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Lionel Messi scores 2 off the bench

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Daniel de la Feuille in 1706
“Lionel Messi climbed off the bench to score twice while his fellow replacement David Villa was again on the mark as Barcelona continued its 100 percent start to the new La Liga season with a 4-1 victory over Getafe on Saturday. Adriano capitalized on good work by Cesc Fabregas to notch a 32nd-minute opener before the visitors added three more goals in the final 16 minutes to seal their fourth win in four league outings.” ESPN

La Liga: Getafe CF 1-4 FC Barcelona: Match Review
“FC Barcelona dominated Getafe en route to a comfortable 4-1 win in the Spanish capital. Despite injuries to key members of the starting XI such as Andrés Iniesta and Alexis Sanchez, Barcelona were always in control of the game and got their breakthrough in the 32nd minute through Adriano Correia. Lionel Messi was brought on around the hour mark as Tito Vilanova looked to seal the game and the Argentine made sure of all three points with a quick-fire brace – one goal from the penalty spot, and a second from all of six yards. Getafe pulled one back thanks to a Javier Mascherano own-goal before David Villa restored the three-goal advantage with a clinical finish in added-on time.” Barcablaugranes

Premier League Saturday, Gameweek 4 Match Highlights [VIDEO]

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“Sometimes you just want to see the highlights all over again. For others, you may have had a busy day and didn’t get a chance to watch the Premier League matches. Whichever boat you’re in, here are the match highlights from all eight Premier League matches on Saturday, September 15.” EPL Talk (Video)

Sevilla 1-0 Real Madrid: Sevilla score after 2 minutes, then protect the lead for 88

“Sevilla triumphed in a fascinating tactical battle at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Sevilla coach Michel made an interesting selection decision, introducing Hedwiges Maduro into the midfield triangle. This pushed Piotr Trochowski forward to the left, and meant Manu had to settle for a place on the bench. Jose Mourinho chose a familiar side, with Luka Modric on the bench. Gonzalo Higuain started ahead of Karim Benzema upfront. There were two major phases to this game – the first half was about how well Sevilla’s initial gameplan worked, the second half was about how Mourinho adapted, and then the two coaches traded blows with substitutions until the end.” Zonal Marking

Two Brazilian cities, two games, halfway to the 2014 World Cup

“On the belvedere atop Corcovado mountain, tourists crowd the railings for a God’s-eye view of the world’s most beautiful cityscape. Standing under one Rio icon, the open-armed statue of Christ the Redeemer, they aim their phone cameras at another: Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain), the granite outcropping that resembles a giant cat crouching at the edge of Guanabara Bay. Off to the left, though, is a Rio landmark of equal significance, at least to futebol fans: Maracanã, the largest stadium in Brazil and the site of the 2014 World Cup final.” SI

Sampdoria: A Sort Of Homecoming

“Despite his obvious commitments in the English Premier League, there can be little doubt which Serie A result Roberto Mancini looks for first every weekend. Mancini has the club record for both appearances and goals at Sampdoria where he lifted the league title in 1991 at the end of a campaign that saw him and Gianluca Vialli nicknamed the goal twins. Sampdoria are back in the top flight and with two wins in their first two matches, they could be one of this campaign’s pleasant surprises. The last three seasons have seen the team go from the Champions League preliminary rounds to relegation with no lack of off-the-field antics along the way.” In Bed With Maradona

Liverpool: Still No League Win, But Reasons To Be Cheerful

“After what has been a monumental and emotional week on Merseyside, football was something of an afterthought. The findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel have shocked the nation, but it merely highlighted what the families of the victims and the survivors of the disaster have known all along. The club, though, had to focus on the task at hand: a trip to Sunderland, as Brendan Rodgers went in search of his first league win as Liverpool boss.” Sabotage Times

Rush: Rodgers needs time to build Reds
“Liverpool legend Ian Rush is adamant that Brendan Rodgers will be a success at Anfield if he is given time. Rodgers replaced Kenny Dalglish as manager in June but has failed to win any of his first four league games at the Reds helm. Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Sunderland has left Liverpool with two points from a possible 12, their worst start to a season since 1911. But Rush, who won five league titles during two spells at the club in the 1980s and 1990s, sees signs that Rodgers is starting to pull things together.” ESPN

Owen looks to finish career filled with ifs, injuries on high at Stoke

“Fourteen years later, and getting settled in Stoke, 600 miles and a world away from St Etienne, Owen will struggle to find a preview that does not mention his goal against Argentina at the 1998 World Cup. What the ITV commentator Brian Moore described above, in the rising pitch that gilded a thousand similarly spectacular goals, was not just a moment for Owen’s early career, but what would become the enduring reference point. It is not a bad one to be stuck with, though Owen can be forgiven for wishing he had something a little more recent in contention. Instead he signs for Stoke City on a free transfer, as he did for Manchester United three years ago, once again keen to prove that his football career does not exist solely in the past tense.” SI

What is American Soccer?

