Atop the tallest spire of Milan’s cathedral sits a statue of the virgin Mary, her gaze fixed upon a Po valley split between the supporters of two giants in Italian football: A.C. Milan and Inter Milan. When these teams meet twice a year at the San Siro, the winning players symbolically join la Madonnina at the city’s highest point. They, adored by their followers as if sprung from the womb of Christianity’s mother themselves, are kings of the city.
In a game that showed nearly even odds, the red and black side should have been the favorites. First in the league, officially the “home” side and with exciting young talents like Pato, Boateng, and Emanuelson mixed in with sturdy vetarans, all three points were surely theirs for the taking. Instead, the transfer drama surrounding Pato’s possible move to PSG created extra tension before the match (not to mention his dip in form and seeming lack of passion on the field – possibly refocused on his girlfriend, Barbara Berlusconi, daughter of Silvio and VP of the club). But it wasn’t just distractions picking at Milan, all credit must go to the blue and blacks from Inter, who’ve been on the rise after a torrid start to the season.
The first half saw Milan consistently pressing , with Ibrahimavich dropping behind Pato and collecting the ball, while letting the very quick and skilled Emanuelson overlap into forward positions (the young dutchman generally plays on the left, but was here being used as a center attacking midfielder). Emanuelson was everywhere in the attacking half of the field, working hard to find space and only misplacing one pass in the first 45 minutes. But Milan could not find a way to goal, with Pato missing a decent chance and only Inter having a real shot – and that against the run of play.
Inter did create some danger down the right wing, where the combination of Zanetti, Maicon and Alvarez worked nicely formed one-two passes to pull Thiago Silva out of position (but what an amazing centerback the Milan man is, and partnered with Nesta…a sturdy pairing). But there was to be no score in the first half, and Inter would surely need to make adjustments if they were to properly challenge for the win.
Oddly, Milan were the side to change, slipping into a 4-4-2 and moving Emanuelson out to the right. The dutch/surinam player then disappeared for the remainder of the game as Inter turned up the pressure.
It was Milito who had the breakthrough right after the start of the second half. Il principe always looked a threat to score if given the chance, and when it was there he took it, collecting the ball just outside the penalty box, settling sweetly and slotting home against the opposite inside post. His balance was perfection and the finish a thing of beauty. From then on Milan looked as dysfunctional as the pregame headlines suggested, while Inter were the team rising from the ashes, pushing toward the top of the league. Inter pressed and pressed looking for a second goal, and Milan couldn’t put together a proper attacking movement for the remainder of the game – save for a brief flash created by 19 yr-old El Shaarawy (of Italian/Egyptian parentage) who replaced the ineffectual Pato with ten minutes to go.
Inter ran out Sneijder for a bit at the end along with Forlan, both of whom are just back from injury. Milan countered with Seedorf and Robinho, but ultimately 35 yr-old Seedorf was completely owned by 38 yr-old Zanetti, and Robinho has stopped being a threat in front of goal. 1-0 to the visitors, Juventus leap ahead of Milan into first, and Inter continue to push toward a Champions League spot.
Out of seemingly nowhere, the U.S. Soccer Federation has cleared house. Today, the power that be announced U.S. U-17 coach Wilmer Cabrera will leave his post at the end of January.
The Colombian, 44, was appointed U-17 coach in 2007, and led the side into the second round at both the 2009 and 2011 World Cups. Not nearly enough, apparently.
His dismissal follows that of Thomas Rongen, coach of the U-20 team; Mike Matkovich, manager of the U-18 side; and Jim Barlow of the U-15 team.
What the French, toast?
Without other info, perhaps it stems from the appointment of former U.S. international Claudio Reyna as youth technical director of the U.S. Soccer Federation in April. If he were queen, we imagine him saying, “We are not amused.” Or perhaps it’s totally unrelated. Whatever will be, whatever was, is/will be.
If history is anything to go by, expect 2011 Women’s World Cup winner Homare Sawa to be collecting her second Ballon d’Or prize this time next year. At the World Cup, Sawa also won the tournament best player and top scorer trophies.
Marta had won five years running as the top female player in the world, but no more. At least not for now. (The Brazilian is considered the best female player ever, after all.)
Japanese midfielder Sawa is only the fourth woman to win the award, inaugurated in 2001, because curiously no woman has never won simply once, not to mention consecutively.
Mia Hamm won the first two, in 2001 and 2002. Germany’s Birgit Prinz then carried home three between 2003 and 2005, before Marta’s five brought us to the current day.
