Chelsea Deservedly Wins the Title

Well, the season is over and Chelsea, deservedly, has won the title. Entering into Sunday's final game, Chelsea needed a win over Wigan to win the Premier League title. Not only did they win, they put up and 8 spot and won 8-0. Just complete domination. Not that Wigan is the toughest team in the league, but 8?! That's always impressive. Of course, once a team is down by 4 or 5 and its in the second half, are they even trying anymore? The game didn't matter to Wigan. Of course they wanted to win, but they didn't have much riding on the line, not like Chelsea at least. So once you are down by 4 in the second half and it's the last game of the season, what's your inspiration for continuing to put forth much effort? Four, eight, who cares? All the players want is for the 90 minutes to be up so they can leave for their summer holiday in Ibiza.

But Chelsea was deserving of the title. They ended up beating Manchester United by a point. The next closest team, Arsenal, was ten points behind United. So it was really a two-horse race by the end of the season. But Chelsea was more deserving of the title because they beat United both times they played this season. It's actually sort of like Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga. Barcelona currently leads Real Madrid by 1 point in the standings and there is one game to play. However, no team in La Liga is even close to Real and Barcelona. They lead by almost 30 points over third place Valencia. That lead, in and of itself, brings to light many of the current problems in La Liga. No two teams should be that much better than the rest of the clubs in the league. That aside, if Barcelona somehow slipped up this weekend and Real won, Real would win the title. But Barcelona beat Madrid both times they played this season. So as a Madrid fan, I actually don't really want Barcelona to lose. Perhaps that doesn't make me a "true" fan as I should always want a title, no matter how we get it. But what's the satisfaction of winning the title if you lost both times to the team that finished in second? You won, but you would know that when it mattered, the other team was better than you, they just had one more lapse than you did. If anything, it would just give you an undeserved boost of confidence. There would be a false sense of accomplishment which could be more destructive than anything. Consistent champions don't get there by other teams losing. Sometimes they need the help of other teams and they need them to lose. But champions get there by winning and beating those other teams. Although its always sweet to see your rival lose and its bitter to see them win the championship, it's better than winning the championship but feeling unsettled about it because you know you didn't quite earn it.

Granted, I realize that the Premier League was much different than La Liga. There were a lot of quality teams, not just two teams like in La Liga. One could argue that Man U was deserving of the title because they beat Manchester City both times they played this season, and Manchester City beat Chelsea both times they played this season. Thus, Chelsea "giving" Man U the title by losing is different than Barcelona giving it to Madrid. Maybe I'm off and maybe any championship, no matter how it comes, should be celebrated. I understand if its the Champions League or the World Cup, because that's different. And it's not the championship wouldn't be celebrated, but it wouldn't be that special. When you already have twentysomething league titles, what's so special about one more if it comes as a result of your rival losing, but not because you could beat him? Maybe there is satisfaction and I'm just not seeing it. Regardless, the season is over and Chelsea finished on top. And its tough to argue with the fact that Chelsea deservedly won the title.


Here is Chelsea's impressive finish of the season. All 8 goals in 2 minutes.

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Hey Look! Another Drogba Red Card

So Chelsea bowed out of the Champions League yesterday in a surprise loss to Inter Milan. Inter Milan is a great team, but Chelsea was definitely the favorite to win this match-up. It was sweet revenge for Jose Mourinho, the current Inter Milan boss and former Chelsea boss. Not that anyone ever really roots for Mourinho or has any sympathy for the guy. Great coach, not exactly the world's most likeable guy though.

Anyways, the loss is very disappointing for Chelsea. Two years ago they made it to the Champions League final only to lose to their rival Manchester United. Last year they were literally seconds away from returning to the final until Andres Iniesta ripped their hearts out by scoring a late goal and sending Barcelona on to the finals where they eventually won it all. After getting so close the past two seasons, they are eliminated in the first stage of the knock-out rounds. Even though the results haven't been consistent, one thing has been consistent: a late in the game card for Didier Drogba.