“For Howler’s debut issue, Matthew Doyle (MLSsoccer.com’s Armchair Analyst) watched more than 50 hours of USMNT tape (going all the way back to Italia ‘90) to discern what—if anything—characterizes the American style of play. With tomorrow night’s WCQ against Jamaica looming, we thought we’d share it early, especially because his analysis has a lot to say about what went wrong in Friday’s loss to Jamaica.” Howler

Is Juergen Klinsmann as conservative a coach as Bob Bradley?
“In preparation for the release of Howler magazine, the whatahowler tumblr released the full text of an article with the ambitious title, “What is American Soccer?” by MLS Armchair Analyst Matthew Doyle, and it is a riveting read for CONCACAF nerds especially (full disclosure—I contributed a short piece for issue one). I was struck though by the final paragraphs on US mens national team coach Juergen Klinsmann’s dogmatic belief in the possession-based 4-3-3, and they should be of interest to Toronto FC fans in particular, still reeling from the collapse of the Aron Winter era…” The Score

Consequences of funding a modern day Russian Revolution

“FC Anzhi Makhachkala are currently one side that are never too far away from the gaze of the European media. With it’s well known funding it has managed to raise the profile of Russian football and dispel nonsense myths, especially in Western Europe, that the standard of football in Russia is sub-standard. The side in recent years have lured the likes of highly respected manager Guus Hiddink and Roberto Carlos as a player before he took up the role of Sporting Director at the club. Samuel Eto’o, Christopher Samba, Yuri Zhirkov and Brazilian centre back Ewerton are just some of the names Anzhi fans have the pleasure of watching. And now, there may be much, much more on the way.” Slavic Football Union

The autumn of Steven Gerrard

“They say the darkest hour comes before the dawn, although whether or not that includes false dawns — of which there have been a few at Anfield in recent times — isn’t entirely clear. It has been confusing not only for Liverpool’s battered and bruised supporters to figure out whether the pale sun above them was rising or setting, but also for the Reds’ talisman, Steven Gerrard.” ESPN

Robert Enke – A Life Too Short

“I have spent the best part of whatever little free time I have had over the last few months to brush up on my sporting literature. Being in London for nearly two months this summer provided me with the otherwise elusive ability of being able to order things on Amazon. Such First World pleasures remain beyond the scope of my Third World residence and thus, suffice to say, when given the opportunity I did what any self-respecting human being would do — I pigged out. Any and all free time was spent discovering every possible use of Amazon’s all-purpose search function. Names were dug up from the depths of memory, and glossary’s were trolled in search for references to excitable yet obscure sports books I had committed to read.” Bundesliga Fanatic

amazon: A Life Too Short: The Tragedy of Robert Enke

Why The Beeb’s Hillsborough Documentary Failed To Explain The Struggle For Justice

“This week, the results of a near three-year long inquiry by the Hillsborough Independent Panel are publically released. The panel, chaired by James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, was set up in 2010 to examine all of the evidence relating to the events of the disaster on April 15th, 1989, with the remit of bringing ‘full public disclosure’ of all relevant documentation and to report how ‘the information adds to public understanding of the tragedy and its aftermath.’ After going over more than 450,000 previously unseen documents released by as many as 80 different organisations including the South Yorkshire Police, emergency services, the coroner and Sheffield City Council, will deliver a presentation at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral on Wednesday morning with their findings.” Sabotage Times

Hillsborough disaster: David Conn analyses report – video
“Guardian sports writer, David Conn, analyses the contents of the report on the Hillsborough disaster 23 years ago that left 96 dead. The report by an independent panel, established three years ago and chaired by the bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, found that there was a failure of authorities to protect people and an attempt to blame fans” Guardian (Video)

Hillsborough disaster
“The Hillsborough disaster was a human crush which occurred during the semi-final FA Cup tie between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest football clubs on 15 April 1989 at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. The crush resulted in the deaths of 96 people — 94 died on the day and two more victims died later in hospital. Another 766 persons were injured. All of those were fans of Liverpool Football Club. The Hillsborough disaster remains the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history and one of the world’s worst ever football accidents.” W – Hillsborough disaster

Hillsborough disaster: new inquest likely after damning report
“A new inquest into the Hillsborough disaster is likely to be ordered after the full scale of the establishment cover-up in the wake of the 1989 disaster was revealed for the first time. Criminal prosecutions of key figures are also possible after the Hillsborough Independent Panel – which was chaired by the bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, and had unrestricted access to 450,000 documents over three years – revealed the depths of a police cover-up that swung into action the morning after the disaster.” Guardian

Hillsborough: prosecutions likely over ‘the biggest cover-up in history’
“The Hillsborough stadium disaster led to the “the biggest cover-up in history”, it has been claimed as a new report disclosed the extent to which police doctored statements and tried to blame innocent fans.” Telegraph

Hillsborough disaster: the independent report, in full
“An independent panel has concluded that the police and ambulance services made “strenuous attempts to deflect blame” for the deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. The full report is below…” Telegraph

UEFA World Cup qualifying: Spain wins opener; England ties Ukraine

“World Cup champion Spain defeated Georgia 1-0 on an 86th-minute goal by Roberto Soldado on Tuesday, the first step by the Spaniards on their road to the 2014 World Cup. This was the 23rd consecutive victory in qualifying matches for Spain, which has three points in Group I and is tied with Georgia. Spain is attempting to win an unprecedented fourth consecutive major title after repeating as European champion this summer.” SI

