Author Archives: 1960s: Days of Rage

About 1960s: Days of Rage

Bill Davis - 1960s: Days of Rage

Loïc Rémy saves Blanc’s Blushes

“Amidst an aura of optimism and calls of ‘reincarnation’, Romania were close to ruining Laurent Blanc’s quietly-impressive start to his reign as Les Bleus’ national coach this week. Instead of opting for the 4-3-3 that got the French a formidable win against a Bosnia side, M. Blanc preferred the 4-2-3-1 system with the fleet-footed Samir Nasri picked for the role behind Karim Benzema, leaving Yoann Gourcuff, who, it has to be said, is lacking form of any definition at the moment, on the bench. France won this game two to nothing, which at first glance, is an adequate and expected result, but it was only through late goals and some much-needed changes late in the day.” (Talking About Football)

Scotand And Rangers – Developing The ‘Anti-Cryuff’

Walter Smith
“When you don’t have the players you once had, do you go for cutting cloth accordingly or biting the bullet and tackling the root of the problem. Rangers have made a choice, and the Scottish national side are following suit. Robin Cowan despairs at Scottish ‘anti-football’.” (In Bed With Maradona)

Glossary

“This website assumes a basic understanding of established football positions and roles – if not, this summary should help provide an introduction. However, it also uses terms that may be less familiar. Many of these are foreign phrases because, in the same way English football has traditionally lagged behind the rest of Europe tactically, it also lacks the the wide range of tactical phrases used in other countries. Many of these are Italian; where there are, for example, four or five phrases for different types of players that the English would group as ‘forwards’ – see here and here for more detailed explanations. Similarly, English lacks any equivalent of the term ‘carilleros’, the wider players in a diamond midfield, so it is often useful to venture into Italian or Spanish to precisely describe players and positions.” (Zonal Marking)

Player Profile – Balazs Dzsudzsak

“Since the days of Puskas’ Mighty Magyars, who dominated the international football scene during the early 1950s, I doubt many would contest the argument that Hungarian football has undoubtedly failed to live up to the enormously high standards that this legendary “Golden Team “created. 1986 was the last time we were graced with Hungary’s presence at the World Cup finals, and it has largely been a downward spiral ever since.” (6 Pointer)

On Second Thoughts: Italia 90

Toto Schillaci
“As a footballing show it left a bit to be desired – but as a dramatic spectacle the World Cup of Schillaci, Milla, Gazza, Pavarotti and the rest was nothing short of immense” (The Sport Blog)

Tactics: Were Holland 1974 the last true innovators?

“The words are those of Carlos Alberto, captain of Brazil’s 1970 World Cup-winning team, and they come from an interview published in the 50th anniversary issue of World Soccer magazine. The former Santos right-back is one of a number of greats – including Pelé, Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer and Diego Maradona – to have granted interviews to the magazine about the changes in the game over the last 50 years and their answers repeatedly return to the same complaints: that in becoming faster and more athletic, football has lost some of the artistry that was once central to its raison d’être.” (Football Further)

Football and the Far-right

“Sometimes The Beautiful Game isn’t so beautiful. Waking up to pictures of Ivan Bogdanov, the Serbian ‘fan’ fingered by the Italians as the mastermind behind yesterday’s Serbia/Italy riot in Genoa, sure was unsettling. He looks like the prototypical eastern bloc fascist, complete with grenade tattoo and everything. The Spanish newspaper, El País, described the scene outside the stadium, prior to kickoff, as a ‘real pitched battle.’ The scene inside the stadium didn’t look much different, and the game was called off after only six minutes.” (Touch and Tactics)

The tall tale of Peter Crouch’s aerial abilities

“Peter Crouch is a strange footballer in many ways. Chiefly, he simply looks very strange. His gangly nature makes him stick out like a sore thumb – he looks awkward when merely running onto the pitch, and at a time when a club like Barcelona are packing their side with quick, mobile, 5′7 players upfront, with other clubs around Europe seeking to move in that direction, the sight of 6′7 Crouch battling with defenders seems somewhat bizarre.” (Zonal Marking)

The Liverpool Crisis: Where Are the Lords and Masters?

