Posted by Martin in Adebayor, Arsenal | 10 July 2008
I don't know about you, but I'm getting pretty fed-up with the continual speculation as to whether Ade will stay at the Emirates or move to Barcelona or Milan!
It was similar with Flamini and we're seeing the same kind of speculation with Hleb, though for Hleb it looks like he's not happy with the chaotic way we live our lives in London.
Personally, I'd be really sorry to see Adebayor go, if that's the decision he finally makes. Whilst his goal scoring dried up towards the end of the season, 30 goals is still a pretty impressive tally.
Bacary Sagna has come out and expressed his concerns about loss to the Gunners, should Emmanuel go. Although slightly contradictory as he feels with Nasri and some of our youngsters we'll be o.k!
I'm not convinced.
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Posted by Gringo Maclure in Brasil Serie A, Brazil, EURO 2008, England, Fabio Capello, Spain | 7 July 2008
Most English football fans are floating in that strange lull after a major tournament and before the start of the new season. Suddenly, F1 looks quite interesting as does Wimbledon, or perhaps county cricket. In any case, I've been using my spare time to ponder England's chances the next time the Euros come around. Here are three ways England can make sure they're the ones taking home the Henri Delauney trophy...
1. Play with the fighting spirit of Turkey. I think the sight of my national team losing to Croatia at a rain-sodden Wembley in November 2007, especially after having pulled the game back to the required 2-2 scoreline, will forever stick in the memory as a display pitifully lacking in spine from England's so-called finest. Similarly, the lack of drive that accompanied the exit from World Cup 2002, playing against a ten-man Brazil, was a bitter pill to swallow for an England fan. Someone from the Turkish team needs to come over and do a seminar on "How to score goals in the last few minutes to help your team progress". Or, failing that, get David Platt to do it (re: World Cup 1990).
2. Play with the attacking flare of the Spanish. As Martin also noted in his previous post, what struck me about watching the Spanish through 2008 was how unlike England they were. The Spanish played attacking football right to the last minute in the final, not sitting back on a 1-0 lead. They reversed the "curse" of the Greek win in 2004 reassuring us that there is room in the modern game for attractive, flowing football. Furthermore, Aragones picked a team based on cohesion and NOT, tellingly, based on the size of his squad's paychecks. (Fabio Capello please take note). Raul wasn't even there and the popular Fabregas was unpopularly deployed as a supersub until the final...
3. Get a Brazilian to play for you (or manage you). Everyone's doing it, why not England? The Polish have Roger Guerreiro (born in Sao Paulo, scorer of Poland's only goal in the tournament), the Germans have Kevin Kuranyu (born in Rio), the Croatians have Eduardo (sadly missing from Euro 2008 but the Croations most potent striker, born in Rio), the Portuguese have Deco (born in Sao Bernando de Campo) and were managed by a Brazilian and the Spanish have Marcus Senna (born in Sao Paulo, a contender for player of the tournament at Euro 2008). The last entry on that list is a kick in the teeth for Brazilians, whose national team has been soft of late in the defensive midfielder role.
My big idea: Why don't England give a passport to the Brazilian Thiago Neves, currently the Fluminense number 10? Last Wednesday's Copa Libertadores (the South American Champions League) was an astonishing game. The final was between Fluminense of Rio de Janeiro and LDU of Ecudor. 5-2 down on aggregate after 5 minutes into the return leg at the Maracana, Neves hit a blue-streak netting a scintilating hat-trick to take the game to 5-5 and penalties. That's the kind of quality England need! But don't let him take a penalty - Neves turned hero to zero when he did a Gareth Southgate and saw his penalty saved. LDU went on to win. Nonetheless, I'd rather have him in my team than Emile Heskey.
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Posted by Martin in Cesc Fabregas, EURO 2008, England, Germany, Holland, Portugal, Spain | 3 July 2008
I've been very quiet here on the subject of the EURO's, though I did get to watch most of the matches on the box.
I was particularly impressed by Portugal, Holland and Spain, and had any one of them won, it would have been deserved. Unlike the Germans, Portugal and Holland played entertaining football, as did Spain the worthy winners. Having seen the performance of the teams in the competition, it seemed fair that England didn't play a part - their football just doesn't come close to that of the Spanish.
