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What To Watch This Weekend: La Liga Beyond the Big Two

February 18, 2012 — by Suman — 3

There’s a whole slate of FA Cup matches in England, including Sunderland-Arsenal (see PoliticalFootballs’ most recent post for a full list of those fixtures), and domestic matches in Germany, Italy, etc. But we’re finding ourselves getting increasingly fascinated by Spanish football beyond the big two.

So we’ve picked out a couple matches to focus on this weekend, involving 4 of the 14 teams that have a shot at finishing 4th in La Liga and claiming a Champions League spot for next fall: Getafe-Espanyol (which is actually a Madrid vs Barcelona matchup), and a north vs south battle in Athletic Bilbao-Malaga.

(For a full list of matches televised in the US this weekend see here, or go to livesoccertv.com.)

Saturday, Feb 18

La Liga, Getafe-Espanyol 12pmET (ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com): Our continuing quest to go beyond the big two in Spain. Indeed, these two clubs are severely overshadowed in their hometowns by those big two–Espanyol by their Catalan rivals Barcelona, Getafe by Real (and Atlético) Madrid. But this season finds both teams in what Sid Lowe has called this season’s “slow bicycle race for La Liga’s final Champions League spot“: Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia are almost sure to finish 1-2-3, and there’s an entire peloton of teams jockeying for 4th place. Espanayol is in 5th place, even with Levante (Valencia’s 2nd team!) at 32 points–but that’s only 5 points more than 12th place Getafe (and 9 points more than 18th place Racing Santander!). See below for the full La Liga table.

As for players to watch, note that 3 members of Espanyol’s squad makes a Forza Futbol Top 10 list of “Young Foreign Talent Playing in La Liga“:

21yo Portuguese Rui Fonte, who came up with Sporting CP and spent some time in North London (“Apt both on the wing or as a forward, some have even gone as far as comparing him to the legendary Luis Figo for his impressive performances in Portugal’s U21 side”)
19yo Frenchman Thievy Bifouma, who has “helped fill the void left by the outgoing Osvaldo [who Espanoyol sold to Roma] by partnering Alvaro Vazquez and Vladimir Weiss in the Catalan’s exubertant, Champions League-chasing strikeforce…Deployed mainly on the left by Pochettino, Thievy’s tireless workrate and power on the ball has gone down well with the club’s faithful, who could well be watching a golden generation of talent should the club be able to fend off the inevitable interest that will come their way.”
19yo Brazilian Philippe Coutinho: “On the last day of the winter transfer window, Espanyol pulled off a major coup by sealing the loan signing of Inter’s teenage playmaker Phillippe Coutinho, with an option to buy included. …At just 18, the former Vasco man debuted in the Brazilian national team, and is now at the perfect club to grind out his talent and help re-establish him as one of the stars of tomorrow.”

Note also that the other two members of Espanyol’s strikeforce mentioned above are youngsters as well: Vladimír Weiss is a 22yo Slovakian on loan from Manchester City, and Álvaro Vázquez is a 20yo Catalan who came up through Espanyol’s youth system (and has appeared for Spain’s U20 and U21 teams). The squad also contains another young player on loan from Milan: 22yo left back Dídac Vilà, who AC Milan loaned back to Espanyol for this season after Milan purchased him during the January 2011 transfer window. He’s another Catalan product of Espanyol’s youth system–aside from spending last spring with Milan, he’s been with Espanyol since he was 10 years old.

For more on Espanyol, see this piece, also on Forza Futbol: “A Barcelona Outsider: The Case for RCD Espanyol”

Sunday, Feb 19

La Liga, Athletic Bilbao-Malaga (10amET, DirecTV): Two more teams involved in that slow bicycle race, separated by just a point in the table. Malaga travels from the south coast to the moutainous north, to play in the Basque cathedral of football–San Mames.

La Liga table as of Feb 17 2012 (via the Guardian Football State Centre)

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
1	Real Madrid CF	22	19	1	2	75	21	54	58
2	FC Barcelona	22	14	6	2	63	16	47	48
3	Valencia CF	22	11	7	4	35	22	13	40
4	Levante UD	22	9	5	8	29	29	0	32
5	RCD Espanyol	22	9	5	8	25	26	-1	32
6	Atlético de Madrid	22	8	7	7	31	27	4	31
7	Málaga CF	22	9	4	9	28	32	-4	31
8	CA Osasuna	22	7	10	5	26	35	-9	31
9	Athletic Bilbao	22	7	9	6	34	30	4	30
10	Rayo Vallecano	22	8	4	10	27	32	-5	28
11	Real Sociedad	22	7	6	9	25	30	-5	27
12	Getafe CF	22	7	6	9	22	29	-7	27
13	Sevilla FC	22	6	8	8	22	26	-4	26
14	Real Betis	22	8	2	12	25	31	-6	26
15	Villarreal CF	22	6	8	8	23	30	-7	26
16	RCD Mallorca	22	6	7	9	19	28	-9	25
17	Granada CF	22	7	4	11	17	31	-14	25
18	Racing de Santander	22	4	11	7	18	26	-8	23
19	Real Sporting de Gijón	22	5	4	13	20	43	-23	19
20	Real Zaragoza	22	3	6	13	18	38	-20

