Frankly Football

Champions League, one more round of qualifiers.

2010-08-05T06:05:00.001-07:00

Same format as last year if you haven't been following, and the draw to determine the last 10 teams for the Champions League is this Friday morning. The 22 teams that are already in the league stage are:
1FC Internazionale Milano (ITA) – Titleholders 100.867
2FC Barcelona (ESP) 136.951
3Manchester United FC (ENG) 125.371
4Chelsea FC (ENG) 118.371
5Arsenal FC (ENG) 115.371
6FC Bayern München (GER) 110.841
7AC Milan (ITA) 99.867
8Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) 96.748
9Real Madrid CF (ESP) 84.951
10AS Roma (ITA) 83.867
11FC Shakthar Donetsk (UKR) 73.910
12SL Benfica (POR) 72.659
13Valencia CF (ESP) 66.951
14Olympique de Marseille (FRA) 62.748
15Panathinaikos FC (GRE) 56.979
16Rangers FC (SCO) 56.158
17FC Schalke 04 (GER) 54.841
18FC Spartak Moskva (RUS) 33.758
19FC Twente (NED) 25.309
20FC Rubin Kazan (RUS) 21.758
21CFR 1907 Cluj (ROU) 15.898
22Bursaspor (TUR) 6.890

The number to the right is their UEFA Club Coefficient. This number is important as it will determine who the seeded teams will be, who will be in Pot 2, Pot 3, and Pot 4.

The Playoff Round Participants, if I am to have the website interpreted correctly, will be in these pots:

CHAMPIONS ROUTE
Pot 1
FC Basel (SUI) 48.675
RSC Anderlecht (BEL) 42.58
FC Kobenhavn (DEN) 34.47
Hapoel Tel Aviv (ISR) 27.775
Sparta Prague (CZE) 27.395

CHAMPIONS ROUTE
Pot 2
Rosenborg (NOR)
23.98FC Salzburg (AUT)
19.915Partizan Belgrade (SER)
13.8MSK Zilina (SVK)
10.67FC Sheriff (MDA) 5.46

OUTLOOK: Rosenborg has history in the Champions League, although distant, and would be the biggest threat. Still, I can't see any of the teams in the first pot going out in the playoff stage.

LEAGUE ROUTE
Pot 1
Sevilla (ESP) 108.951
Werder Bremen (GER) 94.841
Zenit (RUS) 61.258
Tottenham (ENG) 56.371
Ajax (NED) 55.309

LEAGUE ROUTE
Pot 2
Dynamo Kiev (UKR) 42.910
SC Braga (POR) 39.659
Sampdoria (ITA) 30.867
Auxerre (FRA) 19.748
BSC Young Boys (SUI) 7.675

OUTLOOK: 2 or 3 teams are going to be good enough to reach the league stage and will end up getting shipped to the Europa League. This is obviously the more exciting draw as Dynamo Kiev gave Barcelona and Inter all they wanted at the group stage last season. Sampdoria won't be a pushover either, and Braga demolished Celtic in the first leg of the previous playoff to get here. Sevilla will go through and as a result will be a seeded team in the group stage draw based on their coefficient.

Just thought I would drop a little knowledge on how this works.

Shot From Distance: Wishlist for the 32 Nations who competed in the World Cup

2010-07-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a wishlist for the 32 Nations who just finished the World Cup, what they wish for if they are to qualify for the 2014 World Cup

South Africa: to play consistently with the determination they showed against Mexico and France.
Uruguay: For Luis Suarez to become Diego Forlan of 2010, and for Edinson Cavani to become the Luis Suarez of 2010.
Mexico: A defense to go with all those promising attackers, and for an AR who knows how to raise his flag.
France: For Zinedine Zidane to find the Fountain of Youth, and for players to actually give a damn about playing for their country.
Argentina: For Diego Maradona to be tactically competent (heaven help them, they are extedning his contract through the 2014 World Cup), and of course for Lionel Messi to duplicate his club form.
Korea Republic: for Park Ji Sung to stay healthy.
Greece: The ability to actually score when it is 11 v 11.
Nigeria: To be better prepared for 2014 (they should be if they keep Lars Lagerback as manager).
England: A goalkeeper, goal line technology, and for their fans to be more realistic about how good they actually are.
USA: To believe they should be a consistent quarterfinalist at the World Cup.
Slovenia: To close out a 2-0 lead.
Algeria: To score a goal.
Germany: that the current crop remains healthy, and to get officials who won't give out rash cards.
Ghana: Someone to make a PK.
Australia: An influx of young, promising players, and quickly.
Serbia: To keep maturing, and for a game plan that doesn't center around putting the ball on Nikola Zigic' head.
Netherlands: that they get back to the football we know they are good at, and stop with the street fighting.
Japan: That Keisuke Honda stays healthy.
Denmark: A creative midfielder, and for Nicklas Bendtner to become like a Laudrup, or an Elkjaer.
Cameroon: for the 1990 team to time travel to 2014.
Italy: that their young stars mature and play modern football.
Paraguay: for one of their promising strikers to actually score a goal.
New Zealand: to take the next step and win a World Cup match.
Slovakia: For another world power to underestimate them.
Brazil: To keep their concentration, and get back to Jogo Bonito.
Portugal: To score goals. And for Cristiano Ronaldo to duplicate his club form.
Cote' D'Ivoire: To actually live up to their talent.
North Korea: To be in a group where they can get at least 1 point.
Spain: To do that again.
Chile: To not self destruct against teams in the World top 10.
Switzerland: Goals.
Honduras: Goals.

The Frankly Football World Cup XI

2010-07-08T12:48:00.000-07:00

Amazing that nearly a month has past and we are descending upon the final in Soccer City on Sunday, preceded of course by the usually entertaining 3rd place match. I don't expect any developments from those games to impact the team I am putting forward now, and as you will see, this edition is dominated by the final four nations.

And why not? They were the most consistent teams in the competition, in terms of how they sought out to play and the success with which they played with. The fun part is that this is a World Cup XI that is missing the marquee names. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Kaka, Wayne Rooney, none of these played to the standard that we expect to see from them for club week in and week out (might be a little harsh on Messi as he did have 15 shots on target).

Let's dive into it, shall we?

GOALKEEPER: Iker Casillas, Spain
I was being given a compelling argument by a friend that Martin Stekelenburg of Holland belongs here, but I'm going with the Spaniard on this one. He made a couple of strange decisions, but by and large had the best box presence of all the goalkeepers, and I thought his distribution in the tournament was particularly strong.

RIGHT BACK: Phillip Lahm, Germany
The German captain played with a tireless work rate and a combative spirit. In attack, you could find him bombing down the right hand side in support, as well as do the dirty work in defense. Lahm epitomized German efficiency throughout the competition.

CENTER HALF: Carlos Puyol, Spain
An absolute lionheart in the center of defense, scorer of the winner against Germany and played a big part in keeping Miroslav Klose quiet. Tremendous in defense with his tackling and ability to win aerial battles.

CENTER HALF: Gerard Pique, Spain
I'm not crushing on Spain, really I'm not (though I think they will win the Final). However Pique has been an exceptional complement to Puyol throughout the competition. Pique arguably has good enough technical qualities to play in midfield, very composed on the ball and like a defender, not afraid to make the hard challenge.

LEFT BACK: Maicon, Brazil
He makes my team but he has to move over to the left because Lahm outperformed him in this tournament (though Lahm has more experience from the left hand side, I can always swap them in the run of play). Despite Brazil's disappointing quarterfinal exit, you can't question his work ethic throughout. If you want someone who actually played left back in the World Cup, I wouldn't argue with you if you put Holland's Giovanni van Bronckhorst here (largely because of that goal), or Portugal's Fabio Coentrao (someone from that Portugal backline should get in for shutting out Ivory Coast and Brazil).

RIGHT WINGER: Arjen Robben, Netherlands
Scored what is becoming his trademark goal against Slovakia (running inside from the left and striking from distance with his left foot), and headed the Dutch into the Final. A complete nuisance to Brazil's defense in the quarterfinal as well.

CENTER MIDFIELD: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany
Martin Tyler referred to him as "boss" in the Argentina game. You could probably also describe him as that in the England win too. Per fifa.com, Schweinsteiger has covered the most distance in this tournament (68.69 km total, or just over 7 miles a game). He did everything from protecting the back four to running to higher positions off the ball to taking on defenders 1v1 (or 1v3 against Argentina).

CENTER MIDFIELD: Xabi Alonso, Spain
Another midfield policeman who has been responsible for protecting the Spain rearguard as much as keeping possession and staring attacks for his country. Should be credited just as much for Spain's goals against record (2 allowed; that fluke against Switzerland and 1 against Chile when their place in the next round seemed confirmed) as Casillas, Puyol, and Pique.

LEFT WINGER/FORWARD: David Villa, Spain
Most effective in this position, and that was evident by him being kept rather quiet in the semis against Germany when asked to lead the line up front. Tied for the lead on 5 goals, and has scored them in a variety of ways, from poaching to creating his own chances.

ATTACKING CENTER MIDFIELDER: Wesley Sneijder, Netherlands
Level with Villa on goals, the most notable with his head against Brazil, something he is not totally known for. Winning the World Cup on Sunday will cap a dream year for the Inter man, and will have him squarely in the World Player of the Year discussion. Tremendous vision, passing, and of course finishing.

FORWARD: Diego Forlan, Uruguay
Carried his strong form with club right into the World Cup. Put his country on his back to make an improbable semifinal run. Came up with clutch goals against Ghana (arguably the best free kick of the tournament) and Holland. Also functioned quite nicely as a playmaker when Luis Suarez was in the team.

So there's the 11. Who's yours?

The Worst Italy Team in the last 30 years

2010-06-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

As I watched this pathetic excuse for a defending World Cup champion stumble through draws with Paraguay and New Zealand, and then finally decide to start playing against Slovakia after they were 2-0 down, I was trying to think back as far as I can remember to determine if there was ever a worse Italy than the 2010 edition that Marcello Lippi trotted out there.

The '86 squad that went out in the 2nd round to France is possible, but they were actually a very good team that had to deal with two of the best players in the world that tournament; Diego Maradona of Argentina (group stage) and Michel Platini of France (2nd round exit). So then I though about 1996 Euros in England, but they did win a match despite going out in the group stages. So forward to Japan/Korea in 2002, and I just think in disgust of the 5 goals they had denied from them by bad officiating. 2004? They didn't lose in matches against Denmark, Sweden, and Bulgaria. I'd say Donadoni's 2008 team, but they had to deal with Holland, Romania, France, and took eventual champ Spain to penalties.

Simply put, this is the worst Italy team I have ever watched in the time I have followed this sport. For three games in this World Cup, I suffered through an Italy that genuinely lacked ideas. There was no plan B once Andrea Pirlo went down injured, and Lippi could have gotten more out of the Statue of David than he got out of Vicenzo Iaquinta and Alberto Gilardino. The defense held up in the first two matches, with the only shots on goal seemingly the goals they allowed (and both on set pieces). Yet, this was an Italy side that was desparate for answers in attack. No, Antonio Cassano, Fabrizio Miccoli, Mario Balotelli, or Francesco Totti would have made this any better. The squad that Lippi picked in theory should have performed better in this World Cup, but his lineups meant an Italy that would be narrow and dreadfully predictable.

I'm going to pick apart the team that Lippi preferred throughout this World Cup, and then outline for incoming manager Cesare Prandelli the team that should be out there in the future.

LIPPI'S TEAM:

Goalkeeper: Gianlugi Buffon, then Federico Marchetti. Buffon ended up getting a herniated disk in his back during the Paraguay game (apparently from digging the ball out of the net on Paraguay's goal, because that appeared to be his only action that game), so Lippi was forced to play Federico Marchetti for the remaining 2 and a half games. Marchetti stood in well and did his job, as there weren't any howlers that he gave up. When healthy, Buffon is one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but he has been consistently struggling with his fitness for the last two seasons.

Defender (right full back): Gianluca Zambrotta. Zambrotta has had an amazing career with Il Nazionale, but the fact that his club side preferred to convert a winger to play in the same position, should tell you all you needed to know about him. Zambrotta hardly looked dangerous in attack on the right flank.

Defender (center half): Fabio Cannavaro. Apparently Lippi didn't watch any Juventus games this season to see how easily picked apart the Juventus defense was in big games. Cannavaro is 36, and while he was an absolute stud at World Cup 2006, he has been well past it for some time.

Defender (center half): Giorgio Chiellini. Hard to be critical of Chiellini because I think he had to spend a lot of time covering up for Cannavaro and sometimes Zambrotta. A younger center half who is solid on the ball would have been a more ideal partner and might have made a difference in the goals given up against Paraguay and New Zealand.

Defender (left full back): Domenico Criscito. I actually thought Criscito had a good tournament. He was getting forward down the left flank and helping the Azzurri to keep the ball. He has a lock on this position for the next couple of tournaments.

Midfielder: Claudio Marchisio. Another Juventus player who I think was asked to work on the left hand side and often looked lost out there.

Midfielder: Ricardo Montolivo. Pirlo's replacement, and clearly does not have the vision and skill necessary to dictate the tempo that Pirlo does.

Midfielder: Daniele De Rossi. The next captain, and he should be. He looks fantastic when he has someone with the skillset of Pirlo to partner with in the midfield. All he has to do is be the ball winner and get it to Pirlo to start the attack. He and Montolivo clearly lacked an understanding of each other when the ball had to go forward.

Midfielder (Winger): Simone Pepe. I liked the idea of Pepe in the team and starting, because he could offer pace and crossing for the strikers. Unfortunately in this tournament, it appeared to me that he was only interested in crossing the ball, and thus making his play awfully predictable. Zambrotta's lack of overlaps forced Pepe's hand.

Striker: Vicenzo Iaquinta. Another Juve player, and one who only scored 7 goals in all competitions this past season.

Striker: Alberto Gilardino. He simply cannot do it in the big matches. See his performances for AC Milan. Italy looked like they were playing with 10 men when he was out there.

Antonio Di Natale did a nice job of providing some playmaking up top and certainly was livelier than Gilardino, but he is 32 years old now, so time has passed him by. Mauro Camoranesi got roughly 30 minutes against Paraguay and was impressive, but we know this is his last Cup. Fabio Quagliarella and Christian Maggio got to see time in the 2nd half against Slovakia and each impressed.

So, it's time to move on from the geriatric mess that Lippi sent to Africa, and perhaps help Mr. Prandelli with a list of players who should be representing Italy in Euro 2012 (assuming they get there):

GOALKEEPERS: Federico Marchetti, Salvatore Sirigu, Andrea Consigli
Rationale: Marchetti will be the goalkeeper with experience and having been Buffon's understudy will be ready to take the reins. Sirigu had an impressive season at Palermo and was the last goalkeeper cut for the 2010 World Cup team. He's 23. Andrea Consigli played for the Italian Under-21s and is a promising young goalkeeper.
You could also offer: Marco Amelia. The well-travelled goalkeeper just joined Milan and could potentially revive his career there.

DEFENDERS: Domenico Criscito, Giorgio Chiellini, Salvatore Bocchetti, Leonardo Bonucci, Christian Maggio, Davide Santon, Mattea Cassani
Rationale: I like Maggio to take the reins at right back, at least for the next two years from Gianluca Zambrotta. After that, Prandelli will have to determine if Santon can fit as a right back. Bocchetti would be the future partner to Chiellini in the center of defense. Cassani missed the final cut for this year's World Cup team.
You could also offer: Ignazio Abate. Abate has been converted to right back for AC Milan and was solid getting forward with his crossing, and is improving as a defender in that role. Marco Motta of Roma could also step into the right back role in the future.

MIDFIELDERS: Daniele De Rossi, Simone Pepe, Claudio Marchisio, Ricardo Montolivo, Antonio Nocerino, Luca Cigarini, Antonio Candreva
Rationale: I'm going to give Marchisio a pass for his performance at the World Cup because I think from a tactical perspective, it wasn't really clear what was expected of him. Often times he got in the way of his midfield teammates as a result. The central midfield players like Nocerino, De Rossi, and Cigarini can certainly function as ballwinners in the mold of Gennaro Gattuso. Antonio Candreva, if properly utilized, can operate as a playmaker in close to the striker or strikers. Prandelli's Fiorentina teams had some good use of flank play, so you have to think that Pepe will be prominant in his plans.
You could also offer: Andrea Pirlo. He'll be 33 by the time the Euros roll around and I'm sure he'll want to take one last shot. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me to see if Prandelli goes with youth.

FORWARDS: Fabio Quagliarella, Giampaolo Pazzini, Sebastian Giovinco, Alberto Gilardino, Robert Acquafresca
Rationale: I'll keep Gilardino in the team because the new Italy coach has been his club coach for the past two seasons, and Prandelli seems to have gotten the best out of him. Giovinco is the playmaker that Italy desparately missed this World Cup, and one expects that he will mature over the next couple of seasons. In the theory that Prandelli will play wider, I could see Giovinco (or Quagliarella) operating as a winger opposite Pepe with one striker. In this case Pazzini. Acquafresca has been bounced around at so many clubs over the years but he is a young talent that can be prolific once he is able to settle in somewhere.
You could also offer: Mario Balotelli. If he can keep his emotions in check and start to demonstrate some maturity, Italy will benefit. The Ghanaian born striker is loaded with talent. Antonio Cassano has had his chances in Euro 2004 and 2008 and was less than impressive. Vicenzo Iaquinta and Antonio Di Natale are too old.

That in mind, my Italy XI would be (4-3-3): Marchetti- Maggio- Bocchetti, Chiellini, Criscito, Cigarini, De Rossi, Montolivo, Giovinco, Pazzini, Pepe.

So that's my 23 for Italy for Euro 2012. We'll see what Prandelli does, but the next two years certainly need to be about transition, to set up nicely for Brazil 2014.

World Cup Shot From Distance: What each team has told us in their first game.

2010-06-16T09:41:00.001-07:00

A quick blast of what the teams have shown us through their first game in the World Cup:

GROUP A:

South Africa........have a nation behind them, and a work ethic and spirit that says they refuse to be the first host to go out in the first round.
Mexico.......have an abundance of talent, but are young up front and lack composure.
Uruguay..............have two world class strikers and will hope they do all the attacking for them.
France.................continue to be a dysfunctional family under Raymond Domenech.

GROUP B:

Argentina..............knows for now that Maradona hasn't screwed it up.
Nigeria...................knows they probably could have lost about 6-0 to Argentina.
Korea Republic...............have pace and counterattacking ability to win this group.
Greece.........................looked like they were stuck in the mud.

GROUP C

England....................are looking into getting 1970 Gordon Banks in a time machine to 2010.
USA.....................got the result, now go and win the group.
Algeria..................denying reports that Ghezzal was sent in to get sent off.
Slovenia..................really? We lead the group?

GROUP D

Germany........................Has scored 16 goals in their last three World Cup openers.
Australia........................are not playing Uzbekistan, Bahrain, etc anymore.
Ghana...........................Michael who?
Serbia...........................needs far more from Zigic, Krasic, and Pantelic than they got.

GROUP E

Netherlands.........................own goals and rebounds, wait till Robben is back.
Denmark............................okay that's done, now let's get 6 points on the other two teams.
Cameroon.........................does anybody know what they're doing out there?
Japan..............................still happy to be here? Or can you spring a bigger upset?

GROUP F

Italy.....................Desparate for Pirlo, and need more from the strikers.
Paraguay.............Cardozo, Barrios, and Santa Cruz disappeared, did they go home?
New Zealand........come on ref, our first point! Wouldn't you have taken your shirt off too?
Slovakia...............needs to close it out.

GROUP G

Brazil.....................what was more embarrassing, only 2 goals against North Korea or giving one up?
North Korea.............hope we can try and do that again.
Ivory Coast....................really? That's what we get from you?
Portugal.........................really? That's what we get from you?

GROUP H

Spain.........................can still win this group.
Switzerland....................Ottmar Hitzfeld can coach. See Borussia Dortmund's Champions League win over Juventus in 1997.
Chile...........................Alexis Sanchez may not do that against Switzerland or Spain, but he showed promise.
Honduras.....................desparate for Suazo.

Frankly Football's World Cup Predictions: Knocking 'Em Out and Picking a Champion

2010-06-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

Now that I have mulled over the group stages, it is time for me to pick the knockout rounds. Based on my predicted orders of finish for each group, the round of 16 is sure to feature some very intriguing matchups.

ROUND OF 16

Mexico v Greece
Mexico has done well to reach the knockout stage in each of their last 5 appearnces, however they only progressed once to the quarterfinals, when they were hosts in 1986. This would be unchartered water for the Greeks, who will be the survivor of a 2nd place battle with Nigeria and Korea Republic in Group B. Greece should be able to resist for a good portion of the match, but will finally break down to Mexico's young strikers.
Mexico 2, Greece 0

England v Germany
A match fit for a final will take place in the round of 16. England will survive the USA in group play to get to this spot, while the Germans will land here after getting upset by Serbia. The thought here is that Germany may not have a defense partnership to deal with Wayne Rooney, and should be able to exhibit superiority in midfield. Is this the game where England will finally miss Rio Ferdinand? Germany will come at the Brits with their flank play, and hope to expose Capello's left and right backs. Should be a thrilling matchup of one of world football's great rivalries.
England 2, Germany 1 (after extra time)

Serbia v United States
The Serbs finish group play as one of the surprise packets, outlasting Germany in winning group D and getting what appears to be a favorable matchup with USA. Will the American backline be sorted out in time for this one? It will have to be as friendlies with Eastern European teams like Czech Republic and Turkey weren't as convincing. Will the presence of defenders like Ivanovic, Vidic, Kolarov, and Subotic be too strong for the American strikers or will Buddle find space against them (if he plays). It's a tough matchup for the US, with Nikola Zigic having the height to win the aerial battles on the US defenders. The catalyst will be Milos Krasic, whether lined up left or right side, will cause the US outside backs a lot of problems.
Serbia 1, United States 0

Argentina v Uruguay
Attacking football should be prevelant in this one, with names such as Messi, Forlan, Tevez, Suarez, Lodeiro, and di Maria on offer. There isn't a player in Uruguay's midfield or defense that can deal with Lionel Messi, and the man who has been so brilliant for Barcelona will equal that level in this one.
Argentina 3, Uruguay 0

Netherlands v Slovakia
And the countdown to a Dutch meltdown will start now. They will boss the group stages and everyone will watch as to win this team will burnout. It won't be here. Slovakia will find just enough magic to outlast Paraguay to get to this spot, but will not have an answer for a more balanced Dutch attack.
Netherlands 2, Slovakia 0

Brazil v Switzerland
Not going to waste your time with this one. Hitzfeld had enough know how to get past Chile and Honduras to get here, but there isn't enough in the Swiss side to deal with the Selecao. Organized and rigid in defense with enough flair in attack, this will be a clinic.
Brazil 4, Switzerland 0.

Italy v Cameroon
Simple formula for the Italians: score a goal, park the bus in front of goal. Cameroon will make this interesting, but Lippi will have picked out the dangers of the Indomitable Lions (namely Samuel Eto'o). The Azzurri will have gotten their legs under them after getting tough tests from Paraguay and Slovakia, and with Cameroon hell-bent on being the first African semifinalist, Italy should survive and advance.
Italy 1, Cameroon 0.

Spain v Cote D'Ivoire
Another scintillating fixture on the round of 16 list, especially if Didier Drogba can be fit for it. The Ivorians will survive Portugal to get to this point, but whether they survive Spain could be another story. Like Holland, Spain have been long-time underachievers in this competition, more by luck than self destructing. The Ivorians will make this a street fight, not a good thing for players like Xavi, Iniesta, Torres, and David Silva, who pride themselves on having space and keeping the ball. Yet, Spain have just that much more depth than the Elephants, and it should see them through.
Spain 2, Cote D'Ivoire 1.

QUARTERFINALS

Netherlands v Brazil
Here's where it ends for the Oranje. Arjen Robben didn't score on Julio Cesar in the Champions League final, and he may not score here. The weakest part of either team will be the Dutch backline, and that's not good when you're playing Brazil. Luis Fabiano should be a handful up front, and the wing play of Robinho and Ramires will provide a lot of problems. Yet, with van der Vaart, Sneijder, van Persie, Robben, and Kuyt, there are plenty of options for Netherlands. This may be the match of the tournament like it was at USA '94. I think there is just enough organization in the Brazil defense to see it through.
Brazil 2, Netherlands 1.

Mexico v England
El Tri finally get over the hump and reach the quarterfinals again. Fabio Capello's men will outlast Germany, a necessary monkey to get off the backs of England fans everywhere. They met in a friendly where England won 3-1 using mainly fringe players, but Mexico showed a lot of promise in that match. I just think that England will be too organized and too disciplined for the Mexicans. Capello will watch that friendly for all the tendencies in his preparation, and Mexico's leaky defense will finally give in to a superior attack. I'lltake the same scoreline as the friendly, but this England will be more dominant.
England 3, Mexico 1.

Argentina v Serbia
Will there be more Messi magic, or will the Serbian defense try and chop him down the entire 90 minutes? I think the latter will happen, but the Serbs will do that at their peril, with Carlos Tevez more than happy to take on the burden in attack. When they were Serbia and Montenegro, the Argies thrashed them 6-0 in World Cup 2006. But they had a better manager, and Esteban Cambiasso. Argentina have neither, but they have Messi and Tevez, that should be enough.
Argentina 2, Serbia 1.

Italy v Spain
No one gave the Italians a chance when these two met in Euro 2008, and the match went to penalties, thanks to the Italian philosophy of parking the bus in front of goal as discussed with how they will get by Cameroon. 2 years later, and the Italians are that much older and slower, and Torres and David Villa are in their prime. This is a rock solid Spain defense, and the European Champions will learn from their errors in the 2009 Confed Cup.
Spain 1, Italy 0

SEMIFINALS

England v Brazil
If only Capello had Gordon Banks in his prime. Finally, England will run into some wingers that they will struggle to deal with. Additionally, Brazil's center-halves should be successful in keeping Rooney in their back pocket. This will be a chess match for 90 minutes and then to extra time. Neither team will get more than a goal, and it will go to penalties. Heartbreak for England again, as in 1990, with Brazil boasting the better goalkeeper for the occasion.
England 1, Brazil 1 (Brazil advance on PKs)

Argentina v Spain
How did Inter silence Lionel Messi? He was defended by Argentinians like Cambiasso and Zanetti. How will Spain keep him quiet? His teammates Pique and Puyol will have the answer. Additionally, this is where the Argentine defense will crumble after exceeding expectations to get to this point. This will rival the Holland-Brazil quarterfinal as match of the tournament. I'm calling for Spain's experience and depth to outlast Maradona's men.
Spain 3, Argentina 2.

THIRD PLACE: England v Argentina
England looks forward to payback for 1986, and 1998 (yes they got a little in 2002 but that was in the group stage). Argentina will arrive at this match to put on a show, after being disappointed in not facing their bitter rival Brazil in the final. England's backline will have issues with Lionel Messi, and he'll be in line for the Golden Boot with his performance in this match.
Argentina 3, England 2.

FINAL: Brazil v Spain
After all that thinking and re-thinking, I went chalk for the final. The top two teams in FIFA's World rankings seem to be the most organized, and seem to also have the right combination of attacking players to get this far. If suspensions can be avoided, this will be the most entertaining final since 1986 when Argentina outlasted West Germany in the altitude of Mexico.

Brazil will line up with two holding midfielders, and might do this all tournament, to combat the tippy-tappy passing of the Spaniards. Look for Felipe Melo and Gilberto Silva to trade off limiting Xavi's space and time with the ball. Spain coach Vicente del Bosque will likely play Fernando Torres and David Villa in attack from the start, in hopes of pulling apart Brazil's center backs (likely Lucio and Juan) and trying to pin Maicon back from venturing forward. In attack for Brazil, look for them to go with just Luis Fabiano up front, with Robinho and Ramires occupying the flanks. This will give Kaka free reign in midfield and be the link between the holding mids and the rest of the attack. Spain's toughest call will be to decide if they want to counter with Xabi Alonso AND Sergio Busquets in midfield, or to leave Alonso and employ Iniesta and David Silva wide. I expcet the latter as they will want to pull apart Brazil's back line from the start. If they are successful and lead into the second half, you'll see Sergio be the first one off the bench to bring off one of Spain's more attack minded players. If Brazil score first, enter Josue or Kleberson to bring off Ramires, and pair Robinho in attack with Luis Fabiano, Kaka still linking the lines.

What will happen? Lots of chances in the run of play, but I think it will come down to an odd goal or a set piece. In that case, I think Brazil's chances are better. Lucio will be the unlikely hero, heading home a corner, and leading the Brazil rearguard to keep the Spaniards quiet. The Selecao showed last year at the Confed Cup that they were built to win this World Cup, and they will see it through for a sixth time.

BRAZIL 1, SPAIN 0.

As an Italian-American, I hope I am wrong. The World Cup is capable of some crazy things, and I'm sure there will be more twists in the plot than I have outlined here. Nonetheless, it should be a thrilling month ahead.

Frankly Football's World Cup Predictions: Groups E-H

2010-06-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you to Kirk for pointing out in my previous blog that Ghana is known as the Black Stars and not the Super Eagles. My source who told me they are the Super Eagles has been sacked. So with A-D digested yesterday, here's a look at Groups E through H

GROUP E
Prediction for Order of Finish:

Netherlands
Cameroon
Denmark
Japan

Rationale: Arjen Robben or not, the Dutch are loaded and always seem to storm out during group play. There are still plenty of talented pieces such as Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Dirk Kuyt, and Robin van Persie to go around. The challenge for them is can they maintain a high level of football for an entire month? In 2008, they bossed their way through a Euro group of Italy, France and Romania before getting bounced out by Russia in the quarterfinals. While Denmark was impressive in outlasting Sweden and Portugal in qualifying directly, they have injury issues with Simon Kjaer and Nicklas Bendnter. I'll go with Cameroon's experienced squad over the Danes for the runner up spot, spearheaded by Samuel Eto'o and guarded by underrated goalkeeper Idriss Kameni. I've already dropped a hint about the state of Asian football in the last blog, in reference to Australia's easy qualifying, and Japan was one of those teams. They have experience in Shunsuke Nakamura and Junichi Inamoto, and a rising star in Keisuke Honda, but the team is just not deep enough to hang with the other three teams here.

