Author Archives: 1960s: Days of Rage

About 1960s: Days of Rage

Bill Davis - 1960s: Days of Rage

Footy Verse

“At least since the fifth century BC, when Pindar entreated his heart to sing the splendor of the Olympian in his victory odes, poets have found in sport a worthy subject. And soccer—as we know it, a game of relatively recent advent, despite a lineage that can be traced back thousands of years—has inspired many to write in praise of its glory and in lamentation of the heartache it can yield. As ‘the world’s game,’ perhaps no other sport has been written about by amateur and professional poets of so many nations. A commercial for the Museum of Soccer in São Paulo declares that ‘if soccer were a literary genre, it would be poetry,’ and, unsurprisingly, several of Brazil’s greatest poets—including Carlos Drummond de Andrade and João Cabral de Melo Neto—have taken inspiration from futebol.” (Poetry Foundation)

A momentous match for football in Berlin

“Today, Germany’s second level Zweite Liga stages what is regarded as the first ever Berlin derby between Union and Hertha. (Strictly speaking there were fixtures in 1949-50 with one of Union’s previous incarnations, called Oberschöneweide.) ‘Hertha were talking about being German champions a year ago,’ says Union spokesman Christian Arbeit, ‘and now they are with us in the second division’. It’s 21 years since the Wall came down, but Union have been forging their own bit of history out to the east of the city in Köpenick.” (WSC)

Liverpool 4 – 1 Steaua Bucuresti

“Midfielder Joe Cole scored the quickest European goal in Liverpool’s illustrious history to set his under-strength side up for a 4-1 victory over Steaua Bucharest at Anfield. The England international took just 25 seconds of their opening Europa League Group K match to find the net for his first strike since joining on a free transfer from Chelsea in the summer.” (ESPN)

Liverpool 4-1 Steaua Bucharest: A Flattering Scoreline For A Faltering Liverpool B Team
“Perhaps more than most sports, football excels in creating and sustaining clichés. A game of two halves doesn’t tell the whole story of Liverpool’s match against Steaua, but it’s pretty damn accurate. We take a look at the game in more detail and consider why things changed so dramatically after half time. Liverpool began the game in a 4-2-3-1 formation which featured multiple changes from the Birmingham match.” (Micro LFC)

Liverpool 4-1 Steaua Bucharest – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Europa League – 16 September 2010
(The 90th Minute)

Real Madrid 2 – 0 Ajax : Big Real makes Ajax look very small

“Ajax’much awaited return to the Champions League turned out to be a big deception in their first Group Stage match against the stars of Real Madrid. Although the final 2-0 score-line made it look like a football match, it was in fact a very one-sided affair. Real dominated all areas of the pitch, creating an impressive number of 33 goal-scoring chances and if it was not for Maarten Stekelenburg’s excellent goalkeeping, Ajax would never have come away with only two goals conceded.” (11 tegen 11)

6 things you may not know about MSK Zilina

“With the Champions League opener drawing near, it seems only fair to cover the team I glossed over in my main Champions League preview piece. After hours of trawling through many Slovakian websites (some not exactly kosher to my eye) and some Champions League highlights, let me attempt to give Chelsea fans the low-down on their unknown away day to the home of the Slovakian League Champions.” (6 Pointer)

Bayern 2-0 Roma: Ranieri’s side show shocking lack of ambition

“Bayern dominated the game from start to finish, but it took a superb Thomas Müller goal to break the deadlock. Bayern lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 shape. Hamit Altintop started on the left in the absence of Franck Ribery, whilst Ivica Olic was the lone forward. Roma played a conservative, narrow 4-4-2 formation with Francesco Totti and Marco Borriello upfront. Aleandro Rosi made a rare start at right-back, so Marco Cassetti played on the left. Matteo Brighi was used in a right-sided midfield role.” (Zonal Marking)

The Way We Were: Aston Villa vs Everton, November 1989

“Watching repeats of old football matches can be an unsettling experience at times. Watch any match over around thirty years old and everything looks and feels different. The levels of technical expertise and fitness may be lower than they used to be, and the look and feel of the spectacle of the match is strangely other-worldly. At what point, however, did this change? When did what we could describe as the modernisation of football begin? I was reminded of this the other evening whilst watching the semi-final match in the 1984 European Championship between France & Portugal.” (twohundredpercent)

