Farewell to greatness

Steven Gerrard is one of those players that is impossible not to like as a football fan: he is an outstanding player with strong personality and a winning mentality that for many years has lifted Liverpool to greatness (most memorable is the 2005 Champions League final, a year during which he was among the best players in the world). And he is a man who has a quality that exists less and less in modern football: loyalty.
Loyalty to his club and his city; he had many chances to go and play in the best-paying clubs in Europe, but he chose not to go because his heart belongs in Liverpool.
Today he played his last match at Anfield, and nobody could help but being touched when the fans sang "You'll Never Walk Alone" to this player who did so much for them. It was nevertheless not a complete celebration, as Crystal Palace won 1-3, with Liverpool playing a very poor match.
Perhaps the poor performance was because of the emotions of the match. However, last year Luis Suarez left, and with Gerrard leaving, there are simply no World Class players left in Liverpool! Nobody could take over from Suarez, and nobody will be able to fill the enormous hole that will be left by Gerrard!
Gerrard will not only be missed in Liverpool though: any football fan with respect for great players will miss him. Me too.

Liverpool-Basel

I went to the legendary Anfield stadium, home of Liverpool FC, for the Champions League match between the home team and Swiss FC Basel. Incidentally, Anfield is situated in Everton, not far from Goodison park, where the other Everton side plays.

I am not a Liverpool fan. But as a football fan one must be excited at visiting one of the most legendary stadiums in the world. And even for such a match: Liverpool was forced to win to go through!

And therefore, I believe I also had justified expectation of seeing a Liverpool side at its absolute best; of seeing a world class side run over a Swiss side that has otherwise done far too well in the CL for many years.

But as disappointing as Liverpool have been this season, as poor were they against Basel. In the first half Liverpool's performance unacceptable, more so considering the importance of the match. I've got to respect Liverpool fans for sticking with their team, because I am certain that such a performance in Spain would have made fans turn against their own side.

Bad doesn't describe how bad they were, while Basel were solid, had a clear plan, and knew what they wanted. Without too much of an effort they were leading 0-1 on a goal by an excellent Fabien Frey.

Things could only improve in the second half, and they did. Liverpool came out with more energy and pressure in the second half, and a splendid free kick by Liverpool's only genious, Stephen Gerrard, gave them 1-1, and hope, despite having lost Lazar Markovic to a silly (but in my view deserved) red card.

In the end, a couple of good chances were not enough, and Basel even had some good chances on the counter attack (Mignolet had one great save), so 1-1 was a fair result.

Very disappointing for a Liverpool side that simply does not have the quality that put them in the Champions League last season and I think Liverpool and football fans alike have the right to expect more from Liverpool.

That said, who needs to win when you have great fans? All repect for amazing Liverpool fans who are the ones to give Anfield its legendary atmosphere. Add to this some splendid Basel fans, where both sides sang and supported passionately but respectfully. Great to see it, and an inspiration to all fans!

Three great (potential) champions

It was not pretty, but it was efficient when a more intelligent Chelsea beat the hopeful Liverpool at Anfield 2-0 yesterday.
Of all the people  Stephen Gerrard may become the most unlikely anti-hero if Liverpool ends up not winning the championship. It was just a little lack of concentration that can happen to anyone, and happens to great players all the time, but this time it proved fatal when Demba Ba was as cool and firm as an iceberg to score after Gerrard's mishap.
Although Willian made it 0-2 at the end of the match, it was Ba's goal that really gave the victory to Chelsea despite Liverpool trying and trying in vain to get through Jose Mourinho's defensive genius.
The Premier League title is now open, with Chelsea nevertheless the most unlikely champion: although they are not unlikely to win their last two matches against Norwich and Cardiff respectively, they have to hope that both Liverpool and Manchester City slip.
Liverpool has two matches left against Crystal Palace away and Newcastle at home. They must win both matches, and if they don't, they have to hope that both Chelsea and Manchester City will slip. But even winning both matches, the title is not guaranteed.
Manchester City is the one that does not immediately depend on any other results: with three matches left they can win the title with three straight victories. However, the task will not immediately be easy; on Saturday they play Everton away. The arch-rivals of Liverpool may be tempted to play softly for the title not to go to the Reds, but the problem is that Everton is also vying for its meager hope of overtaking Arsenal on fourth place to secure a place in next season's Champions League qualifiers.
It will be ironic if Everton ends up giving the title to Liverpool....
In case of victory against Everton, Manchester City will have to defeat Aston Villa and West Ham at home to take the title.

