Day 7 of the World Cup: s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

After the amazing victory of the Netherlands over the World Champions, I thought I would visit a friend in the Duke's Bush, or s-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands, to watch the match that the orange side would play against Australia. Taking the train from Brussels, it is often not immediately obvious that you are changing country, but for the fact that the colours displayed on windows suddenly changed from red to orange.

On my way to s-Hertogenbosch I decided to do a bit of exploring, and went off the train in the small and lovely city of Breda, where I visited the Gothic church of Grote Kerk, where the ancestors of the house of Nassau-Orange are buried. The football connection is undeniable, as this is where the use of orange for the Dutch national team comes from. Indeed, the beautiful Grote Markt in front of the church was decorated with orange colours in preparation of the match.  And you could feel the World Cup fever getting higher as more and more people dressed in often creative orange garments would appear on the train to s-Hertogenbosch.

Another lovely Dutch city, I was received by a great Dutch friend who gave me an orange shirt and a cape adorned with the Dutch lion. I blended completely into the orange sea of people who we joined at one of the lively pubs showing the match in downtown s-Hertogenbosch.

The Dutch are committed; the national anthem was sung with loud national pride. And I must mention that Dutch ladies are the most beautiful football fans I have come across. The Netherlands wins on almost all fronts, if not on their tiny beers.

But the Dutch suffered. And here I must be honest; I was caught on by the Dutch, and celebrated their every goal (how could you not with beautiful Dutch girls celebrating all around you?), but at the same time I was happy they were suffering a bit, as the match then got much more interesting for... me.

In the end, it is all about me.

Australia are no pushover. They have proved that again and again, and therefore it is amazing to see that some countries, notably arrogant Europeans and South Americans, are again and again taken by surprise. I do not know if this was the case of the Dutch, who were a shadow of themselves in the first half. They were slow, imprecise and uncommitted. It was not deserved when they went ahead, but Tim Cahill's equalizer was fully deserved. And how ironic that a goal so fantastic that one would have expected to come from the feet of the great Dutch, came from an Australian!

The Dutch improved a lot in the second half, but had to suffer more when Australia went 2-1 up. In the end Van Persie and the young Memphis Depay gave them a deserved victory, and depending on the result between Spain and Chile, the Dutch could be the first team to qualify for the last-16.

Chile won 2-0 over the defending World Champions. Spain joins France in 2002 and Italy in 2010 as World Champions who have been eliminated in the first round. This Spanish golden generation gave the world of football a lot, but fell from greatness due to lack of preparation and respect for their opponents. I am sorry to say this, but the responsible is not Iker Casillas, Xavi, Diego Costa, or any of the players, but Vicente del Bosque. He did not set a team according to the opponents, whom he did not bother to study. Had he, Mr. Del Bosque would have known that Chile were a team to be reckoned with. Just being Spain is not enough to win a match; this is also to disrespect your opponents. As much as the Spanish team will be remembered as one of the greatest side ever, Chile did the world a favour.

Chile and the Netherlands will be playing for first spot in the group in what will be a great match. 

The last match of the day was Croatia-Cameroon. Cameroon proved to be perhaps the poorest side of the World Cup. They do not play like a team and are as committed as a cock to monogamy. Croatia's victory was too easy, and not too small. I guess we have all been expecting a lot from Cameroon since 1990, but truth is that since then they have gone out every time in the first round, and suffered some humiliating defeats. Of all those bad Cameroon sides, this is surely the worst of the lot.

Croatia will face Mexico in the last group match, a clash that will decide who goes on to the next round.

In my orange cape I have celebrated the Netherlands, and hope they get far, just because of this great day I had amid the awesome (and stunning) Dutch fans! Hup Holland Hup!

Wow Rooney!

If Manchester United is to recover in the Premier League their stars will need to lead the way. With Robbie Van Persie out for six weeks, much of the pressure falls on the great Wayne Rooney. Today he showed he can take the pressure when scoring both goals in Manchester United's away victory to West Ham. The first goal was spectacular: nearly from the halfway line he pounded the ball over the goalkeeper in a kick that takes the skills and confidence of a great player.
Wow!