GROUP F
Prediction for Order of Finish:

Italy
Slovakia
Paraguay
New Zealand

Despite their struggles in the World Cup warmups and with Andrea Pirlo's injury, Italy should have enough to top this group. The key will be if the aging legs of players like Buffon, Cannavaro, Zambrotta, Di Natale, and Gattuso can hold up. The big match will be the Slovakia-Paraguay game, and this is where Marek Hamsik of Slovakia has a chance to get a big paycheck. Paraguay has an abundance of talent in attack with Oscar Cardozo and Roque Santa Cruz, but not a lot of proven players in defense. Again, the organized Eastern European team wins out. New Zealand gave the Italians a tough match last year in a 4-3 defeat, so don't necessarily count them out.

GROUP G
Prediction for Order of Finish

Brazil
Cote D'Ivoire
Portugal
North Korea

Rationale: Get ready for a tactically disciplined Brazil, who will keep it tight against their Group G rivals and obviously with their attacking flair, will be able to still create a ton of chances. They have the best goalkeeper in the world, Julio Cesar (who I think you could argue to be in the World Player of the Year race). They have the two best right backs in the world (Maicon and Daniel Alves) and the headache is which one to start. And of course, they have skill all over the park when you talk about Kaka, Elano, Robinho, Luis Fabiano, Michel Bastos, and Grafite. Even with Didier Drogba's injury, I tip the Ivorians to grab the 2nd spot. It will come down to the all important match on June 15th with Portugal. Like I can't trust France under Domenech, I don't trust Portugal under Carlos Queiroz. They barely qualified and almost missed the playoff to Sweden. They might bost the talent in Cristiano Ronaldo, Deco, and Ricardo Carvalho, but I'm not convinced they are disciplined enough. North Korea did a fantastic job to get here, but it will be an achievement if they get a point out of this group.

GROUP H
Prediction for Order of Finish:

Spain
Switzerland
Chile
Honduras

Rationale: Will Spain be able to finally lift a World Cup, or will they once again be jinxed? Judging from their 6-0 friendly win over Poland, it doesn't seem there is any tiredness to speak of, for now. Additionally, the draw gods smiled on them with this group. In 26 previous outings combined against their group rivals, the Spaniards have an astonishing 21 wins, 5 draws and 0 defeats, outsocring their foes 64-19 in that run. The 2010 editions of Switzerland, Chile, and Honduras doesn't look to measure up either. I like Switzerland to outlast Chile and Honduras because of the experience of the team itself (Philippe Senderos, Valon Behrami, Gokhan Inler, and Alexander Frei) as well as with their manager (Ottmar Hitzfeld is a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund at club level).

So my first knockout round looks like this based on my predictions:

Mexico v Greece
Argentina v Uruguay
England v Germany
Serbia v USA
Netherlands v Slovakia
Italy v Cameroon
Brazil v Switzerland
Spain v Cote D'Ivoire

Tomorrow, I'll pick the rest of the tournament and give who I think will win the World Cup.

Frankly Football's World Cup Prediction: Groups A-D

2010-06-08T08:39:00.001-07:00

Okay, I have been wavering and going back and forth on this for far too long. Every day I seem to come up with a reason why a team I think will win today is better than who I thought would win yesterday. So it's time for me to buckle down and just pick how I think this thing will play out. Of course, one wrong placement can blow this whole thing up.

GROUP A
Prediction for Order of Finish:

Mexico

Uruguay

France

South Africa

Rationale: This has the potential to be the most exciting group in the first round. All of these teams have decent to excellent attacking players, and they all stink on defense. In that case, I'm going with the teams that have the better goalscoring tandems. I really like what I have seen from Carlos Vela and Javier Hernandez up front, and Mexico manager Javier Aguirre seems to have it right with Giovani Dos Santos on the flank. Uruguay has a prolific combination in Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid) and Luis Suarex (Ajax), and Nicolas Lodeiro is a youngster who could stand to make a lot of money providing the chances for the frontmen. I simply cannot trust France. They have a lame duck manager in Raymond Domenech (more lame than duck too, but I digress), and looking at their squad there is so much imbalance (3 left backs in the squad; Abidal, Clichy, and Evra). I'm determined in my prediction that this will be the first World Cup that the host doesn't progress. South Africa just doesn't have the depth to compete with the teams they have drawn.

GROUP B
Prediction for Order of Finish:

Argentina

Greece

South Korea

Nigeria

Rationale: Argentina got the benefit of a favorable draw with the teams they are grouped with, as well as getting locations that are lower in altitude (in qualifying, Maradona's men were a nightmare in places of altitude, getting embarrassed by Bolivia and Ecuador). They are head and shoulders the class of this group, provided that Diego Maradona doesn't meddle too much with the team chemistry. Their stiffest test will come from Greece, and I'll take Otto Rehhagel's organization and stinginess over anything the Koreans and Nigerians will throw at them. You'll see a trend: the European teams that pride themselves on organization and discipline tend to do well in the group stage, as they will have had an abundance of time to prepare for their opponents.

GROUP C
Prediction for Order of Finish

England

United States

Algeria

Slovenia

Rationale: I really, really, really hope the US can pull off the upset in Rustenburg on Saturday and control their own destiny for the group win, but I think England is too physically imposing. While the Australia win was impressive, there are still issues with the back four, particularly if Oguchi Onyewu can regain his form from the Confederations Cup a year ago. Fabio Capello's England team has plenty of alternatives to replace Rio Ferdinand in defense, but the question mark will be the goalkeeping. They are star-studded and have plenty of experience when you speak of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, John Terry, Wayne Rooney, and Ashley Cole. Algeria will be a stingy proposition but will prove they are not deep enough. As will Slovenia, who are here thanks to their win over Russia in qualifying playoffs.

GROUP D
Prediction for Order of Finish:

Serbia

Germany

Ghana

Australia

Rationale: Here is where my organized European team theory kicks in. I think the Serbians are a dark horse in this competition and win what I think is the Group of Death (I'm a believer that the Group of Death has to have 4 good teams, Group G only has 3). Do I think they will win? No, but they have talent and experience in a lot of positions. In back they have players like Nemanja Vidic, Neven Subotic, and Aleksandr Kolarov. Midfield includes veteran Dejan Stankovic, and winger Milos Krasic who stands to get rich off this World Cup. In Marko Pantelic and Nikola Zigic, they have two strikers who can finish in a variety of ways. Germany has some questions to answer in defense, particularly if Hans-Jorg Butt can carry over his club form in goal to replace injured Rene Adler. They had issues with a soft center of defense at times in 2006 and I'm not convinced they have the defenders to deal with Serbia's strike force. This could be a breakout World Cup for Sami Khedira as he will be looked at to lead the midfield in place of the injured Michael Ballack. Ghana will just miss out, and will rue the injury to their midfield leader Michael Essien. The Black Stars, still have experience with John Mensah, Stephen Appiah, and Sully Muntari, and could make me look bad here. Australia had a solid World Cup qualifying campaign, but you could argue that Asian football is down this year in quality compared to previous World Cups. The nuclues of their team is aging, and they were exposed in their friendly against USA on Saturday.

Tomorrow I'll yap about E-H, and Thursday I'll run down my knockout stages.

The Frankly Football All Good-Pickup Team for 2009-2010.

2010-05-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

We all went through the Summer of 2009, with all the crazy transfer activity, and gushed over how great this move was for Team A or how this team will be sorry for buying Player X. Now that the club season is over (save for a really important game on May 22nd), it's time to take a look at the team of players who panned out the best.

I was going to make this a team of players that were purchased, but decided to qualify players who were either playing on loan or arrived on a free as well. As the season was winding down to a close, I was able to narrow things down to about 25 players for the 11 places. Some positions were certainly harder to fill that others.

Real Madrid had an awfully heavy influence in the 2009 Summer transfer market. Six out of eleven players that were part of Real Madrid's transactions make this list, pretty staggering when you consider that many other players had good seasons in their new homes.

This season's Good Pickup team also suggests if you want to win the UEFA Champions League, you better be ready to buy. 5 players on this team play for the two finalists, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan.

After really looking closer at things, I left all Manchester City arrivals off the list as well. While you'd think Carlos Tevez would be a shoo-in, a couple other strikers stepped in and scored more meaningful goals in the campaign. If I had a bench, Tevez would be on it. Kolo Toure was another consideration, as was Gareth Barry. If they cracked the top 4, at least one of them would have been included. In fact, the lowest ranked team from any league represented is Napoli, who finished 6th in Serie A.

Alright, I am done blabbing about who didn't make it, here is your 2009-2010 all good pickup team. As decided by me, in a 4-4-2 setup:

GOALKEEPER: Morgan de Sanctis
Napoli from Sevilla
This was a pretty difficult position to find. Most of the teams who were successful this season to one degree or another didn't rely on a new custodian. If you go back to Summer 2009, one would not have been unreasonable in projecting up-and-coming Spaniard Sergio Asenjo to win this position. However he flopped and lost out to his backup, who went on to win the Europa League. De Sanctis came cheap, under 2 million Euros, and he delivered 15 clean sheets, as well as a 6th place finish to qualify Napoli for the Europa League next season. His performances merited him a callup to the Italian National provisional squad for the World Cup.

DEFENDER: Gabriel Heinze
Marseille from Real Madrid
Didier Deschamps brought in 11 new players in the Summer of 2009 to strengthen his squad, and Heinze was a rock in defense for them (don't laugh United and Real supporters. Marseille's GAA in Ligue 1 was 0.95 per game). A regular in the team that won French Ligue 1. In addition, he has six goals to his credit this campaign.

DEFENDER: Lucio
Inter Milan from Bayern Munich
It probably helps his cause that arguably the World's best goalkeeper plays behind him for club and country, but Lucio is easily a better option in the center of the Nerazzurri defense than an aging and erratic Marco Materazzi. Helped to marshall an Inter defense that was best in Italy this season and has been key in the Champions League run-up.

DEFENDER: Raul Albiol
Real Madrid from Valencia
While the attention was on superstars like Ronaldo, Kaka, and Benzema, Raul Albiol was a safe purchase for Florentino Perez and proved a source of stability in the Real Madrid defense, making 41 total appearances. Part of a defense who recorded the 2nd fewest goals against in La Liga this season and had to do much of it without Pepe from Portugal, who missed a huge portion of the season through injury.

DEFENDER: Aly Cissokho
Lyon from FC Porto
Much is made about the performances that Lisandro Lopez and Michel Bastos had for Les Gones in their first season, but I was quite impressed with Cissokho's first run through Stade Gerland. Funny how he ended up in Lyon, as AC Milan actually had a deal in place to sign him first. However, he failed his physical, as there was something in his teeth that indicate potential for spinal trouble (a spinal cord specialist needs to explain this to me). Milan's loss was Lyon's gain, as Cissokho appeared in 48 matches in all competitions. Included in that were all 14 matches of Lyon's memorable run through the Champions League semifinals.

WINGER: Arjen Robben
Bayern Munich from Real Madrid
Arrivals of the new cast of Los Galacticos in Madrid meant that Dutch winger Arjen Robben would be surplus to requirements. A nice surplus indeed, as Robben has played his way into 2010 World Player of the Year discussions (Messi still has an edge, but Robben should be invited as of now). His arrival in Bavaria meant the introduction of Robbery, the combination of Robben and Franck Ribery occupying the flanks.The Dutchman ended up having one of his best seasons, scoring 23 times in all competitions, including some breathtaking finishes to see off Fiorentina and Manchester United in the Champions League. His individual performances have the German outfit on the doorstep of the Treble.

MIDFIELDER: Xabi Alonso
Real Madrid from Liverpool
I'm probably going to get some arguments about this one, most coming from those who think Gareth Barry should make this list. However, I'll go with Alonso for the simple fact that he and Lassanna Diarra were essential in gluing the Madrid midfield together. Aside from their struggles with Barcelona, Milan, and Lyon, Los Merengues were as dominant as you can be without winning anything. Alonso's tackling and ball-winning abilities were useful for The White House, and sorely missed by Liverpool.

MIDFIELDER: Wesley Sneijder
Inter Milan from Real Madrid
I'll continue with another player who was surplus at Real Madrid, and is playing his way into the World Player of the Year discussion. Sneijder seemed to be a perfect fit for the Nerazzurri from the start. A link between the hardline midfield stoppers and the flashy stikers that Jose Mourinho had on offer. Sneijder was dangerous from a variety of positions on the pitch, creating and scoring goals alike this season. 8 goals in all competitions for the Dutchman who, like Robben, has Inter at the doorstep of a Treble.

WINGER: Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid from Manchester United
If you wanted any indication of how valuable Ronaldo was to Los Merengues this season, just have a look at the first Sevilla game and the two Milan games where he was out through injury. No wins, two defeats, and a draw. Add the first of the two Clasicos where he tried to come back and was ineffective after attempting to play for 60 minutes. Nothing changed with the former World Player of the Year. 33 goals in all competitions and in a variety of ways.

FORWARD: Ivica Olic
Bayern Munich from Hamburg
Meet the only player on this list who was not purchased. Olic arrived on a free, and the Croatian International scored 20 goals in all competitions. You tell me a goal that Carlos Tevez scored this season that was more valuable than either of the goals Olic netted against Manchester United, or the hat trick against Lyon............... don't worry I'll wait...........................

FORWARD: Diego Milito
Inter Milan from Genoa
Diego Milito caught everyone's attention with his performances for Genoa last season, most importantly the attention of Jose Mourinho. 28 goals in all competitions this season, and many thought that Samuel Eto'o would be the new Inter striker to make this list. Perhaps none more important than the cool finish in Siena to win Inter a 5th consecutive Serie A title. Milito also netter the winner in the Coppa Italia final over Roma.

So there you have it, the team of good pickups for 2009-2010. Someone get snubbed? You have a different list than mine? You're more than welcome to drop a comment.

Shot From Distance 5.14.2010: Leo out at Milan.

2010-05-14T08:31:00.001-07:00

Doing my usual checking of sites that I trust, I arrive to find out that first year manager Leonardo will mutually part ways with AC Milan after their final regular season match with Juventus.

This is an expected outcome, and one that was seen by yours truly, just last summer.

Carlo Ancelotti knew that the writing was on the wall, that Kaka needed to be sold to balance the books, and there would not be a lot of funds for summer transfers in 2009. Ancelotti had to decide whether he had done everything he could at Milanello and take on a new challenge, or stick around for a massive rebuilding project that likely wouldn't really get underway until 2010-11. Chelsea was far more attractive, because the squad is setup for a run at multiple titles, and was backed by an owner that could spend immediately on reinforcements to replace aging stars like Michael Ballack and Deco. A far more attractive proposition than to manage a side that would have to absorb at least one year of transition before being able to rebuild their squad.

Stands to reason why an manager with no experience, like Leonardo, was appointed to the San Siro hot seat. No manager in the upper echelon would have been willing to walk into this situation. My guess is the phone conversation with a world-class coach went something like this:

"Hello, this is Adriano Galliani. We would like you to manage AC Milan this season. You interested? Great! Now, I must warn you that our long-time captain is retired and there is no talking him out of that. In addition, we have to sell our best player to Spain in order to balance the books. Having said that, there aren't going to be a lot of funds available to reinforce the squad, just a Dutch striker that struggled to get into the Spanish team we sold our best player to. Oh, and we'll be bringing in that over 30-something Brit in January. You know, the one that's playing in America right now. Still interested? Hello? Hello? Damn. Mr. Berlusconi, cross another one off the list."

By Galliani's own admission, he had to convince Leonardo to come in and manage this scrap heap. And he had to be thinking in the back of his mind all along that this would be a one-and-done situation. It became the perfect solution. Bring in a man with no experience. If he succeeds, it's a masterstroke by the upper management at Milanello. If he fails, well, he's inexperienced and that's where the problems started. Leo was brought in to keep it glued together, and keep their place in the UEFA Champions League.

What ended up happening with the 2009-2010 edition of AC Milan was simple. Leonardo, in his first year managing at any level, became a symbol of stability in a wildly inconsistent season for the Rossoneri. The preseason and first Milan derby, all told, were a disaster. It really hit rock bottom in a home loss to FC Zurich in the UEFA Champions League. Everyone was calling for Leo's head, blaming his inexperience as a manager as you would expect. Then, something happened in Spain. They went to play Kaka and Real Madrid, and against all expectations, stormed out 3-2 winners. It ignited a string of positive results, with brilliant attacking displays along the way. Suddenly, Milan had the look of a team that could contend for the Serie A title, though the Champions League was still going to be a bit out of reach. And despite being thrashed by Manchester United in the knockouts of the Champions League, they were within touching distance of Inter for top spot in Serie A. Injuries to key players like Alexandre Pato and Alessandro Nesta would suddenly curb their title challenge, but Leo kept the team together, and guided them to that 3rd place and automatic Champions League spot for next season.

To sum it up, Leonardo proved his worth as manager this season. He walked into a thankless situation and can walk out with his head held high. Leonardo simply exceeded expectations that the world footballing audience had for this Milan team. He got the best out of Ronaldinho (though it remains to be seen if Dinho was simply motivated to get a World Cup place with Brazil, and how he'll play now that he didn't). Thiago Silva played his way into being one of the best central defenders in the world. Ignazio Abate became a servicable right back, despite his natural winger position. And Marco Borriello flourished in his 4-3-3 system to the point where he earned a callup to Italy's World Cup provisional roster. There are many things that the Brazilian can be proud of in his one season in charge, it's just a pity he won't be staying around for Milan's rebuilding.

So, Mr. Galliani, Leo kept it together. Now make that call to a manager who can push Milan forward.

Shot From Distance 5.13.2010: 5 Who should be on World Cup Rosters, and 5 who shouldn't.

2010-05-13T07:03:00.000-07:00

Now we know the provisional rosters for most of the power teams that are going to the World Cup. Managers have selected anywhere from 23 (the number they are allowed to take) to 30. The headache now for the likes of Fabio Capello, Vicente Del Bosque, Marcello Lippi, Dunga, and Diego Maradona is who to leave behind. After reading up on each of the rosters, there are suprising omissions, as well as surprise selections. Here is a rundown of who got screwed, and who should be lucky to be in a World Cup camp.

5 Players who should be on a Provisional World Cup Roster.

Esteban Cambiasso, Argentina: Diego Maradona seriously must not want Argentina to win the World Cup. Cambiasso is an engine room midfielder that would be a far more perfect fit for the Argentine setup than Javier Mascherano. Cambiasso organizes a midfield, connects with his defenders for compactness, and is not a ticking time bomb like Mascherano. Maradona could have had a Cambiasso-Mascherano holding midfield to do the dirty work, to free up the likes of Messi, Tevez, and Aguero to attack. Need more evidence? See the brilliant performance he turned in for his club, Inter, over Barcelona in the Champions League.
Joao Moutinho, Portugal: Club teammate Pedro Mendes gets in over him, as does an aging Deco. While the latter makes sense from an experience and leadership standpoint, I would have thought Moutinho would have been a good selection here. He's a versatile midfield player mostly known for his playmaking with Sporting Lisbon, and gave a decent account at Euro 2008 (had an assist in a group win over Turkey).
Antonio Nocerino, Italy: While many will be stewing over the omission of Francesco Totti, I thought Nocerino deserved a call-up. Lippi seems to be going straight 4-3-3 all the way which will not require the need of a link between the midfield and forwards. Nocerino would have been a nice fit in the engine room of the midfield. He has done well as captain of the many Azzurrini teams through the years, and was part of a Palermo side that made considerable improvement throughout the season. He's viewed as Gattuso's heir apparent, and probably should have gotten a chance over the veteran, considering the lack of games Gattuso got with Milan this season.
Thomas Hitzlsperger, Germany: To me this is a surprising omission from Joachim Low, perhaps this is because Hitzlsperger only made 3 appearnces for Lazio since transferring over in January from Stuttgart. Still, he appeared in every qualifier except one and started in each of the knockout rounds in Euro 2008.
Phillipe Mexes, France: The French are complaining mainly about the omissions of players like Karim Benzema, Patrick Vieira, and Samir Nasri. While all three of these are deserving to be in any France setup (under a manager who isn't crazy), I was surprised to see Mexes get snubbed. Rod Fanni from Rennes made the provisional squad, as did a William Gallas who can't seem to stay fit.

*Honorable mention to Uruguay's Christian Rodriguez, who was left out because he has to serve a 2-match International ban. I probably would have taken him if I'm Oscar Washington Tabarez because he could be influential in that third match (against Mexico), to set up Forlan and Suarez, and help Uruguay to the knockout rounds.*

5 Who Hopefully will not get on the plane to South Africa:

Gennaro Gattuso, Italy: And it really pains me to say it, because he is one of my all time favorite Milan players. The Snarling Dog has hardly gotten a sniff for Milan this season, and who knows if he will be able to discover his form in time for the World Cup. I mentioned that Nocerino would have been a better call, Luca Cigarini would have made sense too.
Jamie Carragher, England: Far be it for me to criticize Fabio Capello and his thought process, but why bring a player out of retirement at a position that you are already deep at? Rio and Terry will start, and you have cover with Ledley King, Michael Dawson, and Matthew Upson. Carragher might be going to South Africa at the expense of King, Dawson, or Upson. But if this was just to bring Carra into camp, Phil Jones of Blackburn might have been a better option for the experience.
Grafite, Brazil: Dunga goes with a striker who has only made 2 senior appearances, instead of any one of Ronaldinho, Pato, or Adriano. The expectation is that this is going to be a more tactically rigid Brazil team, and Dunga didn't want to overload on playmakers. Still, Ronaldinho would have been a more sensible choice here to give some playmaking and width late in a match.
Martin Palermo, Argentina: He's 36! And there are already far better options in attack with Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, and Gonzalo Higuain to name a few. Maradona's affinity for Boca Juniors is the only explanation that Palermo is on the provisional list over Lisandro Lopez, who was brilliant for Lyon this season.
Lukas Podolski, Germany: Low better have it right in terms of his confidence in Podolski, because Kevin Kuranyi's 18 goals for Schalke were left out.

So who do you think got snubbed, and who do you think don't belong? Hit me up with your thoughts.

Shot From Distance 4.29.2010: Silvio Berlusconi knows nothing about football.

2010-04-29T07:42:00.000-07:00

In the words of famous Onion columnist Jim Anchower: "I know it's been awhile since I last rapped at ya."

I have tried in my time to either inform, vent, or both about the happenings in football across the pond. My favorite team is Milan. Win, lose, draw, I'll die with the colors of the Rossoneri in my heart. I've done my best to keep this particular blog from being too Milan-slanted. Yet I find myself having to address a potential disaster.

There has been much discussion of late regarding first-year manager Leonardo's future with the club at Milanello. Some discussion was going on that he would take over for Dunga as Brazil National team coach after the World Cup. Nonetheless, as the Rossoneri are assure of yet another trophy-less season, the rumors are circulating.

Let me take you back 10 years. Just a day or so removed from Euro 2000, Silvio Berlusconi (Italian PM and Milan Owner) criticizes Italy manager Dino Zoff for his tactics in the final against France, that Italy came within seconds of winning. Zoff reacted by handing in his resignation. Basically a "piss off" gesture to someone of power running his mouth.

To the present, where I jump onto an article from http://www.football365.com/, a British-slanted football website that has time to present us with this article, via Corriere Dello Sport:

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_6123052,00.html

In that bit of journalism, the man who is wearing two hats, and a bunch of facelifts, drops this gem on the Italian paper:

Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi is reported to have told the Corriere dello Sport newspaper: "Yes he will leave, we are working on a new coach.
"The new coach? There are talks in place with others. Leonardo has been too tough headed and the team has played badly this season."

Thank you Mr. Berlusconi. You have proven that, in the span of 10 years, you know absolutely NOTHING about football. But since you are the Italian Prime Minister, you feel you have a license to just run your mouth, that has likely been repaired multiple times.

The Italy team from 2000 had almost no business getting to the Euro 2000 final, and further had no business coming within seconds of beating World Champion France. France won 2-1 in extra time if you recall. If Fabio Cannavaro was approximately 6 inches taller, Sylvain Wiltord doesn't get that last-gasp equalizer. Zoff constructed a brilliant tactical approach, and is the only manager to have gotten the maximum out of Stefano Fiore (you tell me what Fiore had done as a footballer since then......... don't worry I'll wait..........). He also was successful in ignoring the calls for Del Piero to be a regular starter in favor of a rising star by the name of Francesco Totti. Totti was brilliant in the Euro 2000 tournament. Just have a look at those two point blank misses from Del Piero in the final that would have sealed it, and it proves my point. He might have had to resort to anti-football (better referred to as catenaccio) in the semifinal against host Holland (a heavy favorite after dumping Yugoslavia 6-1), but what would you have done on 10 men when Gianluca Zambrotta was sent off in the 35th minute. Blame Holland for missing not one, but two penalties in regulation that match. Berlusconi's biggest beef about the final was that Zoff failed to recognize that Zinedine Zidane needed to be man-marked. Uhhh, so Demetrio Albertini was just spending that final chasing butterflies, right mister Prime Minister? Zidane was not much of a factor that night.

Flash forward to now. It should surprise no one that Leonardo, despite keeping this team glued together all season long, was just going to be a glorified patsy. The problem with upper management at AC Milan is that they take absolutely no accountability for their actions. You hand the keys to a Ferrari over to an inexperienced manager, and then you essentially remove the engine (Maldini) and transmission (Kaka) from it. You replace the engine with one that's fit for a Pinto (Maldini for Ambrosini), and while the new transmission is okay (Ronaldinho), it's not symbolic of the face of the team for the last five-plus years. The parts are old and worn out (Ambrosini, Gattuso, Inzaghi, Favalli, Oddo, Kaladze, Beckham, Jankulovski, Dida, Zambrotta, Seedorf, and Pirlo) but you still expect Leo to drive it at its optimum.

To complicate matters, arguably the two best players on the team, Alessandro Nesta and Pato, have been injured and out since March. So what do you expect when players like Guiseppe Favalli and Massimo Oddo have to play in the center of defense out of necessity? At that point, you can't do anything else except try and hang on to your Champions League place for next season.

I gave the AC Milan preview on World Soccer Daily back in August (look for the podcast on itunes, somewhere in the middle of August 2009, maybe the 12th or 13th). I had NO expectations for the team to win anything this season. My prediction was for them to finish 3rd (which they currently hold but are even in danger of losing that) and reach the knockouts of the Champions League. That was about as much as you could expect with this roster. The only thing you could expect Leonardo to do this year was keep this thing glued together, and maintain a place in next season's Champions League.

Give this guy a chance to manage a team with younger talent. Look at what he has done with Ignazio Abate for example. Taking a player who has been a winger and training him to be a full back. Abate might have made a couple mistakes out of lack of experience, but overall you have to give him a passing grade for the job he has done. Thiago Silva has matured into a world-class center half. Luca Antonini has been at least serviceable (and proved to be a far better option than Jankulovski). Klaas Jan Huntelaar might have been a fish out of water for most of this season, but give the guy a chance, he has proven he can score goals.

Mr. Berlusconi needs to take a closer look at the team he has invested in over the years. There is no doubt he has been the financial principal of Milan's most successful period in history, but his and Adriano Galliani's penchant for living in the past is the result of the perceived failures for the Milan of today. Leonardo has been pure class in a trying season for anyone who is managing for the first time, he is the least of this clubs problems.

Some of the old parts to the Ferrari, though, need to be replaced. That's where it has to start, and to a point where someone who cares about this team and knows his football can step in and fix what has been a beautiful machine.

Shot from Distance 4.8.2010: Fergie's lost the plot, again.

2010-04-08T07:21:00.001-07:00

If this isn't the best piece I have ever written, it's because "typical Germans" have placed an influence on how I write my blogs.

Because Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, Darren Fletcher, Edwin van der Sar, or Wayne Rooney would never, ever try to influence the referee into a decision. No not them, they behave like little angels..................... you can see I obviously have a lot of time for Sir Alex's remarks after United went out on away goals to Bayern Munich yesterday in the UEFA Champions League. I need to start by berating the people who have put comments to articles or message boards that insist Fergie's comments about "typical Germans" were racist. Racist would have been if the Grumpy Scot would have dropped an n-bomb on us in referring to Didier Drogba and his offside goal on Saturday. If you want to call it taking a jab at a culture, then you are on the right track.
Yes, I think the comment was over the top, and I might give some leeway to the fact that the match ended, his team was bounced at home, and he was furious about it. Yet, never, never, never, never attack a culture or a creed or a religion in any post game rant. He is only making himself fair game to the rest of us. It's bad enough he has a whine and a pop at the officials after seemingly every match he lost. When he wins, Ferguson credits his players and the opposition for the effort. When he loses, an official's fault. At least that's the priority and after that is a small quip about the other team being deserving, or in the case of yesterday, a wonder goal that sent them out.
Finally, it's not "typical German" behavior, it's gamesmanship no matter who is playing. Whether you like it or not, all teams do it. I remember a couple years back when Liverpool and Inter played, Marco Materazzi was on a yellow, he fouls Fernando Torres. Torres looks up at the official with 2 fingers in the air to signal "2nd yellow." Of course Materazzi's tackle was a little harsher than Rafael's challenge, but nonetheless the influence came from Torres (might not have mattered but he did it anyway). Players and managers will work the officials. It happens in football, and it pretty much happens in every other sport (college hoop season just finished, and Coach K for Duke is a master at this).

So Rafael was sent off and everyone wants to say that was the turning point. To me that's a typical loser excuse, seen and heard it enough. I have a few things for the United players and their oenophiliac of a manager (wine lover for those of you who are inadequately educated) to consider for the next time:

Pay Attention. The loss of concentration from the United players when they did have 11 players out there contributed to their downfall far more than Rafael being sent off. Simply look at the two goals from Ivica Olic over the tie. Evra getting dispossessed way too cheaply toward the end of the first leg and the lack of defenders and poor marking on the goal at Old Trafford just before halftime in the 2nd leg. If you're good enough to lift the cup with the big ears, you need to avoid both of those situations and close things out.
Wayne Rooney can't be the be-all end-all of how you perform. If you're relying on one player to get it done for you, or to even inspire you, it's pretty surprising you got this far in the first place. If you're playing for a team like Manchester United, that should mean you are a professional playing at the highest level. Yes, Wayne Rooney is very influential, and up until his injury was maybe neck and neck with Messi in World Player of the Year status. However, it becomes what the team can do. United had 90 minutes without Rooney against Chelsea, and had a sample of what they needed to do to adjust without his presence. So when they had to bring him off, the team should have stepped up, no matter how many men they had out there. Nani took cue, but the rest of the team looked far too complacent. Which leads me to......
No matter the numbers, you have to have a striker out there. If anything, to have a reference for the other 8 players and goalkeeper to play to. I think Ferguson is a managerial genius, all those trohies say so. But that should have been a double-substitution on 55 minutes, with Berbatov on for Rooney and John O'Shea ending Darren Gibson's night (or Michael Carrick's). With no true striker, that is an unreasonable amount of pressure for United's rearguard to absorb. Sir should claim some responsibility for that and soon, to deflect the attention of his cultural jab.

