Champions and the Champions League

So we’ve reached the halfway point of this season’s Champions League group stage matches and what a dramatic week it was, there are a few questions I want to consider from this week that could well define the rest of the Champions League season.

Reigning European champions Chelsea, of England were humbled by Ukrainian outfit Shakhtar Donetsk

Are English teams no longer the dominant force in Europe?

This question keeps popping up. In both the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 Champions League tournaments 3 of the 4 semi-finalists were from England. However since then only 2 of the 12 semi finalists have been from England. This week Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City all suffered humiliating losses while dodgy old Manchester United typically came back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at home, this time against lowly Braga of Portugal. United managed to save face and yeah yeah yeah well done on coming back from 2-0 down, like that never happens…Nevertheless, no English side can come out of this week feeling great about themselves. This rings true particularly for Man City, who after spending a mind boggling sum of money on world class players, look set to crash out of the competition in the group stage for the second year in a row. Arsenal were outplayed at home by German side Schalke, losing 2-0 while Chelsea were disappointing to say the least losing 2-1 away in Ukraine against Shakhtar Donetsk. Similar questions were being asked last year after Manchester United and Manchester City failed to qualify from their groups, while Chelsea were the only English team to make it past the first knockout stage (going on to win the tournament). However it should be remembered that since 2005 only one Champions League final has been contested with no English teams (the 2010 final between Inter of Italy and Bayern Munich of Germany). City look dead and buried this year, but I still expect Arsenal, Chelsea and United to progress to the next stage. The aura of invincibility that English teams once held when playing at home in Europe is slowly but surely starting to wear off, but I wouldn’t say they’re a totally spent force yet.

Are Borussia Dortmund the next European powerhouse?

So is there a dominant force right now?

I don’t think so, but that’s what might just make this year’s competition a real thriller. As discussed above English teams are not as impervious as they once were, but I don’t agree with the argument that Spain is the new England because the only Spanish teams really capable of winning the competition are Barcelona and Real Madrid, indeed they are the only two Spanish teams since 2006 to reach the semi-final stage. It was a good week for German teams though, with Schalke beating Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund beating heavily fancied Real Madrid 2-1. Dortmund in particular have a magnificent young side and if they can keep the team together for a few years they’re going to be a real force. In financial terms, German football seems far more sustainable than in England or Spain, and with UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules set to come into force and stop mega rich clubs from spending without end, it may just be that the future is European football lies in Germany.

Plenty for Mancini and Man City to ponder after their latest European disappointment against Ajax

Will Manchester City sack Roberto Mancini?

With only one point, a draw and two losses from their opening three Champions League games, Man City manager Roberto Mancini has acknowledged City need a miracle to qualify for the next stage. Having won the English Premier League last season, City have been unable to transfer their domestic form onto the European stage. To be fair to them, they are in the toughest Champions League group, as they were last season when they failed to qualify. However it’s a fair assumption that City’s mega rich owners would expect a bit better from their team in Europe given the amount of money invested in their team. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich wielded the managerial axe on several occasions in the quest to find a manager who could win the Champions League before they did last year under Roberto Di Matteo, but I don’t think City’s owners are that ruthless. City do however need to turn around their form both in England and in Europe, because a poor defence of their Premier League title coupled with their likely early exit from the Champions League may just seal Mancini’s fate.

Can Barcelona win the competition this year?

There’s no doubt Barca have been Europe’s best team since 2009, but teams are starting to figure out how to counter their free flowing attacking style. Inter Milan in 2010 and Chelsea in 2012 knocked Barcelona out at the semi final stage playing a defensive, counter-attacking style. They put as many players as possible behind the ball, denying Barcelona they space and time they so desperately need for their brilliant passing play. Celtic played the same way against Barca this week and were denied a draw by a last minute winner for Barcelona from Jordi Alba. Going into the game Barca were expected to crush Celtic by as many as six goals, but the Hoops were only 30 seconds away from what would have been a magnificent result. We may well see more teams play ‘The Chelsea way’ against Barca, and that’s going to be very frustrating for Barca who are going to have to figure out how to overcome the stubborn defensive tactics of the opposition. Barca may not score as many goals in the Champions League this year as they have become accustomed to, but any side with the likes of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Villa in it definitely has enough quality to beat any opposition.

As for the best goal of the competition so far, I might be biased but for me it has to be Brazil’s young gun Oscar for Chelsea against Juventus.

