Monthly Archives: October 2014

No fear, but loathing in Wolfsburg

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“It’s October 4th and the sun is shining down on the Volkswagen Arena. I’m sitting close to the pitch watching the match unfold amidst the Wolfsburg faithful. In the 58th minute Dieter Hecking’s men have finally managed to crack the Augsburg defence wide open. The Brazilian defender Naldo had taken the ball upfield and continued his run, then engaged in a lovely one-two with Sebastian Jung, and a few seconds later the former Werder man placed the ball in the back of the net of Marwin Hitz’s goal. The roughly 25,000 fans who have found their way to the stadium in Wolfsburg celebrated, because finally their team looks like making its way towards what the supporters consider to be the right end of the table.” Bundesliga Fanatic

5 Tactical Features of the Premier League Season so Far

“The international weekend gives everyone a chance to look back and take stock of the Premier League season so far. Tactics writers are no different, and there have been a number of notable features since the middle of August to consider. Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have all provided us with something to consider since the English domestic campaign began. Let’s take a look at five tactical features that have caught the eye in the 2014-15 season.” Bleacher Report – Jonathan Wilson

How Petar Zhekov made Bulgarian history

“With 25 goals in 44 games for Bulgaria and a record 253 in 333 games in domestic football, Petar Zhekov’s place in national football history is assured. As he turns 70, UEFA.com spoke to the five-time title winner – with PFC CSKA Sofia – who won the European Golden Boot in 1969, as well as Bronze Boots in 1970 and 1973.” UEFA

The Ball Is the End: Assessing Lionel Messi’s Career on the 10th Anniversary of His Debut for Barcelona

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“Lionel Messi played in his first competitive match for FC Barcelona 10 years ago this month, on October 16, 2004. He was already famous, of course, among the hardest-core coterie of Barça fanciers, the types who write forum posts about training-academy gossip; to the rest of the world, his eight scoreless minutes at the end of Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Espanyol didn’t do much to make him a household name. Still, if you watch the video now, it’s pretty clear, even allowing for the benefit of hindsight, that at 17 Messi was a frightening talent. He’s not ready yet, not quite, but he already has that strange quality of slant directness, that mysteriously straightforward elusiveness, that would later make him seem magical, insoluble.” Grantland

International break provides valuable opportunity for Premier League clubs

“Once upon a time, an international break was extremely useful for almost every Premier League manager. In the days before foreign imports dominated England’s top division, relatively few players were selected by their country — put simply, the majority of players in the division were English, but only around 25 were called up to the England side. Therefore, the majority of the squad would continue to train at the club — although they might, however, use the absence of upcoming matches to spend the afternoons at the pub.” ESPN – Michael Cox

What next for hipsters’ post-World Cup favourites, Colombia?

“With no competitive fixtures for almost a year, the post-World Cup period is a perfect opportunity for South American nations to assess, experiment and in some cases, rebuild in preparation for the next qualification campaign. Tom Robinson takes a look at the future of the Colombian side that we recently witnessed at the FIFA World Cup.” Outside of the Boot

Roberto Di Matteo – A Good Manager, a Great Man

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“Roberto Di Matteo is very much one of football’s managerial curiosities. The Swiss-born former Italian international went from managing English League One side MK Dons to a Champions League winner with Chelsea in under four years. And yet no sooner had he won the trophy Roman Abramovich had been craving for nearly a decade, he was replaced. Two years on, and having been handsomely paid in compensation by Chelsea throughout that period, Di Matteo has returned to football management. His appointment by Schalke to replace Jens Keller is sure to provoke a very mixed response. Some will be hopeful that a Champions League winner will bring stability and consistency to the club, while others will fear that the Champions League trophy aside, this is not a manager with a fantastic CV.” Bundesliga Fanatic

Wayne Rooney can take England’s goals record but not the glory of his predecessors

“The Sir Bobby Charlton suite is the most luxurious room in the hotel currently occupied by England at St George’s Park albeit hardly the Ritz. The Gary Lineker pitch (No 11) is, contrary to expectation, more than two six-yard boxes. Yet nowhere at England’s training base is there any room or pitch named in tribute to Jimmy Greaves, the distinguished international lying third behind Lineker and Charlton as his country’s all-time goalscorer. Greaves’s photograph does hang alongside those of Lineker and Charlton on the walls of the corridors that Wayne Rooney will walk along on this morning, heading off out to Pitch 6, the main England practice area. Rooney will soon pass the fabled trio in the record books as well as the corridor, starting with Greaves possibly this week. His elevation will stir sadness as well as admiration. Rooney can equal the maths but not the history.” Telegraph . Henry Winter