All three of these great sides deserves to win the title (yes, although Jose Mourinho may seem unlikeable to many, he continues to be the world's best manager, and in the unlikely event that his team wins the title, it will be because they deserve it), but two will end in tears. It will be another fantastic and dramatic ending to the Premier League!

Liverpool on the verge

Liverpool are on the verge of doing what many at least, if not impossible, thought unlikely at the start of the season. They defeated Manchester City 3-2, and are now on first place, and it seems only Chelsea will be able to threaten them. But with their splendid form it seems, if not impossible, unlikely that Liverpool should mess it all up.

I have to add my own personal experience in this drama. On my way from Liberia to Turkey I passed through London, and went to see the aspiring champions of Liverpool play at West Ham. It was the first time I was ever at a Premier League match.

It was a fascinating experience. West Ham are a club full of traidtions, from their bubble song to their links with the legendary Bobby Moore. I enjoyed the atmosphere at the stadium, although I also found it extremely aggressive and negative. In football terms West Ham is hardly an impressive team, and plays quite primitive football. They started the match well, and it was not entirely just when Liverpool went ahead on a penalty kick by Stephen Gerrard. That said, at this time, Luis Suarez had already hit the bar. But West Ham equalized by Guy Demel in a situation where it seemed Andy Carroll fouled the goalkeeper. Andy Carroll was surely the one West Ham player who gave Liverpool trouble, but in the second half Liverpool played much better, and they fully deserved the victory. Luis Suarez hit the bar again, and they were in control. However, the winning goal was on a more controversial penalty kick, again by Stephen Gerrard, which made the home crowd much more aggressive against the away team.

In the end this was an important step for Liverpool, and I was happy I was there and may be able to say that I saw them play the first time they ever won a Premier League championship.

The revived Liverpool

Liverpool has not won an English championship since 1990, and has for some years been in the shadow of other English clubs such as Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Even though they still have a record of 18 titles, they are hungering for renewed success in the English league. In 2012 Brendan Rogers became manager, and in his first season Liverpool ended 7th, not even qualifying for the Champions League. At the same time there were stories of their record signing, the ever-controversial Luis Suarez, wanted to leave, so expectations high but not exuberant as the new season started. But Liverpool has indeed been on fire, and today they impressed everyone when the destroyed another ambitious team, Tottenham, 0-5 in London. The Liverpool team played brilliantly, even without Stephen Gerrard and Daniel Sturridge. Luis Suarez cemented his position as the most scoring player in the Premier League with two beautiful goals; he is as controversial as ever, but his footballing quality is unquestionable. At the same time young players Jon Flanagan and Raheem Sterling also scored, showing that Liverpool already has outstanding young players for the future. If they can play like this every week, Liverpool is a very serious title contender in what is becoming one of the most exciting Premier League seasons ever, with brilliant teams facing one another every week!
One word about Tottenham would be that Andre Villas Boas is surely not performing as a coach, and I believe he is unlikely to stay there much longer.

Top 5 Stephen Gerrard excuses

Liverpool and Chelsea played today in another important match in the extremely close race for the title between Chelsea and Manchester United. After a 2-0 victory, Chelsea is only one victory away from winning the Premier League title. But what will perhaps be mostly remembered about the match is the Liverpool captain's Stephen Gerrard's gift to the Chelsea team after half an hour at the score 0-0: Gerrard made a perfect pass in front of the goal to Didier Drogba, who had no problems bringing Chelsea ahead.

But What happened to Mr. Gerrrard...?
5. "I thought the guy in the blue shirt was Pepe Reina!"
4. "No entiendo español"
3. "Never walk alone, Didier"
2. "If the league title is not to be for Liverpool, it should not go to Manchester United!"
1. "Hey, Abramovic! Look at my passing abilities!"

