Author Archives: 1960s: Days of Rage

About 1960s: Days of Rage

Bill Davis - 1960s: Days of Rage

Bank Robber, Assassin, War Criminal, Football Club Owner

“Sixteen years ago, FK Obilić Belgrade became national champions of Serbia. Quite a remarkable feat when you consider it was their first ever season in the top flight, and the only time that the title has been held by a club other than Red Star or Partizan since the break-up of Yugoslavia. They remained amongst the country’s elite until their relegation in 2006, which was the start of the kind of tail-spin the poorly run clubs in Britain have got nothing on. After suffering another five more relegations over the six seasons that followed, a team that drew 1-1 with eventual finalists Bayern Munich in the 1998/99 Champions League qualifiers, now reside in Serbia’s seventh tier.” In Bed With Maradona

Atlético Madrid – welcome interrupters

“‘If you believe and if you work, you can do it.’ Diego Simeone’s words were clear on Sunday evening. They were simple, they were true. Speaking at an enormous celebratory parade in the wake of Atlético Madrid’s attritional league-winning draw, away at Barcelona, Simeone extolled humble virtues often lost in the din of modern professional football That Atlético are now triumphant is genuinely significant. Setting aside Rangers’ spectacularly grubby fall from Scotland’s top tier, the last decade had seen Spain develop its own high-end version of an Old Firm hegemony.” backpagefootball

Fascism & Football: The political history of Spanish football

ffff
“Spain had been a notable absentee from the 1938 World Cup. The country was being torn apart by Leftist Republicans and a coalition of Nationalist Forces led by General Francisco Franco. The Spanish Civil War was instrumental in bringing three most powerful Fascist leaders together. In 1937, Mussolini sent a considerable number of men to support his Fascist ally. German involvement in the War began immediately as Adolf Hitler immediately sent powerful air and armoured units to assist Franco and his Nationalist forces along with considerable economic loans. By 1939, Franco was successful in curbing the last outbursts of his Republican resistance, including and importantly, the capital of Catalonia, Barcelona. In one week alone in the last year of struggle, 10,000 members of the anti-Franco brigade were executed in Barcelona. A further 25,000 were shot after the ceasefire in the city.” Outside of the Boot

Fascism and Football: How Italy won the 1934 and 1938 World Cup
Outside of the Boot

Fascism & Football: When Germany were the inferior team
Outside of the Boot

Mussolini’s Football
Soccer Politics

Duel: Is the World Cup a poisoned chalice?

1 Reply

“To describe the World Cup as a ‘poisoned chalice’ for the host nations is to ignore the fact that its value goes beyond the economic—it brings people and nations together. It’s also a fantastic platform from which to spread the message that racism and homophobia in sport are wrong. I’m not denying that it costs a huge amount of money to host the World Cup but Brazil currently has the seventh largest economy in the world, is rich in natural resources and has a population of over 198m people. It is a nation that loves football and has a strong tradition of excellence in the game; this event has forced them to upgrade their stadiums and ensure they maintain a world-class standard. It has also made it essential for the Brazilian government to improve the nation’s infrastructure. Brazil is supposed to be this new country coming out and showing the world how powerful they are. I believe that hosting the World Cup will, in the long term, be a huge benefit to Brazil’s economy and global status.” Prospect: Sol Campbell and Simon Kuper

2014 World Cup in Brazil

“This summer, 32 countries will compete in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Although each country has distinct histories, customs, and cultures, soccer ties these countries together and bridges their differences. Thus, soccer acts as a mode of universal language or, perhaps, even transcends language, due to its simplicity and global appeal. As a ubiquitous sport, soccer appeals not only to players, but also to millions of fans—some of who play soccer and others of who have never played. For four years, these fans wait anxiously for the quadrennial World Cup, which attracts more fans than any other sporting event in existence. This blog page is a background and travel guide for all of those fans who plan to travel to Brazil to witness the spectacle firsthand. It is also a useful resource for those fans that will witness the event on television and might want additional insight into the Brazilian culture and history that make this summer’s World Cup so meaningful. We hope you enjoy our guide and find it useful in answering any questions you may have. Enjoy Brazil, savor the exhilarating soccer matches that are sure to take place and, for those of you making the journey, safe travels!” Soccer Politics

The Fight For 23: Crowded U.S. midfield makes for heated World Cup roster competition

“In the fight to make the 23-man U.S. World Cup squad, any discussion about the midfielders has to begin with Michael Bradley. The rock of the central midfield is at the height of his powers at age 26, and he knows exactly how the U.S. should look on the field in Brazil when the Americans are playing at their best. How can you tell when that’s the case? When, as Bradley puts it, ‘tactically we’re organized, and defensively every guy is committed to closing down and being aggressive and pressing and making the game hard on the other team. It means that when we win balls we’re mobile and dynamic and showing how athletic we are and how quickly we can go forward.’” SI