“As the week has worn on, the situation concerning the ownership of Liverpool Football Club has descended into chaos. With each passing day, the tug of war for the ownership of the club has passed through low comedy, drama and bathos to the point that has started to feel exhausting. There is too much information. There are too many conflicting opinions. And with this exhaustion comes a feeling of profound depression and the feeling that, for all that we could have told the world – indeed, have tried to tell the world for several years – that it was always likely to end up like this, this situation has spiralled out of all control. If football supporters in England hadn’t had the extent to which their game has been taken away from them spelled out in plain enough language over the last twenty years or so, they surely have over the last week or so.” (twohundredpercent)

English Premier League, Week 8 Preview: EPL Talk Podcast
“Did you miss us? Kartik Krisnaiyer, Laurence McKenna and I missed yo during out near-two week break, with the EPL Talk podcast going silent during the international break. With players returning to their clubs, the show is back to look ahead to the eighth match day in the English Premier League. There is, however, this small news story to discuss first, with Liverpool on the verge of being sold to a different set of American owners. For the first half of the show, we talk about the slow and merciless end to the Tom Hicks, George Gillett era at Anfield.” (EPL Talk)

Football’s Greatest Managers: #3 Rinus Michels

“Rinus Michels’ association with Ajax was a truly lifelong one. Born in February 1928 just a stone’s throw from the Olympisch Stadion, Michels began playing in the club’s junior ranks in 1940 aged 12 and quickly marked himself out as an industrious young forward. Having had his career put on hold by the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War Two, Michels eventually broke into the Ajax first team in 1946.” (Equaliser Football)

Antonetti has his cake and eats it at Rennes

“Frédéric Antonetti should really be watching the game. After all, the silver-tongued Corsican tactician is on the brink of a momentous achievement. Rennes are playing early pace setters Toulouse in Ligue 1 and if the Breton outfit win, they will go top of the table for the first time in 40 years.” (FourFourTwo)

Apertura: half-term reports from Argentina

“Since we’re now halfway (and a bit) through the 2010 Torneo Apertura, I thought I’d compile a very brief ‘report’ on each team so far, and how they’re doing in relation to what they’d have hoped/expected at the start of the season. I’m aiming for a short summation of each side, so don’t expect a big essay. And I’ll be starting at the top of the table and working down. I do this after having had a few pints to drink on Thursday evening, so bear with me if I’m a bit blunter with your team than you’d have liked. Here goes…” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)

Barça Look To Cure Camp Nou Crisis

“The footballing floater that the Spanish team have been trying to flush down the U-bend is a now a problem that Barcelona are suffering from too – the inability to finish games off. It eventually took a late Fernando Llorente winner against Scotland to pick up the three points for Vicente Del Bosque’s men after Spain trotted to an easy 2-0 lead. However, the Barça side which contributes the bulk of La Selección’s stars have not been so lucky this season.” (Football 365)

Darkeness Before Dawn

1 Reply

“I was thinking about a huge post on English and American soccer culture, ESPN, Ian Darke, Hicks and Gillett, the Red Sox, barristers in powdered wigs, Steve McQueen in a Mini Cooper, teenaged Beatles, and Bristol Rovers fans lying down in Leadbelly’s graveyard, but the concept got too unwieldy: Make a list of the places where American culture and English culture intersect, even one that includes only the most striking or the weirdest or the most iconic vertices, and pretty soon you wind up with a galaxy instead of a blog post, and you spend an hour debating whether Edmund Burke gets photographic sidebar representation.11 He would, but only as a representative of paleo-Whigdom in general. So now I’m thinking about a medium-sized post on all that stuff, and Steve McQueen waits for another day.” (Run of Play)

Liverpools Day of Reckoning
“So, farewell then, Thomas O Hicks and George Gillett Junior (H&G) – pending appeal. And what have we learned this last week? Well, to misquote Kipling, ‘if you can keep your head, while all around are losing theirs… you haven’t assessed the situation properly.’ And there was plenty of that in and around Liverpool Football Club lately. There was future-ex-owner, pending appeal, Hicks ‘sacking the electorate’ in boardroom vote-rigging that would have made Elbridge Gerry himself blanch. There was the execrable Piers Morgan in the Mail on Sunday to ask ‘what have Hicks and Gillett actually done wrong?’ Oh yes he did.” (twohundredpercent)

Liverpool FC – Nothing Behind the Curtain
“In a decade, a fresh off the print MBA textbook will be opened to a chapter on ‘International Mergers & Acquisitions: Case Studies in Futility.’ The opening section? Hicks, Gillete, and Liverpool – The Importance of Due Diligence & Cultural Understanding.” (futfanatico)

Scotland 2-3 Spain: Scotland come back from two down, but plan B Llorente grabs winner

“Scotland scored two goals against the World Champions, but that still wasn’t enough to take any points from an exciting encounter. Craig Levein abandoned his midweek 4-6-0 formation in favour of a slightly more traditional 4-1-4-1 system, with Lee McCulloch between the lines of defence and attack, and the two wide players tucked in level with the midfield. Kenny Miller came in upfront.” (Zonal Marking)

