“Den Haag is located in Zuid-Holland and is the third largest dutch city after Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Despite being the home of dutch government, Den Haag is not the Netherland’s capital. For any pub quiz regulars amongst you, that is Amsterdam. Den Haag is the capital of the province of Holland. Direct trains from Amsterdam Central Station take about 50 minutes and a day return will set you back about 20 euros.” Budget Airline Football
“Little Leo was insanely good in spells in Barcelona’s 2-1 win against Athletic Bilbao that should steady a few nerves in the Catalan capital without the need to resort to a swift drink or two. With the Sunday night score at 1-1 after an early David Villa goal and penalty converted by Iraola – and the headline writers in Madrid about to release ‘Hay Liga!’ onto the world for a second weekend running – Messi popped up with a winner in the second half and it was just reward for a spell of pressure on Athletic where Messi was truly sublime.” FourFourTwo
“Of the field of 32 teams in South America’s Copa Libertadores, only two have not yet been in action in the group phase – and the pair are among the most famous names in the competition’s history. Independiente of Argentina have a record seven titles to their name. Uruguay’s Penarol are five times champions and were winners of the first version back in 1960. Neither club have lifted the trophy since 1987 but they have won nearly a quarter of all the Libertadores titles between them. And they meet on Thursday.” BBC Tim Vickery
“Sometimes I find myself walking home from work around the time the local elementary school dismisses its charges for the day. When this happens my daily journey becomes a little more interesting and a little more complicated, because children don’t walk the way adults do. Children will run past you, then stop and squat to look at a slug on the sidewalk, then run past you. Even when no stimulus, sluggish or otherwise, presents itself, they’ll slow down and dawdle for a while before hoofing it again.” Run of Play
“You’ve probably heard of the Bermuda Triangle. It’s a patch of water in the North Atlantic Ocean where scores of ships and planes have mysteriously vanished. Some put it down to the area’s unpredictable weather. Others say that it’s magnetic variations meddling with navigation equipment. While some, the genuine believers, say that it’s a supernatural phenomenon. But what’s this got to do with football? Well, Scottish football has its own Bermuda Triangle, a sequence of mysterious events that are hard to explain.” In Bed With Maradona
Gary Hooper
“Celtic extended their advantage at the top of the SPL with a dominant performance. Neil Lennon left out Anthony Stokes, and brought in Georgios Samaras to play upfront. Walter Smith again used Kyle Bartley ahead of the back four, and played El-Hadji Diouf and Steven Naismith either side of the midfield (whereas in last weekend’s 6-0 over Motherwell, Diouf played just off the striker in a 4-2-3-1).” Zonal Marking
Celtic 3 – 0 Rangers
“Gary Hooper grabbed a double as Celtic strengthened their grasp on top spot in the SPL with a 3-0 win over Rangers. Kris Commons was also on target once again in the Old Firm derby as the Hoops moved eight points clear at the summit. The victory puts them beyond the reach of Rangers for now, regardless of the outcome of their rivals’ two games in hand.” ESPN
Celtic 3-0 Rangers (Old Firm derby) – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – SPL
The 90th Minute
“Bayer Leverkusen defeated relegation-haunted Stuttgart in a hugely entertaining game at the BayArena. Stuttgart will feel hard done by after giving a positive performance in and out of possession, but Leverkusen’s quality in front of goal helped seal all three points.” Defensive Midfielder
“Let me be frank. I loved Xavi’s interview in The Guardian earlier this month, in spite of the fact that I don’t remember a word of what he said except the following. Answering an early question of Sid Lowe’s—how do you respond when the opposition forces you to play on the back foot?—Xavi responded…” Run of Play
“Nicolas Anelka and Ashley Cole missed penalties as Chelsea crashed out of the FA Cup. Carlo Ancelotti left Nicolas Anelka and Michael Essien out. Paulo Ferreira started at right-back. David Moyes played his expected line-up. Tim Cahill played off Jermaine Beckford upfront. The game had two phases – first Everton shut Chelsea out and the game was neutral, before Chelsea dominated after half-time.” Zonal Marking
Chelsea 1 – 1 Everton (3 – 4 PKS) – FA Cup Replay Review