The (Midfield) Engine That Could

beckerman_USMNT-2-620x350
“There are eleven positions on a soccer team, each with its own character. None is more glamorous than the striker, whose job is to score the goals in a game that has so few of them. None is more romantic than the goalkeeper, who stands alone as the team’s last line of defense, the only player who can use his hands in a sport that depends on the use of the feet, the head, and every part of the body but the hands. None is more celebrated than the Number 10, known sometimes as the fantasista, the team’s playmaking superstar who’s asked to supply the creativity that can undo the most rehearsed and structured defense. Yet despite the spotlight that shines on those players, the midfield position situated just in front of the team’s defensive backline is perhaps the most critical of all. ” The Paris Review

A National Team Without a Country

“The 18 Eritrean refugees arrived in this picturesque, blue-collar Dutch city 20 miles east of Rotterdam earlier this month looking for safety, security and, finally, after 18 months of fear and uncertainty in two refugee camps on two continents, a home. Refugees are not an uncommon sight in the Netherlands. More than 500 are granted legal status every year in the country’s municipalities, towns and cities, often in groups of two or three, though a huge number of economic migrants arrive, many illegally.” NY Times

Soccer Players You Need to Know Before the World Cup: Thomas Muller

“Thomas Muller gets more tangible results from intangible skills than any player in any sport on the face of the planet. Usually, when we talk about intangibles we talk about players who do the little things: glue guys, clubhouse guys, guys who are willing to put in the dirty work other players won’t. But that’s not Muller. Thomas Muller scores goals. He scores them all the time; he’s regularly a top goal-scoring contributor on perhaps the best club team in the world, Bayern Munich, and one of the best national teams in the world, Germany. But exactly how he gets them? That’s the intangible.” Grantland

2014 Fifa World Cup draw: Guide to Group D

Argentina Uruguay Soccer WCup
“Gary Lineker’s verdict… Style & formation: As qualifying went on, coach Oscar Tabarez settled on a pragmatic 4-4-2. The industrious Edinson Cavani leads the line, with Luis Suarez given licence to roam. Tabarez, however, is not afraid to switch formations, doing so in away matches and during the Confederations Cup to counteract the opposition, including playing 3-5-2 and 4-3-3. Expect him to vary it up in Brazil.” BBC: Uruguay – England – Costa Rica – Italy

La Liga power balance shifts: Has Barcelona lost its soul?

“In Madrid and Barcelona, they will be talking about this for many years to come. Of all the ways to break Barca’s monopoly on Spanish league titles, going to the home of the champions and robbing them of their crown in their own backyard takes some beating. In the Catalan heartland Saturday, unfashionable Atletico Madrid produced a storybook ending to one of the most enthralling seasons Spanish football — or indeed any European league — has ever produced. But as Atleti celebrated, the soul searching began in Barcelona.” CNN

Bayern’s double allows Pep Guardiola to exhale after suffocating first season

“Don’t read on if you still want to view the box set, but season one of Breaking Pep, a fish-out-of-water tale about a clever man trying to come up with the winning formula in an alien world of unreliable underlings and a grilled meats-empire boss who hides a dark secret, finished with a big cliffhanger on Saturday night: THE. MOLE. IS. STILL. OUT. THERE. Guardiola had first embarked on a hunt for the informer inside his own ranks in November, when Bild had revealed Bayern Munich‘s long-ball tactics for the away game at Dortmund before kick-off.” Guardian

Serie A season signs off with ding-dong battle for Europa League berth

“The Serie A season ended as these things usually do: with contrasting images of joy and despair. In one stadium, champagne bottles were uncorked and grown men were tossed up in the air. In another, an Italy forward wept inconsolably. His failure to convert a last-minute penalty had cost his team everything. Instead of sealing a triumphant sixth-place finish, Alessio Cerci had condemned Torino to disastrous seventh.” Guardian

On A Six Pence – football art and readers’ offer!

arsenal-new-large
The Arsenal.
“Here at PNIG, we love football and we love art. As you’ve seen with my piece on Pirlo, my hook-up with the great people at The Illustrated Game, and my recent piece on World Cup photographer Ryu Voelkel, the beatuiful game really can be the beautiful game in the hands of some people.” Put Niels In Goal

League Focus: Ligue 1 2013/14 Review

“As Paris Saint-Germain closed their season in typical style with a 4-0 win over Montpellier, it seemed like an eternity since the reverse fixture on the opening day of the season, when La Paillade had held Laurent Blanc’s side to a draw at the Stade de la Mosson. It was also an extraordinary feeling to consider that Montpellier were the last team to deprive PSG of the Ligue 1 title, in 2012. There will be no repeat in the near future, with the prospect of even getting into the table’s upper reaches severely compromised by the imminent exit of Rémy Cabella, the left midfielder in WhoScored’s Best Xi of the season.” whoscored

