My UEFA Team of the Year 2009

My UEFA Team 2009

Coach : Josep Guardiola (Barcelona)

GK : Julio Cesar (Inter Milan)

LB : Patrice Evra (Man.Utd)

CB : John Terry (Chelsea)

CB : Gerard Pique (Barcelona)

RB : Maicon (Inter Milan)

CM : Xavi (Barcelona)

LM : Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

RM : Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

AM : Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)

FW : David Villa (Valencia)

FW : Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

 

Group B: Group of Death

The 2010 World Cup is officially on! The group draw has been announced and now football fans are ready to predict and analyze who will go through the group and who will go out of the group.

Whenever there is a group draw, analysts choose ‘ group of death.’  This time, it looks like group G is the ‘group of death’. But I disagree with this pick. For me, ‘group of death’ should be the group which people cannot predict easy, but group G is actually easy to predict which team will advance to the next round. Obviously,  all time favorites Brazil will advance and North Korea has no chance to get through. Now you only have to choose between Ivory Coast and Portugal. The reason why group G is called ‘group of death’ is that there are 3 big teams in the same group.

In my opinion, Group B is the group of death: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea and Greece. In this group, each team is unique and there are no ‘dominant’ team. Argentina could be the ‘dominant’ team, but their performance in South America World Cup qualifiers shows that they can be beaten by any teams. Their coach Diego Maradona almost got fired because of the performance. Other three teams are basically same, only name value differences.  South Korea maybe the least favorite to pass the group phase, but the records show that South Korea have never lost to Nigeria or Greece in A-matches. (Greece 1W1D, Nigeria 2W 1D)

Just like Goal.com’s prediction on this group, “all four teams could realistically finish in fourth place,” I think group B is the group of death. It will be interesting to watch all of the group B games.

 

Atletico Madrid in trouble

So far, each teams in Spanish La Liga played 11 games. While Real Madrid is securing the top spot in Spanish La Liga, Madrid’s another big club, Atletico Madrid is currently on the relegation zone. They are now at the 18th place among 20 teams.

This team marked 4th place in the last season and was able to enter Champions League. But this season, it would be miracle if they achieve like what they did in the last season. In fact, this team only won one game in 11 games. At this point, they have to be worried about relegation, not the ticket for European club competition.

Biggest problem for Atletico Madrid is their defense. So far, they allowed 24 goals which is the worst record among 20 teams. Judging from the game that I have seen, their defensive line is too slow to defend fast attackers. They need fast defenders who can cover the back space and respond quickly to the ball movement.

Making the situation worse, there are rumors that Atletico Madrid’s Argentinian striker, Sergio Aguero, might leave the team in next winter. According to media reports, English giant Chelsea FC is the possible buyer. Chelsea need a striker since they only have Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka as a pure striker in their squad. In fact, Drogba will be absent from January due to the Africa Nations Cup.

If Aguero leaves, I know it is a huge loss for Atletico Madrid. But the good side is that they will get a big cash and with that money, they can rebuild the team. I will still suggest Atletico Madrid to keep Aguero, because he is the best attacking option that the team have. But if the team have to sell him, then they should buy new defenders and strengthen the defensive line. By that way, I think Atletico Madrid could minimize the loss of Aguero and promise better future.

 

Van Persie out for six weeks

Good news from the bad news for Arsenal fans. Robin van Persie, striker for Arsenal and Netherlands, got injured during the international friendly match against Italy on the weekend. He only lasted 15 minutes in the game, since the tackle from Italy defender Giorgio Chiellni forced him to be out on the pitch. He suffered teared ligament on his right ankle.

It was first reported that van Persie maybe out for the remainder of the season or at least three months. But, it turned out that he will be out for four to six weeks. This means that he will be back in next January, the second half of the season.

However, it is still a huge loss for Arsenal. In fact, Arsenal already lost Danish striker, Nicklas Bendtner for two weeks. Croatian striker Eduardo and Mexican prodigy, Carlos Vera will be the only attacking option for them. But I am not sure that these players can fill the gap. So far, van Persie has marked incredible stats in this season: 7 goals and 7 assists in 11 league games. One attacking points per game shows that his contribution to the team is huge.

