“Below are video highlights for all of the group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League on September 15.” (The 90th Minute)
UEFA Champions League Video Highlights For Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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Kicking out the wrong offender
“Is it racist to chant ‘His dad washes elephants’ at an African footballer? And if you were at a match and complained to the stewards and the police that it was racist, would you expect to get thrown out? The Crown Prosecution Service isn’t sure they’d get a conviction because ‘it doesn’t mention a particular race or culture’ – but then neither does making monkey noises. And a 60-year-old vicar got thrown out of Wigan’s DW Stadium last season, after he complained about the chants and that his complaint about the alleged criminal offence was not being taken seriously. When he refused to go back to his seat and asked to speak to a senior police officer, he was ejected from the ground. I know – I was that vicar.” (WSC)
Twente Enschede 2 – 2 Internazionale
“Rafael Benitez had an unconvincing beginning to his Inter Milan Champions league career as his side were held in Holland. Former Liverpool boss Benitez took over from Jose Mourinho, now with Real Madrid, but the Spaniard’s bid to retain the Champions League title won by his Portuguese predecessor did not get off to the best of starts even if there was a goal for Dutchman Wesley Sneijder in his home country.” (ESPN)
Barcelona 5 – 1 Panathinaikos
“A Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona recovered from the shock of going a goal down against Panathinaikos to get their Champions League campaign off to a convincing start at Camp Nou. Panathinaikos took the lead against the run of play through Sidney Govou in the 20th minute but Barca hit back in merciless fashion to take a 3-1 lead by half-time through two goals from the irrepressible Messi and another from David Villa.” (ESPN)
Fergie’s gamble backfires in stalemate
“It is becoming an unfortunate habit. For the second time in four days, Manchester United were held to a potentially costly draw. For the second time in four days, Sir Alex Ferguson’s selection was questionable. Whereas the 3-3 at Everton was an early candidate for game of the season, this was the antithesis. Utterly devoid of incident, it was nonetheless a non-event that had significance. A failure to win perhaps the most winnable game in the group stage can have repercussions; so, too, can an inability to top the pool.” (ESPN)
UEFA Champions League Video Highlights For Tuesday, September 14, 2010
“Below are video highlights for all of the eight group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League on September 14.” (The 90th Minute)
Tactics: Fluid Real dance to Mesut Özil’s rhythm
“As the latest batch of world-class international players joined the assembly line at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu over the summer, speculation quickly turned to how José Mourinho would attempt to shape his talent-packed Real Madrid squad into a cohesive team. Two games into the La Liga campaign, his strategy is gradually beginning to emerge.” (Football Further)
The Razor’s Edge
“Last week’s Match of the Day 2 closed with a montage of scenes of sickening violence involving Joey Barton during Newcastle’s draw at Molineux. The novelty is that Barton featured as the victim of assorted crunching, scything and slamming, as Wolves’ enforcers targeted him on seven separate occasions.” (Run of Play)
Staying put until the final whistle
“After 55 minutes of Scotland’s Euro 2012 qualifying group game with Liechtenstein last Wednesday, I made a promise to myself. If the score remained Scotland 0 Liechtenstein 1, I would never watch another game of football as long as I lived. I wouldn’t look at scores, or tables, or anything. If people started talking about football, I’d stick my fingers in my ears and start singing ‘Giiiiiiirls just wanna have fun’ in a really loud and annoying way until they moved off. But of course the score changed, and Scotland gloriously won the game with a brilliantly contrived 97th-minute header. The most amazing thing about that goal, though, was the number of fans still in the stadium to witness it.” (WSC)
Werder Bremen 2-2 Tottenham: Schaaf’s early tactical shift rescues a point for Bremen
“A frantic game that Spurs looked set to win at a canter, only to be pegged back in the second half. Harry Redknapp went with a fairly basic 4-2-3-1 shape, with Rafael van der Vaart in behind Peter Crouch. Jermaine Jenas was a surprise starter in the centre of midfield alongside Tom Huddlestone, whilst the rest of the side was as expected.” (Zonal Marking)
