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About 1960s: Days of Rage

Bill Davis - 1960s: Days of Rage

The Death of Sócrates

“Sócrates is dead. It’s hard to see how anyone could be surprised. It’s also hard not to think that he died because he wanted to, since Sócrates always seems to have done what he wanted to. He smoked incessantly because it gave him pleasure; he seems to have ingested vast amounts of alcohol for the same reason. When people die from alcoholic poisoning — which is in effect what killed Sócrates — it’s usual to speak of their ‘demons’: he could never escape his demons, he could never conquer his demons, in the end his demons destroyed him. Few will use that language about Sócrates, in part because, according to much testimony, drinking didn’t really change his personality. He drank because he liked it, probably.” Run of Play

Socrates so much more than a footballer
“Just over five years ago, when Brazil’s 1982 World Cup coach Tele Santana died, team captain Socrates recalled the scene in the dressing room after their elimination by Paolo Rossi’s Italy at the second group stage. As the media were searching for explanations, there were tears and tantrums, dejection and disappointment. Amid the chaos, Santana stood peacefully, proud of his team and the glorious football they had played – still remembered with extraordinary affection all over the world. They had given it their best shot.” BBC – Tim Vickery (Video)

Socrates Dead: Brazil Soccer Captain At 1982 World Cup Dies At 57
“On and off the field, former Brazil star Socrates stood out above the rest. His elegant style and his deep involvement with politics made him a unique figure in Brazilian soccer, setting him apart from the players of his time and even of today. He was mostly known for captaining Brazil at the 1982 World Cup, regarded by many as the best team ever not to win football’s showcase tournament.” Huffington Post (Video)

Euro 2012 Draw In ‘Not That Dull’ Shock

“Is Group C of the Euro 2012 finals – Croatia, Italy, Ireland and Spain – the most catholic group in international football tournament finals history? That thought occurred with the fourth team in two of next summer’s groups still to be drawn out and Italy’s and England’s balls still to be opened. When Saturday Comes magazine asked the question of one of the 2002 World Cup finals groups – also involving Italy and Croatia, alongside Mexico and Ecuador – so it wasn’t an original thought (when I have one, I’ll surely let you know).” twohundredpercent

The Reducer: Week 14, Spurs of the Moment

“Sometimes there are Premier League weekends where it’s all paradigm-shifting, faith-questioning madness that makes The Reducer pull off Johan Cruyff Turns in his living room and Zidane-headbutt the drywall. This was not one of those weekends. So rather than deep dive on one match, let’s speed race through several different results.” Grantland (Video)

Chelsea 3-0 Valencia: Chelsea drop deep and progress to the second round

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“Chelsea are into the knockout stages after a surprisingly comfortable win over Valencia. Andre Villas-Boas went for his usual 4-3-3, but sprung a surprise with the use of Raul Meireles on the left of the midfield triangle, meaning Frank Lampard dropped to the bench. Didier Drogba was in over Fernando Torres again upfront. Unai Emery’s expected 4-2-3-1 featured Jonas as the central attacker, Sofiane Feghouli on the right, and Antonio Barragan at right-back. Ever Banega was out injured. Chelsea were ahead after five minutes, and had the game sealed by half-time.” Zonal Marking

Fulham 1 – 0 Liverpool

“Fulham striker Clint Dempsey struck a late winner as Liverpool’s outstanding form on the road ended with a controversial 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage. Dempsey stabbed home a long-range 85th-minute shot by Danny Murphy that had bounced off the arms of Jose Reina, to secure only Fulham’s third Barclays Premier League win of the season. However, a sense of grievance cloaked Liverpool’s night after they were denied a strong claim to a penalty and a legitimate goal from Luis Suarez was disallowed for offside, before Jay Spearing was shown a straight red card.” ESPN

Fulham 1 Liverpool 0: In-Depth Tactical Analysis
“Fulham had failed to score in six in their last eight Premier League games against Liverpool, and the visitors have the league’s best record in terms of shots conceded (44). Unfortunately, neither record prevailed in the end as Fulham gained a 1-0 victory after Spearing had been received a straight red card.” Tomkins Times

Newcastle 0-3 Chelsea: Blues take their chances

Didier Drogba
“The scoreline makes it look convincing, but Chelsea had to work extremely hard to get the three points. Alan Pardew was without the suspended Jonas Gutierrez and the injured Cheick Toite, so Peter Lovenkrands started on the left, and Danny Guthrie in the middle. Fabricio Coloccini only lasted half an hour before being replaced by James Perch.” Zonal Marking