2008:

Granted, this is pretty weak. I understand Drogba "hit" Vidic, but it's not like it was a punch or anything. Not sure if he deserved a red.



2009:

In 2009 he actually only received a yellow card and it came after the game was over (it just makes for a better post to pretend he got three red cards).



Drogba's reaction is actually understandable. Here is a video of Iniesta scoring late in the game and ripping Chelsea's heart out (love the announcer in that video). Below is a video of all of the potential penalties that happened during the game that weren't called and made all the Chelsea players so upset.




Finally, 2010:

Here is the red card Drogba received late in the game yesterday.



At first view I didn't think the red card was deserved, but after a few views, the ref made the right call.

I really wouldn't consider Drogba a dirty player. Although the third was cheap, the first red card was a little ticky tacky, the second was actually just a yellow. But his reactions are somewhat justified. The Champions League is a big deal and naturally emotions will run high. I get upset and start yelling at the ref in my local city league. I can only imagine the intense emotions running through these players in a Champions League game, let alone final. So I don't post this so much to say that Drogba is dirty, but if it's the Champions League and Chelsea is losing and the game is almost over, bet your neighbor on a late card for Drogba.

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What the John Terry scandal tells us about England, America, and Tiger Woods

Six months ago, discussions involving Tiger Woods focused on whether or not he would win more major championships than Jack Nicklaus. No one really knew much about him, other than that he was an incredible golfer and a fierce competitor with a beautiful wife and a strong dislike of photographers. Suddenly, everything changes. The facade is pulled down. Now when we talk about Tiger, we talk about his infidelity and indiscretions.

We understand that he wanted privacy so that he could keep up the appearance of the perfect husband and father but live the rock-star lifestyle. Tiger surrounded himself with enablers who pandered to him. His agent helped him become the wealthiest sports figure in the world. That same agent put a protective cocoon around him. Tiger's caddy kept the competitive juices during tournaments and protected him from the awful discomforts of clicking cameras and thoughtless fans. His life was well planned and completely fake.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the John Terry scandal swept through football. Terry was involved in an affair. News leaked that the captain of England's National Team had been unfaithful to his wife. However, this wasn't really news because it wasn't the first time he had cheated on his wife. Rumors of alleged affairs had circled around him for years. One website alleges relationships with 13 different women since 1999 despite the fact that Terry has dated Toni Poole, his current wife, since high school. The couple were married in 2007 and had twins together in 2006.

So why was this different? Terry was revered by fans of Chelsea and England despite his personal life. He was made team captain for both club and country. In reality, his indiscretions are no different than those of many of his teammates for club and country (Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard). The culture amongst the players not only allows for this poor behavior, it acts as a catalyst. Footballers party hard. They go to the club to celebrate after a win and to drink away their sorrows after a loss.

At the same time, the status that comes from being a "WAG" means that these guys can have a second life as doting husband and father since it seems that these women only leave the husbands if he happens to die (Cheryl Cole might buck this trend). Terry was even named "Father of the Year" in a poll of English adults (sponsored by a Ketchup maker). However I can't tell if anyone takes it seriously seeing as Indiana Jones and Homer Simpson were #1 and #2 fictional characters people would like as their father and Peter Andre was the winner last year. The English are either dopes or hilarious.

Back to my question. Was was this different? Why did John Terry pay his mistress hush money? Why did Terry get a gag order on the press when the story started to leak out? Because of Wayne Bridge:



That's Terry on the right and his former best buddy, Wayne Bridge. Bridge was Terry's teammate at Chelsea and was a member of the England Men's National Team. Terry cheated on his wife with Bridge's ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Perroncel. Perroncel and Bridge have a child together. For the English, this went too far. There was a line that Terry crossed by having an affair with his teammate's ex girlfriend. The line seems to be pretty fair down the path of shame, but there is definitely a line. For a celebrity athlete like Terry, you can cheat on your wife, mock Americans after 9/11, and assault security guards in night clubs.