Draw sheds light on England’s problems

“Have England fans ever been this overjoyed about a draw? It doesn’t matter that England, if it is as good as it wants to believe it is, should do far better than a 1-1 home draw with Ukraine. It also doesn’t matter that the generally sleepy and perfunctory opening salvos in a long and largely uninteresting qualification tournament provided plenty of talking points — namely, Steven Gerrard’s late red card, Tom Cleverley’s hat trick of wasted empty-netters and Frank Lampard converting a penalty for the second straight England game.” ESPN

Lampard’s late penalty salvages draw
“England’s soccer team found a way to quickly dissipate the nation’s summer of sporting success and bring back the gloom. After the Olympics and Paralympics created a feel-good atmosphere in London, the national team returned to Wembley on Tuesday night to play Ukraine and narrowly avoided what would have been its first competitive home loss in five years.” ESPN (Video)

Ukraine pay the penalty as Frank Lampard saves England a point
“Apparently this England side are now officially the third best international team in the world. Or, at least, that is what Fifa would like us to believe through its increasingly perplexing ranking system. The whole process is flawed, to say the least, and certainly on nights like these Roy Hodgson’s players remind everyone that their shortcomings are not merely a matter of fine-tuning.” Guardian (Video)

Beaten Uruguay have no time to sulk

“In the context of a league campaign, a resounding win or a heavy defeat never ends at the final whistle. More important than the points won or lost can be the team’s reaction. Can it rally in the face of adversity, or guard against excessive euphoria? This is especially true in South America’s marathon 2014 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, when two rounds are played together, and a team can play at one end of the continent on Friday and the other the following Tuesday.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Ukraine’s young guns face England and life without Andriy Shevchenko

“A star has gone out and a new age must begin. For a long time the question with Ukraine was whether Andriy Shevchenko was still worth his place in the side; now that he has retired, there is a realisation of what an almighty gap there is to fill. For 17 years, Shevchenko was an all but permanent feature of Ukraine’s national team, winning 111 caps, scoring a national record 48 goals and becoming a totemic presence.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Hillsborough – Searching For The Truth; BBC TV Documentary

” Last night, BBC North West and BBC Yorkshire aired a brand-new documentary entitled ‘Hillsborough – Searching For The Truth.’ If you missed it, here it is in its entirety. According to the synopsis from the BBC, the documentary filmmaker speaks to police officers, Hillsborough victims’ family members and the author of an infamous article in the Sun newspaper which blamed Liverpool fans for the disaster. The 30 minute documentary was released last night in the build-up to Wednesday’s much-awaited report from the Hillsborough Independent Panel, where the Panel had access to more than 400,000 previously unreleased documents.” EPL Tale (Video)

Dempsey, United States stunned by Jamaica in World Cup qualifier

“Three thoughts on the United States’ 2-1 loss against Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier on Friday… • The U.S.’s lack of width and possession were killers. The Americans were always going to have to deal with the injury-related absences of Michael Bradley and Landon Donovan, but their inability to possess the ball meant that some degree of width in the attack was necessary, and that width wasn’t there.” SI

This Is A Red and Brack Nation

“Over an hour before kick-off and the stadium was already awash with flags, banners and fireworks as it rocked to the drums and chants of the Torcidas. I was in Rio for the game known as the Fla-Flu, the derby between Flamengo and Fluminese. While not as big as Vasco vs Flamengo, the excellently named derby of the millions, the Fla-Flu is a game of historical significance. And the pre-match atmosphere was certainly living up to the hype as the two sets of fans took in turns to explode into action.” In Bed With Maradona

West Germany v Austria, 1978: Unravelling the “Shame of Córdoba”

“Germany versus Austria, and a match that would find its place in history and footballing folklore. In Austria it would be known as Der Wunder von Córdoba or ‘the miracle of Córdoba’. In Germany meanwhile it would become known as Der Schmach von Córdoba, or ‘the disgrace of Córdoba’. While one could understand the reaction of the Austrians to what was ultimately a meaningless match – they had not defeated the Nationalmannschaft since 1931, after all – I have always wondered why it was seen as such a big deal in Germany. OK, Helmut Schön’s side had given their little Southern brothers a rare chance to engage in hysterical hyperbole, but in truth the 3-2 defeat didn’t really amount to much in the end.” Bundesliga Fanatic

The Short Happy Life of Adilson Batista

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“A man at peace, Adilson Batista, manager of Serie A strugglers Atlético Goianiense, yawned, stretched, and leaned back in his chair. He knew had made the right choice. It hadn`t been easy to turn down the offer to go back to Cruzeiro, a far bigger club than Atlético, and he would never forget those glorious nights in 2009, when he had taken the team from Belo Horizonte to the Libertadores final against Estudiantes. They had called him one of the brightest young coaches in Brazil back then. But he had a responsibility to Atlético. He`d only arrived in April, and it would be wrong to leave the club in the lurch just a few weeks later. He wanted to see the project through to the end.” World Soccer

Sabella meshes Argentina’s abundance of attacking talent

“It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez, Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore, Ezequiel Lavezzi … no other nation comes even remotely close to Argentina in terms of attacking and creative talent. The problem has been trying to fit as many of them as possible into the same squad. It did for Diego Maradona and it did for Sergio Batista.” SI