England FA Cup, Sunderland-Arsenal noon FSC: After Wednesday’s horror show in Milan, Arsenal has to travel up north to take on Sunderland for the 2nd weekend in a row. They salvaged a come-from-behind victory last weekend courtesy of an extra-time score from Thierry Henry. But the Frenchman is on his way back to this side of the Atlantic, to rejoin the New York Red Bulls after the MLS team turned down Wenger’s request to extend Henry’s loan. Will Arsenal pull themselves together after Wednesday? Or does Arsenal’s implode like last season, but this time in February?

Commentary England Schedule

Matchfixing Not Yet Suspected in “Arsenal 7”

February 4, 2012 — by Rob Kirby

Arsene Wenger was allegedly seen loading briefcase after briefcase of unmarked bills into each of the Blackburn players’ cars at precisely noon today in every time zone.

The 7-1 home exhibition match between Arsenal and Blackburn in the early kickoff Saturday contained everything anyone could ask for in a match. (In that sentence, “anyone” should probably read, “any Arsenal supporter.”) If only we could play Blackburn every match. Scratch that. The first meeting this past fall was one of the lowest moments of the season. Perhaps some cosmic invoice has finally been paid. Who knows, but it really was like a give-‘em-what-they-want-type performance. We needed it. But there’s a long way to go yet before we’re exactly sitting pretty.

To backtrack, the checklist for the most enjoyable viewing experience:

Attacking play
Total Domination in Possession, and not just lame side-passes, either
Hatrick from an Arsenal striker considered one of the world’s best: Robin van Persie
First Premier League goal by Arsenal teen rising talent, subsequently doubled by said Arsenal teen rising talent: Alex Oxlade Chamberlain
Outside goal from experienced, cool-headed midfielder and solid summer transfer signing: Mikel Arteta
First Premier League goal in five years for Arsenal’s all-time highest goal scorer: Thierr–OK, the point has been made

And yet, it’s not as if the month of January didn’t happen. Or August and September at the beginning of the campaign.

Essentially Arsenal finds itself back at the beginning of the season. Granted, being on the right end of a 7-1 demolition will definitely lift spirits, but corners get turned over a period of time, a several-game arc—not just one match. I don’t think anyone’s going to let anyone off the hook quite yet. Not Wenger, not Walcott (who provided some excellent assists), not Arshavin. If wondering, Arshavin helped his cause by not playing today.

Tomorrow’s results and those of Monday will put today’s in context, to see if we did actually make up any ground with regard to Chelsea, Liverpool and/or Newcastle. We are tenuously in fifth again, but could easily be right back in seventh.

Anyhow, up next: matches in the FA Cup, Arsenal’s best chance at a trophy, as well as the two legs against AC Milan in the Champions League and then Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle in the league. The month span between February 11 and March 12 could go so many different directions. A return to form makes one cautiously optimistic, but the track ahead could be roller-coastery, so we’ll see how the twists turn.

But it was awesome to see, wasn’t it? Especially at home. (Meaning the home stadium, of course. Not simply the comfort of my couch.)

Excellent for Oxlade-Chamberlain. What a way to start his scoring career in the Premier League.

Final Stats

Arsenal                           Blackburn
87%        Pass Accuracy      73%
68%      Possession             32%
19            Shots                       5
8              On Target              2

Arsenal fixtures ahead:

February 11 Sunderland   v   Arsenal       Premier League
February 15 AC Milan   v   Arsenal      Champions League (Round of 16)
February 18 Sunderland/Middlesbrough   v   Arsenal      FA Cup (Round 5)
February 26 Arsenal   v   Tottenham Hotspur       Premier League
March 3 Liverpool   v   Arsenal     Premier League
March 6 Arsenal   v   AC Milan     Champions League (Round of 16)
March 12 Arsenal   v   Newcastle United       Premier League

Africa Germany Preview Schedule Spain

What To Watch This Weekend (Feb 3-6)

February 3, 2012 — by Suman

A whole gaggle of interesting matches to watch this weekend. We’ve chosen a handful each on Saturday and Sunday, including the quarterfinals of the African Cup of Nations, a couple each from the big leagues (Premier League, including Chelsea-ManUtd; Serie A, highlighted by AC Milan-Napoli; La Liga–the one we’re most interested in is Atletico Madrid-Valencia), plus a few wild cards (e.g., a Futsal Euro match Saturday night and East Bengal-Mohun Bagun, live from Kolkata). And there’s also the small matter of a Northeast (US) derby of sorts Sunday night in Indianapolis.

