Monthly Archives: August 2013

Book Review: Real Madrid & Barcelona: The Making of a Rivalry

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“Rivalry is that most beloved topic of the footballing internet with keyboard warriors across the globe queuing up to proclaim their particular enmity as the fiercest. I’ll admit to a degree of ennui when followers of giants clubs indulge in such debates given the increasing propensity of Arsenal v Tottenham or Liverpool v Manchester United to resemble the contest between multinational firms to increase market share. No, I don’t especially care whether Apple or Google win out, so why should I be bothered to check in on events at St. James’ Park or the Stadium of Light?” thetwounfortunates

The Importance of home grown players

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“Over the past few years, spending on transfers and wages by football clubs has increased dramatically. 7 of the 10 most expensive transfers have taken place in or after 2009, 3 of them occurring in this (incomplete) transfer window. Higher fees, and the greater brand value of every star footballer has also led to an inflation in the wage rate for footballers. While this is all good news for the players, it gives the boardroom staff a right old head-ache. The higher costs lead to lower profits (if any), leaving a number of clubs closer to insolvency. In order to stem the rot, UEFA introduced Financial Fair Play, a scheme that prods clubs to live within their means. So, with a sort of cap enforced on their transfer spending, clubs are forced to look inwards for their supply of players, as a result of which, greater emphasis is suddenly being placed on youth academies, and academy products.” Outside of the Boot

A potted history of Benfica

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“As incredible as Real Madrid’s five consecutive European Champions’ trophies were, it was inevitable that one day they would be toppled. In a seemingly relatively even playing field, Hamburg, inspired by Uwe Seeler looked well placed to step up, as did Barcelona with their skilful Hungarian imports. The side that stepped up a gear, however, were the leading club from the other Iberian capital, Lisbon.” World Soccer (Part 1)

“One of the great pioneer African players in European football was Larbi Ben Barek. The Maghrebi superstar was hugely successful in both France and Spain enjoying memorable spells with Marseille and Atlético Madrid among others. It’s worth noting that the introduction of African born players to Portuguese players pre-dates Eusebio by some time.” World Soccer (Part 2)

Radamel Falcao’s move to Monaco will boost Colombia

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“The French first division, Ligue One, kicks off at the weekend and newly-promoted Monaco will be hoping to recapture former glories after spending big money over the summer. Their two most significant signings have been the Colombian pair, striker Radamel Falcao and left-footed attacking midfielder James Rodriguez. Both are magnificent players – the former a goal machine at the top of his game, the latter rich in strong, creative promise. While it surprised some that both players decided to move to Monaco, there is little doubt the transfers will benefit the Colombian national team.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Neymar dips his toe in at Barcelona

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“It is not that Neymar didn’t try to crown his home debut with a goal. In the 45 minutes he spent on the pitch in Barcelona’s 8-0 drubbing of FC Santos in Friday night’s friendly, the Catalan club’s new signing had three shots on goal and almost began celebrating before realizing he had actually hit the bar. His true mission, though, was somehow accomplished. With a classic tee-up for a wondrous Cesc Fabregas strike, Neymar provided an assist and showed with his feet what he had already said in his pre-match news conference: He’s happy to take one for the team.” ESPN

Football League 2013-14: Who would be a manager?

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“A new Football League season is about to start, but just how many managers who begin the 2013-14 campaign will still be employed next May? There were 52 managerial changes in the Football League between 1 July 2012 and 30 June 2013, of which 34 were dismissals. ‘Recent figures are alarming as, including the Premier League, more than half of the 92 clubs now have a different manager to who started last season,’ League Managers’ Association chief executive Richard Bevan told BBC Sport. On the eve of the 2013-14 Football League season, BBC Sport explores the precarious nature of the job and speaks to two managers at different ends of the managerial ladder – one just starting out and the other well established.” BBC

TTU Go Predicting: Teams to Watch

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“After a 25-year absence, Newport County returned to the Football League in May with an extraordinary play-off final win over Wrexham. For a club who were wound up, reformed and exiled to Gloucestershire in the intervening years, it is a phenomenal and heart-warming achievement. What’s more, they actually look half-decent, and we certainly wouldn’t bet against them to carry last season’s winning form into League 2 and trouble the top 10.” thetwounfortunates

Pep Guardiola’s public perception already shifting at Bayern Munich

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“Bayern Munich have hardly played a game that did not end with some suit thrusting a trophy into their hands underneath a ticker-tape shower in recent months. On Thursday night, last season’s European champions, German league and cup winners were at it again, horsing around in front of an advertising board, the Audi Cup in hand.” Guardian

