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This Night in Champions League Action: A French Quadruple

February 22, 2011 — by Sean

Chelsea ran riot in Copenhagen this evening, winning 2-0 with Nicolas Anelka scoring on both sides of the half. The west londoners got just the opposition they needed to turn their sad form around, with the bald Frenchman showing real class against a side who looked very much like they hadn’t played in two months. Torres wasn’t as lucky, though he’s manufacturing chances. Here’s a good summation of his current condition by the guardian liveblog:

59 min: Torres picks the ball up down the right and cuts inside. For a moment he’s free in the box, one on one with the keeper, but hesitates and allows Antonsson to come back at him. Torres drops a shoulder and makes himself some more space, eventually getting a shot away, but the keeper’s got time to position himself well and gets behind it. It’s become a glaring confidence issue, this, but he’s getting so many openings surely a goal isn’t long in coming, and then we can forget all about it.

In Lyon, once and future king Karim Benzema broke the deadlock after having been on the field for less than a minute. After a terribly boring first half which saw a lot of niggling fouls interrupt play around midfield, Madrid came out in the second half flying. Within five minutes they’d hit the woodwork twice (off a Ronaldo dipper and then a lofted header by Sergio Ramos) though they never found any real fluidity. Often, the players in white found themselves isolated on the attack, and it was chaos more than tactics that gave Benzema the chance to score against his old side.

Michel Bastos – The Brazilian caused nothing but problems up Madrid's left flank.

The substitute respectfully held his celebration in front of a crowd that had just seconds before politely applauded his return to the pitch, and the goal took the wind out of the stadium for a few minutes. Soon the drums started back up and Les Gones started to push. While it was Michel Bastos and Aly Cissokho combining well up the left in the first half, the sturdy pair of Gourcoff and Toulalan pushed the ball wide while holding the center in the desperate buildup to the end—and eventually the home side got their chance. Off a set piece in the 83′, centerback Cris, a problem for Madrid all night, rose to head the ball down onto the waiting foot of Senegalese-Frenchman Bafetimbi Gomis.

Madrid played a very defensive game tonight, only showing themselves for moments. One wonders though, can they really turn it on when they need to?

As for Chelsea, they’re sure to get through to the next stage of the cup. If only they could play a few more games outside the country they may find their championship form again.

Commentary News

Champions League: Madrid roll into Lyon, Chelsea visit Copenhagen

February 21, 2011 — by Sean

Benzema — Does this guy get a chance in front of the old home crowd?

First knockout round matches continue on Tuesday with Real Madrid visiting the very well run french side Olympique Lyonnais (richest club in the country, ‘natch), while the slumping Blues from London head to Denmark to meet FC København (the first Danish side to play in this phase of the cup).

Under normal conditions Chelsea would be heavy favorites, but their recent run of form makes every match a toss-up. The Løverne haven’t played a match in two months, though they currently sit 19 points clear at the top of the Danish Super League. You’d think rust could play a problem, but that wasn’t the case for Shaktar when they visited Rome last week on the same time off.

Chelsea has most recently, well, sucked. They are a strong side with fantastic players, but they haven’t had that killer edge of late—and this from the team who started the season so strongly it seemed they were a lock for the title. Maybe this is the match Torres and co. need to settle back into a good run of form.

The real match to watch will be Lyon v Madrid. Madrid have been the losing side in the team’s last three trips to France’s second city, though up until now it wasn’t Mr Mourinho holding the reins. Les Gones are a side to be admired. A selling side, they won’t hold onto young talent when the big boys of Europe crack open their checkbooks, and they certainly won’t buy expensive older players, preferring to scout young talent and develop it before moving them on for a big payday.

The system works: the team has been getting further in the Champions League every year, while managing to win seven consecutive Ligue 1 titles between 2001 and 2008. Some players you may have heard of who moved on from the french side? Michael Essien, Florent Malouda, Karim Benzema, and Éric Abidal to name a few.

Ligue 1’s player of the year Lisandro Lopez is likely to miss the match due to injury, though attacking midfielder Yoann Gourcuff, and preferred right wing Clément Grenier are back in for the Frenchmen. Though that may not be enough to hold back the flow of Madrid’s attack. Franco’s choice hasn’t been piling in goals at their early season rate, and they had a few stumbles before the new year, but this is just about the time Jose has his teams hitting their fullest stride. With Adebayor, Kaka, Ronaldo, Ozil, and Di Maria pushing forward, fed by Alonso from deep and Marcelo and Ramos on the wings, it’s surely only a matter of time before the special one’s system clicks into full-gear.

