Category: Football

So, good old Frank Lampard is the latest to move across to the states as he signs for New York City FC. The sister club to Manchester City. But will NYCFC be able to dominate their domestic league as much as City have over the past few years (2 league titles in 3 seasons)? It all depends on transfers, squad morale and ultimately results.

Having to wait until 2015 for their debut season in the MLS, New York are currently building a team they believe can challenge to go all the way in the big apples’ maiden campaign. However, it’s more big name signings rather than players in their prime.

Don’t get me wrong. David Villa and Frank Lampard are quality players. But they are well beyond their best. Villa was the main man at Valencia and in his early Barcelona days before the terrible leg break in 2011. He didn’t have the hugest impact at Atletico Madrid last season and hopes for a fresh start in NYC. If he can be as prolific as before his injury, New York will do well next season.

Frank Lampard has been Chelsea’s best player of the past 10 years. He constantly hit 20 goals a season and became Chelsea’s all time leading goal scorer last season with a couple of strikes at Aston Villa. In the past few seasons though he has been restricted to fewer appearances at Stamford Bridge then he would of like. Lampard is 36 years of age and is nearing the finishing line of a glorious and successful career, a MLS title with NYC will top it all off.

Compared to sister club city, they don’t spend big and don’t buy the big name stars of today. Manchester City have splashed out on Aguero, Yaya Toure and Jesus Navas in the past few years. They have had successful managers like Roberto Mancini and current boss Manuel Pellegrini. NYC have a rather unknown boss.

Away from Manchester City and New York, another big name will be playing in the MLS next season. Kaka has joined Orlando, again another star who has gone past his prime years. He was player of the year in 2007 when he helped AC Milan win the Champions League, which earned him a big summer switch to Real Madrid in 2009. Similar to Villa, serious knee injuries made his career at the Bernabeu a tough time, and when he rejoined Milan, he failed to make a similar impact to his first stint in Italy.

I guess what I’m trying to get to here is that the MLS is growing and becoming much more recognisable. However, the stars which will embrace the states over the next year or so are older, and much more experienced. Henry, Defoe, Donavan, Kaka, Villa and Lampard have all had their prime years behind them and although they are good players, better players are still playing in the much better leagues on the planet. The Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Serie A and the Eredivisie are all leagues that compared to the MLS have more quality, and it may still be a few years before the MLS can be considered one of the best leagues in the world.

So England are out of the World Cup; eliminated from the Group Stages for the first time since 1958. Questions have been instantly raised about the team and the management but to be honest, England haven’t played poorly. But if England played decently, then why are they out? I hear you ask. Well, here is how I see it.

Roy Hodgson is trying to cement young players into the team, players such as Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlain, as well as mixing it with the experience of Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney. He is planning for the future and I think it has been the correct decision by the FA to back Roy Hodgson for the Euro 2016 campaign. But to plan for the future, you need to experiment. I think that’s what Roy has used the World Cup for. The back five (Hart, Johnson, Cahill, Jageilka and Baines) will most likely feature in France in two years time. However the forward six may be different. Gerrard’s future is in doubt, Lampard will be too old. Players like Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana will arguably hit the prime years of their careers, making it difficult for Hodgson to find the balance in the team. Perhaps the players picked weren’t ready for the World Cup, and more experienced players who have retired should have been called up or persuaded to play. Players such as John Terry and Ashley Cole, who have been there and done it. Baines struggled against the Italians and perhaps the Chelsea pairing of Terry and Cole may have been much more solid.

The team formation was one that has been questioned. The 4-2-3-1 formation seemed to not suit the players. Two holding midfield players seemed to make the team look deeper. The uncertainty of where to play Wayne Rooney was also another huge factor. This was the press and public pressure constantly asking for Rooney to play here or there and it to me, made the whole team a little annoyed. Wayne Rooney is a world class player that should play behind the striker. He gets into the box and is more dynamic and a much bigger game changer in the number 10 role.