“The 4th Round replay of Chelsea and Everton at Stamford Bridge needed penalties to decide the outcome, with the Merseyside club pulling out the upset. I chose to cover this match because Chelsea had a dilemma; they have a midweek Champions League match at Copenhagen. How much would Chelsea play their first team? Everton has been abysmal for much of the season. Would David Moyes go all out to keep their hopes for a title alive?” EPL Talk
“Frank de Boer’s Ajax managed a second impressive European away win in a row. After defeating Milan at the San Siro 0-2 in De Boer’s first match in charge of Ajax, Ajax added a second consecutive away win by defeating Anderlecht in their Constant Vandenstock Stadium. Although the second half penalty miss by Anderlecht was an important determinant for the match result, and perhaps even for the outcome of this tie, Ajax deservedly won on the basis of a series of smart tactical moves that gave them the upper hand for most of the game.” 11 tegen 11
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa FINAL Game
“Television is not ruining the game of soccer. That said, it is important to understand the effect that watching a soccer match on a television has on a spectator’s cognition, as a match on a screen is fundamentally different from a match taking place in front of the spectator’s eyes. At worst, the effect can create an unbearable narrative that is pressed upon the viewers against their will (Favre, Beckham). At best, TV can allow the audience a much more nuanced look at the game, complete with close-ups of players that leave no emotion neglected.” Run of Play
“Twitter. All the kids were doing it. And then, all the adults were doing it. All the corporations decided they would do it. Then people decided to use it to overthrow dictators. And at some point during this process, all of our beloved sports teams caught Twitter fever. Today, if you’re a sports team without Twitter, you might as well be in black and white. That may explain why practically every professional team in a major sports league is ‘utilizing Twitter as an effective means of connecting with fans,’ or something like that. It’s probably not a stretch to think that in 2011, every team communications plan has a page dedicated to Twitter in the ‘Social Media’ section.” Nutmeg Radio
“One by one, the pack closed in and Lille could do nothing but watch. The fixture computer having scheduled their home game with Toulouse for Sunday night, the league leaders had no choice but to watch as first Marseille, then Lyon and then Rennes whittled away their lead. By the time Lille took to the field at Stadium Lille-Métropole, they were just two points clear.” Football Further
“Three thoughts on the week that was for your Friday morning, with a Puck’s Friday Happy Hour I think you’ll find excellent and a weekend preview piece coming on a big Friday here at The Yanks Are Coming. Let’s not delay—there’s plenty to get to, and there is no place to start than the Champions League, which has returned after the winter hiatus.” The Yanks Are Coming
“The story behind the FA Cup Final between Sunderland and Leeds United in 1973 is one of the most romantic the competition has witnessed. Lance Hardy’s book offers a wonderful insight into a year to remember. For IBWM, Mike Grady caught up with the author.” In Bed With Maradona
“An impressive display from Shakhtar gave them a clear advantage going into the second leg. Claudio Ranieri omitted Marco Borriello, with Rodrigo Taddei playing on the left. Philippe Mexes and Nicolas Burdisso started at centre-back, so Marco Cassetti moved out to the right-back spot. Mircea Lucescu played his usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with few surprises in personnel.” Zonal Marking
“Those of you who’ve been wise to this site since the early days, or who just really like reading mastheads, will be aware that for lo these many years I’ve been running RoP in conjunction with two colleagues, Dr. Chesapeake Marchpane and Vandal-prone. And sure, they may not have been around too consistently, or seemed to have anything to do with the daily operations of the enterprise, but one thing’s for sure: They definitely do exist.” Run of Play
“Below are video highlights for all the Europa League matches for February 17, 2011.” The 90th Minute
“Real Madrid 1960, Brazil 1970, Ajax 1972. Is it time to add another name to that list? Welcome to IBWM Paul Brown.” In Bed With Maradona
“Great goals from Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin gave Arsenal their first-ever victory over Barcelona.