Newcastle 0-3 Chelsea:The Scoreline Flatters Chelsea
“The scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story, as Chelsea were severely tested by Newcastle United for most of an entertaining game, before finishing them off with two goals in the dying minutes. The home team had the hard-working duo of Jonás Gutierrez and Cheick Tioté out, so Peter Løvenkrands and Danny Guthrie came in. Captain Fabricio Coloccini went off injured after just 28 minutes and was replaced by utility player James Perch. Chelsea started with Didier Drogba up front, while Oriol Romeu continued in the holding role after an impressive outing against Wolves.” The False 9

Group B one of the toughest in European Championship history

“As ever, with thedraw for the European Championship, the first thought is how many exciting ties there are in prospect in the group stage. Holland vs. Germany, Spain vs. Italy, France vs. England, Portugal’s games against the Dutch and the Germans … this is how tournament soccer ought to be; big games at every turn. The World Cup, ludicrously bloated as it now is, doesn’t offer that sense of immediacy, of giants clashing from the off, and the fear must be that as the euros expand to 24 teams from 2016, it too will be diminished by the grind of small sides packing their half and seeking to frustrate opponents.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Borussia Dortmund: compact sides and balls over the top

“2nd v 1st going into the game, but this draw allowed Bayern Munich to return to the top. Lucien Favre was without Marco Rues, so Raul Bobadilla played alongside Mike Hanke. At the back, Martin Stranzl returned from injury and was in for Roel Brouwers. Jurgen Klopp is still missing Sven Bender after he got injured against Arsenal, so Ilkay Gundogan played instead – otherwise, the side was as expected. This wasn’t a particularly tactical match – the sides played their usual systems, there were no major switches in formation, and the first substitute entered the pitch in the 77th minute.” Zonal Marking

Irish underdogs

“It may have seemed as if Ireland’s Euro 2012 dreams had suffered a hammer blow as they were thrown into a opening group featuring Spain, Italy and Croatia, yet the reaction in Dublin has been surprisingly upbeat as the gravity of the task facing Giovanni Trapattoni’s rank outsiders was digested.” ESPN

French fancy their chances
“It goes without saying French football owes a big debt of gratitude to Zinédine Zidane, from his headers to help win the World Cup to his silken contribution to the Euro 2000 success and even to his retribution-filled coup de boule – his ‘head-butt’ – on Marco Materazzi. Zizou added another reason for Les Bleus to be thankful to him when he produced another coup de boule – which could also mean ‘ball trick’, honestly, it works in French! – by drawing a clement Euro 2012 group for his old mate Laurent Blanc.” ESPN

Talk of Messi’s genius is flawed

“Ever since Barcelona and Pep Guardiola invented football in 2009, the praise has come full and fast, a blue and purple tsunami of love for unparalleled genius. And it’s fair enough. Xavi is the best midfielder of his day, Andres Iniesta the most elegant, able to pass, trick and score with effortless beauty. The most extensive gush is reserved for Lionel Messi. A genius, apparently, but is he actually any good?” ESPN

Bochum 6-0 Aue

“Faton Toski grabbed two goals and three assists as Bochum gave Aue a harsh lesson in the virtues of taking your chances. Despite the hosts bossing the ball in the opening 45 minutes of this Sunday afternoon 2. Bundesliga clash between two mid-table sides, Aue actually had more chances, but were profligate and up against Bochum’s impressive goalkeeper, Andreas Luthe. But, at the other end, Toski and Christoph Kramer helped tear Aue open, with Marcel Maltritz, Mirkan Aydın and Toski himself scoring the goals that gave coach Andreas Bergmann’s side a 3-0 lead at the break. The hosts added two more goals to their tally shortly after the restart, with Toski unplayable and Aue seemingly having thrown in the towel, before Aydın grabbed his second and Bochum’s sixth to cap a memorable day.” Defensive Midfielder

Freiburg 1-1 Hannover

“Two of the Bundesliga’s best strikers made their mark as Hannover and Freiburg played out a 1-1 draw that keeps the latter in the relegation zone. For nearly 70 minutes, it had looked as though the class of Mohammed Abdellaoue was going to settle a not particularly memorable tie in the visitors’ favour. They were the better team in the first half, and took the lead through an own goal after great work by the Norwegian international.” Defensive Midfielder

Match Of The Week 2: Stourbridge 0-3 Stevenage

“Southern League Premier Division side Stourbridge finally ended their greatest ever FA Cup run at the hands of League One Stevenage at the War Memorial Athletic Ground earlier today, thanks to two goals from Chris Beardsley and a late third from Robin Shroot.” twohundredpercent