I have only been aware of one occasion where Ferguson conceded defeat, that was last season's Champions League final loss to Barcelona. And the way that match went, he had no choice but to credit the Blaugrana. This is just something we're going to have to live with when you are talking about Sir Alex Ferguson. A brilliant manager, one of the best of all time, but a man who endangers having his history tarnished because he continues to point fingers publicly than to accept responsibility.

Shots From Distance 4.5.2010: The resurrection of Chelsea, should Roon play, and other stuff.

2010-04-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

After using the Champions League to play my way back into the Bayern Munich lineup, I endanger my team's lead against Schalke by getting a yellow for bumping the assistant referee, and follow that up with another yellow for clumsily challenging a Schalke player. No wonder my manager is hoping that Arjen Robben will be fit for Wednesday's match.

Most sent email in the last 24 hours:

From: England Fan
To: Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United
Subject: Wayne Rooney's place against Bayern on Wednesday

Dear Sir,

In considering this, please see Cesc Fabregas and William Gallas.

Sincerely,

England Fan

Still to be determined if this email actually exists:

From: Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea Manager
To: Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United
Cc: Arsene Wenger, Arsenal
Subject: Wayne Rooney's place against Bayern on Wednesday

Dear Sir,

You have to go for it, give it your all. Get the boy out there and get the result you need to catapult you to Champions League glory! Frenchy in North London was brave enough last week. What, no balls there Fergie?

Carlo

PS I'll kick in a vintage if you play him.

Not necessarily like the humor of watching Sam Malone play Robin Colcord in chess, but entertaining nonetheless........I spent so much time in the table analysis of the English Premier League talking about how Ferguson would rally the troops to a draw on Saturday in the big clash against Chelsea. If anyone knows how to overcome losing a key player, it's the knighted one. In the process, I turned a blind eye to the astute tactician that Carlo Ancelotti can be. An embarrassing revelation, seeing how the Italian led my beloved Rossoneri to Champions League glory on two occasions as a manager.

First, looking at Fergie's team for this match. In the win over Liverpool, he used Park Ji Sung in a more central attacking role, almost as a striker partnering Rooney. I would have thought this was a cinch to see him in the same role, considering that Berbatov is not as mobile as Roon, and provides more of a high target presence. Park's runs off him would have been effective in pulling apart the central defense of Alex and John Terry for Chelsea. Just look at the Korean's winner against Liverpool. Rooney occupied a defender, and Park was free to head home Darren Fletcher's cross. Instead, Park was utilized wide, and from what I watched had little effect on the match. Sir attempts to rectify this by bringing on Giggs to play in that advanced central role (and not moving Park), and brings on Nani for Park.

With a 1-0 lead, what Carlo Ancelotti did was a masterstroke. Nani was likely instructed to play higher on the left, and the Italian brought on Solomon Kalou to occupy the right flank. Kalou had space on the right in one of his first attacks, a sign of the danger. And he started the attack again that led to the winner from Drogba (though offside). Fergie had to go for it, and Carlo made a ballsy decision that led to a moment that could define the title race.

*The author of this blog that maybe 6 people read if I'm lucky has elected not to make any conversation about Simon Beck and his ineptitude. Nor will I make any chatter about the Grumpy Scot's continued reliance on players like Paul Scholes, Gary Neville, and Ryan Giggs. While all are United legends, all are well into the twilight of their careers.*

*I should also call out that on more than one occasion the camera panned to a section of Old Trafford where Portugal manager Carlos Queiroz and Ivory Coast manager Sven Goran Eriksson were seated, with some random guy sitting between them. It's easy to speculate that since the two nations face each other in the World Cup, you would think the man was placed to prevent any further slapboxing between the two gaffers. SFD cannot confirm nor deny that any slapboxing took place.*

And as for idiot bloggers who wrote about Chelsea's demise. Wink, wink, hint, hint........................ I guess I didn't see this coming, but I also made projections based on Wayne Rooney being fit. Additionally, I also based predictions and conclusions on the fact that Florent Malouda would continue to be ordinary. My bad.

But just because Chelsea has regained their place at the top of the table doesn't necessarily mean it will end up there when all the games are played. Their home schedule has as about the same set of challenges that you have when you put your finger through the inside of a twinkie. However, two interesting away fixtures await them; Tottenham and Liverpool. Two sides that are desparate to get all the points they can so they can join the Blues in the Champions League next season.

But when Mr. Burns brought off Darryl Strawberry to have Homer pinch hit for him in the Springfield v Shelbyville Softball final, it worked............ maybe I don't coach at the level that Rafa Benitez does but I do know a couple things about substitutions and decision making. In my time and involvement in this beautiful game, I have arrived at a universal truth: NEVER BRING OFF A PLAYER WHO CAN DECIDE A GAME. The only way Fernando Torres should have been brought off was for one of the following two reasons:

He was injured

Liverpool had the match in hand, a lead in the neighborhood of 3 or 4-nil.

Since neither was the case, and the Fat Spaniard said so as "I brought him off because he was tired" (paraphrasing, he of course was eating pastries when he said it). Maybe Rafa likes the relaxed environment of the Europa League after all.

But all the money we got for Darren Bent............. With Arsenal (H), Chelsea (H), and Manchester United (A) as their next three fixtures, along with Manchester City (A) before the season is up, that was a bad 3 points for Tottenham to drop.

Amusing moment of the weekend......................... Watching Burnley supporters leave Turfmoor 7 minutes into their team's match with Manchester City, when they fell behind 3-0 en route to a 6-1 thrashing that probably could have been worse if the pitch didn't get so waterlogged.

Because I am spending wayyyyyy too much time on England........... Credit to Louis van Gaal's men for finding the resolve to travel to Gelsenkirchen and beat Schalke 04 2-1. If you read the very opening statement of this installment of SFD, you'll know the player I am referring to is Turkish international Hamit Altintop. With Leverkusen's loss this weekend to Monchengladbach, it would be safe to say that the Bavarians are in the driver's seat.

My understanding is that Nigel Winterburn, Ray Parlour, Luis Enrique, Albert Ferrer, Ian Wright, Hristo Stoichkov, David Seaman, and Andoni Zubizeretta are available for call-up. And rumor has it that Pep will trade the suit for the Blaugrana stripes too................. So add Alexander Song and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the collective mash unit of players for Barcelona and Arsenal. Throw in the suspensions of Pique and Puyol for Barca, and you may see them asking the old-timers to hash this one out. Seriously, the lineups should look like this:

Barcelona: Valdes- Alves- Milito- Marquez- Maxwell- Keita- Busquets- Xavi- Pedro- Henry- Messi

Arsenal: Almunia- Sagna- Campbell (doubtful- knee)- Vermaelen- Clichy- Denilson- Diaby- Eboue- Nasri- Walcott- Bendtner

Team with the most players standing at the end wins.

That's about all I had for this week. A little skewed to British footy but Serie A was rather uneventful this weekend with the top 3 all winning. Until next time......

Table Analysis: English Premier League

2010-04-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Well didn't things get really interesting thanks to some injuries that came from Champions League games? Another league where three teams are in contention, and they all have 6 matches remaining. Although many twists in the plot, with key injuries for each team providing some maches that aren't necessarily sure things:

CURRENT TABLE

Manchester United: 72 points

Chelsea: 71 points

Arsenal: 68 points

Manchester United
Remaining Fixtures: Chelsea (H), Blackburn (A), Manchester City (A), Tottenham (H), Sunderland (A), Stoke City (H)
OUTLOOK: I'll have a take in my next blog about how Sir Alex Ferguson's genius will really have to come through with the Wayne Rooney injury. The defending champions face some immediate challenges without their talisman, especially considering the crunch match against Chelsea this Saturday. Yet even before Rooney went down in Munich, United's path to a 4th straight title was already tough enough. If they rush him back for the Manchester derby, be ready for Toure, Lescott, Kompany, et al to be instructed to see how healed that ankle really is. Blackburn are a team on the rise and have been particularly good at home (unbeaten at Ewood in their last 7). Tottenham have been one of the better away sides all season (4th in league) and they'll be fighting for the last Champions League place. Sunderland's home form has been good but they have struggled lately, and getting Stoke at home is a sure three points.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: A slip up, and in all likelihood with Rooney out. I can see them splitting points with Chelsea at Old Trafford, they'll squeak by Blackburn, and draw at City. After that, they should beat Spurs, Sunderland, and Stoke. 4 wins, 2 draws. 14 points for a finish of 86 points.

Chelsea
Remaining fixtures: Manchester United (A), Bolton (H), Tottenham (A), Stoke City (H), Liverpool (A), Wigan (H)
OUTLOOK: Chelsea didn't play at midweek and might have been the biggest winners of all with the injuries to Rooney and Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas. Chelsea had been laboring for sometime now with their own injury issues that have seen players like Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole, and Michael Essien all spending more time with the physios than on the pitch. Carlo Ancelotti has been around the block enough to know that Chelsea doesn't have the big an advantage. Looking at the remaining fixtures should be enough evidence as to why. The home fixtures are all comfortable, but it's as brutal an away fixture list as you would like for a team that is trying to win the Premier League. Liverpool's home record has been perfect in league play since a 2-1 loss to Arsenal back on December 13th of this year. Seeing how Chelsea has had away issues recently, that should be a concern. Tottenham are fighting to keep the final Champions League place as mentioned as well.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: Already I've said Saturday's clash with United will be a draw, and they should get all 9 points from their remaining home fixtures. I have United finishing on 86 points, meaning Chelsea will have to take full points at White Hart Lane and Anfield. While I think they'll beat Spurs, United fans will be in the soul-selling act of thanking Scousers for beating Chelsea. And the irony of Liverpool being responsible for United passing them on top flight league titles. 4 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat. 13 points for a total of 84 points.

Arsenal
Remaining Fixtures: Wolves (H), Tottenham (A), Wigan (A), Manchester City (H), Blackburn (A), Fulham (H).
OUTLOOK: Another third place team that is stumbling to the finish line. Milan on injuries, Leverkusen on form. Arsenal are in Milan's boat thanks to the Fabregas injury, but also with Arshavin and Gallas getting knocks in the Barcelona match. They'll need to be perfect to catch United on points the way it is playing out, and then outlast them on goal difference. The fixture list gives them that opportunity. The away fixtures are all manageable, they've seemed to be in control of the North London derby no matter where it's played (save for a 4-4 draw from last season) and they get City at home. Fulham may possibly be in the Europa League final and may not have too much concern for their league standing.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: That winning six straight is possible. Wolves, Wigan, Blackburn, and Fulham should all be winnable for them (if the Fulham match was at Craven Cottage then I'd think differently). They still have enough resources to win at Spurs, but with all the injuries they may have to settle for a draw there. Additionally, I think they'll draw the City game as well. 4 wins, 2 draws. 14 points for a finish of 82 points.

Thanks to Liverpool, Manchester United should finish off as champions again. The term "mental strength" gets tossed around all the time, and with all his experience, I think Sir Alex will come up with a way to rally his team without Rooney. They'll stem the tide, hold off Chelsea this weekend, and find ways to get the points needed to win the title.

Table Analysis: German Bundesliga

2010-03-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was looking at how Serie A might finish, today the emphasis is on Germany. Like Italy, there are 3 contenders. Each have 6 matches remaining. Let's have a look at the contenders and their remaining fixtures:

CURRENT TABLE

Schalke 04: 58 points
Bayern Munich: 56 points
Bayer Leverkusen: 53 points

Schalke 04
Remaining Fixtures: Bayern Munich (H), Hannover 96 (A), Borussia M'Bach (H), Hertha Berlin (A), Werder Bremen (H), Mainz (A)
OUTLOOK: The obvious emphasis here is going to be on this Saturday's showdown with Bayern. Beyond that, though, it is a very manageable schedule. The toughest fixture after Saturday is Werder Bremen, and that's in Gelsenkirchen. Two of their three away fixtures are against teams in the drop, Hannover and Hertha Berlin, while away to Mainz will be tricky as they currently boast the 5th best home record. With Schalke having the best away record in the Bundesliga, my guess is they will get all 9 points from their fixtures away from Gelsenkirchen. So it will come down to the home dates with Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen. Win this Saturday against the Bavarians, and they'll open a 5 point gap and have one hand on the title. Two other things are going for them at the moment. 1) the best defensive record in the league conceding only 22 goals and 2) Felix Magath, who as I've said in blogs past knows how to win in Germany.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: I can see them splitting points at home with Bayern and being satisfied with that, but I can't see them beating Werder who are running really strong at the moment and have the 2nd best away record (not to mention Bremen might fancy still sneaking into that 3rd spot). The other 4 matches should be wins though against 2 relegation strugglers and 2 sides who won't have much to play for. 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat. 13 points to finish the season on 71 points.

Bayern Munich
Remaining Fixtures: Schalke 04 (A), Bayer Leverkusen (A), Hannover 96 (H), Borussia M'Bach (A), VFL Bochum (H), Hertha Berlin (A).
OUTLOOK: We're going to know just how good a manager Louis van Gaal is these days and how much resolve Bayern has in what will be the two biggest weeks of the season. They need to find a way to take points from their fellow Bundesliga contenders in away fixtures, as well as negotiate their way to the Champions League semifinals. An unenviable position for anyone to be in. After that it's nice and squishy for them as the highest position for the remaining opponents is 12th, an away fixture with Monchengladbach. It's going to be imperative for them to at least split points with Schalke 04 this Saturday, and I already think that's going to end in a draw. After that, they should win out. Leverkusen is still in this, but the wheels have fallen off their wagon only taking 9 points from their last 8 matches and conceding 14 goals in that process. Mario Gomez is getting healthy for the stretch run, and Arjen Robben ought to feature again. Based on things coming together, I really can't see Bayen losing another match.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: I think they'll be disappointed to draw this Saturday but the remaining 5 matches are all very winnable fixtures for one reason or another. 5 and a draw is very likely here. 5 wins, 1 draw, 0 losses. 16 points to finish on 72 points.

Bayer Leverkusen
Remaining Fixtures: Eintracht Frankfurt (A), Bayern Munich (H), VFB Stuttgart (A), Hannover 96 (H), Hertha Berlin (H), Borussia M'Bach (A).
OUTLOOK: Seeing that I think Bayern will finish on 72, the most Bayer Leverkusen can get is 68 points (I have them losing to Bayern so they won't finish on 71). Even at that, I think reaching that number is out of the question. Eintracht Frankfurt has been solid this season and will be a tricky away fixture. Stuttgart has had a revival under Christian Gross and have 16 points from their last 8 matches (3rd best of any team in that span). They are only 5 back with 6 games remaining and anything can happen, but realistically this will be a tough task on their current form.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: Like evaluating Milan yesterday, Leverkusen's priority should be on consolidating the 3rd and final Champions League place. They have Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen both closing very strong right now and 4 and 5 points behind Leverkusen, respectively. I can see them drawing this weekend with Eintracht, but I can't see them getting anything from Bayern or Stuttgart with the way they are playing, and more worryingly, conceding goals. 3 wins, 1 draw, and 2 defeats. 10 points to finish on 63 points.

Interesting that Borussia M'Bach, Hannover, and Hertha all get to play a role in this. In Hannover and Hertha's case, it won't help them in their fight to avoid relegation to have to play the top three. As you can see, I like Bayern to overtake Schalke and win this year's Bundesliga by the slimmest of margins. Meanwhile, the 63 for Leverkusen may not be enough for 3rd depending on what Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen do. Should be a fun few weeks to finish the season.

Table Analysis: Serie A

2010-03-30T09:43:00.000-07:00

Three teams, with 3 points separating 3rd from 1st. 7 matches remaining for each team. Time to look at the remaining fixtures for the title contenders and figure out who will come out on top.

CURRENT TABLE

Inter Milan: 63 points.
AS Roma: 61 points.
AC Milan: 60 points.

Inter
Reamining Fixtures: Bologna (H), Fiorentina (A), Juventus (H), Atalanta (H), Lazio (A), Chievo (H), Siena (A)
OUTLOOK: Inter appear to have the most favorable fixture list of all the contenders. The toughest match is Fiorentina away, but they get Juventus home. The other 5 teams are sitting 13th or lower with 2 of the teams (Atalanta and Siena) currently in the drop. The issues with this team are 1. Discipline, 2. The Champions League distraction and 3. Jose Mourinho's constant flirtation with returning to England. Inter are a team whose players seem to get suspended for rather silly reasons, not to mention the next touchline ban for Mourinho whenever it happens. In addition, they'll fancy their chances as a team who can make life difficult for Arsenal or Barcelona, that is of course if they survive CSKA Moscow in the Champions League. Finally, at what point does Mourinho's desire to return to England or try and capture La Liga in Spain finally become a distraction in the Nerazzurri dressing room.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: I think Inter's remaining defeat in league will be at Fiorentina, while they'll likely split points with Juventus. Beyond that, I can't imagine they'll drop points to the other five teams on the schedule. 5 wins, 1 draw, 1 defeat for 16 points to finish out the season on 79 points.

AS Roma
Remaining Fixtures: Bari (A), Atalanta (H), Lazio (A- Derby), Sampdoria (H), Parma (A), Cagliari (H), Chievo (A).
OUTLOOK: This isn't a bad list for a team that has made an unlikely surge, and is looking to continue to put the pressure on the 4-time defending champions. They start with a Bari side that has been sneaky good at the San Nicola, and unbeaten in their last 5. 3 points is a requirement in that one. The home list is rather comfortable as Sampdoria looks like the toughest match, and they have been uninspiring away and against top half competition. You would think Cagliari would be a tough task, but the wheels have fallen off lately. Parma away is brutal as well, as they have taken points from both Inter and Milan there. It's been an impressive run for the Giallorossi, currently on a 21 match unbeaten run to get to this point. Luca Toni has been a revelation for them, and Daniele De Rossi is playing as well as anyone in Italy at this point, just in time for the World Cup. Hard to imagine they are often doing this without Francesco Totti, but they've come together quite impressively.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: If I have Inter finishing on 79 points, then Roma must finish on 19 to overtake them or 18 and hope for a better goal difference. That their due for a defeat somewhere and manager Claudio Ranieri's track record for being a bridesmaid (2nd place finishes with Juventus and Chelsea in recent years) prevent me from believing this can happen. I think the fixture list has enough landmines, Parma in particular, to prevent them from overhauling the champions. I see a defeat at Parma, and draws with Bari and Lazio. 4 wins, 2 draws, 1 defeat. 13 points to finish the season on 74 points.

AC Milan
Remaining Fixtures: Cagliari (A), Catania (H), Sampdoria (A), Palermo (A), Fiorentina (H), Genoa (A), Juventus (H).
OUTLOOK: If the Rossoneri were hoping to make a strong push to end the season, the scheduling gods didn't do them any favors. The lowest positioned opponent left is Catania (14th), and that's a home match. Five of their opponents are all going to be spending the rest of the season jockeying for position in European places with one Champions League place available and the likelihood that one or two of those teams could be left out of Europe altogether. Cagliari might be dipping, but on 40 points they are not far off of a place either. Palermo and Genoa are as rough as it gets for away fixtures as they are currently 2nd and 4th, respectively, on their home ground (Palermo have yet to lose at home). Sampdoria is another side that have yet to lose on their ground as well. Yet, if they can recover Pato and if Ronaldinho can stay healthy, Milan are a side that can score on anyone as their remaining opponents do combine for a healthy 1.33 goals against average.
WHAT'S REASONABLE TO EXPECT: To be correct in determining any chance Milan had of winning the Scudetto was lost in their last three matches; an away defeat to Parma sandwiched by home draws with Napoli and Lazio. Considering the laundry list of injuries (especially in defense), and a daunting fixture list, consolidating 3rd should be Milan's focus for the remainder of the season. I can't see them winning at Sampdoria or Palermo, and they should split points with Juventus and Genoa. 3 wins, 2 draws, and 2 defeats. 11 points for a total of 71 points.

CONCLUSION: Pretty much going to be as you were with a little bit of separation down the stretch. Inter should clinch this on the 36th or 37th round. At the moment it is up for grabs, but Inter has by far the most favorable schedule of any of the teams left.

Shots from Distance 3.22.2010: Observations from the weekend in World Football.

2010-03-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

Another weekend of football has passed and, as always, there are some interesting talking points.

1. Sir Alex Ferguson continues to maximize his resources.
An eagerly awaited contest between Manchester United and Liverpool was on this cards this past weekend, and in a 2-1 victory, Sir once again demonstrated tactical mastery.

He used Park Ji-Sung as a striker with Wayne Rooney. Or at least it appeared that way.

It looked somewhat as more of a support striker, with Nani and Antonio Valencia occupying the flanks. Park has flourished in many important matches in a wider role, but this time he was asked to play in a central attacking position, with the purpose of pulling the Liverpool defense apart and taking the pressure off of Wayne Rooney. This was an experiment that looked like it wasn't going to work. In fact, a friend of mine and I were discussing (through Facebook comments) that Berbatov should come on to provide the target play and let Rooney run loose. Well, again, ol' Fergie knows what the rest of us don't, and his decision to keep his faith in Park led to the Korean scoring the go-ahead goal on the hour, finding room in the penalty area to head home. Park would come off after 86 minutes, but for Scholes so the three points would be preserved.

2. As for Liverpool..........
Get used to life in the Europa league, if your mission is to go and just keep United from playing, you already lost. Sitting in 6th with just 7 games remaining, and the teams around you have at least 1 match in hand (City and Villa have 2), doesn't bode well. Either clean house or get a viable striker to pair with Torres.

3. The latest cry for goal line technology.
Either Rafael van der Vaart was doing his best Thierry Henry impression, was caught up in March Madness (which I'm sure he's never heard of), or both. He clearly handled the ball in the penalty area to set up the equalizer for Real Madrid in their come from behind victory over Sporting Gijon 3-1. Yes, Real dominated the match but they were behind. The tying goal from van der Vaart came in the 2nd half, and clearly it got to the psychee of the Sporting side who would have worked toward trying to preserve the 1-0 or at least settle for a draw at the Bernabeu. As a result, Real Madrid are top of La Liga instead of being 2 or 3 points behind Barcelona at this stage. If they win the league, look back on this moment.

4. Massimo Oddo? Really?
As a Milan fan, I'm disgusted. They entered their match with Napoli yesterday with a chance to go top of Serie A, thanks to Inter's draw at Palermo on Saturday. I see the team news, and Oddo gets a start. I support the Rossoneri through and through, but when I saw "44-Oddo" lined up on the right, I had a feeling that we wouldn't win. Sure enough in the first 15 minutes, Oddo leaves the whole city of Naples onside, then tries to go in and defend the cross across the penalty area. Collides with the goalkeeper Abbiati in the process, and leaves an empty net for Napoli to score. I know Milan is getting paper thin due to injuries, but that's no excuse to have a player on the pitch who is clearly past it. Especially when late in the match, Leonardo brought on Luca Antonini to play left back, and move Zambrotta to the right to bring Oddo off. Too little, too late. If you are going to rush Pato back into the team, then Antonini should be out there from the beginning as well. It ends 1-1, and Milan still sit 1 point behind Inter, each with 9 matches to play. I'll look at this game with disgust if the season ends as the teams are positioned now.

5. Chelsea. R.I.P.
I might be very harsh on them, but it seems like Jose Mourinho returned home and sucked the life out of this team. I didn't see the Blackburn match, but if Chelsea want to win the Premier League, 1-1 at Ewood doesn't do it. Further, 1 goal on a back up goalkeeper who only saw his first Premier League action for Blackburn last week, doesn't do it. I think we saw the wheels fall off when Samuel Eto'o scored that memorable goal at midweek.

6. Remember me? I was World Player of the Year in 2009.
Much of the attention has been on Wayne Rooney and how he has practically carried Manchester United this season. To the point where everyone is already anointing him 2010's World Player of the Year. May I introduce to you Mr. Lionel Messi. A little guy who plays for Barcelona and led them to the 2009 Champions League. Since 2010 started, Messi has scored 18 goals. That is ahead of his mark of 10 at this time last year and ahead of Rooney's 16 this year (again from Jan 1, 2010). Okay, Rooney has less to work with. I'll further argue. Messi has been without the services of Xavi, and 10 of those 18 goals have come in the last 16 days (4 games; 2 hat-tricks and 2 braces). With the Champions League Draw set up for a Barcelona- Man United rematch, it could come down to the winner of that getting the World POY for 2010. Of course there's also a small matter of who will excel in the World Cup too.

6 shots from distance. That's a lot for a 35-year old so I'm off to go ice my quad, hamsting, and calf. Unitl my next rant...........

Breaking Down the UEFA Champions League Quarterfinal Draw

2010-03-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

Hey gang, it's been awhile since I've rapped at ya, taking a line from world-renowned Onion columnsit Jim Anchower, but I'm back and refereshed. I thought I would start by breaking down the Quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) v FC Girondins de Bordeaux (FRA)
Outlook: From the quarterfinals onward, teams from the same nation are not protected. While French Football may or may not be happy that their two remaining sides are drawn together, they at least get a team into the semifinals.

Lyon are conquerers of wallet-burning Real Madrid. I have broken down eloquently to friends that Real Madrid spent over 200 million on Kaka, Ronaldo, Benzema, Raul Albiol, Granero, Xabi Alonso, and about the first three rows of the fans who sit in the Santiago Bernabeu. Lyon spent 40 million or so on Lisandro Lopez, Batefimbi Gomis, Michel Bastos, and Aly Cissokho. Just a study in economics and rock solid evidence that less is indeed more. Additionally, Lyon have wins in this competition over Liverpool and Fiorentina in the group stage, so you know they are battle tested.

Bordeaux also have high profile scalps to their credit in the form of Bayern Munich and Juventus. They had a bit of an easier path from the round of 16 to the quarters in the form of Olympiakos, and did enough to get through.

This may be the least appealing to the casual American fan, who is not as exposed to French football as they are to the other marquee names in this field, but could end up being the most fun. Lyon and Bordeaux are rivals year in and year out for the French Ligue 1 title (Bordeaux last season ended Lyon's 7-year run as champion), and feature a lot of attacking talent. For Lyon, they have Lopez, Gomis, Bastos, and Sidney Govou. Additionally, they have a solid goalkeeper in Hugo Lloris who may become France's #1 if he hasn't won the job yet. Bordeaux boast talent in attack as well with Maourane Chamakh (an Arsenal target this summer) as well as Yoann Gourcuff (who many feel is the next Zidane).

Of the cuff knee-jerk prediction: I give the slight edge to Lyon. While I think Gourcuff will shine over the two matches, I think there is enough organization in Lyon to get through this tie. Particularly, I like the goalkeeping of Lloris over Carrasso in this one.

FC Bayern Munchen (GER) v Manchester United FC (ENG)
Outlook: I joked with some people when this one came out, saying that the groundskeepers at Allianz Arena and Old Trafford won't have to spend a lot of time patching the middle of the pitch after each match. This will be won and lost on the flanks. Both teams boast world class players, and both teams have managers who have won this competition. Sir Alex Ferguson twice (1999 and 2008), and Louis van Gaal (with Ajax in 1995). Van Gaal gets a reunion with United's Van Der Sar, who was Ajax's goalkeeper in that '95 triumph.

Bayern are here on the strength of a wonder goal from Arjen Robben to send the Germans through on away goals over Fiorentina (though the Tuscans will tell you the offside goal by Klose in the first leg made the difference). In their setup, they have two of the world's best wingers in Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery. They'll be sweating over the fitness of Mario Gomez though, who has helped provide the goals, but can look to other players like Miroslav Klose and Ivica Olic. If there is an Achilles heel in this side, it's their backline. Phillip Lahm is a solid outside back, but Badstuber and Van Buyten will have their hands full with Wayne Rooney.

United are here after throttling an under-strength Milan at Old Trafford, but it's easy to say that the tie was won in the first leg. It starts with Wayne Rooney, who is putting this team on his back much like Kaka did with Milan in 2007, Ronaldo for United in 2008, and Messi for Barcelona in 2009. At this stage, you are looking for the player that is emerging from the pack for World Player of the Year, and Rooney is in the discussion. Their flank play will be a daunting challenge for the Germans as well. Park Ji Sung has shined in these matches, and Antonio Valencia is starting to settle in as well. Patrice Evra will be important in this as well, with his runs down the left hand side.

Off the cuff, knee-jerk prediction: United, and solely because of Rooney. I don't see Bayern's backline containing him, whether he finds the perfect spot in the penalty area on crosses, or if he creates his own chances. The German side have the talent to keep this interesting, but in the end their defense will get pulled apart in the 2nd leg, and that will be the difference.

Arsenal FC (ENG) v FC Barcelona (ESP)
Outlook: Call it luck of the draw, or say the balls in the pot for Arsenal and Barcelona were heavier than the rest. Nonetheless, on name-brand this is the marquee tie of the round. The storylines alone are interesting enough, with Henry returning to London and Fabregas heading to where he grew up playing his football. These are the two sides that no matter what the competition, they play attacking football and they stick to it.

Arsenal didn't break a sweat in destroying Porto 5-0 in the 2nd leg of the Round of 16 to get here. There's hope they found a finisher in Nicklas Bendtner in the process. It is never a question of playmaking talent with Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has an embarrassment of riches in that department with Cesc Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin, Tomas Rosicky, Samir Nasri, and Theo Walcott to choose from. The challenge for the Gunners is who makes up the spine of this team? They have had injury issues on the backline, and they have never really solved the holding midfield problem since Mathieu Flamini's departure. This tie will be a fight for possession, and Barcelona may not be accustomed to that, and if Arsenal can get superiority, they'll have a chance.

Barcelona also had a walk in the park in the last round after destroying Stuttgart 4-0. Impressive in that result was that they have accomplished it without Xavi, one of their main string-pullers. It helps when you have Lionel Messi in the team, World Player of the Year in 2009 and building his case in 2010. Barcelona make their living by playing expansive, attractive football as we all know. In Yaya Toure and Sergio Busquets, though, they have midfielders who functionally cancel out the opponent's playmaker (Fabregas for Arsenal).

Off the cuff, knee-jerk prediction: Barcelona and it may not be close. This is a bad matchup for Arsenal (it's a bad matchup for anyone who has to play Barca), particularly because of the lack of strength in the center of defense and in the defensive midfield. Pep Guardiola's men are determined to be the first side to repeat as Champions League winners in over 20 years. They'll live with whatever result happens at the Emirates and turn up the style at Camp Nou.