Arsene Wenger was able to welcome back Samir Nasri from injury on the left. The rest of the side was as expected. Pep Guardiola also named the predicted side, with Eric Abidal in Carles Puyol’s place, and Maxwell at left-back. Crucially, Arsenal made a good start without the ball. Having been battered in the first ten minutes in this fixture last season, there was a much better attitude without the ball from the beginning this time around. The pressure on Barcelona’s midfield meant Arsenal forced Barcelona to give the ball away after 16 seconds, and though the away side had spells of clear dominance, they didn’t enjoy the ludicrous level of control they exerted a year ago.” Zonal Marking
Arsenal 2 – 1 Barcelona
“Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin struck as Arsenal staged a brilliant late comeback to claim a 2-1 win and give themselves a real chance of progressing in the Champions League. David Villa fired Barcelona, hailed by Arsene Wenger as the world’s best team, ahead in the first half after combining with Lionel Messi. But their superiority faded after the break when Arsenal took control, with Van Persie starting the comeback in the 79th minute before Andrey Arshavin smashed home a superb winner.” ESPN
Més Que un Hipster
“Of all the Guardian’s football writers, Barney Ronay is my favorite. His writing is raffish and superbly intimate. His is the voice of an older brother come home from college to tell you glib and exaggerated tales of the secret lives of girls, why Coldplay is insufferable, and why your parents are all too bourgeois. Like a protagonist in a Nick Hornby novel, Ronay chooses his words carefully even when he makes a mess of things. I feel the same way about reading Christopher Hitchens, whose endlessly quotable and cutting prose is substantiated by trenchant observations about the crassness of some seemingly unassailable public figure. For Hitchens even Mother Teresa is fair game.” Run of Play
Arsenal 2 Barcelona 1: match report
“Lightning rarely strikes once against Barcelona. Here it struck twice. One-nil down to the best team on the planet, struggling to see the ball, let alone the goal, Arsenal responded in sensational style, scoring twice in five minutes late on. This was a turnaround born of resilience, a victory rooted in character. Arsène Wenger made some tactical tweaks, setting Barcelona new tests with the introduction of Andrei Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner, but what happened between the 78th and 83rd minutes stemmed from a simple refusal to surrender.” Telegraph – Henry Winter
Arsène Wenger promises Arsenal will ‘go for it’ in Barcelona second leg
“Arsène Wenger believes a vital psychological barrier has been breached with the defeat of Barcelona. Wenger, who will take his Arsenal team to the Catalan capital next month with a 2-1 lead, said: “We are not favourites. We believe we have a chance. Barcelona are still favourites and we know tonight that we can beat them – which we did not know last year.” Guardian
Modern football reaches a pantheon as Arsenal prevails in attack vs attack
“This was a match where every detailed seemed to matter just that bit more. Every pass was stressed. Every shot was scrutinised. Every contested challenge, dribble and interception was crucial. Every bounce of Lionel Messi’s hair. The timing of Theo Walcott’s runs. Refereeing decisions. Pep Guardiola’s catwalk struts down the touchline. Every unscrewing of Arsene Wenger’s bottle cap. Every inch Victor Valdes left exposed at his near post. Every substitution. Each moment of ascendancy had to be taken. Those were the margins and fortunately enough, a huge dose of Lady Luck went Arsenal’s way also.” Arsenal Column
We did it to ourselves, we did. And that’s why this really hurts: Arsenal 2, FCB 1
“If Barça Nation was a nail-biting, hair-pulling, edge-of-its-seat sitting bunch before this match even kicked off, well, now we’re collectively curled up in a ball of self-loathing. And rightfully so. Because, for all Arsenal’s determination – and let’s take the hats off our rapidly balding heads and salute them for wanting the match more than us – this was a mostly self-inflicted wound.” The Offside
“FC Rubin Kazan 0-2 FC Twente. The Dutch champions prevailed in the early round of 32 first leg kick-off in Moscow thanks to late strikes from Luuk de Jong and Peter Wisgerhof.” UEFA
“For Paris Saint-Germain, it is a most unwelcome case of déjà-vu. Their star player, Nenê, appears to have run out of steam at the season’s half-way point. Just as he did last year. A €5.5 million (£4.6m) signing from Monaco last summer, Nenê took to life at the Parc des Princes as if his whole career had been building towards it. Having netted on his league debut against Saint-Etienne, he scored the only goal in the Europa League victory at Sevilla and claimed a magnificent late winner in the league game at Valenciennes. Nenê was then Marseille’s chief tormentor in November, teeing up the winning goal for Guillaume Hoarau with a sublime scooped pass over the champions’ defence that even the despondent OM fans would have admired.” WSC
“An open game and some wasteful finishing resulted in a stalemate at the Mestalla. Unai Emery made surprises in his team selection, deciding to leave out his true wide players in favour of a very fluid 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3 system. Aritz Aduriz and Roberto Soldado both started. Felix Magath’s selection was more predictable, it was the usual 4-4-2 / 4-2-2-2, with Raul dropping off Klaas-Jan Huntelaar upfront. Valencia started on top. They made use of having two strikers on the pitch (something they’re not always used to) by constantly sending longish, straight balls over the top of the defence – not necessarily for the two strikers to run onto and get through on goal, but to bring down and control after making diagonal runs. Zonal Marking
Philips Wouwerman, Check out the hunting unit
“Tottenham kept it solid at the back, and won the game with a lightning quick break in the closing stages.