Marta and American striker Abby Wambach were the other two finalists for the award.
Should Tottenham fail to win their gimme game in hand, that hand will be wiping egg off that puffy face.
For those who don’t support Tottenham, the frequently heard refrain of, “we’ve got such and such points, and when we win our game in hand…” got old a long time ago. At long last the fixture lost to the months-ago unpleasantness in London (August riots) will be resolved on Wednesday, and none too soon.
Should Tottenham really be expecting a pushover Everton side, though? Not in my opinion. Landon Donovan is back on loan after a successful stint at Merseyside in 2010. Having started in both the loss to Bolton last week and the FA Cup win over Tamworth on Saturday, Donovan should be re-bedded into the team and adds the pace and goal-scoring threat they’ve needed all season.
Marouane Fellaini has moments of brilliance in him. Leighton Baines, as well. And Tim Cahill is long overdue for a goal. And now that Tim Howard’s scoring long-distance goals, they’re a teamwide goal threat. (Against Bolton, Howard became the fourth goalkeeper to score end-to-end in Premier League history. Oddly enough, Spurs goalie and fellow American Brad Freidel did the game goal-scoring number in 2004.)
On the other side, Tottenham are sweating over the fitness to Ledley King (hamstring). William Gallas and Sandro have both suffered calf tears. Add to the list Scott Parker. But every team has injuries. Everton have lost Phil Jagielka for the time being. Ultimately, Tottenham has to be the better team on the day.
So, win and Spurs go level on points with Manchester United. Lose and they’ll have egg on their face after months of just assuming the game in hand was a 3-points gimme.
Personally, I quite like the egg-on-the-face outcome.
(All that said, Spurs are massively huge favorites to win and, no, Everton is not actually a teamwide goal threat. Gareth Bale will likely give them night terrors for weeks to come, and Adebayor as well. There, I said it.)
Prologue: Salvador, up in northern Brazil, is so unlike Rio and Sao Paulo, the rest of the country refers to Bahiaians rudely as "slow". As I trudged through the late afternoon sun looking for the Newcastle - Man Utd game, it struck me that the heat may have something to do with it.
When Gervinho, Salomon Kalou, Didier Zokora, Emmanuel Eboué and the brothers Touré convene in Abu Dhabi this month to represent the Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations, it will be a high school reunion of sorts. All graduates of the academy of the ASEC Mimosas in the Ivorian capital Abidjan, they have played together for years. (ASEC Mimosas is short for Académie Sportive des Employés de Commerce Mimosas, or “Sporting Academy of Retail Workers Mimosas.” Really rolls off the tongue.)
Sven-Goran Eriksson, manager of the Ivory Coast national team in the 2010 World Cup, said to the BBC in 2010, “This is the most successful academy in the world if you look at all the players who started their careers here.” He added, “Obviously there is a lot of talent in this country. But this academy is top quality, for Africa and in the world.”
In 1993, new manager and former French national player Jean-Marc Guillou formed the Académie MimoSifcom at the already successful ASEC Mimosas team, whose players formed the nucleus of the Ivory Coast squad that won the African Cup of Nations in 1992.
After ASEC Mimosas then won the CAF Champions League in 1998, the high profile win caught the attention of many European scouts. Olympique de Marseille snapped up team captain Tchiressoua Guel, and others found new clubs as well. The depleted ranks then prompted Guillou to name several academy products in the African Super Cup in 1999, which the team won. Among this first crop, a familiar name: Kolo Touré.
Since then, the academy has formed several top players who have brought the team domestic success (in all, ASEC Mimosas has won the Ivorian Premier Division 23 times since 1963). Meanwhile, many players have launched careers abroad and sealed moves to top European sides. In addition to Kolo and Yaya Touré at Manchester City, Kalou plays for Chelsea, Eboué for Galatasaray, Gervinho for Arsenal, Didier Zokora for Trabzonspor (formerly for Tottenham and Sevilla) and Romaric for Espanyol (on loan from Sevilla).
Less household names (to non-Ivorians) to ply their trade overseas include Boubacar “Copa” Barry, Bonaventure Kalou, and Wilfried Zaha.
Kolo may have been part of The Invincibles at Arsenal, but it wasn’t a first for him. ASEC went unbeaten for 108 league games between 1989 and 1994, the world record. (Steaua Bucureşti went 104 unbeaten in the late 1980s.)
At the academy, students train twice a day for a total of 4 hours and take classes in math, history, geography, physics, French, English and Spanish. They live in dorms during the week. The school provides healthcare and tutoring as well.
