“Great play has been made of the French top flight’s competitiveness since Lyon’s dominance came to an end in 2008, but that competitiveness reached slightly preposterous proportions in Week 13, with just four points now separating the top 12 clubs.” (Football Further)
“On the 29th November it will be 5 years since FC Utrecht and Dutch football lost one of their most promising players. A central defender who could play in the midfield, Frenchman David Di Tommaso, or DiTo as he was affectionately known to team-mates and fans, won the ‘FC Utrecht Supporters Player of the Season Award’ for his performances in his first season at the club, and quickly became a firm fans’ favorite in the Domstad.” (In Bed With Maradona)
Cornelis Van Poelenburgh – View of the Campo Vaccino
“Portugal gained a measure of revenge for their World Cup exit at the hands of Spain by inflicting a heavy defeat on their Iberian neighbours in tonight’s friendly in Lisbon. Goals from Jorge Carlos Martins, visiting defender Sergio Ramos, who put into his own net, Helder Postiga and Hugo Almeida sealed a deserved win for the Portuguese, who were knocked out at the last-16 stage in South Africa as Spain went onto win their maiden World Cup crown.” (ESPN)
Portugal 4-0 Spain – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)
“Fabio Capello opened a door on the future for England – and the fans did not like what they saw as the Three Lions were jeered off after defeat to France at Wembley. Aside from Andy Carroll, who did as well as he could with such little service, and the ever-dependable Steven Gerrard, there were few straws for England to grasp until substitute Peter Crouch did what he does best within seconds of his arrival.” (ESPN)
France offer brighter future after Wembley win
“It is a curiosity of modern British football that the concept of a ‘friendly’ international inspires such apathy and resentment among players, coaches, fans and media alike. England versus France would seemingly possess the standing of a game between rivals with shared history between them but such traditions are not respected by the managers of England’s elite football clubs. Unlike in rugby, where the international match is king, and the club game subjugated, and games between countries are regarded as ‘tests’, a weekend of Premier League action will remain the focus. It barely helped that these two nations had revolted – in both senses of the word – during the summer’s World Cup.” (ESPN)
England 1-2 France – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)
“This game started well, faded in the second half, before being won with a brilliant Lionel Messi goal. International friendlies are, as much as anything, an opportunity to experiment – to try a new shape or new players in a pressure-free environment. That is the main concern for managers (rather than necessarily trying to win the game with a tactical shift to exploit the opposition’s weaknesses) so rather than the usual analysis of how the two sides faced each other, here we’ll take the sides individually.” (Zonal Marking)
Leo Messi scores like Leo Messi, beats Brazil
“Picking up where he left off with Barcelona against Villarreal over the weekend, Lionel Messi did what he didn’t do at the World Cup and scored a fabulous late winner for Argentina against Brazil on Wednesday. The unfriendly friendly in Qatar wasn’t exactly at a World Cup level, but Messi’s goal should at least temporarily shut up his critics who say he doesn’t score for Argentina the way he does for Barcelona. A one man show in injury time to beat Brazil, of all opponents, usually does that.” (Yahoo)
Argentina 1-0 Brazil – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)
“James Richardson has Kevin McCarra, Owen Gibson and Barry Glendenning on board for this edition of Football Weekly Extra to look back on England’s soufflé-like collapse against Laurent Blanc’s France. We wrap up the best (and worst) of the rest of the international friendlies – including Sid Lowe’s account of Spain’s 4-0 defeat to Portugal, Italy’s controversial draw with Romania, and Scotland’s demolition of, er, the Faroe Islands – and get up to speed with the latest shenanigans at Fifa.” (Guardian – James Richardson)
“In March 1947 in the small Kent village of Langton Green a game was invented that literally changed the past times of millions of children around the world. A chap there called Peter Adolph created a set of plastic footballers that he wanted to market in a game called ‘Hobby’. Unfortunately he could not get a trademark on such a generic name so he settled for the slightly similar Falco Subbuteo which was a bird of prey also known as the Eurasian Hobby (see what he did there…).” (The Ball Is Round)
“Just before kickoff Neil sent an email to the TYAC staff that said ‘BORNSTEIN is your captain gentlemen. Try not to kill yourselves.’ I wrote back ‘I hate to tell you I told you so…..’ because Neil and I had a talk about this last weekend and I was convinced that this was going to happen. Levy countered with a couple jokes about his tribe. I thought the TYAC e-mail string would end there, but it was not to be. Apparently, today was the day where collectively as a unit, all major players at TYAC decided, at least for a little while, that we were going to e-mail bomb one another for the day in celebration of the last USMNT game of the year.” (Yanks are coming)