James Richardson’s Champions League newspaper review

“Cometh the hour, cometh the man … James Richardson returns for a new weekly look at all things football across the continent (Guardian – James Richardson)

Spingwatching

“As the Northern hemisphere bids a final farewell to the dying embers of summer, Argentina welcomes the onset of Spring and a finely balanced league table. Sam Kelly reports from Buenos Aires. Spring is in the air in Buenos Aires; it might not officially begin for another few days, but it’s been warming up nicely in the last few weeks. For those of us who’ve grown up in chillier climes it is, anyway – most Argentines seem to dress for the time of year rather than the actual conditions, and thus the fact it’s still officially winter means people are still walking the streets wrapped up in thick coats and scarves even though temperatures in the last few days have risen above 20 degrees celcius.” (In Bed with Maradona)

PSV 1 – 1 Sampdoria: A misfitting 4-2-3-1 does not beat a defensive diamond

“For the first time in 18 years, PSV has to settle for Europa League (former UEFA Cup) football for two consecutive seasons. And despite 12 Champions League participations in these 18 years, they’ve only passed the group stage three times, with a Hiddink-managed side reaching the semi-finals of 2004/05 as their best result.” (11 tegen 11)

Barcelona 5-1 Panathinaikos: the away side take the lead, but eventually crumble

“Barcelona had another scare, but hit back to record a convincing victory. The home side weren’t taking any chances after their shock weekend defeat to another Greek big name, Hercules. Pep Guardiola named his strongest side, bringing back Carles Puyol, Daniel Alves, Xavi Hernandez, Pedro Rodriguez and Sergio Busquets, playing a vague 4-3-3 system.” (Zonal Marking)

On Hating Barcelona

“What goes on behind the scenes of the beautiful game is rarely beautiful. Often, the experience of watching a beautfiul goal or combination on the pitch requires forgetting the transfer-gossip nonsense and arglebargles that allowed it to happen, or at least thinking that they are substantively less important to our experience of a match than they may actually be. For a popular example of this kind of thinking, just read Eduardo Galeano’s Soccer in Sun and Shadow, which suggests that breathtaking goals and legendary players are timeless components of the sport, whereas money and sponsorships unnecessarily pollute what happens on the pitch. In Galeano’s view—and in the mind of many soccer fans—the game itself is pure, but all that surrounds it corrupts our communion with the soul within.” (Run of Play)

Emirates experience leaves me jealous

“Before Arsenal’s massacre of Braga, the last time I was at a Champions League game was when the tournament was still called the European Cup. In 1992 – a couple of years before moving off to Brazil – I was lucky enough to be at the old Wembley for the final between Barcelona and Sampdoria. It is one of my happiest football memories. The sun shone, London turned into the Mediterranean for the occasion and two excellent sides served up an enthralling game, decided in Barcelona’s favour with a goal in the last minute of extra time.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Real Madrid 2 – 0 Ajax : Big Real makes Ajax look very small

“Ajax’much awaited return to the Champions League turned out to be a big deception in their first Group Stage match against the stars of Real Madrid. Although the final 2-0 score-line made it look like a football match, it was in fact a very one-sided affair. Real dominated all areas of the pitch, creating an impressive number of 33 goal-scoring chances and if it was not for Maarten Stekelenburg’s excellent goalkeeping, Ajax would never have come away with only two goals conceded.” (11tegen11)

The Question: Is a messiah complex the cause of England’s failings?

