Gareth Kong? Donkey Bale? We couldn’t resist picking on this week‘s darling.
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CommentaryItaly
Milan sneak a draw against Madrid
A better showing for the Rossoneri today against Madrid, due in no small part to the injection of pace at the center of their formation in the form of Kevin-Prince Boateng. Gattuso was a demon in defense, doubling Ronaldo every time he touched the ball, and making a general nuisance of himself whenever Madrid came with 40 yards of goal.
Still, it was Madrid who dominated chances throughout the game as well as having the better of threatening possession. Their first goal was a thing of beauty, and there were times when the ball moved so quickly between their attacking four that Milan was left simply standing and watching.
The side the Italians fielded today was slightly younger than the one the sent out in Spain, and they looked more determined to defend even if nothing was really materializing up front (save for a couple of Ibrahimovic chances that he really should’ve scored). Maybe they’re just too slow? Milan is obviously full of aging stars, but how old are they exactly?
The chart below represents the ages of all the players who participated in today’s match, Madrid in (away) blue, and Milan in their red (actual red!: RGB 158, 51, 50). The vertical bars are the average age of Madrid (25 years) and the average age of Milan (29.8 years). It doesn’t take into account exactly how long the players were on the field, so Pipo is skewing the average a bit in that area. By the way, he was a yard offside on his second goal.
CommentaryNews
Antonio Cassano – WTF?
Reports from Italy have been coming for about a week now regarding Sampdoria and Italy striker Antonio Cassano and his fallout with the president of the Serie A Club Riccardo Garrone. Cassano hasn’t had a smooth and subtle career, not at Roma where he fell out with Totti, not at Real Madrid where he fought with Fabio Capello, not on the national team where he openly criticized Macello Lippi, and now not at Sampdoria, where he has apparently tweaked the president of the club the wrong way.
It’s not clear exactly what he did to raise such ire. Some say it all started when Cassano stood up Garrone at a public event, where he’d promised to make a showing in support of the president and his club. Other refer to verbal tirades and cursing fits directed at Garrone. What is known is that Cassano issued a public apology, or so he says, though he has refused to put it in writing:
“I am very disappointed at what happened and have already apologised to president Garrone, who I care for very much, in front of my team-mates. I read that this whole affair might have been linked to transfer speculation, but I confirm that – if given the opportunity – it is my firm intention to remain at Sampdoria.”
At first this alluded to apology seemed to smooth ruffled feathers, but turns out nothing was mended, and now Sampdoria look set to release their #1 striker without trying to sell him, just to be rid of him. It’s all gone to the league bigwigs for the final stamp and seal, but it looks like Cassano is moving on down the road.
And in one more bit of madness, Nicola Pozzi, Cassano’s replacement for i Blucerchiati has been banned by Serie A for blaspheming in the dressing room after a game. What could that even mean?
CommentaryNews
A Seleção: November 17 vs Argentina
From our Senior Correspondent in Brazil, Mark Gannon. Reporting from the trenches deep in the heart of futebol country.
Here is Mano Menezes’s list for the seleção that will face Argentina in Doha on the 17th of November.
Goalies:
Victor (Grêmio)
Jefferson (Botafogo)
Neto (Atlético-PR)
Interesting that all three are playing in Brazil. A lot of people, including me, thought Victor might be the third goalie for the World Cup. Brazil very often takes a young goalie who might become the starter in the next World Cup.
Wingbacks:
Daniel Alves (Barcelona)
Rafael (Manchester United)
Adriano Corrêa (Barcelona)
André Santos (Fenerbahçe)
André Santos probably owns the left wingback position unless he really screws up. There are other players at his position who would be good choices, but Mano knows and trusts him from their days at Corinthians. Similarly, Daniel Alves seems to be Mano’s guy at right wingback, and deservedly só. He’s very effective and dependable now, and is likely to still be quite good at age 31 in 2014. Rafael is only 20 and already seems to be solidifying his position as Daniel’s backup. His first call-up to the senior team was as part of Mano’s first list, for the friendly against the USA in August.