Manchester City – The Masterplan

Roberto Mancini
“After many years in the wilderness, these are good times to be a Manchester City fan. Last season their team recorded its best ever performance in the Premier League by finishing third, thus qualifying for the Champions League for the first time, and won its first major trophy for 35 years when defeating Stoke City in the FA Cup final. Their momentum has continued this season (at least on the domestic front), as they lead the Premier League by five points after a series of impressive victories, including an astonishing 6-1 triumph against local rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford, and have reached the semi-finals of the Carling Cup. However, they have found life more difficult in Europe, where they now have to rely on others to avoid elimination at the Champions League group stage.” Swiss Ramble

Tactics: How Barcelona have changed football

“iny cracks may be starting to appear in the previously impregnable armour of Barcelona, with Real Madrid rampant and Pep Guardiola’s side rudely obliged to play catch-up, but this team’s place in history is already secure. The trophies and the unique, hypnotic passing style have made sure of that, but less remarked upon is the tactical legacy that they have bequeathed to the game. As the first budding usupers begin to congregate at the gates of the Barca citadel, Football Further looks at five tactical maxims that Guardiola and his team have torn to shreds.” Football Further

An advantage to be in Group A or B for Euro 2012 – especially when it comes to the semis

“It remains to be seen how the process of today’s Euro 2012 draw will be structured, although we can assume it will be convoluted and drawn-out – certainly with long speeches and explanations, and possibly cultural dances from the two host countries. Often, the first draw involves deciding which groups the seeds go into – A, B, C or D – before determining which sides anyone will actually play. As it happens, this time around Poland have already been assigned to group A, whilst fellow hosts Ukraine have been placed in group D.” Zonal Marking

Conte’s Juventus storm back from 2-0 down to draw 3-3 at Napoli

“One of the good things about a very tactical match is that the coaches are pressed for the reasons they made particular decisions at the post-match press conference. Antonio Conte’s approach away to Napoli was very surprising. Having started the season with a 4-4-2 often called a 4-2-4 and more recently moved to a 4-1-4-1, he switched to a 3-5-2 system. Giorgio Chiellini tucked in, Marcelo Estigarribia played on the left, and Simone Pepe moved inside to the centre of midfield, with Claudio Marchisio suspended.” Zonal Marking

Soccer Cities: Northern Spain

“There are currently five La Liga clubs in the regions that spread across northern Spain – Racing Santander in Cantabria, Sporting Gijon in Asturias, Osasuna in Navarre, and Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad in the Basque Country – and with most being situated close to the coast, a weekend football break can easily be accompanied by some seaside relaxation.” World Soccer

Euro 2012 Draw

“In many quarters, the European Championship is the soccer tournament, ahead of the World Cup, because there is no fluff, no Saudi Arabia, no United States, no Paraguay, no North Korea, no Honduras, no New Zealand … but also no Brazil and Argentina.” NY Times

The Reducer: Week 13, Northeast Passage

“After a Saturday that saw Stoke and Chelsea recover from dips in form, Arsenal and Manchester United slip up, and Tottenham continue its fire-hazard win streak, a darkness descended on the Premier League. Sunday morning, before the kickoffs of Liverpool versus Manchester City and Swansea versus Aston Villa, news broke that Gary Speed, a heroic figure in the recent history of British football and manager of the Wales national team, had been found dead in his home from an apparent suicide. He left behind a wife and two children.” Grantland (Video)

Liverpool 1 Man City 1: In-Depth Tactical Analysis

“Despite their strong start to the season, Manchester City had only won one of their last 12 league meetings against Liverpool going into this game; and they hadn’t won at Anfield in their last eight attempts. It would prove to be the case again.” Tomkins Times

Tactics: How Barcelona have changed football

Victor Valdés
“Tiny cracks may be starting to appear in the previously impregnable armour of Barcelona, with Real Madrid rampant and Pep Guardiola’s side rudely obliged to play catch-up, but this team’s place in history is already secure. The trophies and the unique, hypnotic passing style have made sure of that, but less remarked upon is the tactical legacy that they have bequeathed to the game.” Football Further

Goodbye Twentieth Century

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“A proposal: when we wile away the hours compiling lists of the Greatest Ever Footballers, we are doing a disservice to this form of discourse if we do not take its premises seriously. To pretend that we can go on existing without this genetically-hewn proclivity for reducing the world to an Excel document is both futile and obscene, and we’ve no interest in arguing as to whether Grand Ranking is real a childish waste of everyone’s time.” Run of Play