UFWC World Cup Classics: Argentina vs Netherlands, 1978

“The Netherlands had beaten Italy 2-1 to reach their second consecutive World Cup final, and to deprive the Italians of the UFWC title. Dutch defender Ernie Brandts had scored for both sides in that game, with Arie Haan getting the winner. The Oranje were looking impressive despite the fact that they were without star man Johan Cruyff, who had stayed at home to consider his priorities following an alleged kidnap attempt on his family. The hugely experienced Dutch team still featured the likes of Jonny Rep, Johan Neeskens, big keeper Jan Jongbloed, and troublesome twins Willy and Rene Van der Kerkhof.” UFWC

Body Politic: Contemporary Art and Culture In Rio

Gondola lift, Complexo do Alemão, Rio de Janeiro, July 7, 2011.
“FOR THIS ISSUE’S Dispatch, Artforum goes south, to Rio de Janeiro—a city as defined by myths of sensualist extravagance as it is by horror stories of yesterday’s military dictatorship and today’s slum violence. Yet one does not have to subscribe to cliché to recognize that Rio is somehow singular; that, in the past half century alone, it has been a place of extraordinary innovation and devastation alike, from the decadent inventions of bossa nova and Tropicália to the human-rights abuses of the postwar period and the unsettling rise of the modern favela in the 1970s. Such paradoxical histories are still with us: This year, as Rio prepares to host the World Cup in June and gears up for the Summer Olympics in 2016, spending astronomical amounts on infrastructural changes and in many instances attempting to eradicate portions of the favelas, it also observes (without celebrating) the fiftieth anniversary of the 1964 coup that brought the military to power.”
ARTFORUM, GUILHERME WISNIK, IRENE V. SMALL, DANIEL STEEGMANN MANGRANÉ

England’s performance at Italia 90 World Cup is venerated too much

“Perhaps, given England’s perceived lack of success, it’s only natural that we should hark always back to 1990, that we should be forever trying to recapture what made that tournament so compelling. Yet it is a little odd. It doesn’t take much of an examination of England’s World Cup record to see how fine the margins sometimes are. In the last eight World Cups, England have reached the last eight (in 1982, the second phase comprised four three-team groups; so for the purposes of this stat I’ve counted the teams who finished second in those groups as losing quarter-finalists) on five occasions. Put like that, England’s World Cup record doesn’t sound too bad – in fact, only Brazil and (West) Germany can beat it.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

The Rebirth of Colombia

“Teams in the World Cup are generally split among three tiers. The top one consists of those that year in and year out field the best squads in the world—including most of the previous World Cup winners and finalists, such as Brazil, Germany, and Argentina. The bottom tier consists of those from whom no one expects much, other than that they show up on time for matches. Among that group this year are Iran, Australia, and Algeria. But most teams fall somewhere in that second tier, where fans begin the tournament holding out hope that—through a perfect storm of lucky bounces, mistaken calls, beneficial match draws, and brilliant overachievement—their team will cobble together a World Cup championship. Colombia, who have qualified for the World Cup for the first time in sixteen years, is one of these teams.” The Paris Review

2014 Fifa World Cup draw: Guide to Group C

2014-fifa-world-cup-group-c
“Gary Lineker’s verdict. … Style & formation: Coach Jose Pekerman is a tactical chameleon who favours attack-minded variations on 4-4-2, 4-2-2-2 and 4-2-3-1 formations. Napoli pair Pablo Armero and Juan Zuniga provide width as adventurous full-backs, with Fiorentina’s Juan Cuadrado and Monaco’s James Rodriguez the key creative influences. Rodriguez plays his club football alongside striker Falcao, and the duo have a deadly understanding.” BBC Colombia, Ivory Coast, Greece, Japan

Fear the Underdog?

“Atlético Madrid is the third-most successful club in the history of Spanish soccer, which is a little like being the third-most famous khan in the history of the Mongol horde. Good job by you, but you’re never going to stop hearing about Genghis and Kublai. Atleti has won nine titles in La Liga, Spain’s top division, which is great, except that Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have combined for 54. And when you start running the math on that, and realize there have only ever been 82 champions crowned in La Liga, and add in that Madrid and Barcelona have collectively finished second an additional 45 times (versus eight for Atlético), and further consider that Atleti isn’t even the biggest team in its own hometown (that would be Real) — well, you get a clear picture of a tough little club that’s been overshadowed by its planet-conquering, culture-altering rivals.” Grantland – Brian Phillips

Brazilian anti-World Cup protests hit Sao Paulo and Rio

1 Reply

“Riot police in Brazil have fired tear gas to disperse thousands of protesters in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro who marched against the cost of hosting the football World Cup. Some demonstrators hurled stones while other burned tyres and blocked roads. They say they are angry that billions of dollars are being spent on next month’s football tournament, rather than social projects and housing. Protests also took place in many other cities, including the capital Brasilia.” BBC

