Tackle Rant..

People often say football isn't a man's game and of course these people either do not watch the game enough or watch too much rugby.Then again,these people also say rugby is a real man's game,that rugby players do not dive,they are bigger and get tackled and hacked to the ground. I guess that makes them real men.I see their point however,it is easier to wrap my arms around your body than to use just my legs to collect the ball and try not to touch your body. Over the years,the injury list from tackles that have come on the football pitch takes real men to suffer those but then again some players will rather have scars on their thighs than noses shaped like a windmill.

The  debate about if Nani's tackle was a sending off has left me stupefied on what the word 'dangerous' means. From my view everything that happens or almost everything that happens on the football pitch is dangerous. Interestingly they go on about 'intent' and 'no intent'...the law about dangerous play was re-visited  after the incident at old Trafford. The law which seemingly showed the ref was right for sending Nani off but then you find yourself asking,for the most universal game in the world,why isn't there consistency. Why should the law govern one section and not the other? At this point you will be told it is at the discretion of the referee ..the man that steals a car and the man that steals fish....what is the difference?don't tell me the one that steals the car has bigger ambitions..

I instantly became a tackle expert just after Nani's incident and just a couple of days after that I watched chelsea 2nd leg europa league match against steaua bucharest and saw how David Luiz face was almost replaced by anothers player's studs,I would describe it more but I am guessing,a picture is worth a thousand words....see for yourself..

 
One of the major talking points this weekend was the tackle in the wigan v Newcastle game....Callum Mcmanaman went hard against the Newcastle left back. He initially made contact with the ball but his follow through was very reckless,leaving his stud marks just above the players knee.If you are looking for a definition of dangerous play,that was it right there. Callum Mcmanaman wasn't sent off,he wasn't even given a yellow card...where was the law then? The referee said he did not see the tackle and the FA have said,the player would not be banned. Now the next question is,did he intend to harm the other player?but that's not important if there's law against dangerous play.Instead he has been hailed as a young brave young lad whose passion for the game cannot be questioned. Bruce lee would have made it as a footballer then

 
Then we go to beloved Africa if you follow African football,particularly the nations cup,you will see how players automatically become lawnmowers,tackles against peoples waist not legs and the beauty is how the referee still says play on....I would ask where is the law of dangerous play but the question when you watch is really whether there is any law?
 
The inconsistency from referees round the continent hasn't made justice to certain football laws. If a law is applied with respect to particular incident,it should be brought in for every other one.The term dangerous play should be re-phrased because once the whistle is blown for the game to start,almost everything becomes dangerous. In Spain players drop like flies at the slightest touch and in England they batter each other and the referee says play on. In Italy,its like fencing with ones legs as the weapon. 
And there is suppose to be one law for all these nations and their football? ....I could go on and on but my leg is twitching,I might tackle myself..
 
Anyways,its international football this weekend so we will probably see some tackles that will be settled by the rule book as it always seems different depending on where you are playing,rant over....cup of tea?

In more words to come..Sabi Boi

Farewell to a true Football Great

The news of his retirement didn’t come as a shock to me I must say. It’s one of those things that you know would eventually happen but you don’t know exactly when. With a long list of injuries preventing him from really being as great as he would have been makes his retirement a bit sad. As a fan there is nothing more exciting than watching a footballer emerge from a young promising talent to a world class star. That’s the same excitement I had watching Michael Owen develop into a world class star.

Michael Owen truly has had a terrific career. Even with the list of inquiries he still managed to make history. Before there were the Messi’s, Ronaldo’s (Cristiano) there was Owen. Owen has the kind of pace that kept defenders up at night, sweating profusely even in the winter with the thought of facing Owen the next day. Owen moved past defenders like they were not there. Like Redknapp said ‘He made bad balls look good’. He would run at defenders all day long.