Inter Milan (ITA) v CSKA Moscow (RUS)
Outlook: Not as much a done deal as you think. Inter, despite all their success domestically, are in unchartered waters on the continent. The Nerazzurri are quarterfinalists for the first time in a few years. The Russian side are physically going to be fresher, as their domestic season is just getting started. Stands to reason why Russian and Ukranian sides have made deep runs in the UEFA Cup in recent years.

Inter are here to many's surprise after a 1-0 at Mourinho Bridge against Chelsea (I'm calling it that until Mourinho goes there and loses again, sorry Chelsea fan). They have the players and organization under Jose Mourinho to be able to find ways to win cup ties. Lucio and Walter Samuel are a solid combination at the center of defense, and Maicon is in a two-Brazilian discussion with Daniel Alves over who is the world's best right back. The midfield gives them a backbone with players like Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic, and Sully Muntari. The playmaking of Wesley Sneijder has given them more of an attractiveness, and they get their goals from Samuel Eto'o and Diego Milito. From an organzation standpoint, they're as good as anyone left in this competition.

CSKA Moscow are here largely thanks to a blunder by Sevilla's goalkeeper, but they have the quality to pull this off. In Akinfeev, they have experience in goal. In their 4-5-1, it's about Honda pulling the strings. Additionally, they have a winger in Milos Krasic, who has gotten the attention of many of the big clubs. This is a side that played it tight with Manchester United in the group stage, and will be full of confidence after knocking off Sevilla. The 2nd leg is in Russia, and the big teams hate making that trip. So any manageable result in Milan, even a 1-0 defeat, they'll take home confidently.

Off the cuff, knee-jerk prediction: It's hard for me to bet against Inter in this one. CSKA will have a more difficult time with Inter's organization and discipline. Krasic may have issues dealing with Zanetti, and Honda may disappear in that holding midfield of the Nerazzurri. Jose Mourinho is on a mission, too. After knocking off his former employer, his side will have a lot more confidence.

The Frankly Football Euro Rankings 12.21.09

2009-12-21T05:04:00.000-08:00

Time for most of the continent to take a break from football for the winter, and with that, I have the final list of rankings for 2009.

1. FC Barcelona
Top of La Liga, UEFA Champions League Group F Winners
Yeah I'm Convinced: Along with Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona are yet to lose domestically in league, and conquered what became the toughest Champions League group. A nice 3-1 win against a stingy Deportivo is among the wins since the last rankings.
I'm Not So Sure: You could argue that Real Madrid's chances in El Clasico would have been better if Ronaldo was fully fit. Still, Barcelona is doing everything they are asked to do at the moment, and are World Champions as well.

2. Real Madrid
2nd in La Liga, UEFA Champions League Group C Winners
Yeah, I'm Convinced: So that's what it's supposed to look like when it all comes together. 4 straight wins since the Clasico loss by a combined 16-5.
I'm Not So Sure: Getting a clean sheet against a Zaragoza side in the drop zone does not mean the defensive issues are solved. Pepe's injury will hurt.

3. Bordeaux
Top of Ligue 1, UEFA Champions League Group A Winners
Yeah, I'm Convinced: No one wants to play this team at the moment. Unbeaten in their games against all Champions League teams they've seen (including an away draw to Marseille and an away win at Lyon in league play). Just one goal conceded in their last 5 in all competitions.
I'm Not So Sure: Being top of Ligue 1 is one thing, but even with their recent struggles, would you really take Bordeaux over Chelsea or Manchester United? Or even Inter?

4. Chelsea
Top of Premier League, UEFA Champions League Group D Winners
Yeah I'm Convinced: The talent and the experience is still there to compete with any of the top three.
I'm Not So Sure: The dip in form that I thought would come is in progress. Lost to a Man City team that was struggling, and drew a West Ham side that's sitting in the drop.

5. Manchester United
2nd in Premier League, UEFA Champions League Group B Winners
Yeah, I'm Convinced: When it's switched on, they are as good as anybody. The Arsenal win suddenly looks terrific. Beat Wolfsburg at Wofsburg with a makeshift backline. However.......
I'm Not So Sure: they have become wildly inconsistent. Blanks against Aston Villa at home and Fulham away are not going to inspire any confidence. Would you take this team over Inter at the moment?

6. Arsenal
3rd in Premier League, UEFA Champions League Group H Winners
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Bounced back nicely from the Chelsea debacle and they are getting it done with key attacking players out through injury, such as Robin van Persie. 10 points from 4 league matches since the last rankings. No shame in the Olympiakos loss as they were at less than full strength.
I'm Not So Sure: Glen Johnson helped the Gunners back into that game at Anfield. Inter might have the steel and tactical rigidity to make it tough for Arsenal as well. The signature win is..... Tottenham? Celtic?

7. Inter Milan
Top of Serie A, UEFA Champions League Group D Runners-Up
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Finding ways to get results in Italy to stay top and also saved their Champions League campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Rubin Kazan. Samuel Eto'o is starting to warm up. However...........
I'm Not So Sure: That no-show at the Camp Nou is still too fresh, and the Juventus loss suddenly looks horrible. Drawing at Atalanta and beating, but not blasting Lazio isn't going to inspire confidence.

8. Sevilla
3rd in La Liga, UEFA Champions League Group G Winners
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Sevilla can't be blamed for losing ground to Barcelona and Real Madrid. They've proven they can play big boy football when called upon and there are a lot of teams that would love to have the Luis Fabiano- Frederic Kanoute strike force.
I'm Not So Sure: While Getafe is playing a lot better, Sevilla still should be losing to them at home. The Real Madrid win, though impressive, seems ages ago.

9. Bayern Munich
3rd in German Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League Group A Runners Up
Yeah, I'm Convinced: The machine is starting to roll through their opposition, and without Ribery. Only two points back of Leverkusen. That 4-1 win at Juventus came after the Old Lady beat Inter. The goals are coming from more than one source (Gomez, Muller, and Olic).
I'm Not So Sure: It's not. Bayern have played as well as anyone ranked ahead of them in the last 2+ weeks.

10. AC Milan
2nd in Serie A, UEFA Champions League Group C Runners Up
Yeah, I'm Convinced: If you saw the clinic they put on against Sampdoria a couple weeks ago, you'll see why they are this high.
I'm Not So Sure: Milan might be the best of a group that performed poorly over the last couple weeks and this is a default ranking. They need depth at defender, badly. This team can't play the attacking football they're trying to achieve without Thiago Silva keeping the back line together.

11. CSKA Moscow
Runners Up in Russian Premier League, UEFA Champions League Group B Runners Up
Enjoy watching Milos Krasic play for the Russian side in the Champions League in February, if he's still there. Ended Wolfsburg's Champions League run by beating them and winning at Besiktas to earn a place in the knockout rounds.

12. Bayer Leverkusen
Top of German Bundesliga
Still unbeaten in Germany, but 4 goals conceded in their last two matches to Monchengladbach and Hertha Berlin suggest they may be getting found out.

13. Aston Villa
4th in English Premier League
Beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford and Chelsea at home. Anyone else say they've done that this season? The Rapid Vienna embarrassment seems like so long ago now.

14. Lyon
4th in French Ligue 1, UEFA Champions League Group E Runners Up
Part of the criteria in this process is who would I take now, and depsite the recent struggles, I would still take Lyon over Juventus, Valencia, and Deportivo. No shame in losing to Bordeaux the way they're playing now, Bayern and Juventus have done it as well.

15. Valencia
4th in La Liga, UEFA Europa League Group B Winners
The Sevilla win and the Barcelona draw look great, and they conquered a group in the Europa League that featured dangerous sides like Lille and Genoa. Came close to sharing points with Real Madrid as well. Unfortunately for their slim La Liga title hopes, they have to play all three teams ahead of them away from the Mestalla. David Villa is at his vintage best, 15 goals in all competitions.

16. Juventus
3rd in Serie A, Qualified for UEFA Europa League
This is a pretty harsh ranking considering the last time I did this, they beat Inter. Unfortunately, they have lost three straight in all competitions by a combined 9-3. Bayern I can understand, but Catania and Bari? This is a team that needs to get healthy, and fast.

17. FC Schalke 04
2nd in German Bundesliga
Three straight wins in Germany including victories over top-half sides Werder Bremen and Mainz. Only 1 goal conceded in their last 5 in league. The Felix effect is taking hold in Gelsenkirchen.

18. Olympiakos
2nd in Greek League, UEFA Champions League Group H Runners Up
Came through with the win needed against Arsenal to confirm qualificatio nfor the knockout stages as well as beat rival Panathinaikos 2-0 to keep the Greek League race tight.

19. Benfica
2nd in Portuguese League, UEFA Europa League Group I Winners
Dominant in their Europa League group and recently have a 2-0 win over FC Porto to their credit.

20. Rubin Kazan
Russian Premier League Winners, Qualified for UEFA Europa League
The Russian Champions will be a tough out in the second club competition, they're the only team to have a victory over Barcelona to date this season.

21. PSV Eindhoven
2nd in Dutch Eredivisie, UEFA Europa League Group K Winners
The only team on this list that has yet to lose in any competition this season.

22. FC Porto
3rd in Portuguese League, UEFA Champions League Group D Runners Up
Barely in these rankings and mainly on the strength of qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

23. Marseille
2nd in Ligue 1, Qualified for UEFA Europa League
Hard to blame them for not getting to the knockouts of the Champions League considering that they had to fight Real Madrid in Milan. Put together a nice run of wins domestically to mount a title challenge. They did draw Bordeaux earlier in the season.

24. Fiorentina
10th in Serie A, UEFA Champions League Group E Winner
Wildly inconsistent in league play (just lost 2-1 to Chievo) but here on the strength of outlasting Lyon and Liverpool to win their Champions League group.

25. Dynamo Kiev
Top of Ukranian League, Bottom of UEFA Champions League Group F
This is a team that had both Barcelona and Inter to the sword and couldn't finish them off. They top their domestic league and most noteable is an emphatci 3-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk, who also was very competitive with Barcelona earlier in the season. Shame they are not in Europe anymore, they would have given some of the Europa League sides some real trouble.

OTHERS CONSIDERED:
Hamburg
LOSC Lille
Shakhtar Donetsk
Fenerbahce
Panathinaikos
Galatasaray
Tottenham Hotspur
Roma
FC Twente

That will do it for the rankings for 2009. A lot of shifting, especially at the bottom. Let me know what you think!

The Frankly Football Team of the Decade.

2009-12-13T18:17:00.000-08:00

With the first decade of the 21st centruy and the 3rd millennium coming to a close, there are going to be many debates, lists and rankings. With that said, I offer my team of the decade. I had a lot of tough decisions to make in assembling this squad, and here are the criteria I tried to follow as closely as possible:

Overall talent.

Honors earned with his teams.

Individual Recognitions.

Obviously there are a lot of players to choose from over the span of a decade, but only 18 get to make it (a starting 11 and a bench of 7). I would be remiss, however, if I didn't acknowledge the many I considered that fell short (in no particular order):

Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, David Beckham, Xavi, Fernando Torres, Sergio Ramos, Raul, David Villa, Francesco Totti, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso, Gianluca Zambrotta, Phillip Lahm, Miroslav Klose, Oliver Kahn, Claude Makelele, Lilian Thuram, Franck Ribery, Patrick Vieira, Arjen Robben, Edwin Van Der Sar, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Clarence Seedorf, Petr Cech, Pavel Nedved, Ricardo Carvalho, Manuel Rui Costa, Deco, Carlos Tevez, Juan Roman Riquelme, Hernan Crespo, Andriy Shevchenko (this was particularly painful for me to omit him), Robinho, Lucio, Julio Cesar, Rivaldo, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o, Michael Essien, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Ryan Giggs, Tim Howard and Shunsuke Nakamura.

In addition, there will be a manager for this team, and that was difficult as well. Managers who deserve recognition but missed the cut are (again, no particular order):

Carlo Ancelotti, Luiz Felipe Scolari (fine he tanked at Chelsea but he had Portugal on the brink and won at Brazil in 2002), Josep Guardiola, Frank Rijkaard, Roberto Mancini, Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi and Guus Hiddink.

Yet, I will stand by the squad I have selected and would be very successful with this team. So here is the team of players that have stood out at thier positions, their clubs, and/or their countries in this 10-year span. My system is a 4-3-3. (NOTE: Accomplishments I bullet point are accomplishments each player achieved during this decade, and a few of these prominent players accomplished much more prior to the new millennium).

GOALKEEPER: Gianluigi Buffon, Italy

World Cup Winner: 2006
UEFA Champions League Finalist: 2003
UEFA Champions League MVP: 2003
UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2004, 2006
7-time Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year
FIFPro All World XI: 2006, 2007

I sure had my share of choices for this position, but I'll go with the Italian World Cup winner. Only 2 goals conceded in that 2006 triumph; an own goal against USA and a penalty kick in the final against France. A tremendous shot stopper but also has exceptional command of his defensive charges on set pieces and any other situation where organization was required. Certainly will be in the discussion of greatest goalkeepers of all time before his career is over.

RIGHT BACK: Cafu, Brazil

World Cup Winning Captain: 2002
Serie A Winner with Roma in 2000-01 and with Milan in 2003-04
UEFA Champions League Winner: 2007
UEFA Champions League Finalist: 2005
UEFA Team of the Year: 2004, 2005
FIFPro World XI: 2005

This is a slam dunk. The most capped player in Brazilian National team history and World Cup winning captain in 2002 set a blazing trend for the rest to follow at his position. Once described by Sir Alex Ferguson as a man "who plays with two hearts." Especially in the early part of this decade, you could always find Cafu playing for club or country bombing down the right hand side. A striker's dream with his crossing ability, and a goalkeeper's nightmare with his ability to shoot from distance.

CENTER BACK: Fabio Cannavaro, Italy

World Cup Winning Captain: 2006
European Championship Finalist: 2000
Ballon D'Or Winner: 2006
UEFA Team of the Year: 2006
FIFPro World XI: 2006, 2007
La Liga Winner with Real Madrid, 2006-07, 2007-08

The captain and inspirational leader of the 2006 World Cup winning team easily makes it in. He's had a bit of a downslide toward the end of the decade, but no player was more valuable to his national team than Cannavaro. He had to marshall the Azzurri defense without Alessandro Nesta, his usual partner in the back who was out through injury. Want more proof? See how the Italians did in Euro 2008 while Cannavaro was out with an ankle injury. They weren't the same. Cannavaro's dogged performances, particulary in the semifinal win over Germany and again in the final against France, led Italy to their 4th World Cup. In addition to that, Cannavaro has enjoyed success with his clubs, particularly at Real Madrid. There's a bit of controversy being part of the Juventus team that was mired in the Calcioppoli scandal, but you can't doubt his work ethic and leadership.

CENTER BACK: Carlos Puyol, Spain

UEFA Champions League Winning Captain: 2006 and 2009
Treble-winning Captain: 2009
European Champion with Spain in 2008
Three-time La Liga Winner: 2004-05, 2005-06, and 2008-09
UEFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008
FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008

And there are several other honors for this decorated footballer, the heart of this Barcelona team since putting on the Captain's armband in 2004. Most recently mesmerized with a performance in El Clasico where "sacrificing for the team" was redefined. Was moved to right back in the 2009 Champions League final against Manchester United due to shortage of options in defense for Barcelona, and delivered brilliantly. Like Cannavaro, Carlos Puyol is a true leader, and sacrifices for the team.

LEFT BACK: Roberto Carlos, Brazil

World Cup Winner: 2002
UEFA Champions League Winner: 2000, 2002
La Liga Winner: 2000-01, 2002-03, 2006-07
UEFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2003

Though many would argue a more defensive quality left back would be a better fit (Phillip Lahm), I'm going with Roberto Carlos because he's one of many (as you'll see as you keep reading) who can get me a goal on a free kick and perhaps in the run of play. 53 goals in all club competitions this decade is exceptional for a left back. Exceptionally skilled and particularly on his left foot, he can serve me a ball anywhere I want it. He sustained a level of greatness at his position for such a long time that all-time greatest teams will try and have him in over Paolo Maldini.

CENTER MIDFIELD: Andrea Pirlo, Italy

World Cup Winner: 2006
UEFA Champions League Winner: 2003, 2007
UEFA Champions League Finalist: 2005
Serie A Winner: 2004
World Cup Final Man of the Match: 2006
FIFPro World XI: 2006

Constantly passed over for UEFA Team of the Year for more star names, Andrea Pirlo has been a model of consistency year in and year out this decade. Known for his deep lying playmaking ability for club and country, Pirlo also has the ability to help protect the back line. This is just the player I want to control the tempo of the all-decade team attack. He has long passing ability that sets up scoring chances, and he also makes the intelligent decision of the safe possession pass. Most notable was that no look pass to Fabio Grosso in the World Cup semifinal against Germany in 2006, which was the set up for the winning goal, and sending Italy on their way to their 4th World Cup in the win over France.

CENTER MIDFIELD: Zinedine Zidane, France

European Champion, 2000
World Cup Finalist, 2006
UEFA Champions League Winner, 2002
World Player of the Year: 2000, 2003
UEFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003
FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006

I could easily do an entire blog of everything this man accomplished in his career. I could also do an entire blog about that incident in the World Cup final in 2006. However, ask me to remember Zinedine Zidane and I'll remember that goal in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final. I'll remember that in his last competition for France, he carried a nation on his back to the final. I'll remember how he owned the Euro 2000 Tournament. I'll remember those three things far before the headbutt. There has not been a player since that has demonstrated the ability to match Zidane's impeccable blend of brilliant skill and rugged combativeness. Generations before us were lucky to have Pele and Maradona, Zidane is the player of our time.

RIGHT WING: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal

European Championship Finalist: 2004
UEFA Champions League Winner: 2008
English Premier League Winner: 2007, 2008, 2009
Ballon D'Or: 2008
World Player of the Year: 2008
UEFA Team of the Year: 2004, 2007, 2008
FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008

And too many other honors (individual and team) to list. The scary thing is that he is 24, and even with all he's accomplished, his best football is still ahead of him. Joined Manchester United after playing for Sporting Lisbon. Sporting beat United 3-1 in a friendly in 2003, prompting United players to urge Sir Alex Ferguson to sign Ronaldo. Took the English Premier League by storm from the moment he set foot on the pitch. Earned his reputation as a winger who could skin even the best defenders in 1v1 situations, but enhanced it with his versatility, showing he could play more centrally or as a striker. As deadly as they come on free kicks. Some still say he has big match stagefright, but his goal in the 2008 Champions League final helped cull some of that.

ATTACKING MIDFIELDER: Kaka, Brazil

UEFA Champions League Winner, 2007
UEFA Champions League Finalist, 2005
Serie A Winner: 2004
Ballon D'Or: 2007
World Player of the Year: 2007
UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2007
FIFPro World XI: 2006, 2007, 2008

There is no questioning the heart or the ability of Kaka. Practically carried Milan on his back in 2007 on the way to the Champions League final, scoring some breathtaking goals along the way. Despite a couple of Confederations Cup wins with Brazil, the feeling is that his trophy case will at last be complete when he can lift the World Cup. Burst onto the scene in the 2003-04 season when he was bought for "peanuts" from Sao Paulo, and in his second season was voted UEFA's club midfielder of the year. Kaka has tremendous pace and technique, but like Ronaldo, is quite versatile and can play in a variety of places on the pitch. I like him to be the link to my striker in this lineup.

LEFT WING: Ronaldinho, Brazil

World Cup Winner: 2002
UEFA Champions League Winner: 2006
La Liga Winner: 2005, 2006
Ballon D'Or: 2005
World Player of the Year: 2004, 2005
UEFA Team of the Year: 2004, 2005, 2006
FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006, 2007

In a 2002 World Cup that had Brazil boasting names like Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Cafu, few saw Ronaldinho coming. Really got everyone's attention with that wonder goal against England in the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals. Ronaldinho was the man that Frank Rijkaard looked upon to be a creator and goalscorer for the Barcelona teams of the mid-decade. Earned a bit of a reputation as a player who preferred the night life over concentrating on football, and as a result was benched at Barcelona towards the end of his spell there. Still, no one can question the man's skill. Another deadly free kick specialist, Ronaldinho is also never afraid to take on defenders or make that special pass to set up a goal.

STRIKER: Thierry Henry, France

World Cup Finalist: 2006
European Champion: 2000
UEFA Champions League Winner: 2009
UEFA Champions League Finalist: 2006
English Premier League Winner: 2001-02, 2003-04
La Liga Winner: 2008-09
UEFA Team of the Year: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
FIFPro World XI: 2006

Okay, look past the handball because you will find the most reliable and prolific goalscorer of this decade. Over 250 goals in less than 500 appearances for Arsenal and Barcelona in the last ten years, meaning he's good for a goal every other game no matter the competition. Incredible pace and tremendous calmness in the penalty area. My favorite Henry moment was the closing of Highbury Stadium in 2006, where he scored a hat trick against Wigan as if it was scripted.

MANAGER: Jose Mourinho

UEFA Champions League Winner: 2004
UEFA Cup Winner: 2003
Portuguese Liga Winner: 2002-03, 2003-04
English Premier League Winner: 2004-05, 2005-06
Italian Serie A Winner: 2008-09
UEFA Manager of the Year: 2002-03, 2003-04

Quick, tell me what other manager won 5 domestic league titles and 2 continental competitions this decade. Thought so. I have a lot of high-priced talent here, and I need a manager that will deal with the egos in the dressing room. Mourinho has won wherever he's gone. Some may not like his brashness, but the bottom line is that he wins trophies. He may be a little more tactically rigid than I would normally like, but Mourinho would get this team to win.

SUBSTITUTE'S BENCH

Iker Casillas, Spain: Kept an immaculate record for Spain in Euro 2008 and time and again has been called on to make saves at critical times for club and country. UEFA Team of the Year in 2007 and 2008 as well as FIFPro World XI in 2007 and 2008.

Paolo Maldini, Italy: Captained Milan to Champions League wins in 2003 and 2007 as well as a runner-up in 2005. Played at the highest level until his retirement last season at age 40. UEFA Team of the Year: 2003, 2005. FIFPro World XI: 2005.

John Terry, England: Another true lionheart of football. Look past that mistake in 2008. Captain of Chelsea for much of the decade. Tremendous fighting spirit and can nick the occasional goal on set pieces. UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2007, 2008. FIFPro World XI: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.

Michael Ballack, Germany: Current German National Team Captain. Jokingly, the quintessential bridesmaid of the decade as he finished runner up in the Champions League in 2002, World Cup 2002, Euro 2008, Champions League 2008, and a bronze medalist for Germany in World Cup 2006. Another midfielder with a powerful mix of skill and combativeness.

Lionel Messi, Argentina: There is no denying this young man's talent. Influential part of one of the greatest teams in the history of football, 2008-09 Barcelona. Brilliant scorer of goals. Favorite moment of Messi was his goal against Getafe in 2007 that mirrored Maradona's solo effort in World Cup 1986. UEFA Team of the Year: 2008. FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008.

Steven Gerrard, England: Maybe it's me, but I am a big fan of combative midfielders. Especially Gerrard, who many times through the years has carried Liverpool on his back. Started the memorable comeback against Milan with a goal in the 2005 Champions League final. Oh, and that goal in the 2006 FA Cup Final to send the match to extra time. UEFA Team of the Year: 2005, 2006, 2007. FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008.

Ronaldo, Brazil: If Henry is short of form, I need another lethal goalscorer. Enter Ronaldo, leading scorer at the 2002 World Cup and all time leading World Cup goalscorer. Had a very well publicized fall from grace later in the decade that keeps him out of the first 11, but no one could deny his talent. As composed as you like, and comfortable in 1v1 situations. Ballon D'or: 2002. World Player of the Year: 2002. UEFA Team of the Year: 2002.

So that is the team. Thanks in part to Wikipedia for some the stats. I think we could win a few games, but I would love the comments on this. Thanks for reading!

Grading the UEFA Champions League teams Group E through H

2009-12-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

So part two of the grades for the UEFA Champions League teams goes a little something like this:

GROUP E

Fiorentina
Group Winners, 15 points
La Viola were left to rue their chances last season in a difficult group featuring Lyon and Bayern Munich. This time around, they secured qualification when it was largely expected that they'd be the Europa League team here. The thought was that they would fail to win at home on Matchday 5 against Lyon, and get pantsed by Liverpool on Matchday 6, sending the Reds through and law and order would be restored. Never happened, neither outcome. Fiorentina went at Lyon and got a penalty to win 1-0 and played to keep their result. And when it was thought Lyon would reclaim top of the group because Fiorentina would lose today to Liverpool, well the Tuscans came through with a late winner. 5 consecutive league wins after a 1-0 loss in France on Matchday one, and without Adrian Mutu for most of it. Played Lyon evenly, and beat Liverpool twice. 14 goals scored over their 6 games is second only to Real Madrid.
GRADE: A

Lyon
Group Runners Up, 13 points
Were thought to be the 2nd best team in this group going in, to Liverpool. So this position shouldn't surprise them, though the team that outlasted them is. Obviously quite dominant over their three games but what was most impressive was conceding only 3 goals, especially when they had matches with a midfielder deputising in the center of their defense (Jeremy Toulalan). One of the goals they conceded ultimately cost them a group win and leave them with a difficult knockout round opponent. Conversely though, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Barcelona, Sevilla and Arsenal will be happy to avoid them.
GRADE: B

Liverpool
Third in Group, 7 points
The classic example of why it is so important to finish games off. Liverpool have the quality to win this group, but late goals in three matches send them to the Europa League. Matchday 3, they drop a point by losing at home to Lyon late. Matchday 4, they drop two points at Lyon by allowing a late equaliser. Matchday 6, they drop another draw at home to Fiorentina on a late goal. Keep those points and by my calculations they finish 2nd in the group behind Fiorentina, sending Lyon to the Europa league. Rafa Benitez needs to look at the lack of discipline his side showed in these games as the reason they will probably be among the favorites to win the Europa League (if they care enough about it).
GRADE: F

Debrecen
Bottom of Group, 0 points
Not going to spend a lot of time on this one. Way, way, way, way overmatched and had to expect to be in this position. Still, a couple thrilling games with Fiorentina and kept it close against Liverpool.
GRADE: C-

GROUP F

FC Barcelona
Group Winners, 11 points
Well, much ado about nothing. The defending European Champions suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of Rubin Kazan at the Camp Nou and at that point it appeared their campaign was in jeopardy. After drawing the return match with the Russians, they beat Inter in a match where it didn't even seem like the Nerazzurri touched the ball. They followed that up with today's success at Dynamo Kiev to seal the group win. They had to deal with some injuries, but overall they have the quality to perform a lot better than they did.
GRADE: B

Inter Milan
Group Runner-Up, 9 points
They add Samuel Eto'o, Wesley Sneijder, and Lucio, and they still manage to underachieve on the big stage. They open up with 3 consecutive draws and then their campaign was in serious jeopardy in Kiev, until they rallied in the final 5 minutes. The secured 2nd spot in this group with a win today at home against Rubin Kazan, but that no show at Barcelona is an indicator of how far off they are from threatening to be European champions.
GRADE: C+

Rubin Kazan
Third in group, 6 points
The Russian champions had to see Barcelona and Inter and had to believe that they were playing for a Europa League place, so they can't be too disappointed with landing here. Yet, they took us on a pretty interesting ride, starting with that stunning upset at Barcelona. They proved it wasn't a fluke by drawing the Blaugrana at home. They also have a draw with Inter to their credit. They'll be disappointed to not have gotten more out of their matches against Dynamo Kiev, but ultimately they remain in Europe and will be a dangerous out in the Europa League.
GRADE: B

Dynamo Kiev
Bottom of Group, 5 points
They are bottom of the group, which might have been expected. However, they were closer than you think to advancing out of this group to the knockout stages. They had Inter on life support on Matchday 4, and couldn't close them out. They hold that 1-0 win, and they are on 8 points and 2nd today. Dynamo also opened with an early lead against Barcelona today before finally succumbing to defeat. They gave a tremendous account of themselves in what turned out to be the toughest group in the legaue stage.
GRADE: B

GROUP G

Sevilla
Group Winners, 13 points
They proved their worth as a seeded team that on paper looked like a tricky group to get through. They blitzed their way through each of their opponents the first time around, with a 100% record through the first three matchdays, and scoring 9 goals in the process. They had a less than inspiring draw with Stuttgart on Matchday 4 and a head-scratching defeat to Unirea Urziceni on Matchday 5, temporarily jeopardizing the stronghold they had on this group. They closed out with a home win over a disappointing Rangers team and if Luis Fabiano can get healthy, this team will continue to be a dangerous out in the knockout stages.
GRADE: B+

VFB Stuttgart
Group Runners Up, 9 points
Sack Markus Babbel, appoint Christian Gross as manager, score 3 goals in the first 11 minutes in the deciding match against Unirea Urziceni. That was simple, wasn't it? The 3-0 win on Matchday six will sugar coat what was an overall disappointing league run. Ultimately, Stuttgart achieved qualification. However, with the squad they have, it should have been a smoother ride. Victory at Rangers was helpful for their cause as well.
GRADE: C+

Unirea Urziceni
Third in Group, 8 points
When this group was put together, one could hardly be argued with if he felt the Romanians would not be good enough and would be the bottom team. To our surprise, Unirea went into Matchday 6 needing just a draw at Stuttgart to progress to the knockout stages. What happened in Stuttgart today was an indicator that they were not ready for the big stage after all. Yet, it's safe to say they still overachieved, and it's Unirea and not Rangers that are in the Europa League.
GRADE: B

Rangers
Bottom of Group, 2 points
Celtic's performance in the preliminaries and their failure to reach the league stage of the Champions League had to be a worrying sign for Scottish football. Rangers' dud in the league stage is confirmation of how far the Old Firm have fallen. Ibrox Stadium was a charity house for visitors, as Rangers got no points and were outscored 10-2 in those three games. They could only manage 4 goals over the 6 games altogether and just drew two matches. A team that probably felt it had a shot at progressing to the knockout stages even failed to reach the Europa League. It could have been worse, last year, they went out in the 2nd preliminary round to a Lithuanian team.
GRADE: D

GROUP H

Arsenal
Group Winners, 13 points
Ho hum. Like Manchester United and Chelsea, Arsenal were expected to win this group. It didn't start with a bang, though, as they spotted Standard Liege 2 goals in their opener in Belgium. Since then, they stepped up and outperformed their opposition as they were expected. The loss was at Olympiakos on Matchday 6, and Wenger played the kids in that one. If they can get healthy, they could make a deep run in the knockout stages.
GRADE: B

Olympiakos
Group Runners Up, 10 points
Olympiakos advance to the knockout stage, and realistically this group was about who would finish 2nd between three teams that were pretty balanced with respect to each other. I favored the Greeks, and they came through. They will be a tougher out for whoever they draw in the knockouts than you think, as manager Zico will have them organized and disciplined. They hold the most interesting stat, as they managed 10 points in their group while being outscored 5-4 in their 6 league matches.
GRADE: B

Standard Liege
Third in Group, 5 points
I have to say that Standard overachieved here. Gave favorites Arsenal a scare as I mentioned, and AZ Alkmaar had more overall talent. Their ability to beat Olympiakos gave them a brief chance at qualifying for the knockout stages, but that was dashed when Arsenal beat them on Matchday 5. They found themselves in a battle today with AZ Alkmaar for the Europa League place, and got the goal and the point they needed to stay in Europe.
GRADE: C+

AZ Alkmaar
Bottom of Group, 4 points
The Dutch Champions had to like their chances of at least staying in Europe beyond the group stage, whether in the knockout stages or the Europa League. But they struggled to cope with the pressure of the European stage, and failed to win a single match in this competition. Needed a win at Standard on Matchday 6, and surrendered a late goal to end their European season altogether.
GRADE: C-

So the teams have been graded, and we're 9 days away from the draw. How would you grade your team's performance in the Champions League group stage? Hit me up with your thoughts.