Arsenal 1-1 Fulham

“The argument that Arsenal are reliant on Robin van Persie would prove most conclusive when the Dutchman isn’t scoring goals, as opposed to when he is. So, in the first league match in seven games in which he has failed to score, are Arsenal reliant on Robin van Persie? That answer is probably yes although the overriding reason for Arsenal’s mute performance on Saturday seemed to be down to fatigue as well as Fulham’s obdurate defending.” The Arsenal Column

Discovering Three Sided Football

“As the clock ticked down on the final minutes of the match, the onslaught became irresistible. Deeper and deeper they defended. More and more attackers appeared. The siege became overwhelming. Desperate challenges, heroic lunges, astonishing saves. The ball thudding against the post. A penalty turned down. Shots raining down upon them. And ultimately resistance proved futile — eventually the winning goal came. The goalkeeper could do nothing. Nor could his outnumbered defenders. To a huge roar, victory had been secured in the very last minute.” SI

Brazilian football needs to take the opposition seriously

“I flew back to Brazil from London on the day that the group phase of the Champions League kicked off. I well recall that the talk in England at the time was that the entire group stage was dull and predictable. It was almost too easy for the Premier League sides. But that is not the way things have turned out.” BBC – Tim Vickery

Surprise rise of the Borussias

“A few months, even a few weeks, ago, it would have been silly to assume that the game between the two Borussias – Dortmund and Mönchengladbach – on the coming Saturday would pair the league leaders with the runners-up. Too difficult was Dortmund’s start to this season, too narrowly did Gladbach avoid relegation in the last season for anyone to predict this match would be anything special.” ESPN

Bhoys are back in town

“This week, Celtic start to show their credentials and there is a further recurrence of the depressing violence directed at Old Firm personnel.” ESPN

Liverpool 1-1 Man City: a point apiece

Confirmation of St Stephan, Vittore Carpaccio
“A good game, but not a particularly fascinating tactical battle. Kenny Dalglish brought Stewart Downing in for Maxi Rodriguez, whilst Craig Bellamy was excused for personal reasons, with Jordan Henderson coming in – although with Kenny Dalglish wanting to be solid in midfield and after Henderson’s fine substitute appearance at Chelsea last week, this switch might have been made anyway. Roberto Mancini left out Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli, with Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri coming into the side. City started well, the middle of the game was evenly-balanced, then Liverpool dominated late on (especially after Balotelli’s red card), but both sides will be happy enough with a point.” Zonal Marking

Liverpool 1 – 1 Manchester City
“Ten-man Manchester City survived a serious examination of their title credentials to extend their unbeaten Premier League record to 13 matches at Anfield. Had it not been for goalkeeper Joe Hart the visitors may have tasted a league defeat for the first time since May 7. They barely had time to celebrate Vincent Kompany’s 31st-minute opener before Charlie Adam’s shot was deflected in by Joleon Lescott.” ESPN

City survive deserving Red threat
“Unbeaten but not unbeatable, depleted but not defeated, Manchester City experienced a novel situation. Hanging on for a draw has not been a feature of their superlative start to the Premier League season. A battling point had a rarity value as well as an importance.” ESPN

Joleon Lescott own goal gifts Liverpool a draw against Manchester City
“The quest for the Premier League title is as much a trial as an adventure. Even Manchester City, with fathomless means, know there will be days such as this when they are reduced to an almost impoverished condition. Energy reserves among the outfield had been exhausted before the close, but the goalkeeper, Joe Hart, had the spring to pull off a superb save from a header by the substitute Andy Carroll in stoppage time.” Guardian

Tactics: the genius of El Loco

“Marcelo Bielsa might be known as ‘El Loco’ but he is far from stupid, and his decision to turn down Internazionale in the summer was rooted in the most worldly of considerations. And as Gian Piero Gasperini’s ill-fated five games in the San Siro hot seat demonstrated, the grandees of the game simply don’t have time for radicalism – particularly with Inter’s ageing, slow squad simply unsuited to the sort of hard-pressing game favoured by both Bielsa and Gasperini. Instead of Italy, Bielsa went to Spain, where he joined Athletic Bilbao, a club almost as idiosyncratic as he is.” World Soccer – Jonathan Wilson