Lyon could play a deep lying game and seek a counter-attacking chance when it materializes, but let’s hope it’s an open game and we get to see some of the French side’s class on display too.

Commentary News

Adeus Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima

February 20, 2011 — by Mark

A bit belatedly, we’re bringing you the conclusion of our “Ronaldo retires” discussion—a conversation that had been stewing for long before the official announcement came last week. Who could ignore his battle with fitness? Still, no one could deny that he was one of the most effective strikers to ever play the game.

While we dwell a bit on his ignominious end, let’s also remember some of his early greatness—check out the footage from his time at PSV and Barça below. And as always, obrigado to our man in Brasil, Mark Gannon for the incisive input!

Ronaldo has definitely gotten fat. Not “heavy for a player” or “a little overweight” or anything like that. He’s fat. When he was first signed, I joked that I couldn’t imagine where Corinthians managed to find a team shirt big enough for him. This year, I have actually wondered where they got his shirts. But here’s the thing: even fat, Ronaldo could actually be effective.

Corinthians, much to the delight of fans of the other major teams in São Paulo, failed to get past Tolima, a Colombian club of which most Brazilians were unaware before this matchup, to get to the group phase of Libertadores. In the São Paulo leg of the home-and-home “pre-Libertadores” matches between Corinthians and Tolima, Tolima played much better than I ever would have expected and completely deserved at least the 0-0 tie it got. In the second game, in Colombia, Tolima played slightly worse than it had in the first game, and Corinthians continued not playing well. Tolima ended up winning 2-0, and even though I thought the Colombian team had played better in the first leg, the 2-0 result was not unfair at all. Anyway, in those matches, the moments when I thought Corinthians was closest to actually scoring were when somebody managed to get the ball to Ronaldo. Yes, he’s fat and slow, but he has not forgotten what he knew about positioning, and he didn’t forget how to shoot either.

Given how much Ronaldo talked about Libertadores when he announced that he would come back to play one more year, as soon as it was clear Corinthians was going to be eliminated before even making the group phase of Libertadores, I wondered whether he might retire sooner than the end of the year. By Saturday night there were rumors all over that he would retire on Monday. On Sunday, everyone was reporting that he would retire and even saying it had been confirmed, even though Ronaldo’s press conference remained scheduled for Monday.

One more little tidbit. They tell me that in his press conference, Ronaldo claimed that his weight problem is the result of a thyroid condition. I’m not sure if it’s true, but it wouldn’t surprise me. When Ronaldo had to have surgery on an injured hand, he had some liposuction too, and when I saw him afterward, I wondered if the liposuction stories had been just unconfirmed (and false) rumors. He’s had big problems with his weight, and I don’t buy that he “isn’t trying” to lose weight, as many self-appointed amateur nutritionist-trainer-psychologist-endocrinologists have asserted. I’ll be interested to see if he does lose weight now.

Commentary News

Akhmetov’s Brazilian carnival arrives at the not-so magica Roma

February 16, 2011 — by Sean

Eddy — The Croatian/Brazilian has scored in 1/2 his UCL games this season

The second day of Champions League knockout action is about to start, with the Ukrainian side sitting tops of their league (having won it last season) while Roma have been smacked around of late, dropping to 8th position a full thirteen points off the lead in the Serie A.

What’s the problem at Rome? There are a few injuries that are causing concern: Striker Marco Borriello has a nagging thigh injury keeping him on the bench, and preferred midfielder David Pizzaro is feeling pain from a recurring knee injury. Of some serious concern is the injury to first choice keeper Julio Sergio, who will be replaced by former first choice Doni. The Italian side should be excited to have their talisman Francesco Totti back in action, though rust may play a part in his finding space amongst the quick midfield of the Girnyky.

The ex-soviet side come into the match having bested Arsenal at home to claim top spot in their group stage. But, speaking of rust, they’re on an extended winter break and haven’t played in roughly two months now. They traveled early, hoping to become accustomed to the 60 degree change in temps (and had a chance to tour the Vatican, how lovely!). What’s most interesting perhaps is the number of samba boys on the side: Adriano (a currently effective version, not the one who may come on for 5 minutes at the end for Roma), Eduardo (Croatian…technically), William, Jádson, Costa, Teixeira, and Fernandinho (out today, unfortunately). Pretty much the entire midfield was born in South America, plus the little spark plug up top.