Grading the UEFA Champions League team Groups A-D.

2009-12-08T18:55:00.000-08:00

Having a look at the performances of the UEFA Champions League teams after the group stage. Teams are graded A, B, C, D, or F based on how they performed versus their expectations. Yes, Ds and Fs are possible, I'm from the old school, where you fail if you're not good enough.

GROUP A

FC Girondins de Bordeaux
Group Winners, 16 points
Raise your hand if you saw that coming. Bordeaux, managed by Laurent Blanc, was on most people's list to qualify for the Europa League out of this group because they were competing with two giants of European Football in Juventus and Bayern Munich. The French outfit, who also lead French Ligue 1, went through the group with nearly a 100% record and ripped off 5 straight wins after drawing the opener at Juventus. They might boast players like Mourane Chamakh and Yoann Gourcuff in attack, but they also finished this section only conceding 2 goals.
GRADE: A

FC Bayern Munich
Group Runners Up, 10 points
Qualification for the knockout stages was the goal for the Germans, and they did so in style. If you saw them going to Olimpico in Turin and putting 4 past Juventus, call me and tell me the winning lottery numbers for tomorrow. That performance will make people forget about the double bossing they took at the hands of Bordeaux. It seems that under Louis van Gaal they are turning the corner, and they should have Ribery and Robben both healthy for the knockout stages. The Group Winners will be very happy to avoid them when the draw comes.
GRADE: B

Juventus FC
3rd in Group, 8 points
In the dictionary under "crashing out of a competition" you'll now find Juventus' 2009-10 Champions League campaign. Some hope had to be felt after they beat Inter on Saturday but to have given away a qualifying spot so cheaply at home, and prior to that get beaten at Bordeaux, will heap pressure on first year boss Ciro Ferrara. Prior to these last two match days, Juventus had only conceded 1 goal. So much promise with talents like Diego, Felipe Melo, Del Piero, and Buffon to be heading to the Europa League at this stage.
GRADE: D+

Maccabi Haifa
Bottom of Group, 0 points
The Israeli team could not have expected to have been anywhere else but this position. The three teams ahead of them are too much to cope with. However, they should have had enough to snatch a point somewhere. They failed to even score a goal in any of the six matches. Thoroughly outclassed in this group and literally nothing to show for their efforts.
GRADE: D

GROUP B

Manchester United FC
Group Winners, 13 points
Ultimately, it was expected that Manchester United would be top of this group. Considering the rash of injuries they had been hit with in the first half of this season, this would be a more significant accomplishment. You have to give credit to Sir Alex Ferguson. A back four of Park Ji Sung, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, and Patrice Evra travelling to a Wolfsburg side that is very loaded in attack was gutsy, even if it was last resort. To win 3-1 and consign the Germans to the Europa League might have been unexpected. They had to win at some tough places (Turkey and Russia) to build their campaign.
GRADE: B

CSKA Moscow
Group Runners Up, 10 points
The Russians went on an impressive run to secure qualification for the knockout stages after getting only 3 points in their first four matches. They had Manchester United dead and buried but couldn't quite close them out at Old Trafford, but then defeated Wolfsburg on Matchday 5 to make qualification more of a possibility. Their win in Turkey today against Besiktas showed that with the draw in England, they will be difficult to deal with home or away. Milos Krasic was very impressive in his performances during the group stage, and you can bet the big clubs will be inquiring about him this summer.
GRADE: B+

Wolfsburg
Third in Group, 7 points
I thought that not only would Wolfsburg qualify out of this group, but they would have the attacking talent to give Manchester United a run for group winner. Boy have they disappointed. Everyone's darling last season in being the surprise Bundesliga winners had to be happy with this draw when it came out, and happier that they hung on to Edin Dzeko. They had a makeshift Man United backline to deal with today and could only produce one goal, subpar for the talent they have in attack. Prior to that, they give away a lead in Moscow and drop all three points at the hands of CSKA, who overtook them for a place in the knockout rounds. They stay in Europe with a Europa League place, but enough went on here that they have to rue the missed chances.
GRADE: C+

Besiktas
Bottom of Group, 4 points
The Turkish side were definitely on paper the weakest team in this group, but they had to feel they were good enough to perhaps steal a Europa League place. They had that very opportunity today hosting CSKA Moscow and they let it get away from them. Still, this is where I expected them to be and they ought to feel good about the fact they snapped Manchester United's unbeaten home record in the Champions League, so it wasn't a total failure.
GRADE: C

GROUP C

Real Madrid
Group Winners, 13 points
With the star power they acquired in the offseason, Real Madrid had to be figured as the favorite to win whatever group they were placed in. They put on a show in the process, producing 15 goals over 6 games to finish as group winner. They had to cope without Cristiano Ronaldo over the two matchdays against Milan, and those served to be their only blemishes in the group stage, but his performance in Marseille tonight showed what Los Merengues were missing. As long as he stays healthy, Real Madrid will be looked at as one of the favorites to get to the Bernabeu on May 22nd.
GRADE: B+

AC Milan
Group Runners Up, 9 points
Tranisition or not, losing to and drawing FC Zurich defies the lofty standards the Rossoneri have set in the history of this competition. However, they balance that with a 3-2 win at the Bernabeu over Real Madrid and a home draw against the Spaniards. They were able to win at Marseille, which I felt would be their most important match. They have to look at the 5 dropped points from FC Zurich though, and realize that they are group winners had they not given those away. While not the way anyone would have expected, Milan achieved qualification.
GRADE: B-

Olympique Marseille
Third in Group, 7 points
Marseille entered this group knowing they would probably keep a place in Europe after the league stage, but legitimately felt they could knock off Milan for the 2nd spot in this group. Those hopes took a massive hit when beaten by the Rossoneri on Matchday 1 at the Velodrome, and ultimately defined who would join Real Madrid in advancing. They took all six of their points from FC Zurich, but could only manage one point in their four matches against Real Madrid and Milan. That said, a crossbar and an upright at the San Siro got in the way of their progress to the knockout stage. They performed well enough to advance, but they have to settle for a Europa League spot after all. If motivated, they will be a dangerous team in that competition.
GRADE: C+

FC Zurich
Bottom of Group, 4 points
When they got this draw they had to imagine that this is where they would finish. In fact their manager, Bernard Challandes, said as much in his presser earlier this week. Then came that magical night at the San Siro where Tihinen's backheel gave them hope. It was quickly dashed over two matches with Marseille, but they drew Milan again on Matchday Six to prove the win wasn't a fluke. In a group where it was thought they'd be lucky to get a point, they still finished 4th as expected, but certainly overachieved.
GRADE: B

GROUP D

Chelsea
Group Winners, 14 points
There's not much of a wow factor here, Chelsea was expected to win this group, and it was down to Porto and Atletico as to who would join them. The beat Atletico at Stamford Bridge 4-0. Going into this group stage, you would have thought "wow, that was impressive," but considering the Spaniards' struggles it was just another win. The draw at Atletico was thanks to two wonder strikes by Aguero (who Chelsea want to buy) and the home draw to APOEL was with an experimental lineup. Looking at this group stage for the Blues, mission accomplished, but nothing beyond it.
GRADE: B

Porto
Group Runners Up, 12 points
If you went into this group stage thinking Porto's luck would finally run out as far as getting to the knockout stages, you wouldn't have had much of an argument. The presence of an Atletico Madrid team full of promise, coupled with additional departures of players in the offseason would have probably factored in. Instead, Porto dominated the Spaniards over their two games and that ultimately proved to be the difference. Jesualdo Ferreira is proving to be among the best tacticians and managers in Europe with his ability to do more with less. Additionally, they had two very close matches with Chelsea, and poised themselves as a team the group winners will hope to avoid come draw time.
GRADE: A-

Atletico Madrid
Third in Group, 3 points
This was one of the teams I was most impressed with during the qualifying stage. Considering they have such great attacking talent in Sergio Aguero, Diego Forlan, Simao, and Maxi Rodriguez, one would think they would have gotten to the knockouts and given Chelsea a bit of a scare in their games. Instead, they probably could have a very lively discussion with Liverpool and perhaps Rangers and Juventus over who was the most disappointing team in the group stage. The 12 goals conceded currently match Rangers and only Zurich and Debrecen have conceded more. And all that attacking power? Just 3 goals scored. Quique Sanchez Flores has some real straightening out to do before they head to the Europa League.
GRADE: F

APOEL
Bottom of Group, 3 points
Another team that had to expect to finish bottom. Like Zurich though, APOEL might have overachieved. They were able to draw Atletico twice (impressive by APOEL's standards) and finish with a draw at Chelsea (scored twice, something everyone since August have struggled to do).
GRADE: B-

Coming up, grading Groups E through H. Get in on the debate with your comments.

World Cup Draw: Winners and Losers

2009-12-04T11:45:00.001-08:00

The knee-jerk reaction to the World Cup Draw.

WINNERS:

Argentina
Much was made about the Argentinians failures in playing at altitude (lost qualifiers in Ecuador and Bolivia). Mention was made that the sites for the seeded team in Group B would be played in the lowest of altitudes in South Africa. It also helps that they had a very favorable draw for Group B with Nigeria, South Korea, and Greece. Nigeria is a familiar foe to Diego Maradona's team, having faced them in the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. Nigeria, however, has not been the Nigeria of old. South Korea will have some really pacy players but the quality of Messi and co. should be too much for them. Greece will be organized under Otto Rehhagel and arguably the toughest test, but the former European champions lack the attacking power to keep up. Oh, and they'll get the runner up of Group A, which could be any one of South Africa, Uruguay, or Mexico. If Maradona doesn't screw this up, the Argentinians are set up for a deep run.

France
More reason for the Republic of Ireland to be pissed. Les Bleus got the luck of the draw for the European teams in pot 4 by landing in South Africa's group (had Ireland advanced they would be in Group A). They open with Uruguay and then Mexico before closing out against the hosts. Uruguay barely qualified, outlasting Costa Rica over 180 minutes and Mexico has failed to make it past the 2nd round in the last 4 World Cups (they reached the quarterfinals as hosts in 1986). South Africa is their last opponent, and while they are the hosts, they are the lowest ranked team according to FIFA. They should win this group, and get the runner up of a weak Group B (Nigeria, South Korea, or Greece will await).

USA
Sure, everyone in pots 2-4 wanted to end up in South Africa's group, but the odds of that for Sam's Army was 1 in 8. England is not the worst thing to happen to them as far as the seeded team they drew, but will be a physically imposing challenge. On the other hand, they get an Algeria side that beat Egypt (USA beat Egypt 3-0 in June) and a Slovenia side that are here thanks to a Russian meltdown. Chances as great as ever to reach the 2nd round. They're good enough to realistically get a draw with England, and after that it will come down to goal difference with the other two opponents. A nice little cure for not having Charlie Davies and potentially Oguchi Onyewu next summer.

Italy
The defending World champions will be very happy with this draw. Starting with a front heavy Paraguay that should give them problems but the Azzurri should be good enough to win. They also get New Zealand and Slovakia. The disappointing showing in the Confederations Cup for the Italians will be a motivating factor for them. Traditionally slow starters, this is a group that they'll survive their slow start in.

Spain
The defending European champions got what I think is a draw that plays perfectly for them. Going back in history, Spain has never lost a match to any of the teams they face in their group (in 18 games against Switzerland they have won 15 and drawn 3, outscoring them 45-15). If they use history as a motivator, they'll be very prepared for Honduras, who tied them in their only meeting, in the 1982 World Cup (oh by the way, Spain was host). Chile have some up and coming players but they will surely be trying to play for group runner-up.

Our Ears
Vuvuzelas were banned from use at the draw. However, they have not been banned yet from the tournament because they are part of the culture. But for the first time we watched something broadcast live in South Africa that didn't leave us needing to get our hearing checked.

LOSERS:

South Africa
I'm talking about the team, not the nation that's hosting. It looks like the host nation, aside from the vuvuzelas, are ready to stage this event. Getting Mexico out of pot 2 was likely the least desirable draw for them. Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez are capable of scoring on anyone in this group for Uruguay. They finish with a French side that, considering the circumstances of their qualification, will be determined to prove to the world that they deserve to be here. Could be the first host to fail to qualify for the 2nd round.

Germany
They benefitted from rather easy groups in 2006 and 2002, and finally will have a group where they will have to be at their best. Australia reached the 2nd round last season and have enough quality to pull off a surprise. Meanwhile, Serbia and Ghana both have the blend of skill and physical quality to upset the Germans. Consdering the draws that Argentina, England, Italy and Spain got, this is a tough one for the three-time winners.

All of Group G
Yeeeeeeesh!!!! First off, welcome back to the World Cup, North Korea. That was nice what you did in 1966, beating Italy and giving Portugal a run for their money. Here, we'll give you another shot at Portugal. And for good measure, you get Brazil and Ivory Coast as well.

The suggestion is that North Korea might not want to show up. But Brazil finally gets a group where they are really going to have to earn their keep. Their groups in 2006, 2002 and 1998 were cakewalks at best. The Ivorians are loaded and probably the best African team in the competition. Portugal have reigning World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo, and while they struggled through qualification, are very capable of topping this group. This, like the Argentina-England-Sweden-Nigeria group of 2002, is a World Cup in itself, except for North Korea of course.

Charlize Theron
Brought absolutely nothing to this procedure and the draw could have been shortened by about 15 minutes without her up there. A friend of mine suggested that maybe she was acting. She's acted FAR better than that.

Who were your winners and losers of the draw? Hit me up with your thoughts.

The Euro Rankings 12.1.2009

2009-12-01T08:57:00.001-08:00

So much football since the International Break, it seems. A thrilling day of games on Sunday, so what did it do to the rankings? Have a look:

1. Chelsea FC
Top of English Premier League, Winners of UEFA Champions League Group D:
Yeah I'm Convinced: Play a fellow title rival, beat them, get a clean sheet, repeat. Pretty standard formula under Carlo Ancelotti to date.
I'm Not So Sure: There's a team sitting 2nd in these rankings that are the reigning European champions and put up two wins against continental giants.

2. FC Barcelona
Top of La Liga, Top of UEFA Champions League Group F
Yeah, I'm Convinced: What? Beat, I mean boss Inter without Messi and Ibrahimovic, and win El Clasico, and Barcelona is 2nd? Robbery!
I'm Not So Sure: The struggles in group play in the Champions League are still a little too fresh, but for all practical purposes, Chelsea is #1 and Barcelona is #1A.

3. Manchester United
2nd in English Premier League, Top of Champions League Group B
Yeah, I'm Convinced: They're doing that thing where they crush everyone inferior to them. 4-1 at Portsmouth and 3-0 over Everton are signs that the machine is starting to hum.
I'm Not So Sure: The Arsenal win is their signature win to date, that was over three months ago, and I've said enough about how fortunate they were to win that. Even the youngsters of this squad should not have that much trouble at home against Besiktas.

4. Bordeaux
Top of French Ligue 1, Winners of UEFA Champions League Group A
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Be honest, you never thought they would win their group in the Champions League, let alone qualify out of the group stage. This is a well-balanced team under Laurent Blanc, and Yoann Gourcuff might be highly sought after next summer.
I'm Not So Sure: Being unbeaten in 4 matches against Bayern Munich and Juventus might not be all that much to get excited about considering the form of those teams. There's an ugly loss at home to Valenciennes to be grouchy about too.

5. Real Madrid
2nd in La Liga, Top of UEFA Champions League Group C
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Had it not been for Victor Valdes and Carlos Puyol, Real Madrid might have been moved into #2 in the rankings. Ronaldo is back, so the movement should be upward now.
I'm Not So Sure: They could only manage one goal in the win at home over FC Zurich, as well as only one goal in the home win over Racing Santander. Ronaldo or not, those results should have been more impressive.

6. Sevilla
3rd in La Liga, Top of UEFA Champions League Group G
Yeah, I'm Convinced: As long as Luis Fabiano keeps up his scoring form, Sevilla will be in it till the end in the Spanish top flight. They still have the Real Madrid win on their record. However......
I'm Not So Sure: The Real Madrid win was almost two months ago and Ronaldo was hurt for that match. Now there's an ugly loss to Unirea Urziceni to go with that draw to struggling Stuttgart. Even though they have been successful in getting points, there are now issues in conceding goals (5 in their last 3 league matches).

7. Inter Milan
Top of Italian Serie A, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group F
Yeah, I'm Convinced: They are flexing their muscle in Italy with 33 goals through their first 14 matches. That 1-0 defeat is characteristic of wins that help Inter establish the dominance they've enjoyed in Serie A. However.....
I'm Not So Sure: They blew a glorious opportunity to bury a Barcelona team and you could argue they looked uninspired. If they don't rally in those closing minutes in Kiev, the Nerazzurri would be sitting here eliminated from the Champions League. One of the more puzzling teams in Europe to figure out.

8. AC Milan
2nd in Italian Serie A, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group C
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Enjoying the longest unbeaten run in all competitions out of anyone in the top 10 on this list (11 matches). In that span, they've scored 22 goals. Ronaldinho is just about back to his best.
I'm Not So Sure: Marseille and Cagliari exposed the defensive flaws in this team, and had it not been for a crossbar and an upright, it would be Marseille in 2nd and not Milan. Even with this terrific run, there's still some fragility.

9. Arsenal
4th in English Premier League, Winners of UEFA Champions League Group H
Yeah, I'm Convinced: They ran into a Chelsea buzzsaw on Sunday, had the Gunners been fully fit, the chances of beating the Blues would have been a little better.
I'm Not So Sure: That's the problem, there are a lot of injury issues at the moment (Van Persie's is most glaring). With the current available squad, would you take them over Lyon? Sunderland's been good, but that's three points Arsenal should not be dropping.

10. Lyon
2nd in French Ligue 1, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group E
Yeah, I'm Convinced: The quality in the team is still there to make it interesting against teams like Arsenal, Milan, Inter, and Sevilla. Lopez, Gomis, and Pjanic are proving to be as deadly an attacking combination as there is. However.......
I'm Not So Sure: There isn't a quality win to feel all warm and fuzzy about, and while winning at Anfield was impressive, Liverpool is not Liverpool right now. They are still having issues shoring their defense as well, with 18 conceded through their first 14 league matches.

11. Tottenham Hotspur
3rd in English Premier League.
Earned a point at Aston Villa, and maybe deserved more. Oh, and 9 goals in a Premier League match, no matter who it's against, is impressive. There's still the would they be this good if they had Europe distracting them factor.

12. Bayer Leverkusen
Top of German Bundesliga
Still unbeaten in Germany's top flight, and with the best defensive record (9 conceded) and second best scoring record (30 for). Another team with no European distraction. The argument could be made that the German Bundesliga is the 5th best league in Europe this season. How long will Stefan Kiessling stick around?

13. Juventus
3rd in Serie A, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group A
My pick to win Italian Serie A this season has been very puzzling to figure out lately. While they have been solid in both competitions, they are dropping some strange points. A win over Inter this weekend, and survive Bayern Munich next week, and they're back in the top 10.

14. Fiorentina
10th in Italian Serie A, Top of UEFA Champions League Group E.

So a tenth place team is 14th on my list. Why? Because they are only 3 points out of 4th and 4 out of 3rd. That's how tight it is in Italy right now. Needed a pk and defensive heroics to survive Lyon, and was a Gilardino-missed sitter away from perhaps winning at Inter. A balanced team that seems to be having one thing each game go right or wrong for them.

15. Rubin Kazan
Russian Premier League Winners, 3rd in UEFA Champions League Group F.
The downslide will continue unless they defeat Inter at the San Siro next week, which would put them through to the knockout stage of the Champions League. Not saying the Russian Premier League is too weak, it's just the teams that have passed them have posted more impressive results lately.

16. Werder Bremen
2nd in German Bundesliga, Top of UEFA Europa League Group L
They still haven't lost since August in all competitions and are coming off a 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg. Werder is the highest scoring side in Germany and they have their goals coming from multiple sources. As good as anyone that will be in the Europa League knockout stages.

17. Valencia
4th in La Liga, Top of UEFA Europa League Group B
Their unbeaten run has extended to 14 in all competitions, and are holding steady in 4th in Spain. If you would take them over Werder, Rubin Kazan, Fiorentina, or Juventus, I'd wouldn't argue with you much.

18. Deportivo
5th in La Liga
3 Consecutive wins in Spain and holding an impressive defense record, prove it time as they take on Barcelona at the weekend.

19. Olympiakos
Top of Greek League, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group H
They have overtaken rival Panathinaikos on the domestic front and gained another point in the travels in the Champions League. Just a point at home against Arsenal next week will secure qualification to the group stage.

20. CSKA Moscow
5th in Russian Premier League, 3rd in UEFA Champions League Group B
Really here thanks to their Champions League run. Should have beaten Man United at Old Trafford and beat Wolfsburg. They have a great chance of securing a knockout stage place but must win at Besiktas.

21. Bayern Munich
4th in German Bundesliga, 3rd in UEFA Champions League Group A
Drew with leaders Leverkusen and have positioned themselves to advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a win at Juventus next week.

22. SC Braga
Top of Portuguese League
Time to give Braga some love. Currently top of their domestic table, holding off Benfica and Porto. Braga also beat each of those teams by the way. Would they be running this well if they had to play in Europe too?

23. Wolfsburg
8th in German Bundesliga, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group B
They hold the aggregate advantage over CSKA but the recent defeat has to be unsettling. They must beat Manchester United (good thing they are at home) to assure qualification.

24. Aston Villa
6th in English Premier League
The home record is better, and they are still hanging around this list thanks to beating Chelsea, as well as a draw with Tottenham in recent games.

25. FC Porto
3rd in Portuguese League, Qualified as Runner Up in UEFA Champions League Group D
Jesualdo Ferreira's men should take no shame in losing to a Chelsea side that is not only hard to beat but hard to score on. Might be his best coaching effort yet considering the players lost in the summer.

OTHERS CONSIDERED
Benfica
Manchester City (drawing way too many games, had to drop them)
Liverpool (despite not qualifying for the knockouts they could return to the top 25)
Hamburg
Schalke
Real Mallorca
Marseille
Sampdoria
Cagliari
Fenerbahce
Galatasaray
Panathinaikos
Unirea Urziceni

So there are the rankings, really a lot of movement at bottom thanks to some teams hitting some disappointing results. Debate by commenting if you wish.

The Occasional Rant 11.19.09: that handball, possible WC Draw pots.

2009-11-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have so much fallout from the "Hand of Fraud" to rant about, as well as the World Cup Draw, why friendlies suck and other stuff in my latest installment of The Occasional Rant. Have a look:

Football Association of Ireland Chief Executive John Delaney is calling for the integrity of my blog to be questioned and the FAI is demanding a replay of my previous The Occasional Rant.

"Only don't tell me that you're innocent. Because it insults my intelligence and it makes me very angry. Now, who approached you first? Barzini or Tattalgia?"................... Let's make one thing perfectly clear about this whole situation with the Henry handball: FIFA got what they wanted at the cost of their integrity, but it didn't start at that controversial qualizer.
Prior to this incident was the fact that FIFA changed the rules of the UEFA zone playoff draw, once it became possible that World powers France, Portugal, and Germany were thought to be in the playoff mix (Germany avoided this and won their qualifying group). Originally it was supposed to be 8 teams, one pot, two teams drawn out means they play each other and then the process would be complete. Realizing the danger of any of these three teams failing to qualify for their big event, FIFA seeded the playoff teams based on their rankings. As a result; France, Portugal, and Russia avoid drawing each other. Ireland were angry with this ruling at the time as well because, you guessed it, they faced the prospect of drawing any of these teams due to their lower world ranking.
So should the events of yesterday shock you? While I was outraged and now my wife thinks Thierry Henry is the devil, in retrospect it shouldn't come as a shock. FIFA seemed to be going to unreasonable lengths to get the big boys into their tournament next summer. First by changing the rules toward the end of the qualifying campaign, and now by allowing an illegal goal to stand.
But let's make sure that something gets understood here, it would be an even bigger shock if FIFA lets the integrity of the game prevail and allows the match to be replayed. There is a precedent, believe it or not, when Uzbekistan and Bahrain were forced to replay a playoff in World Cup 2006 qualifying because of an official's decision to call a penalty that was incorrect. But the precedent only goes as far as enforcing the replay, as football365.com reports, because FIFA ruled that the official wrongly applied the Laws of the Game. Here's the blurb about it from their website:

However, in that instance, the referee was guilty of wrongly applying the rules rather than missing an offence. An indirect free-kick was awarded against Uzbekistan when one of their players encroached on the Bahrain penalty area as the Uzbeks successfully converted a penalty. The correct interpretation would have been to order the penalty to be retaken.

In the France v Ireland situation, it's a matter of the referee missing an offense, not of a failure to correctly apply the rules. On those grounds, it's hard to justify a replay. Plus, it's a little easier to order Uzbekistan and Bahrain to have a replay than to have the French agree to anything after they have seized victory.

Weird cruel twist of irony or something like that from all of this.....................I also have to get a half-chuckle out of all of this. Many of you have probably seen that commercial which campaigns sportsmanship. If you haven't here goes. It's a high school championship basketball game and a key play happens where a ball goes out of bounds off a pass deflected by the opposing player. The referee misses the deflection and rewards possession to the opposing team. During a timeout, the player tells the coach he touched it and needs to tell the officials as much. His teammates are mad at him but the coach commends him for his honesty. Wild guess, but Thierry Henry probably never saw this commercial. I can only remember watching this the night before the France-Ireland game and saying to my wife: "you tell me when this is ever going to happen in an important game." Love the message of the ad, but reality paints a different picture.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have been to the Great Wall of China, I have seen the Pyramids of Egypt, I've even witnessed a grown man satisfy a camel. But never in all my years as a sportscaster have I witnessed something as improbable, as impossible, as what we've witnessed here today!"...................................... If the Hand of Fraud doesn't trigger FIFA to start getting more aggressive with putting in motion some form of replay technology, then nothing will. My proposal would be to give the 4th official a monitor to look at for each goal and some of the other activity (like overruling penalties when the foul might have been simulated). All the 4th official is doing now is wearing a FIFA or UEFA jacket, keeping track of stoppage time to add on, and serving coffee and bread to each of the teams' technical areas. Give him a monitor to review these goals. Strides have been made with allowing the officials to have headsets, now let's make the next natural progression.

No, Tom Henning Overbo is not sending Martin Hansson a gift basket to thank him for taking the attention away................................................. I have harped on this in the past, as someone who coaches this sport. There is a universal theme in competitive athletics that no one seems to talk about.

If you do not want the officials to become a factor that contributes to you being on the wrong end of a result, then do your part to make sure that doesn't happen. Be grouchy all you want about Martin Hansson (and the assistant referee who was not in position, either to make the call), but in so doing, be sure you call out John O'Shea, Robbie Keane, and Damien Duff all for missing great chances that would have prevented extra time from happening in the first place. I said the same thing about Chelsea and the chances they missed to put Barcelona away in the Champions League semifinals.

I am not apologzing for the ineptitude of the officials, I am just recognizing that more could be done by the team you support. And say the officials got it right, it's not like the Irish would go to South Africa, they would still need to beat France on penalties.

Kinda like a tree falling in a forest but no one was around to witness it, so did it really fall?....................................... No, I don't think Russia is finding any consolation in what happened in Paris. No matter who grabs all the headlines in the last day of qualifying, that was an all-timer of a meltdown from the Russians in their defeat at Slovenia.

There is no truth to the rumor that Guus Hiddink will be shopping for houses in Madrid or Liverpool in the coming weeks. At least not yet.

The Irish aren't the only ones that got jobbed................................. the World Cup draw will take place on December 4th and the World will be watching to see how the pool play will shake out for the first round. The 32 nations will be divided into 8 pots of 4 teams each. The first pot are the seeded teams based on current FIFA ranking and performance in the previous World Cups. Why I bring this up is because France now will be a seeded team. Had they been eliminated by Ireland, Holland would have likely been a seeded team. Portugal and USA might have also had a case.

So what to expect from the draw on December 4th? Knee-jerk reaction on my part thinks this will be how the pots are organized:

Pot 1 (Seeded teams): South Africa (host), Italy (holders), Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Spain, England, and France.

Holland, Portugal, and even the USA might have a beef with this but this is likely how it will turn out for the seeded teams. Put in the same pot so they avoid matching up with each other in the first round.

Pot 2: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Algeria, Nigeria, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Geographical consideration will be taken into account when these teams are drawn. FIFA will keep the African teams in this pot from being in South Africa's group. Also, The South American teams in this pot will be kept from getting drawn into Brazil or Argentina's group.

Pot 3: Denmark, Holland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, Switzerland, and Serbia.

Straight draw, no restrictions, and set up in the manner that no more than 2 European teams can be drawn in the same group.

Pot 4: USA, Mexico, Honduras, North Korea, South Korea, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand.

Same as pot 3, a straight draw with no restrictions.

The other aspect of the group phase will be the position in the group each team will start in. All seeded teams are automatically in position 1 in their group, so the other teams will be assigned position 2, 3, or 4. If they are in position 2, they play the seeded team in their group first.

So what does this mean for the good 'ol USA? Well, based on my scenario:

Nightmare Draw: Brazil, Ivory Coast, Holland
Dream Draw: South Africa, Paraguay, Slovenia (France may not be bad either with Algeria and Slovenia)

Of course so many things can happen and the ultimate hope for Sam's Army is the easiest path to the 2nd round possible. Nonetheless, it looks like the World Cup will have some intriguing matchups from the first round onwards. All the previous champions are in it this time around, and 23 of FIFA's top 32 are represented.

