Diego Maradona stays - What does the future hold?

Diego has a new 4-year contract. He's going to be around. He's been called a cheerleader, a petulant child and whatnot but, really, is a good footballing brain. The Cups over, and this man will be picking the XI for a while now. So, one needs to cut the name-calling, let the cup go, and move on. At least no-one had to see him naked.

What lies in the future? Diego, having seen the failure of his his team's (4-1-3-3?) formation is not likely to repeat his tactical gaffe against Germany, for which he has been bludgeoned adequately, and now has a taste of how football has changed from the 80's, first hand.

The way Maradona was sending out his teams, Messi had Mascherano behind him, two wingers on his sides and Tevez and Higuain in front. Messi clearly should NOT have to drop that deep into midfield merely to distribute the ball. There needs to be at least one creative midfield player to perform this role and enable them to retain possession in the attacking half of the pitch, as well as have some defensive awareness. How much can Mascherano do? He was probably their best player in the Cup, but Germany and even to an extent Mexico showed he was'nt enough.

Argentinian talents abound in European Football. If a new side is to be built, which it will,there is no dearth of players who can step on board. Players like Fernando Gago and Javier Pastore are ready to step into the side and we could do much worse than have them at the core of our side.

Romero is a decent 'keeper, but no way experienced enough. Abbondanzieri should be recalled. So should Gabi Milito. Garay is another good defender. Out with Demichelis.

Heinze's not going to be around very long (perhaps no longer than the 2011 Copa America) and Clemente Rodriguez should be a decent option at left-back. I hope Maradona settles on a first-string defensive line so that they can play a few matches together before the next Cup.

Two flair players I would love to see being involved in the national set-up are Napoli's Lavezzi and River's little playmaker Diego Buonanotte, who is inconsistent but no doubt extremely talented, and Maradona's motivation might be able to make him take the step up.

How's this for a 23-man squad for the Copa America?

GK - Abbondanzieri, Romero, Andujar

DF - Zanetti, Zabaleta, Otamendi, Samuel, G. Milito, Garay, Heinze, C.Rodriguez

MF - Mascherano, Gago, Pastore, Banega, Bollatti, Messi, Buonanotte, Di Maria

FW - Higuain, Tevez, Kun Aguero, D. Milito, Lavezzi



A winning squad? What d'you think?

Mexico fall short against South Africa

Mexico made a good start and I was left wondering why South Africa looked so listless against the Mexican team in the first half. Mokoena was huffing and puffing.. buzzing around Galastargay's Gio dos Santos but to no avail. It only looked a matter of time before they scored but Khune kept South Africa in the game.

Dos Santos is a player i have admired for a while and maybe he shouldn't have come to England so early in his career. Yesterday he was at the centre of the action for El Tri, making some great dribbly runs and causing problems for the South Afrcan Defence. Floated a couple of lovely balls in from just outside the box. Olivier Perez was hardly tested in the 1st half but showed confidence, coming off his line well. Mexico had a goal disallowed after 37 minutes, and it WASN'T a goal. In charging for the cross, Khune — who failed to touch the ball — had played Vela offside.

Ten minutes into the second half South Africa produced their first real attacking play on the counter and Tsabalala scored with a lovely goal. After that the Bafana Bafana grew in Confidence and served up some delightful attacking plays. Everton's intelligent playmaker Steven Pienaar had been the heartbeat of all those attacks, with some good passes to play his strikers in. Why he was substituted beats me. And that too with Bernard Parker, who can never possess the same exuberance and eye for scoring oppurtunities.

Mexico scored their long overdue goal in the 79th, when Guardado found Rafa Marquez unmarked in the box, soft goal conceded. Mexico should have won this one, but they lacked the finish and the heart, corrupting their attacking potential by erupting into chaos after South Africa had scored their goal. Unless they put in an improved performance in their later matches, they don't deserve to make the second round.


All of South Africa is celebrating. Their side, once they overcame their nervousness, had showed they belong.

Sneijder! Sneijder Lines It Up For Goal.. SNEIJDER!!

Wesley Sneijder is amazing.

He's quick, strong on the ball and ambidextrous, which translates to an amazing ability to find players on either side with his wide range of passes. He is a trequartista of the first order, even if Real Madrid deemed him surplus to requirements.

He has just had an amazing season for Inter and should have a great world cup too, with the likes of Robben and Rafael Van der Vaart to link up with. And just like he had Milto at Inter, he has a prolific and technically accomplished striker in the form of Robin Van Persie to provide to. When the Oranje crashed out of the euros at the hands of the Russians in 2008, Sneijder was the lone ranger, trying to produce a goal out of nothing to take Oranje to the Semis. Remember that match? This time around, his fellow attackers are all in fine form and firing, and he should set many defences scurrying in South Africa.