Roma have historically held firm against the Ukrainian side at home, though they haven’t played in a number of years now and are in the middle of a three-game slump. What’s most concerning is the lack of faith in the gaffer, with Ranieri reportedly having lost the support of his dressing room and the boardroom as well. The well-traveled manager insists nothing is wrong, though concerning the security of his job he has opined, “The coach is like the husband, he’s the last to find out about certain things.”

Commentary News

Raul leads Schalke into Spain

February 14, 2011 — by Sean — 1

Pablo Hernández: The key to Valencia's attack

Champions League knockout action is upon us, so let’s take a look at what might be the most evenly matched tie of the round: Valencia CF vs FC Schalke 04.

Valencia CF

Valencia made their way into the tournament this year on the strength of their two Davids: Villa and Silva. Both moved on at the end of last season, but Valencia hasn’t missed a beat, sitting third in the table at this point and with a fantastic home record (thanks in no small part to the screaming maniacs sat up in the Estadio Mestalla). Still, Los Che don’t have a great record against German teams, having drawn five and lost one in their last six home encounters with teams from der Fatherland.

Who to look out for from the side in orange, you ask? Éver Banega, 22 yr old Argentine in the center of the pitch will look to start the forward movement with well-placed balls into the wing channels. In back the Dutch/Portugese duo of Hedwiges Maduro and Ricardo Costa (respectively) hold down the back line, while 29 yr old Frenchman Jérémy Mathieu likes to attack from his position at left back. Mehmet Topal (aka the Spider) hasn’t seen much love from his Turkish national side of late, but he’s a mean defensive midfielder who will be responsible for breaking the wave of the German offensive movement.

Up the right wing we’ll see the crafty Spaniard Pablo, who is always looking to lob a keeper he spots off his line (his matchup with Schalke’s left back Schmitz will be key). And at the point of the spear are Soldado and Aduriz (the later tending to come off the bench of late, but he’s also the teams top scorer this season). Soldado is particularly fired up, “This is the most important match of our lives and we must go for the jugular in order to try to take the tie.”

FC Schalke 04

Schalke sit at 10th in the Bundesliga, but that position is a bit deceiving. They have arguably one of the top goalkeepers in the world with the young world cup hero Manuel Neuer (sure to be in the running at Man United when Van der Sar wanders out to pasture at the end of the season), and a back four anchored by Christoph Metzelder, who, though almost always injured, has still managed to pick up 50 caps for his home country while also playing in two World Cups.

In midfield we hope to see Anthony Annan, a recent transfer into the squad during the mid-winter break, and a standout for one of our favorite World Cup sides: the Black Stars of Ghana! Also in midfield, where he should really keep his width on the left but instead tends to duck inside, exposing his left back to waves of overlapping attacks, is Jose Jurado, who plied his trade at Atletico Madrid before moving to Die Königsblauen. His opposite side is occupied by the Peruvian Farfán (there’s your line hugger).

Up top is the off-again/on-again dutchman Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, once a fixture at Real Madrid, alongside another fella a lot of folks may know from his time at Los Blancos — Raúl González Blanco. Obviously the team is more than one player, but this one in particular has struck at the heart of many a Spanish side over his sixteen years with Real Madrid (323 times to be exact). He’ll draw quite a few marks, and if fit we may see him play a full 90 minutes, a luxury he didn’t often receive with the young challengers on rotation in the Spanish capital.

Prediction

A balanced game but the key will be Pablo up the right wing for Valencia. Put history aside for this one as the men in orange will work themselves a 2-0 victory to take into the second leg.

News Schedule

International Friendlies Today – France v Brazil, Argentina v Portugal, Denmark v England

February 9, 2011 — by Suman

FranceBrazil1998 — A More Meaningful France-Brazil Match Than Today's (12 Juin 1998, Paris)

There is a full slate of meaningless international friendlies today, with the European and South American powers in action in some attractive matchups (Guardian blogger Paolo Bandini, in a bit of hyperbole: “Is this the best night of friendlies ever?“). Moreover, most of those matches available for viewing here in the US (at least on ESPN3).

