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.

 

 

Young Talent

I shall attempt to make a list of the young players around the world who I think are going to be stars in the not-so-distant future. Please note I refuse list obvious names like Sergio Aguero, Alexandre Pato who are already established first team players at big clubs.Also, this is not any kind of ranking but merely a LIST.

 

1.     1.  Lulinha (Corinthians) – The first name that comes to mind. Described by FIFA.com themselves as the next Ronaldinho. Equally adept at playing as an attacking midfielder and a second striker. Scored a hatful of goals at the FIFA Junior tournaments he’s been part of and the Corinthians President  who’s obviously eager to make money off this prodigy has set a $35 million price tag on him. A bit too steep, perhaps?

 

2.      2. Kerlon (Chievo Verona) – Was being touted as the next big thing in Brazilian Football till a couple of seasons ago. Has prodigious dribbling ability but lacks the strength on the ball exhibited by big boys Ronaldinho and Kaka. Famous for his seal dribble where he dribbles the ball on his head and makes it impossible for an opponent to legally tackle him. A handy free kick taker too. Has been injured most of this season for Chievo but I still see him picking up and hassling defenders in the future.

 

3.      3. Robert Lewandowski (Lech Poznan) – Easily one of the best players in Poland right now. Plays as a roving striker for his club side to astounding success. Has top scored in the last 3 seasons he has played and after joining Lech in the top flight this season, has continued his rich supply of goals. The hype is growing.

 

4.      4.  Steven Defour (Standard Ligue) – At 20 years old, is already captain of his club side and easily their best player. His vision and little shimmies on the ball combined with slick passing makes him an asset to any time. He is already being chased by Villa, Arsenal and a handful of other clubs around Europe for next season.

 

5.     5.  Johnny Evans (Manchester United) – Of course. This youngster has been handpicked and groomed by Sir Alex as the ideal cover and eventual replacement for his two senior centre backs, the excellent Rio Ferdinand and Nenanja Vidic. Has featured regularly and by and large impressed this season in his senior’s absence.

 

6.     6.  Jose Baxter (Everton) – Probably the best talent in England right now. Word from the Toffee’s coaching is that he’s a more complete player than Wayne Rooney was at his tender age of 16. Blessed with awesome pace and astounding shot power.

 

7.     7.  Jack Rodwell (Everton) – Another youngster from the Toffee’s stable who has all the makings. He is a very tidy central midfielder whose strengths lie in the defensive side of the game and he has already made a handful of first team appearances this season.

 

8.     8.  Dan Gosling (Everton) – Completes the trio of Everton’s young gems. Is highly rated throughout the blue half of Merseyside and is being groomed carefully to fit into the soon-to-be-vacant shoes of Tony Hibbert. Pretty solid at right back.

 

9.     9.  Fabian Delph (Leeds United) – Another right back on the wishlist of many premier league clubs. Displays good pace, ball control and positional awareness whenever he takes the field for Leeds.

 

10. 10.  Jack Collison (West Ham) – Has fitted nicely into the role assigned to him and at 20, has become a regular in the Hammer’s first team. Slots into central midfield nicely with Parker and Mark Noble, and has definitely looked the part this season.

 

11. 11.  Diego Buonanotte (River Plate) – Is one of those slightly built classic playmakers who we all love but often get manhandled by opposing defences. Buonanotte has emerged victorious with all his craft and spark more often than not and will definitely play for Argentina. There are already rumours of interest from the Bernabeau.

 

12. 12.  Fabio da Silva (Manchester United) – While we have already seen and been wowed by his twin brother Rafael this season, Fabio has been out of action due to an injury picked up in his maiden appearance in the FA Cup. This one is sure to be part of United’s future plans and to my mind is better of the two brothers, although similar in style to Rafael.

 

13. 13.  Eden Hazard (LOSC Lille) – Attacking midfielder with a bright future. Is already on many summer shopping lists for his latent value as a game breaker. His weakness, if anything, is his tendency to rush his shots. Good talent who needs a little training in patience.

 

14. 14.  Miroslav Stoch (Chelsea) – A Chelsea reserve team regular who broke into the first team this season and has been on the fringes of the starting 11 ever since. A highly skilled player with amazing dribbling ability. Idolises Brazilian superstars Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and just might take up their mantle in the not-so-distant future.  

15. 15.  Henri Saivet (Bordeaux) – Has turned in a series of eye-catching performances for France’s U-19s this season and shows good ability in advanced attacking positions as well as on the wings.

 

Feel free to name other players who you feel belong up here.

The Royal Blue

Anfield. Branislav Ivanovic, who was known by few outside Serbia before this season glanced two crucial headers past a hapless Pepe Reina to make the return leg a mere formality with the blues winning 3-1 on aggregate. That it wasn’t is a completely different matter. The Drog too marked his wonderful rediscovery of form under Guus Hiddink with a goal in front of a sullenly silent Kop.

Hiddink has shown that a master tactician like him can be successful anywhere, even at intimidating Anfield, where he ruthlessly exposed Liverpool’s latent weaknesses from set-pieces.

Chelsea look bloody dangerous as their midfield maestro Lampard is proving every week that he can do more than just run and shoot. The return of Essien has bolstered confidence as he made Stevie Gerrard look like a completely ordinary player at Anfield. It has been often said that Ballack is not the player he used to be when he was at Bayern. What these know-it-alls can’t understand is that he has merely fit in the role he was required to play. He is a great player and a natural leader and it is disgusting to hear people talk about him needing to leave the club to revive his career.

John Terry’s men are a class act. The 0-0 draw at Everton was merely a glitch. The league is a long shot now but the European Cup and the FA Cup are two trophies Hiddink’s mouth would me watering over.