Video Of The Week: Football & Fascism
“As some of you may have noticed, we’ve restarted the ‘Video Of The Week’ section on the site, and this week we have a particular treat for you in the form of the outstanding BBC documentary from 2003, ‘Football & Fascism’. This film traces the link between three fascist dictators of the twentieth century – Mussonlini, Hitler and Franco – and football, focussing on Mussolini’s, ahem, ‘hands on’ approach towards the 1934 World Cup finals, the importance placed upon Germany’s performances at the 1936 Olympic Games and the 1938 World Cup finals and General Franco’s use of Real Madrid to bolster his popularity in Spain.” (twohundredpercent)
The Forgotten Film of the 1938 World Cup in France
“Many of the official World Cup films are well-known and widely available, such as the classic 1966 movie Goal! and the Michael Caine narrated Hero from 1986. The official FIFA Films page lists 15 World Cup films from 1930 to 2006, all available on DVD. The first World Cup in 1930 has retroactively been given an official film recently made from archive footage, but there is nothing listed for 1934, 1938 or 1950, so we presume the first official World Cup film was commissioned in 1954.” (Pitch Invasion)
Tactical titbits, 11/12th September
“Another pulsating weekend of football action in EU member-states has been and gone; and all we can do is reflect and hope next Saturday and Sunday are just as marvellous! I began my weekend with two successive 2-0 triumphs – Hoffenheim’s conquest of Schalke on Friday evening, followed by Zenit’s cruise to victory over the downwardly-hurtling Tom Tomsk. Subsequent to that interjection of Russian action, I found myself back in the realms of the Bundesliga as Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund sought to inflict a third successive defeat on Wolfsburg.” (Tactics, analysis, opinion, & scouting)
Porto 3-2 Braga: Hulk dominates the game
“A great encounter with some terrific goals – Porto narrowly recorded an important victory. Porto lined up as expected, 4-3-3 with Fernando dropping deep ahead of his own defence, and Hulk and Silvestre Varela switching wings upfront. Braga used a counter-attacking 4-2-3-1 shape, with Domingos Pacienca leaving out Matheus, instead using Paulo Cesar on the left and Lima the the main striker, with close support from Luis Aguiar.” (Zonal Marking)
Barcelona 0-2 Hercules: Valdez beats Valdes twice to give Hercules shock victory
“Barcelona were defeated by a two-goal margin in La Liga for the first time under Pep Guardiola, at the hands of newly-promoted Hercules. Guardiola’s side were without Carles Puyol through injury, whilst Sergio Busquets, Daniel Alves and Xavi Hernandez all started on the bench. Bojan was the central striker, whilst Javier Mascherano made his debut in the deep-lying midfield position.” (Zonal Marking)
Twente’s dominant midfield triangle undone by cleverly organised Roda… Missing Kenneth Perez?
“Yesterday evening saw the much awaited kick-off of the Dutch Eredivisie. And it was the defending champion’s honour to feature in the first match, away against last year’s number nine, Roda JC. A potentially tough fixture as Roda performed particularly well in the second half of last year’s competition and, in contrast to Twente, succeeded in keeping much of their squad together during the summer transfer window. Of their regularly featured players, only midfielder Marcel de Jong and central defender Jean-Paul Saeijs departed. New signing Jimmy Hempte from Belgian outfit KV Kortrijk was attracted as the new central defense partner to the athletic and passionate part-Norwegian, part-Gambian Pah-Modou Kah.” (11 tegen 11)
FC Groningen – FC Utrecht 1-0… Patient Groningen overcomes a lacklustre Utrecht side
“In the Euroborg, a fine example of a modern stadium that offers an excellent footballing atmosphere, home side FC Groningen took on ‘Celtic-beaters’ FC Utrecht in a match that could be seen as an early six pointer in the battle for the European Football qualification spots. The home side saw their patient and controlled attacks rewarded with a late winner to defeat a rather tame and defensive-looking Utrecht team.” (11 tegen 11)
Match Of The Midweek: Stoke City 2-1 Aston
“With three losses from their opening three matches, Stoke City have a problem. Their third season back in the Premier League has begun with three losses and it is only the dismal form of West Ham United that is keeping them off the bottom of the Premier League table, although there is an element of falseness about their position, since two of their three defeats have come at the hands of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur – both matches that it might have been unreasonable to expect them to win. Still, however, there is cause for concern at The Britannia Stadium this evening that they may be set to hit the buffers. This is exactly the sort of match that they have excelled at grabbing by the scruff of the neck over the last couple of seasons, and they need to get back into that habit this evening.” (twohundredpercent)