2014 Fifa World Cup draw: Guide to Group B

Sergio-Ramos-12
Sergio Ramos
“Gary Lineker’s verdict. … Style & formation: Spain’s possession game, coupled with their determination to quickly win the ball when they don’t have it, has been wearing down the opposition for over seven years. Spain typically play 4-3-3, with full-backs Jordi Alba and Alvaro Arbeloa attacking like wingers and centre backs Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique often joining in play beyond the halfway line. Strikers only tend to enter the box at the last minute for the element of surprise.” BBC – Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia

Brazuca: Secrets of the new World Cup ball

“It’s one of the stars of the World Cup – the paintbrush with which the world’s greatest footballing maestros must create their art. But is it up to the task? The Brazuca, the official ball of Brazil 2014, is the 12th ball created by Adidas for the World Cup. The company came under fire four years ago for the Jabulani, the official ball at the 2010 competition in South Africa, which was heavily criticised.’It’s trajectory is unpredictable,’ claimed Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, while Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano branded it ‘supernatural’. Adidas claims the Brazuca has improved touch and accuracy.” BBC

Tactical trends of 2013-14 Premier League season

“The Premier League isn’t generally considered a division that places a great emphasis upon tactics, but this season was different. With a variety of new managers in place, there were some genuinely fascinating developments, particularly in terms of formations. Here’s a tactical review of the 2013-14 campaign.” ESPN – Michael Cox (Video)

World Cup 2014: police will wear ‘Robocop’ style suits of armour to protect themselves

Brazil-Robocop_2909949b
“World Cup police in Rio de Janeiro will be kitted out in a ‘RoboCop’ style suit of armour to protect officers in the event of violent protests during the tournament. Members of a special unit set up for the World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Rio received 200 sets of the special 22lbs (10kg) protective equipment, which is flame resistant to up to 427C.” Telegraph

Liverpool & Roma’s job is only half-done. Consistency & sustainability now key

“7th place with 61 points. 6th place with 62 points. That is what Liverpool & Roma’s 2012/13 league position spelled. The unpleasant factor in that is that it wasn’t even a surprise. Both these traditionally competitive clubs had fallen well off their high horse and into uncharted territory, with the risk of near perpetual mid-table obscurity. Both have now found their feet, and certainly the club’s ideology, as they rescued themselves from a faltering status and emerged as shock contenders, league leaders and eventual runners-up in their respective leagues. But while fans and management can certainly chuckle at their success, their happiness should be no more than that. To have achieved their remarkable league positions is quite incredible, but the job is only half done. The rest test begins now to ensure this season’s efforts weren’t in vain.” Outside of the Boot

Europa League final an historically charged affair

“The Europa League final makes its way to Italian shores for the first time in its current guise this Wednesday, although the showpiece is tinged with disappointment for the host city. The Mayor of Turin has been trumpeting the slogan ‘scegli lo sport, sorridi!’ (choose sport, smile!) in the build-up to the game, but Torinese grins are through gritted teeth. Hometown heroes Juventus — the dominant force in Italian football for the past three years — fell at the penultimate hurdle, a semifinal defeat to Benfica denying the Bianconeri a chance to extend their record haul of three titles in the competition.” ESPN

2014 Fifa World Cup draw: Guide to Group A

Luiz-Felipe-Scolari
“Gary Lineker’s verdict. … Style & formation: The flicks and tricks remain second nature, but this Brazil side is also resilient and well organised, moulded by the pragmatism of 2002-World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari. They press the opposition high up the pitch, while midfielder Luiz Gustavo acts as an auxiliary third centre back – allowing the full-backs and the likes of centre-back David Luiz to venture forward. Brazil usually adopt a 4-2-3-1 formation and are not afraid to be direct, often seeking out the flamboyant Neymar on the left with long balls from the back. …” BBC – Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon

Game of two halves: the ugly side of Brazilian football

“In 1958 a Brazilian team starring the black teenager Pelé and several other dark-skinned players won the country’s first World Cup. After the victory, wrote the playwright Nelson Rodrigues, ‘I saw a small black woman. She was the typical slum dweller. But the Brazilian triumph transformed her. She walked down the sidewalk with the charm of Joan of Arc. The same was true for black men, who – attractive, brilliant, luxurious – seemed like fabulous Ethiopian princes.’ Brazil, said Rodrigues, ‘was no longer a mongrel among nations’. Football has helped Brazil construct its national identity. The game also functions as a lens on to this poorly understood country. Football helps us see Brazil’s beauty, its ugliness and the usually ignored lives of the Brazilian poor. Admittedly, most accounts of Brazilian football omit women but so, for much of history, did Brazil’s public sphere. So what does football reveal about Brazil?” FT – Simon Kuper.