You Think You Know Me? The 5 Greatest Football Metamorphoses

“Thanks to the modern day media saturation of football, Sky TV, the evolution of the internet, twitter, etc., etc.; we are all very confident of our knowledge and familiarity with all involved; the clubs, players, managers, chairmen, pundits, presenters are all very well known to us. Sometimes there are those that surprise however, the ones that we think we have all figured out, only to learn that they’re not as crap as we thought, or not as much of an imbecile, or not quite the disaster waiting to happen that we had all concluded; these select few, are football’s five greatest metamorphoses.” Sabotage Times

Manchester United: A Lifetime On the Left

“When left-wing director Ken Loach agreed to make a film about Manchester United fans, it was widely assumed that he’d done so because this gave him the opportunity to work with Eric Cantona. Looking For Eric (2009), his uplifting revenge fantasy about a down-and-out postman played by Steve Evets (a former part-time bassist with The Fall), also deals with the fall-out from the Malcom Glazer takeover. In one memorable pub scene, fans argue between themselves about the merits of supporting breakaways FC United (‘the People’s Club’). But neither the enigmatic presence of Cantona nor the unresolved FCUM dilemma provides the main focus for the film, which is the idea that only through comradeship and solidarity can certain problems be overcome.” In Bed With Maradona

Hulk and Witsel signings show that Zenit have turned a corner

“The Russian Premier League season started this July and Zenit picked up where they left off the prior season. Even though many of the key players suffered disappointment at Euros, by late July Zenit was already looking the strongest club in the league. With predominantly the same lineup as the previous championship campaign, Zenit were in cruise control sweeping its biggest rivals in succession: 2-0 over Dinamo Moscow, 3-1 away to CSKA Moscow, and a 5-0 demolishing of the most hated Spartak Moscow.” Think Football

Uruguay have cause for World Cup concern

“World Cup qualification resumes in South America this Friday, with a question mark hanging over the team which have been the continent’s form side over the past two years. Might the London Olympics mark an unwelcome turning point for Uruguay? On the face of it there should be no cause for alarm. World Cup semi-finalists in 2010, Copa America champions last year, Uruguay’s senior side have gone 18 games without defeat. They have made a solid start to the 2014 qualifiers. Leaders Chile sit out Friday’s round, where a win for Uruguay would take them to the top of the table.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Sabella meshes Argentina’s abundance of attacking talent
“It is possible to have too much of a good thing. Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez, Angel Di Maria, Javier Pastore, Ezequiel Lavezzi … no other nation comes even remotely close to Argentina in terms of attacking and creative talent. The problem has been trying to fit as many of them as possible into the same squad. It did for Diego Maradona and it did for Sergio Batista.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Trouble atop the table, hope at the bottom
“With Euro 2012 followed by the season’s big kickoff and the excitement of the transfer window, only now is Europe turning its attention to the need to qualify for the next World Cup. South America, meanwhile, is in a very different situation. Sights are already firmly trained on winning a place in Brazil 2014. The continent’s marathon qualification tournament is a third of the way through. This Friday, action will get under way in the second year of a three-year campaign. So far the soccer has lived up to its billing as the most competitive World Cup qualifiers on the planet.” ESPN

Adrien Rabiot: The Future Of Paris St. Germain

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“A few minutes before Ezequiel Lavezzi was introduced to the French press on July 2nd last month, heralded as yet another high-profile name to join the ranks of rapidly-improving PSG, another player came to sign a professional contract with the Parisian club. There weren’t any journalists present aside of those representing the club’s official website and local newspaper Le Parisien. And yet this name might well come to embody what is left of Paris Saint Germain’s identity a few years down the line.” In Bed With Maradona

The Curse of Wembley

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“The title of the film by German film maker Stefan Keber suggests what many people already know: England have not won any major trophy since their World Cup triumph at Wembley in July 1966: England are cursed by Wembley and the third goal. Not just that, every time they appeared to be coming close to another final, there were German teams eliminating them from the tournament. The last time in 1996 at the Euro held in England.” Do not mention the war (Video)

UEFA’s FFP Regulations – Play To Win

“So the transfer window is finally over after the customary twists and turns and, as always, has raised some intriguing questions. Perhaps most perplexing is the decision of previously big spending Manchester City to slam on the brakes (by their own recent standards) much to the disappointment of manager Roberto Mancini. On the fairly safe assumption that this is not due to Sheikh Mansour struggling for cash, the culprit is likely to be UEFA’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, a particularly delicate issue for the blue side of Manchester.” Swiss Ramble

To Boo Or Not To Boo? Why There Is A Time & Place For Dissent

“Three games into the Premier League season, the distinctive sound of burning pitchforks is in the air. Without a win from the six matches that they have played between them, both Andre Villa Boas and Brendan Rodgers are already being cast into a familiar mould – that of the hapless managerial failure. Both are managers whose appointments carried an element of risk about them. Villa Boas excelled at Porto in a way that few other managers have in recent years in coaching this team to the Europa League and the Portuguese championship, but his stock fell with his turbulent spell at Stamford Bridge, while Rodgers arrival at Liverpool came off the back of success at Swansea City but a nagging concern that his name might not be of the pedigree that supporters of that particular club might have expected.” twohundredpercent