Fabio Capello
“One of the oddities of reading Charles Reep, the pioneer of match-analysis in Britain, is that in among the Pooterish self-righteousness, and what at times seems an almost systematic misinterpretation of statistics, you come upon the odd nugget of wisdom. ‘The maximum number of matches played in the World Cup final stages, by any one team, has been six, up to the present date,’ he wrote in his unpublished book of 1973, League Championship Winning Soccer and the Random Effect. (Even now, with the tournament expanded to thirty-two teams, it is only seven).” (Guardian)

AC Milan 2-0 AJ Auxerre – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League – 15 September 2010

“The Rossoneri started their UEFA Champions League campaign with a group stage match against French side AJ Auxerre on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.” (The 90th Minute)

Real Madrid 2-0 Ajax Amsterdam – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League – 15 September 2010
“Jose Mourinho led Real Madrid for the first time in the UEFA Champions League as they began the group stage with a home match against Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.” (The 90th Minute)

Arsenal 6-0 Sporting Braga – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League – 15 September 2010
“Arsenal hosted Portuguese side Sporting Braga in their opening UEFA Champions League match of the group stage on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.” (The 90th Minute)

MSK Zilina 1-4 Chelsea – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League – 15 September 2010
“Chelsea traveled to Slovakia to face MSK Zilina in their first UEFA Champions League group stage match on Wednesday, September 15, 2010.” (The 90th Minute)

UEFA Champions League Video Highlights For Wednesday, September 15, 2010

“Below are video highlights for all of the group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League on September 15.” (The 90th Minute)

Kicking out the wrong offender

“Is it racist to chant ‘His dad washes elephants’ at an African footballer? And if you were at a match and complained to the stewards and the police that it was racist, would you expect to get thrown out? The Crown Prosecution Service isn’t sure they’d get a conviction because ‘it doesn’t mention a particular race or culture’ – but then neither does making monkey noises. And a 60-year-old vicar got thrown out of Wigan’s DW Stadium last season, after he complained about the chants and that his complaint about the alleged criminal offence was not being taken seriously. When he refused to go back to his seat and asked to speak to a senior police officer, he was ejected from the ground. I know – I was that vicar.” (WSC)

Twente Enschede 2 – 2 Internazionale

“Rafael Benitez had an unconvincing beginning to his Inter Milan Champions league career as his side were held in Holland. Former Liverpool boss Benitez took over from Jose Mourinho, now with Real Madrid, but the Spaniard’s bid to retain the Champions League title won by his Portuguese predecessor did not get off to the best of starts even if there was a goal for Dutchman Wesley Sneijder in his home country.” (ESPN)

Barcelona 5 – 1 Panathinaikos
“A Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona recovered from the shock of going a goal down against Panathinaikos to get their Champions League campaign off to a convincing start at Camp Nou. Panathinaikos took the lead against the run of play through Sidney Govou in the 20th minute but Barca hit back in merciless fashion to take a 3-1 lead by half-time through two goals from the irrepressible Messi and another from David Villa.” (ESPN)

Fergie’s gamble backfires in stalemate
“It is becoming an unfortunate habit. For the second time in four days, Manchester United were held to a potentially costly draw. For the second time in four days, Sir Alex Ferguson’s selection was questionable. Whereas the 3-3 at Everton was an early candidate for game of the season, this was the antithesis. Utterly devoid of incident, it was nonetheless a non-event that had significance. A failure to win perhaps the most winnable game in the group stage can have repercussions; so, too, can an inability to top the pool.” (ESPN)

UEFA Champions League Video Highlights For Tuesday, September 14, 2010

“Below are video highlights for all of the eight group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League on September 14.” (The 90th Minute)

Tactics: Fluid Real dance to Mesut Özil’s rhythm

“As the latest batch of world-class international players joined the assembly line at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu over the summer, speculation quickly turned to how José Mourinho would attempt to shape his talent-packed Real Madrid squad into a cohesive team. Two games into the La Liga campaign, his strategy is gradually beginning to emerge.” (Football Further)

The Razor’s Edge

“Last week’s Match of the Day 2 closed with a montage of scenes of sickening violence involving Joey Barton during Newcastle’s draw at Molineux. The novelty is that Barton featured as the victim of assorted crunching, scything and slamming, as Wolves’ enforcers targeted him on seven separate occasions.” (Run of Play)

Staying put until the final whistle

“After 55 minutes of Scotland’s Euro 2012 qualifying group game with Liechtenstein last Wednesday, I made a promise to myself. If the score remained Scotland 0 Liechtenstein 1, I would never watch another game of football as long as I lived. I wouldn’t look at scores, or tables, or anything. If people started talking about football, I’d stick my fingers in my ears and start singing ‘Giiiiiiirls just wanna have fun’ in a really loud and annoying way until they moved off. But of course the score changed, and Scotland gloriously won the game with a brilliantly contrived 97th-minute header. The most amazing thing about that goal, though, was the number of fans still in the stadium to witness it.” (WSC)

Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham: Schaaf’s early tactical shift rescues a point for Bremen

“A frantic game that Spurs looked set to win at a canter, only to be pegged back in the second half. Harry Redknapp went with a fairly basic 4-2-3-1 shape, with Rafael van der Vaart in behind Peter Crouch. Jermaine Jenas was a surprise starter in the centre of midfield alongside Tom Huddlestone, whilst the rest of the side was as expected.” (Zonal Marking)

Video Of The Week: Football & Fascism

“As some of you may have noticed, we’ve restarted the ‘Video Of The Week’ section on the site, and this week we have a particular treat for you in the form of the outstanding BBC documentary from 2003, ‘Football & Fascism’. This film traces the link between three fascist dictators of the twentieth century – Mussonlini, Hitler and Franco – and football, focussing on Mussolini’s, ahem, ‘hands on’ approach towards the 1934 World Cup finals, the importance placed upon Germany’s performances at the 1936 Olympic Games and the 1938 World Cup finals and General Franco’s use of Real Madrid to bolster his popularity in Spain.” (twohundredpercent)

The Forgotten Film of the 1938 World Cup in France
“Many of the official World Cup films are well-known and widely available, such as the classic 1966 movie Goal! and the Michael Caine narrated Hero from 1986. The official FIFA Films page lists 15 World Cup films from 1930 to 2006, all available on DVD. The first World Cup in 1930 has retroactively been given an official film recently made from archive footage, but there is nothing listed for 1934, 1938 or 1950, so we presume the first official World Cup film was commissioned in 1954.” (Pitch Invasion)

Tactical titbits, 11/12th September

“Another pulsating weekend of football action in EU member-states has been and gone; and all we can do is reflect and hope next Saturday and Sunday are just as marvellous! I began my weekend with two successive 2-0 triumphs – Hoffenheim’s conquest of Schalke on Friday evening, followed by Zenit’s cruise to victory over the downwardly-hurtling Tom Tomsk. Subsequent to that interjection of Russian action, I found myself back in the realms of the Bundesliga as Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund sought to inflict a third successive defeat on Wolfsburg.” (Tactics, analysis, opinion, & scouting)

Porto 3-2 Braga: Hulk dominates the game

“A great encounter with some terrific goals – Porto narrowly recorded an important victory. Porto lined up as expected, 4-3-3 with Fernando dropping deep ahead of his own defence, and Hulk and Silvestre Varela switching wings upfront. Braga used a counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 shape, with Domingos Pacienca leaving out Matheus, instead using Paulo Cesar on the left and Lima the the main striker, with close support from Luis Aguiar.” (Zonal Marking)

Barcelona 0-2 Hercules: Valdez beats Valdes twice to give Hercules shock victory

“Barcelona were defeated by a two-goal margin in La Liga for the first time under Pep Guardiola, at the hands of newly-promoted Hercules. Guardiola’s side were without Carles Puyol through injury, whilst Sergio Busquets, Daniel Alves and Xavi Hernandez all started on the bench. Bojan was the central striker, whilst Javier Mascherano made his debut in the deep-lying midfield position.” (Zonal Marking)

Twente’s dominant midfield triangle undone by cleverly organised Roda… Missing Kenneth Perez?

“Yesterday evening saw the much awaited kick-off of the Dutch Eredivisie. And it was the defending champion’s honour to feature in the first match, away against last year’s number nine, Roda JC. A potentially tough fixture as Roda performed particularly well in the second half of last year’s competition and, in contrast to Twente, succeeded in keeping much of their squad together during the summer transfer window. Of their regularly featured players, only midfielder Marcel de Jong and central defender Jean-Paul Saeijs departed. New signing Jimmy Hempte from Belgian outfit KV Kortrijk was attracted as the new central defense partner to the athletic and passionate part-Norwegian, part-Gambian Pah-Modou Kah.” (11 tegen 11)