A-League and Del Piero mania

“Everybody runs a lot and sometimes too much…the difference is to run in the right way, not just run.” – Alessandro Del Piero on the A-League

At the risk of sounding like an arrogant, European football purist, it’s an absolute joy to watch Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero showcase his quality on Australian shores. The difference between him and the rest of the league is glaringly obvious, not to say that there aren’t any good Australian players in the A-League, Jason Culina and Brett Emerton are just two of many, but Del Piero is simply on another planet. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, Del Piero developed his game in Italy, one of world football’s powerhouses. Australia on the other hand is a developing football nation, an up and comer, and this is what makes signings such as Del Piero such an exciting opportunity for not just the A-League, but Australian football as a whole. The players at Del Piero’s new club, Sydney FC, particularly the younger players have a chance to learn from Del Piero and improve their technique as a result of playing and training with him. German play-maker Thomas Broich arrived at Brisbane Roar FC in 2010 from German side FC Nuremberg and immediately became a catalyst for Brisbane Roar’s remarkable recent success and Brisbane’s  new fluid, passing, attacking football style. Not to say Broich did it all himself, the whole Brisbane team and coaching staff have been incredible, but Broich has undoubtedly helped his teammates improve. With Broich dictating things in midfield, Brisbane have arguably revolutionised the A-League, leaving records in their wake and winning back to back premierships. They are the benchmark for the rest of the competition, and now it falls to Del Piero and Sydney to raise the bar once again. Del Piero is keen enough, saying on his arrival that “I want to continue my career in a new part of the world where I can make a major contribution and help grow the game I love.”

Del Piero, here to “help grow the game I love”

Having watched Sydney FC’s opening two games of the new A-League season, a dismal 2-0 loss to Wellington Phoenix and an entertaining 3-2 loss to Newcastle Jets, Del Piero’s quality has already been evident. Everyone has been banging on about the free kick he scored against Newcastle, while it was a great goal it’s more the little things that he has done that have caught my eye. I’m talking about the composure he shows on the ball, he doesn’t panic or just kick it away in a rush like his teammates have been doing. He looks up, finds an option and goes there, if there’s no option he’ll use his body and ball control to shield the ball from his opponent until support arrives. It sounds terribly simple but in the first two weeks of the A-League, Brisbane Roar aside, it’s been a rarity. Having watched my team Melbourne Victory dither about with the ball in defense and struggle to string a purposeful series of passes together, seeing Del Piero’s ability to keep the ball under pressure, bellissimo. There’s nothing worse for the development of the A-League than panicky players giving life to that old AFL mentality of ‘just boot it!’, and Australian teams get found out when playing in the Asian Champions League by technically superior teams from other developing football nations such as Japan. There’s nothing wrong with passing the ball in the air or clearing it into the stands when necessary, but there is definitely something wrong with players needlessly booting the ball away aimlessly. As legendary manager Brian Clough once said on the importance of passing to your teammate’s feet, “If God had wanted us to play football in the clouds, he’d have put grass up there.”

‘Ol Big head’, Brian Clough understood the importance of passing to feet

As my coach from this season told the team, ‘you treat the ball like your girlfriend, you take care of it and you don’t let anyone else take it away from you’, the ball that is. If the better teams in modern football have one thing in common, it’s the ability to keep the ball for extended periods of time and dictate the pace of the game, and for Australian clubs to be a force in Asia, we need to start doing this. For that reason I sincerely hope Sydney FC’s players and all A-League players use Del Piero’s Australian adventure as a learning opportunity, we need more players with his football brain. Right now in the A-League there’s too much footy being played and not enough football.

P.S Check out Del Piero’s recent interview with SBS on his initial thoughts about the A-League

Sources:

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/video/2288671685/Alessandro-Del-Piero-part-1

http://www.brianclough.com/new_page_2.htm

http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/250078,buongiorno-oz-del-piero-signs—official.aspx

Tweets, twits and twats

“Everyone has a Twitter. It’s impossible to stop people talking. It’s not like in the past.” – Rafael Benitez

Footballers and twitter, they just can’t seem to help themselves, can they? ‘Professional footballer ‘X’ is likely to face disciplinary action after a controversial post on his twitter account’ has become something heard all too often in the media. The latest ‘Twit-storm’ was caused by England and Chelsea defender Ashley Cole, who last week criticised England’s Football Association, the FA. Cole labelled the FA a ‘bunch of twats’ on his account, and although he later deleted the post it had already been ‘re-tweeted’ thousands of times and been seen by just about everyone in English football, including the FA. Cole’s tweet was in response to the FA’s disciplinary proceedings against Chelsea and former England teammate John Terry, during which the FA revealed they had questioned the viability of the evidence given by Cole to a Magistrate’s Court in a separate proceeding against Terry.

