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

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:

1. Mexico


2. Uruguay


3. France


4. 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:

1. Argentina


2. Greece


3. South Korea


4. 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

1. England


2. United States


3. Algeria


4. 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:

1. Serbia


2. Germany


3. Ghana


4. 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.

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.

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.

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.

1. 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.
2. 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).
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

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.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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......
3. 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.

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:

1. He was injured


2. 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......