FC Groningen – FC Utrecht 1-0… Patient Groningen overcomes a lacklustre Utrecht side

“In the Euroborg, a fine example of a modern stadium that offers an excellent footballing atmosphere, home side FC Groningen took on ‘Celtic-beaters’ FC Utrecht in a match that could be seen as an early six pointer in the battle for the European Football qualification spots. The home side saw their patient and controlled attacks rewarded with a late winner to defeat a rather tame and defensive-looking Utrecht team.” (11 tegen 11)

Match Of The Midweek: Stoke City 2-1 Aston

“With three losses from their opening three matches, Stoke City have a problem. Their third season back in the Premier League has begun with three losses and it is only the dismal form of West Ham United that is keeping them off the bottom of the Premier League table, although there is an element of falseness about their position, since two of their three defeats have come at the hands of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur – both matches that it might have been unreasonable to expect them to win. Still, however, there is cause for concern at The Britannia Stadium this evening that they may be set to hit the buffers. This is exactly the sort of match that they have excelled at grabbing by the scruff of the neck over the last couple of seasons, and they need to get back into that habit this evening.” (twohundredpercent)

Birmingham 0-0 Liverpool: Reina Earns Liverpool A Point But Hodgson Has Big Problems In Midfield

Roy Hodgson
“Liverpool secured a draw against a determined and robust Birmingham side, but were once again dominated in midfield. Although Konchesky and Merieles made their debuts, there weren’t many positives from this encounter for Liverpool. We review the game and look at where the Reds need to improve.” (Micro LFC)

Good Day, Bad Day – Round 2

“Well, LLL didn’t see that one coming and anyone else who predicted Barcelona being butt-rumbled at the Camp Nou is a liar, liar, pants of fire – apart from Hércules coach, Esteban Vigo, who seemed fairly confident of pulling something spectacular off before the game. Vigo apparently showed DVD’s of the Inter v Barça clashes from last season’s Champions League as inspiration ahead of the game and it seemed to do the trick with Hércules hustling away in midfield and counter-attacking with some panache.” (FourFourTwo) 

West Brom’s anti-racism banner welcomed in Russia

“Next weekend West Brom fans will display a banner supporting new signing Peter Odemwingie, a reply to the racist one Lokomotiv fans hung following his transfer from Moscow. The messageboard reactions I read to it this week were perhaps typical of a lot of British fans: ‘Shame on Lokomotiv, respect to West Brom!’; ‘An intelligent answer’; ‘Brilliant, a worthy reply’. What is perhaps more surprising is that these were written by Russian fans on the championat.ru forum. However, with the 2018 World Cup hosts announced in December, and the English newspapers seemingly now all onside, this is not an element of Russian football culture that will see much daylight in the UK.” (WSC)

A rationally explainable, but emotionally dissatisfying 2-1 win of Holland over Finland

Hubert Robert, The Bridge
“Another slightly delayed post on our recent national team’s performance. And yet again, for future reference and for the message conveyed in this particular match, it still is important to review Holland’s performance against a stubborn and, apart from the first 20 minutes, well organized Finland side. Oranje, as always, lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with man-in-the-hole Sneijder given a high degree of positional freedom, looking to see a lot of the ball and being involved in a very high proportion of the attacking plays.” (11 tegen 11)

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson defends ‘diabolical’ Fernando Torres

“Roy Hodgson launched a robust defence of Fernando Torres last night after the Spanish striker’s ineffective display in Liverpool’s goalless draw at Birmingham City drew stinging criticism. Torres was once again a peripheral figure as Liverpool were fortunate to escape with a point – José Reina produced two outstanding first-half saves, to deny Cameron Jerome and Craig Gardner.” (Guardian)

José Reina asks Liverpool fans to be patient and realistic
“José Reina has given a brutally honest assessment of Liverpool’s prospects this season by admitting it could be “a while” before the club are capable of finishing in the top four, never mind challenging for the title. The Liverpool goalkeeper’s comments will do little to improve the mood at Anfield after an uninspiring start to the season but Reina has pleaded for patience and urged the club’s supporters to be ‘realistic’ about their expectations.” (Guardian)