England to South Africa

I was in London the day after England crushed Croatia 5-1 in Wembley, on two goals by Frank Lampard, two by Steven Gerrard and one by Wayne Rooney. The atmosphere was understandable ecstatic as England thus made sure that with wight consecutive victories in the World Cup qualifying Group 6, they are now sure to be going to South Africa.
England has been poor for the last tournaments, something that they should not considering the players they have; basically their coaches have been inept. However, this seems to have changed under the serious and disciplined Fabio Capello, who has really brought out the best of the English players, and has managed to calm the many egos. His strategy and organisation are outstanding.

This time it is not only exaggerated expectations by the English fans; this is really the first time ever that I consider England a serious candidate for the World Cup title (although I won't support them), and it will be exciting to see how they do next year.

Congratulations to England!

Liverpool on the edge

Liverpool FC always seems to be at its best when on the edge, and last night, against Marseille, they were truly at their best.
After the first three matches in the first stage of the Champions League, Liverpool had only gotten one meager point, and last year's finalists seemed to be heading towards an early exit. However, with three impressive victories in their last three matches, Liverpool is now in the last-16, and is surely a team to be feared.
Olympique Marseille has been looking very strong lately, and in front of a strong home crowd, could have made life difficult for the English side. But with Gerrard's penalty and Torres beautiful goal, Liverpool sealed the match in the first 15 minutes, and never looked threatened. If anything, 0-4 was a small victory, and that is truly impressive result in Southern France!

In an interview, Steven Gerrard said that the team had prepared themselves by thinking of the match as a "cup" match, a "win-or-lose" match. In reality it was, I guess, but it is interesting that it is this attitude that makes the current Liverpool side. Thus, it would seem that they should not be considered contenders for the Premier League title, while indeed for both the FA Cup and the Champions League!

FA Cup final in Nairobi

I flew all night from Accra to Nairobi, arriving 6 AM Saturday morning. Did not sleep at all on the plane, as I was in the company of a friend; the whole flight was spent talking over bottles of red wine.

It was a nice cool morning, and after only a couple of hours of sleep had lunch and a hangover before returning in the afternoon to my hotel room. I turned on the TV in my zombie-like state, putting on the FA Cup Final between Liverpool and West Ham. I never thought I would be able to keep awake for it. Last year's final was a bore, and had little expectation for this one.

But I was wrong! How can anyone fall asleep in a match like that!?
After last year's Champions League final, Liverpool offered us another great and entertaining match! And thank you West Ham!!!

3-3 after extra time, and a nail-biting penalty shootout, where Liverpool again pulled the longest straw, and where Pepe Reina proved excellent. Another amazing player was Steven Gerrard. His 3-3 equalizer was simply superb!

No, I did not fall asleep at all, but did pass out shortly after it ended...

Best Player Top 10 of 2005

The year is coming to an end, and it is time to give my own personal compilation of top 10 football players of the year. Most of them are newcomers, but others were also on my 2004 list:

• 10) Didier Drogba: Chelsea has rightfully been criticized for playing overly defensive. But they still have a very powerful striking force, and the best one is Didier Drogba. This year, he has confirmed himself as one of the best strikers in the world. Furthermore, he has been part of the Ivory Coast team that qualified for their first World Cup ever.

• 9) Lionel Messi: The Argentinian youngster is certainly the newcomer of the year. He was the best player for Argentina's U-21 team that won the World Championship in the Netherlands in July. He had some problems starting in Barcelona, due to questions on his status as "extra-comunitario", but has shined since on the great Barcelona team. He will surely be a player to watch in 2006!

• 8) Juan Roman Riquelme: The former Barcelona player was a very important player in the Villarreal side that qualified for its first Champions League ever. At the time of writing, Villarreal had won their first round group in front of Benfica, Lille and mighty Manchester United, and is set to play Glasgow Rangers in the final-16 in February. Mr. Riquelme was also an important player of an Argentinian national team that had an excellent spring, becoming the first South American side to qualify for the World Cup after a marvelous 3-1 victory against Brazil, where Mr. Riquelme scored the second goal.