Guillou left Abidjan in 2001 to manage Belgian side K.S.K. Beveren, soon joined by several players from Académie MimoSifcom. Yaya Touré, Arthur Boka, Eboué, Gervinho, Romaric and Copa each played for Beveren.
Gervinho has credited the stint at Beveren as the final stage of development.
“The transfer from Africa to Beveren was part of the training,” Gervinho told the Daily Mail, a UK newspaper. “Most of the players would leave the centre for Belgium. We all met again there in Beveren. It was a way to adjust to European football and having us all together made the move easier for all of us. We were all happy to leave Africa for Europe, we knew how lucky we were to move to Europe at a young age. Someone was looking after us. Beveren helped me a lot to adjust to Europe.”
Of the academy, Gervinho said, “Back in the days, being able to join the Jean-Marc Guillou academy was one of the best things that could happen to a youngster from Ivory Coast. There were thousands of kids who wanted to join that school so it was a great feeling for me.”
Not that the school was a walk in the park. Kalou has said that players start barefoot and earn cleats, until which point they may actually play against players wearing said cleats (or “boots”), a phenomenon that left scars on his feet.
In an interview with the Daily Mail (I know, again), he said: ‘You had to earn the right to wear boots. I arrived there when I was 12. Left my home and my family. They were now four hours away. And the first thing you are told is no boots. You play barefoot.
“I was there for five years and it took me two years to get my boots. The coach, Jean Marc Guillou said if you can feel the ball without the boots you will feel it better when you have them on. Not until you got to a certain level were you allowed to wear boots. And even then you first had to pass a test.”
As for “the degree,” Kalou explained, “It was a technical test, divided into a number of different tasks. In one of them you had to dribble the ball on your head for the whole length of the pitch in less than 45 seconds. If you passed four sections but failed the fifth, you failed the whole thing and had to wait for another opportunity.
“Those who passed got their boots. A new pair of Adidas Copa Mundials. Beautiful. But those who failed had to keep playing barefoot, even though you then had to train with the players wearing boots. I did not pass first time and I did worry that I would have to play barefoot forever.”
“Every top player from Ivory Coast, with the exception of Didier (Drogba), who was brought up in Paris, went through the academy,” Kalou said. “They believed in a process, in a way of developing our skills, and everything was geared towards becoming a professional footballer.
“I did not see much of my family once I was there. We would maybe get one day off a week and a four-hour journey was too much if I had to get there and back in a day. So we all spent a lot of time together; became great friends.”
Interesting clip of the student-athletes training with tennis balls (and barefoot):
As City wheel and deal in another transfer window, Samir Nasri falls further down the pecking order. And he just joined. Think how early-adopter Wayne Bridge feels.
It’s hard to watch several leagues simultaneously, which somewhat tempers the distaste for the phenomenon of sugardaddied Manchester City and makes the team an intriguing entity to behold. No one particularly likes a team of mercenaries, but for watchers of the English Premier League, City’s current and prospective roster is like a one-stop shop of some of the world’s best players.
Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and David Silva were hardly unknown before they arrived in Manchester, but seeing them play week-in and week-out showed EPL spectators just how skilled they truly are. And with the transfer window again upon us, a whole new crew of the best and brightest are being linked with MCFC. At the very least, those following transfer speculation learn about the top talents in other leagues simply by seeing who Manchester City are said to be pursuing.
Fans of Arsenal cringe when a player in Arsene Wenger’s sights gets named, because almost without fail another team with more money and/or better title-winning chances scoops them up. (See Juan Mata, Yaya Toure and many, many more) So it goes with Belgian whizkid Eden Hazard, now apparently on City’s radar. Hazard’s agent recently said, “His future is with one of European football’s prestigious clubs like Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City, AC Milan, Inter or Juventus.” A few year’s ago, name-dropping City in that list would have been ludicrous. Not so, now. Anyhow, Mancini is said to be considering a £25 million bid for the player. Which multimillion-earning midfielder will he replace? No matter, they’ll make it work.
And with whiffs of rumors of £160,000 a week, it seems City may be bringing Roma star Daniele De Rossi to UK shores. Who will he replace in midfield? Hazard, of course. Or Gourcuff, Ozil, Hamsik or Goetze. (The sound you hear is Samir Nasri whimpering, with only his towering stacks of cash to comfort him.)