Real Madrid 1-0 Osasuna: Özil stars in narrow victory on Mourinho’s home debut

“The Jose Mourinho effect: Real Madrid averaged exactly three goals per game at home last season – here, they began with just one, but it was enough to get the three points. Mourinho made four changes from the opening day draw at Mallorca, giving full debuts to Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira and a surprise start to Karim Benzema on the right. Sergio Ramos shifted across to right-back, so Pepe came in.” (Zonal Marking)

The boys from Brazil

“Symbol of exotic Brazil, Carmen Miranda was in fact born in Portugal. When she was young, her family decided to try their luck down South American way. These days, the flow is in the opposite direction. Bananas, said Carmen, were her business. The business of Braga, meanwhile, is importing Brazilians. The provincial club, who visit Arsenal on Wednesday, are attempting to disturb the peace of Portugal’s traditional big three – Benfica, Porto and Sporting – with a squad that includes 17 representatives of the country’s former colony.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Borghi breathes again, River move on up and Argentinos still can’t win

“Champions Argentinos Juniors are still without a win this season after throwing away a lead at home for the second time in this Torneo Apertura. This time the beneficiaries were Newell’s Old Boys, the rosarinos scoring twice in quick succession in the second half to win 2-1.” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)

Vaselina Goals
“With that cheeky scamp Lio Messi adding another gorgeous vaselina goal to his growing collection against Spain on Tuesday night, we’ve decided to dedicate ‘A Handful Of…’ this month to some the best vaselinas that Argentinian football has to offer. ‘Vaselina’ is a word in Spanish which can be used to describe a few different things.” (Argentina Football World)

German fans fighting Bundesliga price rises

“The derby between FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund is probably the biggest in Germany. It is the German “Old Firm” and has had its fair share of highlights over the past decades. Jens Lehmann once scored in the dying seconds to equalise for Schalke, Borussia ruined Schalke’s title hopes in 2007 with a 2-0 win – one of only three wins for the Black and Yellows in the last 26 matches. On the terraces a banner reading Ein Leben Lang Keine Schale In Der Hand (A lifetime without a championship) greeted the 49th anniversary of Schalke’s last title.” (WSC)

Juventus 3-3 Sampdoria: All-out-attack from both sides produces a superb match

“A brilliant, open, end-to-end classic as Miloš Krasić and Antonio Cassano dominated the game. Sampdoria continued with the interesting Roma/Brazil-esque shape they used against Werder Bremen, with Franco Semioli wide on the right, Daniele Dessena tucked in on the other side, and Antonio Cassano drifting in from the left. They were without Giampaolo Pazzini, so Nicola Pozzi came in, whilst Vladimir Koman played an attacking midfield role.” (Zonal Marking)

Tactical Variety vs Wolves

“Something at the Fulham-Wolves game really sprang to my attention. In contrast to the disciplined 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 that the team played under Hodgson, there was a fair deal of variety in the way the team lined up on Saturday. Watching the team’s set up during goal-kicks is always a fairly good indicator (if not a perfect one) of the formation in which they are being set up by their manager.” (Hammy End)

Premier League chalkboards analysis

“This week we look at Nani’s preference to play on the right, Arsenal’s short passing, Andy Carroll’s physical dominance, and Milan Jovanovic’s poor crossing.” (Guardian)

Birmingham 0 – 0 Liverpool

“Liverpool were indebted to a superb display from goalkeeper Pepe Reina for earning a point against Birmingham in a goalless Premier League clash at St Andrew’s. Reina produced excellent reflex saves to keep out point-blank headers from Cameron Jerome and Craig Gardner in the first-half and the home side were also left to regret spurning a hat-trick of clear-cut chances.” (ESPN)

Pepe Reina denies Birmingham City victory over lacklustre Liverpool
“Goals were lacking, but there was much to consider. Birmingham City ought to have won this game and while that was no shock it pointed once more to the waning of Liverpool. Roy Hodgson’s side did raise their work-rate in the second half, but the quality of their display was still flat.” (Guardian)