Worst FIFA-ranked World Cup team? North Korea, sitting at 91st. New Zealand and South Africa sit in the 80s.

Top ranked team not participating in the World Cup? That would be Croatia, ranked 8th in the World.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading my rant about one of the more controversial moments in football.

The Euro top 25 as of November 9th, 2009

2009-11-09T08:17:00.001-08:00

Time to sort out where everyone falls in the top 25. That really big game in London on Sunday means there's a new #1, and what to do with the rest of the pack? Have a look:

1. Chelsea FC
Top of English Premier League, Top of UEFA Champions League Group D
Yeah, I'm Convinced: The diamond midfield is working, there's harmony between Drogba and Anelka, and no one is scoring on them at Stamford Bridge. Just one goal allowed at home in all competitions back in August against Hull.
I'm not so sure: They couldn't close out a struggling Atletico Madrid last week, and the debate will carry on all season whether or not John Terry's goal against Manchester United should have stood. This is still an aging team, and it's yet to be seen if they can sustain this form all season. History tells us a dip is coming at some point.

2. FC Barcelona
Top of La Liga, 3rd in UEFA Champions League Group F
Yeah, I'm Convinced: That's 4 goals on a Real Mallorca side that, by La Liga standards, was rather stingy in defense going in. Unbeaten through 10 in a deeper than you think Spanish top flight.
I'm not so sure: The Champions League struggles are glaring. They have yet to prove they can unlock a defense that's prepared to keep them out of goal. Believe it or not, their European season hinges on getting a win at home against Inter on November 24th.

3. Manchester United FC
3rd in English Premier League, top of UEFA Champions League Group B
Yeah, I'm Convinced: The win over Arsenal is looking better and better, how many teams do you know can rally from 3-1 down to rescue a point? That was a 95-minute battle with Chelsea, and should have come out with a draw. If Chelsea is #1, then Man United could be #1A.
I'm not so sure: A team known for its attacking prowess could only manage 2 shots on goal over 95 minutes at Chelsea. The Liverpool loss looks terrible right now, and this is a team that better get healthy quick.

4. Arsenal FC
2nd in English Premier League, top of UEFA Champions League Group H
Yeah, I'm Convinced: What? Ahead of Manyoo in the standings but behind them in the rankings? The Gunners are crushing and killing everything in their way right now. The Tottenham win looks really good.
I'm Not So Sure: Winning 4-1 at Wolves does not solve the away issues. A team this good should win on their travels at West Ham and AZ Alkmaar. The early struggles at Standard Liege from Matchday #1 in the Champions League are still not forgotten.

5. Sevilla FC
3rd in La Liga, top of UEFA Champions League Group G
Yeah, I'm Convinced: They still have the win over Real Madrid to be proud of, and just beat a Villarreal team that was looking like it was coming out of its funk. They have the attacking talent to matchup with Manchester United and Arsenal.
I'm Not So Sure: If you're this good, you shouldn't be struggling to a draw at home against a Stuttgart team that has had all sorts of issues this season.

6. Real Madrid
2nd in La Liga, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group C
Yeah, I'm Convinced: All things considered, they coped rather nicely without CR9. No shame dropping that game at Sevilla, or Milan on their current form. Oh, and Mr. Ronaldo is back from injury.
I'm Not So Sure: There are still issues on the backline. El Clasico is coming up at the end of the month, and Mr. Pellegrini would be wise to get things sorted out.

7. Bordeaux
Top of French Ligue 1, Top of UEFA Champions League Group A
Yeah, I'm Convinced: They are top of their league and Champions League group. In so doing, they have beaten Monaco, drawn Juventus, and twice beat Bayern Munich. However.....
I'm Not So Sure: Beating Bayern Munich are at present the signature wins, and it's not much to get excited about right now. There's also an ugly 2-0 defeat to bottom-half of the table Lille to deal with too. Juventus comes calling November 25th, though. Win that and they may be top 5.

8. Lyon
2nd in French Ligue 1, Top of UEFA Champions League Group E
Yeah, I'm Convinced: Just when it looked like Liverpool was crawling back into contention for a Champions League knockout place, Lisandro Lopez might have taken it away from them. You tell me if you want your team to face this side right now.
I'm Not So Sure: They needed that Lopez effort to draw a below-strength Liverpool side, and on three occasions dropped two points in that (albeit thrilling) 5-5 draw with Marseille at the weekend. The league form is worrying, just 4 points out of their last 12 possible.

9. Inter
Top of Italian Serie A, Top of UEFA Champions League Group F
Yeah, I'm Convinced: The 4-0 derby win over Milan suddenly looks fantastic, and they're starting to distance themselves from the chasing pack in Italy.
I'm Not So Sure: It took a furious rally in the last 5+ minutes to beat Dynamo Kiev, top their Champions League group, and avoid their trip to Barcelona being an elimination match. Drawing a struggling Roma side at the weekend shows how wildly inconsistent they are.

10. Rubin Kazan
Top of Russian Premier League, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group F
Yeah, I'm Convinced: 5 points from 3 matches against Inter and Barcelona. 5 points from 3 matches against Inter and Barcelona. 5 points from 3 matches against Inter and Barcelona.
I'm Not So Sure: While the Russian Premier League is suddenly starting to produce some terrific football (and rising stars), it's not the same level as the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, or Bundesliga. Would you take this team over Milan, Juventus, or Leverkusen at the moment?

11. Juventus
2nd in Serie A, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group A
That oopsie against Napoli are keeping them out of the top 10. Otherwise they are yet to lose in the Champions League this season and turning on the style in Italy (12 goals in their last 3 matches). Showdown at Bordeaux next in the Champions League and a prove it game coming up against Inter in a few weeks.

12. AC Milan
3rd in Serie A, Top of UEFA Champions League Group C
Do you want to play them now? Since that embarrassing loss to FC Zurich, they've been unbeaten in their last eight in all competitions (5 wins, 3 draws). The four points from Real Madrid look great. Pato is emerging into the next big thing, and Thiago Silva should be in the discussion of best defenders in the world.

13. Tottenham Hotspur
4th in English Premier League
That's a decent looking win against Sunderland. Losses this season include Arsenal, Manchester United, and Chelsea (no shame in those), and with those three out of the way for now, a great chance to rack up some points.

14. Bayer Leverkusen
Top of German Bundesliga
Unbeaten in what's looking like a wide open German top flight, and like I said in the past, they are keeping things tight at the back. The sharing of points with contenders like Werder Bremen, Hamburg, and Schalke might look good now, but could hurt them once their league form starts to escape them.

15. Fiorentina
4th in Serie A, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group E
Scored for fun over two matches against Debrecen, and grinded out a big 1-0 at Udinese over the weekend. They are a win or a draw away from ending Liverpool's Champions League campaign before the New Year. Adrian Mutu and Alberto Gilardino are forming quite a strike force, and wunderkind Stevan Jovetic has been out through this recent run. They've really dropped because the the likes of Juventus, Milan, and Bordeaux have picked up impressive wins or been on impressive runs.

16. Valencia
4th in La Liga, 2nd in UEFA Europa League Group B
10 match unbeaten run in all competitions, and only 1 loss so far all season. David Villa is being David Villa, scoring 10 goals in all competitions (8 in La Liga), and the defense is keeping it just tight enough to get results.

17. Aston Villa
5th in English Premier League
They still have that win over Chelsea and just put 5 past a Bolton team that was playing reasonably well recently (save for getting crushed by Chelsea). A disappointing loss at West Ham means they stay put at 17.

18. Werder Bremen
2nd in German Bundesliga, top of UEFA Europa League Group L
Plenty of attacking options in this team, and despite drawing their last two league matches, they've been on a tear. Quietly have put together 19 straight unbeaten in all competitions.

19. Hamburg
3rd in German Bundesliga, 2nd in UEFA Europa League Group C
Suddenly have forgotten how to win in Germany, as they have one loss and three draws in their last four. What's worse, they would be top had they not split the honors with Leverkusen and Schalke.

20. Deportivo
5th in La Liga
Valladolid finally hit them up for 4 goals a couple weeks back, but since then have gotten on track, big win at the weekend over Getafe as they jockey for position for a Champions League place.

21. Manchester City
6th in English Premier League
Suddenly getting exposed, playing uninspired, or both. 5 straight draws, Aston Villa is understandable. But Wigan, Fulham, Birmingham, and Burnley? Arsenal has yet to play Burnley but they beat the other three by a combined 8-1. The difference betweend contending and pretending. Still, on their day, could be as good as anyone. Yes, yes, they beat Arsenal but we're going on current form here.

22. Schalke 04
4th in German Bundesliga
Draws with fellow contenders Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburg, and Bayern Munich suggest the Felix Factor is taking effect. Let the Gelsenkirchen side hang around under Magath's watch, and you may see them at the top of the Bundesliga.

23. Wolfsburg
5th in German Bundesliga, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group B
Huge win at Hoffenheim on Saturday, and in position to reach the last 16 of the Champions League. Winning 3-0 in Turkey at Besiktas suggests they could be a force going forward. Misimovic is in great form.

24. FC Porto
3rd in Portuguese League, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group D
Really here because they earned their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League, but sitting 3rd behind Benifca and Braga means maybe they should make this list too.

25. Olympiakos
2nd in Greek league, 2nd in UEFA Champions League Group H
Slipped a little by losing to Standard Liege in the Champions League and drawing Iraklis at the weekend, need a couple strikers to get healthy.

OTHERS CONSIDERED
Panathinaikos
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev
SL Benifca
SC Braga
Bayern Munich
Sampdoria
Napoli

So do you agree or disagree? Hit me up with your thoughts.

What the weekend told us.

2009-11-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

A very intriguing weekend leading into a midweek full of matchups from the Champions League and Europa League leads us to some things to the following observations.

England: Liverpool's Premier League title challenge is officially over.

Five losses from their first 11 matches and only 18 points to show for this season, you can look at those statistics and realize that it's done and dusted for Rafa Benitez' men (not to mention it could be done and dusted for Benitez, he will be evaluated over the next three games). Taking Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun out of the Fulham match on Saturday when he did, suggests he could care less about the Premier League and he is desparate to salvage their currently failing European campaign. With the laundry list of injured players Benitez has, he needs two of his best attacking players fit for the trip to Lyon.

Back to the domestic challenge. There will be at least one more loss before the season ends with a trip to Old Trafford, two matches with Arsenal, and two with Manchester City still on the slate. You have to go back to 2001 when Manchester United lifted the title on six defeats. A couple teams have since done it on 5, but with Chelsea and Manchester United now beating everyone they should beat, it's not looking good.

Italy: That's the Napoli I expected to see.

So really? All it took was a managerial change? Walter Mazzarri took over from Roberto Donadoni and in his first four Serie A matches: 3 wins and one draw. And it's an impressive list: after beating Bologna, they beat Fiorentina, drew Milan, and beat Juventus (all three of these tams are playing in the Champions League by the way). The four points from the last two games were earned in come from behind mode. All four of these matches have a style to them, with 8 goals scored. The scintallating run of form from the Neapolitans have vaulted them to 6th, and are potentially as good as anyone on their day.

This is a loaded team that will continue to give the big boys of Serie A problems. They have a playmaker in Marek Hamsik (who has drawn the attention of Manchester United and Chelsea), Argentinian Ezequiel Lavezzi (who we'd all know a little better if a certain Mr. Messi wasn't around), and added Fabio Quagliarella from Udinese. The have the future of the Italian midfield with Luca Cigarini (would have loved to see him in Milan) as well.

Germany: Bundesliga will go down to the wire, again.
They're doing that thing again where a lot of goals are being scored (average of 2.7 goals per game) and they're also doing that thing where 5 points separates 8th from 1st. And they are not seeming to beat up on each other, they are sharing points. Mainz is sitting 8th and they played Wolfsburg (7th) to a thrilling 3-3 draw. The big match of the weekend, between Schalke and Bayer Leverkusen ended 2-2. Leverkusen currently top the league, so when Werder Bremen and Hamburg had their chance to overtake them, they didn't. Werder Bremen played a 2-2 draw with relegation-threatened Nuremburg. Hamburg hosted, and graciously contributed to, Borussia Monchengladbach's survival cause in a 3-2 loss. Bayern couldn't manage a goal at struggling Stuttgart, leaving Hoffenheim the only winner in the top 8, beating Freiburg 1-0.

Spain: Don't call this a 2-horse race just yet.
I'm not only going by the evidence of the last minute oopsie by Barcelona against Osasuna on Saturday, but the fact that Sevilla and Valencia are doing all they can to make sure it's not about the El Clasico sides. Sevilla sit 3rd on 19 points and Valencia are 4th on 18, 4 and 5 points respectively. Each of these teams ooze class, not to the effect that Barcelona and Real Madrid do, but they have some quality players.

At Sevilla, they have two talented strikers in Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute. They are supported by a host of talented midfielders like Jesus Navas, Adriano, and Renato. They can also call on experienced players like Aldo Duscher and Didier Zokora. Miguel Jiminez has forged a talented side that will be in it to the end.

At Valencia, many rumors are swirling around whether they will stick together, and looking at the talent on the team it's no wonder. It starts with David Villa, one of the best strikers in the world and could play anywhere he wants. He's stayed loyal to Los Che but that loyalty will again be tested. Another striker you'll learn more about is 6'8" Serbian Nikola Zigic (a Sunderland target in the summer). You also know about David Silva (a Man Utd and Liverpool target), but get to know Juan Manuel Mata, another Spanish winger that will make a name for himself as the season goes on. Carlos Marchena, Ruben Baraja, and David Albelda provide them with the experience. And they have depth in midfield with players like Ever Banega, Manuel Fernandes, Joaquin, and Vicente Rodriguez. Plenty of talent on display at the Mestalla. The team is loaded and if they can keep the defense tight, they'll be able to hang with anyone in Spain.

That's all I got, more later this week. Rankings come out next week after the Chelsea-Manyoo game.

The Occasional Rant 10.28.09: Surprises, Disappointments, and other things.

2009-10-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

I once listened to Reading manager Steve Coppell (or is he former Reading manager, since Reading isn't that relevant anymore I lost track) say that after the first 10 games or so you have a good indication of how your team will be for the season. Well, this far in, my blog sucks, but you read anyway so I have to press on.

Milan defender Alessandro Nesta defended with all his might, but the midfielder Pinzi for Chievo finished so quickly. Chin up, Nesta, you're still our hero.

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_5657228,00.html
Question for Stormer, Zac, Ike, Silky Pete, Brandon, Mooney, and Karol: were you guys at a Carling Cup match yesterday that none of us was aware of?

Milan defender Alessandro Nesta rises from the ashes in the 82nd minute to head home Borriello's header which ricocheted off the woodwork. Milan are level.

At the death of the game, and unmarked Milan defender Alessandro Nesta heads home a corner to give Milan a vital three points on the road in a win over Chievo in Verona.

"Whenever someone says they believe the earth was created in 7 days, I grab a fossil and say, "Fossil." And if they keep talking, I throw it just over their heads." .............................. I am as guilty of this as the next football fan in which I stone my team for poor performances, lack of goalscoring, mismanagement in the early part of the season/preseason to the point where I think my favorite team is doomed. Why do we continue to struggle with the concept that the league/cup/club season runs from August through May? Some talking heads on their call-in shows act on the immediacy of what's happening and carry these topics as if what happened in the space of a week is what's going to happen for the rest of the season. As an AC Milan supporter, I should know better. The Fall of 1994 could have potentially been the worst time to be a Milan fan during the Berlusconi era, when the team was slumping through the Champions League (actually had points deducted thanks to a bottle being thrown at an opposing goalkeeper from the crowd) and losing to teams like Cremonese and Padova (Alexi Lalas' Padova, and to make things more depressing, he scored the winner). When the new year turned in 1995, the Rossoneri won the European Supercup over Arsenal (back when they played it over two legs in February), upset Benfica and Paris St. Germain before losing to Ajax in a tightly contested Champions League final (and I'm still convinced that if Dejan Savicevic would have been fit for the final Milan would have 8 European Cups).
We ride the roller coaster of emotions when we support our teams. Everyone, except '08-'09 Barcelona, will endure a dip in form at some point during the season. Injuries will play a part, managers will get tactics wrong (whether the players struggle to understand them or if the manager is just nuts) and sometimes teams are just victim to dumb luck. On the flipside, we'll also enjoy it when our team goes out and exceeds expectations, and during that time we'll live in the undying denial that they will be found out and we're back to the spell of "we'll never win, we'll never get it right."
So where does this leave me? Well obviously on a high as Milan have won three straight in all competitions heading into tonight's interesting match at Napoli, but I have found a two-word adjective that I will do everything I can to live by, even if something as tragic as a 1-0 loss at home to FC Zurich should happen again, "cautiously optimistic." The season is long, more highs and lows are going to happen, and if silverware can be achieved, so be it!

Before he left Verona to return to Milanello, Milan defender Alessandro Nesta was seen saving a cat from a tree.

The game ended a few days ago, and Barcelona is still scoring on Real Zaragoza.

"I'm always amazed when I hear people saying; "That George Bush, he's a great leader". And I wonder, where can one find a drug that would make one so delusional? "............................................. What did we learn from the Liverpool- Manchester United game? Well if you want to use my rant I just finished a few seconds ago, we're learning that Rafa Benitez gets many things horribly wrong, but he's at least treating Sir Alex (or if you asked the Fat Spaniard, Mr. Ferguson) like his older red-headed stepchild. The last three times these two rivals have met, all three Liverpool wins, by a combined 8-2. The fact that even on 15 points and in fifth place in the Premier League, I can't take Liverpool's title challenge seriously, yet.
Now if there were more Scousers reading this blog, they would probably threaten my life. The fact remains that the body of work to date is still unimpressive. This was Liverpool's first really relevant win this season. The next most impressive win after that appears to be the 1-0 home win over Debrecen in the Champions League.
So here's what will get me all geeked up about Liverpool's chances again. 1. Blast Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday, I mean really get them good. 2. Go to Stade Gerland next Wednesday and beat Lyon. Just beat them, Rafa just needs the tactics to work to that effect. I don't need to see 4-0, 1-0 will do. Those two things happen, then I would say your campaign has gotten some traction. Beat Manchester City at home on November 21st, and all will be well on Merseyside again.

And one other thing to throw a rant about Liverpool fan, where would you be this season without Yossi Benayoun?

Before reporting for training at Milanello, Milan defender Alessandro Nesta risked his life saving orphans from a burning building.

Chelsea just scored another goal on Blackburn Rovers.

"After I failed my second test, I grabbed my teacher by the front of the shirt and said "Are you *trying* to keep this sh!t a secret?"........................... that's now the 2nd howler that Nemanja Vidic has put up against Liverpool in as many games. Quick, Manyoo fans, tell me the really big game where your Serbian defender hasn't sucked. I'm waiting........... still waiting................ As you're coming up with an answer, I'll also remind you of the 2009 final where Eto'o cruised past him for the 1st goal, and the 2007 Champions League Semifinal 2nd Leg where Kaka and Seedorf toyed with him all game.

Werder Bremen has scored again on Bochum

But the 60 million plus can be used to get Marco Materazzi more tattoos............ Last season, Samuel Eto'o scored 30 for Barcelona and Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored 25 for Inter Milan. I argued that after they swapped teams, Ibra would break the 30 goal mark in La Liga and Eto'o would not reach 25 in Serie A. Here's the latest on that:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a brace in the 6-1 win over Zaragoza, giving him 7 goals in 8 league matches, and putting him on pace for 33 goals for the season.
Samuel Eto'o did not score in Inter's 2-1 win over Catania, leaving him with 3 goals in 9 league matches, and putting him on pace for about 13 goals for the season.

By the way, they are also in the same Champions League group where Barcelona is top and Inter is bottom, so exactly how was this a better deal for Inter?

Frankly Football's Five Surprises of the first quarter of the season. Here's a nice little countdown of the pleasant surprises for the first couple months or so of this marathon of a football season:

Rubin Kazan. The Russian Champions are a team I am crushing on at the moment because as I asked in my rankings, find me another team that drew with Inter and beat Barcelona. Those who watched that stunner at the Nou Camp would tell you that it was a masterclass on individual and team defending.
Bari. The newly promoted Serie A side are giving opponents fits this season with a very young and energetic squad. Ask Inter and Milan, as Bari drew each of them. They sit 7th in the Serie A table at the moment and through 9 games have scored 10 and conceded 5, suggesting they have a very tight game plan that their team believes in.
Sunderland and Darren Bent. Up until last week's oopsie at Birmingham, Steve Bruce looks like he has righted the ship at the Stadium of Light with a win over Liverpool and a draw with Manchester United. Bruce has the Black Cats sitting 8th at the moment and with the way this team is made up, may still have some surprises down the road. Darren Bent is having a career season, and he is on pace to score 30 goals in the Premier League.
Montpellier. Last season we had two newly-promoted teams surprise us (Hull and Hoffenheim), and now we have Montpellier challenging for a Champions League place through 10 matches. It's an adventure though as they are scoring 17 and conceding 13 during this run, but a draw with Paris St. Germain is proof that they can put up decent results. Still yet to play Bordeaux and Lyon, so we'll see if they can keep this run up.
Bayer Leverkusen. It might not surprise anyone that they are currently top of Bundesliga on goal difference, but the fact that they have only conceded 6 goals through their first 10 is perhaps the surprise. Last season, they conceded 46 goals (only Hamburg and Hoffenheim conceded more than them in the top 8). If they continue to be this stingy, they'll only concede 20 this season. High scoring sides like Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim are among their clean sheets to date.

Franly football's five most disappointing teams through the first quarter of the season. Now to look at the five teams that need to get on with it, or else.

Atletico Madrid. What the hell happened to this team? A trendy dark horse to make life miserable in Spain this season, they have only made life miserable on their fans. So much promise after beating a talented Panathinaikos side in the Champions League preliminaries, they have fallen flat. The goals are shockingly in short supply for a team that boasts talents like Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero, and they have yet to score in the league stage of the Champions League. Young, up and coming goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo was brought in from Valladolid to help shore the defense, but it hasn't worked, to the tune of 18 against through 10 matches in Spain. The 4-0 pantsing from Chelsea was enough for manager Abel Rosina to be shown the door. Quique Sanchez Flores has a tough task on his hands building the morale of this team, and the top brass at the Calderon aren't very patient people. Flores is what seems to be their 100th manager in the last 20 years.
VFB Stuttgart. Maybe they do miss Mario Gomez after all. The replacement, Pavel Pogrebnyak, has not lived up to expectations since arriving from Zenit. Nor have any of the other players really picked up the slack. With losses at home already to Koln, Schalke and Werder Bremen, as well as a home defeat to Sevilla in the Champions League, winning at home has become optional. They still have to play joint leaders Leverkusen and Hamburg twice, as well as two meetings with Bayern Munich. The way the season has gone to date, it looks like tough times ahead for Markus Babbel's men. Not sure this was the expectations of a team that finished 3rd in the Bundesliga last season.
Villarreal CF. Has losing Manuel Pellegrini as a manger made that big a difference? The Yellow Submarines were a Champions League quarterfinalist a season ago, and now they sit 18th in La Liga. Guiseppe Rossi, Marcos Senna, Eguren, Joan Capdevila, and Santi Cazorla are all still at El Madrigal, so why has it not worked so far? Well, Joseba Llorente has been off the pace with only one goal in Europa League (he had 19 in all competitions last season), and overall they are just not finishing. In addition to their troubles in Spain, they may not make it our of their Europa League group, as defeat at FC Salzurg and Lazio have them struggling there.
AS Roma. Already changing managers after the 2nd game of the Serie A season, the Giallorossi are sitting 12th domestically. They enjoyed a brief surge under new boss Claudio Ranieri, but they find themselves picking up the pieces after back to back losses to Milan and Livorno (ugh). Last year at this time, though, they were 16th. The same thing contributing to both slow starts: conceding goals. Through 9 games this season Roma have allowed 16 goals. Somehow Doni still gets to be the goalkeeper. Losing Panucci's experience in the back has also hurt. Now last year they rallied to finish 6th, but a team with this kind of talent shouldn't be struggling so much.
Hertha Berlin. Although this was somewhat expected. A title contender a season ago in Germany, the team was gutted in the summer as Pantelic and Voronin were among people that left the club. Still, there is enough talent where they shouldn't be sitting at the foot of the Bundesliga table. They've been awful, only getting 4 points in their first 10 matches in the Bundesliga and their only point in the Europa league is an ugly 1-1 draw against Ventspils (I know you don't, they're from Latvia). They drew Wolfsburg at the weekend, and changed managers, so maybe they are on the upswing.

That's about all I have for today. Ever since Fergie said I'm not fit to blog at this level, I keep going to English stadiums and putting up with fans chanting "you're too fat to blog."

What were your surprises and disappointments? Hit me up with your thoughts.

The Euro Top 25 as of 10.22.09

2009-10-22T09:16:00.001-07:00

Back to the clubs, and another round of Champions League games in the books. Where does everyone fit after the big shake up of games on Matchday 3? Have a read to see where it all plays out.

1. Manchester United
Top of Premier League, top of Group B in Champions League
Okay fine, they are not winning with the style and swagger of 2007-08. That team beats Bolton 4-0 at Old Trafford easily. But the bottom line is with the inconsisency of the other big guns of Europe, Sir Alex's men are getting results. They traditionally start to hit their form just before Christmas.

2. FC Barcelona
Top of La Liga, top of Group F in Champions League (on goal difference)
Is the pressure of defending three titles getting to them? Played out an uneventful draw at Valencia before losing at home to Rubin Kazan at midweek. Puyol and Henry have been out, but there is still plenty in the armory for the Blaugrana to deal with these opponents.

3. Chelsea
2nd in Premier League, top of Group D in Champions League
They might be #1 on this list if Ancelotti took the time with his charges to practice defending corner kicks before playing Aston Villa on Saturday. With the way Atletico Madrid is stuggling, that 4-0 win may not be much to get excited about. Still, in command of a talented group and a real threat for the Premier League title. Will the age and mileage slow them down at some point?

4. Lyon
Top of Ligue 1, top of Group E in Champions League
That win at Liverpool is better than you think. Liverpool's struggles have been against teams with a pulse, yes, but all of those struggles were on the road. Anfield on a European night is usually untouchable for visitors. I forgive the defeat to Sochaux at the weekend as they were extra motivated in playing for Charlie Davies.

5. Sevilla
3rd in La Liga, top of Group G in Champions League
My Champions League dark horse. No shame in losing at the weekend to an in-form Deportivo who have closed up shop and aren't allowing anyone to score. They rebounded nicely winning at a Stuttgart side that was desparate for a win. In firm command of their Champions League group.

6. Real Madrid
2nd in La Liga, 2nd in Group C of the Champions League
They are continually getting exposed in defense, which many expected to happen. 6 goals conceded in their last 3 matches in all competitions. Is it me, or has Kaka not settled in? Don't blame the defeat to Milan on not having Ronaldo, this team is too loaded to be a one man show.

7. Rubin Kazan
Top of Russian Premier League, 3rd in Group F of Champions League
I'm going to get some shtick here. But a team that can stay top of their domestic league, draw Inter Milan and beat Barcelona at the Nou Camp deserves this spot. A poor 45 minutes vs Dynamo Kiev prevent them from topping their Champions League group. Devil's Advocate: how good would they be if they had to play regularly in the Premier League, La Liga, or Serie A?

8. Inter Milan
Top of Serie A, bottom of Group F of Champions League
Very convincing in their 5-1 win at Genoa at the weekend but followed that up with a disappointing 2-2 at home to Dynamo Kiev. I thought Jose Mourinho was brought to Inter to win the Champions League? They are quickly becoming the most inconsistent team on this list, not to mention the most difficult to figure out.

9. Arsenal
4th in Premier League, top of Group H in Champions League
Seconds away from having a 100% record in their group, and they are getting results without Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott. Devil's Advocate: their 4-match winning streak in England are over Fulham, Birmingham, Blackburn, and Wigan. Yippee!

10. Fiorentina
4th in Serie A, 2nd in Group E of Champions League
Followed up a hard-earned point at Juventus with a harder than had to be 3 points at Debrecen to consolidate 2nd spot in their group in Europe. Unbeaten in their last four in Italy with just one goal conceded, and the four they faced were Sampdoria, Livorno, Lazio, and Juventus.

11. Manchester City
5th in Premier League
Back to back draws at Aston Villa and at Wigan aren't going to wow anyone, but they still have that win over Arsenal and that near miss in the Manchester derby.

12. Tottenham Hotspur
3rd in Premier League
Getting goals from so many different sources and seem to be over the back to back defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea. The win over Liverpool suddenly doesn't look as impressive anymore.

13. Leverkusen
Top of German Bundesliga
In a league filled with goals, no one is scoring on Leverkusen at the moment. 4 consecutive clean sheets with Hamburg and Werder Bremen among the teams who couldn't find the net.

14. Bordeaux
3rd in Ligue 1, top of Group A in Champions League
Back to back away defeats domestically keep them from being ranked any higher, topping a Champions League group that has Bayern Munich and Juventus justifies them being here.

15. Juventus
3rd in Serie A, 2nd in Group A of Champions League
Have they already been found out? They needed heroics from Chiellini to beat Maccabi Haifa, and stop a six match winless skid in all competitions. The goals have started to go buh-bye, only finding the net 3 times in their last 5 overall matches.

16. Hamburg
2nd in German Bundesliga, 2nd in Europa League group
Still boasting an impressive resume of wins domestically, and will look to get their European campaign going with a win at Celtic tonight.

17. Aston Villa
6th in Premier League
Drawing Manchester City and beating Chelsea are impressive results indeed. Opponents best be advised to not concede set pieces on corners to them.

18. Sampdoria
2nd in Serie A
The Inter win was nice but if they are to maintain a top 10 ranking, they should beat Parma and Lazio (drew them both).

19. Deportivo
4th in La Liga
4 straight wins, all clean sheets, and 5 shutouts overall. Most recent accomplishment is the win over an in form Sevilla side.

20. Dynamo Kiev
Top of Ukranian league, 2nd in Grouf F of Champions League
If you believe in Rubin Kazan, than Dynamo deserve to be on this list too. Battled hard to draw Inter at the San Siro.

21. Valencia
5th in La Liga, top of Europa League group
Battled Barcelona to a draw at the weekend and can get control of their Europa League group with a win today over Slavia Prague. And yes their players are getting paid.