The tweet that caused the storm

What Cole said is, at the moment very true, the FA is a real shambles with a disciplinary process as consistent as the Pakistani cricket team. John Terry was banned for four matches by the FA for racially abusing QPR player Anton Ferdinand, while a 14 year old boy received a ban of five matches for telling the referee his name was ‘Santa Claus’ after being sent off. It is, however unfortunate, not Cole’s place to point it out given he does represent the English team, which is governed by the FA. He at least could have omitted the ‘twats’ part, tame as it might be compared to what other people might say, he should have known that the ultra politically correct FA and English media would have made a mountain out of this molehill.

Cole is far from the first footballer whose Twitter account has landed him in hot water. Many have gotten themselves into trouble for criticising referees, football bodies or even inadvertently revealing private team information to the public. Promising English youngster Ravel Morison was even released from his former club Manchester United after a series of misdemeanors culminating in him posting a homophobic message on his Twitter account.

Ravel Morrison, no longer the next Man United star after his Twitter comment

But why is it that footballers are apparently unable to control themselves on Twitter? The intelligence of the average footballer is often lazily touted as an explanation when footballers get into off field trouble. People look at English footballers making obvious spelling mistakes on Twitter or struggling to string a few coherent sentences together in an interview and the old generalisation of ‘typical, dumb footballers’ is bought up again. What many people don’t often acknowledge is that to become a professional in any sport you have to sacrifice your education for your sport. My high school physics teacher told my class how Australian tennis legend Pat Rafter had failed physics at our school because he was training everyday instead of studying. It’s a rarity that you see a top professional footballer with a university degree, which is bad news for me and many others at uni. In this sense should we really expect footballers to ‘know better’?

“It’s impossible to stop people talking.”

Besides, footballers don’t necessarily say uneducated things on Twitter, often it’s more the case that they make errors in judgement as to when it’s appropriate to say something. This isn’t exclusive to footballer and celebrities. Higher education doesn’t prevent a person from saying the wrong thing. I know many university students who have made silly, ill-informed and on one or two occasions even inadvertently racially insensitive comments, one of those in a public setting back at high school. Had a professional footballer made the same comment as my friend, he would have been slaughtered in the media, which brings me to the point that footballers simply cannot say many of the things that a normal person can. I could swear on Twitter, I could write that a referee from my game was ‘a f***ing blind wanker’ if I wanted to. In comparison, over the weekend England and Chelsea player Ryan Bertrand swore in frustration on Twitter because of a sickness  that stopped him playing for the England team on Friday night. Many people speculated that Bertrand’s injury was too minor for him to pull out of the game and that he was being ‘soft’. Bertrand responded angrily to this idea, tweeting “Do you think a ‘sore throat’ could stop me being a part of a match for my club or country? #yourfuckingnuts this is what every boy dreams of.” After his tweet received worldwide attention and scrutiny he deleted the tweet and apologised on his Twitter account for causing offence. Keep in mind he wasn’t swearing at anyone in particular but out of frustration at an ill-informed public belief that he had shrugged off his chance to play for his country.

Unfortunately for professional footballers they are always in the public eye. Everything they say and do is scrutinised to the point of insanity, this is particularly true in England. Social media is a great way to connect with their fans, but it’s also very easy for anyone on Twitter to say things they should not without realising it, given there is no ‘editing’ process on social media sites. Private thoughts become real electronic words available to the public in mere seconds, and within minutes tens of thousands of people have seen what the footballer wrote, and have passed it on to others. As Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The moment it is divulged [an idea], it forces itself into the possession of everyone, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it.” It might be a bit of a tacky idea, but perhaps footballers should remember the classic rule about sending angry letters. Hang on to it, and if you still feel the same way the next morning, then go ahead and send it.

Sources:

http://soccerlens.com/intelligent-footballers-is-it-possible/8128/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/oct/11/ryan-bertrand-england-twitter

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/feb/17/ravel-morrison-homophobic-twitter

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/fa-disciplinary-process-is-a-joke-8200705.html

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/blogs/mirror-football-blog/Top-10-great-football-Twitter-controversies-starring-Liverpool-s-Ryan-Babel-and-Glen-Johnson-Cristiano-Ronaldo-Kaka-Robbie-Savage-and-more-Twitter-Ye-Not-article631777.html

The Writings of Thomas Jefferson (volume 6) published 1903

Awards night, roll out the red carpet.