Milan 2-3 Barcelona: Xavi gets the winner

“An interesting battle between formations and an excellent match ended with a narrow Barcelona win. Max Allegri went for his usual system, Kevin-Prince Boateng shuttling from midfield to link up with the front two, with Robinho starting rather than Pato. Alberto Aquilani started on the right of midfield. Pep Guardiola was without a host of players including both Dani Alves and Adriano, and went for his system featuring a back three, and a diamond in midfield. Barcelona had more of the ball (of course) and created more goalscoring opportunities, but were never completely in control of the game.” Zonal Marking

Eight points on Lazio 0-1 Juventus

“Another important, impressive victory for Juventus over a fellow title challenger. Here are eight observations on the game. 1. In the first half, much of the action came down Juventus’ right, the area of the pitch with more energetic, forward-thinking players. Like against Inter, Stephane Lichsteiner was a huge attacking threat, and his surges forward often led to Senad Lulic coming out to meet him – in turn leaving Arturo Vidal free. Lichsteiner, Vidal and Simone Pepe often overloaded Lulic and Stephan Radu down that flank, and there were four very good Juventus chances before Pepe’s goal that came from working the ball down that side. On the other flank, Giorgio Chiellini was more cautious and Juve’s left was more static.” Zonal Marking

Good ball retention starts from the goalkeeper

David de Gea
“This week, there have been three obvious examples of sides conceding cheap goals by conceding possession on the edge of their own penalty box. First, Angel Rangel gave the ball away for Javier Hernandez’s winner in Swansea’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. Then, John Obi Mikel was dispossessed by Charlie Adam for Liverpool’s opener in their 2-1 win at Chelsea. Finally, Benfica scored their second in the 2-2 Champions League draw at Old Trafford when David De Gea misplaced a pass.” Zonal Marking

Measuring performances in the Eredivisie – Goal scoring chances

“Regular followers of the blog know by now that I try to take a particular interest in measuring the performances of football teams, and should more and better data be available in the future, of individual players too. This post continues that trend, being the first of a planned three-part mini series looking at team performances in the Eredivisie, with 13 of all 34 games played.” 11 tegen 11: Measuring performances in the Eredivisie – Goal scoring chances, Measuring performances in the Eredivisie – Shot Accuracy, Measuring performances in the Eredivisie – Conversion

World Soccer Daily: 10 stories you need to read, November 25th, 2011

“Milan have opened talks with Carlos Tevez’s advisors about a January move for the Manchester City striker. At present, there have been no direct talks between City and Milan over the transfer as Tevez’s advisor first seeks to broker a deal with the Italian champions. Although negotiations are at an early stage, it’s understood that both parties have reached agreement on a couple of significant issues that have stalled his career at City: Tevez will not leave the country when Milan have a game scheduled and, provided he’s in the mood for it, the Argentinian has even deigned to play football when asked to do so by his coach.” World Soccer (Video)

Premier League’s best struggle in Champions League group stage

Franck Ribéry
“Twelve Champions League thoughts from Round 5 of the Group Stage…” SI

Dukla hold firm as Sparta lack ruthlessness

“Sparta Praha 0-0 Dukla Praha. A stroke of tactical genius by Luboš Kozel combined with some resolute defending from the Dukla Praha defence saw Sparta Praha stumble to their third successive winless games in front of their own fans. The result will have done no favours for the management duo of Josef Chovanec and Martin Hašek who are rumoured to be moved on by the Sparta hierarchy over the winter break. Sparta lined up in the same manner that they did in their 4-0 demolition of Bohemians 1905 on Monday, and going into the game many expected a similar score-line against another of their cross-town rivals.” The Czech Up

Scudamore Misses the Moment On Racism

“So, the English Premier League will not be staging that dreaded 39th game overseas any time soon, which perhaps allows some of those grassroots fans to be thankful for something while they see the rest of their game being taken away. Chief executive Richard Scudamore certainly wanted to distance himself not only from his own failed idea but also from Scottish Premier League chief Neil Doncaster’s idea of taking the Old Firm abroad, which could be taken as simply a throw-away comment or a cheeky notice to Mr. Doncaster not to send him a holiday card.” twohundredpercent

Game of the Week: Liverpool 2, Chelsea 1

“The Reducer figures there’s never really a right time to get your lunch money snatched by a 60-year-old Glaswegian, but that being said, Andre Villas-Boas really picked the wrong Sunday to run into Kenny Dalglish. Leading up to the Stamford Bridge clash between Liverpool and Chelsea over the weekend, Villas-Boas, while still cutting as suave a figure as ever, was losing some of his cool. The Blues, in order, lost to QPR in a match in which their delightful captain John Terry (allegedly) racially abused Anton Ferdinand, just squeaked by Everton in a Carling Cup match, got tonked by Arsenal, drew with Genk (Genk!), and barely beat Blackburn.” Grantland (Video)

