Sir Alex the Fantastic

As mentioned in the previous post, Manchester United lost in the Champions League to Bayern Munich. As expected, Manchester's coach, Sir Alex Ferguson came out today with some nice 'gems' about the game. From ESPN:

"Ferguson was furious about the manner in which the Bayern players had put pressure on the referee to show Rafael a second yellow card after tugging back Franck Ribery.

"The young boy showed a bit of inexperience, but they got him sent off, everyone sprinted towards the referee - typical Germans," [Ferguson] said. "They were never getting through that tie. With 11 men, we had no problem."

Fantastic comment. Typical Germans? What does that even mean? Only Germans yell at refs when there is a foul and try and get the ref to make a call in their favor? I suppose that makes sense. I mean, its not like Manchester United players ever argue with the refs. It's also interesting that he says that this behavior of complaining about the refs is typical of Germans yet in the process of saying Germans complain about refs, he too was complaining about the poor calls made by the refs. But Ferguson is Scottish, not German. And this isn't the first time he's complained about the officiating. Someone should tell him to retract his comment to say, "typical Germans, and Scottish." Then it would be a little more accurate. We don't want Sir Alex to look like a fool with his comments.

Seriously though, I have no problems with a coach being upset at some of the calls that happened during the game. I understand that calls can influence a game. But when your team gives up a two goal advantage at home, and your best player, who is also arguably the best player in the league right now, had to sit out the entire second half because of a busted ankle, then maybe it was your team, and not the "typical Germans" that are responsible for the loss. Just a thought. Not that you need to go out and blame it on your players, but perhaps a little perspective could improve your comments and thus prevent snide remarks from the bored bloggers.

Read more »

Paul Scholes - Luckiest Goal Ever?

The knock out rounds of the Champions League started up on Tuesday. While there are many interesting story lines and thoughts about the games, the biggest storyline isn't Wayne Rooney's continued dominance or Real Madrid's continued failure in the knock out rounds, it has to be the incredible goal scored by Paul Scholes in Manchester United's 3-2 win over AC Milan. Check it out in the video below. It comes at the 1:10 mark. It's the opposite of a golazo.



That has to be one of the luckiest goals ever. He tries to kick the ball with his right foot, completely whiffs like an 8 year old in AYSO, yet miraculously the ball deflects off his left foot which is planted on the ground and rolls into the side of the net. Anyone could have scored that goal. All you need is a shin. Not even a shin or a leg that can move. If you have a stationary body part, you too can score a goal in the Champions League.

There were other interesting observations from Tuesday's games. Since I'm already discussing the Manchester United/AC Milan game, I don't know how you stop Wayne Rooney. We might be witnessing one of the greatest individual seasons ever. I don't know how his season stats actually compare with single season records, but the way in which he is carrying Manchester United is incredible. Everyone expected somewhat of a drop off for Man U after C. Ronaldo left over the summer, but it hasn't happened. And it's not because some player stepped up and filled in Ronaldo's shoes. It's because Rooney decided to make up the difference on his own. Love or hate the guy, you have to admire his efforts this season and be impressed with how well he has done with the parts around him. Granted, we are talking about Man U here, the players around him aren't chumps; but they are when you compare them to the players at Chelsea who only maintain a 1 point lead on Man U in the standings. It's impressive.


Real Madrid v. Lyon

For the past 5 seasons, Real has failed to advance out of the round of 16 in the Champions League. 5 years, 5 different teams, 1 result: Juventus, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Roma and Liverpool. This year, it looks like it might be Lyon's turn.

Now, Lyon only won 1-0, and it was at Lyon. It's not like it's over for Real by any means. If Real Madrid does lose after the second leg, it will be interesting to discuss the true value and impact of C. Ronaldo. Granted, you can't pin all of this on him, especially since Real has had the same result over the past 5 seasons. But Man U seems to be perfectly fine without Ronaldo and Real actually seemed to be playing better as a team when he was out for a couple games with a red card.

I guess the main issue for Real though, is what do you do if you are yet again knocked out in the round of 16? Real Madrid spent over $250 million this past offseason purchasing various players - most notably, C. Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema and Xabi Alonso. $250 million! It's completely absurd to spend that money in the first place. But when you spend that type of money, anything short of a championship would be a disappointment. You know what would be even more disappointing? Spending that money and not improving - which is what has happened thus far this season. Real finished second in La Liga last season behind Barcelona. Currently, they are in second place in La Liga right behind Barcelona. Last year they were knocked out in the round of 16 of the Champions League, they are currently down 1-0 after their first game with Lyon in the round of 16.

Well, it makes for good drama. Not to mention the fact that Zidane is disappointed with the team. You can't disappoint Zidane.

Anyways, Real and Lyon play again on March 10 in Madrid. Love them or hate them, Real Madrid always makes things interesting. I don't know why March 10 will be any different. If you ahve $250 million on hand, you'll find out if it's enough to buy win, or at least advance to the quarter finals of the Champions League.