I’m struggling with a very painful and persistent injury this week, an injury that happened while I was sleeping. I played some 26 highly competitive games from February to September this season and didn’t get injured once. A week after the season ends, and I get injured in my sleep.

So for a bit of light relief here are my Football Awards for season 2011/2012.

The Didier Drogba Award for Most Important Goal.

Winner – Sergio Aguero (Manchester City vs QPR)

‘Aguerooooooooooo!!!!!!!!’ Minutes left in the English Premier League season and Manchester City trail rivals Manchester United by three points in the league. City are losing 1-2 to struggling QPR, at home. But wait, Eden Dzeko scores a header and makes it 2-2. They need one more to win the league. Surely City couldn’t get another? Surely there’s not enough time? With 90 seconds to go, it happened. Simply amazing. The goal that won the Premier League for Manchester City. There are English versions of the video, but the commentary in this one is legendary. Coincidentally, this commentator also wins The Gary Neville Award for Outstanding Commentary. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJAUoSIODUw – ‘Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, Kun Aguero!’

The Ubelievable Tekkers Award for Most Ridiculous Goal.

Winner – Papiss Cisse’ (Chelsea vs Newcastle)

There’s only one winner here. This goal just defies the laws of physics. Un-be-lievable. Oh, and the reason why he decided to shoot? He ‘couldn’t be bothered hanging on to the ball’. Brilliant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU9bjNvPCVg

‘Screw physics’, says Papiss Cisse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The inaugural Sergio Ramos Award for Worst Penalty.

Winner – Jonathan Soriano (Red Bull Salzburg v Rapid Wien)

Sergio Ramos, eat your heart out. While Ramos’ dreadful penalty in the Champions League semi-final was one of the most costly misses of the season, Soriano’s penalty is twice as dreadful. Seriously, watch the two videos, Soriano’s went twice as high, I heard the ball he kicked was just spotted in orbit around Jupiter…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kMKz9YKItE – Soriano penalty miss

The Chris Sutton Award for Biggest Flop.

Winner – Stewart Downing (Liverpool)

I know what you’re thinking, but Fernando Torres is starting to turn it around at Chelsea, and Andy Carroll may well come good at West Ham. Liverpool forked out around 20 million pounds for the English winger Downing, it seemed a promising buy at the time, but at the moment good fortune at Liverpool is scarce. Downing’s first season at Anfield yielded no goals and no assists, while new Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has recently questioned Downing’s attitude and commitment to improving his game.

 

 

 

 

 

Worst Home Support.

Winner – Gold Coast United

‘They’re here, they’re there, they’re every f***ing where, empty seats, empty seats!’ If ever there was a team deserving of this chant, it’s the now defunct Gold Coast United. In their second A-League season their average attendance was slightly over 3,000. To be fair the club’s owner was nutty Clive Palmer who capped home crowds at 5,000 people, and it was a silly idea to put a team on the Gold Coast in the first place. Note to Football Federation Australia, you don’t have to copy everything the AFL does…I feel for the small band of hardcore Gold Coast fans who have now lost their team, but there were always simply far too few to form a sustainable club.

‘Err, where did everyone go?’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The David Beckham Award for Dodgiest Haircut.

Winner – Raul Meireles (Fenerbahce)

The former Chelsea midfielder had a fluctuating last season at Chelsea, if there was one constant it was his ‘unique’ hairstyle. The picture is self-explanatory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Handbags Award for Most Over-hyped ‘Fight’.

Winners – Sir Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) and Roberto Mancini (Manchester City)

Don’t you just love seeing managers show a bit of fire on the sideline? It’s the biggest game of the season between the only two teams in the race for the Premier League title, and to add real spice it’s between fierce city rivals Manchester United and Manchester City. Ferguson and Mancini accused each other of trying to influence the referees, funny Italian sign language ensued but unfortunately assistant managers and officials kept the two managers apart. If only they hadn’t…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMntfpSPBBw – ‘Blah blah blah’

The Rio Ferdinand Award for Silliest Celebration.