Team of the Week – Match Day 2

“The second week of the new Bundesliga season proved to be even more exciting than the first, full of great individual and team performances, goals, and its share of upsets. Bayern München further laid down the marker as the team to beat with one of their most dominant performances in recent memory while defending champions Dortmund stumbled in Nürnberg. Promoted side Eintracht Frankfurt continue to be the surprise package of the new season with a convincing win of their own in Hoffenheim and Hannover got a memorable away win in Wolfsburg. Bremen came out on top in the nordderby and Greuther Fürth recorded a historic first ever Bundesliga win.” Bundesliga Fanatic

Africa Cup of Nations qualifying is a rushed mess – but fascinating

“The qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations reach their climax this weekend. For 16 teams, the qualifiers also start this weekend. There surely can never have been a hastier, more flawed qualifying process for any tournament that presents itself as major. The result is that Ivory Coast and Senegal will pay each other on Saturday and then again on 12 October and, whoever wins over the two legs goes through. Whoever loses is out. Neither side has played any qualifiers before now. Both qualified for the Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon earlier this year, beginning the tournament as first and third favourites. They’ve done nothing wrong; just been unlucky with the draw.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Inter 1-3 Roma: Zeman collects the first win of his second spell at Roma

“An extremely open game finished with Roma on top. Andrea Stramaccioni surprisingly used new signing Alvaro Pereira on the left of his central midfield three in place of Esteban Cambiasso – otherwise, the XI was the same as in the 3-0 win over Pescara last week. Zdenek Zeman gave debuts to Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Alessandro Florenzi and Mattia Destro within his standard attack-minded 4-3-3 system. As with all games involving a Zeman side, this was very open with space all over the pitch, despite both sides trying to play with a high defensive line.” Zonal Marking

Brian Glanville reflects on a weekend of Premier League action

“Arsenal suddenly firing goals not blanks. Chelsea utterly humiliated in Monaco, ridiculed by a splendid Colombian striker named Falcao – after the once-famed Brazilian midfielder – who now seems eager to join them. Spurs failing yet again to win a Premiership match despite the expensive late arrival from Fulham of the talented Moussa Dembele and the usually prolific Clint Dempsey. Villas-Boas was booed by Tottenham fans after the uneasy draw with a Norwich team, which on its previous visit to London had been thrashed 5-0 at Fulham. Watching Fulham crash at West Ham, one wondered how they had ever got all those goals.” World Soccer

That Watford and Udinese Thing: Reasons To Be Cheerful

“In the summer of 1986 Udinese were in trouble. As punishment for their part in ‘Totonero bis’ – a match-fixing scandal which tore through the game and left many of its players and clubs tainted forever – the Friulian club were relegated to the second tier of Italian football. While his arrival may not have had the global impact of Silvio Berlusconi’s landing at Milan some four months earlier, Giampaolo Pozzo’s arrival would prove to be a watershed moment for a club who bear little resemblance to the one he bought 26 years ago.” In Bed With Maradona

A Tactical Look at Southampton-Man United and Liverpool-Arsenal

“The two big games on Sunday provided us with some further insight into how the respective teams will approach this season. Here are some tactical points that proved to be key in determining the results, and some things that may be worth keeping an eye on for the upcoming campaign…” EPL Talk

La Liga Review: FC Barcelona 1, Valencia 0, Or, How To Be Happy With Less

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“Barça are now the only Liga team to have started this season with three wins out of three, and will spend the international break at the top of the table, at the lofty height of nine points. The match against Valencia promised to be complicated, with them having taken a worthy 1-1 draw at the Bernabéu, and Barça still recovering from the mid-week disappointment, so Tito chose Valdés, Alves, Piqué, Mascherano, Adriano, Song, Xavi, Cesc, Pedro, Alexis and Messi before trudging off to the stands to sit out the first of the two matches he’s suspended.” The Offside (Video)

Barcelona 1 – 0 Valencia
“Barcelona retained the only 100 per cent record in Spain’s Primera Division with a fine strike by Adriano sinking struggling Valencia 1-0. Barca, beaten by rivals Real Madrid in the Supercopa, could have beaten Manuel Pellegrino’s side by more goals had Cesc Fabregas not failed to take two good chances. Tito Vilanova almost saw his side pay for those missed chances as Roberto Soldado and Victor Ruiz both went close, the latter also having a goal disallowed for offside.” ESPN

Liverpool owner John W Henry offers some laughable points with his letter to fans

“If Lennon’s hymn of homage was to Mia Farrow’s reclusive sister, Henry’s homily was a love letter to the similarly elusive soul of financial restraint. Henry’s open missive to the Kop sought to justify the contentious actions of his Fenway Sports Group in the newly-closed transfer window. Admirable in his intent, namely communicating with the club’s lifeblood, Henry provided a window on the owner-manager-player-supporter dynamic in the modern game. Some of Henry’s observations defied belief. Others introduced some welcome perspective in the ‘Greed Is Good’ world of the Premier League.” Telegraph – Henry Winter

Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal: Cazorla stays high up and exploits space between the lines