There’s Something About Leicester…

“Paul Savill takes an in-depth look at a relationship which has endured the test of time. During his speech at our wedding, my wife’s father worked in my passion for Arsenal and noted that whilst writing his address he had been looking for a link between the Gunners and his home town club Leicester City. As soon as the words left his mouth I blurted out “First game at Highbury”. My father-in-law said he had asked one of his brothers about a link earlier in the day and had been pointed in the direction of the 3-3 draw of 1954, whilst his own research on the official Arsenal website had led him to the twelve goal thriller that was the 6-6 draw in 1930.” In Bed With Maradona

Lyon 0 – 0 Ajax: Goalless draw sees Ajax come close to the CL knock-out rounds

“Ajax managed to obtain exactly the result they came for in their fifth Champions League Group stage match, duplicating their home result with a 0-0 away draw at Lyon. Considering Real Madrid’s absolute dominance and Dinamo Zagreb’s failure to grab any points so far, the balance in results between Ajax and Lyon see Ajax now firmly hold an advantage of seven goals over their French rivals for a place among the final sixteen of this season’s Champions League.” 11 tegen 11

Colombia on their way back?

“The players looked down-trodden and distraught as they trudged off the water sodden surface at the Metropolitan stadium in Barranquilla late on Friday evening. Soaked and stained by a pitch which had gradually degenerated to the point of being a nascent swamp over the previous two hours or so, the faces looked as devestated as the bodies when the unlucky ones who were chosen did their best to avoid eye contact with the camera lense as they expressed their profound frustration and angst in the post-match interviews.” World Soccer

Brian Glanville examines Chelsea’s problems

“It was bold and arguably somewhat rash of Andre Villas-Boas, after his Chelsea team’s last gasp defeat at home by Liverpool to announce defiantly that it would too much for the club’s billionaire owner, Roman Abramovich, to dismiss him. The Russian having paid £13 million to Porto to acquire him, with an obligation to pay him off heavily were he to get rid of him.” World Soccer

Napoli 2-1 Manchester City: Cavani double puts Napoli on the verge of qualification

“City dominated possession but Napoli broke typically well to record a crucial victory. Few managers rotate as little as Napoli – Walter Mazzarri named his usual side and his usual formation, a counter-attacking 3-4-3. Roberto Mancini went for roughly his usual system too, though Sergio Aguero was only on the bench. Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov started rather than Micah Richards and Gael Clichy.” Zonal Marking

Olympiakos 1-1 Panathinaikos: game based around pace in wide areas
“A good Athens derby ended all square, with two very similar goals. Ernesto Valverde chose Hungarian Balazs Megyeri rather than Franco Costanzo in goal, and used David Fuster on the right of midfield, coming inside. In the centre Valverde was without creator Ariel Ibagaza, so Francois Modesto and Jean Makoun played. Jesualdo Ferreira played his expected side, with a flexible front four that saw Quincy Owusu-Abeyie and Zeko switching for much of the game. This was a decent game that saw the majority of the chances – including both goals – coming from pace, particularly when the wide players moved high up the pitch and got in behind the full-backs to get on the end of diagonal balls from midfield.” Zonal Marking

Los Angeles Galaxy 1-0 Houston Dynamo: Donovan moves upfront to score the winner

“LA Galaxy dominated for almost the entire game, but had to wait until the 71st minute to go ahead through Landon Donovan. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena made one enforced change from the win over Real Salt Lake. Chad Barrett’s ankle injury meant he was unavailable, so Adam Cristman was given the nod to play upfront alongside Robbie Keane.” Zonal Marking

Generalissimo

“I’ve watched Diego Maradona’s final World Cup match (a 2-1 victory over Nigeria played in Boston) at least ten times. Nigeria pushed Argentina back early with plundering counter-attacks, one of which led to the match’s first goal—a sumptuous chip that had more than a whiff of offside to it. Maradona was imperious that day though, Napoleonically strutting around the confetti-flaked pitch, drawing fouls, and making key passes for both of Argentina’s goals—free kicks finished by Claudio Canigga.” Run of Play

Chelsea 1-2 Liverpool: Johnson wins it late

Antoine-Jean Gros, Napoleon Bonaparte Visiting the Plague-stricken at Jaffa
“An excellent tactical battle ended with Liverpool snatching the three points. Andre Villas-Boas went for Didier Drogba over Fernando Torres upfront. David Luiz played alongside John Terry, with Branslav Ivanovic at right-back. Kenny Dalglish surprisingly selected Maxi Rodriguez, excellent at Stamford Bridge last season, on the left. Craig Bellamy played just off Luis Suarez upfront. A few phases of the game here – Liverpool were better in the first half, Chelsea took command in the second, and then Liverpool clawed themselves back into the game late on.” Zonal Marking