Liverpool’s season is shiny but hollow

“The dream is over. The romance is dead. The glory will have to wait. Liverpool’s season is not mathematically at an end, of course, but the nature of their spectacular collapse will have drained the impetus from their title challenge with as much speed as it has animated Manchester City, once thought adrift from the summit of the Premier League table. Given the 25 years of heartache linked to the Hillsborough disaster, the souring of a dream which captured considerable public sympathy is especially hard to take. There is been more than a hint of misty-eyed destiny in the accomplished way that Steven Gerrard has carried his teammates to the pinnacle but, in purely sporting terms, their fall is not completely surprising. If Liverpool’s intense, fast-paced attacking style provided us all with some kind of illicit high in recent months, then their disregard for the game’s core principles surely represents the wicked comedown.” backpagefootball

In a season decided by small moments, City emerges with the crown

city-berlin-single-image-cut
“It was all over before it was over — In the end, Championship Sunday followed a predictable course. Manchester City, needing just one point, barely broke a sweat as it beat visiting West Ham 2-0. Liverpool struggled but beat Newcastle, which finished with nine men, 2-1 to stay two points back. Chelsea fought back to win 2-1 at relegated Cardiff to end four points behind City. City was a deserved champion. It defended far better than Liverpool. It attacked far better than Chelsea. It had as many really good days as either of its rivals and fewer really bad ones. It’s a better, deeper all-round squad. You’d expect that with the money it has spent.” SI

Bundesliga 2013/14 End of Season Awards

“The readers of Outside of the Boot have cast their votes across Europe’s top 4 leagues across 10 different award categories with 4 nominees under each to pick the players who they believe deserved recognition the most. The Bundesliga 2013/14 End of Season Awards were the most closely competed one, with most categories lacking a clear winner. Note that no club has more than one representative in a particular product category.” Outside of the Boot

Points per game record versus top half and bottom half shows why Chelsea lost the title, and why Sunderland survived

“If there’s one result that sums up the crazy, unpredictable end to this Premier League season, it’s Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at home to Sunderland. That was Jose Mourinho’s first home league defeat as Chelsea manager, after 78 games, and proved crucial at both top and bottom. Chelsea’s chances of winning the league title took a huge blow, while Sunderland continued their great escape. However, to a certain extent that result was typical of their campaigns, because Chelsea and Sunderland are the two sides in the division that have collected more points against top half sides, than against bottom half sides.” Zonal Marking

World Cup 2014: Super Eagles can be the best of Africa

brazil-here-we-come-super-eagles
“If there has been a consistent theme in these World Cup columns – and there has been at least one, honest – it is that the Ivory Coast are not as good as people think. Given they have vied with Egypt as the best African team of this century but have a much higher global recognition factor because so many of their players play in the major western European leagues, that’s perhaps understandable – but support for them goes against the evidence of the last Africa Cup of Nations. In South Africa, the Ivorians looked what they are: an ageing squad. Yaya Toure, of course, remains an exceptional player and his influence can still turn games, but with Didier Drogba now 36, he is increasingly having to do it alone.” Betting – Jonathan Wilson

PSG’s dramatic rise to European giants

“Paris Saint-Germain’s success in winning the French football league for the second year in a row represents a dramatic transformation over the last three years in the club’s fortunes. This season they have also won the French League Cup and, as in 2013, once again reached the quarter-finals of the Champions’ League. For the first time Parisians are beginning to feel they may have a team to shout about. In the beginning there was a little club from Paris called Paris FC and another little club from the suburbs called Stade Saint-Germain. In 1970 they got together and became Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).” BBC

Manuel Pellegrini should get credit he deserves if Manchester City win title

“Assuming Manchester City earn the point they need against West Ham United on Sunday, this will be Manuel Pellegrini‘s first league title since collecting the Clausura with River Plate in Argentina in 2003. There will be those who suggest he has won it almost by default, merely by not falling over as Chelsea and Liverpool suffered unexpected setbacks, but winning titles is often as much about that as it is about the glamorous wins in the landmark games.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Scolari given easy ride over Brazil World Cup squad

“The press conference at which Luiz Felipe Scolari announced his World Cup squad was arguably the easiest 45 minutes the veteran Brazilian coach has ever faced. The 23-man list named was largely devoid of controversy as the assembled media patted friendly questions in his direction. Scolari himself recalled that by contrast in 2002 he had to change hotel at the last minute to free himself from media intent on pursuing the issue of the non-selection of Romário, one the heroes of the 1994 World Cup win.” WSC

Serie A 2013/14 End of Season Awards

gallery
Rudi Garcia
“The readers of Outside of the Boot have cast their votes across Europe’s top 4 leagues across 10 different award categories with 4 nominees under each to pick the players who they believe deserved recognition the most. The Serie A 2013/14 End of Season Awards were the most closely competed one, with most categories lacking a clear winner. Note that no club has more than one representative in a particular product category.” Outside of the Boot

Confessions of a Liverpool Addict

“My name is Mikey, and I’m a Liverpool supporter. It has been three days since I last watched a game. I get up at four or five in the morning to watch matches because I now live in Australia. There have been times I have woken up the entire family with my screaming at the TV. I force my son to wear Liverpool pyjamas and sleep beneath a Liverpool bedspread every time Liverpool play. I blamed my wife for a defeat once because she put the duvet on his bed the wrong way around. I have a kid’s football shirt in a frame on the wall because I believe it made Liverpool unbeatable whenever my baby son wore it. I even got my wife to wake him up and put it on when we were 2-0 down to Portsmouth. He got back to sleep eventually. We won.” Tomkins Times