Read more »

Weekly Salute Honorable Mention: U.S. Expatriate Footballer of the Week: Brad Friedel

Manchester United 1 - 1 Aston Villa

Brad Friedel seems to step up his game when he plays against Manchester United and this week was no exception. The former goalkeeper for the USMNT was fantastic in preserving the draw for Aston Villa. His calm saves and quick reflexes belie his 39 years of age. He played an excellent game and if it weren't for that Landon Donovan guy, he'd be the U.S. Expat Footballer of the Week. Well done, Brad.


Aston Villa v Manchester United
Uploaded by retropool72. - Check out more sports and extreme sports videos.

Read more »

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.

Read more »

Manchester United - Pure Fastbreak Goodness

Manchester United went into Arsenal yesterday and came away win an impressive 3-1 victory. The first goal by Nani can be seen here. It's a beauty. Just a flashy, amazing goal. It's so good that his teammate Darren Fletcher can't think of any way to congratulate him other than trying to get a piggy back ride. Which I'm sure is exactly the way Nani wanted to celebrate after scoring a goal in which he single-handedly abused 3 Arsenal defenders.

While it was an amazing goal, the second one was my favorite. Arsenal was actually controlling the first part of the game. They were creating opportunities and they had many opportunities. Even after the Nani goal, Arsenal still seemed under control. Their demeanor made you think that they were still confident and knew that if they continued playing their game, that they would eventually score. Even though though they were playing Manchester United, you still got the impression that they were confident and knew that they could easily come back from down 1-0 and win the game.

Then the fastbreak happened. And it was a classic. What is a fastbreak goal? In my opinion, they are the most exciting types of goals in soccer - hence the name of the site. I realize that "fastbreak" is a term that is usually synonomous with basketball. "Counterattack" is the term that is usually used in soccer. Counterattack doesn't work as well because 1. it doesn't start with the letter "F" and 2. it doesn't quite capture how fast the goal happens. Regardless of the term used, the goals are so exciting and Manchester United's goal was a textbook example. Here's what it is and why Man U's goal was a great example:

1. The opposing team has to be threatening or about to score.

The goal isn't nearly as exciting if the team turns that ball over in the middle of the field. They have to threatening and thinking that they are the ones that are going to score. Plus, this is why the goals are so exciting. The team goes the entire length of the field for the goal.

2. It has to be an all out blitz from the start.

This is the key that links 1 and 3. The goal can't be a build up where the other team sort of sees it coming or where the team makes a few short passes once they gain possession. From the moment they get the ball they are running to goal. This is why these goals don't happen that often. It's literally within seconds of turning the ball over, the other team scores. Just watch the Man U highlights below. From the second Man U gets the ball, they are thinking score. They aren't thinking possess and build up an attack. They are thinking goal. Wayne Rooney's run is incredible. He's like a bat out of hell. Just sprinting the full length of the field to receive the pass and finish it into the corner of the net. Watch Rooney in the video below. He barely stays in the frame during the run down the field. But as quickly as he could sprint down the field they had the ball in the back of the net. Arsenal was down 2-0 before they could even realize they had turned the ball over.

3. The goal has to be a stomach punch or the knock out blow.

This is exactly what happened on Sunday. Although the second goal was still early in the game, it was a huge blow to Arsenal. As mentioned, Arsenal was playing with a lot of confidence. So much that the first goal didn't really seem to faze them. They knew, or at least played like they knew that they would come back from being down 1-0. Right after the first goal they were already threatening and everyone watching was just as confident as the players that they would come back and win. Literally 13 seconds later, Manchester United goes the full length of the field and scores another goal. I can't say it was entirely a knock out blow, but it might as well have been. Rarely is a team going to come back and beat or tie Manchester United after being down 2-0. It's not a knock out blow because Arsenal was at home and it was still in the first half. Still though, it was a brutal stomach punch that completely took the wind out of the entire stadium.

So that's a fastbreak goal. The full game highlights are below. The second goal and the fastbreak goodness starts at the 3:24 mark.

Read more »

Fair Play Edwin Van der Sar: Manchester United Keeper's Magnanimous Moment

Edwin van der Sar is a tall Dutch goalkeeper for Manchester United. Wednesday night, Manchester United met Manchester City in the second leg of their Carling Cup semi-final. The Carling Cup is a knock-out competition for all of the teams in the top four tiers of English football. Upstart Manchester City has been an afterthought in Manchester, playing second fiddle to Manchester United. Furthermore, Cit hasn't won a major competition since the 1970s when they won the Carling Cup but City's new manager, Roberto Mancini has made winning this competition a priority.

To add to the drama, Manchester United opted not to purchase the rights to Carlos Tevez, who had played two seasons with the club. Tevez was snatched up by Manchester City and said that he felt that United didn't appreciate him. Winning the tie with United was a massive priority for him and he came up big in the first game, scoring twice. For most players, scoring twice against the team that rejected you would be enough, but not for Tevez. He decided to head over to the United sideline and make an obscene gesture at United's Gary Neville, who returned fire with a two fingered salute as Tevez celebrated one of his goals. The two exchanged pleasantries through the media ("Neville is a bootlicker") in the week up to the second leg at Old Trafford, United's homefield.