Birmingham 0-0 Liverpool: Reina Earns Liverpool A Point But Hodgson Has Big Problems In Midfield
Roy Hodgson
“Liverpool secured a draw against a determined and robust Birmingham side, but were once again dominated in midfield. Although Konchesky and Merieles made their debuts, there weren’t many positives from this encounter for Liverpool. We review the game and look at where the Reds need to improve.” (Micro LFC)
Good Day, Bad Day – Round 2
“Well, LLL didn’t see that one coming and anyone else who predicted Barcelona being butt-rumbled at the Camp Nou is a liar, liar, pants of fire – apart from Hércules coach, Esteban Vigo, who seemed fairly confident of pulling something spectacular off before the game. Vigo apparently showed DVD’s of the Inter v Barça clashes from last season’s Champions League as inspiration ahead of the game and it seemed to do the trick with Hércules hustling away in midfield and counter-attacking with some panache.” (FourFourTwo)
West Brom’s anti-racism banner welcomed in Russia
“Next weekend West Brom fans will display a banner supporting new signing Peter Odemwingie, a reply to the racist one Lokomotiv fans hung following his transfer from Moscow. The messageboard reactions I read to it this week were perhaps typical of a lot of British fans: ‘Shame on Lokomotiv, respect to West Brom!’; ‘An intelligent answer’; ‘Brilliant, a worthy reply’. What is perhaps more surprising is that these were written by Russian fans on the championat.ru forum. However, with the 2018 World Cup hosts announced in December, and the English newspapers seemingly now all onside, this is not an element of Russian football culture that will see much daylight in the UK.” (WSC)
A rationally explainable, but emotionally dissatisfying 2-1 win of Holland over Finland
Hubert Robert, The Bridge
“Another slightly delayed post on our recent national team’s performance. And yet again, for future reference and for the message conveyed in this particular match, it still is important to review Holland’s performance against a stubborn and, apart from the first 20 minutes, well organized Finland side. Oranje, as always, lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with man-in-the-hole Sneijder given a high degree of positional freedom, looking to see a lot of the ball and being involved in a very high proportion of the attacking plays.” (11 tegen 11)
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson defends ‘diabolical’ Fernando Torres
“Roy Hodgson launched a robust defence of Fernando Torres last night after the Spanish striker’s ineffective display in Liverpool’s goalless draw at Birmingham City drew stinging criticism. Torres was once again a peripheral figure as Liverpool were fortunate to escape with a point – José Reina produced two outstanding first-half saves, to deny Cameron Jerome and Craig Gardner.” (Guardian)
José Reina asks Liverpool fans to be patient and realistic
“José Reina has given a brutally honest assessment of Liverpool’s prospects this season by admitting it could be “a while” before the club are capable of finishing in the top four, never mind challenging for the title. The Liverpool goalkeeper’s comments will do little to improve the mood at Anfield after an uninspiring start to the season but Reina has pleaded for patience and urged the club’s supporters to be ‘realistic’ about their expectations.” (Guardian)
Real Madrid 1-0 Osasuna: Özil stars in narrow victory on Mourinho’s home debut
“The Jose Mourinho effect: Real Madrid averaged exactly three goals per game at home last season – here, they began with just one, but it was enough to get the three points. Mourinho made four changes from the opening day draw at Mallorca, giving full debuts to Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira and a surprise start to Karim Benzema on the right. Sergio Ramos shifted across to right-back, so Pepe came in.” (Zonal Marking)
The boys from Brazil
“Symbol of exotic Brazil, Carmen Miranda was in fact born in Portugal. When she was young, her family decided to try their luck down South American way. These days, the flow is in the opposite direction. Bananas, said Carmen, were her business. The business of Braga, meanwhile, is importing Brazilians. The provincial club, who visit Arsenal on Wednesday, are attempting to disturb the peace of Portugal’s traditional big three – Benfica, Porto and Sporting – with a squad that includes 17 representatives of the country’s former colony.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