Football Montages: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly… and The Rest

“Where there’s a major tournament, you can bet there’ll also be a flashy (or on occasion, not-so-flashy) montage put together by the broadcaster showing its face at some point. David takes us through a few choice picks.” Branch of Science (Video)

Football and the Internet

“Hovering just above, using satellite view, on Google maps there appears to be little remarkable about the modest football ground on the Southern edge of Caen: a small clubhouse, a white rail around the perimeter and two dugouts. It is no different from hundreds of thousands of others across France, across Europe. For a few short years however, it was this ground which was the scene of an experiment (dubbed l’adventure’ by those involved) which had the potential to transform not only the way in which football cubs are governed, but more importantly to create radically new relationship between fans and club.” In Bed With Maradona

Liverpool tears flow as Reds pay price for defensive frailties

lll
“A tearful Luis Suarez was led away from the scene of the accident with his face hidden inside his white Liverpool shirt, first by captain Steven Gerrard waving away an intrusive television camera, then by unused substitute Kolo Toure. Gerrard had been on his haunches, as had several of Liverpool’s players, while others sat in utter misery on the Selhurst Park turf before manager Brendan Rodgers emerged into the media suite and spoke of his squad being ‘devastated’. Never has going top of the Premier League with one game to play been greeted by such an outpouring of grief, despair and disappointment – but this was a thunderous night in south London that turned all logic on its head.” BBC (Video)

Istanbul in reverse signals death of Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool dream
“It was the expression of shock on those in the visiting contingent, from Brendan Rodgers in the technical area to Luis Suárez out on the pitch, which told the story. At least the Uruguayan had mustered a smile of disbelief while the game was still in progress before disintegrating into floods of tears, hiding his face in his shirt. Steven Gerrard was just as inconsolable before recovering some level of composure to hoist his team-mate from his haunches and push away the intrusion of a television camera.” Guardian

Liverpool Lost the Premier League Title Just Like They Almost Won It
“They finished last season in seventh place and came into this year with something like 33-1 odds of winning the Premier League. After back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Chelsea to end 2013, they found themselves in fifth place. But since the beginning of 2014 they’ve won 14 games, tied three, and lost one. They’ve clinched a spot in the Champions League group stages, and they’re atop the table with one game left in their season. Or: Humans exist as cast members in the blackest comedy, directed by some cruel, faceless, string-pulling auteur we will never see. Everything is a disappointment. And any success is just seemingly self-prescribed medication against the bleak, hopeless, ultimately hollow reality that nothing will ever work out the way we want it to.” Grantland

World Cup 2014: England Squad Selector – pick your 23 then compare with our choices

“Ever wanted to be Roy Hodgson? It’s a common condition. His is a life of easy charm, muted bookishness and lovely warm coats. But there’s one unenviable task looming for the England manager ahead of Fifa World Cup 2014 in Brazil, and that’s picking 23 men to make up a squad capable of avoiding humiliation. With Hodgson set to announce his provisional list of players on Monday May 12, we’ve cast the net wide for potential England squad members, from the players who are on the plane barring a late metatarsal injury (Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Joe Hart), the youngsters who may or may not have done enough to impress (Luke Shaw, Ross Barkley) and the longshots (Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, ideally both at once).” Telegraph – Henry Winter

Borderball with Club Tijuana

“About a decade ago, a T-shirt became popular in American malls. In retro graphics featuring a 1970s-style monorail swooshing by, the shirt read: ‘Tijuana: City of Tomorrow.’ Its message was sarcastic and disparaging. A border city in a distant corner of the continent, Tijuana had a seedy reputation as an “adult playground” and as a haven for all sorts of criminality. For many Americans, the short hop across the border to Tijuana still carries connotations of murky vice and sleaze. Times have changed. Every week, Americans make the journey to Tijuana for an irreproachable reason: they cross into Mexico to watch their beloved soccer team, Club Tijuana. It may be located in another country, but the Mexican league side has become the de facto hometown team for San Diego.” Road and Kingdoms

Despite its inescapable past, Bosnia-Herzegovina writes new chapter

bosniacelebrate-single-image-cut
Oct. 15, 2013
“In the shadows next to the airfield, eight men huddled behind piles of snow: a soldier and seven soccer players. Or at least they had once been soccer players. This was February 1993, and league football hadn’t been played in Sarajevo for well over a year. The siege of Sarajevo, which would last four years, had begun in April ’92, one month after Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia. The battle to control the new capital was the centerpiece of a civil war among ethnic Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) that would take nearly 100,000 lives. In these times there was no prospect of even a casual outdoor kick-around.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

The next big talent coming through from Brazil – Gabigol!