• 7) Michael Essien: His marvelous performance in Olympique Lyon in the spring, was rewarded with a highly anticipated change to Chelsea. In the London-team he has been an important defensive player, although his imagine has been tarnished by his recent violent tackles, particularly the one on Didi Hamann. However, it does not take away that he has had a wonderful year. He was furthermore an important player on the Ghana national team that qualified for its first World Cup ever.

• 6) Frank Lampard: Frank Lampard was also on last year's list. He has continued playing excellent on a Chelsea side that seems un-beatable. Also on the English national team, he has been one of the better-performing players on a team that had some difficulty qualifying for the World Cup.

• 5) Samuel Eto'o: Topscorer of last season's Spanish league with Barcelona, as well as the leading scorer at the end of the season, he has been another of the important player's on the great Catalan team this year. On another front, the World Cup dream faded for him and Cameroun, so he will be one of the missed great players next year in Germany.

• 4) Juninho: Has been marvelous in the strong Olympique Lyon team. They have been French champions as well as very strong in the Champions League, where a memorable 3-0 victory against Real Madrid gave them an early lead in a group they easily won. Mr. Juninho is probably the best free-kicker in the world at the moment, and in February, we will see his magic against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

• 3) Steven Gerrard: This was a marvelous year for Steven Gerrard. He was the captain of Liverpool's amazing victory in the Champions League final. There was much talk of him changing to a "bigger" club, but he has fortunately stayed in Liverpool. He has continued playing very well into the new season, and will be an important player as Liverpool try to defend their title, as well as for the English side in the World Cup.

• 2) Adriano: The Brazilian striker in Inter Milan is surely the best striker in the world at the moment. He scores many goals in the Italian league as well as in the Champions League. For Brazil he has also become the main striker, and he is specially remembered for his marvelous strike against Argentina in the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup this summer.

• 1) Ronaldinho: The Brazilian was also top of my list in 2004. He has continued as a super-player this year, and now the titles have begun coming: with Barcelona he won the Spanish title, and with Brazil he both qualified for the World Cup and won the 2005 Confederations Cup. There is no doubt Mr. Ronaldinho will be a key player in both Barcelona and Brazil as they contend for Spanish title, Champions League and World Cup in 2006.

The list is as always difficult to complete, and is of course my own personal opinion. I would like to hear others though!

Steven Gerrard to stay in Liverpool

The soap opera about where Steven Gerrard would be playing next season seems to have ended. Mr. Gerrard has now apparently confirmed that he will stay in Liverpool. I do not understand the intricacies of the whole affair, but I certainly think this is the best for both Liverpool and Mr. Gerrard. Why leave the success he is having in a great club like Liverpool, to go to Real Madrid or Chelsea? In Madrid, he would probably just become another marginal superstar in a team that has won nothing for two seasons (which team is the greatest: non-winners Real Madrid or CL Champions Liverpool?). In Chelsea, he would be fighting for his position.
No, as a football fan, I am happy that he is staying in Liverpool. With new players and renewed motivation, Liverpool will continue upwards next season - both defending their CL title, but also fighting for the Premier League title. Mr. Gerrard will certainly be central in this, and continue showing his skills for Liverpool fans in particular and football fans in general.

Great Liverpool victory

I have never been much of an Arsenal fan, in spite of the great team and wonderful players they have displayed in the last years. Still I have enjoyed watching them. However, watching them against Liverpool yesterday, they were as much a disappointment as Liverpool was great! After watching a defensive Liverpool in the CL against Monaco, I did not have big expectations, but Mr. Benitez seems to be getting the act together, now that a great Steven Gerrard is back to lead the way.

All goals were great in Liverpool's 2-1 victory: Xabi Alonso's beautiful hammer from Steven Gerrard's great pass, and also the beautiful passing by Robert Pires to Patrick Vieira for the Arsenal equalizer.

But the best, and here any Liverpool fan might agree, was young Neil Mellor's wonderful first goal in the dying seconds. An amazing strike, and he could not have chosen a better moment!

Arsenal is now five points behind Chelsea in the Premier League. Although too early to say, it seems there is a new champion on the way...