“Arsenal started nervously but eventually got into their stride to record an impressive win over Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers brought Daniel Agger straight back into the team after he was suspended for the draw against Manchester City, while Nuri Sahin was given his debut in midfield, in place of the injured Lucas Leiva. Arsene Wenger kept his back four intact despite the return to fitness of Laurent Koscielny. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced Gervinho on the right. Liverpool dominated possession – 53% – but Arsenal were more penetrative with their passing, thanks to the positioning and use of the ball by Santi Cazorla between the lines.” Zonal Marking

Liverpool could move for Michael Owen following defeat to Arsenal
“A fitting end to a dreadful few days in the Liverpool reign of Brendan Rodgers stemmed from a superior Arsenal display, carelessness and another error from the once formidable José Reina. But it was strikers in absentia who hogged the limelight. The Liverpool manager admitted he would never have loaned Andy Carroll to West Ham United had he foreseen Friday’s non-transfer deadline day and will consider an Anfield return for Michael Owen.” Guardian

Arsenal wins 2-0; Reds still winless
“Liverpool were condemned to their worst start to a season for half a century as Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla gave Arsenal a 2-0 victory at Anfield. On what would have been Bill Shankly’s 99th birthday, the Reds equaled the record of his newly promoted side in 1962-63 by collecting just one point from their opening three games.” ESPN

Liverpool’s style is taking shape, but problems loom
“There was a time when folks joked that Arsenal was the best Spanish team in the Prem. Pretty passes, triangle after triangle, keeping the ball on the floor — the Gunners were lovely to watch, a poor-man’s Barcelona. Leave it to their opponents to rely almost exclusively on fast, and sometimes crude, counterattacks. Arsenal would bring the sizzle. Except, of course, its style of play has rendered its trophy cabinet threadbare for seven years and counting.” ESPN

Good Riddance to a Grim Week
“There’s no point in me submitting a piece to the official site this week, as I can’t think of anything good to say about the past seven days. (It takes about five times as long to delicately word a piece at a time like this, and I don’t have the energy.) Aside from the bright sparks offered by Raheem Sterling, Joe Allen and a late cameo from Jonjo Shelvey (average age of 19.7 for that trio) against Arsenal, it’s been a quite wretched week.” Tomkins Times

Why Football is Part of the Creative Economy

“Football is part of the creative economy because its value lies in ideas. Typically when we think of football, we tend to think of it as “big business.” Real Madrid made over $695 million in the 2011 fiscal year and the combined net worth of the top five richest clubs for 2011 is over $5 billion. But to put this into perspective, we need to realize that the combined value of the world’s five richest companies is nearly $2 trillion. We can all see that in the grand scheme of things, football financially pales in comparison to other sectors of industry. Yet football is both immensely powerful and popular. In FIFA’s latest Big Count, 270 million people—or four percent of the world’s population—are involved in football in some way. Further, more people watch the World Cup Final than any other single sporting events. This leads us to ask—is football really a business at all?” Soccer Politics

West Ham quicker to the second balls in 3-0 victory over Fulham

“This game’s main story was always going to involve the debut of Andy Carroll. 24 hours after confirmation of his loan from Liverpool, he went straight into Sam Allardyce’s first XI. That came as little surprise – new signings often need time to settle in, but any doubt about his tactical role was unlikely. As with all Allardyce sides, it was long balls towards the big man straight away – and West Ham went ahead within a minute. But it wasn’t Carroll’s aerial threat that directly threatened the Fulham defence. In Brede Hangeland the away side had a strong centre-back that relishes physical confrontations, and although Carroll won the majority of his aerial duels (9 from 15, 60%), he didn’t have any headed attempts on goal. His only shot was hit from outside the penalty area, and was blocked.” Zonal Marking

Modric and Song arrivals indicate Barcelona and Real are thinking about each other’s style

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“Last night’s Supercopa match – a 2-1 win to Real, meaning they won the tie on away goals – highlighted the huge difference in playing style between the two sides. Real dominated the game in the opening period when the match was frantic and direct. Constant long balls in behind the Barcelona defence produced numerous chances and a red card for Adriano, and Real could have been 4-0 up before Barcelona had even started playing. But Barcelona dominated the second half, even with ten men, as Real dropped off and let Barcelona dictate the tempo. Barcelona’s passing is quick, in terms of going from player to player, but the speed of their attacks from back to front is very slow and patient.” Zonal Marking

Supercopa de España: Real Madrid 2-1 FC Barcelona: Player Ratings
“A day later than usual, but here are the Player Ratings for Barcelona’s 1-2 defeat against Real Madrid” Barca Blaugranes

Are Sergio Ramos And Gerard Pique Really As Good As They Appear?
“We are routinely told that these two Spanish defenders are the best in the world. But is their supposed greatness a fortunate by-product of being a member of all-conquering teams?” Sabotage Times

Spartans fail to sparkle

“(With pre-emptive apologies to Harry Pearson – it’s impossible to have read The Far Corner and write about non-league football (and non-league football in the North-East, especially) without succumbing to the temptation to imitate his style…) My home town Morpeth – securely and perhaps smugly middle-class – is located at something of a crossroads. Leave the self-styled ‘ancient market town’ and venture north or west in the direction of the Scottish border and you find yourself in the romantic ‘Northumbria’ of the postcards and tourist brochures: mile upon mile of unpopulated scenic countryside, picturesque castles and expansive, unspoilt, golden beaches.” thetwounfortunates