Borghi breathes again, River move on up and Argentinos still can’t win
“Champions Argentinos Juniors are still without a win this season after throwing away a lead at home for the second time in this Torneo Apertura. This time the beneficiaries were Newell’s Old Boys, the rosarinos scoring twice in quick succession in the second half to win 2-1.” (Hasta El Gol Siempre)
Vaselina Goals
“With that cheeky scamp Lio Messi adding another gorgeous vaselina goal to his growing collection against Spain on Tuesday night, we’ve decided to dedicate ‘A Handful Of…’ this month to some the best vaselinas that Argentinian football has to offer. ‘Vaselina’ is a word in Spanish which can be used to describe a few different things.” (Argentina Football World)
German fans fighting Bundesliga price rises
“The derby between FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund is probably the biggest in Germany. It is the German “Old Firm” and has had its fair share of highlights over the past decades. Jens Lehmann once scored in the dying seconds to equalise for Schalke, Borussia ruined Schalke’s title hopes in 2007 with a 2-0 win – one of only three wins for the Black and Yellows in the last 26 matches. On the terraces a banner reading Ein Leben Lang Keine Schale In Der Hand (A lifetime without a championship) greeted the 49th anniversary of Schalke’s last title.” (WSC)
Juventus 3-3 Sampdoria: All-out-attack from both sides produces a superb match
“A brilliant, open, end-to-end classic as Miloš Krasić and Antonio Cassano dominated the game. Sampdoria continued with the interesting Roma/Brazil-esque shape they used against Werder Bremen, with Franco Semioli wide on the right, Daniele Dessena tucked in on the other side, and Antonio Cassano drifting in from the left. They were without Giampaolo Pazzini, so Nicola Pozzi came in, whilst Vladimir Koman played an attacking midfield role.” (Zonal Marking)
Tactical Variety vs Wolves
“Something at the Fulham-Wolves game really sprang to my attention. In contrast to the disciplined 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 that the team played under Hodgson, there was a fair deal of variety in the way the team lined up on Saturday. Watching the team’s set up during goal-kicks is always a fairly good indicator (if not a perfect one) of the formation in which they are being set up by their manager.” (Hammy End)
Premier League chalkboards analysis
“This week we look at Nani’s preference to play on the right, Arsenal’s short passing, Andy Carroll’s physical dominance, and Milan Jovanovic’s poor crossing.” (Guardian)
Birmingham 0 – 0 Liverpool
“Liverpool were indebted to a superb display from goalkeeper Pepe Reina for earning a point against Birmingham in a goalless Premier League clash at St Andrew’s. Reina produced excellent reflex saves to keep out point-blank headers from Cameron Jerome and Craig Gardner in the first-half and the home side were also left to regret spurning a hat-trick of clear-cut chances.” (ESPN)
Pepe Reina denies Birmingham City victory over lacklustre Liverpool
“Goals were lacking, but there was much to consider. Birmingham City ought to have won this game and while that was no shock it pointed once more to the waning of Liverpool. Roy Hodgson’s side did raise their work-rate in the second half, but the quality of their display was still flat.” (Guardian)
Why Paul Konchesky Won’t Flop At Liverpool
“Liverpool’s pursuit for a new left-back is finally over. Ahead of Konchesky’s debut tomorrow, James Owens explains why Konchesky was the best option available and why he’ll be a success at Anfield.” (MicroLFC)
Match Of The Day (MOTD) Video Highlights For Saturday, September 11, 2010
“It was a busy day in the EPL with eight fixtures on Saturday, September 11, 2010. The most dramatic match of the day was Everton’s comeback to draw 3-3 with Man United while Blackpool surprised Newcastle 2-0 at St James Park. Below are links to MOTD (Match of the Day) video highlights.” (The 90th Minute)
Godoy Cruz thrash Lanús, and Estudiantes go top
“Saturday saw Godoy Cruz visit El Sur and smash Lanús 4-1 in their own stadium with no fewer than three golazos. El Granate will be happy that that particular bad news day came on the same day that Argentina’s female hockey team won the World Cup in Rosario, if nothing else. A little later, Estudiantes won 2-0 at home to Racing, and went top of the table. Earlier, there had been two draws: Huracán and Banfield drew 2-2, whilst San Lorenzo vs Vélez Sarsfield finished goalless. All the goals – plus highlights of the last mentioned match – are right here as ever.” (Hasta El Gol Siempre), (Hasta El Gol Siempre – Tigre beat Gimnasia, and Colón still can’t win at home…)