Two Cultures Coming Together

“Brian ‘Buster’ Phillips of Run of Play has a new post up extrapolating some of the ‘cultural shadow’ (my phrase) discussion on Ian Darke and the influence the English have on American soccer into a wider musing on cultural cross-pollination. The thrust of his piece is that perhaps English and American soccer cultures are beginning to blend and fuse as a greater number of Americans throw themselves into the game, English outfits looks to learn American marketing techniques, clubs are passing into American hands and the Internet puts us all into a rolling shared-language conversation on all of the preceding and more. Brian reasons that as time moves along, the language and the growing involvement of Americans will only pull us closer to our cousins across the pond when it comes to this game. That’s the nature of globalization, and soccer isn’t immune.” (Match Fit USA)

October Friendlies: Final Thoughts, US-Colombia Player Ratings

“Three thoughts from the October set of friendlies and then player ratings from last night’s nil-nil snoozer against Colombia. Keep in mind the thoughts are from both games, not just last evening.” (Yanks are coming)

Recommended reading

“The rain comes thick and fast, hurling itself towards the pavement as though seeking a penalty to be given against its cloud. My pace quickens. Short, sharp steps clattering against the grey concrete slabs. It is also cold. Bitterly so. There is sporadic warmth under the glow of each passing street lamp overhead. Shop signs arrive into and quickly disappear from my peripheral vision.” (The Seventy Two)

Italian media shocked by Serbian crowd trouble

” As well as scenes you would hope never to see at a football match, Tuesday’s Italy-Serbia Euro 2012 qualifier in Genoa also gave viewers some moments of inadvertent comedy, courtesy of UEFA’s obtuse reluctance to announce the match had been abandoned. This meant Italian state broadcaster RAI had reporters scrambling around seeking confirmation long after the stands had emptied, with Italy players changed out of their kit and on the way out of the ground with bags packed.” (WSC)

Scrabble, Princess Diana and Armenia

“For Europe’s football giants, qualifying for the finals of Euro 2012 is almost a formality. For many smaller countries, such as Armenia, ambitions are more modest. Earning more points than last time, doing well enough to move up to the next pot in the seedings. These are not the kind of aims to inspire a nation, so if they are accompanied by the occasional night of unexpected glory – like Armenia’s 3-1 win over Slovakia last Friday – so much the better.” (FourFourTwo)

Holland 4 – 1 Sweden: Lessons of a high defensive line

“A clear victory in a match that Holland dominated. By exploiting Sweden’s high defensive line ‘Oranje’ managed to score an early goal and an in-form Afellay and Huntelaar built upon this to achieve a comfortable 4-1 margin.” (11 tegen 11)

Streetball – Trailer

“Meet the soccer players of South Africa’s 2008 Homeless World Cup team and their leaders in the Cape Town community.” (Streetball)

Moral Culpability and Hooliganism in European Football

“Incidents like yesterday’s fan violence at the Italy Serbia Euro qualifier in Genoa follow a similar pattern. Journalists and bloggers await the match while discussing the usual tidbits about injured players and group tables and previous encounters and betting odds, when suddenly something happens that goes beyond the meeting of two footballing nations, like fans throwing flares on the pitch while systematically destroying crowd barriers.” (A More Splendid Life)

Violent Fans Force Italy-Serbia Match to Be Suspended
“UEFA, soccer’s governing body in Europe, announced ‘it has immediately opened a full and thorough disciplinary investigation into the incidents of serious disorder witnessed at the match and the circumstances surrounding it.’ The statement, posted on the UEFA Web site, said that a report will be issued to the Control and Disciplinary Body and a meeting is set for Oct. 28. The punishments, under UEFA regulations, “range from a reprimand or fine, up to a stadium closure or ‘disqualification from competitions in progress and/or exclusion from future competitions.'” (NYT)

Serbian thugs are the toys of nationalist and neo-fascist leaders
“For the second time in three days Serbian thugs have laid waste to a European city in riots that have combined wanton and random violence with organisational talent and political backing. Yesterday in Genoa, the Scottish referee Craig Thomson had first to delay the kick-off for the Euro 2012 qualifier between Italy and Serbia by 45 minutes because of fans’ rioting, and then call the game off after seven minutes. Earlier the angry young men from Belgrade went on the rampage in the Mediterranean port and Uefa have opened a ‘full and thorough’ investigation into the incidents.” (Guardian)

Liverpool FC sale: live coverage

“7.36pm: Jon Saraceno of USA Today has been on Sky Sports News, and he says the concern for sports fans in the US will be whether John W Henry’s use of funds at Liverpool will have implications for the Boston Red Sox. However, Saraceno said, Henry is a shrewd businessman and there should be no prospect of that happening.” (Guardian)

Martin Broughton comes out roaring after quiet man saves Liverpool
“Throughout the grim course since the 1990s of English football clubs being bought by ‘owners’ for personal enrichment, contrary to the game’s time-honoured tradition that directors should be “custodians”, none have been served with the wallop meted out today to Tom Hicks and George Gillett.” (Guardian)