22. Olympiakos
Joint top of Greek League, 2nd in Group H of Champions League
Finally caught Panathinaikos at the summit of their domestic league and have gotten some separation from AZ Alkmaar and Standard Liege in their efforts to secure a Champions League knockout place.

23. Wolfsburg
5th in German Bundesliga, 2nd in Group B of Champions League
Starting to get it in gear domestically with 4 straight unbeaten. Also holding off Besiktas and CSKA Moscow for a knockout place in the Champions League.

24. AC Milan
8th in Serie A, top of Group C in Champions League
If beating a resurgent Roma and doing the unthinkable by beating Real Madrid at the Bernabeu doesn't kick-start their season, nothing will.

25. Schalke 04
3rd in German Bundesliga
Keeping pace with Leverkusen and Hamburg in Germany at the moment, but some of the real tests are coming.

Missing the cut (in no particular order):
Sunderland
Liverpool
Montpellier
Monaco
Marseille
Real Mallorca
Unirea Urziceni
Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen
Genoa
Parma
Fenerbahce
Galatasaray

That's it for now, I'll have the next one in a couple weeks.

The Weekly Rant 10.07.09: Blaming refs for your ineptitude and other stuff.

2009-10-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

I am probably going to let you down with this week's rant on the beautiful game. Sir Alex Ferguson has branded me "unfit." He says that I am unfit for a blog of this standard. The pace of the blog demands a blogger who is fit. It is an indictment of blogging. You see bloggers abroad who are as fit as butcher's dogs.

Of course if Mike Riley was the center man, United would have hit Sunderland's net for six like Arsenal did to Blackburn, right Mr. Moyes?................................ I have been kicking this one around for the last 3 or 4 days wondering if Sir Alex has this one right or not. And in the end I just don't think it would matter. I do, though, have some thoughts about the lastest Sir Alex attacks the referee tactics. Here's my say:

What surprises me is that the FA is taking such a long time to make a decision on this. The fact that they are waffling on what to do about this latest attack on officials seems to me to undermine the purpose of the RESPECT campaign in the first place. Had this been any other manager in the Premier League, or Jose Mourinho, he would have been fined swiftly and charged with bringing the game into disrepute. And no, I don't think a touchline ban should be given to a manager for making comments after a match. Ferguson has been able to attain some sort of special handling from the FA that other managers envy.

I was listening to Radio 606 last night and I think it was a recording from the weekend. I recall the host having a 16 year old calling in who is a referee. The explanation is that the FA referee licensing course and training is VERY rigorous (I am assuming the professional level), to where this self-declared fit 16 year old has failed the course twice. Based on that, I'll go way out on a limb and assume that Alan Wiley has met the fitness criteria to be an FA referee at the professional level.

The fact that Sir Alex Ferguson has attacked the official with this post match commentary should surprise no one. This has become his trademark, especially in matches where Manchester United arrives at an unexpected and disappointing result. United were outplayed by Sunderland and needed an own goal in stoppage time to escape with a point. So Ferguson goes the "I'll attack the referee" route. In a way, he's taking the blame and the scrutiny off his team who so surprisingly underperformed, and put the attention sqaurely on the official. Yes, yes, yes, he did say at the end of the interview that he was disappointed with his team's performance and credited their character for gutting out the draw, but he already did the damage and had everyone's attention on the fitness of the official. It's worked brilliantly in the past as he's taken the pressure off his players, but he continues to stir up controversy in the media.

When are people going to stop being surprised by Sir Alex's ability to deflect the blame from his players in the media? Other managers, namely Rafa Benitez, need to not get in an uproar over what Ferguson gets away with and focus on improving their teams. This isn't the first time Fergie has questioned the officials, and it won't be the last. Sir Alex Ferguson is one of the more manipulative managers in all of sport, and unfortunately he lacks the class to match his competitiveness. Sad thing is that whenever he gets mic time and wants to have a pop at the refs, everyone is shocked that a man who has won so many trophies can have such a hissy fit.

If you want a manager with humility, look to Steve Bruce, who oh by the way is Sunderland's manager. A very fierce competitor as a player and a manager, and quite gentle in how he goes about addressing the media. He has been on the wrong end of some lopsided results wherever he has coached (games while he was at Birmingham where he got battered), and he always seems to delicately balance between crediting the opposition and saying his players were not good enough. Never, have I heard him blame a referee.

But he was fit enough to book Kieran Richardson not once, but twice............................ I should footnote, like most observant people out there, that this is the same Alan Wiley who was the fourth official in the Manchester Derby that Sir Alex Ferguson was all chummy with after United scored the winner in what seemed to be the 20th minute of stoppage time, despite Wiley previously holding up that board with the number 4 on it.

Everyone gets a neat looking badge to add to their shirts...................................... So what exactly has the RESPECT campaign accomplished anyway? Managers are still grouchy about penalties not being awarded among other things, and players who are not captains (see Drogba and Ballack) still confront the official when they've been fouled or if a handball in the box was missed. The braintrust behind the RESPECT campaign are looking for special protection for the population of the game who's human element play a role in decision making. In other words, interpretation of the Laws of the Game. Here's how this campaign can stick, allow a referee who has been scrutinized some mic time after the match to get their views on the manager's tactics, such as starting Nani and Danny Welbeck.

I'm so scared right now. I'm just gonna to do what's sensible, I'm gonna file for unemployment. Then I'm gonna try to get a job at Enterprise Rent-A-Car, because they got an excellent corporate structure and they... *they* give *you* the tools to be your own boss. ...................... Portsmouth's new owners have just hired Avram Grant (last seen smiling at an airport in Israel relieved to be relieved of his duties as interim Chelsea boss) to be their Director of Football. Nice job on that win over Wolves, Paul Hart, now meet the man that will probably have your job within the next month.

So then I got a call from him, saying we don't have to worry about money no more. And I said, that's good! One less thing................................. So the best player on planet Earth and the two neighboring planets, Lionel Messi, got signed to a contract extension through 2016 with Barcelona and this has prompted Johan Cruyff to discuss the hazards of long-term contracts/ make sure people remember who he is. Cruyff disagrees with such a lengthy contract for Messi, as it can lead to players losing their motivation.

We don't have a lot of sample to work with here, but I think Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka are doing just fine so far at Real Madrid, and each of them were penned to at least 6-year deals. Lionel Messi is currently a better footballer than both of them and deserves the contract he's been signed to. Cruyff is likely recalling guys who have gone Billy Bigboots like Ronaldinho and Ronaldo (fat one), but Messi's class and willingness to ambassador the sport certainly suggest he will still be motivated.

I'm an AC Milan fan, FML.
So this week my team wasn't even on tv, and thank goodness because we spent over an hour trailing bottom side Atalanta before Ronaldinho rescued us and got us a critical point in our mission of accomplishing extreme mediocrity! Woohoo!

Our greedy and selfish owner, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi, has an approval rating in Italy of over 50%. No AC Milan fans were polled.

The 60+ million Euros was needed for Jose Mourinho's wardrobe..................... Checking the Ibra will score more than 30 in La Liga and Eto'o will score less than 25 in Serie A numbers:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has 5 goals through 6 La Liga games, putting him on pace for 32 goals.
Samuel Eto'o has 3 goals through 7 Serie A games, putting him on pace for 16 goals.

Exactly how was this a better deal for Inter again?

Bits and Pieces, and Bits and Pieces. In other words, a few things that got my attention in the European football that I didn't want to spend a lot of time on.

In their maiden voyage of the Premier League, Burnley has made Turfmoor a fortress, winning all four home games outscoring their opponents 7-2. Too bad they can't play all their games at home, the have a 0% away form in 4 getting shelled 14-0 in the process.
At Bayer Leverkusen, it was never an issue of scoring goals in the German Bundesliga last season, it was a matter of conceding them. Conceding 46 goals through 34 games won't put you in a position to win the title. Jupp Heynckes has taken over and so far he's tightened the ship, with the help of veteran defender Sami Hyypia. Through 8 games, only 5 goals against. Oh, and they're still scoring plenty of goals too, as they have hit the back of the net 18 times. And Patrick Helmes, their leading scorer last season, has yet to play this season.
If you looked at the form books from last season, or simply read my Serie A preview, Palermo's 2-0 win at home over Juventus shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Last season Palermo earned 43 of their 57 points in Sicily. The form is following again this season, as the Rosanero are unbeaten in 4 home matches (won two, drawn two), and winless in their 3 away fixtures to date (drawn one, lost two).
Steve McClaren, who we all know as they guy who couldn't manage England out of a wet paper bag, has his FC Twente team sitting top of the Dutch Eredivisie. Which leads one to ponder: how far have Ajax, PSV, and Feyenoord really fallen?

The Sack Race or Managers who better get their act together, or else:

Paul Hart, Portsmouth
Phil Brown, Hull City
Abel Rosina, Atletico Madrid
Ernesto Valverde, Villarreal
Leonardo, AC Milan
Markus Babbel, VFB Stuttgart (but I might think he'll be safe).

So thank you for letting me have a chance to vent about football and the issues that have come up in the past week. Hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know what's got you all hot and bothered about the beautiful game.

The Euro Top 25 10.06.2009

2009-10-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Quite a bit of shifting around since the last rankings I sent out. Many of the big names in Europe have taken a bit of a dip. Have a read to see where your time might be.

1. FC Barcelona
This is a generous ranking because: they might be getting a wee bit lazy lately. Even if they didn't put out their best team, more should be expected of them than winning 1-0 over Almeria at home. That said, Andres Iniesta is getting back into the mix, and oh goodie! They have another goalscorer in Pedrito, who hit the winner against Almeria and also scored in the Champions League match against Dynamo Kiev.

2. Chelsea FC
This is a cruel ranking because: Besides being the only team to have really pushed Barcelona in the last six months (sorry Manyoo fan, you got bossed off the park in May), they might also boast the most impressive resume of teams in the top five. The win at Sunderland is starting to look better and better. Shutting out Liverpool without Cech in goal was impressive. Not only can't you win at Stamford Bridge, you can't score their either since Hull's goal in the opener. However.....
This is a generous ranking because: that stinker at Wigan hasn't necessarily escaped anyone's memory. Winning 1-0 at APOEL Nicosia won't flatter anyone either. Did they just happen to catch Liverpool during a below-average run of form?

3. Sevilla
This is a cruel ranking because: it can be argued that no one is playing better than Sevilla now. Since losing the opener to Valencia, they have ripped off 7 straight wins in all competitions outscoring their opponents 20-3. Not only do they have playmakers, but they are proving to be stout defensively. The best thing to happen to them is the International break, as this Real Madrid win could go back under the radar to most people.
This is a generous ranking because: Real Madrid were without Cristiano Ronaldo for that match, and certainly with his form the result might have been different. Also, does this team have the depth to continue on this run?

4. Real Madrid
This is a cruel ranking because: Up until the Sevilla loss, Real Madrid were crushing and killing everything in its path. 7 straight wins outscoring opposition 27-4 before this happened, and a fit Ronaldo might have made a difference this past weekend. If Sevilla is #3, Real Madrid has to be #4.
This is a generous ranking because: We got to see what happens to this team when the injury bug hits. More of an onus was put on Karim Benzema and he couldn't deliver, and the backline was as suspect as ever.

5. Lyon
This is a cruel ranking because: it really isn't. Part of why they are this high up is because every other team out there is finding ways to drop points or lose meaningful games. Lyon meanwhile, top the French Ligue 1 and a Champions League group featuring Fiorentina and Liverpool. Unbeaten in all competitions, with Miralem Pjanic the best player you don't know about.
This is a generous ranking because: they are fattening up on French teams that are not at their level or spending power to date. Let's see what happens when they face Bordeaux, Marseille, or even Liverpool coming up in the Champions League.

6. Manchester United
This is a cruel ranking because: would you really take Lyon over Manchester United at this point? Despite the players they have lost, they have gotten wins over Arsenal, Manchester City, Wolfsburg, and at Tottenham on 10 men. This might be a team that's patching together victories before the machine starts to hum or.......
This is a generous ranking because: they have gotten extremely lucky. They needed Ben Foster's left leg, a penalty, and a Diaby own goal to beat Arsenal. They needed a lapse in concentration from the City defenders to win their derby late. Finally, they needed a most unfortunate own goal from Anton Ferdinand in stoppage time to draw Sunderland, at Old Trafford.

7. Sampdoria
This is a cruel ranking because: it isn't. Joint top of Serie A at the moment and conquerors of Inter. Pazzini and Cassano are proving to be a dangerous attacking combination.
This is a generous ranking because: they have the fortune of being able to prepare for their Serie A matches without the European distraction. They may be joint top of the league, but other wins are over bottom feeders like Catania, Siena, and Atalanta. If you rate Sampdoria this high, then Fiorentina (who beat Samp 2-0) should be up here too.

8. Inter Milan
This is a cruel ranking because: they are top of the Serie A table, and just defeated a hot Udinese team 2-1. They have been finding ways to produce results without Eto'o's goalscoring, and have given Barcelona their only dropped points in any competition this season.
This is a generous ranking because: there don't seem to be that many resources beyond Eto'o, Sneijder, Maicon, and Diego Milito. They were fortunate to draw at Rubin Kazan in the Champions League.

9. Manchester City
This is a cruel ranking because: if this team was playing in Serie A or Ligue 1, it would probably be top. So many options in attack, and a nice resume with wins over Arsenal and a draw at Aston Villa. They were also seconds away from getting a draw at Old Trafford.
This is a generous ranking because: they have been conceding some pretty sloppy goals lately. What appears to be well-taken by their opposition can be attributed to slack marking and defending, especially on set pieces and crossing situations. If you have a solid center forawrd in your team, you have a chance.

10. Hamburg
This is a cruel ranking because: Ivica who? Petric, Guerrero, and Ze Roberto have plenty of attack to offer as evidenced by the team's 20 goals in 8 Bundesliga games. Among the teams they have taken full points from are Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich.
This is a generous ranking because: How good would Hamburg be if they were in the Premier League or Serie A? In other words, would they have this kind of strike rate against teams more organized?

11. Bayer Leverkusen: Ahead of Hamburg on goal difference in Germany and tied with Schalke for the tightest defense in the league to date (5 goals conceded in 8 games). Stefan Kiessling has 6 goals through 8 matches thus far.

12. Juventus: Suddenly winless in their last four in all competitions. Injuries are playing a part in this.

13. Tottenham: most teams are going to get tagged by Manchester United and Chelsea if they had to play them in back to back weeks. Responded nicely by thrashing Burnley 5-0 and earning a hard fought draw at an improving Bolton side.

14. Arsenal: This might be the lowest they are ranked all season. Getting players healthy now and they have won six straight in all competitions since the back to back Manchester defeats, outscoring their foes 18-4 in the process.

15. Bordeaux: yes, losing 3-1 away to Saint Etienne does have its consequences. However joint top of Group A with Bayern Munich in the Champions League over Juventus.

16. Fiorentina: Unbeaten in their last four in all competitions without conceding a goal. World, if you haven't gotten to know Stefan Jovetic yet, you do now.

17. Liverpool: On talent and what they are capable of, they should be higher. On the fact they haven't beaten anyone with a pulse, they belong at this spot.

18. Fenerbahce: That is 8 wins out of their first 8 in Turkey's top flight, opening a 5 point lead over Galatasaray. Should also get out of their group in the Europa League as well.

19. Schalke 04: Felix Magath is steadying the ship in Gelsenkirchen with 3 wins in their last 4 in Germany.

20. Valencia: Have put the only blemish on Sevilla's La Liga campaign to this point and outlasted Genoa in the Europa League 3-2. The defending will need to tighten up if they expect to grab a Champions League place for next season.

21. Aston Villa: The Liverpool win suddenly isn't looking as good save for the fact that it happened at Anfield. A hard-earned draw with Manchester City yesterday.

22. Werder Bremen: Who's Diego? Unbeaten in 12 since the August 8th loss to Eintracht Frankfurt, in all competitions, scoring 33 goals in the process.

23. Panathinaikos: Perfect through six matches in Greece.

24. Bayern Munich: Hard earned draw with Juventus, but the goals have gone buh-bye, failing to find the net in their last three matches.

25. Wolfsburg: Edin Dzeko is starting to warm up. Gave Manchester United a scare at Old Trafford before losing.

Others Considered:
Genoa
Hoffenheim
Deportivo La Coruna
Olympiakos
Rubin Kazan
Montpellier
Monaco
Marseille
Mainz
Rangers

That's it for this edition, would you have changed anything to this list?

The weekly rant: how to fix Milan and other things that make me grouchy 10.01.09

2009-10-01T04:47:00.000-07:00

Time for me to air out the things that have made me grumpy about football, or things about football that have flat-out annoyed me, or just me standing on my soapbox. Either way, thanks for letting me vent.

"Because I'm strong and you're weak. Because I'm the kind of guy everyone here wants to be like and YOU are pathetic........................." I'm going to guess that legendary Manchester United supporter Howard Rogers has not softened his stance on how the UEFA Champions League should be run. I know Michele Platini disagrees with it. The sentiment out there is that the league stage of the UEFA Champions League is useless, and just a moneymaker delaying the inevitable 12-16 strongest teams in Europe matching up with each other, and that's when the competition really begins.

Oh really? How about runnig that logic by an FC Zurich supporter today? Or go to Romania, stand in the main square of pretty much any town in that country and tell them that what Unirea Urziceni did Tuesday isn't that important. Good luck telling a Rubin Kazan supporter this after they drew with Inter. For that matter, you won't have a lot of success arguing this in the Ukraine today either, as Dynamo Kiev might have lost to Barcelona but they sit 2nd in their group over Inter Milan. Still not satisfied? Okay, look at last year. Ask a Panathinaikos fan, or more importantly, a Werder Bremen fan how useless the group stage is. And I'm sure you'll have people in Belarus tell you that Bate Borisov drawing Juventus and taking an early 2-0 lead on them wasn't meaningful to them.

Those of us west of the pond know full well the value of preliminaries and early stages of competitions. Yes, yes, yes, the elite will rise to the top and matchup in the latter stages of all competitions with the rare underdog getting farther than anyone would expect. But the league stage embodies the spirit of competition, and the UEFA Champions League is no more immune to the little guy getting some glory than the NCAA College Basketball championships. If your logic is that the league stage is boring and that having the champions of less competitive countries in it is useless, then you believe the following:

Y.E. Yang shouldn't have been allowed to play for the PGA Championship.

George Mason should have forfeited their Final Four place to UConn.

Greece should have gone home after the group stage of Euro 2004 and let Spain go through.

Bottom line is this, enjoy the league stage. Reporters, shut up about the boredom of this part of the competition, and let the little guy play for a little more bread. Your dumb questions only hinder the spirit of competition.

If they played at Anfield they would have scored 5 times.................... Liverpool's 3rd place position in the Premier League could potentially be the most misleading place in all of Europe. I know the Scousers and the Kopites are all gushing over the run of wins in the Premier League and now their talking about their intent to win the Premiership. Okay fine. The issue I have with your Premier League campaign is that your wins, though impressive, are over Stoke (12th), Bolton (13th), Burnley (11th), West Ham (18th), and Hull (19th). Your losses: Tottenham (4th), and Aston Villa (7th). When your beloved reds go out to Florence and get tagged by Fiorentina 2-0 (and my friend Kirk will testify that I warned that Jovetic would be the danger man in that game), it might suggest you aren't set up to beat a big boy in England, and that could keep you from winning the one trophy you claim to care about this season. Beat Chelsea on Sunday, and I'll feel differently about Liverpool's chances on the island.

The 60-something million Euros can be used to help Massimo Moratti get a nose job..................... Checking on my fearless prediction that Ibrahimovic would score more than 30 in La Liga games and Eto'o would score less than 25 in Serie A games: Zlatan Ibrahimovic has 5 goals through 5 games in La Liga, while Eto'o has 3 through 6 Italian top flight matches. At this pace: Ibrahimovic 38, Eto'o 19. So exactly how was this a better deal for Inter Milan?

Well at least Sheva didn't score at the Nou Camp.................................... in this edition of "I'm an AC Milan fan, FML." Milan have gone scoreless in their last three matches now; Champions League loss to FC Zurich yesterday 1-0, a 0-0 draw with Bari on Sunday (which they should have lost), and a 1-0 loss at Udinese last Wednesday. On those dates or thereabouts, here's a summary of men who could have been Milan players this season and how they performed:

Kaka scored yesterday against Marseille in the Champions League, Sunday in league play against CD Tenerife (who is a promoted team like Bari) and last Wednesday at Villarreal.
Edin Dzeko scored yesterday in the Champions League at Manchester United, over the weekend in league play against Hannover 96, and in a cup match last Wednesday against Koln.
Luis Fabiano scored for Sevilla in the Champions League against Rangers on Tuesday.

So what exactly is that $95 million U.S. getting my favorite team? Well, a chunk was spent on Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, who has scored, yep you guessed it, 0 goals so far this season.

Rachel Phelps: "I think he'll fit right in with our team concept."
Charlie Donovan: "That reminds me. I was going to ask you. What exactly is our team concept?"............................................................ So with the dreadful 1-0 home defeat to FC Zurich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, Rossoneri supporters (like me) are tearing their hair out and cursing Berlusconi, Galliani and everyone associated with the embarrassment that has been going on at Milanello. It doesn't take a genius to see that losing a long-time coach, long-time captain, and former World Player of the Year all in one offseason would have its effects. When I saw Milan perform during the preseason, I declared "I'm going to be patient, I'm going to let them sort this all out and we'll in decent shape around the start of the Champions League." Well, time to now press the panic button. Everyone can blame Leonardo and his lack of experience as a manager, and it's very easy to do so. Probably the easiest thing to do is scapegoat the coach, and especially in this case a guy with NO coaching experience. However the problems do not start at Leonardo and they certainly don't end there.

The simple fact is that Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani, the chief figureheads of this team, have gone far too long with the same core of players. And whenever there was a glaring need to fill a position in the team, it was usually ignored and they would spend their transfer kitty on the next 30-something burnout, and most of the time he was Brazilian (see Rivaldo, Ronaldo ~fat one~, and Emerson, and pretty soon you can add Ronaldinho to the list though they got him at 28). Someone like Sir Alex Ferguson would have amicably split with players like Massimo Ambrosini, Kakha Kaladze, Marek Jankulovski, Massimo Oddo, Clarence Seedorf in some formal structured way after 2007, and yes even Pippo Inzaghi and Rino Gattuso (very beloved Milan players). If this approach was taken, you would have seen players like Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Luca Cigarini (Napoli), Alessandro Gamberini (Fiorentina), among others making a name for themselves in the red and black. Since we're stuck with the greybeards, here's how to make the season somewhat salvageable and perhaps set the team up long-term. Or what I would do if I had a say so at Milanello:

I paid good money for Klaas Jan Huntelaar. Huntelaar and Pato are my long-term strike partnership. They should be out on the pitch for as much as they possibly can, with having Inzaghi get the occasional game. I don't care about Huntelaar's struggles to find his way into the team, the best way to get him going is to play him. He's had a proven strike rate wherever he's gone. Marco Borriello is not a Milan player, no matter how much of a chance you think he deserves.
I give Massimo Oddo and Kakha Kaladze embroidered towels and part ways with them. Now. I won't get anything of value in return so I might as well wish them well. Same can be said for Dida. I'm only giving my goalkeeper coach headaches having him on board. Storari is my guy now, and Abbiati will get to prove he's still the #1. Flavio Roma I have to keep because I just got him.
I just opened up a non-EU spot on my roster by terminating Tabare Viudez' contract (I know you don't, he's a 20 year old playmaking midfielder from Uruguay). I'm celebrating New Year's in Sao Paulo, Brazil. On January 1st, I'm showing up at Sao Paulo FC's facility with a blank check asking "Write on that check what Hernanes is worth to you and I'll pay it (hoping he writes 'swap for Ronaldinho' but that's wishful thinking)." I immediately put Hernanes in the first 11 and in midfield with Flamini and Pirlo.
I tell David Beckham, "It was fun, but I have other ambitions this season. Thanks for your efforts last season. I have this boy Abate and I want to give him more chances."
Gattuso and Ambrosini can stay as long as they realize their appearances will be limited to Coppa Italia games and bottom feeders. Marek Jankulovski only gets games when I need width on the left and left-footed crossing.
I check with Ajax during the summer '10 transfer season to see if they are interested in having Clarence Seedorf close out his career in Amsterdam where it all started.
In the summer I bring back Alberto Paloschi from Parma, sell Marco Borriello to whatever Italian side wants him (likely a newly promoted team).
I tell Pato, "get off your ass and start playing like the next big thing you are supposed to be!"
I find out if Mr. Capello is getting bored in England after World Cup 2010 and wants to come home. If I'm denied, I ask Mr. Lippi if he would like to manage a club again. If Strike Two, why not ask Mr. Hiddink if he actually wants to manage a club again since it looks like my former coach is going to stay at Chelsea for a while. The worst that can happen is that I can be told no. My safe bet is that I can go to Florence and tempt Cesare Prandelli.
I give Leonardo his chance to fix this, but let him know I have quick hook.

And those are just 10 things I would do, I have a few more but I don't want to turn this completely into a Milan column.

Bits and pieces and bits and pieces. These are just some quick blurbs that I didn't want to spend an enormous amount of time on but get your attention with anyway. Some might be facts that you can use to impress your friends or that person of the opposite sex you are trying to attract:

The last three Champions League winners were losing semifinalists prior to the year they won: 2009 Barcelona (lost in semis to Man Utd in 2008), 2008 Man Utd (lost in semis to Milan in 2007), and 2007 Milan (lost in semis to Barcelona in 2006). Just something to get Chelsea and Arsenal fans excited.
Want a team to rip up the script in Spain? How about Sevilla. They have won 4 straight in La Liga since the opening loss to Valencia, sit three back of Real Madrid and Barcelona, are 2 for 2 in the Champions League, and are loaded. Luis Fabiano and Frederic Kanoute provide the scoring, and Jesus Navas, Adriano (not that one), and Renato providing the playmaking.
The German Bundesliga is picking up where it left off last year if you want a league that will be filled with goals. Four teams (Hamburg- 17, Wolfsburg- 15, Leverkusen- 14, Hoffenheim- 14) are averaging 2 goals a game through 7 games.
If you want an intriguing, fly under the radar Champions League matchup for Matchdays 3 and 4, have look at the ties between Bayern Munich and Bordeaux. They are joint top of Group A on four points each, and Bordeaux has been near flawless in France with 19 out of possible 21 points to start the season (3 goals conceded in 7 games). Additionally, it will be a great proving ground for Yoann Gourcuff that he is the best French player and not Franck Ribery.
If the Italian teams want to keep their 4 team allocation for the Champions League, then AC Milan, Inter, and Juventus (all sitting third in their groups) better get on with it.

So thanks for taking the time to read and let me stand on my football soapbox, keep on enjoying the beautiful game and let me know what you're grouchy about in this sport.

Weekend Recap: The Good, The Bad, and the Fuggly.

2009-09-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Another footballing weeekend concluded with some highlights, lowlights, and WTFs. Just watching what I watched, here's a quick rundown of it all.

THE GOOD

Manchester
Not just United for their win, but for City in their effort to rescue a point, three times. And if you would have put another 5 minutes on the clock, it wouldn't have come as a shock if the blue side of Manchester got a 4th. Nonetheless, the two hooked up for an all-timer of a Derby.

For Manchester United, it was a confirmation of their supremacy as the best team in the city. It was the seemingly ageless Ryan Giggs leading his team. It was Wayne Rooney setting the tone with the early goal. It was confirmation that Darren Fletcher deserves to be in the discussion of most valued United players just like Rooney and Nemanja Vidic. And lastly, it was pure theater that Michael Owen would win the game for the Red Devils.

For Manchester City, it was validation. This in defeat, with their win over Arsenal last week, signalled their arrival as a legitimate threat to win silverware. Whether you like the "break the bank to build a team" approach or not, you have to acknowledge that City are a title contender this season. There are still some issues in defense, but they have the attacking power to hang with anybody. How many teams do you know can say they scored 7 goals playing Arsenal and Manchester United back to back?

Chelsea
Carlo Ancelotti's men needed a statement win. 3-0 against a Tottenham side that was desparate for redemtion after last week's loss to United is just what the doctor ordered. The new boss has pushed all the right buttons to date. 6 for 6 in Premier League play now. They did this under Jose Mourinho in the '05-'06 season and went on to win the title.

Barcelona
Maybe the most jaw-dropping 42 minutes they have produced yet. 4 goals in that span against an Atletico Madrid side that is no pushover. They could have easily hung 10 Saturday if they didn't go into neutral. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is proving my theory from a previous blog correct. And Andres Iniesta has hardly played much.

*if you want to keep score from that blog, here you go: Ibrahimovic 3, Eto'o 2. Strictly league play and not Europe or Cup play. Ibra also has a game in hand.

Juventus
Continuing to take care of business. 12 out of 12 in Serie A so far, and only one goal conceded in those four games.

Bayern Munich
Three wins on the trot now in Bundesliga and four straight overall.

Bordeaux, Lyon, and Marseille
The three French representatives in the Champions League are all unbeaten in their first six matches in Ligue 1. The French top flight could go down to the wire this season.

THE BAD

Stuttgart
Exactly 2 out of possible 12 points in their last four matches. For a team that boasts players like Pogrebnyak, Khedira, and Hleb, they are struggling for goals at the moment. A 2-0 home loss this weekend to at the time cellar dwellers Koln will not inspire confidence.

Tottenham
Recent pantsings to Manchester United and Chelsea show just how far they have to go to contend with the big boys in England.

Atletico Madrid
Only one point from their first three La Liga matches, a disappointing 0-0 draw with APOEL Nicosia in the Champions League, and the 5-2 blast they took from Barcelona has manager Abel Rosina on the hot seat (if he hasn't been sacked already).

THE FUGGLY

Craig Bellamy
Potentially the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of football. Proves his quality and that he deserves a regular place in the Manchester City first 11 with 2 of the better goals of the weekend, and follows it up with striking a fan who invaded the pitch, while the fan was restrained by police.

Portsmouth, Xerez, Grenoble, and Atalanta
At the foot of the Premier League, La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A respectively. They have played a combined 19 matches in league play, and have a combined zero points. Also, they have been outscored 39-6 combined.

European Top 25 as of 9.18.2009

2009-09-18T11:26:00.001-07:00

With a round of UEFA Champions League and Europa League fixtures out of the way it's time to break down the top teams in Europe.