But cheating on your teammate goes too far. Terry was stripped of his role of Captain of England's National Team and there was a feeling that the National Team Manager, Fabio Capello, was doing it not only for team unity, but because of the demands from the people.

Let's compare Tiger and John. Both crossed a line. I don't care to argue about which country has stronger morals or higher standards, but we can all accept that both athletes crossed a line. Tiger even apologized to the public for his indiscretions, and, while many think he doesn't owe them an apology, he had to do it in order to repair his image (I'm sure Nike is working around the clock on a rebranding strategy). Terry betrayed a teammate, which has a direct affect on the unity of the National Team and their prospects in the upcoming World Cup, which means he betrayed the public as well.

Tiger is still not back. Terry is and I think it gives a good indication of what might happen when Tiger returns. Here are the Premier League matches he's played since the shoe dropped:

Burnley
Hull City
Arsenal
--- Stripped of England Captain's Armband ---
Everton
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester City

In Terry's first game back, he came out firing on all cylinders. He was emotionally charged up for the game. He was defensively strong and even managed to score a goal. The match was at Burnley and he was abused by the fans. The Burnley supporters were very vocal and loud. Terry's teammates came out in support of him and everything seemed fine. No dip in form, no negative repercussions on the playing field.

Against Arsenal, a home game, the Chelsea fans brought banners and were very supportive. After the game, Terry thanked them profusely for their support. Chelsea diehards were behind him all the way. Again, Terry was very emotional, but played well.

Then he was stripped of the captaincy and Chelsea headed to Everton where Terry was abused by Landon Donovan and Louis Saha. Chelsea lost 2-1 and Terry was atrocious. He misjudged the long ball and was abused by Donvon's speed.

The big one came on February 27th when Chelsea hosted Manchester City, Wayne Bridge's team. He had no idea what was about to hit him. This game had more pressure than could be imagined. The press was writing pages for the build up. Manchester City rallied around their teammate and catapulted themselves to a 4-2 victory. It was an incredible game. The peak moment was when City's Carlos Tevez beat John Terry to tie the match. Tevez ran over teammate Wayne Bridge and pointed to him. "This is for Wayne!" It was an incredible moment of unity and the entire team rallied around their betrayed teammate. It was all City from there on out. Chelsea and Terry simply didn't have that kind of unity and strength.

The John Terry scandal tells us three important things about Tiger's comeback:

1. It will be easy to ride the adrenalin of emotion when he first returns. Those first three tournaments will be intense as friendly and angry fans come together to either shout praises or scorn but Tiger's own emotions will carry the day, and like Terry, he'll perform well. He'll sink the puts and pump his fists as the crowd roars. "He's back" will be our first reaction.

2. Some venues will undoubtedly be like home matches, full of support, but at some point, his form will slip. Tiger will have his own "Everton" where he plays poorly and the fans shout abuse. He'll miss a cut and the gallery will pile on the abuse. "He's lost it" will be our second reaction.

3. The tournament after he suffers the most abuse will tell us if he can handle the heat. It's at that point when we'll know whether he will can regain his spectacular form. Terry's form dipped at Everton and then he walked into an ambush against Manchester City, with the world watching, he failed again. That's when we can make our final decision on Tiger.

Can Tiger handle that game after "the game?" If he plays a tournament with a "Phil Mickelson" crowd a few weeks before a major, will he be able to bounce back from a bad day?

We tend to forgive our heroes in football and life, and with time, we'll forgive Tiger and Terry.

What we don't know is whether they'll ever return to the form they had before they fell.

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Weekly Salute: U.S. Expatriate of the Week: Landon Donovan (Again)

Landon Donovan of Everton (and the USMNT) gets our Weekly Salute for his outstanding performance against league leaders Chelsea. I wish that I had seen this game live so that I could have done an analysis as in-depth as this one. Donovan was again playing out on the right wing, wreaking havoc on Chelsea's defense. He kept Ashley Cole pinned back for most of the evening until he took him out by breaking his foot! Now, I'm not saying Donovan did it on purpose but having Ashley Cole out injured for three or four months would go a long way towards helping the U.S. take out England in the World Cup this summer. Back to the game, Donovan was cut down in the box, drawing a penalty, that Louis Saha summarily missed. It was a terrible penalty by Everton's forward and the announcers discussed whether or not Donovan would take PK duties in the future. Donovan is generally very good at penalties but recently missed a big penalty. Next, Donovan put a perfect corner kick into the path of Saha, who buried it into the back of the net. Overall a great performance. Well done, Landon.