Check back in over the weekend for additional preview notes on these matches. But since our first selection kicks off shortly…

(Note: As usual, all times are ET (=UTC-5) and the given USA TV info was obtained via http://wapo.st/A56mR4. Consult livesoccertv.com for your local listings.)

Friday Feb 3

Germany, Nürnberg-Borussia Dortmund (2:30pmET GolTV): Just for something to watch today, and for a Bundesliga match. Plus Dortmund is one of the teams we like to watch–and they’re doing very well again this season in the league: joint top of Bundesliga with Bayern and Schalke.

shinji-kagawa-borussia-dortmund — These are Happy Times at Dortmund for Jürgen Klopp & Shinji Kagawa

Unfortunately their young rising superstar is out 4-6 weeks with a stress fracture of his pubic bone (ouch). But they’ve got additional young and exciting players from across the globe on their squad: strikers Robert Lewandowski (Poland) and Lucas Barrios (Paraguay); Japanese midfielder Shinji Kagawa; Serbian(-American) Neven Subotić, who teams up with German Mats Hummels in central defense. FC Bayern blogger & “Bundesliga wannabe expert” @RedRobbery kindly replied to our question about who to watch in this match, and directed us to also watch midfielders Sven Bender and Jakub “Kuba” Błaszczykowski. (The latter is captain of the Polish national team, and described by Polish great Zbigniew Boniek as a “litte Figo” when Dortmund signed him from Wisla Krakow in the summer of 2007).

On the other side of the ball, RedRobbery picked out young German center back Philipp Wollscheid, the experienced Belgian holding midfielder Timmy Simons, and young Czech striker Tomáš Pekhart as players to watch on the Nürnberg squad.

(Contrary to the conventional wisdom that the German national team is pretty much Bayern Munich, note that Bender, fellow midfielder Kevin Großkreutz, Hummels and of course Mario Götze have all made appearances for the German national team–as has Marco Reus, who will be coming over to Dortmund this summer after a breakout season at the other Borussia.)

Saturday Feb 4

India, East Bengal-Mohun Bagan, 3:30amET: The Great Kolkata Derby! What FIFA called “India’s All-Consuming Rivalry.”

England, Arsenal-Blackburn 8 a.m. ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com: Gunners achieved 1 point from their 4 January league fixtures–and that a scoreless draw against lowly Bolton. This weekend they play even lower Blackburn. But let’s not forget Arsenal lost at Blackburn back in September, and that Arsene has maybe lost the stadium. Groundhog Day for Arsenal?

African Cup quarterfinal, Zambia-Sudan (11amET, Al Jazeera Sports USA – DISH Network 601): The first AfCON2012 quarterfinal match features two teams that weren’t widely expected to reach the knockout stage.

Sudan-Khartoum — They're celebrating Sudan's quarterfinal spot in Khartoum--but what about in the south?

For some background, read Gary Al-Smith’s new blog post on Sudan: “To which half of the country will the Cup go if Sudan win?” and a BBC article about “South Sudan’s divided support for norther neighbours.”

Al-Smith’s blog post opens with the line: “A common stat you may have heard in the past few days: the last time Sudan won the African Cup was 42 years ago, 1970” and a story about Sudanese club Al Hilal playing Canon Yaounde in the Cameroon capital in a 1987 African Champions Cup semifinal, after which

a six-year old got his wish and shook hands with the legendary Sudanese forward Ali Gagarin. Gagarin was shocked when he met the little boy, not because he was not aware of his fame, but at the sheer awe in the boy’s eyes.

Gagarin, in a recent interview, recalls the incident: “I was told that a young man came to the stadium and asked for the jersey of Gagarin and said ‘I want the number 9 jersey of Gagarin.’ Do you know who is that young man today?”

The boy would later become Africa’s greatest footballer. The boy was Samuel Eto’o.

The other quarterfinal scheduled for today features one of the co-favorites versus one of the co-hosts: Ivory Coast-Equatorial Guinea (2pmET, also Al Jazeera Sports USA). For some pre-game reading on this one, see see Jonathan Wilson’s column in the Guardian: “Kily keen to upset the odds for Equatorial Guinea against Ivory Coast: The co-hosts’ right-back usually plays in the Spanish fourth division but on Saturday he will face the much-fancied Ivory Coast in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals”

Spain, Athletic Bilbao-Espanyol (12pmET, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com): We have been trying to look beyond the big two in Spain. This is an interesting match not only because it’s Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic Bilbao, but because it’s an important match for the league standings. Espanayol is in 5th place with 31 points, Athletic hot on their heels in 6th place with 29 points. Here’s the top half of the table (columns: played, won, lost, draws, goals for, goals against, goal differential, points):