Saint or Sinner? The debate surrounding Landon Donovan

“Normally one needs to die to gain Sainthood, but footballers seem to be granted a special exception. At the end of this week, Landon Donovan will play his final match for the US Men’s National Team. As is par for the course when announcements like these are made, there has been an immense of praise and detractors coming out of the woodwork for the former US Captain. Despite all of the hostility and passion that comes from such a debate, there is still a question that is not answered: just how good was he?” backpagefootball

Reflecting on Relationship Between Britpop and Football

“Unless you’ve been hiding under a stone for the past month you’ll have noticed the media, and in particular the BBC, working itself into a frenzy over the 20^th anniversary of ‘Britpop’. To many this level of nostalgia for a musical movement which was, if anything, merely the collection of a handful of zeitgeist wresting retrograde magpies sticks in the craw. ‘Britpop’ wasn’t a cohesive genre, less still a cultural movement, it was a confection – a label for ideas at best, a marketing tool at worst. This is right, to a degree. Britpop was a label. As Alexis Petridis noted in the Guardian last week, there’s little to sonically link the titans of the era in the way that there was with grunge, its direct precept.” thetwounfortunates

Five things we learned this week in the Primeira Liga

“For the second game in a row, the Primeira Liga champions had to wait until the last 20 minutes to breakthrough a stubborn defence. Benfica eventually ran out 4-0 winners over Arouca at the Estádio da Luz but for a long time it seemed to heading for a stalemate. This game was an interesting one as it was the first time ‘Aguias’ fans got to see Lisandro López in action. The 25-year-old Argentinian centre back signed for Benfica from Argentinian side Arsenal de Sarandi in 2013 but was loaned out to La Liga side Getafe for all of last season. López was signed as a long term replacement for Ezequiel Garay who joined Zenit Saint Petersburg in the summer. Arouca defended deeply in the first half forcing Benfica to shoot from distance. Arouca looked far more dangerous going forward and forced Artur into making a couple of decent saves.” backpagefootball

Scotland’s Tartan Army can be patriotic without politics

“When Georgia arrive in Glasgow this Saturday, the fallout from September’s independence referendum will mean more to many Scotland fans than Euro 2016 qualifying points. The Scotland support could never match the recent emoting of politicians but has long been regarded as the voice of raw Scottish nationalism. The encouragingly narrow defeat for the Yes campaign may therefore have echoed the national team’s 2-1 loss at World Champions Germany last month. But the Scottish Football Association is not the SNP.” WSC

Tactical Analysis | Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal : Arsenal again fail to hurt Chelsea in attack

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“If watching a London derby, with the two top teams from the capital wasn’t enough for anyone, the fact that there is so much history between the two warriors, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, had to attract eyeballs to this mouth watering fixture. However, all talk of Christmas cards, specialists in failure and all else were cast aside as soon as the players were on the pitch. Coming into the game, Wenger had never picked up a win against his big rival Mourinho, and the pressure was on him to deliver after a few sluggish results in the league. The hat-trick from Welbeck in midweek did a lot for them in terms of confidence. Chelsea as a team have been near unstoppable this season, with 2 draws aside from all their wins. Both sides were unbeaten, and something had to give.” Outside of the Boot

Nou Mestalla still vacant, but Valencia’s filling up the win column

“It was a simultaneously inspiring and sad sight. Returning to Valencia for a few nights’ decompression after the Festival Internacional de Benicassim – located an hour north of the city, on the Costa Azahar – we looked down from the roof of our hotel, looming over the Nou Mestalla. In the falling dusk, it could easily have been mistaken for a titanic sporting arena, rather than just the skeleton of one. When we spoke to the locals about it, they told us of rumours that the foundations of the stadium had shifted since work stopped on it over a year before, and that the whole lot may have to be pulled down.” Fusion

