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The brilliance of Andres Iniesta

December 18, 2012 in Euro 2012, La Liga, World Cup

Twitt

In an era in which Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have created arguably the most impressive duel of all time for the tag of ‘world’s best player’, it is easy to forget that Andres Iniesta would comfortably be the best player on the planet on many other occasions.

A product of Barcelona’s La Masia academy, Iniesta was pencilled in as a future great from a young age. In the Nike Premier Cup in 1999 Iniesta captained Barcelona’s Under-15s to victory, where he scored a late winning goal in the final and was named player of the tournament. His eye for the dramatic is something that he has taken with him from youth level to the present day.

When Iniesta was 16 years old, Pep Guardiola and Xavi were watching him in action when Guardiola famously turned to his young teammate and announced,

‘You will retire me but Iniesta will retire us both’.

That’s how good he was.

Since his Barcelona debut a decade ago, the 28 year old has made 425 appearances, scoring 44 goals and creating many, many others. Deployed either centrally or as a drifting left sided player, Iniesta has everything a world-class midfielder can ask for: vision, skill, dribbling, a turn of pace, incredible balance and an underrated work-rate. In terms of elegance and class, only Zinedine Zidane rivals him in the modern era. Although the likes of Messi, Zidane and both Ronaldo’s are, ultimately, slightly better players, nobody over the last 20 years makes it look easier than Iniesta.

Some players have all the talent but lack that winning mentality and hunger to succeed, but Iniesta has proved time and time again that he is a born winner. His achievements for both club and country are exceptional. He has won the World Cup and two European Championships back-to-back with Spain, while at Camp Nou he has five La Liga, three Champions League and two Copa del Ray titles to his name. It is frightening to think what he will have won by the end of his career.

In terms of individual recognition, he has been named in the team of the tournament for the last three major international tournaments, including the best player award at Euro 2012 earlier this year. His performance in the final against Italy was particularly phenomenal. He has consistently been in the running for both the FIFA World Player of the Year award and Ballon D’Or for a number of years now, this year included, only for Messi to beat him to it every time. Although it’s a cliche, individual awards do not mean a huge amount to Iniesta, and his terrific team work and likeable personality on the pitch make him even more popular with neutral fans. While Ronaldo is very much a player who would rather score a hat-trick and lose 4-3, the team comes first with Iniesta, something Barcelona drill into their players from a very young age.

Having played second fiddle to the likes of Ronaldinho and Deco in the mid 00s, Iniesta came to prominence on a wider scale after a superb display in a friendly between England and Spain at Old Trafford in 2007. He ran the show and scored a wonderful winning goal, and from that point on he has become a household name around the world.

When Ronaldinho and Deco left Barcelona in 2008, Iniesta became one of the key men in the side, and it was at this point that he started to entertain audiences worldwide with his artistry and vision on the pitch. In the four years since he has been a vital part of arguably the greatest club side in the history of the game, and many feel that there has never been a more talented, effective midfield partnerhsip than Iniesta and Xavi, a player whose tag as ‘the greatest Spanish footballer of all time’ is under more threat than ever from Iniesta at the moment.

In 2009, prior to Barcelona’s dismantling of Manchester United in the Champions League final, Sir Alex Ferguson spoke in glowing terms of Iniesta,

“I’m not obsessed with Messi, Iniesta is the danger. He’s fantastic. He makes the team work. The way he finds passes, his movement and ability to create space is incredible. He’s so important for Barcelona.”[

Following the game Wayne Rooney was adamant that Iniesta was the world’s best player. Considering the game had been billed as ‘Messi vs Ronaldo’ for weeks, for men of the stature of Ferguson and Rooney to make such statements proved how highly the greats of the game regarded Iniesta. The performance of him and Xavi in that final was something to behold.

The truly great players effect the biggest games, and Iniesta ticks this category. When he eventually hangs up his boots the defining moment of his career will, inevitably, be the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final, but there have been many other crucial strikes too. His last-gasp strike at Stamford Bridge in the semi-final of the Champions League in 2009 was one of most dramatic goals in recent memory, and the ability Iniesta showed at such a vital moment was unforgettable. He might not score many goals in big games, but the number of memorable assists in huge fixtures are endless.