Tomtom Zola Moukoko and How Football Manager Stole My Life

“One game, a lifelong obsession, and an IBWM exclusive piece for you to understand a little more about the book. Stalking is such an ugly word, full of needlessly negative connotations. I prefer to see myself as a sort of digital detective – a dedicated disciple of those who secured immortality through the Championship/Football Manager series. It was my job – if I can call what was a hugely enjoyable pursuit a ‘job’ – to track down and extract anecdotal gems from 26 of these unlikely superstars for Football Manager Stole My Life. So six months ago – armed with little more than a notepad, pen, phone and the reckless optimism possessed by battle-hardened Scotland supporters – I set off on my quest.” In Bed With Maradona

amazon: Football Manager Stole My Life

Football has gone back to the back three, but why can be a mystery

James Milner
“Everything tactical in football is relative. There are few absolutes; everything has meaning and relevance only in relation to everything else. The question ‘What’s the best formation?’ is nonsensical because it depends on so many subsidiary questions: who are my players? How fit are they? How confident are they? How motivated are they? What are they used to doing? What result do we need from this game? Are we home or away? What is the weather like? What is the pitch like? Who are the opposition? How do they play? What shape do they play? How are their form and fitness? Even if a manager can accurately assess all of that, it may still be that after 10 minutes it becomes apparent that he needs to tweak something because of a player, whether on his side or the opponent’s, suddenly having a great game or an appalling game.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Aguero & Messi – Argentina’s perfect partners

“Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini was frustrated when his striker Sergio Aguero was called up by Argentina for a friendly against Germany two weeks ago. And he is exasperated to see Aguero’s name in his country’s squad for the coming World Cup qualifiers. The trip to Germany came just a few days before City began their defence of the Premier League title. And Aguero’s injury means that he has limited chances of being fit in time to play for his country next month. A journey across the Atlantic is quite possibly not an ideal part of the player’s recovery. Mancini’s position, then, is totally understandable. But so too is that of Argentina boss Alejandro Sabella.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Fabulous Falcao

“In the era of the ‘false 9,’ there is no truer No. 9 than Radamel Falcao. He’d look wrong with any other number on his back, having worn the traditional striker’s shirt for River Plate, Porto, Atletico Madrid and the Colombian national team. After Pippo Inzaghi’s retirement, the Colombian has assumed the role of being the most renowned penalty box poacher in European football. His hat trick against Athletic Bilbao on Monday night was another demonstration of his brilliant goal-scoring ability.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Bundes-Blogging, Week 1

“Opening days always feel a little uneasy. It doesn’t matter whether you’re in the United States or Germany, watching football or baseball. I’m not talking about nerves, either. Nerves are obviously part of it: The players look anxious, as do the fans, who have spent the offseason consuming transfer news and carefully calibrating expectations.” ESPN

Horst Blankenburg: the forgotten man of German football

“Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Sepp Maier. These are just some of the most successful and celebrated German footballers of all time, winning just about everything there was to win with club and country. Horst Blankenburg on the other hand is not a name that immediately springs to mind when discussing Germany’s most successful footballers but certainly merits a mention, at least at club level. Yet, few remember or know much about the man that never quite fit in in Germany and had to leave his home country to truly make a name for himself.” World Soccer (Video)

Consistency Remains Brendan Rodgers Biggest Challenge

“At least, we might surmise, the waves of panic might be starting to recede from lapping against the walls of Anfield now. On Sunday afternoon, Liverpool put in about as complete a performance as could have been hoped for considering their wretched start to the season against West Bromwich Albion eight days previously in holding Manchester City to a two-all draw in front of the television cameras. There was plenty for Liverpool supporters to be optimistic about, as well. The debut of Raheem Sterling, after three appearances from the substitutes bench, showed off a player with a sack of potential, while Joe Allen, whose signature from Swansea City for £15m raised eyebrows at the amount of money paid, put in about as accomplished a performance as Liverpools midfield has seen since the club started its slide down the Premier League table a couple of years ago.” twohundredpercent

Roberto Mancini may be frustrated over Manchester City’s transfer policy but the buzzword is sustainability

“In the background will be the clinking sounds of yachts, Champagne flutes and roulette wheels, making Monaco a slightly surreal setting for a discussion on tightening belts and balancing books. Marwood, though, does not need any advice from Platini’s Financial Fair Play document or any prompting on the need for fiscal restraint. Contrary to popular perception, the buzzword ‘sustainability’ has long been heard within the corridors of power at City.” Telegraph – Henry Winter

Total Football Comes To Loftus Road – The 1975/76 Season

“QPR fans disillusioned with their recent state of affairs (Four Year Plans, F1 moguls, narcissistic midfielders and the rest of it) will always hark back to the 1970s as the most glorious period in the club’s history. The pinnacle of this was the 1975-6 season, their ‘annus mirabilis’, in which Rangers finished runners-up in the First Division, to this day their highest ever finish.” In Bed With Maradona

Rooney & Messi: Strikers Today, But The Pirlos Of The Future?