Cesena 2-0 Milan: familiar problems for Milan
“Newly-promoted Cesena have four points from two tough opening games against Roma and Milan after this deserved victory. The home side were unchanged from the opening, playing a disciplined 4-5-1 system that became 4-3-3 when they had the ball. Milan gave a debut to Zlatan Ibrahimovic upfront, in a 4-3-3 formation largely similar to the one Leonardo favoured last season. Andrea Pirlo played deep, with Massimo Ambrosini and Rino Gatusso either side.” (Zonal Marking)
Volleys, Volleys and More Volleys
Zinedine Zidane
“Hamit Altintop’s thunderously crisp volley against Kazakhstan earlier this week was one of the finest strikes seen for quite some time and, with a nod to The Guardian’s “Joy of Six“ feature, got me thinking about some of the game’s greatest volleys. So, without further ado, here is a selection of some of the cleanest strikes ever witnessed. If you’ve got any more suggestions then please add them in the comments at the bottom of the page.” (The Equaliser)
Hércules flex muscles to record a famous victory
“Outside of the Barcelona – Madrid axis it was a relatively quiet summer transfer window in Spain, many of the country’s clubs beset by crippling debts and unable to make significant additions to their squads. Newly-promoted Hércules, however, were one of the few La Liga clubs to truly catch the eye with the calibre of the players they brought in. The biggest name to arrive at the Estadio José Rico Pérez was undoubtedly former France international David Trezeguet, the striker signing on the back of a bounteous decade at Juventus having been released from his contract by the Turin giants.” (The Equaliser)
Barcelona 0 – 2 Hercules
“Barcelona were left stunned as Nelson Haedo Valdez struck twice to give promoted side Hercules a famous win at the Nou Camp this evening. Valdez gave the Alicante-based outfit the lead when he poked home from a free-kick against the run of play after 26 minutes. And the Paraguay forward, making his debut for the visitors, silenced the Nou Camp with a superb second on the hour to give Hercules a two-goal lead.” (ESPN)
Everton 3-3 Manchester United: Amazing stoppage time comeback
“Manchester United concede two goals in stoppage time for the first time in Premier League history and throw away what seemed a certain win. Everton were without any fully fit strikers, and so were forced to play Tim Cahill upfront with support from Marouane Fellaini. Leon Osman came in on the right, whilst Jonny Heitinga started just in front of the defence.” (Zonal Marking)
Everton 3-3 Manchester United – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
(The 90th Minute)
The Ten Greatest Goal(post)s Of All-Time
“One of the greatest blights of modern football is that it looks the same wherever in the world you go. Teams from Addis Ababa to Zurich play with equipment made by the same handful of manufacturers and, with this, we have lost something. The global game has become homogenised and stripped of a couple of the layers of its colour and panache, and perhaps the most visual aspect of this on the pitch are the goalposts and netting themselves. Almost all clubs and countries now avail themselves of the now ubiquitous free-standing box net style of goal, with two poles holding the nets up and out of harm’s way.” (twohundredpercent)
Ligue 1: Five young players to look out for
Valentin de Boulogne, A Musical Party
“There’s no La semaine en France this week due to the international break, but you can catch up on everything that happened in Week 4 (including all the fixtures for this weekend) here. Instead, here are five carefully chosen videos showcasing the best of some of Ligue 1′s most promising young players.” (Football Further)
I Will Not Let World Soccer Magazine Die
“Glossy, shiny wonderful thing, sat on the newsagents shelf, ready to be plucked and digested. More sales than ever you say? but are you ok? really? IBWM editor Jeff Livingstone worries for a favourite publication. I was a little concerned to read recently that publishers IPC are looking to offload/sell World Soccer magazine.” (In Bed with Maradona)
Turkey 3-2 Belgium
“A fiery, frenetic affair saw the Turkish national team prevail from yet another of the epic games they habitually partake in. With two wins from two games, Turkey will push Germany all the way. I was flabbergasted upon reading the Belgium line-up – Toby Alderweireld, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Daniel van Buyten, and Thomas Vermaelen – all of whom play centre-back at club-level – started.” (Tactics, analysis, opinion, & scouting)
Serie A 2010/11 – Title Contenders: Can Inter Milan’s domination be stopped?