With this years Ballon d’Or winner set to be announced next month, there have been many calls from players and fans for Iniesta to win the award for his outstanding performances in the summer and his general brilliance for Barcelona all year. Messi will win it, and although it sounds ridiculous to argue against a player doing the remarkable things he is currently doing, Iniesta would be a very popular winner. Surely he will win it one day.

Andres Iniesta has bought great joy to his millions of admirers around the world for many years now, and at 28 and at the absolute peak of his powers, it is important we appreciate the sensational talents of this gem of a player before his genius is on the wane.

 

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Top 10 players of the 21st century

October 25, 2012 in Euro 2012, International, La Liga, Premier League, Serie A, UEFA Champions League, World Cup

Twitt

OnFootball looks at the 10 footballers who have shone the brightest on the world stage since the turn of the century:

10. CLARENCE SEEDORF

For all the accolades Seedorf has received over his glittering career, he is criminally underrated by some. He has been one of the best midfielders of his generation and has won more trophies than most. He was the first player to win the Champions League with 3 different clubs (Ajax, Real Madrid and AC Milan) and has won 2 La Liga and one Serie A title. As classy a midfield player as you will ever wish to see, he hit his prime in the early to mid 00′s as part of a hugely talented Milan side. How they lost the 2005 Champions League final is still a mystery.

http://youtu.be/uKej2G6ayow

 

9. RONALDO

Although his best days were behind him for the large majority of the decade, Ronaldo has to make the list considering his impact on the 2002 World Cup. He finished the tournament as top scorer with 8 goals in 7 games, including the winner in the semi-final and two in the final. He was rightfully named FIFA World Player of the Year. He was 25 at the time and was seen as past his best, going to show how injuries had affected him. His hat trick at Old Trafford in a 2003 Champions League quarter final was memorable, and he was applauded off the pitch by the United faithful. In 2006 he became the all time record goalscorer in the World Cup, with 15, which only cemented his place further as one of the greatest strikers in history.

 

8. THIERRY HENRY

Henry is probably in the top 3 Premier League players of all time, and for a few years he was second only to Ronaldinho in terms of being the world’s best player. Lightning fast, skilful and a magnificent finisher, Henry was unplayable at times and his famous goal at Highbury against United remains one of the truly great goals of the 21st century. He certainly had an eye for the spectacular. Having left Arsenal in 2007 he joined Barcelona, and in the 2008/09 season he, Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o scored a remarkable 100 goals between them. He won 4 league titles in England and Spain and won three Football Writers and two PFA Player of the Year awards. A World Cup winner in 1998 with France, 51 goals in 123 games is a very fine record at international level. A magnificent talent.

 

7. KAKA

Kaka is one of the most elegant, classy players we have seen in many years, and for a time he was the standout player in the world game. He was part of Brazil’s 2002 World Cup winning squad, and a year later he joined AC Milan as a very highly rated 21 year old. He immediately showed everyone what all the fuss was about. Despite ending up on the losing side in the epic 2005 Champions League final with Liverpool, he was sensational throughout the game, particularly in the first half. His turn and pass to Hernan Crespo for Milan’s third goal was magical. Two years later he ripped United to shreds almost single-handedly in both legs of the semi-final, before he was again outstanding in another final against Liverpool. This time Milan were victorious. At the end of 2007 he rightfully won both the European and World Player of the Year awards. He was Brazil’s talisman for several years, and what separated him from other top Brazilian stars was his exceptional attitude and team ethic. Since his move to Real Madrid in 2009 injuries have started to hamper the 30 year old, and he is not the player he was. When Kaka eventually hangs up his boots, though, he will be remembered as a true great of the modern era.