He's just won the Champions league with Inter, has sliced open defences all over Italy and Europe and will have the gifted Van der Vaart supporting him in the centre. He's at the centre of a midfield throbbing with talent and creativity, and should help the dutch progress far into the competition.

What the Dutch lack this time around is a leftback with pace, as Van Bronkhorst is getting on in years. Any side with quick wingplay (remember Russia?) could be a threat and leave their defensive third horribly exposed. In such a scenario, Sneijder may do well to drop back more often on the left, which would also enable him to showcase his full range of long passes and ensure his team don't get caught on the counter.

Off the field he is known to be a bit of a prick sometimes, he once told a second-string Dutch goalkeeper, "I earn 80 times more than you"!! But all that really doesnt matter as long he can get them the Cup.

2 days for the tournament to start. I can't wait.

The Netherlands : World Cup chances

I have to confess, for me, watching orange shirts sprinting upfield in typical dutch attacking fashion is the one of the best sights I can see on a football pitch. The dutch play with a style, precision and flair going forward that cuts opposition defences to shreds, they are masters of the counterattack, and seem always to be blessed with a crop of gifted attackers.

They were easily the most exciting team in Europe in the qualifying stages and made it to the finals with a 100% record- without dropping a point. The Netherlands are in Group E, with Denmark, Japan and Cameroon and should get past the group stage easily even though their opponents are not to be taken lightly.

The only thing that worries in this team is their frailty in defence. Johnny Heitinga to me is their best defender and a very gifted player, and if he keeps his head about him, Holland have at least one slot at the back nicely covered.

Who will partner him at the back? I would have gone with Andre Oojier but he has had a horrific season at PSV and it seems unlikely that the coach will want to start him. Still, he has the experience and the sense to marshall the defence and to me is still a better bet than the error-prone Joris Mathijsen of Hamburg who though he has a good sense of position, is never quite an assuring figure in the box.

Khalid Boulahrouz is an aggressive defender with awesome tenacity but it is this dogfighting nature that spells trouble for him and his clubs sometimes. However, when playing in national colours, he is a man transformed and has put in some spirited displays at both centre-back and left-back. He should make a few appearances as he provides the defence with a depth and options.

Gregory van der Wiel was chucked into the Ajax team at centre-back by Marco Van Basten at the young age of 20, and later moving into the right-back slot has since developed into a regular starter for both club and country and suits the teams instinctual style of play to the hilt. He looks to be the classic Dutch wingback and should hold down the right-back slot easy.

Left-back is a bit of a concern for this team and why Bert van Marwijk left the talented Urby Emmanuelson out of the squad is beyond my comprehension. At left back, we will see the ageing yet dependable Gio van Bronkhorst, who is a model professional and their captain. Having been in and around the national team set-up for a while now, he will be in the middle of the action from the word go but his loss in pace will be a problem, leaving the already frail defence under a lot of pressure should he get caught upfield. With Holland’s style of play, they are liable to counterattacks and a lack of pace in defence could be their biggest weakness.

Behind this at best passable defence will stand the 28-year old Martin Stekelenberg of Ajax who though not as good as his predecessor Edwin van der Sar, is still a decent stopper with a reliable pair of hands. His season in the Eridivisie has been more than decent, as he has stood up behind a weak Ajax defence well. He is safe, but not much more.

The Netherlands go into the tournament with one of the strongest midfields in the tournament. Manchester City’s Nigel de Jong and Bayern’s Mark van Bommel should hold down spots in defensive midfield roles. Their performance is crucial to the team, and should they successfully protect the defence, the Oranje will go far in the tournament. Cover for these positions is in the form of Schaars and Orlando Engelaar, who both have international experience and know their role.

Then the Netherlands attacking triumvirate of the excellent Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael Van der Vaart will be feared by every team in the competition. All three possess amazing ball skills, vision and creativity and playing together can be a hugely destructive force.

Robben is coming off the back of an amazing season at Bayern, who he will represent in the Champions league final with Van Bommel on the 22^nd. He is in the form of his life and will be counted on to produce the goods in this tournament. If the Dutch go far in this competition, he could well win the Golden boot

Sneijder was a washed-up hero when Inter Milan picked him up from Real at the beginning of this season. He has been exceptional in the hole, creatively linking defence to attack and demonstrating wonderful technique in shooting, passing and set-piece delivery. Will be the main cog in the Orange attacking engine.