In the FA Cup semifinal against Arsenal, Frank Lampard produced two balls of the most supreme quality to emphatically boot the Gunners out of the competition. As a football fan and especially as a Chelsea fan,it was a sheer delight to watch.

Chelsea’s transfer targets for next season include the ‘Russian Ronaldinho’ Yuri Zhirkov as well as CSKA Moscow’s highly rated Brazilian Striker Vagner Love who would be ideal competition for Drogba and Nic Anelka upfront.  The addition of these players would bolster an already world-class squad.

Maybe the trophy’s coming back to the Bridge next season.    

The Arsenal Dilemma

Andrei Arshavin joined Arsenal a month ago. The logic given was that with Fabregas injured, the Russian magic man could provide the creative spark, the final ball in the box for Adebayor, Van Persie or even the super flop Bendtner. As Wenger usually is, he was right about his investment in the Russian.

Arshavin has proved his immense talent on the left side for Arsenal in the past few weeks. Again and again he cuts in and feeds either the forwards or the overlapping Gael Clichy, often with devastating consequences. He’s already scored a few goals and at least for a while, Fabregas hasn’t been that sorely missed.

For a while now, the Gunners have been a little too dependent on the Spanish playmaker.  Today, when Arsenal step out, the likes of Nasri and Denilson get a chance to dazzle with Arshavin getting forward. Surely even the densest brain can perceive that Samir Nasri is a player of higher caliber than he was when playing second fiddle to Fabregas.

Forgive me if this shocks some, but do Arsenal really need Fabregas right now? There was a time when everything Arsenal played forward had to flow through his boot, but doesn’t the team look much more dynamic now? Nasri has put in a string of good performances on the right, and Sagna and Clichy bomb forward with pleasing regularity. The much- criticized Alexander Song, though still quite raw is now able to do what he is best at, sitting back in front of the defense while allowing Denilson to be more adventurous. With Rosicky’s return imminent, Arsenal would do well to cash in on him and use the huge amount of dough they would inevitably earn to add some steel to their lineup.

Fiorentina’s Brazilian midfield enforcer Filipe Melo, who just  won a cap for Brazil has just had a sensational season with the Italian team and is known to be highly rated by Wenger. He should fit nicely at the heart of Arsenal’s midfield.

Why not go for Manchester City’s Johnson who just isn’t getting as much playing time as he deserves? He’s a neat little player whose Gerrard-esque lung-busting runs could only help Arsenal become a serious title contender once again.  Or Standard League’s 20-year old captain Steven Defour, who’s looking to be headed for Villa at the moment.

Flamini should never have been sold, not when Song is clearly not ready for the big time and Abu Diaby seems inadequate week after week. But that is in the past. The future looms. And it might well be best without a certain Cesc Fabregas.

Again, the loony sheikhs of the blue half of Manchester want to get Arsene Wenger in to manage their team of pantomime performers. How do they get these crazy ideas into their head? All news from the City of Manchester stadium makes it clearer than ever that the management makes these decisions under the influence. Rio Ferdinand probably sent his latest stack of pot anonymously to Sheikh Whatsisname lest he actually take some steps to displace Unted’s hold on the crown of English Football.  

Wenger to me seems a man of principle. He isn’t one who would desert a team of promising youngsters embarking on their careers in one of the biggest clubs in England for a filthy rich mid-table club where apparently players can go for holidays home without clearance from the management.

 This season, the Gunners can only hope to qualify for the Champions League. Let’s hope they challenge next year. The Wenger way.

 

Manchester City. What the hell?

Mr. Hughes, you are a strange man. You wish to sign Kaka for a gazillion dollars and you take for granted the fact that he will join a club that let alone rule England, cannot even rule over their own squad. Players like Kaka are world beaters. They do not join clubs that are ranked 10th in the table and can't defend to save their life, literally. 

Anyone who saw Essien's goal against them a couple of weeks ago would surely agree with me. You don't leave a man of his stature totally unmarked in the middle of the box like that. I've never seen anything like that. The Chelsea midfielder could have done a jig, taken a bow and still found time to score.  In the premier league too. Amazing. 

Ah yes, they do delight on occasions. Who doesnt like to see Robinho and Shawn Wright-Philips linking up, playing those tasty little flicks and dandy knock-ons? Ooh-Aah.. He flicked it! He's so skilful! Yes, my friend, thats why you're tenth in the table. 

The high point I would say is Steven Ireland, who's in roaring form this season and has comfortably (but justifiably?) replaced the brazilian Elano in City's midfield. Also why can't we see more of Michael Johnson, who is a more than useful player himself and will surely play for England someday. Nigel de Jong is a wonderful midfield player and he deserves his place in the starting lineup. I've always been an admirer of Wayne Bridge, and he's a really shrewd signing.

I agree that it may be a little early to pass judgement but if this team can get its defence together, it could be a force in the near future. The resurgence of Aston Villa is a case in point. 

They need a new centre back. Micah Richards should play in the right, he doesn't have the composure or the experience to be centre of defence in a team that aims rather loftily at silverware. How devastating he would be on the right! Just like his first few England games, he has the brute strength and pace to flourish here, as he did early in his career. Pedro Zabaleta is a good player, but Richards on the right is completely unstoppable.

So if Ciy do buy a new defender, who should it be? There is silly talk of City contemplating to lure John Terry away from Stanford Bridge with 150,000 pounds a week of Sheikh Whatsisnames arab money. That's NOT going to happen. Develop Vincent Kompany, Richard Dunne won't be around forever. They could take a look at the cash strapped Mestalla for options, with a major garage sale on the horison this summer. Carlos Marchena is a wonderful player and should fit into the team nicely. Raul Albiol is almost certainly going to the Kop. 

Pretty football is all well and good but we need to see some results! I sincerely wish they turn it around. This team could be great for football.