 

6. ANDRES INIESTA

Iniesta is still right at his peak, at 28 years of age, but he has achieved a phenomenal amount in his career to date. Along with Xavi he has been the world’s best midfielder for several years, and his metronomic passing game and incredible dribbling skills have been a joy to watch.  He has won 3 Champions League medals and 5 La Liga titles at Camp Nou, while for Spain he has 2 European Championships and a World Cup, where he earned god-like status thanks to his extra-time winner in the final against Holland in 2010. He was also named the best player at Euro 2012 earlier this year, and was particularly brilliant in the 4-0 drubbing of Italy in the final. He still probably has 5 or 6 years at the top level and expect there to be many more trophies won in that time.

 

5. XAVI

There is almost nothing to choose between Xavi and Iniesta, but the 32 year old has the edge because of longevity. Xavi is now seen as the greatest player in Spain’s history, and were it not for a certain Argentinian he would be top of the list at Barcelona too. He dictates a game better than any other player since Zidane, and his passing game is unrivalled. He made his debut way back in 1998 and in that time he has won La Liga six times as well being a Champions League winner on 3 occasions. Like Iniesta he has won 3 straight major tournaments for Spain, and he has 119 caps to his name, and counting. The Barcelona team of the last 4 years has been widely thought of as the finest ever club side, and Xavi is the heartbeat of it. Up until about 2008 he was hugely underrated but thankfully everyone has realised how special he is before his wonderful talent starts to fade.

 

4. CRISTIANO RONALDO

The Portuguese star has taken goal scoring to a new level since the late 00′s, and his goals per game record is beyond remarkable. Back in 2003 he joined United as a raw, exciting 18 year old, and up until the 2006 World Cup he produced moments of magic and frustration in equal measure. From the 2006/07 season onwards, however, he has been consistently exceptional. He is tall, fast, skilful, muscular, a great finisher, brilliant in the air; he has it all. He won the PFA Players Player of the Year two years running in 2007 and 2008, and he almost won the league title by himself in the latter, scoring 42 goals that season. He won three Premier League’s and a Champions League in his time at Old Trafford. Eventually his dream move to Real Madrid came in 2009 and his stats have been beyond belief so far in his Real career, scoring 161 goals in 156 games. These kind of figures didn’t even exist in the 1950′s when the standard of defending was far weaker. Real wrestled the title away from Barcelona last season, with Ronaldo’s goal at Camp Nou effectively sealing the triumph. In most other era’s he would be the world’s best player by a mile, but Messi remains a constant thorn in his side. Ronaldo has also just won his 100th cap for Portugal, and at just 27 he could end up somewhere near 200. A sensational player.

 

3. RONALDINHO

Between 2004 and 2006 Ronaldinho was not only the best player in the world but also one of the most outrageously gifted players of all time. He was producing things on the pitch that no one else was capable of, and he reinvigorated Barcelona by himself after a poor period in the clubs history. Prior to Barcelona, he won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil, and was part of the ’3 R’s', a nickname given to the attacking tripod of him, Ronaldo and Rivaldo. Together they were unstoppable. In 2006 he won his only Champions League title following a 2-1 victory against Arsenal. It was the crowning moment of 3 Ronaldinho-dominated years, and he won his second consecutive World Player of the Year award later that year. His toe poked goal a year previously at Stamford Bridge in a Champions League game remains one of the most unique, memorable goals of all time. With a new dynasty arriving at Barca and his performances on the wane, Ronaldinho’s career has been something of a disappointment since he left in 2008. Many feel he lost his appetite for the game, and considering he is the same age as Xavi it is clear that he should still be very much in his prime. Regardless of how the last few years have panned out, Ronaldinho aged 24 to 27 was one of the most entertaining, talented players football has ever seen.