Chelsea 1 – 2 Liverpool
“Glen Johnson scored a sensational late winner to earn Liverpool three vital Premier League points at his old club Chelsea. Former Blues full-back Johnson netted a brilliant solo effort to inflict his old club’s third defeat in four league matches and leave both teams 12 points behind Manchester City.” ESPN

Chelsea’s defeat by Liverpool piles pressure on André Villas-Boas
“André Villas-Boas has claimed he retains the support of the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, after a third defeat in four Premier League matches cast his side further adrift in the title race. The loss to Liverpool, confirmed by the former Chelsea player Glen Johnson’s late goal, condemned the London side to successive home league defeats for the first time in the Abramovich era to leave them 12 points off Manchester City at the summit. The team still appear riddled by defensive frailties and are now one of four clubs on 22 points, suggesting even their long-term place in the top four should be considered in doubt.” Guardian

Villas-Boas rues ‘big blow’ to title hopes
“Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas was in sombre mood after his side’s 2-1 home loss to Liverpool, describing it as ‘one step closer to an even more difficult situation’. Villas-Boas became the first Blues manager since Claudio Ranieri to oversee two successive home defeats in the Premier League, after former Chelsea defender Glen Johnson scored a late winner for Kenny Dalglish’s visitors.” ESPN

Valencia 2-3 Real Madrid: Real press well early on, Valencia better after substitutions

“Real Madrid maintained their lead over Barcelona after an entertaining win over Valencia at the Mestalla. Unai Emery went back to 4-2-3-1 having played two upfront in the previous game against Levante. Sofiane Feghouli started rather than Pablo Hernandez, and Daniel Parejo got a rare start in the centre of the attacking trio. Jose Mourinho changed his system, moving Mesut Ozil out wide, bringing Lassana Diarra into the side and pushing Sami Khedira forward behind Karim Benzema. Angel Di Maria was injured.” Zonal Marking

Spain plays video games after Real Madrid win a thriller at Valencia
“It all happened so fast you weren’t sure if it had happened at all. Not then, not an hour later, not the morning after, not two days on and not that it stopped them. ‘You can see it clearly on the television,’ said Gonzalo Higuaín, but you couldn’t. For some time, you couldn’t see it on television at all, let alone clearly. The only thing you could be sure of was that you weren’t sure at all. And yet they’d never been so sure of anything in their lives. So it was that what started as a soldier against mercenaries inevitably ended in an ugly war. And the trenches were dug in familiar territory.” Guardian

Barcelona 4 – 0 Real Zaragoza

“Barcelona continued their prolific home form this season with a convincing four-goal victory over Real Zaragoza. Gerard Pique and Lionel Messi netted in the first half to put Barca on course for the win and second-half strikes from Carles Puyol and David Villa completed the scoring. The result means Barca have now netted 30 times in their seven Primera Division home games this season, while it is 11 matches ago since the European champions conceded a league goal at the Nou Camp.” ESPN

Hamburg 2-0 Hoffenheim

“Hamburg hauled themselves out of the relegation zone for the first time this season by winning their first home match in eight months. They beat former St Pauli hero Holger Stanislawski’s Hoffenheim side 2-0, although if the visitors had been a bit more clinical in front of goal, the outcome of this match – which saw two 4-4-2 systems cancel one another out for large spells – might have been quite different. However, Hamburg were good value for their win, and remain unbeaten under new coach Thorsten Fink.” Defensive Midfielder

Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 Alemannia Aachen
“Friedhelm Funkel endured a miserable return to Eintracht Frankfurt as his Aachen side lost an incredible topsy-turvy game at the Commerzbank-Arena. The 57-year-old must take a big portion of the blame too, because, anachronistically, he decided to start the match in a 3-5-2 system: which, coupled with a Boy Waterman blunder, saw Aachen 2-0 down and totally outclassed in the first half. Despite changing to a 4-4-2 diamond shape after the break and netting three late goals (for which Funkel deserves some credit, even if his team were still too flat until the final 12 minutes), Aachen still managed to lose after Karim Matmour’s 89th minute header.” Defensive Midfielder

Germany use one friendly to thrash a rival, the other to experiment with a new formation