To tell the truth, van Persie is already known for ‘injury-prone’ among football fans. This season, again, injury has come to bother him. However, statistics show that whenever he is healthy, he can make goals and assists. I do not know exactly when he will return, but I am sure that Arsenal will play more dynamic and exciting game with Robin van Persie.

 

Robinho to FC Barcelona??

There was a constant rumor that Brazilian footballer Robinho will join Spanish giant FC Barcelona, but looks like this rumor will become a true story. Spanish sport media are now reporting that Barcelona reached agreement with Robinho.  However, the deal is not confirmed since Barcelona wants long time loan before the transfer, and Robinho wants the permanent transfer in January.

Robinho, who moved from Real Madrid to Manchester City for a British record 32.5 million pounds, is current recovering from injury, but his addition on Barcelona squad will certainly make the team stronger. If Robinho comes to Barcelona, he will replace injury struggling Thierry Henry. Robinho, who is familiar in playing left side wing foward, will play upfront  with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Lionel Messi which will probably consists the best attacking line up in the world.

There are also reports that Manchester City is  already looking for a replacement for Robinho and looks like Franck Ribery, a French football star, is their first target. It will be interesting to check the final destination of two monster footballers – Robinho and Ribery –  in the January transfer market.

 

Beckham is coming back to Milan

It is officially confirmed that David Beckham will play for AC Milan next year. He will join AC Milan on loan, just like the last season which he helped AC Milan to earn fourth place in the Italian Serie A and clinched the Champions League ticket.

This is a win-win deal for both sides. First, David Beckham can maintain the form and appeal his performance to the England national football team better. Beckham already mentioned that he wants to play for the 2010 World Cup and playing in one of the most competitive leagues in the world will certainly give him more credits than playing in Major League Soccer.

On the other hand, AC Milan should also welcome his comeback. Since the departure of Brazilan ace Kaka, AC Milan lacked its ability to build an attack. Addition of Beckham will give more attacking opitions, since Beckham still has the accurate passes and crosses to the penalty box. In fact, he is already familiar with the club and the league, so I believe his addition will boost up AC Milan very effectively and quickly.

His arrival is also a good news for the struggling Dutch striker, Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Huntelaar, who arrived from Real Madrid at the start of this season, is a type of striker who needs quality support from the midfield to score goals. From the start of the season, he needed a player like David Beckham who can deliver accurate crosses to the striker, but Milan have yet failed to utilize this player.  However, the time has come to save this player.

In short, Beckham’s movement to AC Milan is beneficial to both club and the player himself. It will be interesting to watch different’ AC Milan next year.

 

Real Shocker for Real Madrid

When I first checked the score, I could not believe my eyes. I am sure other football fans too, when they checked the final score between Alcoron versus Real Madrid game. Of course, Real Madrid is not a unbeatable team, so it is understandable that they can lose a game. But what if they lost to a third division team, allowing four goals? This is beyond shocking.

Unfortunately, in today’s King’s cup game (Copa del Rey), the team of the century Real Madrid lost to third division team Alcoron allowing four goals. Alcoron is also Madrid based club, but its size is just too small compare to Real Madrid. In fact, its annual budget is just over 1 million euros, compare to Real Madrid’s 420 million euros. Some people say money cannot bring championship, and this game surely proves that opinion.  I mean anything can happen in football.

I might have believed the result if Real Madrid have lost to Alcoron by 1-0. But 4-0 is too outrageous to believe. Besides the Real Madrid players who were playing in the pitch tonight were all “world-class” players. Most of them currently plays for their national teams or have played in the national teams before. Alcoron, of course, have none.

The only explanation that I can come up about this astonishing result is that Real Madrid simply  lacked the concentration in the game and respect for the fans and opponent players. Real Madrid have many other problems, but beyond the technical problems, I think they have to improve their mentality first.