 

2. ZINEDINE ZIDANE

He came 2nd in the list of top players from the 90′s and it’s very much the same this time around too for ‘Zizou’. What can you say about him? He was the best footballer to play the game between 1997 and 2006, and he did it all with such style and effortlessness. Has there ever been a more balanced player on the ball? In 2001 he joined Real Madrid from Juventus for a then world record fee of £45 million, and he was worth every penny. He reached the Champions League final at the end of his first full season at the Bernabeu. and his goal in that game was arguably the best European Cup final goal in history. The ball came down from about 30 feet in the air, and in one swift motion Zidane volleyed it with his weaker left foot into the top corner of the net. It was unbelievable technical ability. He was voted the world’s best player in 1998, 2000 and 2003, as well as Serie A Player of the Year in 2001. Ask any top player over the last 20 years who the best player they ever faced was, and the large majority will say Zidane: that says it all really. One of the top 6 or 7 players of all time.

 

1. LIONEL MESSI

Lionel Messi is, in my opinion, the greatest footballer of all time. Yes, Pele scored over 1000 goals and won 3 World Cup, yes Maradona won the World Cup by himself, but Messi pips them both for me. And he’s still just 25. Since his Barcelona debut back in 2004 he has scored 268 goals in 342 games, including an almost impossible 73 last season. On Saturday he completed the 21st hat trick of his career already, which is frightening. He is a unbelievable dribbler, he provides many assists, he scores free-kicks, penalties, chips, lobs, volleys, flicks, even headers, and he also works incredibly hard for the good of the team. When people look back on this special Barcelona side in 20 years time it will be Messi who will be seen as the main reason for it’s success, and rightfully so. For all the genius of Xavi and Iniesta, the leadership of Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol, and the managerial expertise of Pep Guardiola, without Messi they would’ve just been another top class side. He has made them extraordinary. In terms of individual awards he has already been voted the world’s best player for the last three years, and a fourth in a row looks highly likely. He has five La Liga titles and three Champions Leagues (in which he has scored in two finals). The only thing lacking is a World Cup, and if he inspires an Argentinian victory in Brazil in 2014, the debate over the greatest player of all time will be truly put to bed. Barring serious injury, we still potentially have a decade of Lionel Messi brilliance to admire.

http://youtu.be/faHyPWQSC5o

 

Honourable mentions: Raul, Shevchenko, Villa, Pirlo, Scholes, Cannavaro, Buffon, Gerrard, Vieira, Figo, Casillas, Rivaldo, Zanetti

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Will Wayne Rooney ever be considered a true great?

October 10, 2012 in Euro 2012, International, Premier League, UEFA Champions League, World Cup

Twitt

Wayne Rooney has been in the professional game for just over a decade now, and while he is undoubtedly one of the greatest talents this country has ever produced, there is a niggling feeling that he hasn’t quite hit the lofty, legendary heights many predicted so far in his career.

When the then 16 year old scored that famous late winner at Goodison Park against champions Arsenal in 2002, the whole world stood up and took notice. He had been widely seen as arguably the finest player Everton had bought through their ranks, and now he had adjusted up to the Premier League like a duck to water.

An international call up came shortly after, becoming the youngest player to play for England in the process, in a friendly with Australia. He has played 76 games for his country so far, finding the net 29 times, and barring serious injury or a huge loss in form, he will almost certainly go on to become the record appearance holder and goalscorer for his country over the next seven or eight years.

Having spent two seasons displaying his wonderful talents at Everton, he was snapped up by Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer of 2004 for £25.6 million, a staggering amount for an 18 year old. He scored a memorable hat trick on his debut, only further adding to his already huge reputation. The 26 year old has now been at Old Trafford for eight years, and he will probably go down as one of the finest players at the club over the last two decades. He is well on his way to becoming the all time leading scorer, closing in gradually on Sir Bobby Charlton’s remarkable tally of 249. Rooney currently has 181. Many of those have been memorable strikes, whether it be volleys, curled efforts, lobs or headers.

http://youtu.be/2qh1RcPSQ6g

At United, Rooney’s medal collection is more decorated than most. His current list of winner medals inlude a Champions League, four Premier League, World Club Cup and two League Cups, and you would expect many more over the next few years. It is perhaps surprising that he is yet to win an FA Cup, but Ferguson’s desire to win it for the first time since 2004 should see Rooney complete his collection sooner rather than later.

On top of his team success, individual honours have come thick and fast for Rooney, too.