South Africa 0-1 USA – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)
“I have a new piece in Slate on the MLS Cup and why the league doesn’t do more to connect fans with American soccer history. MLS has had a lot of success marketing stars, but for various reasons—largely because it’s been so keen to distance itself from the failure of the NASL—it’s done very little to foster the kinds of traditions that could give the American game an identity beyond the latest branding campaign. American soccer history is a lot deeper and more interesting than most people realize; it’s full of great stories that fans have never been told.” (Run of Play)
“The calls to sack Roy Hodgson are reaching fever pitch. While I won’t add to them in this particular piece (beyond pointing out what the complaints are), I will look at the options open to the new owners.” (Tomkins Times)
“It’s just over a year since Robert Enke, Hannover 96 and Germany goalkeeper, committed suicide at the age of 32. It emerged after his death that he had struggled with depression for years. To mark this bleak anniversary, BBC Radio 5live produced a half-hour special, featuring candid and illuminating interviews with, among others, Enke’s biographer, agent, and therapist.” (In Bed With Maradona)
5 live Sport
“Eleanor Olyroyd hosts a 5live Sport Special a year on from the tragic suicide of Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke. Eleanor visits Enke’s home town to speak to the people who knew him best and looks at a story that stunned Germany.” (BBC)
“River Plate have beaten Boca Juniors in a competitive match for the first time in over three years, with a 1-0 win in El Monumental on Tuesday. Former Boca defender Jonatan Maidana scored the only goal of a game River dominated, and in which Boca star Juan Román Riquelme was non-existent in the first half before being taken off at the break. Boca coach Claudio Borghi might well not be manager very much longer now. I’ll post all the round fourteen scores, and a longer highlights video, after having some food and a couple of drinks, but for now here’s the goal.” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)
Superclásico Apertura 2010: live updates
“My first superclásico in Argentina does not, sadly, mean I’ve got press accreditation for this one, but it does at least mean that I can watch the game on a proper telly and thus the updates here on HEGS will be closer to live than ever before.” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)
“The press pack accompanying the France squad to England may have been slightly miffed at the lack of attention given to Les Bleus in Fabio Capello’s pre-match press conference, but Laurent Blanc’s side will have plenty of opportunities to make themselves headline news when tonight’s match at Wembley kicks off.” (Football Further)
“Liverpool Football Club have new owners; they inherited a manager who has overseen an extremely poor start to the season. Many players are understood to be unhappy with Roy Hodgson or with his tactics and coaching methods.” Anfield Road
Dave van den Bergh
“Last Sunday night, with one final smolder for the cameras, David Beckham conveyed his hairstyle off the pitch and out of the MLS playoffs. The L.A. Galaxy’s 3-0 loss to F.C. Dallas—a game in which Beckham’s slow-wilting sprout of a ponytail was an accurate meter of his side’s fortunes—deprives the competition of its most telegenic team. It also sends unheralded Dallas on to face the Colorado Rapids on Sunday in the least obviously glamorous sports final since, oh, the 2010 World Series. Instead of mashing CTRL-V on Beckham and his teammate-turned-World-Cup-hero Landon Donovan, the marketing wing of MLS now faces the task of selling a championship game contested by two teams who don’t even fill their own stadiums.” (Slate)
“It might not be obvious every time we watch a game of soccer, but there’s a tacit contract between players and observers of the sport. In it, we the viewer expect nothing less than maximum effort, maximum fun, and we can never see that soccer is not the be-all and end-all for our heroes. Blood, sweat, tears, and none of the complaining that comes from living a more ordinary life. In exchange, our offering is simple. Love. Worship. Respect.” (Run of Play)
“Saturday’s match that sent West Bromwich Albion north to DW Stadium against Wigan Athletic provided an entertaining match of two clubs looking to assert themselves, albeit in different ways. Albion has been riding a strong first month, and wanted to continue to maintain real estate in the top half of the table, while the Latics have been clawing from the bottom ever since their Week One shock loss against visiting Blackpool. Wigan found success this day, thanks to a shrewd halftime replacement.” (EPL Talk)
“Some say Harry Redknapp’s tactics are simplistic. Others are like, ‘no they’re not.’ Still others are barely even paying attention. When your mere presence is food and light to the players who follow you, you don’t just blunder into a room and start garrumphing about wingers who cut inside in the 4-3-3.” (Run of Play)