Landon's highlights are at 3:51, 5:19 (perfect pass), 5:49 (draws a penalty), and 7:34 (Cole walks off injured).


Watch Everton v Chelsea in Sports  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

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Arsenal: A True Pretender

On Sunday, Arsenal suffered another defeat at the hands of Chelsea. It's hard to fault them for this loss as the game was at Chelsea and Chelsea has yet to lose at home this year. However, the loss was somewhat convincing. Arsenal really only had two good opportunities. One was off a beautiful cross from Cesc Fabregas and the other was from a free kick taken by Fabregas (remember I said he was the player to watch during the game? The guy is legit. He's going to make himself a ton of money after he dominates this summer in the World Cup). Two weeks ago Arsenal was in third place and still within striking distance of Chelsea and Manchester United, now they are seven points behind Man U and nine points behind Chelsea. There is still a lot of soccer yet to play, but the bottom line is that those two convincing losses solidified Arsenal as a true pretender this year, and not a contender.

Now that their place is established, I think it will be interesting to see how Arsenal responds fo the rest of the season. They are a great team, but have almost been over performing. I wonder if these two back-to-back convincing losses will be a reality check and if Arsenal will start to slide a bit, or if they will be able to bounce back for their next game.

Speaking of which, their next game is actually on Wednesday since the players' wives all banded together and forced the league to suspend play on Valentine's day weekend. That may or may not be true as no player is willing to admit that he is upset about it and would rather play soccer versus take his wife out for the evening. Regardless, their next game is at home against Liverpool. Talk about a gauntlet. Not sure who made their schedule but they clearly had it out for Arsenal. In three consecutive weeks, Arsenal will have played the first, second and fourth placed teams (they are in third). Just ridiculous. I think they are better than Liverpool, but coming off two brutal losses, it may be hard for them to rebound in such a short period of time and against a team that has some momentum.

Win or lose this week against Liverpool they will still be in third place; which is why I think they could have motivation issues and lose some future games that they should win. It's tough to come out and play each week when you know that they best you can do for the season is finish in third place. Such is the harsh reality of a team that at one point looked like a contender, but in reality, is just a true pretender.

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Weekend Games Preview

Sorry to all four of our readers for the lack of posting this week. Sadly this isn't a full time job yet. We'll revamp things next week and provide more posts. For now, here's a preview of some of the interesting games going on this weekend:

Liverpool v. Everton

Why do we care about this game?

1. It's the Liverpool derby. Whenever two teams from the same city play each other, you can expect something great. This game is at Anfield, Liverpool FC's stadium, but don't be surprised if Everton comes out on top.

2. Liverpool is currently in 5th place and Everton in 9th. Liverpool has had an up and down season and struggled to get in the top 4 of the League. They need to win this game, and pretty much every other game as there are 3 other teams that are within 2 points of each other and trying to get that 4th spot. Although in 9th, Everton has been playing some of their best football of the season.

Footballer to follow?

While I would like to give that to our American hero Landon Donovan, the player to watch is Everton's Marouane Fellaini. You can't miss him on the field. He's 6'4" not including his hair. He's Everton's sideshow Bob. He's been an absolute beast the past couple of games. He's a serious threat on offense, especially on corner kicks where his height is clearly a huge advantage. Plus, he's been a dominant force in the midfield, controlling the defense. If Everton wins, it will likely be because of this man.


Tottenham Hotspur v. Aston Villa


Why to care?

1. Because the nicknames for these teams are the Cocks and the Villans respectively. What's not to love about that? Both are awesome. If someone said you could either be one of the Cocks or one of the Villans, you would struggle with the decision.