He has won the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award, been named both Young Player and PFA Player of the Year, and won the Football Writer’s Player of the Year award. He has won the Premier League ‘Goal of the Season’ award three times and twice been named England’s Player of the Year.

These are all acknowledgements of a great player, but despite all these terrific memories and accolades has Wayne Rooney actually reached the potential that many predicated back in 2002?

Many feel that by this stage of career, given his ability, he should currently be thought of in the same vein as the two standout players in the world: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The truth of the matter is that he is not even close at the moment. All three players have less than a two year age gap between them so it is easy to compare how their respective careers have accelerated. All three were considered among the most talented youngsters in the game in 2005, but while Messi and Ronaldo have gone up a notch every year since then, Rooney has not. He has certainly improved various aspects of his game with time, but not rapidly and significantly enough.

One of the things lacking in Rooney’s game is that he lacks consistency. To be a truly great player you have to be at the top of your game week in, week out; you only have look at Messi and Ronaldo to see that. Similarly the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta, who are also on another level to Rooney. He will often have a sensational run of form, where he will score 15 goals in as many games, before suddenly failing to score in his next 10. This has happened regularly over the years, for both club and country. When you look at many of the best strikers over the last decade, David Villa, Thierry Henry, Andriy Shevchenko and Samuel Eto’o for example, they have almost never endured a barren spell in front of goal. These are the players Rooney needs to aspire to be like. Many will argue that he is not an out and out striker, but he if he is capable of scoring 15 in 15 games, he should be able to do it regularly, not sporadically.

Another element lacking in Rooney’s game are his performances in the big games, and he has often gone missing in the games that the best players revel in.

Take the three Champions League finals he has played in, for example. In the 2008 and 2009 finals against Chelsea and Barcelona, respectively, he was almost anonymous in both, being substituted in extra time in the former. Instead the likes of Ronaldo, Messi and Eto’o stole the show. He did score a terrific goal in the 2011 final, again against Barcelona, but other than that he was again fairly ineffective. It is being ultra harsh because of what a special player he is. Without sounding offensive to someone like Michael Carrick, who is a very fine player in his own right, you wouldn’t necessarily expect him to dominate a major final. In Rooney’s case, you would.

Likewise, how many times has Rooney gone to tough away grounds such as Anfield, The Etihad, The Emirates and Stamford Bridge and been the star man? Not many is the answer.

When looking at his displays for England, you have to say he has been a huge disappointment in general. He is far from alone in that respect though, with other superb talents like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry all playing worse for England than for their club sides. But with Rooney you feel an extra level of frustration, considering how his England career began.

He took Euro 2004 by the scruff of the neck, and was the tournament’s best player before injury cruelly saw him limp out of the quarter-final defeat by Portugal. Although he was only 18 at the time, his international career peaked then. In the major tournaments since, he has been very poor.

At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, after missing the first two games through injury he then let his country down after a petulant stamp on Ricardo Carvalho saw him red carded. He was being starved of the ball, and his frustration eventually boiled over; it has been a common pattern over years.

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa was Rooney’s lowest ebb yet. His performances were shambolic, and at times he could barely even control the ball. That is not even an exaggeration. He failed to score in England’s four games, before they were deservedly dumped out by Germany. Before the tournament, many were saying it was a battle between Messi, Ronaldo and Rooney for world domination, particularly as Rooney had just had enjoyed his best club season of his career. By the end of the tournament people were questioning his place among the 50 best players in world football, and rightly so. He took his frustration out on the England fans after a woeful display against Algeria in the group stages:-

This summer’s Euro’s were not much better for Rooney, where again he missed the opening two games, this time because of a daft suspension following another moment of petulance in a qualifier against Montenegro. He returned for the 1-0 victory against hosts Ukraine, where his goal, albeit a tap in, sent England through. With Rooney desperate to prove his worth, many expected a talismanic display against Italy in the quarter’s, but again he flattered to deceive, offering very little attacking thrust and even failing to do his defensive work. Between him and Danny Welbeck they had the job of dropping off and marking the wonderful Andreo Pirlo in his deep lying midfield role. Both failed to do their jobs, and Pirlo ran the show. England eventually lost on penalties. Rooney did at least score his.

http://youtu.be/M9HQe9H1L-Q

While this may all sound like a bit of an excuse to pick on a top, top player, it is actually just immense frustration at seeing someone failing to reach their potential. When you combine all of Rooney’s attributes he should really be the best player in the world.