Player Focus: What to Make of Balotelli’s Slow Start at Liverpool

“Mario Balotelli has started only four Premier League games for Liverpool this season, yet already he is being doubted, dismissed as a flop. That might not be entirely fair, but it is understandable. Although Liverpool signed twelve players over the summer, Balotelli is the one who stands out. He wasn’t their most expensive signing, but he was probably the biggest name and, more than that, he’s the one who is seen the replacement for Luis Suárez. And that really is the biggest problem: Balotelli isn’t Suárez.” Who Scored

Ho-Hum: Chelsea Dispatch Arsenal, Continue EPL Dominance

“Another week, another dominant performance by Chelsea. This time it was Arsenal that José Mourinho’s squad dispatched without particularly breaking a sweat. And what’s so incredible for Chelsea, and so disturbing for the rest of the league, is that Arsenal didn’t play badly at all in the 2-0 loss. Chelsea still rolled them with ease.” Grantland

Owner Assem Allam on torture, labouring and Hull Tigers

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“Assem Allam should be the most popular man in Hull. But he isn’t. Far from it. You have probably heard of the 75-year-old owner of Hull City. You may have read about him, too. He is the man who launched a thousand headlines after going public with his desire to alter the club’s name to Hull Tigers, having viewed it as a more marketable brand. Some have labelled him a dictator, others call him crazy. But what about the man behind the bluster? Talk to those who know Dr Allam and a very different picture begins to emerge. He is, they say, generous to a fault, polite and kind.” BBC

Tactical Analysis | Manchester United 2-1 Everton : McNair shackles Lukaku, Everton sit deep and Blind orchestrates proceedings

“The fixture list has been contrasting for the two teams as they’ve both endured disappointing starts to the campaign. On paper, United had a relatively easy start to the season but in reality it has been far from smooth sailing as they’ve tried to find their feet under Van Gaal. For Everton, playing Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and United all in the first 7 games isn’t what Martinez would have wanted and their low points tally heading into the game represents just that. As it stood both sides would have fancied their chances of obtaining a result ahead of the International break.” Outside of the Boot

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Southampton 0: Christian Eriksen secures gratifying win for Mauricio Pochettino

“Or, to put it another way: Mauricio Pochettino 1, Mauricio Pochettino 0. Against a team crafted in his image, against a club he abandoned in the summer, this was a match that Tottenham Hotspur’s manager dared not lose. Thanks to a performance of real substance, they did not. It was flawed and it was nervous, but Tottenham stood firm, which is not something we have always been able to say about them.” Telegraph

Maracana Upset Brings Robson Breathing Space

“If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same… A Kipling today might have been tempted to add: You’ll be a successful football manager. For his words possess a sympathetic ring for England boss Bobby Robson. He took his battered, depleted England squad off to South America under round condemnation for the manner — rather than the size — of a 2-0 Wembley defeat by the Soviet Union. He returned with a balanced record of three games played, one won, one drawn and one lost. Respectable by any light. Doubly so in general, international opinion because of that 2-0 victory over Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. Yet critical echoes accompanied Robson and Co on the long flight home from Santiago because the ensuing displays and results against Uruguay and a dismal Chilean Olympic team didn’t match up to the expectations raised in Maracana.” In Bed With Maradona

In Victory, Arsène Wenger Shows Off Old and New

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“Sports, like many other things in life, often comes down to one generation putting faith in the next. We witnessed the manifestation of that during Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over Galatasaray here in north London on Wednesday. It was the night of Arsène Wenger’s 18th anniversary as Arsenal manager and the night that Danny Welbeck scored a hat trick of goals for the first time in professional soccer. Welbeck was five years old when Wenger, now 64, arrived in England. The Frenchman has coached Arsenal through 1,022 games and has managed some exquisite players through his seemingly eternal quest to win the Champions League.” NY Times

Tactical Analysis | Atletico 1-0 Juventus : Atletico up the tempo to grab an important winner

“The second gameweek of the UEFA Champions League had some tasty encounters in store for all viewers, with a number of top teams clashing. In terms of results and entertainment too, it didn’t disappoint, with lots of goals, and a lot of good, competitive football. One of the tastiest fixtures was Atletico hosting Juventus. It was a clash of Champions from Spain and Italy. Coming into the game, Juventus had a 100% record, with no goals conceded. Atletico have made a good start, but find themselves in third after a few indifferent results. This was a different situation, as Atletico had lost their opening fixture in Greece, and a positive result against Juventus was absolutely vital. The Italians were up against it, as a daunting home support, combined with Atleti’s usual aggressive approach had meant that they had 17 wins in their last 19 European fixtures.” Outside of the Boot