2. These two teams are part of the aforementioned 4 teams that are all vying for that 4th position in the standings (top 4 teams at the end of the year qualify for the Champions League - which is a big deal). Currently the Cocks are in 4th place, but the Villans are only 2 points behind them. Thus, if the Villans can overtake the Cocks if they win this weekend. But beware the mighty Cocks.

Footballer to Follow? Jermain Defoe. The Cock has 15 goals this season. He's only 5'7", but he's a beast at forward. If Tottenham wins, it will likely be because of his heroics up top.


Chelsea v. Arsenal

Why to care?

1. Chelsea is in first and Arsenal is in 3rd in the standings. Arsenal was blitzed at home last weekend by Manchester United (that Rooney goal is still so fun to watch. Love him or hate him, that dead sprint down the field is fantastic). This game is at Chelsea. If Arsenal cares to overtake Chelsea, they have to win this game. Chelsea won't lose many more games this season, if any at all.

2. Because the teams are a complete contrast in club strategies. Chelsea is owned by a Russian billionaire who buys all the best players in order to win a championship. Arsenal still believes in their youth system and player development and relies on having along term coach that can piece together the many young players and make the sum greater than its parts. It's brilliant to watch him do it every season.

Footballer to follow?

This is tough because there are so many incredible players on the field. Whenever Arsenal is playing, I can't help but watch Cesc Fabregas the entire time. That is probably because of my Spain bias, but the man is incredible. He's a phenomenal playmaker. I don't think Arsenal can actually win this game, but if they do, he will need a strong performance.





So there is your preview. There are of course other games going on in La Liga. None quite as compelling as the three mentioned above. But don't think there isn't plenty going on in the promised land. Barcelona has yet to lose. They are almost playing too good if that is possible. They are so comfortable and the chemistry is so good that it's almost as though they are due for a let down game. Speaking of chemistry, Real Madrid is slowly piecing the puzzle together (is it a coincidence that this seems to happen when C. Ronaldo is out? When does his contract expire again?). The two teams are setting the table for a potentially amazing "El Clasico" in a couple of months.

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Battle for Oil Supremacy: Beating Them at Their Own Game(s)

Russian Oil: In 2003 a Russian billionaire by the name of Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea F.C. for a record 140 million pounds. Abramovich by the way is a bad and scary dude. Most businessmen with his wealth are shady people as it is, but add to the shadiness the fact that he is in Russia, where I don't even think murder is considered a crime. Anyways, prior to his purchase of the club, Chelsea had had recent small success in the Premier League. In the 2002/2003 season Chelsea finished 4th and qualified for the Champions League. So they weren't a terrible team before the purchase, but they also hadn't won a league title since the 1954/1955 season. Abramovich pretty much followed the Yankees, Real Madrid and many other professional sporting clubs and came up with a pretty simple and straightforward business plan for success: outspend everyone. Sadly for the fan, most players aren't terribly loyal to their club and most players will follow the almighty dollar (or pound). For every 1 player that might take less money to play with his desired club, there are at least 12 of equal skill that will follow the money anywhere, especially to a team like Chelsea that was already pretty good. So Abramovich started buying up players like crazy. Chelsea won back to back league titles in the first two years of Abramovich's reign. Since then, they haven't won any titles, but they have finished in the top 4 each season and played in the Champions League each season. Two years ago they lost in the Champions League finals to Manchester United, and last year they were literally seconds away to going back to the finals until Iniesta and Barcelona shoved a dagger in their heart with a winning goal in extra time (the announcer in that clip is awesome. Still gives me chills hearing/watching it).

This year is starting off as well as the others under Abramovich's control. Chelsea are currently in first place in the Premier League and have already qualified for the knock-out rounds of the Champions League. They have a team full of players that all play for their country's national team and are literally the best of the best. The players that ride the bench for Chelsea could all start at other clubs only they choose to stay at Chelsea because Chelsea is so good and because, well, as mentioned, they sold their soul and part of their career for the money. That dollar is powerful.