Liverpool sale: Fans have new heroes after victory in the high court
“Liverpool is littered with heroes and this morning, a few minutes after 11 o’clock, their supporters greeted some more. As Martin Broughton, the club’s chairman, stepped out of Court 18 of the Royal Courts of Justice, followed by his fellow directors Christian Purslow and Ian Ayre, and the trio’s legal team, they were met by roars of approval from waiting men carrying Liverpool scarves and shirts emblazoned with Liverbirds. It was a curious sight but a wholly appropriate one given the momentous victory that had just been achieved.” (Guardian)

U.S. experiments in dour draw

“Here’s the important thing to remember when it comes to experiments in soccer, or anywhere else for that matter: sometimes the results are gonna stink. Testing a different tactical arrangement was certainly worth a look-see. And who has enough imagination to say what Tuesday’s new formation would have looked like with Landon Donovan in one of the wide spots? U.S. coach Bob Bradley arranged his team in (ostensibly) a 4-3-3 for Tuesday’s friendly with Colombia outside Philadelphia.” (SI)

USA 0-0 Colombia – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)

England 0-0 Montenegro: England outnumbered in the centre and too predictable on the flanks

Bonaparte Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa, Antoine-Jean Gros
“Roughly a 50:50 split between a lack of English creativity and some good Montenegrin defending produced a goalless game at Wembley. England went with their expected side – Peter Crouch and Wayne Rooney upfront, with Adam Johnson on the right and Ashley Young on the left, both cutting inside onto their stronger feet. Aside from that, Capello had few options and the choices were straightforward.” (Zonal Marking)

Match of the Midweek: England 0 – 0 Montenegro
“In all honesty, the excitement that surrounding England’s two opening wins against Bulgaria and Switzerland passed very quickly indeed. The post-South Africa combination of jitters and lethargy seems to be lingering over the national team like an unwanted smell and even the press build-up to this match – Look! Rio’s Back! – doesn’t seem to lift the feeling of torpor surrounding a European Championship qualifying group that feels more like a chore. The only thing worse than qualifying would be not qualifying. In the tunnel before the match, Steven Gerrard appears to be holding a Wham! bar and, during the national anthems, Wayne Rooney maintains the facial expression of a man that could quite do with a roll-up. It’s that sort of evening.” (twohundredpercent)

England 0-0 Montenegro – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
(The 90th Minute)

“The Referee” by Mattias Low

“Swedish director Mattias Löw, of the production company Freedom From Choice, shared with me a short documentary called “The Referee,” about the unfortunate Martin Hannson, who officiated the France-Ireland qualifier last fall and failed to call Thierry Henry’s decisive handball.” (Soccer Politics)

Scotland 2 – 3 Spain

“Steven Naismith scored a goal he will never forget – but it was not enough to secure a point against Spain at Hampden. Naismith sparked an impressive comeback after Scotland had fallen behind to David Villa’s penalty and strike from Andres Iniesta, before a Gerard Pique own goal set the home side on course for a precious point.” (ESPN)

Scotland 2-3 Spain – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
(The 90th Minute)

New Cycle, New Tactics: Thoughts on USA-Poland

Landon Donovan
“I found the Poland match yesterday incredibly interesting tactically. No intro required for this one. Let’s get right into what I saw: As I’ve written several times, one of my biggest problems with Bob Bradley as a coach is his reliance (until now) on elementary-style tactical decisions. One of my biggest arguments for hiring someone else instead of Bradley was that after the Charlie Davies injury, Bradley’s inability to adjust his 4-4-2 boot-and-run tactical/lineup decisions was inexcusable. Although the boot-and-run, sideline drill, flag drill techniques served us pretty well at the Confed. Cup, I have always maintained that it took a miracle against Egypt to even put us in position to play Spain.” (The Yanks Are Coming)

U.S. changes expected vs. Colombia
“Change was in vogue as the United States tied Poland on Saturday to open a pair of fall friendlies. And there will surely be more as coach Bob Bradley’s Americans complete the back end of the set Tuesday against Colombia at PPL Park in Chester, Pa. Colombia will have an extra day to rest following a 1-0 win over Ecuador at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., on Friday. It was the latest promising result for the South American mid-tier side, which narrowly missed a berth for South Africa 2010. Mexico had to work hard for a 1-0 win over Los Cafeteros last month, and the Colombians had defeated Venezuela 2-0 four days earlier.” (SI)

Video Of The Week: Match Of The 80s – 1982/83

“We’ve got something a little different for you tonight, with the launch of our very own Tumblr page. We’ll be putting videos, MP3s and links up on this site, hopefully on a very regular basis. This is starting off with this week’s Video Of The Week, which is the third in the BBC’s “Match Of The Eighties” series. This week’s episode looks at the 1982/83 season. It was the oddest of seasons. Liverpool ran away with the First Division championship, but Watford, in their first ever season in the First Division, finished in second. Their local rivals Luton Town managed to survive relegation on the last day of the season, relegating Manchester City instead Brighton & Hove Albion came within one kick of winning the FA Cup Final, against Manchester United. This video comes in four parts, and our thanks go to the original uploader.” (twohundredpercent), (twohundredpercent – 1)