1	Real Madrid CF	20	17	1	2	70	19	51	52
2	FC Barcelona	20	13	6	1	59	12	47	45
3	Valencia CF	20	10	6	4	31	22	9	36
4	Levante UD	20	9	4	7	26	24	2	31
5	RCD Espanyol	20	9	4	7	22	21	1	31
6	Athletic Bilbao	20	7	8	5	30	25	5	29
7	Atlético de Madrid	20	8	5	7	31	27	4	29
8	Málaga CF	20	8	4	8	24	29	-5	28
9	Getafe CF	20	7	6	7	22	26	-4	27
10	CA Osasuna	20	6	9	5	22	32	-10	27

Futsal Euro, Ukraine-Spain (6pmET GolTV): The 2012 Futsal European championships are taking place in Croatia. Who knew? The group stage is ending this weekend, with the quarterfinals Monday and Tuesday, the semifinals Thursday, and the final next Saturday.

Sunday Feb 5

Italy, Roma-Inter Milan or AC Milan-Napoli (both 9amET, both on ESPN3.com; Milan-Napoli also on Fox Soccer Plus): Two big-club clashes in Serie A. Roma, Inter and Napoli are all likely out of contention for the Scudetto, but are aiming for a spot in Europe. Milan is in 2nd, just a point behind still-undefeated Juventus–but they’ve been struggling lately, including a loss to Lazio mid-week. The table:

1	Juventus	20	12	8	0	33	13	20	44
2	AC Milan	21	13	4	4	43	19	24	43
3	Udinese	21	12	5	4	31	17	14	41
4	Lazio	21	11	6	4	32	19	13	39
5	Inter Milan	21	11	3	7	34	25	9	36
6	Roma	20	9	4	7	31	25	6	31
7	SSC Napoli	21	7	9	5	36	24	12	30
8	Palermo	21	8	4	9	30	31	-1	28
9	Genoa	20	8	3	9	28	36	-8	27
10	Chievo Verona	21	7	6	8	18	26	-8	2

England, Chelsea-Manchester United (11amET, Fox main network): The big one this weekend in England. ManUtd are trying to keep pace with City at the top of the table, while Chelsea are seeking to hold on 4th (and that crucial Champions League spot). See here for squad sheets, as well as John Ashdown’s quick match preview:

This is second against fourth in the Premier League, a clash between two sides who have carved up the last seven titles between them, but somehow it does not feel like it. United have won eight of their last 10 fixtures in the league but are grinding out results in their pursuit of Manchester City. Chelsea, meanwhile, stumble and stutter in their attempt to hold on to the final Champions League spot. Neutrals must hope that at least one of these big beasts can rediscover their mojo come Sunday tea-time.

Indeed, Chelsea have often seemed on the verge of crisis throughout the season–whether due to grumbling about new manager Andre Vilas-Boas’s tactics or squad selection, speculation about whether Fernando Torres will ever score again, or controversy about captain John Terry. Here was our Chelsea observer The Cunning Linguist with some observations he offered up back on Boxing Day:

I think part of the problem with Torres is the obvious pace he’s lost but the other part is the way he’s being utilized and the infrequency. When at the kop he looked to be picking the ball up further up field from long balls and such but now he’s coming back further to build play given the tight band of barca’s that is being employed; obviously Chelsea’s personnel doesn’t warrant the barca style. The odd part is that drogba seems to be getting faster and a bit more creative as he gets older; hat’s off to the old boy. let’s see what drogba’s absence for the African cup in jan means; can’t believe Torres is done. Saw some decent stuff from him in the game; movement, control, etc. There was a great chest ball and shot that didn’t do much but it was a damn neat piece of skill.

Until avb figures out what the new Chelsea style is, it’ll be mourinho against good teams and experiments against lesser quality teams. For me the real story is mikel’s loss of favor; romeu’s the future. Lampard’s done; feel bad it has go go down this way but that’s that.

African Cup of Nations quarterfinals, Gabon-Mali 11amET and Ghana-Tunisia 2pmET: Take a look at The Hard Tackle’s match previews. Looking ahead at the schedule, both semifinals will be Wednesday, with the final next Sunday in Libreville.

Spain, Atletico Madrid-Valencia (3:30pmET ESPN3.com): As we wrote last weekend, Atletico salvaged their season after turning to Diego Simeone in December. They’re up to 7th in the table, and challenging for a spot in Europe is not out of the question. Valencia is trying to solidify its hold on yet another #3 finish–but they’ve also got a big Copa del Rey clash coming up mid-week–the 2nd leg of their semifinal against Barcelona, following the 1-1 draw at the Mestalla last Wednesday.

USA (NFL), Super Bowl – NY Giants-New England Patriots (6:30pmET): See Political Footballs’ match preview here.