Arab Oil: In 2008 Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited took over Manchester City. Fortunately for them, they swim in oil and money isn't an issue in their lives because unlike Chelsea, prior to the recent acquisition of Manchester City, the club was not really close to competing for the league title. Between 2002 and this season, Manchester City finished as low as 16th and as high as 8th. Never a bad team, but always second fiddle in their own city to the powerhouse that is Manchester United. City has been decent, but never close to competing for the league title or qualifying for the Champions League.

Arab Oil also noted that men, soccer players included, want money and figured they could follow Chelsea and buy the best players and championships. The only problem is that while players do want money, they also want to play for a contender, which is something Manchester City was not. Fortunately there was a young Brazilian superstar (shown in photo) who was crying in Madrid because he got his feelings hurt and he was ripe for being bought. Manchester City swooped in, and the process had begun. Other players took note that City had acquired a legit player and within a year they have stockpiled a team full of great players. Ironically, the team got so good that the Brazilian once again got upset that he wasn't playing and said he wanted to leave. Someone gave him his bottle though and it appears he will likely be sticking around.

So on Saturday the Russian Oil (Chelsea) met the newly improved Arab Oil (Man City) for the first time this season and for the first time since Man City made all the player acquisitions. As mentioned, Chelsea has been dominant this season. Man City hasn't been bad, but not quite meeting expectations either. They are currently in 6th place, which is an improvement, but prior to Saturday's game, they had tied 7 games in a row. After all the many player purchases, 6th place just isn't good enough.

But on Saturday they proved that $200 million sure can buy you a lot these days, including a pretty good football team. Chelsea played well, but Man City proved that they can compete with the big boys. Everyone knew that Man City had the pieces to be a true contender this season, but they had yet to prove anything. Saturday they did so in exciting fashion. The game wasn't without controversy of course (what's a good soccer game without some drama?). Adebayor scored for Man City after the ball hit a teammate's hand and play probably should have been stopped. But Chelsea's first goal came from an own goal from Adebayor, so I'm fine with the missed call since Chelsea didn't really deserve their goal in the first place. Plus, Chelsea had the opportunity to later tie the game after Chelsea's forward Didier Drogba was fouled inside the box. The penalty kick however was skillfully blocked by Man City's goalie. The block was so good in fact that he received a kiss from his teammate - as shown in the video below. Chelsea had their opportunities, but didn't capitalize and Man City did.

So hats off to Manchester City. Whether or not you agree with how they got here, they are here and are commanding respect. They took a page out of Chelsea's book and beat them by using their strategy. The real test of course will be when the two teams collide later in the season at Chelsea. Chelsea has yet to lose at home and the season will be in the final stages and every game will be that much more important. Both teams will be competing for the league championship and/or to qualify for the Champions League. At that point we will for sure know if Arab oil is better than Russian oil and good enough to buy a championship.

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Amazing Goal or Poor Goalkeeping?

So Chelsea thumped Arsenal 3-0 yesterday. One of the goals was an own goal and Arsenal is playing without Van Persie. Still, I expected a better showing from Arsenal. I thought they actually had a chance to beat Chelsea and I considered them one of the stronger teams in the EPL this year. Regardless, I still can't decide if the goal by Drogba at the end of the game was a brilliant shot or poor goalkeeping by Manuel Almunia.

Goal Videos

The shot is impressive. Drogba perfectly places it into the side netting. But he also clearly fools the goalie which makes me wonder if the goalie should have blocked it. You can see the goalie try and cheat to his right as he expects Drogba to try and bend it over the wall. As a goalie, if someone bends it over the wall, you aren't expected to block it. If you do, your team is happy and you probably increased your paycheck. However, it's not expected. What is expected is for you to cover your half of the goal, which he doesn't do here. Then again, maybe it doesn't matter if he got caught cheating because maybe no keeper could have saved it anyways. But Drogba does also hit it with the inside of his foot. I know it's still a hard shot, but I feel like he could have saved it since it wasn't a rocket that Drogba hit with his laces.