“Trying to make sense of all these international friendlies going on during the heart of the club season? Here are five key questions that will help provide some context.” (ESPN)
“For football fans of a certain age, the name Ajax resonates with history, bringing back memories of the early 70s when the famous club from Amsterdam won the European Cup three years in a row, displaying a brand of ‘total football’ that also inspired the Dutch national team in its dazzling run to two World Cup finals.” (Swiss Ramble)
“A midweek clash between two mid-table teams that brings a country to a standstill? Sam Kelly builds up to Rive Plate v Boca Juniors, the biggest match in the Argentine calender.” (In Bed With Maradona)
River Plate vs Boca Juniors: starting lineups
“The superclásico will be upon us in around four and a bit hours, at 7pm local time (10pm Greenwich Mean Time) with Argentina’s two biggest clubs doing battle in what has become a mediocre middle-of-the-table clash, but which will grab all the attention of the country’s football-watching public anyway. The latest indications are that each team’s most important player will play, after a late injury scare for one of them during the week: Juan Román Riquelme has shaken off a knock in training to feature for Boca, and Matías Almeyda returns after a spell out injured for River. Former Boca defender Jonatan Maidana is also in the River lineup, whilst Jesús Méndez, the midfielder who started out at River, is playing for Boca. Both XIs are right here…” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)
Roman returns as the gladiators prepare to do battle
“After the will-he, won’t-he saga surrounding his contract negotiations, after the repeated demonstrations, in nearly every match, of how much his team are missing him, and after a long injury layoff, Juan Roman Riquelme returned for Boca Juniors on Saturday. Perhaps fittingly, he did so against his first club, Argentinos Juniors – who also happen to be the club that current Boca manager Claudio Borghi took to the title back in May.” (ESPN)
“It’s never a good time of year in England, is it? British Summer Time is at an end and with it goes daylight beyond 5pm at night. Seasonal Adjustment Disorder (SAD, aka Seasonal Affective Disorder) is very real: sunlight makes us feel more optimistic. Right now I – like a lot of others – am suffering with HAD: Hodgson Adjustment Disorder. We’re not adjusting at all well to him and his methods, and he’s not adjusting at all well to Liverpool and its demands and expectations.” (Tomkins Times)
Pietà – Domenico Zampieri
“Ask someone to name a Portuguese derby, and they’ll inevitably cite the age-old rivalry between Benfica and Sporting, which has divided the city of Lisbon since 1907. They might also reference O Clásscio, the meeting between Benfica and FC Porto which, as was discussed last week, has become the pre-eminent derby in Portuguese football. Yet despite the stranglehold that these two encounters hold on the footballing calendar, there are others. Plenty of them, in fact. Admittedly none are as well-attended and widely-covered in the media as those involving the três grandes, but for fans of those involved, they are as important an occasion as when the likes of Benfica come to town.” (In Bed With Maradona)
“For the second weekend in a row, a north-east side went to London and picked up a shock win. Like Newcastle in their 1-0 victory over Arsenal last weekend, Sunderland recorded a win over Chelsea by playing with two nominal strikers. Unlike Newcastle, they pressed high up the pitch, attacked in numbers in open play, and took the game to the opposition.” (Zonal Marking)
“For the past couple of years I have had the pleasure of working during the week in Scandinavia. Whilst this means spending a few nights away from my girls, it does mean I get to experience a different culture. I live in Copenhagen, consistently voted as one of the best cities in the world to live in. You can see why – lots of green space, a focus on the family and all those things that go with a socialist society. Virtually every Dane I have ever met shares the same three pleasures – beer, sausages and football.” (The Ball Is Round)
“Milan were fairly comfortable despite playing with ten men for the final half hour. Rafael Benitez chose a 4-3-1-2 formation to accommodate both Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito upfront. Maicon was out, so Ivan Cordoba played at right-back, with Marco Materazzi in the centre. Joel Obi started on the left side of the midfield three, with Esteban Cambiasso only fit enough for the bench.” (Zonal Marking)
Inter 0-1 Milan – Nerazzurri
“In a 4-3-1-2, Inter were attempting a new formation under Rafa Benitez, one borne from players available and a willingness to place Samuel Eto’o and Diego Milito in attack together. However, the team’s uncharacteristic high-line was stung by a simple lofted ball that saw Zlatan Ibrahimovic outmuscle, outpace and outsmart Marco Materazzi for the decisive penalty inside five minutes.” (Football Italia)
Inter Milan 0-1 AC Milan – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Serie A
(The 90th Minute)