 

Check the goals

 

Last Ticket to the World Cup

The playoff draw for the 2010 World Cup has been revealed. In Europe, eight teams will compete for the last ticket to the World Cup.

All playoff games will be interesting to watch, but the most exciting and anticipated match will be France against Ireland. France, the team who has the highest FIFA ranking (at No. 9) among the playoff teams, have to face Ireland, one of  the only five teams in Europe with unbeaten record in group qualification.

France, the champion of the 1998 World Cup and the runner-up of the 2006 World Cup, was the favorite to acquire the direct ticket to the World Cup in group 7, but eventually allowed Serbia to win their group. On the other hand,  Ireland lost their ticket to Italy, even though they did not lose single game in the group 8. (See the final standings of European qualification for the 2010 World Cup)

It is interesting that Ireland have faced and will face the two finalists of the 2006 World Cup. Of course, based on FIFA rankings and past records, France is a better team than Ireland. But in the group qualification, Ireland show that they are the team who does not get beaten easily. In fact, in playoffs, the desperation level is high for the underdogs which we often see them upsetting the favorites.

Both teams have many players who play or played for the English Premier League. So, the players know each other and their style of the play. Two will play very competitive and physical match since this is the last chance to grab the ticket for the 2010 World Cup.

France and Ireland will play a two-leg playoff match on November 14 and November 18. France will have to travel Dublin first, and host the Irish on the second match. Recent match between two teams was in 2005 for the 2006 World Cup qualification. France had a scoreless draw on their home game, but managed to win the away game with a goal by Thierry Henry.

 

Italy qualifies for the World Cup

Defending champion Italy did not win the match against Ireland, but a 2-2 draw was enough for them to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Alberto Gilardino, the substitute striker, scored 90th minute equalizer that sealed Italy’s spot in the World Cup. It’s their 13th consecutive appearance in the World Cup. Since Italy is the four time champion of the World Cup, maybe it is not that surprising  to hear that Italy has qualified. But did they really play like a defending champion?

I must say that there are some things that Italy needs to improve based on the game against Ireland. One thing particularly, Italy lacks defense on set plays. Two goals that Italy allowed in this match was all from the set plays. Defense has always been the trade mark for Italy, known as “Catenaccio”, but today’s Italian national football team lacks strong defense.

Italy’s other problem comes from the center midfielder Andrea Pirlo. His vision, and accurate passes was the key for the Italy. However, the play maker’s speed and passing tempo is getting slow these days. Italy’s coach, Marcello Lippi, used Pirlo as an attacking midfielder in this game, but the change of the position did not improved Pirlo’s play. If Pirlo have played like what he did in the 2006 World Cup, Italy would not had a big difficulty through out the qualifications.

People say Italy is Italy. I know they have some skillful players and great coach. However, current Italian national football team is not playing like a defending champion. It will be interesting to see how Marcello Lippi will change its team in the near future.

See all the goals from Ireland vs. Italy match

 

Neville not playing for England

Manchester United’s veteran, Gary Neville said that his international career might be over. The 34-year-old defender has indicated that he is behind young players like Glen Johnson and Wes Brown.  If he confirms his international retirement, he will be the ninth most-capped player for England. Neville currently has 85 caps for England.

There is still a possibility that he might get selected from Fabio Capello, the manager of England National Team, but the chances are not good. Neville is not a Neville that we used to know. In fact, last season, he has not played most of the games due to the injury. He is getting old, which means his speed and stamina is going down.

Neville has known for his hard working defense, supporting side attacks with accurate crosses, and long throws. However, now, his young fellow teammates can do better than him. The only thing that Neville has advantage over the young players is the experience. But it is not sure that Capello will buy his experience. Capello is a conservative manager. He picks player by his current form, not the name value of the player.

However, Neville is not the player we should forget easily. He was one of the icons of 90’s England defense. Playing for the country is an honorable thing, but no one is superior against the time. Can we see him in the 2010 World Cup? My answer is “NO”.