Fast starts don’t always pan out, but Chelsea has look of winner

“Since he joined Porto in 2002, Jose Mourinho has won the league title in his second season at every club he’s managed. That, it seems, is the optimal time, when he has had a chance to embed his method in his players and before the abrasiveness of his personality has had time to sour the mood. This is his second season back at Chelsea, and, sure enough, the Blues go into Sunday’s game against Arsenal already five points clear of its closest realistic challenger.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Tactical analysis – Roma’s performance against Manchester City

“Tuesday evening saw Roma drew 1-1 with Manchester City away from home and now sit in second place in Group C. The match – which saw Francesco Totti become the competition’s oldest goal scorer – illustrated a Roma side unfazed after conceding an early penalty and go on to play fluid football. The reigning English champions looked sluggish throughout and Roma were able to dictate long stretches of play. Let’s take a look how they did it.” backpagefootball

Leighton Baines vs. Luke Shaw: England’s present and future at left-back

“This week, the city of Manchester is hosting a showcase of England’s past, present and future left-backs. Following Ashley Cole’s fine performance in Roma’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad, this weekend Old Trafford is the venue for Leighton Baines versus Luke Shaw. The left-back debate provided the main discussion point ahead of England’s ill-fated World Cup adventure this summer. None of the trio boasted significant experience of playing in other positions, which meant manager Roy Hodgson needed to make a difficult choice. The decision to axe Cole was surprising. While the veteran endured a frustrating season at Chelsea, generally behind Cesar Azpilicueta in the pecking order, he continued to perform extremely competently when required, in big games against strong opposition.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Kaká and Scolari returned home for the hugs

“It still feels as though it was only yesterday – Luiz Felipe Scolari wandering hollow-eyed across the pitch after the final whistle, the Mineirão transformed into his own private Agincourt. Around him David Luiz, Julio Cesar and the rest his fallen troops lay prone, or sat broken on the turf. Others simply stood and stared into space. The chutzpah of a couple of hours before had been cruelly exposed by a lethal Germany. In the stands, the Brazilian fans that had not already left gazed through tears at the wreckage of their dreams or poured opprobrium down on their hapless manager.” Fusion

The Unseen Tournament: AFR Captures the Copa Centroamericana

“It can be tempting to write off any football tournament not named the World Cup, Copa America or European Championship as something of an excess. Without the most prominent international sides taking part, it can seem to the casual observer that tournaments outside of the most prominent few lack major stakes, with a trophy given out for the sake of giving out a trophy.” A Football Report (Video)

The Oldest Footballer in England

“Meet Dickie Borthwick. He’s approaching 79, and still plays football. Beyond the immediate desire to want to kick around with him, this short film by Alex Knowles & James Callum focuses on a man who has been fortunate enough to share his whole life with the game. They made the film with the intent to dispel the myth that ‘old people are past it’ and instead introduce us to inspirational people with invaluable insight, exceptional passion, a never-ending supply of wonderful stories and a thirst for life that refuses to fade.” A Football Report (Video)

Quiet Steps: A New-Look Barcelona and Messi Embrace the Old Ways

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“The reports of Barcelona’s death may have been greatly exaggerated. This season has started as perfectly as possible. Any worries after a scoreless draw at Málaga last week were swept aside by Lionel Messi & Co. when they put six on Granada in the next match. New manager Luis Enrique has guided his team to the top of La Liga’s table, with 16 points from their first six games. Barcelona have yet to concede a goal, and, scarily, they are nowhere near their peak form. Luis Suárez has yet to play a minute for his new squad, and Neymar is only now rounding into shape after his World Cup injury. Barcelona’s decline, to the extent that there ever was one, appears to have been arrested. And it’s all thanks to evolution.” Grantland (Video)

Tactical Analysis | PSG 3-2 Barcelona : Marquinhos, Luiz, and Motta steal the show as Messi is thwarted
“One of the Marquee clashes of the group stage would be the two games between PSG and Barca. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Ezequiel Lavezzi all ruled out due to injury, the Parisian side were definitely on the back foot and were second favourites for the clash. However a performance of tactical discipline and heart saw them emerge triumphant in a five goal thriller.” Outside of the Boot