“Yesterday on the American Soccer Show, Ted Westervelt, founder of Soccerreform.us, shared his views on why he finds the current MLS structure to be an impediment to the soccer’s growth in the United States. He then attempted to lay out his alternative vision for the professional U.S. soccer system. After listening to Westervelt deliver his argument using a variety of metaphors and anecdotes (there’s talk of wolves and various canine experiments), I realized that several important details were missing from his vision (although a more robust argument can be found on his here on his website). As a public service, I want to help Westervelt out.” (Nutmeg Radio)
“A third of the Premier League season, and not even a third of games won. That’s how bad it’s been. As noted here, Liverpool won just three of the first 10 league matches, and in the next three, it’s been only one win. There’s a pattern present. Roy Hodgson sees the Stoke result as a ‘blip’, but when you’ve failed to win nine of 13 games, the blip appears to be the victories. Maybe he’s spent too long as a big fish in a small pond. His own words tend to prove the theory.” (Tomkins Times)
Godoy Cruz
“Buenos Aires is calling to the faraway towns this week. In Argentina and all over South America, plenty of attention will be given to the modestly entitled ‘superclassico’ – the Buenos Aires derby between River Plate and Boca Juniors. Both clubs grew up in the working class docklands area of the Argentine capital. River have long since fulfilled the immigrant dream and moved out to the leafy suburbs. Boca have defiantly stayed put. The strength of the rival identities helps give the game its flavour. Over the years, the game has acquired a weight of tradition that makes it important even when it isn’t – like this Tuesday.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
“It’s that time of the week again – Tim Stannard runs through the winners and losers of the weekend’s action in Spain…” (FourFourTwo)
`Low Life` Mourinho Causes Chaos…
“It should have been a weekend in la Liga dominated by the Super Sensational Sexy Saturday Showdown clash between Barcelona and Villarreal. It was a key, strategic encounter between second and third to see if the plucky, as glamorous as a gangrene-infested granny, east-coast club could prevent la Primera’s prime-movers from breaking away with less than a third of the season gone.” (Football 365)
“European Football Weekends is an absolute treasure trove of away days around Europe, from the San Siro to the Dripping Pan. The man behind it all, Danny Last, speaks to Dave Hartrick…” (In Bed With Maradona)
“At 1.30pm on Saturday afternoon I was handed my ‘Get out of jail free’ card. This was supposed to be a treat for Lolly, but my little battle hardened football daughter finally admitted defeat on her heavy cold and declared herself unfit to go to West Ham versus Blackpool. I had a five minute window to decide. Go to Upton Park and undoubtably come home as depressed as Avram Grant on a good day, head down the M23 to watch Lewes amongst the Lewes Lunatic Fringe as they played St Albans City or even pop down the road to Thamesmead Town for a new adventure.” (The Ball Is Round)
“Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson was disappointed to hear fans chanting for former boss Kenny Dalglish during Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Stoke and said such singing is unhelpful to the club.” (ESPN)
Hodgson: Putting the Gaffe in Gaffer.
“A few weeks back, someone emailed me a list of Roy Hodgson’s PR gaffes, to put onto this site. I decided against using them, thinking it might be seen as unfair, but they do paint the picture of a man who underestimated the pressure at Liverpool FC, and who has looked hopelessly out of his depth.” (Tomkins Times)
Stoke City 2-0 Liverpool – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)
“Below are MOTD highlights for all the Premier League matches on November 13, 2010. (The 90th Minute)
“Arsenal took the lead, then threatened to lose it late on. David Moyes picked a 4-4-1-1 side with few surprises. Marouane Fellaini was suspended so Johnny Heitinga played in the centre of midfield. Louis Saha was given the nod upfront ahead of Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu.” (Zonal Marking)
“Barcelona eventually passed their way past an excellent Villarreal side in a superb match at the Nou Camp. Barcelona played their usual 4-3-3 shape. The major absentee was Gerard Pique, with Eric Abidal coming into the side alongside Carles Puyol.” (Zonal Marking)
FC Barcelona 3-1 Villarreal – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – La Liga
(The 90th Minute)
“On 30 May 1993: Chile played Colombia in Santiago, the game was a friendly warm-up match for Copa América 1993. The result was 1-1 and the highlight was this scorpion kick style goal from 21 year old striker Víctor Aristizábal.” (Fútbol Fútbol Fútbol)
Partidazo: Argentina 0-5 Colombia, 5 September 1993 – Argentina’s shame
“On 5 September 1993 Colombia travelled to Argentina to play a World Cup qualifier at Estadio Monumental. What happened in the game sent shockwaves through the world of football.” (Fútbol Fútbol Fútbol)
“A cracker from Vincenzo Iaquinta and a Francesco Totti penalty meant it was a point apiece.