Max Allegri chose to use Thiago Silva in midfield, which meant Mario Yepes came in at the back. Clarence Seedorf was the trequartista, and Pato was left out. Harry Redknapp couldn’t use Luka Modric from the start, so Sandro played in the centre of midfield. Niko Kranjcar was left out despite two goals in two games, with Steven Pienaar preferred. Slightly surprisingly, Spurs dominated the start of the game. They had more possession and played most of the opening period in Milan’s half.” Zonal Marking
Match of the Week: Milan 0-1 Tottenham
“Perhaps this what they mean when they speak of the importance of qualifying for the Champions League. Milan away, in the last sixteen of what is, for better or for worse, Europe’s premier club competition. The San Siro excels in evenings of high drama – it could even be argued that it is architecturally theatrical – and there are few clubs on the whole continent as experienced in this particularly rarefied air as Milan. Yet tonight, Tottenham Hotpur, for five full decades the bridesmaids of London football, never mind English or European football, gate-crashed the party and came away with a win that ranks alongside the cream of anything that they have managed during their years in the relative wilderness.” twohundredpercent
AC Milan 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Champions League
Zonal Marking
“Anyone who has watched Match of the Day over the past three weeks will know that Daniel Sturridge has enjoyed a fine start to his loan spell at Bolton. Having failed to score a single league goal for Chelsea in the first half of the season, he has now found the net three times in three games. He was on target in the 2-0 defeat of Everton on Sunday, but in the second half of the game he came close to pulling off something truly remarkable.” Football Further
“The previous tie between these two sides was a classic. One of the best games of last year, it was fascinating technically, aesthetically and tactically – this meeting offers Arsenal a chance to demonstrate that they’ve learned their lessons from the 6-3 aggregate defeat. There will be significant personnel changes from last year – injury and suspension meant that neither side played anything like their first-choice XI in the second leg, when Lionel Messi ran riot with one of his finest performances in a Barcelona shirt. Robin van Persie, Jack Wilshere, David Villa and Andres Iniesta didn’t play a part in last year’s tie but all will be key here, whilst four of Arsenal’s back five will be different from the game at the Emirates.” Zonal Marking
“As you have probably heard, unless you frequent one of the 40% of all newspaper websites that buried the story under an ongoing Gary Neville live blog, Ronaldo retired yesterday. I wrote a small tribute for Slate, which started as a Run of Play post and which I hope you’ll read. It’s about, I guess, how he fits in with the other great players of his generation (in terms of meaning, not in terms of top 10 lists) and how the accepted narrative of his career misses the point (because it’s told in terms of top 10 lists). But mainly it’s about this.” Run of Play
The Superstar at Play
“When you look back on it, 1994 was a transformative year for soccer, one of those moments when the game’s history briefly shows its seams. It was the year Maradona was sent home from the World Cup, fuming and wretched after a positive doping test, and began his long slide into freakish post-relevance. David Beckham played his first important match for Manchester United, giving the world a hint of the paparazzi hurricanes to come. Zinedine Zidane, in his first match for France, scored twice off the bench and glowered like something out of Michelangelo. And in the Netherlands, PSV welcomed a 17-year-old Brazilian striker named Ronaldo, who’d played all of 14 matches the previous year for Cruzeiro—he scored 12 goals—and who had spent the entirety of the just-completed World Cup sitting on the seleção bench.” Slate
Farewell to a Phenomenon
“‘The farewell of a great,’ the headline read. Above it, a photograph of Ronaldo – the original, Brazilian one – shedding a tear. It’s a reaction one would expect of the press in Brazil, given all that O Fenômeno has done for the country’s national team and the joy he’s given to fans there and across Europe. It’s a sign of the magnitude of greatness under consideration, though, that this headline isn’t taken from a Brazilian website. Nor from a site in one of the three European countries whose leagues he graced – the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. It was the main headline on the website of Argentina’s Olé on Monday morning.” ESPN
“Football Italia may have long left our screens, but if you still have a craving for cappuccino then check out our weekly Serie A round-up. Caution: this post contains bad news for all West Ham fans about their new Olympic stadium.” Sabotage Times