“A certain 17-year-old kid from Brazil, more specifically Santos, has been doing the rounds in the footballing world over the past few months. Here’s a Scout Report on the latest sensation from the nation that produces the most exciting talents in the world. His name is Gabriel Barbosa, commonly known by the nickname Gabigol.” Outside of the Boot

World Cup Watch: Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, Louis van Gaal

“The World Cup is only 37 days away, with the opening match between host nation Brazil and Croatia taking place in Sao Paulo on 12 June. BBC Sport, with the help of European football expert Andy Brassell, is taking a weekly look at happenings from across the world of football and what impact they could have on the tournament in the summer.” BBC

Schizophrenic Brazil hopes World Cup works its magic

1 Reply

protestors
“‘I see the enthusiasm outside Brazil,’ said Ronaldo at the end of March in his capacity as a member of the World Cup Local Organising Committee. ‘I’m very happy when I see that same enthusiasm here as well.’ The very statement hints that the commodity might be in short supply; that the apparent dream relationship between the World Cup and the Brazilian people is on the rocks and in need of marriage guidance.” World Soccer – Tim Vickery

‘Anti-football’ tactics?

“Last Sunday, the title race took yet another crazy twist as Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea abruptly ended Liverpool’s eleven game winning run, throwing the league title right back into City’s hands. Following Mourinho’s first ever league loss at Stamford Bridge just a week before, against the then bottom team in the league of all opposition, many expected another routine victory for a Liverpool team seemingly destined to win their first premier league trophy on the year of the 25th anniversary of one of the darkest days in footballing history.” backpagefootball

Where did it go wrong for Pep at Bayern?

“In December 2013, Bundesliga Fanatic published my first article about Bayern München entitled Bayern’s Lost wunderkinds and while the response was rather positive, most of the readers wanted to me to accept the current situation because the results were going the right way and because Bayern were already cruising towards the Bundesliga title and the Champions League Round of 16. However, after the trashing Die Roten just received at the hands of Real Madrid, I feel that I have the duty to highlight what a lot of the fans knew quite early in the season: The results were going the right way but the performances weren’t. So what really went wrong for Pep Guardiola’s Bayern? Was his tenure overhyped or was it a case of unwanted arranged marriage?” Bundesliga Fanatic

The problem with the Copa America Centenario

soc_g_lionel-messi_mb_576x324
“The oldest continental competition in the world, the Copa America, was first played in 1916. Four countries participated — one of them was Chile, who have still never won it. The others were Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, who between them have gone on to accumulate nine World Cup wins. The seeds for such triumphs were planted in the early years of the Copa America — played almost annually until the Great Depression.” ESPN – Tim Vickery

Rodgers: Sturridge could start at Palace

“Brendan Rodgers says Daniel Sturridge is in with a chance of returning to Liverpool’s starting lineup at Crystal Palace on Monday night. The England international, 24, is recovering from a hamstring injury sustained during the 3-2 win over Manchester City on April 13. The striker missed the following Sunday’s 3-2 victory at Norwich, but returned to action as a substitute seven days after that off the bench as Chelsea won 2-0 at Anfield.” ESPN

FC Barcelona 2-2 Getafe CF: Match Review

“Playing first out of the three title contenders, Barcelona needed nothing less than a win to keep any title aspirations they have alive. After a moving tribute to Tito Vilanova, including a minutes silence, Barcelona started the game on the front foot.” Barca Blaugranes

The Question: is this the end for tiki-taka?

soc_g_pepts2_576x324
“People are unhappy. They’re unhappy at teams like Bayern Munich who keep the ball, preserving possession and looking to pass opponents into submission, and they’re unhappy at teams like Chelsea who defend deep, allow opponents to have the ball and try to pick them off on the break. People, over the past fortnight, have declared themselves bored by – and opposed to – both proactive and reactive football. That’s not actually as contradictory as it sounds. We live in an age of extremes. When Barcelona first started to play tiki-taka under Pep Guardiola, they began to achieve unprecedented levels of possession. For the first time probably since Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan almost two decades previously, there was a new philosophy about.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Why ‘tiki-taka’ was not to blame for Bayern’s loss
“For some reason, narratives need to be dumbed down and simplified, while judgments must be sweeping and absolute. Bayern are humiliated over two legs by Real Madrid and it becomes a case of the “end of tiki-taka”: evidence of the futility of wanting to keep possession at all costs. It’s the triumph of athleticism over skill, destruction over creation, pragmatism over idealism, simple over baroque, the rumpled suit, down-home country gentleman ways of Carlo Ancelotti versus the skinny-tie, urban metrosexual over-sophistication of Pep Guardiola.” ESPN (Video)

Verzweifelt und Verflixt
“On the way to work this morning I’d be stuck in traffic, and and after fiddling a bit with the car’s in-built MP3 player I’d randomly spin the control to a random track. It would land on the Tyrolean folk group Die Ursprung Buam – and a typically foot-tapping ditty called Verzweifelt und verflixt – crudely translated, ‘desperate and confounded’. These two words would sum up my mood completely having witnessed FC Bayern being torn apart by Real Madrid in what had been billed as another night of glory at the Allianz Arena, where my dreams of seeing Bayern in another Champions’ League final would turn into ninety minutes of sheer hell I would never be able to get back.” Bundesliga Fanatic