Monday Feb 6

England, Liverpool-Spurs 3 p.m. ESPN2, ESPN3.com

Africa Preview Schedule Spain

What To Watch Today: Côte D’Ivoire vs Angola, Osasuna vs Atlético Madrid

January 30, 2012 — by Suman

We’ve got to post a quick recap of what we watched this past weekend–but first, very briefly, here are two games today that you could tune in for, in case you’re looking for something to watch this afternoon/evening (depending on your timezone):

African Cup of Nations, Côte d’Ivoire vs Angola (1pmET, Al-Jazeera Sports / Eurosport International): The group stage of AfCON2012 wraps up over the next couple days. These are the top two teams in Group B, and will most likely advance to the knockout stage (Sudan, who are simultaneously playing Burkina Faso, can advance only according to a very convoluted–but not impossible–scenario:

Sudan will advance to the quarterfinals as the second-placed team in the group if they defeat Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire defeat Angola and

the combined margin of the two wins is at least 3 goals, or

Sudan score at least 3 more goals than Angola do, or

the combined margin of the two wins is exactly 2 goals and Sudan score exactly 2 more goals than Angola do and prevail over Angola by tie-breaking criteria No. 6 and 7.

Côte d’Ivoire’s squad of course has the most big-name big-club players in the tournament: Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou (both Chelsea), the Touré brothers (both Man City), impressive holding midfielder Cheick Tioté (Newcastle), former Arsenal man Emmanuel Eboué (now Galatasaray), current Arsenal attacker Gervinho. Another Ivorian striker we’ll keep an eye (given that we’re trying to watch more Eredivisie): Wilfried Bony, who just joined Vitesse Arnhem last summer, after a few years in with Sparta Prague.

Like much of the Euro-centric football-watching world, we’re not sure who to watch on Angola. A look at their current squad shows (not surprisingly) a number of players playing club ball in Portugal–we’re guessing that forwards Djalma is a player to watch, given that he plays for Portuguese powerhouse Porto.

Spain (La Liga), Osasuna vs Atlético Madrid (3pmET, GolTV): Atlético has been experiencing a resurrection since they fired Gregorio Manzano and hired El Cholo–former Atlético star Diego Pablo Simeone. As usual, we rely on Sid Lowe’s Guardian writing for our knowledge of La Liga. Read his blog post from mid-January in full: “Atlético’s favourite son Diego Simeone returns to light up the Calderón: Atlético’s fans finally welcomed home ‘El Cholo’ on Sunday, and their new coach gave them hope for a more stable future” (and/or see below for an excerpt).

After selling off their big name players last summer (Kun Aguero to Man City, Diego Forlan to Inter), Atletico Madrid lost a lot of star appeal. The player on their current squad that we’ve been hearing the most about is Colombian striker Falcao, who’s been banging in the goals, as he did previously at Porto under Andre Villas-Boas. Indeed, AVB wanted to bring Falcao along to Chelsea over the summer, but somehow Atlético got him instead–and now there there are rumors AVB will ask Abrahamovich to open up his moneybags yet again to do the deal this summer. Falcao as a replacement for Drogba–or maybe even Torres? Maybe a swap that send El Niño back to his boyhood club?

Beyond Falcao, we recall from a previous viewing of Atlético that we were impressed with Brazilian midfielder Diego, who’s on loan from the Bundesliga’s Wolfsburg. Also keep an eye on Spanish youngster Adrián López, who just joined the club last summer after five years with Deportivo La Coruña. Further back on the field, Uruguayan international Diego Godín and captain Antonio López (a product of Atlético’s youth system) anchor the defense, and in front of them experienced Portuguese midfielder Tiago Mendes (30yo, has stints at Chelsea and Juve on his resume, plus 58 caps for Portugal, including two World Cups and a Euro championship).

Now for those excerpts from Sid Lowe’s column about Diego Simeone returning to “the banks of the Manzanares“:

Madrid awoke to the front-page news that “El Cholo” had filled the Vicente Calderón on his return, 55,000 faithful atléticos acclaiming the third coming. The headline came as bit of a surprise: not so much because he hadn’t filled the Calderón as because he hadn’t even returned to it yet. Still, there’s nothing quite like selling successes that haven’t happened and still might not, especially round here, and it was only a few hours away. Noon on Sunday 15 January and Diego Pablo Simeone was at last back on the banks of the Manzanares, a saviour.

At last? In truth, he hadn’t taken all that long. It had been just six and a half years. Yet it felt longer. It often feels like Atlético Madrid work in dog years: everything happens so fast, so much goes on, that each year at Atlético is worth seven anywhere else.