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

“Pity the average Manchester United fan trying to make sense of the club’s annual financial results announced last week. On the one hand, they look great with record turnover of £286 million, operating profits climbing above £100 million for the first time and £164 million cash in the bank, but on the other hand they look terrible with a record loss of £84 million, disappointing revenue growth and a mountain of debt. No wonder chief executive David Gill admitted that the figures could be confusing, ‘These are very good results for the club with records here, there and everywhere, but they are complicated with non-cash items and exceptional once-off hits.'” (The Swiss Ramble)

Liverpool FC sale: High court hearing live coverage

“12.42pm: The secondary offer that H&G’s representatives refer to is from Mill Financial. The offer includes repaying all debts and putting £100m towards the new stadium. Mill Financial took over some of Gillett’s stake. Mill Financial were meant to meet Broughton last Thursday to discuss a possible takeover but it was cancelled. Hicks and Gillett’s representative wants to know why this meeting was cancelled. Mill Financial remain interested in buying Liverpool.” (Guardian)

Montenegro look a well-balanced team with explosive attacking potential

“Ask Montenegro’s players what has changed since the 2010 World Cup qualifiers and all reply with a combination of the same three factors: luck, experience and balance. For a new country, drawn from the pot of minnows, they performed creditably in World Cup qualifying, but there is a sense that they did not quite get the results they deserved: 2-2 draws against Bulgaria and Cyprus probably should have been wins; the 4-1 defeat in Bulgaria looked far worse than it really was. Soft penalties were given against them, there were unfortunate ricochets, and perhaps a lack of conviction at the back. A team packed with talented forwards either defended en masse, or poured forwards in numbers, and so were alternately involved in either tedious 0-0s or high-scoring thrillers, with little in between.” (Guardian – Jonathan Wilson)

Eastern European countries looking good for Euro 2012

” An interesting trend has emerged from the first three rounds of European Championship qualifying games. Several countries from eastern Europe, which has struggled in both sporting and economic terms since emerging from Communism over the past two decades, are showing signs of life. And while there’s not exactly a replication of the almost all-conquering 1950s Hungarian team, a number of new nations have at least a sniff of making second spot in their groups and going on to qualify for a major tournament for the first time.” (WSC)

Scotland embarrassed by Tartan Army and Gaelic socks

“‘Oben am jungen Rhein’ (Up above the young Rhine) is played to the same tune as ‘God Save The Queen’, still the official national ditty of anyone living in Scotland. When Sky Sports News replayed the booing which permeated Liechtenstein’s anthem during their visit to Hampden last month, many a little Englander no doubt bemoaned the anti-British impudence of ‘the sweaties’. The Sweaty Socks. The Jocks. Yet that pejorative rhyming slang provides a clue to the whole problem.” (WSC)

Removing the Romanticism from an Unexpected Victory: Denmark – Euro ’92.

“Denmark’s victory in the Euro Championships in 1992 had all the ingredients of a unforgetful footballing fairytale. It is the story of a team who didn’t qualify for the finals who went onto win the thing, beating the World Champions, the French and the Dutch; surely this would be a story that was woven into the tapestry of footballing folklore?” (Talking About Football)

Brazil happy to experiment

“Brazil will expect another commanding performance from Thiago Silva when they take on Ukraine at Derby’s Pride Park in an international friendly on Monday. The 26-year-old Milan defender was in fine form in last Thursday’s 3-0 win over Iran – especially important as his centre-back partner David Luiz had a poor game, obliging Thiago Silva to show off his excellent sense of cover.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Bibliography

“Futebol, Alex Bellos. The best book around about the most successful footballing nation in the world. As with many of these books, the obvious line is that it is ‘not just a book about Brazilian football, but also one about Brazilian culture’. But as interesting as some of the more general parts of the book are, it is at its best when discussing the actual football, after all, Brazil has probably the most distinctive way of playing the game of any national side. The parts about some of the great characters (the likes of Pele and Zico) and the great games, like the 1950 and 1970 World Cup finals – are excellent.” (Zonal Marking)

Archibald: Scots must capitalise on Xavi’s absence

“Reigning World and European champions Spain have an unblemished qualification record in Group I following consecutive victories over Liechtenstein and Lithuania, and former Scotland striker and La Liga aficionado Steve Archibald says his countrymen should count themselves lucky they’ll at least be spared the task of trying to stop two of the world’s best when the two sides clash on Tuesday.” (ESPN)

RBS obtains injunction against Hicks and Gillett

“Royal Bank of Scotland has secured an injunction preventing Tom Hicks and George Gillett from removing independent chairman Martin Broughton or any other Liverpool board members ahead of Tuesday’s court case.” (ESPN)

Moldova 0 – 1 Holland: Is the deep-lying playmaker the way forward?