There was no doubt that the best team triumphed. Fabregas being key to Spains successful campaign, but I'm biased I guess being an Arsenal supporter! I think the Spanish underrated Cesc's ability, but in the final he deserved his position in the starting line out. Torres made his mark, though he's not someone I particularly warm too. But that's down to seeing him play for the free kick too many times at the Emirates.
So with the cup having come and gone so quickly, the only remaining question is - how many new players will end up in the Premiership, as a result of their performance at the Euros?
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Posted by Gringo Maclure in Brazil, Chelsea, Dunga, EURO 2008, Filipe Scolari, Portugal, Premiership, Roman Abronovich | 17 June 2008
The announcement of Luiz Felipe Scolari aka Big Phil's selection as Chelsea manager was unexpected as it was mistimed. In the middle of a major tournament his team have a great chance of winning, the news has been a distraction with a bizarre bidding war being waged for which players will follow him to Stamford Bridge next season. Maybe the media diversion will help the Portuguese focus for the knock out stages of Euro 2008. But then again, maybe it won't.
Scolari is a huge risk for Chelsea. It's true he is proven as a manager in various countries and is considered to be the man with the golden touch in cup competitions taking Brazil to glory in 2002 but I forsee teething problems at Chelsea. Scolari, ever since his bullish playing days as a central defender nicknamed 'wooden leg', is not a subtle character. He's not Arsene Wenger. Neither is he charismatic, and he probably won`t be learning English in a hurry. He's not Jose Mourinho. Furthermore, one criticism of the recent Chelsea squads is that they are a lifeless machine who've won without the flare or charm of, say, Arsenal or the present Manchester United squad. But, Scolari's teams, while successful, have always been a bit brutish and dogged and prone to the odd pitch-side brawl. If you want quality with style, he's not Sir Alex Ferguson. Also, his choice may be all about taking Chelsea to the prize of European glory - surely Abrahamovich's sole reason for pushing for his appoitment - but he has rarely turned teams into domestic league winning material for the long haul. His successes have been in the knock-out stages of cups where he seems to inspire - by sheer angst from the touchlines - teams to give 110%. But, can he replicate this for European and English club football? Nobody knows.
So, even if the Champions League is Abrahamovich's coveted target, expect tensions when Scolari rubs up against the media, Chelsea's fans, opposing managers and maybe even his own players. I stand to be corrected, but I predict a fireworks display.
Update from last entry:
1) Paraguay 2-0 Brazil in a WC qualifier. A very limp display from the men in yellow last Sunday has the press asking questions about manager Dunga once more. The general consensus: they preferred him when he was the WC winning captain fantastic he once was and not the rather vacant coach he now is. They face Argentina tomorrow in another qualifier.
3) Sport amazingly overturned Corinthians 2-0 at home to win (on away goals) the Copa Brasil for the first time in their history!
4) Nautico have been ordered to play their home games in another stadium for the forseeable future, the Botafogo player was charged and the Botafogo Director denied the charges against him and so his case rumbles on...
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Posted by Gringo Maclure in Brasil Serie A, Brazil, EURO 2008 | 8 June 2008
If you're actually not that fussed about Euro 2008 (see Martin's last post) because the thought of England missing Europe's premier tournament of nations is much the same as the thought of tea without the sugar, or the milk or even the tea, then may I suggest you cast an eye across the Atlantic to Brazil where there's plenty going on for the discerning football connesieur.
Where I live, in Brazil, I'm sure Euro 2008 will be followed by the avid football fan, but for a lot of my mates its fallen off their radar now that the CL has finished and with it any chance of seeing Brazilians play competitive football in Europe for a few more months. But, why watch Euro 2008 when there's plenty else going on here? So here are 5 good reasons to keep your eye on the South America leagues in the next few days...
1. Venezuela 2-0 Brazil. Nike can't have been happy about seeing their golden boys putting in a limp display to suffer an abysmal defeat in Boston at the hands of minnows Venezuela. Venezuela are no pushovers, it's true, but they should be when you're Brazil. Dunga's tenure as coach in jeopardy? Brazil to stumble against Paraguay and Argentina in their next two mid-June WC qualifiers?