“In theory, Tottenham have the perfect footballing style to cause Milan problems. Max Allegri’s side have been vulnerable to the same two things this season. First, pace on the counter-attack. Milan are an old side, and often can’t compete with raw speed from younger legs. Second, width. Whether playing a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-1-2, Milan’s front three leave the defending to the seven players behind them. The full-backs often become exposed to tricky wingers, and allow too many crosses into the box. Cesena showed the way to beat Milan earlier this season – sit back, and break down the flanks.” Zonal Marking
“Same as it ever was, same as it ever was – Talking Heads. Financial analysts could be forgiven for thinking that it was the same old story at Chelsea, as the club once again reported a thumping great annual loss of £71 million, but attempted to put the usual positive spin on the results. In an attempt to prove that he was the right man to replace former chief executive Peter Kenyon, who frequently spoke of the club’s determination to break-even, the new man at the top, Ron Gourlay, claimed, ‘The reduction in operating losses and increased sales in 2009/10 shows that we are moving in the right direction.'” The Swiss Ramble
“Even the most extensive database on earth can find no solution. Try typing into Google, “How to stop Messi” and while it produces 2,660,000 search results, none come anywhere close to answering the million pound question. When Arsenal faced Barcelona in the Champions League last season, they resisted the calls to treat Lionel Messi with special dispensation but instead, they considered him the same as everyone else and the results were disastrous. Messi was instrumental in the first leg as Arsène Wenger’s side survived an onslaught in the first twenty minutes but in the second leg at Camp Nou, delivered what he so promised at the Emirates as he ran amok to complete a devastating twenty-one minute hat-trick.” Arsenal Column
“Below are the power rankings for the UEFA Champions League heading into the knockout stage (round of 16). We will release a new rankings list after each round of the competition (until it reaches the semifinals).” The 90th Minute
“The late 1930s and early 1940s had seen the political landscape of Europe dramatically altered. Having swept to power in Germany, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party had undertaken an aggressive military campaign which had precipitated the invasion and annexation of Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Norway, Belgium, Holland, France, Romania, Denmark and the Baltic States by the summer of 1940.” The Equaliser
“Giggs – Man Utd vs Arsenal – 1999. ‘Instinct is action taken in pursuance of a purpose, but without conscious perception of what the purpose is’. Instinct can sometimes be a wonderful thing. In the professional era, sportsmen and women spend years finely tuning their skills and meticulously practicing for different scenarios. But sport, like life itself, never quite goes by the script.” Ghost Goal
“Air accidents have claimed a disproportionate amount of talented football teams and players over the last sixty years. Peru suffered a heartbreaking loss in 1987 as Adam Brandon explains.” In Bed With Maradona
“We’ll hear what impact the political upheaval in Egypt is having on Football. Khaled Mortagey from Al Alhy explains that the teams are in limbo and the players haven’t trained in over 2 weeks after the domestic leagues suspension. Journalist Mohamed Sabe feels there is no real appetite for football during the current climate in Egypt.” BBC
Pallas Expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue, Andrea Mantegna
“Alessandro Matri scored the biggest goal of his career to guide Juventus to victory in the Derby d’Italia. Gigi Delneri reverted to 4-4-2 after last week’s experiment with 4-1-4-1. Luca Toni was recalled upfront, with Jorge Martinez dropping out. Leonardo named an unchanged 4-3-1-2 side from the XI that demolished Roma the previous weekend.” Zonal Marking
Roma 0-2 Napoli: two more for Cavani
“Napoli recorded an important win to maintain their challenge for Lo Scudetto. Claudio Ranieri had a shortage of centre-backs, so Marco Cassetti moved across into the middle, with Aleandro Rosi coming in at right-back. Francesco Totti and Jeremy Menez were both left out. Walter Mazzarri used his expected starting XI. The first half of the game was dominated by the referee – both sides were committing too many fouls, and the match quickly became stop-start and lacked rhythm or outright goalscoring chances.” Zonal Marking
Juventus 1-0 Inter Milan (Internazionale) – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Serie A
The 90th Minute