[…]

Simeone always knew this day would come. Twice he had played for Atlético Madrid, between 1994 and 1997 and again between 2003 and 2005. The first time he had been at the heart of the side that won the double in 1996. When he left Atlético, he did so in tears to a huge, emotional ovation. A hardnut and a football nut who stood sadly under the shower the day he finally retired at Racing de Avellaneda, half an hour thinking silently, he went into coaching immediately. He had, team-mates said, been a coach as a player. There were six managerial stints in five years at five different clubs, some successes too, but none were Atlético. And the promise was always there, hanging in the air: maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day …

Sunday, at last, was the day. “The day of the Cholo,” as El Mundo Deportivo put it. Brought in at Christmas, Simeone had returned to action the week before, with a 0-0 draw at Málaga. Now, he was making his debut as coach at the Vicente Calderón and against another hero from the double – José Molina, Atlético’s goalkeeper in 1996, the unexpected debutant manager at Villarreal and back at the Calderón for his second game in charge. Team-mates but never actual mates – the photo of the pair “together” that the media used most last week shows the quiet, occasionally distant Molina posing with the trophy while Cholo Simeone stands saluting the fans as he waits his turn, a little too close to get out of the shot – here they were again, 15 years later.

Africa England Preview Schedule Spain

What To Watch This Weekend: FA Cup, African Cup, Serie A, Eredivisie

January 28, 2012 — by Suman

Saturday, January 28

England FA Cup, Liverpool-Manchester United (7:30amET FSC): The most heated of English rivalries? Which has become even more fraught with the Evra-Suarez controversy–due to which the essential Uruguayan striker is still sidelined for this one. Liverpool has been relying on Craig Bellamy up front–leaving a £35 elephant on the sideline. Man U continues to lose players to injury–Phil Jones being the latest–but after some mid-season wobbles somehow seems to keep winning.

African Cup, Ghana-Mali(2pmET Al Jazeera Sports USA): The one African Cup of Nations group stage match that we’d circled to watch. Ghana is one of the co-favorites to win the whole thing (along with the Ivory Coast), with largely the same squad that went to the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Africa (and would have made the semifinals if not for the goal line stand of the aforementioned Luis Suarez). Mali looks like they’ve got a decent squad, based just on the fact that the majority of the Malian squad play in Ligue 1–and their captain is Barcelona’s Seydou Keita. SI has a match preview–and in fact Jonathan Wilson (who’s down in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea covering this firsthand) penned a tournament preview for them.

Italy, Juventus-Udinese(2:30pmET FSC, ESPN3.com): Big game in Turin, 1st v 3rd in Serie A. Actually Udinese can pull even with Juve if they can manage a win, but that will be a tall order. Remarkably, I Bianconeri are still undefeated in the league: 11W, 8D, 0L for 41pts, with AC Milan just a point behind and Udinese next with 38. For Udinese, any goals are likely to come from di Natale–but watch for Colombian winger Armero to create chaos on the flanks with his speed. Udinese will be missing Ghanaian holding midfielder Kwadwo Asamoah, who’s down with his national team, playing in that aforementioned match vs Mali today.

Sunday, January 29

Netherlands, Feyenoord-Ajax (6:30amET – ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com): The most heated rivalry in Holland–De Klassieker.

England FA Cup, Arsenal-Aston Villa (11amET – FSC): Any Arsenal match is of interest to the CultFootball crew. And after last Sunday, it’ll be interesting to see how the Emirates responds to Arsene’s squad.

Spain, Malaga-Sevilla (4pmET GolTV): Since we like to look at La Liga beyond the Big Two, and these are two southern sides that aim to join (or rejoin, in Sevilla’s case) Valencia as the primary alternatives to Madrid and Barcelona.

England Preview Schedule United States

What to Watch Today: Everton vs Fulham – Donovan vs Dempsey

January 27, 2012 — by Suman

There’s a whole slate of FA Cup 4th Round matches this weekend, kicked off by a match today that is especially interesting for viewers on this side of the pond. Everton hosts Fulham, which means it’s also a faceoff of the two best American players of this generation: Landon Donovan vs. Clint Demspey.

England FA Cup, Everton vs Fulham (3pmET, USA TV: Fox Soccer Channel)

Grant Wahl has a SI column up today previewing the matchup between “the two best American field players of their generation” which is worth reading in its entirety. Some excerpts:

Who’s done better with the national team? Donovan. Who’s had a better European club career? Dempsey. Who’s got more endorsements? Donovan. Who’s been better overall the past 18 months? Dempsey. Who’s done more to grow MLS? Donovan. Who’s got the better chance to be the U.S.’s first European superstar? Dempsey.

Donovan just rejoined Everton earlier this month on another short-term loan from MLS champions LA Galaxy. He had a successful loan spell with the Merseyside club two years ago, for three months at the beginning of 2010. Indeed, Everton wanted to extend the loan, but the LA Galaxy refused, and Everton manager David Moyes would have liked to have bought him–but Donovan’s valuation was too high (£10m) for the cash-strapped Everton.