Don’t actually know what team this is, they’re local league, but the celebration is so awful it’s incredible. 9 of the team’s 11 players ran to the side of the pitch do the annoying ‘Rocking the Baby’ celebration in front of the fans. The funny thing though is that as they had all run back into their own half, the referee was allowed to restart the game. He did, and with the team still celebrating on the side of the pitch the other team ran down and scored. If you ask me anyone who does that celebration deserves to cop a goal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da0IHBMr_AY – This is why players celebrate by the corner flag…

‘Surrender or you’ll die!’

‘Hooligans’. It’s a word that sparks both fear and fascination in equal measure throughout the footballing world. A minority of football supporters so passionate about their team that everything else is secondary, including their own safety. As a t-shirt I once saw reads, ‘Football is life, il resto solo dettagli’ (the rest is only details). As a prominent Chelsea hooligan reflected, “To us it was a religion. And if anybody said anything against Chelsea, to us that was blasphemy and you died!”

Not unusual scenes at Chelsea

The ‘bad old days’ of English football describes the period between the late 1960s and late 80s when hooliganism was at its worst. The situation got so ugly that in May 1977 British Minister for Sport, Denis Howell banned supporters of Chelsea and Manchester United from travelling to away games. Three months earlier 48 people had been charged by police after incredibly violent scenes at the match between Chelsea and London rivals Millwall. European matches were also plagued by incidents of hooliganism, the worst being at the 1985 European Cup Final between Italian side Juventus and Liverpool of England. At the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, 39 people, Juventus supporters were killed when a wall inside the old stadium collapsed after some Liverpool fans charged at Juventus fans. Heysel was a typical terraced stadium, there were no seats for supporters, just standing room, so thousands upon thousands of people crammed into the stadium to watch the match. As Juventus fans retreated from the Liverpool fans, many poor souls were pushed back against the wall, which eventually collapsed and killed many people. As thousands fled the stadium in panic, more were trampled to death.

Following the disaster, English clubs were banned from competing in European continental competitions by both the English and European Football Associations and 14 Liverpool fans were charged with involuntary manslaughter. The ban was lifted in 1990, with Heysel a turning point for hooliganism. English fans have since improved gradually to a point today where incidences of hooliganism are very rare at best and are severely dealt with by the authorities. A former English Football Association Chief Executive even described how European fans had said ‘they missed the English fans’ at the 2008 European Championships, which England failed to qualify for. Us English supporters have come a long way. From unwanted pariahs spreading the ‘English disease’ to Europe, we’re now recognised for our sense of humour and fantastic support. Why any of us would want to return to our reputation as neanderthals is beyond me. Now we can travel across Europe and support our team in European competitions without being targeted by locals and left completely unprotected by local authorities wanting nothing to do with us.

Some people don’t like our new reputation

Despite the pain of Heysel and all the evidence that hooliganism caused so much suffering, there is some warped sense of nostalgia for the ‘bad old days’ among a minority of football supporters today, as if Heysel didn’t happen. Perhaps young people see only the ‘rush’ and camaraderie of fighting, maybe they weren’t alive to experience the horrors of the ‘bad old days’. Rather the ‘good old days’ of fighting and having a laugh with your mates at the football, a world for those who resent modern football and yearn for the past. I’ll admit I hate hearing pop music at half time in English Premier League stadiums, but for the most part the changes have been overwhelmingly positive. The stadiums are so much safer, and with more security in place football grounds now provide a welcoming environment for everyone, not just hostile young men.

The fascination with ‘hooligans’ has even extended into popular culture, with cult films such as Green Street Hooligans (2005) and Football Factory (2004) depicting the sense of brotherhood and loyalty shared in groups of ‘hooligans’ or ‘firms’. The tagline for Football Factory is ‘What else you gonna do on a Saturday?’. More realistic though is that ‘hooligans’ get the sh*te beaten out of them regularly, as these Russian hooligans did in the video below. Many of them could easily have been trampled to death.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UNj6fEgz8U – Russian hooligan fight

To anyone that thinks fondly of the old days and longs for a return to the days of terraces and fist fights at every game, I’d recommend watching the video below, ‘Heysel tragedy’. The wonder of YouTube is here to remind us of the horrific events of the past, per non dimenticare. I can only hope that us English fans don’t allow a minority of us to spoil our excellent progress and return us to the darkness of the ‘bad old days’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UNj6fEgz8U – Heysel tragedy *WARNING: VIDEO IS GRAPHIC

Sources:

‘Chelsea FC – The Official Biography’ by Rick Glanvill

‘FA Confidential’ by David Davies

http://www.liverpoolfc.com/history/heysel

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/english-football-clubs-banned-from-europe