Tactically, I would have had two pivotal instructions I would have given to the players. Number one; don’t give Andrea Pirlo any space to play his game. Make sure he only passes sideways and backwards. Number two; don’t allow Luis Suarez any space to shoot. These weren’t followed in the two games and we got punished. Andrea Pirlo and Luis Suarez beat us. They are two of the world’s greatest players and to give them the time and space we did, we had it coming.

So we may be out of the World Cup early, but good things come to those who wait, and I predict a much more successful Euro 2016 in France.

So, here we are. Four years on from South Africa the greatest sporting tournament in the world returns to our screens as the World Cup takes centre stage. After being revealed that Brazil, the adopted home of Football, were to stage the competition seven years ago, a lot of finance has gone into constructing or redeveloping twelve iconic stadiums and new transportation systems such as Airports and roads. This has had its fair share of controversy in the past few years with public strikes, protests and workers losing their lives for this magnificent event to take place. As the football edges ever closer, the excitement in the air of the world has only risen. Brazilians are hoping to bring the samba party to football and they are sure to put on a spectacular show which kicks off this evening at 9:00pm when the hosts Brazil take on Croatia in their Group A match.

So what do I think about Brazil’s chances? Well they will certainly have a lot of pressure put on them for three reasons. Firstly, they are hosting the competition. They will want to impress and stay in their home World Cup for as long as possible. Secondly, the fans no, the whole country will be expecting a performance by the Samba Boys. They very much are used to seeing Brazil winning the World Cup as they have won it the most times (5 in total). Finally, the last time the World Cup was held in Brazil in 1950, the hosts lost agonisingly to Uruguay in the final, causing public unrest. The players and fans will want to make that right by avenging that defeat with triumph this time around.

This Brazil team isn’t the greatest Brazil team of all time. For me, looking back at videos I would have to say the team of 1970 were the best. I remember that one goal, where Pele, the best player to ever grace the game, slid the ball through for Captain Carlos Alberto to fire the ball into the far corner. That for me is the best goal I have ever seen, scored by the best team. This team for me is followed by the 1978 team that played in Argentina. Socrates, Zico and co. They had skill, flair and were just a joy to watch. They however lost to Italy. A game Zico recalls as the day “Football died.” Now, I think this class of 2014 Brazil are very reminiscent of the one of France 98, and Korea of 2002. They may not have the brilliance of Ronaldo or the skill of Ronaldinho. But they have arguably the best centre back in the world in Thiago Silva and a young forward who has the country resting on his shoulders, Neymar. If Neymar and the others perform to their highest ability, I can see them making the final. However, I predict more heartbreak for Brazilians as I can’t see past Argentina lifting the trophy.

Brazil’s coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, has called it “Our World Cup” and that “Brazil’s time is now.” He believes that Brazil have what it takes to win the competition in their native country. Tonight, they play in Sao Paulo, in a stadium not properly tested by approved by FIFA. They take on Croatia. A European country that only seven years ago knocked England out of Euro 2008 qualifying.

Croatia are managed by Nico Kovac, a young coach who wants to implement his own attacking philosophy on the team. He took charge of the national side just before the play off with Iceland. In those playoff games, they were far from convincing. However, reading Kovac’s interview in The Guardian this morning, Croatians should be optimistic about their new coach and what he attends to do with how they play the game. Kovac sounds technical, saying he “believes in science.” He believes that technology should be used to help a player improve their weakened parts of their game. He sets his players individual training regimes to work on. He has stated he will not “park the bus” tonight and that they will go into the game with an attacking mentality and try and be the party poopers.

So, what’s going to be the outcome of tonight? Personally, I expect a cagey opening quarter of the game. Brazil will feel the pressure of the fans and country watching. Croatia will start positively, but will fade as the game goes on. I think gaps will appear in the Croatian back line and Brazil will get a couple of goals, maybe Neymar will introduce himself on the world stage with a man of the match performance. Croatia without Mandzuckic is like Portugal without Ronaldo or England without Rooney. So I’m going to go 2-0 to Brazil. And when that final whistle goes, the World Cup will have definitely begun.