First and foremost, he has sensational natural ability, whether it’s spraying a 50 yard pass from one side of the pitch to the other, volleying in a wonder goal from 30 yards or having the vision to chip a goalkeeper off his line. His unforgettable overhead kick against Manchester City says it all. Add to this electrifying pace, a powerful physique and a work rate as good as any forward in the game, and it is clear to see what Rooney is capable of. He is also a born winner, and someone you want in your team with the side trailing late in the game. As previously mentioned, he just doesn’t use these qualities on a consistent enough basis.

When the curtain eventually falls on Wayne Rooney’s glittering career, probably still another decade from now, there is no doubt that he will be remembered as the best English player of his generation, one of our country’s finest ever talents and one of the top 10 or 15 players in the world for much of his career. But will he remembered as one of the true greats of the modern game? He should be, but he won’t. You’ve got 10 years to prove me wrong, Wayne.

Follow me on twitter: @henryjackson87, email: henryjackson@hotmail.co.uk

 

 

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‘Doing a Chelsea’ does NOT work

June 25, 2012 in Euro 2012, UEFA Champions League

Twitt

England crashed out of Euro 2012 last night in their customary way, but it was their negative display that was even more familiar than their penalty shootout heartbreak.

Chelsea’s fortuitous run to Champions League glory had many actually believing that ‘parking the bus’ is an effective tactic, but this is totally incorrect. Without taking anything anyway from the European champions, their victories over Barcelona and Bayern Munich, in particular, were the kind that occur once every hundred games.

Arjen Robben and Lionel Messi’s penalty misses, Messi hitting the post and Alexis Sanchez hitting the crossbar, these are just a few examples of the huge chunks of fortune Chelsea experienced, and had luck not been on their side things would’ve been very different.

Similarly, Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League-winning campaign was littered with defensive performances and moments of luck: Luis Garcia’s ghost goal, ‘that’ save by Jerzy Dudek from Andriy Shevchenko, and the dramatic last-gasp miss by Eidur Gudjohnsen in the semi-finals.

Of course there are going to be times when you win playing this way, but by sticking everyone behind the ball you are just asking for trouble. The best sides keep attacking, regardless of the scoreline. When do you ever see Manchester United take the lead at Old Trafford and sit back? How many times did Arsenal’s ‘invincible’s’ play these tactics? If they had, they certainly wouldn’t have gone an entire season undefeated. Manchester City only became a force once Roberto Mancini ditched the defensive tactics. Had he not changed things, they definitely wouldn’t have won the Premier League. And before you use Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea side as an example to argue my case, they defended a lot but they also attacked with plenty of style.

A sad characteristic in most English football fans is that many seem happy for their team to win regardless of how they perform. They would rather see the team play unattractive, dull football, winning 1-0 every game rather than see positive, flowing football with the occasional defeat.

Brazil won the 1994 World Cup, but their fans were genuinely unimpressed because they were arguably their most boring side of all time. Similarly, many Holland fans were happier in Euro 2008, where they lost in the quarter final, than in the 2010 World Cup, when they reached the final. This was simply down to the contrast in the quality of football they produced in the two tournaments.

If you look back over past tournaments, England have had numerous big games in which they have displayed an embarrassing lack of adventure and imagination, going on to lose in the process: Brazil in 2002, Portugal and France in 2004, and Portugal again in 2006 are just several examples. Will we ever learn our lesson?