“Last July, in his first press conference as Brazil coach, Mano Menezes said that he was aiming to include a sports psychologist in his back-up staff. In South Africa, of course, Brazil had just lost their heads as they lost to Holland in the quarter-finals. And Menezes was aware that in 2014, on home soil, the pressure would be much greater. The events of the last few days have shown just how important the mental aspect is likely to be for the next World Cup hosts.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“I have always been an early riser, but for a long time that meant only, or mostly, work: wake up, shower and dress, ingest the life-giving caffeinated fluids, and get some writing done before the rest of the world can start plucking at my sleeve. It’s an M.O. that has served me well. The more I get done in the rising day, the earlier I can ease off the gas pedal, and the more completely I can relax in the evenings: sit back with a drink and watch some basketball or baseball—whatever sport happens to be on—with a wholly vacuous, nearly flatlining brain.” Run of Play
“Below are EPL MOTD video highlights for February 12, 2011” The 90th Minute
Clint Dempsey
“Alexi had the hair. Claudio brought the technique. And Brian McBride displayed such a wholesome, hardworking, can-do aesthetic they named a pub after him. Of all the American soccer players who have toiled in Europe, however, is there anybody better — or more revered — than Fulham’s Clint Dempsey?” NYT
“After the venerable Sid Lowe’s interview with Barcelona and Spain maestro Xavi, Robbie Savage decided to sit down with our Clive Longbottom-Fellow, Esq. to give another view about how football should be played. All this took place in a parallel universe. Robbie shared his thoughts on Blackburn’s dominance under Sam Allardyce, his footballing philosophy, Blackburn’s Champions League loss to Barcelona, and Lee Bowyer’s stunning move to the Catalan giants.” Nutmeg Radio
“How can I persuade you that Franz Beckenbauer is the greatest player of all time? I could begin with his defensive abilities. As Rob Smyth has written, “when his side were 1-0 down in the World Cup final of 1974 and he was the only man defending against Johan Cruyff and Johnny Rep, he ran gently along in front of them like a man leading a morning jog.” Few would argue that he is anything less than one of the great defenders of all time, though. Dwelling on it is unlikely to convert anyone.” Run of Play
“They say there are things in life money can’t buy. Love, happiness, health and it now seems we can add the La Liga title to this list. Real Madrid now sit 7 points behind fierce rivals Barcelona in the league. A points tally which is increased to 8 when you take into account the head to head with the 5-0 dubbing they encountered at the Camp Nou. But perhaps because of that game and Barcelona’s current unstoppable form, psychologically it may feel like 18 points.” The Oval Log
El Tel, Archigol and Los Ingleses
“So strong has Barcelona’s production and promotion of young talent been over the last few years, it is easy to forget that the club has traditionally had a more multinational feel to it. Of the team that started the 5-0 demolition of Real Madrid in November, eight were Spaniards and the same number graduates of the famous La Masia academy.” The Equaliser
“Liverpool’s ambitions of staging a late charge for Champions League qualification suffered an untimely blow as bogey side Wigan ended their four-match winning run in a draw at Anfield. A fifth successive victory would have put the Reds within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea but despite dominating two-thirds of the game they failed to press home their advantage.” ESPN
Liverpool 1-1 Wigan Athletic – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute
“Blackpool’s first season has been characterised by attacking football as the Tangerines have found goals relatively easy to come by. However, it is their defence that regularly comes under scrutiny and more so since their run of five defeats after the Liverpool victory. This post will look at the Blackpool defence and explore as many facets of it as possible in order to establish what is behind Blackpool’s defence and where have things been going wrong?” Tangerine Dreaming
“Last Friday, Marcelo Bielsa put an end to three months of speculation by announcing his resignation as manager of the Chilean National Team. It was three and a half years of his work that not only repositioned Chile amongst the world’s best but which also returned faith and hope to a country with a loser complex. Why did he leave? Santiago Irribarra reports from Chile…” Just Football
“It’s become fashionable to see friendly internationals as pointless. In a literal sense, they are, of course: neither money nor trophies are at stake, and the very idea of professional players risking their health for no tangible benefits (apart from the profits made by the federations and TV stations) is anathema to club supporters and managers.” SI
Luis Suarez
“Before Diego Forlan, Luis Suarez and company fired Uruguay into the semifinals of last year’s World Cup, many people had forgotten (or never knew) that this little South American country with a population of under 3.5 million has an extraordinary soccer tradition.” SI