Why Paul Konchesky Won’t Flop At Liverpool
“Liverpool’s pursuit for a new left-back is finally over. Ahead of Konchesky’s debut tomorrow, James Owens explains why Konchesky was the best option available and why he’ll be a success at Anfield.” (MicroLFC)

Match Of The Day (MOTD) Video Highlights For Saturday, September 11, 2010

“It was a busy day in the EPL with eight fixtures on Saturday, September 11, 2010. The most dramatic match of the day was Everton’s comeback to draw 3-3 with Man United while Blackpool surprised Newcastle 2-0 at St James Park. Below are links to MOTD (Match of the Day) video highlights.” (The 90th Minute)

Godoy Cruz thrash Lanús, and Estudiantes go top

“Saturday saw Godoy Cruz visit El Sur and smash Lanús 4-1 in their own stadium with no fewer than three golazos. El Granate will be happy that that particular bad news day came on the same day that Argentina’s female hockey team won the World Cup in Rosario, if nothing else. A little later, Estudiantes won 2-0 at home to Racing, and went top of the table. Earlier, there had been two draws: Huracán and Banfield drew 2-2, whilst San Lorenzo vs Vélez Sarsfield finished goalless. All the goals – plus highlights of the last mentioned match – are right here as ever.” (Hasta El Gol Siempre), (Hasta El Gol Siempre – Tigre beat Gimnasia, and Colón still can’t win at home…)

Cesena 2-0 Milan: familiar problems for Milan

“Newly-promoted Cesena have four points from two tough opening games against Roma and Milan after this deserved victory. The home side were unchanged from the opening, playing a disciplined 4-5-1 system that became 4-3-3 when they had the ball. Milan gave a debut to Zlatan Ibrahimovic upfront, in a 4-3-3 formation largely similar to the one Leonardo favoured last season. Andrea Pirlo played deep, with Massimo Ambrosini and Rino Gatusso either side.” (Zonal Marking)

Volleys, Volleys and More Volleys

Zinedine Zidane
“Hamit Altintop’s thunderously crisp volley against Kazakhstan earlier this week was one of the finest strikes seen for quite some time and, with a nod to The Guardian’s “Joy of Six“ feature, got me thinking about some of the game’s greatest volleys. So, without further ado, here is a selection of some of the cleanest strikes ever witnessed. If you’ve got any more suggestions then please add them in the comments at the bottom of the page.” (The Equaliser)

Hércules flex muscles to record a famous victory

“Outside of the Barcelona – Madrid axis it was a relatively quiet summer transfer window in Spain, many of the country’s clubs beset by crippling debts and unable to make significant additions to their squads. Newly-promoted Hércules, however, were one of the few La Liga clubs to truly catch the eye with the calibre of the players they brought in. The biggest name to arrive at the Estadio José Rico Pérez was undoubtedly former France international David Trezeguet, the striker signing on the back of a bounteous decade at Juventus having been released from his contract by the Turin giants.” (The Equaliser)

Barcelona 0 – 2 Hercules
“Barcelona were left stunned as Nelson Haedo Valdez struck twice to give promoted side Hercules a famous win at the Nou Camp this evening. Valdez gave the Alicante-based outfit the lead when he poked home from a free-kick against the run of play after 26 minutes. And the Paraguay forward, making his debut for the visitors, silenced the Nou Camp with a superb second on the hour to give Hercules a two-goal lead.” (ESPN)

Everton 3-3 Manchester United: Amazing stoppage time comeback

“Manchester United concede two goals in stoppage time for the first time in Premier League history and throw away what seemed a certain win. Everton were without any fully fit strikers, and so were forced to play Tim Cahill upfront with support from Marouane Fellaini. Leon Osman came in on the right, whilst Jonny Heitinga started just in front of the defence.” (Zonal Marking)

Everton 3-3 Manchester United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)

The Ten Greatest Goal(post)s Of All-Time

“One of the greatest blights of modern football is that it looks the same wherever in the world you go. Teams from Addis Ababa to Zurich play with equipment made by the same handful of manufacturers and, with this, we have lost something. The global game has become homogenised and stripped of a couple of the layers of its colour and panache, and perhaps the most visual aspect of this on the pitch are the goalposts and netting themselves. Almost all clubs and countries now avail themselves of the now ubiquitous free-standing box net style of goal, with two poles holding the nets up and out of harm’s way.” (twohundredpercent)