Last night, barring a relatively promising spell between the fifth and 25th minute, England were dominated throughout by the classy Italians, and it was clear that the only way Roy Hodgson’s men would realistically progress would be on penalties. For almost the entire second half and all of extra time, all ten outfield players were camped out in their own half, and Gianluigi Buffon could have had a quick snooze for half an hour such was his lack of involvement in the game.

Italy had 63 per cent of the possession, an inexcusable statistic given the fact that many thought it would be such an even contest. Italy are not Spain, who dominate every game they play possession-wise. Even more damning is the fact that Italy mustered over 30 attempts on goal, while England didn’t even manage 10. Glen Johnson’s effort in the first half was England’s only shot on target in over 120 minutes of action, which just about sums it up. It is quite embarrassing to think what other countries must think of our style of football.

The one thing it has been impossible to question about this current side is that they have shown a passion and commitment that has been hugely lacking in recent years. From day one there was a real togetherness about the players and the coaching staff. The central quartet of John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker were particularly good throughout the tournament, with Gerrard absolutely revelling in his role as captain. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but Steve McClaren should’ve made him captain back in 2006 instead of John Terry. This is nothing against Terry as a captain, more his off-field misdemeanours.

For anyone claiming that youth is the way forward and that Hodgson should just ditch the old guard, those four players mentioned are 31, 29, 32 and 31, respectively. Age is just a figure, and as long as someone is the best in the country in their position, whether they are 18 or 36 is totally irrelevant. Andrea Pirlo, Italy’s supremely gifted midfielder, is 33 and ran the show. He is as good as he’s every been. Xavi is 32 and at the peak of his powers, while Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes remain key members of Manchester United despite both being closer to 40 than 30.

Rather than continually focusing on our supposedly ‘past it’ players, our inability to keep the ball or our ineptitude in penalty shootouts, it would be a lot more beneficial to concentrate on banishing the anti-football that keeps costing England so dear at major tournaments.

 

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Zero Tolerance to skewed priorities

June 21, 2012 in Euro 2012

Twitt

So the group stage is complete, and we move to the business end of the tournament.

Regardless of the quality and drama of the opening round, Euro 2012 will be judged by the events of the knockout games. Or will it?

The football has no doubt been enjoyable, but at times it has been tainted by the behaviour of a small set of fans, and UEFA’s weak approach in punishing them. This has only been exaggerated further by it’s approach to another, surely far less serious case.

The two differing events concern Nicklas Bendtner and the Croatian FA, but go a lot deeper.

The Sunderland striker was fined €100,000 for displaying ‘Paddy Power’ pants after scoring against Portugal in his sides 3-2 defeat. This seems a ridiculously harsh punishment.

Conversely, the Croatian FA were fined just €80,000 after their fans were found guilty of chanting racist abuse and throwing a banana onto the pitch. They were also guilty of setting off numerous flares in the stadium.

This is rank neglect of responsibility and a worrying sign of where UEFA’s priorities lie. European Football’s governing body appears more worried about sponsors getting value for money and meeting exclusivity clauses, than ensuring all fans and players are treated with basic respect.

Pre-tournament words about “zero-tolerance” have been shown to be nothing more than hollow. Racism is a problem UEFA are simply waiting to disappear rather than deal with.

Football is a medium through which national identity and values can be channeled. It is not ,however, a magic bullet that can solve the ills of society, but it is about time UEFA took its responsibilities seriously. Token fines do nothing to either deter or punish the guilty. How is €80,000 really going to make people sit and take notice of the seriousness of racism in football? A long-term ban would be a far more devastating blow to a football-loving nation.

English clubs were banned from competing in European competition in the 1980′s because of hooliganism, and why should racism not bring equally harsh reprisals? The World Cup heads to Brazil in two years time for what should be a trouble-free tournament, but then Qatar hosts the tournament in 2018, where homophobia is rife, before landing in Russia in 2022.

This is a country where Dick Advocaat said he was unwilling to sign a black player because the fans of Lokomotiv Moscow wouldn’t tolerate it. Last year, West Brom were thanked for taking Peter Odemwingie off their hands in a banner unfurled at the stadium complete with a drawing of a banana. Christopher Samba recently admitted he was shocked with the levels of racism in Russian football, having moved there from Blackburn last season.