“One of the world’s finest football leagues, the Italian Serie A is underway and this season all eyes will once again focus on whether reigning league champions Inter Milan can finally be dethroned. The Nerazurri have been collecting the Scudetto for five seasons in a row, albeit the first title from that five year run was pretty much a gift because of the Calciopoli scandal. Still, Inter’s domination has been so powerful that only last season were we finally witness to an interesting finish in the league.” (Just Football)
The Joy of Six: overhead and scissor kicks
“From Mr Fallrueckzieher to Roger Boli, via Mark Hughes, here are half a dozen of the best acrobatic belters ever” (Guardian)
Andrey Arshavin looks left-field in search of his old mojo
“To most people, Andrey Arshavin would have registered on their consciousness in the summer of 2008. He was boyish in his looks; his plum cheeks and fluffy hair were never going to hide his impish charm but it wasn’t before long he displayed all his cunning trickery. Suspended for the first two games of the European Championships with Russia – one of which included a 4-1 defeat to Spain – Arshavin made an instant impression. He was instrumental in seeing his side progress out of the group stages in the final game against Sweden before producing a performance which made everyone stand up and notice. Arshavin was devastating in a 3-1 win over Holland, scoring a fantastic counter-attacking goal to see off the Dutch and was so effective every time he got the ball that ITV pundit Andy Townsend claimed it would be the best £20million a club could spend in the transfer window.” (Arsenal Column)
The Zlatan Ibrahimovic Transfer Analysed
“Last week Barcelona sold their enigmatic Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Milan in a transfer that was astonishing not only because it came just 12 months after “Ibra” had moved to the Camp Nou, but also because the price was considerably lower than the amount the Catalans had paid to Inter for the mercurial forward. Although his performances in the blaugrana shirt had been a bit hit-and-miss, Ibrahimovic was by no means a complete failure, having scored 21 goals in all competitions, averaging a goal every other game in La Liga, where he helped Barcelona retain their title.” (The Swiss Ramble)
Norway 1-0 Portugal: A crazy Eduardo mistake and a resilient Norwegian defensive display
“Portugal continue their dreadful start to the qualification group – after two games they’re already five points behind table-toppers Norway. The home side made two changes from their win in Iceland – left-back John Arne Riise was injured, so was replaced by Espen Ruud, a player more comfortable on the right. John Carew was fit to start, so replaced Mohammed Abdellaoue – but only lasted 38 minutes before getting injured, and Abdellaoue was back in.” (Zonal Marking)
Hodgson Reflects On New Signings
“The transfer window is firmly shut and it’s time for Hodgson’s Liverpool to knuckle down and show us what they’re capable of. Ahead of Sunday’s clash with Birmingham Roy Hodgson sat down for a chat with Liverpoolfc.tv and reflected on the summer’s transfer activity.” (MicroLFC)
Holland in fine display against small San Marino
“This analysis of the Holland – San Marino game might come as a somewhat dated publication, which, in fact, it is… Although it’s been delayed due to busy times on several fronts, I’ve still decided to publish it, mainly for future reference. Last week saw the opening fixtures of the Euro 2012 qualification rounds with Holland kicking off against San Marino in the big-named, but small-sized Stadio Olimpico de Serravalle. The other teams in group E are Sweden, Finland, Moldova and Hungary and it looks like a two-horse race between Holland and Sweden for the qualification place with vice-World Champion Oranje being the big favorite of course.” (11 tegen 11)
Celtic – If You Know The History
“Another nail was hammered into the coffin of Scottish football last week when all three of their remaining entrants failed to qualify for the Europa League, leaving only Rangers to fly the flag. Nowhere was the disappointment more keenly felt than among Celtic supporters, who saw their beloved Hoops unceremoniously dumped out 4-0 by mid-ranking Dutch side Utrecht, after squandering a 2-0 lead from the home leg. This followed Celtic’s elimination from the qualifying stages of the Champions League by Portuguese side Braga, and meant that another European adventure was cut short almost before it had started. Manager Neil Lennon probably spoke for all fans when he complained, ‘I’m fed up with coming back from Europe with my backside being smacked’.” (The Swiss Ramble)
Scotland 2-1 Liechtenstein: An Inquest Into A Victory
“Scotland awoke from its hangovers yesterday morning a little unsure how to react to Tuesday’s 97th heroics (if that’s the right word). On the one hand there’s nothing like a last-kick-of-the-game winner to send you home happy, and every successful team can point to such bits of good fortune in games where it was barely warranted. On the other hand we know that we came within seconds of perhaps the most humiliating result in our history, and Stephen McManus’s late headed winner does not, in some eyes, mitigate such an awful display.” (twohundredpercent)