“The runners up of the past World Cup have started their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign well. Holland is grouped with Sweden, Hungary, Finland and Moldova, San Marino. The Dutch and the Swedes were expected to battle for first place, and indeed so far these two team managed to win all of their matches. Compared to the team that finished second in the past World Cup, Holland has been changed on several positions. In discussing the 0-5 away victory at San Marino, the positional changes have been explained in detail. Of the team playing the final against Spain three months ago, seven players featured again in the match against Moldova.” (11 tegen 11)

Laurent Blanc’s ‘coaching’ wins it for France

Laurent Blanc
“October 14th 2009, that was the last time France had won in front of their home fans when they beat Austria in World Cup qualifiers. A win at the Stade de France was long overdue and the three points against Romania will do the greatest of good to Laurent Blanc and his men, now top of Group D. Les Bleus dominated the play for most of the match, creating many chances, but could not find a way past a clinical Costel Pantilimon. The decisive factor ended up coming from Laurent Blanc’s inspired coaching as substitutes Loïc Remy and Yoann Gourcuff secured a second consecutive win for France.” (Match Centre)

Portugal 3-1 Denmark: Everything Turned Bento

“‘Everything turned Bento.’ That brief but illustrative phrase (it’s a rough translation, thanks to one of my Twitter followers for an explanation here, here and here) appeared as a headline in the Saturday edition of Record, who, along with their peers in Portugal’s sporting press, were left scrambling on Friday evening for original ways of saying: ‘wow, that was actually quite good wasn’t it?’ Answer: yes, yes it was. Portugal’s 3-1 victory over a fairly listless Denmark outfit might not herald a return to the golden generation, but considering what had recently gone before, it was a much-needed return to form. Here’s a few disconnected thoughts on Friday’s display.” (cahiers du sport)

Spain’s ugliness a problem for Scotland

“It was the kind of game Harry Redknapp would have loved had he been a national team manager and widely successful at the job to boot. ‘I woz daaahn to the bare bones,” he would have tooted. “Eight of the lads wot were in the squad wot won the World Cup wasn’t abaaaht. But we dug deep, stuck the big lad up front with that kid that looks like an ‘amster aaaht wide and they done the business.'” (FourFourTwo)

Wrap Wilshere In Cotton Wool, But Dont Give Him A Make-Over

“Imagine, if you will, that England are a goal down to Montenegro with thirty minutes to play on Tuesday night. It’s not such a far-fetched proposition. The team from the tiny nation that borders the Adriatic have so far gained three straight single-goal victories and currently top Group G. Fabio Capello’s side might have enjoyed two comfortable wins themselves too at the beginning of their qualification campaign for Euro 2012, but a win at Wembley this week should not be taken for granted.” (twohundredpercent)

Match of the Week: Whitehawk 1 – 2 Hendon

“The latter qualifying round stages of the FA Cup have a habit of rather creeping up on us. One week, village teams are playing each other in front of a handful of men and their dogs, but before you know it there is something altogether more significant at stake. This weekend it’s the Third Qualifying Round stage, and everybody involved this weekend has something to play for. The relative giants (and it is relative – Luton Town or Darlington, say, look like goliaths on the horizon if your club struggles to bring in a three figure crowd on a regular basis) of the Blue Square Premier enter the competition in the final qualifying round, and the winners of this afternoon’s matches also pocket £7,500 – a tidy sum for a small club, and on top of that lies the opportunity to profit still further from involvement in the next round, at least.” (twohundredpercent), (The Football Association – Video)

New-look youthful Brazil continues to impress under Mano Menezes

“The Mano Menezes roadshow rolls on. Brazil’s new coach and his young side chalked up their second triumph with a 3-0 win over Iran in Abu Dhabi Thursday. But though the margin of victory was greater than August’s 2-0 win over the U.S., this was the tougher game — and all the more fascinating for it. Brazil’s central idea was the same as for the debut match of Menezes against Bob Bradley’s team — a fluid, attacking game plan using a 4-2-3-1 system. (SI – Tim Vickery)

Liverpool’s Reina wants focus amid takeover chaos

“Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina claims that all he and the other players can do is focus on football to stop the takeover ‘chaos’ at the club distracting them from their ambitions this season. Reina has been vocal about the state of the club in the past but, after signing a new long-term deal this summer, he now finds himself waiting for New England Sport Ventures (NESV) bid of £300 million to be ratified by the High Court after a dispute with current owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.” (ESPN)