Juventus stuck with the 4-4-2 system they’ve used for most of the campaign. Frederik Sorensen was a starter at right-back, whilst on the other side Fabio Grosso continued. Alessandro Del Piero was omitted with Fabio Quagliarella and Iaquinta upfront.” (Zonal Marking)
“Good evening and welcome to the 2010 AFR Website Award ceremony. Granted, it’s not an actual ceremony – we don’t have the financial finesse of an injured striker picking up £150,000-a-week for holidaying in the United States, and so the idea of renting a hall, hiring a DJ, and providing drinks and food sends shivers through our pockets.” (A Football Report)
Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto – The Wedding at Cana
“So last month we covered some of the best places to go in Europe to watch football. Hamburg, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Cologne all scored very highly from our expert panel, but what about places to avoid? Well here we present our bottom 6 places to avoid in watching football in Europe…be prepared for a surprise or two… Now here is a shock…straight in at my number one is… (The Ball Is Round)
“For the first time in many years, Sunday night’s ‘clasico’ between Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille actually felt like an important game in its own right, as PSG’s 2-1 victory at the Parc des Princes took them above their hated rivals to third in the table. Delays meant the Marseille team coach did not arrive at the stadium until an hour before kick-off and it appeared to take their players around 20 minutes to realise the game had actually started, with Mevlüt Erding and Guillaume Hoarau putting the hosts two goals to the good before Marseille responded through Lucho González.” (Football Further)
“A poor first half followed by an entertaining second half, and a characteristically improbable comeback from United. Villa had an injury crisis in midfield, starting Barry Bannan and Jonathan Hogg in the centre. Gabriel Agbonlahor came in upfront, with Ashley Young just behind.” (Zonal Marking)
“Time for a few brief updates on stories that we’ve been covering recently. These are all ongoing stories but there have been developments of varying degrees of seriousness lately. Firstly, the Scottish refereeing debates, following the saga which I refuse to call Cravengate. Just over a week ago, Celtic called the dogs off, with a statement from John Reid welcoming and agreeing to wait for the review to be carried out by the SFA under their new Chief Executive Stewart Regan. What this will involve, and whether Celtic will be happy with it, we’ll just have to wait and see.” (twohundredpercent)
“The broadcaster Mark Chapman once said that homophobia is football’s last taboo. The truth in his words has been evidenced by two recent controversial incidents in the European game. The president of the Croatian Football Federation, Vlatko Markovi, said that homosexuals are not permitted to play for the national side, mirroring comments made by former Croatia manager Otto Baric in 2004. Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi was also criticised for using the word ‘homo’ on Twitter and, like Markovi, he apologised for his comments. The biggest concern, though, is that such an apology in other European countries would be seen as a major breakthrough in tackling homophobia.” (In Bed With Maradona)
“When I was a precocious thirteen year-old, my favourite part of the morning was grabbing my dad’s Toronto Star on the front stoop, taking it inside and laying it flat out on my kitchen table, and opening it up on the editorial page. There, I would find the Letters to the Editor, featuring rebuttals, corrections, and general complaints about recent articles posted by staff journalists and columnists. I always found the letters more interesting than the carefully prepared screeds they were attacking, and was fascinated that the newspaper would devote an entire page to reader dissent. I even sent a few letters in myself, and some were printed, much to my astonishment.” (Pitch Invasion – Part 1), (Part 2), (Part 3), (Part 4), (Part 5), (Part 6)
“Below are video highlights for the Premier League matches on Wednesday, November 10, 2010. If a match doesn’t have a link, it’s not yet available but should be added soon.” (The 90th Minute)
“Had Steven Gerrard‘s shot that hit the crossbar bounced down and in to give Liverpool the three points against Wigan, Roy Hodgson’s side would have moved up to fifth in the league – just three points behind Man City in fourth. However, had Liverpool won this game it would have been a huge case of papering over the, rather large, cracks in their performance and manager’s tactics. Not to mention a huge injustice for a Wigan side who outplayed their more illustrious opponents for 70 minutes.” (This is Anfield)
What the hell is Moneyball?