2. Fluminense in the final of the Libertadores. Fluminense from Rio overturned the Libertadores holders' Boca Juniors (featuring Riquelme) 3-1 at the Maracana last week to book a place in the final against unknown quantity LDU from Ecuador. It's a shock conclusion to the South American Champions League equivelent as neither a big Brazilian or Argentinian side have made it to this year's final. Fluminense are pumping all their efforts and best players into the Libertadores and so, having neglected everything else, lie bottom of the Brazilian Serie A after half a dozen games. Will they win the cup? Will they avoid relegation?
3. Corinthians, relegated last season, play Sport FC for the Copa Brasil. The Brazil FA Cup final equivelent looks a bit like the English one - featuring a team outside the top flight (Corinthians) against a middling Series A team short of honours (Sport FC). The latter are trying to be the first northeast team to win the competition ever! Corinthians, bouncing back from their humiliating relegation to Series B, lead 3-1 after the first leg of the two-legged final. The odds are against Sport as no team has ever come back from 2 goals down to overturn the final. Can they do it on home soil next week?
4. Nautico 3 Botafogo 0. Ridiculous confusion at a recent Series A game. You don't need to understand Portuguese to see that this all went a bit pear-shaped. Click here to see video. In short, B player sent off, kicks bottle into crowd and makes gestures to home fans. Police try to arrest him and escort him from the field. The door they try to leave by is locked resulting in mayhem on the pitch. The B Director comes down from his box and throws a few punches. He is arrested, as is the player. The dispute takes on regional significance as Botafogo (from Rio) complain that northeastern team Nautico's authorities are poorly trained and backward. Will the score stand or will the game be replayed? Will the arrested gentlemen turn up for their court hearings?
5. Alocohol banned at games. The drinks and snacks vendors are a highlight of any match here in Brazil. With consumate efficiency the small army of salesmen and women scale the stands bringing only the finest cashew nuts, churros, popcorn and booze direct to your seat. But, in the interest of discouraging drink driving to and from games, alcohol cannot be sold inside football grounds as of this season the CBF has ordered. One possible side effect is that gate reciepts for unimportant games will decrease as fans prefer to have a drink in a bar with friends watching the game on a big screen than pay money to stay on the wagon for the 90 minutes. Will the ban be enforced? Will fans put up with it? What will happen to the thousands of unemployed beer vendors?
Watch this space for answers...
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Posted by Martin in Arsenal, Czech Republic, EURO 2008, England, Switzerland | 4 June 2008
It’s now only a matter of days before the Euro’s kick-off in Basel, with Switzerland playing the Czech Republic. Yet the good old BEEB continually poses that question, in the hope that us Brits spend the whole of June glued to the T.V watching the tournament un-fold, where as a nation, we have no home interest!
So, over the past few days I been mulling over in my mind who I might support. However, what I keep getting drawn back to, is whether in reality it's possible to support a second team, when your own team is missing from the tournament. Had one of the home nations made it through, then I'd be backing one of them, but support them with the same passion as I'd support England? I don't think so.
For me it's a bit like being asked to support a team that's still in the FA Cup, when my own team, Arsenal, have been knocked out. I just wouldn't do it, it wouldn't enter my head to consider it, and so the same is true of the Euro's.
Had I parents that we're of differing nationalities, then that's a different situation, but that's not me.
So, I'm just going to sit back, enjoy watching some of the football, and when it gets to the final, I'll make my choice as to which team I'd prefer to see win!
If you’re supporting or backing a team and you fancy writing your views here, then feel free to get in touch.
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Posted by DavidM in Blackburn Rovers, Man City, Mark Hughes, Sven-Goran Eriksson | 3 June 2008
I liked Mark Hughes as a player and I like him as a manager. I think he did a great job for Wales and again at Blackburn and he looks set to achieve more in his future managerial positions.
But when I read that Manchester City have let Sven-Goran Eriksson go and are in talks with Mark Hughes, I can't help but feel the club are going backwards.
Eriksson had a mixed first season at City. A fantastic start - third position still in November - was followed by a lacklustre second half of the season, leaving them in ninth position and only qualifying for Europe via the fair play award. But teams need time to settle and Eriksson had the players' and fans' support.
He is also a big name with broad international experience. Mark Hughes' managerial experience with Wales and Blackburn has been successful but he's yet to show he can succeed on the big stage.
This may be his opportunity, with Thaksin's millions to spend once Thailand's legal system unfreezes them. But Manchester City fans must be nervous having lost a known big team manager for a potential one.