Coming in fourth in England’s all time scorers behind Bobby Charlton, Gary Lineker and Jimmy Greaves with 40 goals in 89 appearances he definitely has written his name in the history books of the English FA. Owen scored 158 goals in 297 appearances for Liverpool before leaving for Real Madrid. Owen had an excellent career at Liverpool before all the hamstring injuries started creeping in. With each injury there seemed to be a reduction in that blistering pace. Without the pace he had to rely on controlling the ball and having a shot in the box which worked in some instances but it was nothing like that electrifying pace.

With Owen retiring at the end of the season I can’t help but play the ‘what if’game with his career.

What if he wasn’t so injury prone?

What if he had stayed in Liverpool?

Just a couple of questions to ponder over this beautiful Wednesday morning. One thing is for sure anyways Owen had superb talent and did the best he could with it and will certainly be remembered for a very long time to come.

Well, till next time Stay true 2 the Beautiful Game…

Its that time again

This feeling of de ja vu is really getting boring now......i'm sure we are all aware of what i'm talking about(well,if you don't, this is for you)....i'm talking about the usual tottenham/arsenal end of season saga.its becoming an enigma....with reasons and opinions for this consistent occurrence varying over the seasons past. is it that spurs wilt at any sign of pressure?or the gunners just always know how to make it across the line?....for whatever reasons, its really getting tiring(note to readers: i'm not exactly complaining)...its just that we see the same headlines on newspapers every season....and there's always that iota of hope, and then disappointment in their tone when the 'inevitable' happens.

                                                    

About two weeks ago,  the London derby provided what seemed at the time to be a shift in power within north London, from the red side to the Lilly white side, with spurs extending their lead to 7 points ; fast forward to Monday, and arsenal are 4 points behind spurs, with a game in hand. so the question is, what can spurs do to avoid becoming perennial under achievers in comparison to their north London rivals. do they sacrifice their ambitions of winning the Europa league ,for that of qualifying for the champions league(and also above their rivals for the first time under Arsene's reign)?. can Villas-Boas take the risk of overplaying some of his star players(lennon is already a casualty of that)?or is it that arsene wengers experience in qualifying always gives him an edge over spurs
                                                    
I honestly think the inevitable will happen, but if spurs are to have a chance, they would have to prioritize. they would have to sacrifice what i admit is a great chance for their team to win a European trophy, for a chance to play in an even better one next season. i agree its a hard choice to make, but if you consider the financial implications, the prospect of improving the clubs status as one of the elite, and the ability to keep their star players and also attract world class players; then its a no brainer .the club have been seen as also-rans for too long; and if they are ever going to shed that title, they have to do something out of character this time(push to the end).

                                                        
This has been the best spurs team I've seen for a long while.....and if they cant stay on top of their rivals till the end of the season and qualify for footballs premier competition, then it will take a longer while for them to achieve that. so for AVB, its having priorities; an attempt to go for the two might end up costing his team both ways; then once again....they would hear the chuckles from the red side of town just down the road.

Should Be as Consistent as a Monday.....

Happy Monday people,hope your weekend was good?I actually had a twist to my normal football infested weekend. I went for a party,my cousins...wasn't bad other than me not drinking any alcohol and not knowing anybody...so I sat down like I was in the naughty corner...sipping very nice cold water and as wonderful as water is, you usually can't drink more than 2 pints,unlike beer. Usually, I tell you what I saw from different games during the weekend but my focus happens to be on just one player this weekend and that player is none other than Wayne  Rooney.

I have been told I am too harsh on Wayne  Rooney but I'll start by saying,Rooney should be placed on the same pedestal as Messi and Ronaldo not because he is as good but I do believe he is not far behind. With the exceptional talent that Madrid and Barca possess,they still look to Messi and Ronaldo to raise their game,step up to the plate and save them in their time of trouble.Rooney I would say used to possess such ability but with age,he has become inconsistent,not to mention fat and with his off and on performances,I would say Rooney is closer to being called a very good player than a great one.
 