With only ten days to go until England take to the pitch to play Italy in their first World Cup Group fixture, I thought it be good to research Manuas, a place of high altitude in northern Brazil. This is the place where England begin their quest for world glory. But what’s there to visit, what’s the stadium like, and finally why is it going to be so difficult to play football there?

Manuas is located in the amazon rainforest, with transportation to the state apical only available via boat or plane. The culture  of Manuas, like much of urban Brazil, is centred around native tribes. There are many things to visit in Manuas, including the  Amazonas Opera House and the CIGs Zoo. For travelling fans, there are things to keep you entertained before the football.

The Arena Amazonia is a newly built stadium for the 2014 Fifa World Cup. The stadium has a capacity of 44,000 and has caused Manaus to be refurbished with a new airport for the fans and safety regulations implimented in the northern state. The stadium has a modern design and looks stunning in my opinion.

Roy Hodgson, the England manager, has critisised Manuas being a location for a football match due to the unplayable humidity the amazon conditions convey, and Hodgson believes European teams will struggle to cope with the extreme heat. England were then drawn into Group D alongside Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica and have to play Italy in Manuas on June 14, karma? Fate? All we know is that the footballing gods seemed to have picked up Hodgsons comments and condemned him and his team for it.

England’s training base is in Rio, around 5 hours away from Manuas and that means a long journey for the three lions to get up to the amazon. It is going to be difficult. Italy are a good team with a steady defence and powerful forward attack, and England will need to be on top game to defeat their European rivals. I don’t know how Italy have prepared for Manuas, but the conditions are definitely going to play a huge factor in the result in 10 days time.

It has been a tough week. Not just for FC Barcelona, but for all who love football. The world lost itself a young, talented coach in Tito Vilanova on Friday to throat cancer, followed by a racist remark made to full back Dani Alves at the weekend against Villarreal. Yesterday was the funeral of Vilanova at Barcelona cathedral, attended by the current Barcelona squad, past Barcelona presidents and representatives of other clubs including Espanyol and Real Madrid.

Vilanova’s death sent shockwaves through my body. He was a man who I admired as a coach. He impressed me with his tactical decisions- helping Barcelona win La Liga last season with a record tally of 100 points. Tito wasn’t recognised as well as a player as he spent most of his career in Spain’s second division but he became well known as Assistant Manager to Pep Guardiola at Barcelona.

Tito took over from Guardiola in 2012 and in his single season at the Nou Camp he took the team to the league title and the semi finals of the Champions League. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2011 and has fought a tough battle for the past 3 years. Tito had to take time out managing Barca as he flew to the USA for treatment for the cancer. Tito resigned as Barcelona coach last summer and has spent the final few months of his life with his family in Barcelona.

Tito leaves behind his wife and two children including his son Adria, who currently plays for the Barcelona academy.

The players reacted to the death of their friend and former coach with a 3-2 win at Villarreal- a victory that was dedicated to Vilanova. However the victory was spoiled by an idiot in the Villarreal stands.

Dani Alves went over to take a corner, but as he prepared a fan threw a banana at him because of his colour. It was one of the most disgraceful things I have seen watching football. For a game trying to push racism out of the game, this was a sign that in Spain and other countries, this is going to be a long time before that objective is to happen.

Alves’ response however was one of true admiration for any footballer who suffers racial abuse. Alves calmly picked up the banana, peeled it, and ate a bit before giving the rest to a ball boy and continuing the game. That takes guts. Personally, I don’t think I would have continued playing. The reaction from football fans has been phenomenal for the Brazilian. Players such as Sergio Aguero have shown their admiration for Dani by posting a picture of him eating a banana on his twitter page.

Barcelona have had to suffer with both racism and mourn for a former coach. This isn’t easy to do and the football club has acted superbly with the incidents that have occurred. I hope happier times come to the Catalan side soon.

RIP Tito Vilanova 1969-2014