Jones starts strong, but U.S. team’s flaws on display against Poland

“Tinkering and a desire to experiment is a good thing as another World Cup cycle commences, especially when it comes from a noted anti-tinkerer. United States coach Bob Bradley typically prefers his “something old” over his “something new” when it comes to the marriage of personnel and tactics. But the changes made Saturday in his team’s 2-2 draw with Poland in Chicago do beg a vexing question: how much assessment and subsequent development can you really do around a tweaked formation when several players are out of their best positions? (Or, when a player or two just aren’t up for the job in certain spots?)” (SI)

United States (USA) 2-2 Poland – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)

A Sigh of Relief for France, and the Arrival of Loic Remy

Stade Velodrome, Marseille.
“Yes, the European Cup of 2012 is still 21 months away, and the fact that the qualifying games are already underway seems slightly obscene: I’ve barely recovered from the drama of the World Cup, and now I’m supposed to start thinking, and, hoping about this tournament? But no matter: I’m awake. Today’s match between France and Romania, played in the Stade de France finally offered up a tiny glimmer of light. Romania has been a serious problem for France in the past years, particularly in the European Cup qualifiers and the group play in 2008. They haven’t been able to defeat France, but they’ve battled time and time again to a draw. And they are clearly France’s most serious opposition in the qualification group. So winning tonight was really important.” (Soccer Politics)

It’s not the players…it’s the managers

“Starting from the notion that the main responsibility lies on the AFA for all their atrocious decisions and the mafioso-like way in which they deal with many of the matters that go through their hands, I thought it was interesting to try and establish who is more to blame for the lack of trophies and even the absence of a clear and established style of play. Is it the players or is it the managers?” (Mundo Albiceleste)

Why Do We Root for Underdogs?

“The underdog phenomenon is a complicated one, and I want to do it justice, but even sketching the outlines of what it entails is a herculean task, or perhaps Aristotelian. To follow up on what Supriya said in her last post, one can argue that all stories are either tragic or comic. Human beings, being narrative animals, understand all events in terms of the story they fit into. Underdogs are comic heroes, forever fighting superior forces: Jackie Chan against overwhelming numbers, Jerry against Tom, Josef K against the system. That seems to be true even though, unlike Jerry and Jackie, underdogs in the footballing world rarely win it all. In fact, underdogs rarely win anything at all in football, even in cup competitions, which are much less predictable than leagues. In the five major footballing countries of Europe there has only been one stunning underdog win these past ten years: En Avant de Guingamp winning the the Coupe de France in 2009, when the team was in Ligue 2.” (Run of Play)

Ireland 2-3 Russia: Irish outpassed & outclassed

“Ireland staged a comeback in the last twenty minutes, but were second best for the majority of this game. Giovanni Trapattoni named the same side for the third consecutive qualification game, setting out in a standard 4-4-2, with Robbie Keane dropping slightly off Kevin Doyle, and both strikers tirelessly running the channels.” (Zonal Marking)

Estudiantes go further ahead, San Lorenzo lose their chance to keep up

“I’m late with Friday’s goals, for which I apologise. Estudiantes went five points clear at the top of the Torneo Apertura on Friday with a 2-0 win over Olimpo. On Saturday, San Lorenzo lost away to Lanús by the same score, thus missing the chance to go second. Arsenal de Sarandí beat Banfield 1-0 on Friday, but Saturday’s other three matches all finished in draws – Argentinos vs Godoy Cruz is the only goalless match so far. You can see highlights of all six matches so far this weekend right here.” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)

Spain 3-1 Lithuania – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying

“Without Xavi and Fernando Torres available, Spain would get a 3-1 win to remain unbeaten in qualifying. Fernando Llorente led the way with two goals while David Silva had the third for Spain. Llorente’s goals were in the 47th minute and 56th minute and Silva’s was in the 79th minute.” (The 90th Minute)

Portugal 3 – 1 Denmark
“Nani grabbed two goals in the space of three minutes to set Portugal on course to victory over Denmark in coach Paulo Bento’s first game in charge. Although Ricardo Carvalho’s own goal 11 minutes from time gave Denmark a lifeline, Cristiano Ronaldo made sure of Portugal’s first win in Euro 2012 qualifying Group H with five minutes left.” (ESPN)

Portugal 3-1 Denmark – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“Portugal earned their first win of the group stage behind two goals from Nani. It was a much need for Portugal who had a draw and loss in their first two matches. They are now with four points, two behind leaders Norway, while Denmark are in third place with three points.” (The 90th Minute)

Ireland 2-3 Russia – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“Russia would get a much needed win as they scored three goals in the first 50 minutes and held onto that lead. It was a poor start for the Irish who conceded two first half goals. The goals were from Alexander Kerzhakov in the 11th minute and Alan Dzagoev in the 28th minute. Russia’s third goal came in the 50th minute from Roman Shirokov.” (The 90th Minute)