“I’ve seen many reference to ‘Moneyball’ since John W. Henry prised Liverpool F.C. from the cold, obnoxious palms of Tom Hicks and George Gillette last month, but what does it mean? And, given that it’s a baseball thing, can it be applied to football?” (The Long Ball Tactic)
Wigan Athletic 1-1 Liverpool – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)
“A disappointing match that produced very few goalscoring chances. Roberto Mancini went with his usual 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 system. Mario Balotelli was suspended so James Milner came in, with David Silva switching to the left. Sir Alex Ferguson went with his one-striker formation, seeking to match City in midfield by playing Darren Fletcher, Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick. Nani was on the right with Ji-Sung Park on the left. Rafael continued at right-back.” (Zonal Marking)
Match of the Midweek: Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United
“Perhaps it was ‘The Curse Of ITV’ returning to haunt us again. Last night, they showed a documentary about football in Manchester which examined, through the eyes of Eric Cantona, the current and historical state of the rivalry between Manchester City and Manchester United. The two clubs have had their fair share of drama from the matches between them in recent years, so perhaps it was understandable that ITV should choose to schedule this match at this time. Other corners of the press had, after all, also been been building the match up in a wearyingly predictable manner.” (twohundredpercent)
Highly-anticipated match offers little for most to cheer about
“Few Manchester derbies have ever been so hyped; few have ever been so disappointing. It was a game that yielded just one chance of note: the free-kick that Carlos Tevez curved toward the top corner after 35 minutes. The effort lacked pace, though, and Edwin van der Sar was able to make a simple enough diving save. And while most were probably bored rigid, Sir Alex Ferguson could congratulate himself on a job well done.” (SI)
“It’s too early to tell whether Jürgen Klopp can follow in the footsteps of Bayern manager Louis van Gaal and win the Bundesliga championship this season. But the 43-year-old Klopp is certainly on course to have a similarly positive impact as the Dutchman had on the German national team.” (SI)
“Wisla Cracow have forced their way to the top of the Polish game but are struggling to make it to the Champions League promised land. With a look at the reasons why, here’s Michal Zachodny.” (In Bed With Maradona)
“Some coaches get their shot with a major club at a relatively tender age (in coaching years, anyway). Barcelona’s Pep Guardiola was 37 when he got the gig. And there are those who get a crack at the big time without ever having played beyond amaetur level, like Aston Villa’s Gerard Houllier. There’s another, smaller subset which includes those who advanced to top jobs with little or no head-coaching experience, like Real Madrid’s Jose Mourinho when he took over at Benfica.” (WSJ)
“Diving. Or simulation to use its FIFA approved name. Ask any player, manager or fan in the country and no doubt they’d tell you that they hate it, that conning a referee is never acceptable and that they don’t want to see their club benefit from flagrant cheating. Yet watch any match, from grassroots pub football to the World Cup, Premier League, La Liga, and you will see players accuse each other of feigning contact, referees booking players who they feel have dived and supporters getting angry that the opposition are cheating scumbags who should be in a swimming pool rather than on a football pitch.”(mindgames)
“English football, for all its quirks and layers of social influence, is a relatively apolitical animal. In a direct comparison with the politically charged clubs of Italy and Spain, English teams are arguably far less representative of ideology and cause. With that in mind, the highly politicised regional struggle played out by Barcelona and Real Madrid can seem somewhat alien to the British football fan, the friction between centralism and the movement for Catalan independence a sketchy intellectual argument between two abstracted factions. That conception of the situation, as it happens, could hardly be further from the truth.” (Equaliser Football)
“In the third instalment of an intermittent series of interviews about coaching badges and the standard of coaching in the United Kingdom, Football Further spoke to Pavl Williams, a Level 2 coach working towards his UEFA ‘B’ licence. Pavl has been coaching youngsters of varying ages since 2004 and is (amongst other things) currently working with elite local players aged 6-16 at Manchester United’s Carrington training centre. He is also the editor of Better Football, a coaching website that offers advice and learning resources for developing better coaches.” (Football Further)
“June 10, 1990 — Control your emotions. I know national anthems can be moving, but there’s a game to be played. In fact, there are three games to play. If you can’t handle these early moments, maybe this isn’t for you. If you find this stressful, you should be concerned because it will take a herculean effort for you to make it through the Backstreet Boys, the internet and financial armageddon, three things that I’m just guessing are on the horizon. What’s the internet you ask? I’m not sure. It’s 1990.” (Nutmeg Radio)
“This week sees the long-anticpated (by at least three people) release of ‘Pay As You Play: The True Price of Success in the Premier League Era‘. The Transfer Price Index website is now fully live, and includes extracts and links to order the book. It will also feature new articles based on the TPI work used in Pay As You Play.” (Tomkins Times)
Ten out of 20 Ain’t Bad.