Central defenders:
Thiago Silva (Milan)
David Luiz (Benfica)
Alex Costa (Chelsea)
Réver (Atlético-MG)
No surprises here. It’s interesting that after a long period of total stability at the center-back position (Juan and Lúcio), Mano already seems to have established who his starters and even preferred backups are at this position. And they seem to be good choices.
When rosters and lineups are listed in Brazil, midfielders are usually separated into “volantes” and “meias.” The basic rule is that meias are offensive midfielders and volantes are more defensive, but there are volantes who can be really important parts of the offense, so I don’t like the term “defensive midfielder” as a translation of “volante.”
Volantes:
Lucas (Liverpool)
Ramires (Chelsea)
Sandro (Tottenham)
Jucilei (Corinthians)
Lucas has been getting more chances with Mano. Ramires was one of Dunga’s best additions to the seleção, and I’m convinced that Brazil lost to Holland in the World Cup quarterfinal basically because Ramires had to sit out that game because of accumulated yellow cards. Brazil had just found what seemed to be the best formula for the team (given that there was no way to sit Kaká, no matter how much he needed it) in the game against Chile. The presence of Jucilei and Elias (see below) is not surprising, not only because Mano remembers the success he had with them at Corinthians, but also because Corinthians is one of the leaders of the Brazilian championship now, in large part because of its excellent midfield (both volantes and meias).
Sandro was an alternate for the World Cup squad and has played for the U-20 and primary national teams.
Commentary
MLS Playoff Brackets
Colorado already has a 1 goal advantage heading into the second leg, with the remaining first round games to be completed through the weekend.
CommentaryVideo
Becks Gets a Rubdown
I’m not so demanding when at the spa, but I also don’t usually visit places where English is an option.
AfricaCommentary
Johan Danon Djourou-Gbadjere
Continuing on this week’s theme of all things Arsenal, we take a very quick look at Johan Djourou, Swiss defender for the Gunners. You may ask, “Isn’t he a little dark for a Swiss, and that name, it’s so African.”
Of course he’s not Swiss-born. The 23 yr-old was born in the Côte d’Ivoire, then brought by his father’s Swiss wife (not his mother) to Geneva before his 2nd birthday. Arsenal held his contract for a number of years, but we’re only seeing him now (unless you caught him for one of his very few appearances for the Swiss).
You’d think being a Swiss center back would mean he’d be a great defensive player. But having seen him beaten to too many balls during his time covering for injured starters, that’s simply not the case. He’s got good foot skills, but is surprisingly slow for a young back on Arsenal, who have some speedy players in the rear. What makes his lack of pace most glaring is his uncomfortable positioning. He’s too often caught out and has to track back in a wild dash to try and poke the ball away. Not a good tactic when you’re dealing with the olympic sprinters playing up front for opposing sides.
He won’t be playing once everyone is healthy, but he does have potential as long as he can get his head around the game.
CommentaryTacticsVideo
How Arsenal Built Their Way to Goal – A Chalkboard Comparison
A red card 5 minutes into the game would obviously have repercussions sooner or later. Looking at the buildup to Arsenal’s first goal (Nasri, 20′), it appears to have been the former. Arsenal made nearly 20 more passes than City over the 10 minutes leading up to the goal, and you can see from the Guardian chalkboards below that they were running the midfield from front to back. Isolated groups of Man City players were trying to maintain the ball while waiting for players to support, but having one less man leaves too may holes to fill and Arsenal plugged them full of attacking movement.
Video highlights of the match below–the first of which is Boyata’s early foul of Chamakh and subsequent red card, and the second of which is Nasri’s goal–a great finish off a quick give&go with Andrei Arshavin (as indicated by the white circles in the top chalkboard above):
PL Highlights: Man City/Arsenal