Despite Jose Mourinho’s comment, “I wouldn’t like any of my men to leave in the winter transfer window,” at least one paper has Manchester City homing in on Real Madrid defender Raul Albiol and preparing £5 million for Real Madrid 15-year-old Jose Angel Pozo. Perhaps the young Madridista does not count as one of Mourinho’s men.
Meanwhile, superstriker Carlos Tevez is also available, if City is willing to meet his £200,000 weekly wages. Oh, right. Scratch that.
Recent results notwithstanding, if anyone could lure the likes of Neymar, Ganso or Soldado to non-Spanish soil, it’s City. They stand poised to start really filling their trophy cabinet and they can outbid nearly anyone. Only Barcelona’s stars, really, are untouchable.
And as for known quantities in the league, will City successfully poach the likes of Gareth Bale, Robin van Persie or Javier Hernandez? Time will tell. Only loyalty would get in the way.
Van Persie celebrates one of his 35 Premier League goals in 2011, second only to Alan Shearer's 1995 calendar year tally of 36.
A few quick comments as the minutes tick closer to midnight.
Robin rules. It would be impossible to heap too many superlatives on his form this season. He finally got to show what he could do when he remained injury-free. Long may it continue. He’s shown himself to be a great captain so far and hopefully he sees his future with the Arsenal going forward.
Welcome back, Henry! But this does not mean we don’t need another striker… Repeat, this does not mean we don’t need another striker.
Park is the invisible man. Can someone please un-invisibility-cloak the poor guy? When Wenger finally plays him in the league, it really will seem “like a new signing.”
And the award for first-class jackass goes to Bendtner! The Greatest Player To Have Ever Lived proved he is far better at smashing up cars than smashing in goals. He burned his bridges back to Arsenal and meanwhile Sunderland probably wouldn’t quite mind returning him. Let’s hope the team can recoup some cash from some sucker somewhere (who reads only Niklas’s quotes and doesn’t actually watch the Premier League).
It was sad to see Fabregas go, but it’s great to see him flourishing alongside the likes of Xavi, Messi and his other La Masia buddies, even if they’re a bit smug for their own good (not Messi). The fact is that he deserved to leave and play with the Barca dream team. But yet Arteta, Ramsey and Rosicky have managed to keep up the creativity. No one could ever really replace Cesc, but after an adjustment period the boys are making it work. The expected February return of Wilshere will be huge. If anyone is Cesc’s replacement, it’s him. (Cesc said it himself.) If the midfielders can start getting a few more goals in, the team will become much more balanced and dangerous.
Song has become such a huge part of the squad, and with Frimpong and Coquelin as his understudies, we now have serious depth in the midfield enforcer role that we lacked so glaringly before. (Frimpong perhaps needs a loan spell–update, apparently he’s off to Wolves.)
Szczesny has kicked so much ass since emerging from fourth choice ‘keeper purgatory last season. His cockiness is awesome, because he backs it up. And along with Wilshere and Frimpong, he truly seems a red-blooded Gooner. The clip of him leading the away crowd in an Arsenal chant is simply awesome.
Gervinho has such a strange, jerky style. He seems one tactical improvement away from really being able to make it click. Until then, though, you can’t fault his workrate even if his consistency leaves a bit to be desired. When you get back from Africa, more goals, please…
Arshavin and to a lesser extent Chamakh can come good again, I really believe that. However, aside from Arshavin’s goal against Barcelona in the Champions League, 2011 was most definitely a year for both to forget. Hopefully the numerology of 2012 suits them better. The voodoo hex just needs to be lifted. Otherwise, all parties involved should probably call it a day at season’s end. (With Chamakh away at the African Cup of Nations tournament, I don’t see him leaving the club this January.) It will be unlikely, but I think either one of them could turn it around. They just need to do it, already! Arshavin provides some assists. He still has moments of magic in him. And Chamakh does work hard. You have to give him that. But as to Chamakh, especially, a striker who doesn’t score is not someone who should be playing for Arsenal. We send such people to Sunderland…
Walcott—so frustrating. He’s racked up the assists to van Persie, but he blows so many of his own chances. His defensive work has improved significantly, but with his pace, he should be getting at least double digit goals per season. As it stands, Walcott is okay but doesn’t deserve a permanent position in the starting XI. Just for example, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is raw, but he’s the better player. Wenger is wise to blood him slowly, but what to do about Walcott? Keep hoping for the best and keep watching him race down the flanks and finish with nothing to show for it? Theo needs goals to keep his place. A while back, the Southampton coach said Theo had not progressed under Wenger as he might have if he’d stayed at Southampton. It’s impossible to know, but after all these years, he defintely hasn’t exploded into new terrain. The defensive hustle is appreciated, though.