The new Scottish Premiership season – the fans’ view

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Virgil van Dijk
“At the start of the new season, the first of the Scottish Professional Football League, how are the fans viewing their teams’ chances? We spoke to supporters of all 12 clubs in the top flight – rebranded as the Scottish Premiership – to find out how they thought the season would go.” BBC

New Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino’s tactics fit Barca’s style

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“All events depend, to an extent, on chance, on a thousand, a million circumstances coinciding. It may be that Gerardo Martino is ousted from Barcelona at the end of the season having finished second in the league and having failed to take them to a seventh successive Champions League semi-final and his appointment will be seen as a regrettable short-term move necessitated by the dreadful news that Tito Vilanova requires further treatment for cancer. Or it may be that he achieves glory, a new dynasty is begun, and the world looks on the turbulent events of this summer and reflects on what a peculiar business appointing a manager can be.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Tactical Analysis: Bayern’s 4-1-4-1 in German Super Cup

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“This match was touted as being “the one to watch” across Europe because of the escalating rivalry between these two sides. Last year, Bayern were the dominant force across all competitions, yet with Guardiola now at the helm, a new era of Bayern dominance has seemingly just begun. On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund (BVB) was viewed as a wounded animal after finishing 2nd to Bayern last season. A win for BVB in the Super Cup would send Bayern the message that Die Schwarzgelben shouldn’t be taken lightly, not only by Bayern, but by the rest of Europe. Of course, BVB’s loss of young superstar, Mario Götze, to Bayern only increases the intensity of this match up. So the scene was set, Pep’s Bayern vs. Klopp’s Dortmund, with more at stake than ever before.” Bundesliga Fanatic

Injuries- Ignorance Is Not Bliss

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“Former Internazionale manager Andrea Stramaccioni will tell you the value of having a fit squad. In the 2012-2013 season, the amount of his players contracting injuries was so vast, and those players so vital, he could have almost smiled. In no particular order, poor Stramaccioni lost Diego Milito, Rodrigo Palacio, Antonio Cassano, Esteban Cambiasso, Yuto Nagatomo, Dejan Stanković, Walter Gargano, Fredy Guarín, Walter Samuel, Gaby Mudingayi, Joel Obi, Ibrahima Mbaye, Luca Castellazzi, Javier Zanetti, Cristian Chivu, Jonathan and Matías Silvestre to injuries during the tail end of the 2012/2013 Serie ‘A’ campaign – and most were serious. His team were 2nd in the league on the 22nd of December 2012, but only finished 9th after their 38th game on 19th of May, 2013. This freak, albeit not necessarily unavoidable depletion of the young manager’s match day squad was certain to reduce Inter Milan’s competitiveness, yet it was only Stramaccioni who paid the price. Far from being consoled, Stramaccioni was fired.” Outside of the Boot

Championship Finances 2011/12 – Numbers

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“Back in April I posted a summary of the 2011/12 Championship finances on Twitter, but since then I have received a few requests to post them in a blog as a useful resource for fans of those clubs, so here we go. I’m not going to provide detailed analysis at this stage, just the key figures from the accounts plus some graphs for comparisons against others. All these figures have been taken from the clubs’ published accounts, though I have made a couple of presentational adjustments in order to prepare like-for-like comparisons between clubs. In particular, not all clubs use the same revenue classification, so I have had to make estimates on the revenue split for Barnsley, Blackpool, Crystal Palace, Hull City and Peterborough United (though obviously leaving the total revenue unchanged).” The Swiss Rambler

Brazilian fans paying the price for modernisation

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“In last week’s second leg of the final of the Copa Libertadores, Atletico Mineiro of Brazil did not only win the trophy – they took the extraordinary sum of nearly $7 million at the box office. A quick, back of the envelope calculation reveals that the average ticket price was over $100. This was a case of exceptional circumstances – the most important match in the history of a big club. But the trend is already out there in Brazilian football.” ESPN -Tim Vickery

Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool legacy intact, but one regret looms

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“It may be a fortnight before the new Premier League season begins, but Anfield will be a sellout this weekend. The occasion? Steven Gerrard’s testimonial — Liverpool probably could have sold out the stadium twice over for the contest against Greek champions Olympiakos, such is the enthusiasm for the Reds’ long-serving captain, both within Merseyside and from Liverpool’s legions of supporters across the globe.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Modric too good to be part-exchange sweetener

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“The off season is a time of desperation for the football section of newspapers. So much space is dedicated to a topic about which there is so little to write for three months every year. That desperation might indeed explain the emergence of rumours that Luka Modric could be on his way back to Tottenham, used as a makeweight in any move Gareth Bale is supposedly craving to Real Madrid.” ESPN