Tactical Analysis | Manchester City 1-1 Roma : Away side contain the 4-4-2

“The world’s toughest club competition is only in its second match day, but things are already getting very tight. The Group of Death, containing CSKA, Bayern, Manchester City, and Roma, was, always going to be a very close one, but few expected there to be such high stakes, this early on. Going into the game, the English champions, City, needed to pick up 4 points over their 2 clashes with Rudi Garcia’s Roma in order to stake a strong claim for a spot in the next round of the competition. This was no easy task, as Roma came into the game in terrific form, with their last European outing being their thrashing of CSKA. Realistically, both sides were looking at second spot in the group behind the dominant Bayern Munich, and so the game was worth a lot.” Outside of the Boot

Shakhtar Donetsk is playing home games 100 miles away because of shelling from Russia

“Crimean teams are competing in the Russian league, and Ukrainian titan Shakhtar Donetsk has been forced to Kiev because of conditions around the Donbass Arena. As much as we may want soccer to exist it its own sanctified realm, geopolitics are always ready to intervene, especially when Vladimir Putin’s involved. To talk about that intervention, Igor Levenshtein, editor of the Commentary Daily News in Ukraine, joined the show to detail what effects the region’s uncertainty has had on Ukrainian, Russian, and European soccer.” Fusion (Video)

Brazilian football: FFP rules could ‘prompt revolution’

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“With 85% of teams inactive for more than six months of the year, leaving 16,000 players unemployed, Brazil’s professional football clubs are effectively in intensive care. So far they have been sustained by the drip-drip-drip of money from investors keen to buy a stake in players potentially destined for big-money European moves. But with world governing body Fifa’s recent announcement that it is banning third-party ownership, that lifeline is about to be withdrawn. That poses a major problem for Brazilian clubs, but it could be a decisive moment and one which prompts a much-needed revolution in the country’s domestic game.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Player Focus: Gerrard Offering Liverpool Defence Too Little Protection

“After Steven Gerrard had bent in the free-kick that gave Liverpool the lead in Saturday’s Merseyside derby, he ran away with one hand cupped to his ear. The message was fairly clear: where’s your criticism now? ‘I can take constructive criticism, but people go one step further and say you are finished and can’t run anymore,’ he said afterwards. ‘So it was nice to remind people that, at the age of 34, I can still play, I can still run and I am still around and I can still compete with the best players around.’ Which is true and simultaneously not true.” Who Scored

5 Tactical Conclusions From September

“Southampton have recovered excellently. No Rickie Lambert, no Adam Lallana, no Luke Shaw, no Dejan Lovren, no Calum Chambers…and no problem. Many predicted Southampton would struggle having sold so many star performers, but some intelligent recruitment and clever coaching from Ronald Koeman means Southampton are riding high, in second position in the Premier League table.” Betting Expert – Michael Cox

The Question: is the counter-counter more crucial than the counterattack?

“Pause the video of Roma’s goal against Manchester City just as the ball reached Radja Nainggolan and City’s problem is clear. There’s the back four in classic saucer shape, the full-backs slightly advanced of the centre-backs and there, where one of the central defenders should be, is a huge hole into which Francesco Totti is beginning to run. Vincent Kompany is perhaps 10 yards advanced of Martín Demichelis, looking to close Nainggolan down and never getting close enough to him.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Barça face cross-border issues, Athletic hit rock bottom

“‘Ha! Zat eez wot ‘appens when ze Barca do not have ze Granada every week! Ha!’ snarked a much-loved French friend of LLL after PSG’s 3-2 victory in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Actually, that’s a bit of a porky-pie lie. The voice creeped out the imaginary mouth of an imaginary French friend living in the blog’s largely empty head. It is very unloved. Although it’s a little knee-jerk, which is what LLL is all about deep down, this is one possible reaction to Barcelona’s first loss this season – and the first goals conceded for that matter.” FourFourTwo

Analytics In Context: Assessing Leicester’s Chances of Staying Up

“Leicester’s chances of surviving in their return to the EPL for the first time since 2004 was boosted by their high profile come from behind victory against van Gaal’s work in progress on Sunday. However, they have remained firmly favoured to remain in the top flight by the published odds (currently 1.12 with Coral to stay up) even during a difficult start which saw them out shot against superior teams, where points were difficult to come by. This initial confidence in the Foxes was partly down to their impressive record in the Championship, where they gained over 100 points.” Betting Expert