I compile my rankings based on a combination of current form and quality in the team, not who will finish the best at the end of the season. This time of year you will see a lot of movement on this board. So here's my first shot at it:

1. FC Barcelona
Generous of me because: it really isn't. No shame in going to the San Siro and getting a result at Inter. Lost in all their possession and attacking power is the fact they have yet to concede a goal this season. 0 allowed in 4 matches in all competitions.

2. Chelsea FC
Cruel of me because: They have done everything they have been asked to do so far this season. Perfect record in all competitions.
Generous of me because: The teams they beat aren't that big a deal. The needed come from behind wins against Hull, Sunderland, and Stoke. If they are a living, breathing, Champions League contender, then they get more than one goal on a not-as-strong-as-they-use-to-be Porto side.

3. Real Madrid
Cruel because: They have won every match they have been asked to play in to date. On star power alone, they could top this list.
Generous because: Should a top three concede 2 goals against FC Zurich? There are still enough issues in defense that do not convince me they can make a deep run in Europe.

4. Bayern Munich
Cruel because: This is not the same Bayern team that opened the Bundesliga season. 11 goals in the last three matches in all competitions show the value of signing Arjen Robben and bringing Ribery back from injury.
Generous because: What happens when Bayern have to deal with a more organized team? Could they really beat either Juventus or Inter? And if I have them this high, it means I have already forgotten about the loss to Mainz.

5. Juventus FC
Cruel because: This could be the best team in Italy by season's end. Diego has been a revelation for them, and Del Piero and Amauri have yet to get on the scoreboard.
Generous because: If you rate Juventus this high, then Bordeaux should be up here on the strength of tying the Old Lady in Turin. Is this team really ready for Europe?

6. Manchester United
Cruel because: They are traditionally slow starters to the season and so far just one loss in all competitions. Don't underestimate that win at Besiktas in the Champions League, it is very hard to win in Turkey.
Generous because: What will this team accomplish when they play a stronger center of defense? Arsenal and Tottenham have had issues in that area for years so it's always a great matchup for the Red Devils. Would Berbatov have that kind of success against Lucio from Inter? We'll know more when they have to deal with Toure-Lescott on Sunday.

7. Inter Milan
Cruel because: They demonstrated that they could hold the European Champions goalless, and the arrival of Wesley Sneijder has provided some much needed playmaking.
Generous because: it shouldn't be. If this team plays to what it's capable of, it could end up in Madrid in May.

8. Manchester City
Cruel because: They have answered every test thrown at them, including a 4-2 win over Arsenal. This might be the best team not in the Champions League.
Generous because: Arsenal is really the only good team they have beaten in this stretch thus far, we'll know more after the Manchester Derby on Sunday.

9. Bordeaux
Cruel because: Unbeaten in French Lige 1 and showed they'll be a threat in Europe with their away draw at Juventus. Yoann Gourcuff is a legitimate talent.
Generous because: Their wins are against Lens, Sochaux, Nice, and Grenoble. Yippee!! Would this team really beat Liverpool or Arsenal?

10. Lyon
Cruel because: 5 straight wins in all competitions and quietly put together a quality side. The trio of Lopez, Gomis, and Pjanic are more than making up for the losses of Benzema and Juninho.
Generous because: Like Bordeaux, there hasn't been much of a test in France yet. The win over Fiorentina is nice, but a little more substance is needed if they're to be ranked higher.

11. Tottenham
The Liverpool win is all of a sudden starting to look really good. We'll see how morale-crushing the Man United loss was.

12. Liverpool
Beginning to hit their stride after crushing Burnley. On the other hand, that win over Debreceni was waaaaayyyyyy too much of a struggle.

13. Hamburg
Crushing and killing everything in their path in Bundesliga (15 goals from their first 5). But if they are this good, they shouldn't be taking a 3-0 pantsing at Rapid Vienna in the Europa League.

14. Genoa
100% record in Italy and Europa League. Included are wins over Roma and Napoli. Proving that last season's run wasn't a fluke.

15. Valencia
2 for 2 in Spain including a 2-0 win over Sevilla.

16. Arsenal
Dropped this far for their loss at Manchester City, and that they needed an offside goal to pull level with Standard Liege before beating them. Are they really this bad without Arshavin?

17. Sevilla
Put right that loss at Valencia with 4 on Real Zaragoza and opening their Champions League with a win over Unirea Urziceni.

18. Milan
Inter might do that to a lot of teams this season with Sneijder in the mix. Bounced back nicely winning at Marseille in the Champions League after an unforgiveable draw at Livorno. Still waiting to find out what identity this team will have.

19. Bayer Leverkusen
Great start to the Bundesliga season, unbeaten in their first five including wins over Hoffenheim and Wolfsburg.

20. Aston Villa
Quietly climbing up the table after that miserable start which included losses at home to Wigan and getting bounced from the Europa League.

21. Sampdoria
Played 3, won 3. Pazzini and Cassano will give opposing defenses fits this season.

22. Marseille
Unbeaten in France this year including a draw with Champions Bordeaux, and outplayed Milan in stretches in the Champions League before losing 2-1.

23. Olympiakos
Not a typo. Opened with a 1-0 over AZ Alkmaar in Champions League and off to an unbeaten start in Greece. There is a nice mix of talent and veterans in this team.

24. Rangers FC
Unbeaten in their first four in Scotland and getting a draw at Stuttgart midweek, proving they'll be a tough out in Europe.

25. Schalke 04
10 out of 15 points to start the Bundesliga campaign but the real tests are coming up.

So there you have it for this week. I'll update again next week. What do you think? Hit me with your thoughts.

Italian Serie A Preview

2009-08-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

Another season is upon us and I suppose the question that needs to be asked is, "will anyone step up and dethrone Inter Milan?"

Now on their fourth consecutive Serie A championship, it has to be said that no matter how they've won them, Inter is a modern day dynasty in Italian Football (as an AC Milan fan, it was excruciating to type that). Under the watch of Manager Jose Mourinho, they have no intention of slowing down. Not the prettiest football to watch at times, but effective and gets results.

But now after having sung the praises of the Nerazzurri, it is clear that teams behind them have shuffled their squads in hopes of catching the champion this season. All that said, this has the potential to be one of the most entertaining seasons in Italy yet. The likes of Juventus, Milan, Roma, Napoli, Genoa, and Fiorentina are all going into the new season with optimism and expectations.

Star Searching
Significant in the off-season transfer movement is the departures of some marquee names in Serie A. Kaka left Milan for Real Madrid, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic left Inter for Barcelona. Additionally, retirements of legendary names like Maldini, Nedved, and Figo have left this league searching for the new big names. However, there were some key arrivals and upcoming stars that will make the Italian top flight exciting to watch this year:

Diego, Juventus: The Brazilian playmaker heads to the Turin giants after making a name for himself at Werder Bremen. At a cost of around 24.5 million euros, the Old Lady of Italian Football brings in just the player capable of replacing retired Pavel Nedved. Diego possesses a tremendous combination of passing, vision, and finishing.

Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Milan: The Dutch striker became surplus to requirements at Real Madrid after all the new Galacticos arrived at the Bernabeu, and the Rossoneri should stand to benefit for an impressive strike rate (143 goals in 203 professional appearances). Potentially the next great goalscorer at the San Siro at a team that has boasted names like Inzaghi, Shevchenko, and Van Basten.

Samuel Eto'o, Inter: The Cameroon striker arrives from Barcelona via a swap with Ibrahimovic going the other way. One of the most prolific strikers this decade, a lot will be put on his shoulders as Inter Milan look to make it five straight Serie A Titles.

Stevan Jovetic, Fiorentina: The young Montenegren playmaker directs a potentially powerful attack for La Viola.

Ezequiel Lavezzi, Napoli: Sure there are other wonderful Argentinian attackers like Messi, Aguero, and Tevez, but a breakthrough season for Lavezzi is on offer with the reinforcements made in Roberto Donadoni's squad.

How will it play out? Well this will be one of the more competitive seasons to date, with this league overall being pretty top heavy. Yet, there will be a new champion, and many exciting games.

1. Juventus. Marcello Lippi is not an idiot, and is on to something here when he predicts that the Old Lady will reclaim the Scudetto. The addition of Diego was perfect, and bringing in Felipe Melo to provide some bite in midfield was essential to. There is plenty of experience and goalscoring power to lift Juve to the top this season. The big question mark will be Ciro Ferrara's inexperience as a top flight manager. Can he manage all this talent?

2. Inter. The Nerazzurri's efforts to make it five straight should fall short this season. I have argued that Mourinho will miss Ibrahimovic's ability to create goals out of nothing, and while Eto'o and Milito are nice additions up front, the lack of playmaking in midfield could catch up to them this season. Getting Lucio from Bayern Munich was a terrific get to shore up the back line, and they have one of the more underrated goalkeepes in Julio Cesar.

3. Milan. Transition year for the Rossoneri, but will have enough in the squad to finish third. A lot will be expected of Ronaldinho and Pato to help carry the attack, but the return of Alessandro Nesta could will help strengthen things at the back. This season will be all about stabilizing their place in Serie A and the Champions League. Like Juventus, Milan are breaking in an inexperienced coach in Leonardo.

4. Fiorentina. Cesare Prandelli has assembled a team that could be sneaky good this season and will make life miserable for the title contenders in Serie A this season. La Viola play an attacking brand of football that features Alberto Gilardino and Adrian Mutu. Felipe Melo is a loss but has been replaced by experienced midfield players like Cristiano Zanetti and Marco Marchionni. The question with this team is the overall experience, as 11 teenage players make up the squad.

5. Napoli. This is your fly-under-the-radar team of the summer in Italy. With all the noise being made with the big three teams in this league, Roberto Donadoni quietly reinforced this squad and from the looks of it they will be a contender if all goes well. As I mentioned, they have a lot of quality in attack with Ezequiel Lavezzi, but also with playmaker Marek Hamsik and German Denis. Donadoni has also added former Udinese hitman Fabio Quagliarella to the mix. Luca Cigarini is an Italian under-21 who has a future with the Senior national team and will help hold down the midfield. Quite potentially could be one of the surprises of the season.

6. AS Roma. Even with the departure of players like Roberto Aquilani and Christian Panucci, Roma still have some decent pieces in place that will allow them to compete. Of course they can always rely on their talismanic captain, Francesco Totti. In addition, they will be solid enough in midfield with players like Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perrotta. In terms of numbers, Roma seem a little thinner as a squad and that could keep them out of the Champions League places yet again.

7. Genoa. They lose top scorer Diego Milito to Inter Milan but can replace those 24 league goals with the arrival of Hernan Crespo from Inter and Sergio Floccari from Atalanta. Their 39 goals allowed last season was most among the teams that finished in the top 5, and they have bolstered their defence with the permanent signing of Domenico Criscito from Juventus and Italy #2 goalkeeper Marco Amelia from Palermo.

8. Lazio. Plenty of attacking power in this side with Mauro Zarate, Tomasso Rocchi, and Goran Pandev all part of the scoring last season. Now Julio Cruz is added to that mix, a veteran striker who scored some clutch goals for Inter last season. If they can sort out their defensive issues (55 goals conceded), they could push higher.

9. Udinese. Losing Quagliarella to Napoli will hurt, but they hope veteran striker Bernardo Corradi will help make up for the loss of production. There's still plenty of talent in the team with players like Simone Pepe, Gokhan Inler, and Antonio Di Natale (though still out through injury). Gaetano D'Agostino is a player for the future.

10. Sampdoria. In the end, this might be a very low prediction for Samp. Veteran manager Luigi Del Neri takes over after a spell at Atalanta, and they added some nice pieces to the mix of talent already in place. Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini will have a full season together (Pazzini arrived to score 11 league goals from midseason) as strike partners, and Franco Semioli brings some experience in midfield.

11. Palermo. The Rosanero enjoyed an 8th place finish but could find times a little tougher this season simply because the teams ahead of them improved. They had the fourth best home record last season and goals were plentiful when playing on their turf in Sicily (42 in 19 games). They had trouble meeting that success off the island and that ended up being their undoing. The core of this team returns with experience in midfield with Marco Bresciano and the attacking combination of Diego Cavani and Fabrizio Miccoli mean that the goals will still be there. Interesting to note that Walter Zenga arrives as manager after a spell at Sicilian rivals Catania.

12. Cagliari. The Sardinians enjoyed a surprise 9th place finish last season on the strength of emerging talent Robert Acquafresca. He's now gone along with midfielder Michele Fini. Alessandro Matri must now provide the attack partnership for Jeda, who will have the burden of scoring more goals to keep them afloat.

13. Atalanta. Robert Acquafresca arrives on loan to assume the scoring burden that is left by Sergio Floccari but losing that midfield presence in Luca Cigarini, and the managerial experience of Luigi Del Neri will hurt.

14. Parma. They'll call on the experience of Christian Panucci in defense, and a loan strike partnership of Alberto Paloschi and Valeri Bojinov to stay afloat in their first season back in Serie A.

15. Bologna. They have an exprienced striker in Marco Di Vaio but he will eventually need some help in attack.

16. Catania. 19th in Serie A in away form last season (1 win in 19 tries) has to improve.

17. Siena. Many key departures to their team from last season but with Massimo Maccarone and Juventus prodigy Paolucci they ought to have enough to survive.

18. Chievo Verona. Pellissier is back to lead the scoring charge but this is a team that spent a chunk of the season at the foot of the Serie A table and has done little to stay alive.

19. AS Bari. Spent aggressively in the close season to get a large squad. Vitali Kutuzov appears useful but overall will have a hard time surviving.

20. Livorno. Veteran striker Cristiano Lucarelli arrives from Parma but is a shell of his former self.

So there you have it, I like the Old Lady to knock off Inter this season while Milan will finish 3rd. Fiorentina and Napoli will look to impress this season and it looks like 7-8 teams will be playing to survive relegation. Should be an interesting season in Italy.

Hit me up with your thoughts as always.

Bundesliga Preview

2009-08-12T04:28:00.000-07:00

While the Premier League is the most followed, and Italy and Spain were dominated by Inter Milan and Barcelona respectively, the German Bundesliga was certainly the most competitive of all the leagues last season.

Down to the Wire.
Eight points separated 5th place from 1st when it was all said and done. Hoffenheim took the league by storm and were league leaders for 15 of the first 21 weeks before falling off and finishing 7th (Ibisevic's injury played a big part). Usual suspects like Bayern Munich, Stuttgart, and Hamburg were making their run. In the end, it was Wolfsburg who rose above the competition and captured the title by two points over Bayern Munich.

Plenty of goals.
Germany's top flight was arguably the most entertaining. Plenty of high scoring games as the league totalled 894 goals over the 306 game schedule, for an average of 2.92 goals per game. The Premier League averaged 2.47 goals per game, Serie A 2.6 goals per game, and the Germans even nip the Spaniards who averaged 2.90 goals per game (take away Barca's 105 goals and then see how it looks). As my friend Kirk would say: "Shots bring goals." And with the goalscoring talent on offer this season, there ought to be plenty of goals scored again this season.

Five you'll know more about.
So if you were to play a little word associtation, if I said Bundesliga players, you'd probably come back and say Franck Ribery. Well there are five players that are worth keeping an eye on as this season unfolds:

Edin Dzeko, Wolfsburg: The Bosnian striker was a summer target of teams like Arsenal and AC Milan. And with good reason. You look at his physical stature, and his finishing quality, you see glimpses of Zlatan Ibrahimovic (who by blood is Bosnian). Along with Grafite, they combine to form a deadly goalscoring combination (they accounted for 54 of the Wolves' 80 league goals). Sure to give defenses fits once again this season.
Vedad Ibisevic, Hoffenheim: The former Saint Louis University standout was tearing up the Bundesliga during the first half of last season, scoring 18 goals in 17 games, then he ruptured his ACL in a training game during the winter break. As he went, so did Hoffenheim's title hopes. They'll look to his return to help rejuvenate the side.
Pavel Pogrebnyak, Stuttgart: The new arrival from Zenit St. Petersburg will be depended on to pick up the scoring slack left by Mario Gomez.
Mesut Ozil, Werder Bremen: One of the stars for Germany at the UEFA Under 21s, he'll be given the unenviable resposnibility of filling Diego's boots.
Mladen Petric, Hamburg: Actually scored more league goals last season than Ivica Olic, who departed for Bayern Munich. He'll be relied on to be the leading scorer again. He'll have help with Paolo Guerrero returning and Ze Roberto (former Bayern) providing the playmaking.

So How Will It Look?

Giving this some careful consideration, with all the changes and some of the surprising performers last season, I think the season in Germany will end up looking something like this:

Bayern Munich: They get top scorers from title rivals Stuttgart (Mario Gomez) and Hamburg (Ivica Olic). In addition, Louis van Gaal arrives as manager to bring a more attacking approach. How much will they miss Lucio?
Schalke 04: I think that the Gelsenkirchen side will bounce back this season and they have a stabilizing force in new manager Felix Magath (title winning manager last season at Wolfsburg) who knows the landscape well in Germany.
Wolfsburg: Magath's former team keeps their attack intact under new manager Armin Veh. The burden of European fixtures on the schedule will make repeating as champions more challenging.
Stuttgart: Replacing Gomez with Pogrebnyak will turn out to be a positive, and an old friend in Aleksander Hleb returns to provide the playmaking.
Hoffenheim: The team that captured everyone's imagination last season will prove that they're here to stay. Ibisevic's return is a big plus, as is the addition of Josip Simunic to shore up the back line.
Bayer Leverkusen: Bruno Labbadia departs as manager to Hamburg, in steps experienced boss Jupp Heynckes. Patrick Helmes and Stefan Kiessling return so the scoring power is intact, and Heynckes will work to improve the team's defensive performance.
Hamburg: Even with Olic' departure, there is enough playmaking and scoring power to keep things interesting. Priority one is to get that goals against total down (47 in 34 games).
Werder Bremen: First season A.D. (After Diego) will be all about maintaining stability. 50 goals conceded last season won't get it done and better will be expected of Mertesacker, Wiese and co. Tim Borowski arrives from Bayern Munich to help provide some steel in midfield.
Borussia Dortmund: A largely unchanged squad at Signal Iduna Park for the side that had the 2nd best defensive record in Germany last season. With other sides strengthening their squads, they run the risk of getting found out.
FC Koln: Lukas Podolski's arrival means the team will finish two places better than last season. They could do even better if new signing Maniche pans out in midfield.
Hertha Berlin: Too many departures (Voronin, Pantelic, Andre Lima, and Simunic) for Hertha to mount the title challenge they offered last season.
Hannover 96: An 11th place finish last season despite having the worst goals against record (69 in 34 games). Coach Dieter Hecking has signed reinforcements to shore the back line up and retains the services of German international goalkeeper Robert Enke.
Borussia M'Gladbach: The deck has been shuffled and the addition of Raul Bobadilla at striker (44 goals in 78 appearances for Grasshopper Zurich) will give them some attacking help.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Relying on midfielder Caio to step up and be the player the expected when he became their record signing a couple years ago.
SC Freiburg: Dominated 2. Bundesliga last season and have added some depth to attempt survival this season. Losing defender Daniel Schwaab to Bayer Leverkusen could be a problem.
VFL Bochum: A smaller warchest to work with than most other German clubs when it comes to transfers, they face a steep mountain to climb for survival. This is not a relegation spot, but they will have to playoff with the 3rd place team from 2. Bundesliga in a promotion/relegation tie.
FC Nurnberg: Gained promotion in said playoff in style but have a largely unchanged squad. Not a recipe for top-flight survival.
FC Mainz: Injruies in the preseason have hurt them, and there is just not enough quality to hang with the big boys.

For those that are German and are offended by my lack of umlauts, I apologize, I looked all over for them on this and do not have access apparently. Otherwise I hope you enjoyed my read on how Germany will look this season. If you have an opinion otherwise, I'll be happy to hear it.

Being Frank 7.28.09: why Barcelona might have gotten the better on the Ibra-Eto'o swap.

2009-07-28T05:41:00.000-07:00

So let me get this straight. Barcelona, after dominating Europe and Spain in the last year, part ways with Samuel Eto'o, 45 million Euros, and Hleb (loan) in order to get Zlatan Ibrahimovic. This is the same Zlatan Ibrahimovic that scored that all-important goal against, wait that's not right. But he came through with an amazing display against...... no he didn't do it against them either. Wait, I got it, Ibra tore the nets at...... no not at Old Trafford either. So Barcelona decide that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is worth 100 million Euros? What goal from what meaningful match did Ibrahimovic score that made him worth all of that?

I can only picture Mourinho and/or Moratti of Inter laying in bed, smoking that proverbial cigarette after getting this deal through.

So what has been the latest blockbuster move in this bizaare transfer season, has led the masses to suddenly hand the Nerazzurri a 5th consecutive Scudetto and properly poised to contend for a Champions League title. I try to be a contrarian in all of this, and look for the facts that would lead me to believe that Barcelona doesn't look so bad in all of this. I should footnote all of this that I am stepping away from my red and black world to make this assessment. I'm being as non-biased as I can:

System of Play: This has to be the biggest thing to look at. Eto'o scored 36 goals in all competitions last season while Ibrahimovic scored 29. Mourniho's men are more tactically rigid, and they tend to grind out results, while we know of Barcelona's expansive and creative attack. That said, with fewer attacking options at Inter, you could argue that Ibrahimovic's strike rate was more impressive, and contributing to that is......

Supporting Cast: This somewhat ties in to each team's system. Tell me who pulls the strings in midfield for Inter. Barcelona have playmakers all over the pitch; Henry, Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta. Don't forget Dani Alves bombing down the right hand side as well. Inter have a nice wing back in Maicon, but after Stankovic who else can you really look at to be the string puller for Inter?

League: By image, it's pretty safe to say that Italian Serie A is known to be more tactically rigid as a whole. Teams are more organized defensively and tend to employ more marking. On top of that, a lot of physical play as the central defenders work to make life miserable for even the best finishers. La Liga, meanwhile, the teams are a lot more free-flowing and the marking isn't as tight. If Ibrahimovic can score 25 of his 29 goals in Serie A last season, with the playmakers he has, he ought to be able to score even more in Spain.

Still, did the Blaugrana really have to include money in the deal? I think they spent too much, but in the end they may end up looking really good in this situation. I think another thing to consider in all of this is Cameroon, Eto'o's nation. He has not been at the strike rate that he accomplished in Spain. Same can be said about Ibrahimovic and Sweden, as even for his country he hasn't really scored a meaningful goal.

5 Interesting Questions.

2009-07-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

We're at a point in the calendar year where the football activity is a little dried up. Yes, there is the CONCACAF Gold Cup to feel good about, as North American nations attempt to prove their worth before the inevitable USA-Mexico final. And MLS is in midseason or thereabouts, but as I watch Sky Sports News I am starting to build a little excitement as I see the European clubs are getting together for their preseason training. Nothing says the new European club season is upon us like a few hundred Milan supporters standing around Milanello vehemently protesting the sale of Kaka to Real Madrid.

So as the stars are coming back from their respective holidays and preparing for the upcoming season, it's time to answer the five interesting questions that will probably come up.

1. So every year there is the "it" team in England that is supposed to be a threat to the so called "Big Four" of Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal. Who really has the best shot this year?
This question comes up every year for the past few years or so. With the activity that was occurring in 2008-09, many felt that there were a couple teams that were capable of giving the top four in England a run for their money. Tottenham had bought some of the trendy players like Modric and Pavlyuchenko only to be in the bottom half for most of the season. Aston Villa really was looking the part until their lack of depth caught up to them and were inevitably found out. Manchester City made a big splash last season signing Robinho, but the team's away form was too poor to make an impact.
All three of those teams will again be chasing the Champions League places again next season, in the hopes that one of the big teams will have enough of a dip in form to fall off. City is spending big and made some nice additions with players like Gareth Barry and Roque Santa Cruz (Carlos Tevez is not too far behind). Aston Villa and Tottenham have done very little to build their squads. Then there is the steady hand of David Moyes' Everton side. The Toffees are solid in defense with players like Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka, not to mention goalkeeper Tim Howard. They have players like Howard, Neville, and Saha who have experience playing in the big four sides. Finally, in addition to Tim Cahill, they will get Mikel Arteta back, who was mising for most of last season as the team was coming together to grab the 5th spot in the Premier League last season. And if they can get Jo on a permanent deal from Manchester City, this could be a team that none of the Big Four want to deal with.
That said, there is too much quality and talent at Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal for it to be done in 2009-10. Everton will pose a bigger threat than Manchester City because of the consistency in their squad.

2. Will Barcelona be able to repeat as Champions League winners?
The Blaugrana won the 2009 UEFA Champions League in style, dismantling Manchester United in the final and basically crushing everything in their path. Over 150 goals in all competitions is a remarkable feat. They are a side with four of the best players in the World in Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, and Eto'o. Taking the ball off of them is enough of a chore.
No one has been able to repeat as European Cup Winners since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990. Since then, on only four occasions have the holders reached the Final the following year (Milan in 1995, Ajax in 1996, Juventus in 1997, and Manchester United in 2009). There are going to be so many distractions in the coming season for Pep Guardiola's men, not to mention the fixture pileup they'll have to endure after returning from the World Club Cup in this December. There's also that matter of their El Clasico rival making all these big signings.
What will make repeating as champions just as challenging though, is the blueprint for how to play Barcelona. Guus Hiddink was on to something when he employed a rigid set of tactics over the two-legged semifinal of the Champions League, and his Chelsea team was about 2 minutes away from a 2008 final rematch with Manchester United. Expect to see many teams attempt the same tactical approach in hopes of nicking a result from Barca.
Barcelona will be among the favorites to win this year's Champions League, but history is against them.

3. Is there a Serie A team capable of ending Inter's run of four consecutive Scudetti?
Inter Milan have taken control of the Serie A, yet it really is questionable whether or not this is a true dynasty in Italian football. The first of these four titles was won in the courts while the second was won because all of their title rivals had to start the season on a points penalty (Juventus was relegated to Serie B for their role in Calcioppoli). They had to win their third straight title on the last day, overcoming a hard-charging Roma side. All that said, their fourth title was well deserved as they held a 10 point gap over Juventus and AC Milan. On the fact that they are the Champions four years running, you could say this is a dynasty in Italian football.
Looking at the contenders for the season, the team that will have the best shot at catching Inter is Juventus. The Bianconeri say farewell to Pavel Nedved, but bring in a quality playmaker in Diego to keep the ball rolling. They are deep at the striker position in players like Del Piero, Amauri, Trezeguet, and Iaquinta. In addition to Diego, they have a rising star in Sebastian Giovinco to pull the strings. Sissoko made strides this season as a midfield stopper, and they have reliable defenders like Chiellini, Legrottaglie, and Cannavaro. Not to mention some goalkeeper named Buffon. The one thing working against The Old Lady is the inexperience at manager with Ciro Ferrara in his first year in charge at a major level. It worked for Guardiola at Barcelona, so why not let lightning strike again (though personally I'm hoping it strikes with Leonardo at Milan).

4. Kaka, Ronaldo, Benzema, how good will the new Galacticos of Real Madrid really be?
Florentino Perez has come in and splashed a lot of money around to lure players to the Bernabeu, as he said he would when he took over the Presidency of Real Madrid. $131 million for Cristiano Ronaldo, $92 million for Kaka, and under $60 million for Karim Benzema. But before everyone just punks out to the White House, consider the fact that Perez has not really done a whole lot to shore up the Real Madrid defense. Raul Albiol coming over from a Valencia side that conceded 68 goals last season in all competitions won't be the answer. Consider that Los Merengues had 8 matches last season against teams in next season's Champions League. They won one of those games and lost the other seven, while getting outscored 23-8 in the process.
What also remains to be seen is who manager Manuel Pellegrini will deem surplus to requirements at the Spanish capital. This team seemed like it was built on Dutch imports (Robben, Sneijder, Drenthe, van der Vaart, van Nistelrooy, and Huntelaar) and the possibility is there that all six of these players could be moved this summer. Iker Casillas has had some brilliant matches in goal for club and country but he has shown vulnerability, and as I mentioned the backline is still an issue (Pepe, Metzelder, and Heinze are among players who have been inconsistent while Sergio Ramos can tend to be out of control). Mr. Perez, Mr. Valdano, and Mr. Pellegrini better be wise in shaping this team chemistry.
All that said, you have to factor in Real Madrid to win something. There might be too much competition to win their 10th European Cup this season (though they will be highly motivated with next season's final in Madrid) but you have to think they'll at least win something domestically. The key is all those superstars being okay with the fact that there is only one ball out there.

5. American defender Oguchi Onyewu joins AC Milan. Was this Milan taking care of a need for a bargain? Or are we seeing a trend with American players breaking into bigger clubs?
I had to rub my eyes a little bit when I saw on AC Milan's website that they acquired Gooch on a free. This deal worked on a lot of different levels for the Rossoneri. First, they are in transition with their back line, particularly their center of defense. It's not known how Nesta will recover, Bonera is a decent player but inconsistent, Thiago Silva has talent but unproven, and Kaladze has really struggled to maintain top form and keep from injury as well. Next, Onyewu qualifies as an EU player (clubs are limited to the number of non-European Union players they can have in their squad) as he has a Belgian passport. Additionally, there was no transfer fee as Onyewu's contract with Standard Liege had expired.
If you look at the last few years, we're starting to experience Americans getting into bigger clubs. It is difficult to measure whether or not this is a legitamate trend though. Tim Howard was Manchester United's #1, and is now the starter at Everton (5th in the Premier League and FA Cup finalist). Brad Friedel and Brad Guzan are both at Aston Villa, Landon Donovan had a loan spell at Bayern Munich, Sasha Kljestan had a trial at Celtic, and Maurice Edu is having some success at Rangers. The addition of Gooch to a side like Milan is another step in this process. If Team USA should have a reasonably successful run in South Africa 2010, you could see one or two players getting an opportunity with one of the Champions League regulars. Time will tell, but the quality of the game in the U.S. has taken significant strides, and the World is taking notice.

Comments and criticisms are welcome, let me know what you think.

Welcome

2009-07-07T05:39:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Frankly Football. You can call me Mr. Frank. I am long-time fan of the beautiful game and I am excited to share my opinions on the issues that matter most about our sport. I started by emailing a list of about 65 or so football fans that live in my area and hope to take my musings, facts, and predictions to a larger audience.

You'll get a lot of insight on a lot of different topics, largely on what's going on across the pond in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, and the UEFA Champions League. I'm just a Yank that loves a sport that most Yanks don't love.

Upcoming features include:

Premier League team by team previews.
Predictions for La Liga, Serie A, and Bundesliga.
Commentary on the really big transfers.
The new coaches and how they'll do.
Many, many other ideas.

So save this space and always check. Your opinions and input are always welcome, too.