Plus, didn't Hughes play for another Manchester team?
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Posted by Gringo Maclure in FA Cup, Kanu, Portsmouth | 19 May 2008
As an Arsenal supporter, I found it hard to be impartial watching the FA Cup final with so many old boy Gunners on display for Pompey. Tony Adams was sitting next to Harry Redknapp, Sol Campbell was the captain who lifted the trophy and the squad included the likes of Diarra and Lauren. But, more than any of these it was the sight of one of my favourite ever football players supposedly in the twilight of his career, putting in a man of the match performance and grabbing the goal that won the game. A standing ovation for the enigmatic Kanu!
Enigmatic is a good way to describe Kanu. One of the reasons I enjoy watching the lanky 6ft 5in Nigerian is that his story includes some astonishing highs and disastrous lows. He is both the most decorated footballer in African history and something of a circus clown. His game includes flashes of dazzling intelligence, creativity and vision and yet he is guilty of some cringeworthy clangers and wastefulness in front of goal. It is impossible to predict what will happen when Kanu is on the ball.
A brief look through some of his career gives an indication of what I mean. On the upside, he won the Champions League with Ajax in 1995, won Olympic gold with Nigeria in 1996, scooped the African player of the year award for 1996 and 1999 and scored some goals of a quality that no footballer at the time could match in Arsenal’s 98/99 season as he went on to win League and FA Cup winners medals with the team in subsequent years. On the downside, he missed the penalty that cost Nigeria the 2000 African Nations Cup and he endured an unsuccessful spell at relegation-threatened West Bromwich, the nadir of which was the so-called miss of the season on 14th November 2004 which left his then manager Bryan Robson, caught on camera, screaming “How did he miss that?”. Sometimes Kanu can be frustratingly absent and he has never had the finishing ability to put him in the top league of international strikers, a possible reason for Wenger looking elsewhere for Arsenal’s firepower in the 2000s. Occasionally, the two sides of Kanu can be seen in a single match. On his Portsmouth debut in August 2006, Kanu came on as a second half subsititute against Blackburn and promptly netted two goals. Then, having won a penalty he stepped up to secure his hat-trick. His effort was palmed up by Brad Friedel and with the goalmouth gaping Kanu wildly fluffed his headed rebound into the advertising boards.
All this can make it frustrating for supporters, managers and team members to watch, but it is compulsive viewing. One of the funniest pieces of commentary I ever heard came from the mouth of Ron Atkinson during coverage of an Arsenal Champions League match. Kanu had waltzed on a mazey run into the area leaving a wake of sprawled and tangled defenders behind him. With the goal at his mercy he tamely side-footed his shot at the keeper. “We have been denied the greatest goal ever!” exclaimed a belligerent Atkinson.
On Saturday, the two sides of Kanu showed themselves again. After 20 minutes, Kanu picked up Utaka’s low cross, turned his marker, rounded Enckelman the Cardiff keeper and with an angled tap-in all that was needed to finish the move, he prodded his shot against the outside of the post. I was out of my seat shouting, “We have been denied the greatest FA Cup Final goal ever!”. I felt certain that would be the end of Kanu’s big day and I imagined that Redknapp might substitute the old horse soon after half-time. But on 37 minutes, Kanu latched onto Enckelman’s spill and lifted the goal into the empty net. Kanu’s effort won’t be remembered for as long as his non-goal a quarter of an hour earlier might've been, but it proved decisive. The rest of his performance was imperious and the Nigerian looks set to enjoy an Indian summer with a contract extension and UEFA Cup football next season.
Kanu’s career is all the more astonishing for the fact that it so nearly ended with severe heart problems in 1996. For me, what makes Kanu even more an attraction is the Christian faith I share with him that informed his response to that crisis and continues to inform his charity work, his lifestyle and his joyful approach to the game he plays.
Emmanuel Adebayor, who shares with Kanu a similar height and gallop, claims the Nigerian was his childhood inspiration. Adebayor wears the same shirt numbers as Kanu does for his national side (4) and did for the Gunners (25). The Togo striker has a great future ahead of him and the consistency he has shown this season indicates he is likely to outscore his idol in the coming years. But, for sheer out-of-nothing ingenuity, Kanu still has the edge on his protégé.
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