Football’s Greatest Managers…#9 Vittorio Pozzo
Pozzo is held aloft as Italy claim the 1934 World Cup
“A name that has unfortunately faded into obscurity in recent years, Vittorio Pozzo is undoubtedly one of the greatest managers of all time. One of the most relentlessly successful international coaches the game has ever seen, Pozzo led Italy to two World Cup triumphs and Olympic gold during his twenty years in charge of the Azzurri in three spells between 1912 and 1948.” (The Equaliser)
Batista gives Argentina cause to wonder
“What might have been? It’s not two months since Spain won their first world title to continue an utterly dominant spell which had begun with their Euro 2008 triumph. At the same World Cup, Argentina initially sparkled but were ultimately humiliated when the going got tough. Yet now, with a manager who’s swept through like a new broom, Argentina are able to not just beat, but demolish, the newly-crowned champions of the world. It makes one wonder.” (ESPN)
Brazilian football dabbles in politics
“Brazil’s celebrated 1994 World Cup double act of Bebeto and Romário are hoping to convert success on the pitch into political capital this October when the nation votes at federal, state and city level. Both players will stand for the same party – the Partido Socialista Brasileiro (PSB) – but they will be ploughing separate furrows. Indeed their last contact saw Romário fire Bebeto as coach of Rio side America earlier this year. Cynics suggest that Romário’s interest in politics suddenly surged in the wake of having to sell off his penthouse apartment in Rio’s nouveau riche Barra de Tijuca to pay off debts.” (WSC)
Argentina 4-1 Spain: good audition for Batista
“Argentina beat Spain at their own game – passing them off the pitch, and finishing chances ruthlessly. Sergio Batista has replaced Diego Maradona as manager, but is not yet certain of the position on a full-time basis. He chose a 4-3-3 system, bringing back Javier Zanetti and Esteban Cambiasso, who had both been omitted from the World Cup squad. Ever Banega played in a tight midfield three, whilst the Messi-Tevez-Higuain trio was retained, in a different format.” (Zonal Marking)
Spain put to the sword
“Argentina handed Spain only their third defeat since 2006 after putting the reigning world and European champions to the sword early on in their friendly at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, two players who ply their trade in Spain, put Argentina two up inside the opening 14 minutes and Carlos Tevez made it 3-0 in the 34th minute following a costly slip by Jose Reina.” (ESPN)
Spain lose ‘the final that never was’
“See. Even when La Liga Loca is completely wrong, it’s right. While the blog was suggesting that the Argentina v Spain friendly was the flounciest of flimflams, something to tune into if there was nothing better to do of a Tuesday night, a channel-filler during the normal 35 minute blocks of adverts on TV and a chance to swoon at Santi Cazorla’s little hamster face, the Spanish press was happily hyping the game into something that resembled a meaningful game of football.” (FourFourTwo)
Argentina 4-1 Spain – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – Friendly
(The 90th Minute)
Interview: Michael Cox, Zonal Marking
“The graphs, diagrams and match reports on Zonal Marking are pored over by thousands of football fans the world over and have helped push tactical analysis towards the centre of mainstream football debate in the United Kingdom. Set up in January this year, the phenomenally successful website received an average of 210,000 visitors per week during the World Cup and counts tactical mastermind Jonathan Wilson among its many admirers.” (Football Further)
Switzerland 1-3 England: more positives for Capello
“England dominated the majority of the game and fully deserved their victory. Switzerland were very underwhelming.
The hosts went for a 4-4-1-1 shape with (initially) inverted wingers – David Degen started on the left, Xavier Margairaz on the right. Alexander Frei played very deep off Eren Derdiyok, who was isolated upfront.” (Zonal Marking)
Switzerland 1 – 3 England
“Wayne Rooney put his personal problems to one side just as he promised and fired England on their way to a Euro 2012 qualifying win over 10-man Switzerland. Substitutes Adam Johnson and Darren Bent also found the net after Stephan Lichtsteiner had been sent off, to ensure Xherdan Shaqiri’s thunderbolt was of no real value.” (ESPN)
Match Of The Midweek: Switzerland 1-3 England
“Two games, six points and seven goals. On the pitch, at least, it is starting to feel worryingly as if this summer’s meltdown in South Africa never happened for England. Off it, meanwhile, it has been a busy week in very different ways for England’s players and their PR people, and the suspicion remains that the team are hanging on by their fingernails with their opening two results from the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012.” (twohundredpercent)
Switzerland 1-3 England – UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying – Tuesday, September 7, 2010
(The 90th Minute)
Scotland 2 – 1 Liechtenstein