“Now that the Reds have got some kind of foothold under Roy Hodgson, unless results take a disastrous turn for the worst, the 20 game mark appears to be the fairest time to draw further conclusions. (And as such, I’m not going to say too much until then, for fear of repeating myself; I will of course continue to interact with subscribers of this website and write about Liverpool FC, but not analyse every last performance in a make-or-break fashion.)” (Tomkins Times)
Damien Comolli at Spurs: A TPI Case Study
“2nd November 2010. Tottenham beat the European champions Internazionale 3-1 at White Hart Lane with a scintillating display of attacking football. Exactly two years earlier they were rock bottom of the Premier League after 11 games (and 17 points behind Liverpool). Tottenham’s manager in that period has been Harry Redknapp and he has done a fine job, albeit with a lot of the components already in place.” (Pay As You Play)
“Loyal readers (if I’m priveleged enough to have any) will be aware that SKP occasionally drifts away from the cut and thrust of the Campeonato Brasileiro, and into more anecdotal territory. Previous examples have concerned my trips to see games to the Engenhão and the Morumbi; you can have a look at those articles here and here. On this rainy day, I’ve decided to delve a bit further back into the past; to 2009, when I visited the Pacaembu, home of the mighty Corinthians…” (Snap, Kaka, and Pop!)
“NEC Nijmegen might only be sitting in a mid table Eredivisie position right now, but their pin-up striker Björn Vleminckx is emerging as something of a cult hero. Ajax lost at home to ADO too. With a review of the latest games from Holland’s top flight, here’s John Dobson.” (In Bed With Maradona)
“Although Milan more than played their part in last week’s thrilling 2-2 draw at the San Siro against old rivals Real Madrid, especially the effervescent Pippo Inzaghi, it is fair to say that the rossoneri have started the season in somewhat inconsistent fashion, having already suffered painful defeats against Cesena and Juventus in Serie A and only winning one of their four Champions League games to date (at home against Auxerre). It remains to be seen whether Milan can mount a challenge for honours this season, but the early signs are not overly convincing.” (The Swiss Ramble)
“A growing and probably quite unhealthy obsession with the concept of Unai Emery caused La Liga Loca to spend Monday musing whether the Valencia manager actually enjoyed his job. It certainly didn’t look like it during the 2-0 loss to Sevilla, Emery watching Mehmet Topal’s rather harsh sending-off scupper any chance of success in the Sánchez Pizjuán.” (FourFourTwo)
Musings on Madrid
“Just in case you wanted to know, Atletico Madrid’s veterans stuffed Real Madrid’s 7-0 on Friday afternoon, and Ricky Carvalho beat Diego Forlan 1-0 in the FIFA 11 (virtual) game in a Madrid hotel the same day. The scorer was Ronaldo, of course. Interestingly, in the real thing on Sunday night, Carvalho opened the scoring and Forlan failed to find the net, but the Uruguayan was at least remaining faithful to tradition. Atletico have now failed to beat their neighbours in the Madrid ‘derbi’ since the 1999-00 season, and often stand accused of not really going for it, particularly in the Bernabeu.” (ESPN)
Accounting Battle Distracts From Barcelona’s Success
“Johan Cruyff, the Dutchman who both played for and coached F.C. Barcelona, once noted that, in soccer, ‘it doesn’t matter how many goals they score, as long as you score one more.’ Winning, however, has not been the only thing that has mattered recently at Cruyff’s former club. Instead, one of Barcelona’s most successful presidents, Joan Laporta, found himself last month on the receiving end of a lawsuit initiated by his successor, Sandro Rosell, alleging unlawful accounting.” (NYT)
Scissors Kick 