He started his international career in euro 2004,exploding into the world as the next best thing but that has been his best tournament for his country till date. He has made headlines for being sent off more times than he has for  scoring a deciding goal or influencing the game that takes England to the next level. Now he loses the ball too easily now and leaves me wondering if this is the same Wayne Rooney that you couldn't get the ball from even if you were a member of the avengers.Rooney hasn't lost the love for the game, that and a few other reasons has kept him in the frame of being great...simply because we know he can do more than what he does now.

Great players mature with age,adding new ways to their game that makes them stand out.Earlier on in his career,he could take on a player,wasn't scared to shoot and was definitely that player to rise to the occasion and get his team out of any position. Over the years,I am sorry to say,he has become as inconsistent as money(atleast in my bank account). The one thing Rooney hasn't lost is his passion and has shown that by his ability to be happy just being on the pitch regardless of which role he plays.Which raises the question,if he was very effective and wonderful in one position,why move him around?
  
Rooney has the talent a lot of people don't. He is hardworking and one of those players that the skill comes to naturally...the belief he put in everybody was so huge that he was taken injured to Germany 2006 over Defoe,who was fit and ready... so what has changed in his game?what has made the bright and can score from anywhere player dissolve and become so inconsistent?
 
If you haven't gotten my point till now, hear me when I say you can't be very inconsistent and be called great. You can't play well every game but your bad game should still be at a level higher than ordinary....Rooney has helped and raised United a lot of times but not so much to be called a legend yet. He was scoring last season and his form was still questioned.

Anyway, United supporters will always be thankful because so far as he has given his all and put his heart and soul in the game. He will probably be remembered as a legend especially if he leaves this summer with all the rumors going around after he was left out of the Madrid game.  Rooney has more talent  than to be ordinary and inconsistent and that's why watching him fall is frustrating....I don't expect him to score like he did against Manchester City but I expect him to know he possesses the ability to at least try...
 
In more words to come..Sabi Boi

Andres Iniesta

After watching Barcelona play and totally annihilate AC Milan in this weeks Champions league I began to ask myself why is it that the present Barcelona is this good. The usual suspects came up … Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, etc There is one player that has been constantly underrated in the Barcelona team and that’s ANDRE INIESTA. Pep Guardiola once told a young Xavi that he would retire him but that Iniesta would retire them both. So just who is Andres Iniesta?

Andre Iniesta Lujan was born on 11 May 1984 in Spain. He is a midfielder. H e plays for Barcelona and you may not know this but Iniesta has won every single title that a European Footballer can win.

Iniesta is such a shy and reserved person that he just goes about playing his football, hardly ever complaining that some would be forgiven for not knowing how influential he is, or who he is, in a football world today where “showmanship” helps to attract attention.

At a very young age he joined the Barcelona Youth Academy, la Mesia, and is one of its most successful products. Iniesta is a very decisive player and has always been.

At age 14, he captained the Barcelona Under-15 team to victory in the Nike Premier Cup of 1999, scored the winning goal in the last minute of the final and was named player of the tournament.

A feat he repeated once again one summer afternoon in South Africa (the 2010 World Cup finals), scoring the winning goal that crowned his fatherland, Spain, world champions for the first time in their history.

At the club level his performances have propelled Barcelona to great heights. He has been a central point of this club for the past 10 years.

At the national team level, Iniesta guided Spain to a record-breaking second consecutive European championship. He was the only player who was at his best from the opening game through to the final game, where they outclassed Italy 4-0 to win the title. This made Spain, in the process, the first nation ever to win three major titles in a row. With Iniesta around, who says they will not make it four titles in a row come the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The world talks a lot, rightfully I must add, of Messi’s capabilities as a player, but we are quick to not notice the ease the playing style of Iniesta brings to Lionel Messi’s game. What is Iniesta’s style?

Iniesta is a player who is always mobile, playable by a teammate, with the added guarantee that when played he will not lose the ball, will move the team mates forward into the opponents area and further advance his team’s cause of victory, thereby being instrumental to Barcelona’s “Tiki Taka” style of play.