“A dramatic injury-time winner from Stephen McManus saved boss Craig Levein from a disastrous competitive home debut and prevented Scotland’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign taking a severe blow against Liechtenstein at Hampden. Levein had warned not to expect a goal-fest against a team ranked 100 places below the Scots, but the home side only just managed to scrape the three points they desperately needed after claiming a point from their Group I opener in Lithuania on Friday.” (ESPN)
The Horror of Scotland 2 Liechtenstein 1
“I don’t know. I really don’t. It can’t go on. But it will. It bloody will. There are times when watching Scotland play international football produces the sensation that one’s actually trapped inside a Beckett play. It might seem a tragicomedy to you but it’s no fun in here. A game of two halves, as a friend puts it, in which bugger all that’s good happens. Twice.” <a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/alexmassie/6256845/scotland-2-liechtenstein-1.thtml”>(Spectator)
Scotland 2-1 Liechtenstein – UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
(The 90th Minute)
Gerrard’s best position for club and country remains open to debate
“Twenty years ago, it would have been obvious what Steven Gerrard was. He has boundless energy, a ferocious shot and an extraordinary capacity for bending games to his will. Think of his goals against Germany in the 2001 World Cup qualifier in Munich, against Olympiakos in the 2005 Champions league quarterfinal and against West Ham United in the 2006 FA Cup final. On each occasion, as the ball dropped to him, there was a magnificent inevitability about the ball flashing from his boot into the net. There was something of the comic book about him, a hero who always did what was needed just when it was needed.” (SI)
Slide Rule Passes And…Slide Rules
“Title challengers, and relegation battlers. Under normal circumstances, the two would be mutually exclusive terms in which to describe a football team. Under the unique way in which the Argentine system is run, though, they’re more than compatible. On Sunday, River Plate lost for the first time this season, putting them in the direct relegation positions for the first time this year in spite of the fact that they’re only two points off the lead in the title race. Only in Argentina.” (In Bed with Maradona)
Estonia 1-2 Italy: a decent start for Prandelli
“Italy fell behind and looked to be struggling for goals, but Estonia’s awful marking from set-pieces came to their aid. Tarmo Ruttli chose an experienced XI, in a broad 4-4-1-1 formation, with Konstantin Vassiljev playing just behind the pacey Sergei Zenjov. Cesare Prandelli set his side out in a 4-3-3, with Simone Pepe keeping wide on the right, and Antonio Cassano just off Giampaolo Pazzini to the left, a combination that works well at club level.” (Zonal Marking)
Pretend excitement over a pretend match
“La Liga Loca was going to waffle on about Spain’s clash with Argentina on Tuesday night. Then the blog suddenly remembered that it didn’t really give a hooping hoot about international football. And definitely not about international football friendlies. And definitely, definitely not about international football friendlies where Víctor Valdés is given minutes, something that Marca predict will happen in El Monumental, thus making the game as pointless as getting the Andalusian-accented José Antonio Reyes to record an audiobook.” (FourFourTwo)
Injury rules Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt out for four weeks
“Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt will be sidelined for four weeks after injuring his shoulder while on international duty with the Netherlands. The 30-year-old suffered the injury while training for Tuesday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Finland and returned to Liverpool for tests.” (BBC)
France 0-1 Belarus: A compact Belarus side with a classic smash and grab
Eustache Le Sueur, L’Amour ordonne à Mercure d’annoncer son pouvoir à l’Univers
“A disastrous start for Laurent Blanc, in his first competitive game as France manager. Blanc had severe selection problems before the match. He was without Nicolas Anelka, Patrice Evra, Jeremy Toulalan, Franck Ribery, Yoann Gourcuff, Samir Nasri, Hatem Ben Arfa, Karim Benzema and Lassana Diarra due to injury or suspension. His starting line-up was a system that was broadly 4-4-2, with Yann M’Vila very deep ahead of the back four, and Loic Reomy dropping off Guillaume Hoarau upfront.” (Zonal Marking)
France 0 – 1 Belarus
“Laurent Blanc’s first competitive match as France coach ended in a shock defeat which deals an early blow to their Euro 2012 qualifying bid. Sergey Kisliak scored the only goal four minutes from time to punish France, who failed to capitalise after dominating possession.” (ESPN)
French Soccer Still Can’t Shake the Blues
“Nearly two months have passed since Raymond Domenech left his post as manager of the French national team. Yet anyone watching Les Bleus in their European qualifier against Belarus Friday night would be forgiven for thinking he was still around.” (WSJ)
France 0-1 Belarus – UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying – Friday, September 3, 2010
(The 90th Minute)