Anyways, you can tell I can't figure it out. You be the judge. What do you think? Is Drogba amazing, or is the goalie a goat?

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More Whining from Ferguson After Chelsea Defeat Manchester United

A big win for Chelsea over Manchester United this weekend, if somewhat less impressive than it might have been. And although there's plenty that might be said about the game itself, what's piqued my interest (or, rather, ire) is the (increasingly predictable) conduct of Sir Alex Ferguson in the aftermath. Can anyone think of a game in recent memory that ManU didn't get the result they wanted and SAF didn't try to blame it all on the referee afterward? Chelsea, Sunderland, CSKA Moscow, Liverpool, the list goes on and on. In my mind, it's gone beyond poor sportsmanship to downright whining, if not certified paranoia. And the shocking thing about Ferguson's issues with referees is that there's a legitimate argument that, if anything, ManU is the team that gets the real breaks--like the extra-extended injury time in the Manchester Derby this year.

There was some hope that SAF's apology to Alan Wiley (ref of the Sunderland game) would signal a change in tune from him and other EPL managers, but that hope clearly seems to have been a pipe dream. SAF has learned nothing. Ferguson apparently cannot accept the fact that his team does not deserve to win every game. Instead--whaddya know--those refs keep ruining the games for him. It's getting old. Real old. It's time for SAF to cowboy up and take his losses like a man. No matter how bad a single decision may have been, it only ever matters if his team is not good enough to put the game out of reach anyway.

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Football Writers and Books: Simon Kuper and Gabrielle Marcotti or Barcelona and Chelsea

Writers, like teams, have their own style and flair. Barcelona plays with creativity, triangles, and movement. Chelsea on the other hand is strong at the back and emphasizes a more direct, counter-attacking approach. Different styles but excellent teams. Simon Kuper is the Barcelona of writers and Gabrielle Marcotti is Chelsea.

Simon Kuper writes for the Financial Times. Kuper's book, Soccer Against the Enemy was my first foray into serious soccer books. His articles in the financial times are as good as his books. Like Barcelona, you are almost entranced by his creativity. Where does he come up with his material and how does he make it look so easy to write? He recently wrote about Barcelona's youth academy that gives you a small glimpse into their world. He also wrote a very interesting article on club managers where he informs us that in reality, they're overrated.

Simon Kuper's next book is called Soccernomics and it promises to be another excellent read. The subtitle is, Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey--and Even Iraq--Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport. I'll post a review when I finish it. Simon Kuper's style reminds me of that Barcelona magic. He has a creative, free-flowing style that pulls you in as he drives home his points with excellent analysis and insight.

Now onto Gabrielle Marcotti. Marcotti is an Italian journalist who writes for The Times of London. Perhaps the more apt comparison is to Juventus, but they are second tier right now so Chelsea is the stronger comparison. He comes across as a bit of a jerk at times, ready to cut you down with brutal efficiency, but you can't deny the quality of his writing and it makes him more interesting. He is certain that he is always right. He isn't but I enjoy his work anyway. Marcotti recently wrote a book on England's manager Fabio Capello and I'm not sure how to get a hold of it.

My main sources for football information are The Guardian's football section and The Game from The Times of London. Both also have excellent podcasts. The Guardian's is especially good because they cover the entire world in 30 minutes (except they rarely ever touch on the MLS, which means Kent would be a big fan of the podcast. It also features the wit of James Richardson who hosts). ESPN also has a podcast but it really drags. Of course my favorite is the one from Fastbreakfutbol, or will be if we ever start it up again.

So there it is. Simon Kuper and Gabrielle Marcotti, the Barcelona and Chelsea of the football writing world.

Who are your favorites? Where do you get your information? Any other book recommendations?

UPDATE: I was looking at the Guardian's site today and found a great little feature called "Chalkboards" that could help Brig with his next in depth Liverpool analysis. Maybe he'll only need three hours this time. Scroll to the bottom of the page here.

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