Van der Vaart decided to stay on at the Bernabeau and fight for his place even amid their ill-advised Galactico influx and had a decent season for the opportunities given to him. No-one can question his gifts and he is an automatic starter,

Robin Van Persie is fit again and will be the man the Netherlands will look at to score. Will be deadly linking up with the three attacking midfielders with his technique, finishing prowess and brilliant sense of positioning. In the absence of Ruud Van Nistelrooy, added onus lies on him to score, and all know he can.

Options from the bench include PSV’s versatile and promising Ibrahim Afellay, who was considered often at the beginning of his career to be in the Sneijder mould but hasn’t quite lived up to his potential yet. Can still be counted upon to make a few handy contributions. Also on display will be the talents of Hamburg’s lightning quick Eljiero Elia, whose pace and fancy dribbling will surely be called upon to bring misery upon tired defences.

I’m unambiguous in my hope that Holland win it THIS time and I’ll be rooting for them every match they play. They play their first match against John-Dahl Tomasson's Denmark on the 14th of June.

Lets hope their defence stands up to the test because when the Oranje play, the goals will come.

The Playmakers

 We’ve all loved the great playmakers to grace the game over the years. Those supreme ball artists who can pass the ball with vision and grace, and some, the truly great ones, who write poetry on the pitch. Socrates, Zico, Guardiola, Zidane, Seedorf, Figo, and today Xavi, Andrea Pirlo and Cesc Fabregas.      

Ever since Xavi and Iniesta destroyed Manchester United in the Champions League final, the world has once again fallen in love with the playmaker. But new playmakers of that quality seem just not to be appearing.

There are a few coming out there that give hope, though.

1.      One of the most promising of these is Mesut Ozil of Werder Bremen. The german U-21 international OF Turkish descent displays creativity, flair and superior technique every time he takes the field. I’ve been following the German U-21 teams last few matches and Ozil has looked by far the most creative player on the pitch every time he’s played.

Personally, if I was Sir Alex Ferguson, I would go out and sign him to replace Ronnie the portugese prat at Old Trafford. He’s fast and skilful, like Ronaldo, and a team player, unlike Ronaldo and would fit in perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvzBmCpy3dU&feature=related

 

2.      Ajax’s Ismail Aissati  of Moroccan descent is another one for the future.  Superb ball control and flair in distribution make him the man Ajax depend on to create goalscoring opportunities in the final third of the field. And he’s just 20.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt-18NmkXQw&feature=channel

 

3.      Diego Buonanotte from River Plate is a small, agile player who often puts in the final ball for the Argentine side’s goals. He’s one of those classic playmakers, slightly built (just 163 cm. tall) but great on the ball and with an eye for the killer pass. Too good for the Argentine league anymore, a move to Spain would suit his game. Love this guy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDsnmni7zqk

 

4.      The 23 year-old Brazilian Hernanes from Sao Paolo too is gaining some rave reviews for his classy performances in the middle of the park. Bite on the tackle and smooth distribution and ball play make this guy one of the best talents in Brazil today. Should play for Brazil in the next World Cup.   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sOLEaD4270

5.      Yoann Gourcuff. Of course. Half of Milan had been going gaga over this guy for three seasons at the San Siro where he was being groomed, it seemed to take over Clarence Seedorf’s role in the side. A loan season at Bordeaux turned out to be his breakthrough season, and the move was made permanent this summer.

After helping Bordeaux dethrone Lyon from the pinnacle of French Football with his sublime creative and attacking play, he is being called the heir to Zinedine Zidane and for once, no-one’s really contesting it outright. Clearly outstrips the other 20-odd ‘New Zidanes’ named by the press in the past few years.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCFsov4MOmo

 

A few other names to watch out for:

1.       Sofiane Feghouli

2.       Lulinha

3.       Gael Kakuta

4.       Andrea Russoto

5.       Adel Taarabt

6.       Douglas Costa

Transfers

I'm back.

First : Whats Actually confirmed in the transfer market?

1. Yoann Gourcuff has signed for Bordeaux from AC Milan at the end of his loan deal. After an AWESOME season.

2. Podolski to FC Koln

3. Olic and Mario Gomez to Bayern Munich. How many strikers do they need?

4. Thomas Kahlenberg has moved to French side Auxerre after helping Wolfsburg to the title.

5. Kaka and Ronaldo to Madrid.

6. Acquafresca and Crespo to Genoa. Probably Crespo's last season.

7. Diego Milito and Motta to Inter Milan.

8. Cannavaro and the Brazilian Diego to Juve.

There are, of course loads and loads of rumours, as anyone who's familiar with the workings of the transfer market would know. A lot of players are currently whoring themselves in the markets to look for potential suitors. Of these, the top 5 :

1. Carlos Tevez - I lose respect for the guy everyday as i catch up on the news. Put the money under his nose and watch him run.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Isn't Inter good enough?