“City started well but United grew into the contest, and Wayne Rooney’s astonishing overhead kick settled the game. Sir Alex Ferguson went with his 4-5-1 system, dropping Dimitar Berbatov to play Rooney upfront alone. Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans were out so Chris Smalling started. Michael Carrick was the central midfielder left out. Roberto Mancini left out Edin Dzeko to play Carlos Tevez alone upfront. James Milner played in Nigel de Jong’s position, and Aleksandar Kolarov started on the left. Joleon Lescott was chosen over Kolo Toure.” Zonal Marking
Manchester United 2-1 Manchester City – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute
“A few days ago, the leading European clubs made their case against national teams’ interrupting their seasons with what the clubs call meaningless friendly matches in February.” NYT
“Some clubs are more keenly aware of their history than others. Despite the unkind but largely accurate chants sometimes aimed at us by opposing fans, Millwall is one of them. Take the annual Dockers’ Day celebration. Each season, a match is dedicated to the memory of the flat-capped stevedores and warehousemen from among whom much of the club’s support was drawn in the middle 20th century. A number of ex-dock workers are given the VIP treatment for the day and a team from the distant past is invited to provide autographs for fans, before the whole motley crew is paraded on the pitch.” thetwounfortunates
“The seminal French philosopher and writer Jacques Derrida loved football. He played the game throughout his teenage years, after all. He admitted, during an interview in 1991, that his abiding dream was ‘becoming a professional footballer’ and, more crucially, that his philosophy and thought was inspired by football. The idea that Derrida’s philosophical theory of deconstruction was influenced by football has been supported and analysed by academics.” In Bed With Maradona
“The vast conceptual morass of modernism, modernity, and the modern subsumes many different strands. Christopher Mann, in an earlier piece for this site, articulates one such strand quite nicely, ultimately lamenting global soccer’s inexorable march toward “materialistic modernity.” For Mann, the modern robs soccer of its spontaneity, its naïveté, its inner Romanticism. For me, the modern strips soccer down to its most raw and most beautiful form.” Run of Play
“Today would have been a USMNT match day but as I noted yesterday, the Federation made the safe and correct call in cancelling the Yanks’ fixture against Egypt in Cairo. There were plenty of FIFA internationals on the menu however, and at least a few storylines worth visiting on this busy day on the pitch. Here are three thoughts and observations.” The Yanks Are Coming
“With friends like these … James Richardson is joined by Gregg Roughley, Paul MacInnes, Raphael Honigstein and Jacob Steinberg – plus, on the line we have Ewan Murray and Marcela Mora y Araujo. The pod exercises cautious optimism after England’s 2-1 victory over Denmark and tours the rest of the international friendlies, including Germany v Italy and the big Messi-Ronaldo tussle in Geneva. There’s the midweek action – featuring Scotland’s win over Northern Ireland, and we look forward to the weekend’s matches, especially the Manchester derby. And what about that stadium victory for West Ham? Will a running track be perfect for a team used to going round in circles?” Guardian
Giampaolo Pazzini
“Cesare Prandelli has brought in a style of play that is suited well to modern football – in South Africa last year Italy lacked any kind of cohesive gameplan. Despite the World Cup victory, you could say that was the situation throughout Marcello Lippi’s two tenures – Italy triumphed in 2006 because of a combination of (a) having a collection of superb footballers and (b) Lippi getting his tactical decisions correct every time. When the heroes of 2006 faded and Lippi got things wrong (most obviously against New Zealand), Italy were a very poor side – not creative, not threatening on the break, not good at keeping the ball.” Zonal Marking
Five conclusions about…Germany
“Many hoped that this game would see (yet another) new generation of German internationals – in particular, the group of youngsters that have taken Dortmund to the top of the table – Mario Götze, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer, Lars Bender and Kevin Grosskreutz. As it turned out, Jogi Löw chose pretty much last year’s World Cup side, with two changes in defence. The front six was very familiar.” Zonal Marking
“From a 19th century England v Scotland classic, to Charlton’s goal blitz at Huddersfield, here’s half-a-dozen turnarounds” Guardian
“Portsmouth Football Club may have recently slipped from the upper echelons of the English game, a victim of boardroom incompetency and relegated to The Championship saddled with serious financial difficulties, but it was not long ago that they were basking in the glory of an FA Cup triumph under the stewardship of Harry Redknapp.” The Equaliser
“Dariusz Dudka’s 86th-minute equaliser in Auxerre’s 1-1 draw at home to Lille last Sunday may ultimately prove to be nothing more than a footnote to the Ligue 1 season, but Lille will know that it could very well become one of the goals that defines the title race.” Football Further