There is an old debate about the connection between politics and sport. This seems redundant to me. You can’t boycott playing South Africa over apartheid, and then after a few years turn around and say sport and politics are seperate. It’s hypocrisy of the highest order.

Countries use major sporting events to show off their country, benefiting from a boom in visiting numbers and effectively free global advertising. They should not be granted the honour of hosting these events, reaping the economic benefits in the process, without taking their human rights records into account.

No country is perfect, but in the face of tragedy, such as the death of the young cricketer Tom Mayard this week, officials are quick to tell us there are things more important than sport (or advertising). It is time governing bodies practiced what they preached, discovered their moral compass and used sport as the tool for social inclusion we all know it can be, and not simply as a commercial vehicle.

 

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Are we finally going to see video technology in Football?

June 21, 2012 in Euro 2012, UEFA Champions League, World Cup

Twitt

Picture the scene.

It’s crunch time in a major tournament. Having fallen behind, a team is fighting their way back into the match. They equalise, only to have the goal ruled out for not having crossed the line, despite all the video evidence being very much to the contrary. Demoralised, the team is then unable to regroup and goes out of the tournament.

Sound familiar? Yeah, that’s the problem. Two years ago England were on the receiving end of such a decision, but this time around both they and France were the beneficiaries as Ukraine crashed out of their own tournament.

The clamor for goal line technology is growing and growing and it now appears the message has finally got through to the top brass, Sepp Blatter and Michael Platini, UEFA’s England-hating leaders.

Following the debacle in Bloemfontein, where Frank Lampard’s “goal” wasn’t given, both FIFA and UEFA shook their heads. They didn’t want to interrupt the flow of the game. They wanted the game played the same way, whether it be in the park, in a sunday pub league or the World Cup Final.

Such fears haven’t stopped Cricket, Rugby (union and league), Ice Hockey and Tennis, among others, from embracing technology to make sure they get the big call correct.

Following Ukraine’s ghost goal, Blatter tweeted that goal line technology is moving towards becoming a “necessity”. This is good to hear, as no team wants to lose with that level of injustice. Similarly no team wants their win to be tainted. It is funny, however, how Blatter has only really raised any remote level of concern as soon as a decision has benefited England. Why was it not a necessity after Lampard’s disallowed effort two years ago, Sepp?

Following the incident in South Africa the English FA have been vocal in their support of goal line technology, and even implemented it in a recent friendly match against Belgium at Wembley. It is important that, despite having benefited from a lapse call, England keep up this level of vocal support.

Extra officials have been tested, and have failed miserably. Seemingly unwilling to have the bottle to make decisions themselves, they have missed big calls and been rightly derided by pundits this summer, and during Champions League and Europa League games earlier in the season.

How on earth the extra official failed to see the ball cross the line on Tuesday night is staggering, consdering it was a slow moving ball and he was stood ten yards from it. Apparently it was because the goalpost was in the way. You mean that big white thing that marks where the ball has to enter to be declared a goal, and is exactly the same thickness of the line over which the ball has to pass? Sounds like it makes things easier, not harder.

We already have the cameras, and we have pointless officials standing around telling managers to calm down, or being blinded by the goalposts. Give them something useful to do. Sit them down in front of a television showing the game and if, for example, the ball appears to cross the line, he blows his whistle and stops the game. He and the main referee then have a closer look and confirm the correct decision. It’s that simple.

People against video technology claim that it will make the game too long, like American Football, but if fans have paid a lot of money to go to a game, they won’t be complaining about the longevity of it. The longer it goes on, the better value for money.

A key decision should realistically take no longer than a minute to sort out so what’s the problem? It also adds an element of excitement to proceedings. At Cricket and Rugby matches, the suspense on the big screen as a decision is pending is sporting theatre.

Let’s get the big decisions right and we can all get on with enjoying the football instead of bemoaning poor refereeing decisions.

Over to you messrs Blatter and Platini.

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