Manchester United's bleak near future

Perhaps more than Liverpool's great performance in their 0-3 victory over Manchester United, was the low level to which Manchester United has sunk. I am not going to comment on whether David Moyes is the right coach; I think everyone expected a period of instability after Sir Alex Ferguson's exit, but it is clear that besides the poor tactical choices, Manchester United's players have lost confidence. Robbie Van Persie, who was a goal machine last season, misses shots he could have made with his eyes shut. And the defense is much more worrying, with particularly Rafael increasingly seeming like a blind man. Even Juan Mata, who joined the club with such fanfare, seems a shadow of himself.
Manchester United are effectively out of the title race, and seem unlikely to make it to the Champions League. In that self-same tournament they still have a ray of hope, but must play much better than they have done against Liverpool if to avoid elimination by an Olympiakos side that overcame them by 2-0 in Greece.
So what is to be done? David Moyes is under pressure, and many will be claiming to get a new coach. However, it may come down to what Sir Alex Ferguson has to say. If the club continues to believe in Moyes' project, they may be willing to have a couple of bad seasons as Moyes builds up a strong side. That is nevertheless a great luxury in modern football, where patience is a rarity. It remains to be seen what they will do, but it may be many years before we see Manchester United with a title again.

Football lazy Saturday

While I was in Venezuela I did not play football once. It was therefore great when I joined a group of guys to play football yesterday evening. But figures that after four years without playing, I pulled a muscle. Today I have been taking care of my injury, on a rainy day that has not invited to go out either. So it has been a day entirely devoted to football: I woke up to hear the BBC World Football Phone-In on podcast, before watching the opening match of the Premier League, where Liverpool defeated Stoke 1-0.
The following match was between Arsenal and Aston Villa. The Gunners started well, but the referee did not favour Arsenal: the first penalty he gave Aston Villa was ok, but the second was a complete giveaway. Aston Villa's star, Christian Benteke scored on both (for the first penalty he was lucky). With a harsh red card to Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal seemed broken, and Antonio Luna's third for Aston Villa happened in the face of a broken Arsenal defense.
Arsenal will not be champion, but todays match was a special in their lack of luck and a lousy referee.
The third match I watched was Swansea-Manchester United. The most impressive in this match was Manchester United's strong attacking pair, Danny Welbeck and Robin Van Persie. With two goals each they broke down a Swansea side that was not playing badly, and for who Wilfried Bony at least scored a goal. But Manchester United seemed very dangerous, and a well-playing Antonio Valencia also contributed to the victory. David Moyes could impossibly have had a better start!
It is now evening in the laziest day of the year, and I will probably watch yet another match.

Best players of 2012

This is my personal list of favourite players of 2012:

• 10) Cristiano Ronaldo: Ronaldo is one of the most gifted players of our time, but that is also what makes him so frustrating. He had a marvelous season for Real Madrid when they took the Spanish title, but it seems he only glows when things go well for the team. Perhaps it is a personality or attitude problem, but he will not become one of the best in the world even though he could.
• 9) Miroslav Klose: At a time where you see more assholes than gentlemen in international football, Klose is a marvelous rarity. The veteran has done very well in Lazio, which is in second place in Serie A, but I mostly include him for a goal he scored against Napoli, where he got the referee to disallow it by pointing out to him that he had scored by hand! A true sportsman!
• 8) Robbie van Persie: One of the most noted transfers was when Arsenal captain van Persie changed to Manchester United this summer. Both in Arsenal and in Manchester the Dutchman has been a goal machine, and he has been a huge contribution to Manchester United's first spot in the Premier League in the fall.
• 7) Didier Drogba: One of the reasons that Chelsea has not been as good in the fall is the absence of Didier Drogba who retired to play in China after bringing glory to Chelsea by scoring both in the FA Cup final and in the Champions League final. He is not only missed by Chelsea fans but by any football fan who loved to see this absolutely brilliant striker!
• 6) Zlatan Ibrahimovic: Ibrahimovic is a unique player. Which other player has given birth to a verb, "Zlatanera"?  He was scoring a lot of goals for AC Milan before his change to Paris St. Germain, where he is currently the top scoring player in the French League as Paris takes first spot. Also, he scored what is probably the most memorable goal of the year in a friendly match against England in November.
• 5) Xavi: Xavi continues to be the mid-field general of both FC Barcelona and Spain, two of the best teams in the world, not least for his impressive vision.
• 4) Radamel Falcao: The Colombian striker is perhaps the best striker in the world at the moment. In a revived Atletico Madrid side he has been a goal machine, leading them both to the Europa League title, the UEFA Supercup and a second place in the Spanish league, where his scoring record this season is only second to the mighty Messi.
• 3) Andrea Pirlo: When the Italian veteran changed from AC Milan to Juventus in 2011 it seemed as if he were reborn. He was the outstanding midfield general on a side that in 2012 went on to win their first Serie A title since 2003, and in the Euro 2012 he was simply superb in leading an Italian side that played a more offensive football than other Italian sides was playing. He would have been the best player of the tournament had he not been dwarfed by the mighty Spanish in the final.
• 2) Andres Iniesta: It is a pity that the brilliant and elegant Andres Iniesta still has often suffered from injuries during the year, as this prevents fans from admiring one of the greatest players of time. In FC Barcelona he still is outstanding and it was fully deserved when he was awarded the prize of best player of the tournament, as well as his award as UEFA best player of the year, ahead of his team-mate Lionel Messi!
• 1) Lionel Messi: There is no way around it. This has probably been the best year for Lionel Messi ever (in spite of an absence of titles, with only the Copa del Rey). He was simply unstoppable in scoring goals, making it to 91 goals in the year, breaking legendary Gerd Muller's record. These goals have not only come for Barcelona, but also for the Argentine national team, where he seems to have finally become good after many years of disappointing.