His movements on the pitch of play are very tactical, sideways when necessary and rarely with his back to the opponent, thereby further highlighting his mobility.

He is a master dribbler and in small areas or space can wiggle his way through several opponents and deliver deadly goal assists to teammates .

When the odds are down he is one player you can count on to deliver. Do we remember the famous semifinal against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge some years ago when he scored the extra time equaliser that sent Barcelona into the finals and eventually on to conquer the Champions League ?

His passing of the ball is second to none, especially in offensive areas. He has vision and reads the game and opponents so well that he is able to know where to orient his movements.

Unlike Ronaldo and Messi, Iniesta does all what he does while still carrying out defensive duties for his team. He participates actively in his team’s ball recuperation as opposed to ‘cosmetic’ defending done by Messi and Ronaldo for the team.

I feel, for once this player needs to be rewarded for his selfless style of play, the work rate he brings to the football pitch, the humility in his personality and the all-round success he has achieved. Maybe the next World Footballer of the Year Award??? 

Till next time Stay true 2 Soccer.

Mystical Magic and Orchestral Perfection

Magic is one of those things I find extremely hard to believe. I always think that there is some sort of logical explanation to why something happened no matter how unreal it seems. As a fan I have grown to expect the unexpected from various footballers. But watching Messi and iniesta last night was so unreal. The brace scored by Messi was just unexpected because in either case he was surrounded by AC Milan defenders and midfielders yet he still managed to squeeze in two fantastic shots.

Watching last night’s game at the Nou Camp would probably be a very challenging task. Just turning to talk to friend and I guarantee you, you will miss something spectacular a pass or a dribble. Thank God for replays. Messi is beginning to turn into the kind of player that makes watching the game challenging for fans. The speed at which he received the pass from iniesta for the second goal and scored was just simply Magical and I was even surprised that the goal keeper saw the ball fast enough to even attempt a dive.

That feeling one gets of absolute perfection from listening to an orchestra of 50 play different instruments but still manages to produce a perfect sound was the feeling I got watching Barcelona play. I am sure I am not alone. It felt like the game had already been rehearsed by the Barcelona players and the Milan boys were just informed last minute about the game. Pass after Pass and shot after shot was just a pleasure to watch. Barcelona was in firm control of the entire game. They wrote their own script and played it out to the dot.

All goals scored on the night were truly special, but when a defender ( Jordi Alba) scores like a center forward that’s just out of this world. The Ac Milan team surely has a bright future with the level at which they are playing but for that future to come to fulfilment more work is still need to be done in the team.

The Milan boys did what they could but the MEN from the Spanish team were just a level above. Apart from a few defensive blunders from the Barca men in the back I think it was all round a very entertaining game. Its games like this that put the BEAUTIFUL in the beautiful game

NOT A CHANCE!(?)


okay.....i have to admit; the last post about arsenals champions league game was a bit of a stretch, but you have to admit,it was fun before the annihilation at the emirates; but as many of the arsenal contingents have been well drilled to say....its not over yet(yeah, i know...stop laughing). there's a reason why its a two legged tie, so arsenal are still in it, albeit just mathematically.

a lot of things are going against arsenal for this tie(they have a 3-1 deficit for starters); also there's the matter of playing at one of the most intimidating grounds in football, and finally there's the prospect of playing this game with any of the 1st and 2nd choice fullbacks on either side. but bayern (being the kind hearted Germans they are) gave us something of a lifeline(even if a slim one) when they announced that Frank Ribery would be joining schweinteiger to sit out the match; but naturally the gunners were not going to be outdone by the Germans and announced that their most influential player for the second half of the season (jack wilshere...in case you were wondering) would not be available for the game(you must have seen that coming).


so like every neutral on the planet(well....except the teams that have already qualified) i dont think the gunners have a chance of overturning the match......but i do however thing they will give Bayern a scare at the allianz arena....and maybe, just maybe, my fairy-tale might become a reality.

on a side note ; for all those who said Barcelona fc don't need a coach....id be really interested in what you have to say now.