Bayern Munich 0-4 Real Madrid: Tactical Analysis | Set Pieces & lack of penetration
“This is the time of the year when the going gets tough, and the teams that eventually go on to claim the honours in May, really take their game to a different level. The Champions League semi final is a match that needs not only preparation and hard work in training, but also a bit of luck, and some performances that are at another level. Last season, Lewandowski stole the show against Real, and Bayern’s collective brilliance was too much for Barcelona. This season though, the tables have been turned on Bayern Munich, as Real Madrid, led by Carlo Ancelotti, executed a devastating counter attacking plan to leave Bayern on the wrong end of a 5-0 aggregate score line. Guardiola’s possession based approach, which has certainly had it’s day, now looks like a bit outmoded.” Outside of the Boot

Real Madrid Slam the Door on Bayern Munich
“The three, three chief weapons of the Spanish inquisition are speed, set piece headers, Cristiano free kicks, and … and I think it’s probably time to stop the extended Monty Python metaphor. But, rest assured, I could go on and include things like how Luka Modric is developing into the evolutionary Xavi right before our eyes, or how Angel di Maria has once again been asked to change positions and roles and managed it with total aplomb.” Grantland

Champions League: Atletico Madrid tops Chelsea, seals all-Madrid final

“ose Mourinho’s Champions League semifinal misfortune struck for a fourth consecutive year, as Atletico Madrid beat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge to earn a final place in Lisbon against neighbor Real Madrid. It will be the first time two teams from the same city have competed in a European cup final. Here is what caught our eye from Wednesday’s result in London’ There was not quite the fanfare surrounding the return of Tiago Mendes to Stamford Bridge that we saw in the round of 16 when Didier Drogba returned with Galatasaray, but the effect was altogether more decisive.” SI

Savio Nsereko: A Fallen Prodigy Seeking Redemption

“Throughout his tender, yet turbulent, career, the boy they simply call ‘Savio’ has veered off-the-grid towards the lonely space of forgotten capability. But if you squint, you’ll notice that the former West Ham United teenager is still there, still cutting in from the left, looking for space to shoot. Savio Nsereko was born in war-ridden Kampala, Uganda in 1989, before fleeing for Germany with his family when he was just a baby. His father died when he was only two years old, leaving his mother a single parent struggling to raise five kids. As with so many impoverished children throughout the world, Savio found relief on the football pitch. At 15 he entered 1860 Munich’s youth academy, from which he attracted the attention of Brescia’s sporting director, Gianluca Nani, who had famously been behind the developmental progress of Andrea Pirlo and Luca Toni. Savio signed with the Serie B club in 2005.” In Bed With Maradona

Edin Dzeko and 5 Bosnia-Herzegovina World Cup Players to Watch in Brazil

afc664a018283a0acad96addb058f_crop_north
“Safet Susic will face journalists next Monday and recite 23 names that will be on the passenger list on the flight to Rio. However, not many surprises are expected. On more than one occasion, the man himself admitted that his selection is very limited and that he has to rely on the team that he had in the qualifiers. The difference in quality between first-choice players and their alternatives is huge, so Susic has pinned his hopes to a nucleus that has been built in the previous three campaigns. This is the same generation that lost to Portugal in the play-offs twice, but also had France on the ropes in Paris in 2011 when a controversial Samir Nasri penalty denied them a place in Poland and Ukraine.” Bleacher Report

The Danger Of Predictions: Luis Suarez Edition

“Last summer, I said I thought Liverpool should sell Luis Suarez. There were a lot of reasons behind it, but most of it boiled down to the fact that Suarez was one of the worst high volume shooters in Europe when it came to converting shots into goals. A non-penalty conversion rate of 8.7% in his first season in the league, followed by another of 12.3% in his second season weren’t impressive enough for me to think his dribbling (also inefficient) and ability to create his own shot were enough. Liverpool were already near the limit in how often teams can generally shoot in a game (19.4 in 2012-13), and in my opinion, Suarez’ inefficiency was keeping Liverpool from taking the next step and competing for a Champions League place.” Stats Bomb

Scottish Premiership: Play-off contenders drawn into final battle

“Two points separate the five teams fighting to avoid finishing second bottom in the Scottish Premiership and the relegation play-off position. With three games remaining – and bottom-placed Hearts already relegated – time is running out for St Mirren, Hibernian, Ross County, Partick Thistle and Kilmarnock to win the points that will bring relief from the fear and anxiety of an end-of-season contest with a Championship side. BBC Scotland examines the strengths and weaknesses of each team, the joker in their squad that could prove pivotal, and their chances of avoiding the play-off position.” BBC