We may peek in on France-Brazil, Argentina-Portugal, or even Denmark-England. Especially since the storyline for that latter one, at least from the English point of view, seems to be young Jack Wilshere’s first start. Fabio Capello did nothing to manage expectations of a nation looking for yet another savior by mentioning “Baresi, Maldini, Raúl” when asked about Wilshere.

Such expectations which have been building his performances in the early stages of the Premier and Champions Leagues last fall. For example, here is another Guardian columnist back in October, writing that he’s “nervous about Jack Wilshere, teenage midfield scamp and current bearer of the title of most promising young footballer in England. Watching Wilshere set up Arsenal’s first goal against Partizan Belgrade [in September] with a brilliant backheel, two thoughts sprang to mind. First: Wilshere is really good. And second: how are we going to ruin him?”

(We’ve indulged this tangent about Wilshere since its further fuel for our ongoing internal debate about his role in the Arsenal lineup; see here.)

Here’s a list of some of the matches of interest:

2:15pm	Denmark vs England	ESPN3.com
2:30pm	Netherlands vs Austria	ESPN3.com
2:45pm	France vs Brazil	ESPN2, ESPN3.com USA, ESPND
2:45pm	Germany vs Italy	ESPN3.com
3:00pm	Argentina vs Portugal	FIFA.com, GolTV,
3:30pm	Spain vs Colombia	ESPN3.com

A France-Brazil matchup is a good reason to look back at the famous Final Coupe du Monde 1998, which took place on the 12 Juin 1998 in the Stade de France (Paris):

Update: For reference, here are the squad lists for a few of the matches, which are now in progress.

France-Brazil:

France: Lloris; Sagna, Rami, Mexes, Abidal – A Diarra, M’vila – Menez, Gourcuff, Malouda – Benzema.
Subs: Mandanda, Carrasso, Réveillère, Koscielny, Sakho, Clichy, Cabaye, Matuidi, Diaby, Gameiro, Hoarau, Rémy
Brazil: Julio Cesar; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Andre Santos; Elias, Lucas, Hernanes; Renato Augusto, Pato, Robinho
Subs: Gomes, Neto, Breno, Luisao, Marcelo, Rafael, Anderson, Sandro, Jadson, André, Hulk

Denmark-England:

Denmark: Sorensen, Christian Poulsen, Jorgensen, Agger, Simon Poulsen, Jacobsen, Kvist, Eriksen, Krohn-Delhi, Rommedahl, Bendtner.
Subs: Lindegaard, Wass, Kjaer, Silberbauer, Schone, Vingaard, Junker, Lorentzen, Enevoldsen, Pedersen.
England:Hart, Johnson, Dawson, Terry, Ashley Cole, Lampard, Wilshere, Walcott, Rooney, Milner, Bent.
Subs: Green, Walker, Cahill, Lescott, Baines, Downing, Parker, Barry, Young, Defoe,
Carlton Cole, Stockdale.

Africa Commentary News Video

Weekend Highlight Reel: Arsenal Blow a 4-Goal Lead; Joey Barton Still a Thug

February 8, 2011 — by Suman

Cheik-Tioté — Cheik Tioté: From the Ivory Coast to Belgium to Holland...to Newcastle Hero

The much-hyped Chelsea-Liverpool game Sunday of course didn’t live up to the hype (a surprising but desultory 1-0 victory for Liverpool)–but there was a bunch of exciting action over the weekend. Let’s start with Arsenal visiting Newcastle.

The Gunners scored 3 goals in the first ten minutes against Newcastle (Walcott 1′, Djourou 3′, van Persie 10′), added a 4th in the 26th minute (RVP again), and held that 4-0 lead until the 68th minute–and subsequently collapsed to end the game 4-4. Newcastle was sparked by not one but two penalties in their favor, both converted by Joey Barton–who also helped Newcastle gain a man-advantage for nearly the entire second half.

Sean called it back in August: Joey Barton is a cheap thug. Barton’s vicious tackle on Abou Diaby early in the 2nd half led the Ivorian Frenchman to retaliate with a throwdown, which of course got Diaby a straight red (Diaby was filling in for an injured Alex Song).

That said, Newcastle’s 4th goal was especially impressive–a volley by 24-year-old Ivorian midfielder Cheik Tioté in the 87th minute. Tioté arrived in Newcastle this summer after winning the Eredivisie title with FC Twente and playing for the Ivory Coast in the World Cup (see the Guardian’s Saturday interview from last October: “I miss Africa but Newcastle is perfect for me“.

