. In the 91st minute, Ander Lambarri reached a long, hopeful ball into the penalty area and, on the turn, hit a perfect shot into the far corner. 1-2. Mirandés had got one back against Athletic Bilbao and it was no more than it deserved. Athletic had taken a 2-0 lead with two from Fernando Llorente in the first half and had three clear chances wrongly ruled out for offside too. But Mirandés had struck the bar and seen Athletic goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz make a superb save. Now, just like in the quarterfinal, it had found a stoppage time goal. Now, at last there was hope: next week, Mirandés travel to San Mamés in the Copa del Rey semifinal second leg trailing by a solitary goal.” SI