On the other hand, Dempsey has been in the English Premier Leauge full-time for almost exactly five years. He joined Fulham on a $4million transfer from the New England Revolution during the January 2007 transfer window, and made his Fulham debut on January 20, 2007. He’s since scored 42 goals in 169 appearances for Fulham–setting records for not only most goals by an American in England, but claiming the record for most Fulham goals in the Premier League era (since 1992).

England Preview Schedule Spain

What to Watch This Weekend: Super Sunday

January 22, 2012 — by Suman

It’s Super Sunday due to the two big EPL North London-Manchester games, but there’s also a couple interesting La Liga matchups and an relevant Eredivisie matchup today:

Super Sunday, Jan 22

Netherlands, Alkmaar-Ajax (8:30amET ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com): A league meeting between two teams in contention for the Eredivisie title (AZ Alkmaar). This will be the 3rd meeting between the two sides in just over a month–first there was the already-infamous pitch invasion at Amsterdam Arena in December, and then the replay in front of 20,000 Dutch schoolchildren last week.

Most eyes, however, will be on England, with the two North London teams taking on the two Manchester teams (“a tale of two cities” if you will):

England, Manchester City-Spurs (8:30amET FSC): 1st vs 3rd, with City still atop the table and Spurs hot on their heels in 3rd. We liberally excerpt from our man John Lally’s PoliticalFootballs preview post:

Manchester City still have their 100% home record in the league, having won all 10 of their fixtures at the ~~City of Manchester~~ I mean ~~massively overpriced sponsorship with financial shenanigans definitely going on~~ Etihad Stadium – but their last two games there have ended in defeat – against United in the FA Cup, and Liverpool in the Carling Cup. The absence of Yaya Toure, who is representing the Cote D’Ivoire at the Africa Cup of Nations, has weakened the City midfield, giving Tottenham an opportunity to dominate in the middle of the park. However, Spurs will be without Emanuel Adebayor up front – he is on loan from Manchester City and thus is ineligible to play against his parent club. Harry Redknapp, who tax evasion case goes to trial the day after the match, will be hoping that Rafael Van der Vaart and Jermain Defoe will be able to join forces and lead the line, having been competing with each other for a single place in the starting lineup all season. If Bale on the left and Lennon on the right-wing can get behind the City full backs – Micah Richards and Gael Clichy – then Tottenham will have a great chance at putting the home team under pressure – but they will need to be less wasteful with their chances than they were in the draw with Wolves last week.

England, Arsenal-Manchester United (10:30amET Fox main network, tape at 5pmET on FSC): Despite Arsenal slipping back down the table over the past few weeks, out of contention for the title, this is still a marquee matchup. There’s the history of course–the recent history that Arsenal will seek to avenge today; and before that, the acrimonious clashes of the past two decades.

Finally, if that’s not enough footy for you, and if you don’t have Barcelona/Madrid fatigue (don’t forget the 2nd leg of their Copa del Rey tie is this coming Wednesday, back at the Camp Nou), the Big Two in Spain actually have potentially tricky fixtures today:

Spain, Malaga-Barcelona (12pmET GolTV): Yet another non-trivial away fixture for Barça. The Qatari-funded Malaga project hasn’t been entirely successful so far, although they did threaten to knock off Real Madrid a couple weeks ago, before a goalkeeper howler doomed them. The player to watch for Malaga is Spanish international midfielder Santi Cazorla.

Spain, Real Madrid-Athletic Bilbao (3:30pmET ESPN3.com, tape at 7 p.m. on ESPN Deportes): We are fascinated by the Bielsa-Bilbao project. Will they press Madrid at the Bernabeu? How will Madrid respond after last Wednesday’s demoralizing loss? Players to watch for Athletic–if we might be so solipsistic as to blockquote ourselves (from our preview of November’s fantastic Bilbao-Barcelona match):

Fernando Llorente up front, at “la punta” of the attack, a player who has won 19 caps playing for Spain (including an appearance in South Africa for the World Cup-winning side); “the highly exciting 18-year-old Iker Muniain,” who seems to play in an attacking midfield role; and behind him in central midfield the 23-year old Javi Martinez

And if you’re a lover of the Italian game, here’s a Serie A match for good measure:

Italy, Inter Milan-Lazio (2:30pmET. FSC, ESPN3.com)

England Preview Schedule

What to Watch This Weekend: Random Saturday Selections

January 21, 2012 — by Suman

None of today’s matches are necessarily must-see; but if you must watch some football, here’s what we recommend:

Saturday, Jan 21

England, Norwich-Chelsea (7:30amET ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com): Norwich (and Swansea) have attracted attention as newly-promoted sides that have fought their way into the top half the table. So this could be a tricky fixture for Chelsea–especially as Drogba has left for the African Cup of Nations. On the other hand, maybe this will finally be the match that Fernando Torres scores for the Blues? More successful Spaniards in the side have been the young Juan Mata (from Valencia) and the even younger Oriol Romeu (from Barcelona). The Guardian’s Dominic Fifield has an interview with Romeu in today’s paper: “Oriol Romeu likes ‘hard football’ and feels at home at Chelsea: The new boy at Stamford Bridge believes he is more of an English player than a typical product of Barcelona.” Excerpts:

Five months into his career in England, Chelsea’s boy from Barcelona already feels an integral part of the club’s evolution. The Spaniard should make his ninth Premier League start at Norwich tomorrow and will diligently set about his duties: pressing, shielding, setting the tempo from the base of a three-man midfield, offering protection aplenty. There will be no fuss and little extravagance. Merely industry. Most players prised from Camp Nou would have supporters drooling but Romeu’s game is about efficiency, not flamboyance. He is the closest thing Chelsea have had to a Claude Makelele since the Frenchman himself.

[…]

Barça accepted his departure grudgingly, insisting on having first refusal, at $10m (£8.3m) next summer and $15m in 2013, should Chelsea decide to sell. The potential exists for Chelsea to endure their very own Cesc Fábregas “Catalonia calling” saga – Romeu spent time at Espanyol’s academy before moving to La Masia – though not at those relatively meagre prices. The clause was a reflection of Romeu’s ability, even if he remained a raw talent. Luis Enrique, his Barcelona B coach, had praised his workaholic attitude rather than any slick passing ability. The local press christened a muscular player “the bulldozer”, yet, in the helter-skelter Premier League, his game has been more about anticipation and positioning than fearsome tackling. They clearly even boast a better class of bulldozer in Barcelona.

England, Fulham-Newcastle (10amET Fox Soccer Plus,foxsoccer.tv): Newcastle have intrigued us over the past couple months–the hot start, powered by lauded midfielder Yohan Cabaye at the fore of their “French revolution” and by their dynamic African duo of stalwart midfielder Cheick Tioté and sensational striker Demba Ba (soon to be joined up front by his fellow Senegalese striker Papiss Demba Cisse; how good does that £35m deadline day sale of a now-homesick Geordie look now?)

Spain, Real Betis-Sevilla (4pmET ESPN Deportes, ESPN3.com): Extend your knowledge of La Liga beyond the big two. Sid Lowe had good things to say about Real Betis on last Monday’s Guardian Football Weekly pod, after they’d pressed Barcelona at Camp Nou and gone up 2-0..before ultimately losing 2-0. Sevilla is a team we’re partial to–players to watch include Spanish internationals Jesús Navas and Álvaro Negredo in attack, and that longtime Sevilla stalwart, Malian midfielder Frédéric Kanouté. From Sid Lowe’s March 2011 column about how Sevilla battled Barcelona to a draw–“a result of Frederic Kanouté’s brilliance“:

“Kanouté,” said Guardiola, “gave them the pausa they needed.” Kanouté, said Santi Giménez in AS, “is a spectacular, elegant, stupendous player who turned the game round.” It was classic Kanouté: smooth and skilful, never in a hurry. Intelligent and eloquent, strikingly mild for a sportsman, he’s the striker, playmaker and footballer many Sevilla supporters think is the best signing they have ever made (Alves permitting); the man who gave over €300,000 (£260,000) to prevent a local mosque from closing and played with masking tape over the 888.com on his Sevilla shirt because he did not want to advertise a bookmaker. The man who scored in the Uefa Cup final in 2006 when Sevilla won their first major trophy in almost 60 years, he also got the winning goal in the Copa del Rey final and scored in the Uefa Cup final, the following season.

Kanouté is 6ft 3in and weighs 13½ stone. The pity has been that there was not always that little bit more of him. In 2006-07, he missed six games and started a further two on the bench but still scored 21 goals. In the campaign in which Sevilla won the Copa del Rey and the Uefa Cup as well, by the end he was running on empty. Sevilla went into the final day with a chance of winning the title but knowing that they probably wouldn’t. It was a tragedy that they did not take the title: the last genuine challenge to the top two. What ultimately cost them were the eight 0-0 draws over the course of the season – six of which came in the last 18 matches and two of which Kanouté was absent for. In the others, he might as well have been.

Seeing Kanouté be brilliant but brittle is nothing new. But this is another step again. Kanouté is 33 now. It was no coincidence that he started on the bench; or that he has started fewer than half of Sevilla’s games this season. He may not be able to give much more. This felt like a last waltz from a truly great player. And that’s a huge challenge for the club. Like Alves, will they find him irreplaceable?

Friendly, USA-Venezuela (9pmET Galavision, ESPN3.com): We’re not sure who Klinsmann will be lining up for this one–just MSL-based players? And even then, no Donovan since he’s Merseyside for a couple months.

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