Ligue 1: Five young players to look out for

Valentin de Boulogne, A Musical Party
“There’s no La semaine en France this week due to the international break, but you can catch up on everything that happened in Week 4 (including all the fixtures for this weekend) here. Instead, here are five carefully chosen videos showcasing the best of some of Ligue 1′s most promising young players.” (Football Further)

I Will Not Let World Soccer Magazine Die

“Glossy, shiny wonderful thing, sat on the newsagents shelf, ready to be plucked and digested. More sales than ever you say? but are you ok? really? IBWM editor Jeff Livingstone worries for a favourite publication. I was a little concerned to read recently that publishers IPC are looking to offload/sell World Soccer magazine.” (In Bed with Maradona)

Turkey 3-2 Belgium

“A fiery, frenetic affair saw the Turkish national team prevail from yet another of the epic games they habitually partake in. With two wins from two games, Turkey will push Germany all the way. I was flabbergasted upon reading the Belgium line-up – Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Daniel van Buyten, and Thomas Vermaelen – all of whom play centre-back at club-level – started.” (Tactics, analysis, opinion, & scouting)

Serie A 2010/11 – Title Contenders: Can Inter Milan’s domination be stopped?

“One of the world’s finest football leagues, the Italian Serie A is underway and this season all eyes will once again focus on whether reigning league champions Inter Milan can finally be dethroned. The Nerazurri have been collecting the Scudetto for five seasons in a row, albeit the first title from that five year run was pretty much a gift because of the Calciopoli scandal. Still, Inter’s domination has been so powerful that only last season were we finally witness to an interesting finish in the league.” (Just Football)

The Joy of Six: overhead and scissor kicks

“From Mr Fallrueckzieher to Roger Boli, via Mark Hughes, here are half a dozen of the best acrobatic belters ever” (Guardian)

Andrey Arshavin looks left-field in search of his old mojo

“To most people, Andrey Arshavin would have registered on their consciousness in the summer of 2008. He was boyish in his looks; his plum cheeks and fluffy hair were never going to hide his impish charm but it wasn’t before long he displayed all his cunning trickery. Suspended for the first two games of the European Championships with Russia – one of which included a 4-1 defeat to Spain – Arshavin made an instant impression. He was instrumental in seeing his side progress out of the group stages in the final game against Sweden before producing a performance which made everyone stand up and notice. Arshavin was devastating in a 3-1 win over Holland, scoring a fantastic counter-attacking goal to see off the Dutch and was so effective every time he got the ball that ITV pundit Andy Townsend claimed it would be the best £20million a club could spend in the transfer window.” (Arsenal Column)

The Zlatan Ibrahimovic Transfer Analysed

“Last week Barcelona sold their enigmatic Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Milan in a transfer that was astonishing not only because it came just 12 months after “Ibra” had moved to the Camp Nou, but also because the price was considerably lower than the amount the Catalans had paid to Inter for the mercurial forward. Although his performances in the blaugrana shirt had been a bit hit-and-miss, Ibrahimovic was by no means a complete failure, having scored 21 goals in all competitions, averaging a goal every other game in La Liga, where he helped Barcelona retain their title.” (The Swiss Ramble)

Norway 1-0 Portugal: A crazy Eduardo mistake and a resilient Norwegian defensive display

“Portugal continue their dreadful start to the qualification group – after two games they’re already five points behind table-toppers Norway. The home side made two changes from their win in Iceland – left-back John Arne Riise was injured, so was replaced by Espen Ruud, a player more comfortable on the right. John Carew was fit to start, so replaced Mohammed Abdellaoue – but only lasted 38 minutes before getting injured, and Abdellaoue was back in.” (Zonal Marking)

Hodgson Reflects On New Signings

“The transfer window is firmly shut and it’s time for Hodgson’s Liverpool to knuckle down and show us what they’re capable of. Ahead of Sunday’s clash with Birmingham Roy Hodgson sat down for a chat with Liverpoolfc.tv and reflected on the summer’s transfer activity.” (MicroLFC)