Czech Republic 1 – 0 Scotland
“Craig Levein’s decision to drop Kenny Miller and play a defensive line-up failed to pay off as Scotland suffered the first defeat of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign against Czech Republic in Prague tonight.” (ESPN)

Czech Republic 1-0 Scotland – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“The Czechs would get their first win of qualifying while Scotland suffered their first defeat. It was a conservative start for Scotland who didn’t start Kenny Miller and were in a very defensive formation. Many will question if they weren’t aggressive enough and should have played a regular 4-4-2 formation.” (The 90th Minute)

U.S. Team, Drawing on the Recent Past, Looks Ahead

“Bob Bradley has a new contract and a new mission, but Bradley, the United States national team coach, is caught in a strange sort of limbo. ‘It’s a balance between the long term view, which is always focused toward the final round of qualification and then the World Cup in 2014, but also the things that happen along the way, the short-term vision,’ Bradley said ahead of the Americans’ friendly against Poland on Saturday in Chicago.” (NYT)

Playing Global Political Football

“For most of world football’s 208 nations, winning the World Cup is a distant dream: Four countries—Italy, Germany, Brazil and Argentina—have won 14 of the 19 World Cups since the competition began and only eight different teams have ever lifted the trophy. This is the ultimate old boys’ club. Winning the right to host the World Cup isn’t such a grand ambition, but for most of the planet, it remains a more realistic objective. Nine countries are bidding to host the tournament in 2018 or 2022, including four bidders from Europe, four from the Asian confederation, and the U.S., representing Central and North America.” (WSJ)

Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy: Pirlo a class above, but poor finishing from both sides

“Both sides had chances to win the game, but Northern Ireland emerge with a well-earned point. Northern Ireland made one change from their previous qualification game, bringing in Jonny Evans at left-back in place of Craig Cathcart. They played a 4-4-2 shape that often looked like 4-4-1-1 when Warren Feeney dropped deep into midfield when Northern Ireland lost the ball.” (Zonal Marking)

Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Euro 2012 Qualifying
“Both sides remained unbeaten in Group C as the match ended in a scoreless draw. Italy are now 2-1-0 with seven points through three matches while Northern Ireland are 1-1-0 with four points through two matches.” (The 90th Minute)

A Points Deruction For Liverpool: Theoretically Possible, But Almost Certainly No

1 Reply

Check out the hunting unit, Philips Wouwerman
“The lead story on the BBC Football website this afternoon may have given Liverpool supporters (who, it has to be said, are now getting close enough to feelings of perpetual panic to be able to warrant the soubriquet ‘long-suffering’) further palpitations. After the confirmation that a sale of the the club to John W Henry’s New England Sports Ventures had been agreed, the BBC is now reporting that the ongoing legal wrangles that have inevitably followed the confirmation of the sale agreement may yet force the club into administration and that this may mean that the club incurs a nine point deduction.” (twohundredpercent)

FC Utrecht 0 – 0 Liverpool: A paradox of players committing themselves and managers holding their horses
“FC Utrecht qualified for European Football by winning last year’s Eredivisie play-off and their Europa League qualification campaign, starting back in July, saw them defeating KF Tirana, FC Luzern and last but not least, former European Champions Celtic. Especially notable was the 4-0 home triumph over the higher rated Scottish side that featured in the Champions League group stages in three out of the past five seasons.” (11 tegen 11)

Hodgson overwhelmed by high expectations as Liverpool manager
“Roy Hodgson always was likely to face two problems at Liverpool: that his football was too boring for the fans, and that his training was too boring for the players. A certain stodginess leading to long-term grumbling was perhaps to be expected, but what nobody predicted was that Liverpool would be as bad as it has been so far this season, and that there would be immediate outrage.” (SI)

Deluded Liverpool fans off-target
“Like many of you I have been astounded by the shocking situation at Liverpool this season. Beaten last weekend by Blackpool, which is the football equivalent of Muhammed Ali being beaten up by a dwarfer, they find themselves in the bottom three and the fans are not happy.” (Three and In)

Chairman holds the cards but Tom Hicks vows to come out fighting
“Tom Hicks, the embattled co-owner of Liverpool, maintained today that he will fight the high court action launched by the Anfield chairman, Martin Broughton, to force the American to sell the club to New England Sports Ventures, the owners of the Boston Red Sox.” (Guardian)

Football Manager 2011: Sneak Preview (Video)

“It’s incredible to think of all of the enhancements that are made to Football Manager year after year. The game becomes closer to real life football management with each release. And now we have a sneak peek of what will be featured in Football Manager 2011 which will be released before the end of 2010.” (EPL Talk)

Football Manager 2011
(Football Manager)