3. Robinho - First he comes to City and they finish bottom half, no thanks to him. Now, he's issuing a come-and-get-me to barcelona.

4. David Villa - Maybe, not his fault. Valencia NEED to sell him to the highest bidder. But, the way he's talking to the media left and right, you'd think he was raking lessons from Tevez.

5. Samuel Eto'o - Even after being part of one of the greatest footall teams of all time, he claimed he has 'no love for barcelona' and his relationship with the club was 'that of an employee to an employer'. Why Sammy why? Couldn't you shut up and keep winning?

Real Madrid are building the world XI. After signing Kaka and Ronaldo, they're running after Ribery, Xabi Alonso and David Villa.

That means the likes of Sneijder, Van der Vaart, Robben are available, and at cut-price, because Madrid need to get rid of them fast. Nistelrooy's looking to move to Spurs. Spurs have now officially been linked to every player to play the game. EVER.

It should be interesting to see what happens of this team. What I really want to see is El Classico next season with Kaka and Ronnie the portugese prat running around in circles while Xavi and Iniesta pass the life out of Madrid at the Bernabeau. 70 minutes gone, Barca 2-0 up, with 66% posession.

Chelsea are pretty active in the transfer market too, although no signings have been made yet. They're chasing Alex Pato, Aguero, Ribery and David Villa. All good bets, if they land either Pato or Aguero, they might well find the missing ingredient in their team, as both can be seen blossoming playing off Chelsea's main battle tank, Didier Drogba.

United have already lost Ronaldo and Tevez has turned down his chance to stay. They might well be losing Nani too, with Sporting Lisbon moving in for their youth product. With Giggs retiring, United will be looking to sign at least two attack-minded players this summer. One of them looks to be Antonio Valencia, the other could be one of Karim Benzema, Franck Ribery and Samuel Eto'o. Let's see. Even Zlatan Ibrahimovic is an option, if they're willing to fork out the stuff.

Champions League : Review and Preview

Chelski parked their big blue bus in the Nou Camp, switched off the engine and there it stood for 90 minutes, while the artists of Barca tried to spin a web of magic around it. But the big, heavy, stupid bus just sat there. The world’s best midfielder, Xavi Hernandez, usually so quiet, was reduced to blaming the refs and the big bad English boys for spoiling his evening. Anti-football, they’re calling it. No amigo, that’s smart football, the right measure at the right time. Chelsea know they can’t go to the Nou Camp and try to attack. Let the Spaniards spray the style, and you would do best to defend.

The second leg at the bridge was one game Chelsea really should have won.  The referee was an idiot, we all will agree. Those were two clear penalties, but the kind of chance Drogba missed, maybe it was never meant to be. But i could rave about that for hours, and it would be no freakin use. Barca play the final in Rome.

Anyway, Barca were beautiful as always, and though United have more than just a chance of winning, it remains to be seen how they manage to keep tabs on Leo Messi like Chelsea did in their fixtures, without looking like the Chelsea ‘anti football’ team they and their fans seem to despise so much. Evra can’t do it alone, not on your life.

Xavi Hernandez is the best player in the world right now.  You can’t not give him that. He’s been the inspiration behind some of the best attacking moves and the sexiest football played in the world this season. Euro ’08 where he was player of the tournament was just the beginning, he carried that form and that vision to the club level where he took Barca to heights unimaginable to us mere mortals.

Who can keep him quiet? Carrick? Hah! Xavi can play 30 passes in a match through Carricks’ legs on a bad day.  And anyway, Iniesta will keep him busy anyway. Paul Scholes’ll have the herculean task of outplaying Yaya Toure and still being playmaker to Rooney, Berbatov and Ronnie Boy. Maybe if the portugese pretty-boy plays well against Barca he might be offered ten thou a week extra to go to the Bernabau. No-one wants to see 6-2 again. El Clasico really shouldn’t become El Footballing Lesson again.

It may sound funny, but the key to Barca playing well might lie in the hands of Barcelona’s right back Dani Alves. How he plays might well determine the result. Does he seek out Ryan Giggs? Does he keep bombing forward like he’s best at doing? Does he sit back a little more?

If he’s caught out by one of United’s superfast counterattacks Barca might find themselves trailing. Imagine four red shirts sprinting upfield with just Puyol and Marquez protecting poor Victor Valdes. That might spell game over.

Bring it on.