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“Football is quickly evolving and it’s no longer good enough to be a specific specialist. Could forwards like Rooney and Messi be making a move down field in the future?” Sabotage Times

African Football and the Power Of Juju

“Superstitions are not uncommon in sport, and football and its players are no exception to this rule. From the greatest in the sport to the myriad others hoping to become so, weird practices/routines before, during or after the game are as much as a part of playing the game itself. Chelsea captain and England defender, John Terry apparently sits in the same place in the team bus. Former England and Manchester United defender, Gary Neville too admits to following set routines – same set of shoes, same belt, etc. In a desperate attempt to help his team get back to winning ways, Barry Fry, during his days as the Birmingham City manager, admitted to urinating in the 4 corners of the field. His team did fare much better, but Fry was soon kicked out.” In Bed With Maradona

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City: neither entirely comfortable with new approach

“Liverpool scored from two dead ball situations, Manchester City scored after some poor defending. Brendan Rodgers gave a full league debut to Raheem Sterling on the left wing, and played Sebastian Coates rather than Jamie Carragher at the back. Lucas Leiva started in midfield despite getting injured in the warm-up, and was replaced after three minutes by Jonjo Shelvey, with Joe Allen dropping into the Lucas role.” Zonal Marking

Man City salvages tie vs. Liverpool
“Carlos Tevez pounced on a Martin Skrtel mistake to continue his Manchester City rehabilitation by snatching a draw for the champions at Liverpool. The Argentinian, now firmly back in favor, seized on a backpass to strike his side’s second equalizer and prevent City from slipping to their first Barclays Premier League defeat of the season. Liverpool was much improved after crashing 3-0 at West Brom in its opener and twice led a pulsating clash with goals from Skrtel and Luis Suarez on either side of a Yaya Toure effort.” ESPN

Leading Manchester City To European Glory And My Finest Football Manager Moments

“Hi, my name is Ben and I’m a recovering Football Manager addict. In the past, I’ve spent weekends holed up in my room playing the game as the world passes me by. I’ve openly discussed tactics my friends and my brother, talking about potential signings, youth-team products, training schedules; anything you can think of, it has been conversed.” Sabotage Times

Forza Pro

Genoa – Pro Vercelli, 0 -1, 1913
“I have a magical connection with the tiny Italian soccer club Pro Vercelli because I once spent a year pretending to be them in a video game. Moreover, I spent a year blogging extensively about pretending to be them in a video game. Without going too deeply into my reasons for doing this — more or less the usual Internet cocktail of narcissism, a ‘desire to interrogate constructions of fantasy and reality in sports,’ and generally warm feelings about playing Football Manager at two in the afternoon for money — I can say that the project spiraled hopelessly out of control, sucked in hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of words, generated about a million inside jokes on my old soccer site, and left me with a permanent love for this obscure little club from a city of fewer than 50,000 people in the northern Italian province of Piedmont.” Grantland – Brian Phillips

Pro Vercelli: They were one of history’s greatest teams
“But by the late 2000s, Pro Vercelli were entrenched in the lower leagues, their glorious past forgotten. Until one day, a man bought a video game. Read the uplifting saga of a small-town Italian club, an unknown American manager, triumph, betrayal, passion, and several extremely good recipes, from start to finish below.” Run of Play

Barca edges Real in Super Cup thriller

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“In the first half, the heat won. In the second, football did. Five goals, ranging from the beautiful to the bizarre, a fight back from each side, incident, atmosphere and a perfect first-leg scene setter for next Wednesday when the Supercopa trophy will be awarded to the winner. Advantage Barcelona for a number of reasons, but absolutely not a definitive advantage. We have game on.” ESPN

Barcelona give Real Madrid life with late blunder
“Barcelona managed to grab a narrow 3-2 victory against Real Madrid at the Camp Nou in the away leg of the Spanish Supercopa. Pedro Rodriguez, Xavi Hernandez and Lionel Messi scored the goals for the Blaugranas. The match started as most of us expected, with Barcelona building patiently with long periods of possession and Real Madrid sitting deep in their own half. Pedro and Alexis kept opening the pitch from the wings, making themselves available, often cutting into the striking positions. A couple of missed chances by Lionel Messi contributed to the 0-0 result at halftime.” ESPN

Supercopa de España: FC Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid: Player Ratings
OpenCalais

Heart of Midlothian 0 – 1 Liverpool

“An own goal from Andy Webster was all that separated the two sides as Liverpool scraped a narrow 1-0 victory over Hearts in the Europa League play-off at Tynecastle. Hearts impressed for much of the tie before suffering a late blow against their Premier League visitors, who made the trip across the border without a number of star players.” ESPN

Trading places: Cassano and Pazzini

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Antonio Cassano
“When assessing how realistic a transfer rumor is, you can be fairly confident that any mooted ‘exchange’ deal won’t happen, especially when big-name players are involved. They’re often touted, but they rarely happen. Therefore, it’s particularly exciting when an exchange does take place. Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic swapping clubs three years ago was an astonishing transfer. The consensus was that Inter Milan had got themselves a great deal.” ESPN – Michael Cox