This round of the 2011-12 Champions League has been splendid, as teams are struggling to get over the last hurdles to the next round of the tournament.
The Premier League leaders of Manchester City have not had an easy time in Group A. A great Napoli side, with two goals by the perhaps best striker in Europe right now, Edison Cavani, defeated City 2-1, and just need to defeat Villarreal to make it to the next round. Bayern Munich made sure they made it to the next round by defeating the poor Spanish side 3-1.
The other Manchester side has also been struggling in group C, and last nights' 2-2 at home against Benfica will make the last match an all-or-nothing against the big surprise of Basel, who will look for the sensation of eliminating Manchester United at home in Switzerland!
In group D, Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid are looking as a serious candidate for the title after trashing Dynamo Zagreb 6-2.
Another Spanish side, Valencia, also trashed another team, Genk, 7-0, in group E. But things are looking bleak for Valencia: Bayer Leverkusen defeated Chelsea 2-1, and are now leading the group before facing Genk in their last match. In the meantime, Valencia will have to pull an unlikely victory in London...
In Group G one of the biggest surprises is on the way, as the Cyprus side of Apoel Nicosia made it to the next round after their 0-0 tie to Zenit St. Petersburg. The Russian side will now face an all-or-nothing match in Portugal against FC Porto, who in spite of defeating Shakhtar Donetsk 0-2 away, must defeat Zenit to make it to the next round.
Finally, AC Milan and FC Barcelona gave us the best match of the CL this season as Barcelona won a great match in Milan 2-3, and are now sure to go on to the next round on the first spot, while AC Milan takes second spot. Still, it is these kind of matches that the CL is all about, and one can only look forward to some feverish dramas in the final round!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Things that do not exist in football
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has made another brilliant comment, this time about the scourge of racism in football, saying that on-the-pitch racism is inexistant.
Already Mr. Blatter has been harshly criticised, but I would like to give my support to the FIFA President by reminding him of other things that do not exist in football:
Already Mr. Blatter has been harshly criticised, but I would like to give my support to the FIFA President by reminding him of other things that do not exist in football:
- Homophobia
- Match fixing
- Doping
- Sexism
- Corruption
- Bad language and swearing
- Diving
I am sure Mr. Blatter himself could make the list much longer, and of course, since none of these problems exist in football, FIFA does not need to tackle them.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
The Euro play-offs
The last four teams are ready for the Euro 2012 in Poland and Ucraine:
The draw for the groups will be on December 2nd!
- Portugal: After 0-0 in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Portuguese lived up to the expectations and dispatched the Bosnians with a resounding 6-2.
- Ireland: The Irish are back in a major footballing tournament, after 1-1 at home against Estonia, which was enough after their 0-4 victory in Tallinn.
- Czech Republic: Had no problem in qualifying with two victories against Montenegro, 2-0 and 0-1 respectively.
- Croatia: Their 0-3 victory away to Turkey put the Croatians through, who had to do little at home to make it 0-0.
The draw for the groups will be on December 2nd!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
The smart against the World champions
Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching England defeat Spain in a match that put into display the weaknesses of the defending world champions. Undoubtedly Spain is the best footballing nation in the world, and they play a positive football style that closely resembles that of FC Barcelona. That said, they do not have the attacking power of the Catalonian side - that is, they need a Messi (who with his performances for Argentina, should probably be Spaniard). This is not to say that Spain lacks quality strikers, but one must not forget that Spain was (ironically, considering that they are not a defensive side) the team that has won the World Cup scoring least goals ever! In that sense, their victory is founded on their strong defense and the worlds' best goalkeeper in Iker Casillas.
Yesterday, Fabio Capello's English side was surely not the better team, but they were the smartest. In the first half, Spain had all the possession, but chances were missing against an English defensive wall and a strong fighting spirit that has not been a hallmark of English national sides over the last years.
It wasn't pretty, but it was efficient.
In the second half England came a bit more forward, and on a free kick Darren Bent got an excellent header that Pepe Reina could not hold, and Frank Lampard had an easy time scoring in an empty goal.
Spain continued pressing, and did get some huge chances at the end of the match. But at the same time they also seemed to get more frustrated, and the match left the impression of a vulnerable Spanish side. Spain had an easy time qualifying for the EURO 2012, but it was in a very easy group. Since the World Cup, they have lost to every major side they have played: Argentina, Portugal, Italy, France, and now England. Of course, these are friendly matches, and the other sides fight hard to get the scalp of the world champions. Still, Spain is losing too many scalps, and the match from yesterday should leave some doubts as to how strong they will be for the European championships next year.
Yesterday, Fabio Capello's English side was surely not the better team, but they were the smartest. In the first half, Spain had all the possession, but chances were missing against an English defensive wall and a strong fighting spirit that has not been a hallmark of English national sides over the last years.
It wasn't pretty, but it was efficient.
In the second half England came a bit more forward, and on a free kick Darren Bent got an excellent header that Pepe Reina could not hold, and Frank Lampard had an easy time scoring in an empty goal.
Spain continued pressing, and did get some huge chances at the end of the match. But at the same time they also seemed to get more frustrated, and the match left the impression of a vulnerable Spanish side. Spain had an easy time qualifying for the EURO 2012, but it was in a very easy group. Since the World Cup, they have lost to every major side they have played: Argentina, Portugal, Italy, France, and now England. Of course, these are friendly matches, and the other sides fight hard to get the scalp of the world champions. Still, Spain is losing too many scalps, and the match from yesterday should leave some doubts as to how strong they will be for the European championships next year.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
South American qualifiers
Argentina is still not likely to go to the World Cup. At home, they did not manage to go beyond a 1-1 against the weakest side in South America, Bolivia, and the Argentines now only have 4 points for three matches. It was a well-deserved trashing that the local fans gave Messi and Company, a group of stars who should be in a circus rather than on a football pitch.
Uruguay on the other hand is unstoppable, and the best team in South America for sure. Luis Suarez continued to be a goal-machine as he scored all goals in their 4-0 trashing of Chile.
Venezuela has its aims at their first World Cup and took another little step with a 1-1 tie against their rivals from Colombia in Barranquilla. Colombia looked better much of the match, but as often with them, they are simply not efficient when it counts, while Venezuela is again proving its professionalism and fighting spirit to get another important result.
I believe Venezuela will be going to Brazil (which does nevertheless not mean that I want them to).
Finally, Paraguay defeated Ecuador 2-1.
The standing in the group seems as tight as it can get:
Uruguay on the other hand is unstoppable, and the best team in South America for sure. Luis Suarez continued to be a goal-machine as he scored all goals in their 4-0 trashing of Chile.
Venezuela has its aims at their first World Cup and took another little step with a 1-1 tie against their rivals from Colombia in Barranquilla. Colombia looked better much of the match, but as often with them, they are simply not efficient when it counts, while Venezuela is again proving its professionalism and fighting spirit to get another important result.
I believe Venezuela will be going to Brazil (which does nevertheless not mean that I want them to).
Finally, Paraguay defeated Ecuador 2-1.
The standing in the group seems as tight as it can get:
| P | W | T | L | Score | P |
Uruguay | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9-3 | 7 |
Argentina | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5-3 | 4 |
Colombia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3-2 | 4 |
Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3-4 | 4 |
Venezuela | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2-3 | 4 |
Ecuador | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3-2 | 3 |
Peru | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4-4 | 3 |
Chile | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5-10 | 3 |
Bolivia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4-7 | 1 |
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