Here is a game report, and here is video (always lucky when we get a BBC MoTD clip on footytube–watch the match highlights followed by some in-studio match analysis by Gary Lineker et al):

As usual, we solicited the thoughts of our favorite Gunners fans in the Rockies:

The Newcastle game might be a classic for the neutrals. Apparently no EPL team has ever surrendured a 4-0 lead. It was a lesson in sports-psychology. (I’ve been there, my own emotions led to the St. Xavier brawl! HA!)

Gunners: still young, emotional, and needing leadership. But they’re hardening their skin, and taking less and less shit from opponents. I hope for great things in the next 2-5 years…

I wasn’t that upset, I chuckled a few times as Arsenal folded. But they gained a point on Man Utd, and Abou Diaby did his best to put Joey Barton in his place. Pushing Barton’s head toward the pitch is worth a red and a point, eh?

Commentary News

10 Men Arsenal Advance to FA Cup 5th Round

January 31, 2011 — by Tyler — 1

A nail-biter at the Emirates yesterday left our resident Gunners enthusiast in a giddy state. If Nasri hadn’t gone down (he looks unlikely for the clash with Barça mid-month), this would’ve been an almost perfect day for our friend from the Rockies.

What a struggle, what a game.

Facing Huddersfield at home in Sunday’s 4th-round FA Cup tie, Arsenal showed that when healthy, they can field a tourney-worthy team comprised mostly of subs.

Arsenal are often so pretty, but Sunday they showed that a win is a win, no matter how ugly.

An aside: Arsenal really have nearly enough quality players to play 2 in every position. I honestly don’t think any team in the EPL, other than ManU and Tottenham, are that deep. Okay, okay, ManCity might be the deepest… but aren’t they still a work-in progress? (I think Arsenal has a deeper bench than ManU, but ManU maintains the mystique, the ‘killer instinct’.)

Arsenal still need help at center-back, and they could use some ‘pure’ wingers. Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin, Bendtner aren’t wingers… they are best-suited for and would prefer to play in the middle. The Gunners’ best wingers continue to be their starting fullbacks, Clichy and Sagna.

Arsenal played with 10 men for the entire 2nd half, thanks to what I believe was center-back Squillaci’s 3rd red card of the season. (Sebastian is proving to be quite the problem child!) Huddersfield came on strong in the 2nd half, negating Bendtner’s 1st-half deflected goal. But late in the game, Cesc arrived on the scene. Fabregas changed the game with just a couple effortless, efficient passes, and he won it with his late penalty.

Unsung heroes: I can boo-hoo Arshavin and Bendtner as much as anyone. But they’re both better players than we give them credit for, and they had pivotal roles in today’s game.

Bendtner scored the first goal of the match, and he even tracked back to defend once in a while!

Arshavin impressed me with his effort and desire, but his finishing continues to go missing. So many wasted chances in the box… Still, I can’t be mad at the diminutive opera-goer; a favorite moment for me today was when the Russian sprinted back to break up play inside the Gunners’ penalty box, throwing himself in front of the ball.

(Arshavin better be ready to shine for the next few games, as Nasri is most certainly out of action for 2-4 weeks. Just when the team was nearing full-fitness for the first time in so long… Why Samir, why???)

I was happy to see Rosicky’s leadership on the pitch, subbed after Nasri pulled his hammy. Tomas was brought down too easily, so many times, but he was vocal and inspiring, and he showed that he still has some creativity in him yet.

All in all it was a scrappy win. The Gunners’ “second team” obviously hasn’t had too many chances to play together as starters. They misplaced their passes, they had defensive lapses, they eeked out a win when they should have cruised.

2-1 is what matters. On to the 5th round…

Arsenal note-worthies:

• GK Almunia (aluminum?) returned from injury and made a crucial save. Thanks Manuel, but I still don’t trust you as the number one #1.
• Denilson and Gibbs’ lack of playing time hurt the squad today.
• Welcome back, Abou Diaby!!! (One of France’s 2010 WC standouts holds the ball like it’s a magnet; he can defend and attack and give Song a run for his money.)
• Alex Song, what an anchor. He came on in the 2nd half, in the role of center-back, and he was just as composed as ever.

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