“Germany played two games this week – 3-3 draw away in Ukraine, followed by a convincing 3-0 win over Holland. The games were completely different – in nature, in scoreline and in purpose. The friendly with Holland was treated as a ‘proper’ game, against a side who are both traditional rivals, and a serious competitor. The Ukraine game was used to test some ideas out, with Jogi Loew using a brand new formation.” Zonal Marking (Video)

Charlton Athletic – Into The Valley

“It’s debatable which team has made the best start to the season in England, but Charlton Athletic certainly have a good case, as they have gained more points than anybody else (40 after 17 games), suffering only one defeat in the process, and currently sit proudly at the top of League One. Hopes are high that they will manage to achieve promotion, though they will nervously recall their elimination in the League One play-off semi-final a couple of seasons ago, when they narrowly lost on penalties to Swindon Town, thus consigning the Addicks to a longer stay in English football’s third tier.” Swiss Ramble

Book Review: There’s a Golden Sky

“It’s often been asserted that the one remaining advantage mainstream media has over bloggers is the issue of access to the game’s personalities – Jonathan Wilson made this point on establishing The Blizzard earlier this year and Kevin McCauley expounded on the subject in an overview of a spat between blogger Les Rosbifs and Teamtalk that fired up the twitterati last week.” thetwounfortunates

The Rat in the Engine: On FIFA 12

“The above sequence has never happened in an actual soccer match, but it happens too often in EA Sports’s latest approximation of actual soccer, FIFA 12. Which is to say it happens at all.” Run of Play

Ciro and the Azzurrini

Ciro Ferrara
“Juventus fans began with grudging admiration for Ciro Ferrara and now it seems the rest of Italian football may be doing much the same as he rebuilds not only his own coaching career but the reputation of Italy’s Under-21 team. Fans of the Turin club were forced to look on as the defender won two Scudetti and the UEFA Cup as part of wonderful Diego Maradona era Napoli and many held both his style of play and his will to win in the highest regard. When Juventus signed him in 1994 it just felt right and the fact he is the only man Lippi brought with him from Naples speaks volumes.” In Bed With Maradoma

Ireland: defensive, and no reason to change

“Giovanni Trapattoni has guided Ireland to their first major tournament for a decade, yet there are still questions about his tactics. His basic approach barely needs further explanation from the diagram on the left. There’s a standard back four, two hard-working central midfielders, two wingers who run with the ball, with a support player dropping off a main striker. It’s a 4-4-2, a 4-4-1-1 if you like, but near enough the most basic system imaginable in modern football.” Zonal Marking

Portugal 6-2 Bosnia: Portugal better all over the pitch (and Bosnia’s complete reshuffle at half-time doesn’t help)
“Paulo Bento’s side wobbled midway through the match, but overall deserved to progress to Euro 2012. Bento made no changes from the first leg, persisting with a 4-3-3 formation with Helder Postiga upfront. Safet Susic kept his midfield and attack in tact, but made suspension-related changes at the back. Sasa Papac was available again so started at left-back to replace Sejad Salihovic. This was a completely different match from the first leg – much more open and also much quicker.” Zonal Marking

The 100: One Year On

“How many times have you heard that? At IBWM, we thought long and hard about compiling a comprehensive directory of the most exciting young players in world football. It is, after all, always good to have a handle on where the next global superstar is coming from, don’t you think? But we decided not to.” In Bed With Maradoma

World Soccer Daily: 10 stories you need to read, November 17th, 2011

“No escaping the FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, today as his ill-advised remarks about racism continue to dominate the headlines. Blatter finds himself in hot water after appearing to brush aside the issue of racism on the pitch. Asked in an interview by CNN whether he felt there is still racism on the pitch, Blatter said: ‘I would deny it. There is no racism. The one affected by this should say this is a game and shake hands.’ Here’s footage of the moment he may come to regret…” World Soccer (Video)

England v The Rest of the World – British Pathé video

“Fabio Capello’s team may feel on top of the world after beating world champions Spain, but there was a time when the best the planet had to offer couldn’t even beat them. Rewind to Wembley in 1963, when the likes of Yashin, Puskas and Di Stefano lined up against Alf Ramsey’s team” Guardian

Harsh realities of life after Messi and Barcelona

“It is a Sunday afternoon, and a group of youngsters recognise the driver in an Audi people carrier with blacked out windows on Rambla Catalunya in central Barcelona. Lionel Messi lowers the window and signs autographs until the traffic lights change colour and he zooms off. Messi does not spot the pedestrian walking past holding a kitbag and wearing the red and black tracksuit of CD Manacor, a Spanish third division team.” The National