Benayoun = good loan signing. A hard-working squad player who will likely get some more games while Gervinho’s off with the Ivory Coast. The match-winning header at Aston Villa alone justifies his signing. And the anti-Chelsea congratulations tweet to Arsenal after the awesome victory over his “home” club ingratiated him into the hearts of many. Well, maybe not in West London.
The centerbacks are manning the entire back line with the unprecedented loss of both left backs and both right backs. Broken legs are no fun, and losing the ever-solid Sagna was a huge loss. Jenkinson, too. Not a stellar right back, but the English Finn crosses as well as anyone on the team. On the left, Santos shed the pounds and was starting to exhibit the Brazilian flair before his regrettable injury. And Gibbs…he’s good, but like Diaby he is always injured. He’s caught in a vicious cycle of injuries begetting injuries because he can’t get a string of games under his belt. Diaby’s ankle break against Sunderland years back did him in, which is a real shame, because he too can be good. Not sure why Gibbs is so brittle. May they all heal soon and stay healthy.
The return of Vermaelen was timely and excellent. He’s been getting goals, he’s added solidity and leadership to the back 4 and he just all-around kicks ass. His stare alone can make opponents cower. Apparently, he’s now out for two weeks. Let’s hope that’s all it is. Miquel should be getting some January runouts now. (Again, a centerback as left back. Remember when we had no fit centerbacks?)
Mertesacker gets some flack, but he’s done really well in my opinion. He is most definitely a white man who can’t jump, however, so it’s good he’s 6’6. Great addition to the team who will continue to improve as the season goes on.
Koscielny had a bit of a rough first year (visions of Carling Cup final…shudder) but he has done spectacularly well this season and got his first cap for the French national team. Compare to Djourou. Or don’t, really. Djourou doesn’t come off looking too hot, and we need his confidence up. At least a fit Djourou is fortuitous for right back during this fullback epidemic, even if he’s not much on the attack. To be fair, he’s getting better, after his horrible first game in the position.
And as for newbies coming up from the reserves, Miquel has done incredibly well. We’ve seen less of Yennaris, but he impressed, too. And one hardly even thinks about Coquelin and Frimpong as recent reservists. They are first-team material (as is Miquel).
Almunia, Fabianski, Mannone and Squillaci, what to say about the forgotten men? If only Fabianski and Mannone hadn’t reminded us how screwed we’ll be if Szczesny ever gets injured when they clowned it up against Olympiacos. Absence was almost making the heart grown more kindly disposed. You can’t help but feel bad for Almunia, though. May he find first team action somewhere. Good guy, terrible goalie.
Anyhow, who would have thought after the 8-2 disaster at Old Trafford that we’d ring in the new year fourth in the table? The comeback has been hard-fought and well-earned. Robin got the goals and the last-minute signings helped shore up the defense and add experienced heads in midfield.
The departures of Nasri and Fabregas dealt the team two big blows (less so, the former), but each of the summer signings have come through in the clinch at one point or another. Gervinho and his spasmodic style have scored some goals and added a new jerky attack that confuses opponents (at least those that he doesn’t dribble directly into). Mertesacker has settled in and has massive experience. Benayoun scored a key header in the clash with Aston Villa and truly never gives up. Santos started to really come into his own before the injury in Greece. And Arteta knows how to create in midfield but also how to drop back and calm things down. His presence and example will make Ramsey and Wilshere better players, and it’s great that he gets to play in the Champions League at long last. Hopefully he’ll get many more games in Europe this season (meaning the Gunners survive a few knockout rounds) and help us qualify for next.
Yes, we are far too reliant on van Persie right now, but the team is shaping up. On the wish list for January, a quality striker and a loan deal for a decent left back. The rumor mill has Arshavin and Chamakh as possible departures, but I doubt it. Please, Arsene, sign a striker that can fill in for Robin and possibly partner him upfront. As for the constant talkk of Goetze, Hazard, Gourcuff et al, I’ll believe it when I see it. Not likely to happen, but I can guarantee I will do the first backflip of my life (or attempt to do so) if any of those deals materialize. Top fourness at least helps in attracting new talent, though, so thank Jeebus for that.
Lastly, an open letter to Juan Mata: it’s not too late, you can still join the team. Chelsea ain’t even in the top four these days, and John Terry will only drag you down.