United on top in Manchester (and in England)

The Manchester derby between United and City was bound the be a great match, considering the wonderful players both teams have, their eternal rivalry and the fact that they are 1 and 2 in the Premier League respectively. City were on fire as the game started, but it was Wayne Rooney who put United ahead 1-0 and 2-0 in the first half, ending City's initial dominance, and distancing themselves on first spot.
But last year City won the title by fighting back in the last match, and it was no difference this time. When Carlos Tevez came in for Mario Balotelli it seemed it gave City a boost, and with goals by Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta, they got the match on 2-2, and City's hopes were clearly up as the match was coming to an end.
But in the last minute a free kick by Robbie Van Persie put United in front, giving them a victory that gives them a comfortable six-point lead in the Premier League table.
A great match; only bad thing was the behaviour of the Manchester city fans (why do we call them fans anyway?).

Van Persie at center stage

One of the most noted club changesin the recently closed transfer window was that of Robbie Van Persie's change from Arsenal to mighty Manchester United. Truly the Dutchman has started well, and today against Southampton was the player everyone talks about. Manchester United had great difficulty against Southampton! Who started going ahead before Robbien Van Persie equalized. But in the second half Southampton scored a second, and when Robbie Van Persie missed a penalty it looked as a coming surprise with the Dutchman as the sinner.
With only three minutes to the end Van Persie decided to put United back into the match when he scored his second, and in the 91st minute he scored his third goal on a beautiful header to give Manchester United the victory.
Surely Van Persie is to take center stage as Manchester will struggle to be back on the title track.
In the meantime Van Persie's old club, Arsenal, Has not started with too much of a goalscoring capability without the Dutchman. Their first two matches ended 0-0, but today they got their first victory, 0-2 away against Liverpool, a team which in the other hand is looking as if it might be struggling to do anything worthwhile this season.

The best league in the world

The Premier League starts today, and every football fan should be looking forward to it. Last season ended spectacularly when Manchester City took the title in the final seconds of the last match ahead of their rivals of Manchester United. And City already took a title by winning the Super Cup match against Chelsea 3-2 last week and will still be hungry this season. But it will surely not be easy. Manchester United has bought a couple of high profile players to strengthen their side: firstly Shinji Kagawa, who was bought from Borussia Dortmund, will greatly strengthen United's midfield and attack; and secondly, Robbie Van Persie, the Arsenal captain has joined United and will contribute to their attacking power.
In the meantime there will also be other sides going for the title. The Champions League winners of Chelsea have lost their greatest superstar, Didier Drogba, but will be hoping that Fernando Torres can take over, while some interesting new players have joined the side, such as the Brazilian youngster Oscar and and the gifted Marko Marin from Werder Bremen.
With Arsenal losing Van Persie it would seem doubtful that Arsenal would be able to go for the title, but Arsene Wenger's side has purchased strong new players, such as the Spanish international Santi Cazorla, the French international Olivier Giroud and the German star Lukas Podolski.
Tottenham ended in fourth place last season, and keep the ambitions for more. Their most high profile purchase has been the strong Belgian defender Jan Verthongen, but most interesting will be to see whether their new coach Andre Villas-Boas can swipe away the fiasco he had at Chelsea.
Liverpool's main change has also been the coach, where Kenny Dalglish was fired and replaced with Brendan Rogers, who will have to try to continue the success he had at Swansea at Liverpool.
The best thing about the Premier League is that there are many "small" teams with strong sides that all can win against any of the giants, and that is what makes the league so exciting! Quality, drama, fight and great fans.
On a personal level I might say that unfortunately I have never had an English favourite team, which of course takes the passion a bit away, but at the same time it permits me to say objectively that it is certainly the best league in the world!