The stage was set for major drama. The first half was exciting but neither team scored. Manchester City pushed into United's end of the field and forced a corner kick. Craig Bellamy went to the corner to grab the ball. As he went to set it up, the United fans started throwing coins, bottles, and other stuff from the stands. Bellamy grabbed his head and went to the ground as more missiles reigned down from the crowd. That was when Van der Sar made his best save of the night. He raced over from his goal and stood between Bellamy and the crowd, shielding Bellamy from the thrown objects and stopped the crowd in their tracks. As quickly as the missiles started, they ended. Bellamy got up and headed back into the field of play as another player took the kick and Van der Sar went back to his goal.

It was a magnanimous moment from the United keeper that is rarely seen. When the US Men's National Team plays in Mexico, guards must hold up shields to protect anyone who has to head to the corner flag. I don't know that Van der Sar and Bellamy are friends but either way, having a highly respected player come to the aide of a bitter rival took a lot of courage and integrity. It is an act that will have positive repercussions because it sets a precedence of respect, even when it is a hated rival in an important game.

It is interesting to contrast Van der Sar with Gary Neville and Carlos Tevez.

Neville initiated things by saying that United were smart not to resign Tevez because his financial demands were too large. Tevez felt disrespected and used Neville's comments to motivate him for the first leg of the trip, in which Tevez scored two goals. While celebrating one of the goals, Tevez made a gesture at Neville as Neville warmed up on the sideline. Neville returned fire with a two-fingered salute (England's equivalent of "the bird"). Then, later in the week, Tevez called Neville a "boot-licker" and a "moron" before his Manager told him to shut up already.

While it makes for great drama, it is all very petty and superficial. There's not much depth to the man who is so easily disrespected or quick to react to petty gestures, however it takes a strong inner compass to stand up to your own fans to protect a vulnerable rival. That's what Edwin van der Sar did in his magnanimous moment. Fair play to Van der Sar.

Here's the video in full. The highlight is at the 11 minute mark.


Watch Manchester United v Manchester City in Sports | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Read more »

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.

Read more »

A Deeper Look at What It Takes to Beat the [Red] Devil

Let me start off with a couple disclaimers: (1) I'm a shameless Liverpool fan, but will try not to be completely biased in this post after a terrific victory for the Reds this weekend; (2) I spent WAY too much time compiling the statistics used in this post, so pardon the data dump. Now for the main course:

I wanted to take a closer look at the Liverpool-ManU game this weekend, partly because--like Kent--I've been a little bemused by the Reds up-and-down play this season and wanted to get behind it; and partly because I've always felt that you could get a lot of quality analysis out of a deeper statistical look into the game of football than the cursory shots, goals, assists, cards tallied by most media around. So I watched the game touch-by-touch and kept track of every bit of play by Liverpool to see how the team played the game. I tallied the usual goals, assists, etc., but also touches (good and bad), attempted and successful passes, pressured passes, dribbles, completed dribbles, turnovers, blocks, interceptions, whether a player was outpaced, and a host of other minutiae. Some of my stats are necessarily a little objective (like whether a touch was poor or superb, for example). And I admit there could be some small errors here and there in the tallies, but it's more or less accurate. Here's some of my conclusions:

The biggest revelation from the statistics is how Liverpool's holding midfielders dominated the game. Lucas Leiva led the team in touches with 44, and completed an astonishing 38 of 42 passes. His first unsuccessful pass came at 11:24 in the first half, after 10 successful ones, and incredibly he didn't miss another pass until the 81:09 mark, and that was a tight through-ball that almost placed Kuyt in a clear scoring opportunity. For a player who's caught a lot of (perhaps unfair) criticism, he showed up today.

Mascherano did as well (as he usually does), with 39 touches and having completed 31 of 34 passes, to go along with 4 tackles, 15 interceptions and a block. Mascherano didn't miss a pass until the 13:55 mark, after he had made 14 successful ones. My only criticism of Mascherano's game is that he tends to gun for goal from outside when the better play would probably be for one of his forwards. He missed at least one solid chance for Torres this week.

Carragher--another Red who's taken some heat this season for what some thought to be a decline in form--also had a very good game. He led the team by far in defensive stoppages with 5 tackles, 21 interceptions, and 3 blocks (one of which likely saved a goal). He was truly beaten only once--when Owen snuck in behind him and forced a professional foul that, I admit, looked like the only way to stop a direct goal-scoring opportunity. (There's a good argument it should have drawn a red). Overall, Carragher didn't show the lack of pace that has drawn criticism earlier this season. But one weakness did surface: Carragher loves the long ball, and it usually doesn't work for him. He had 12 turnovers in the game to lead the team in that dubious statistic, and 11 came from long-ball attempts that went nowhere fast. Take those away, and Liverpool retains possession better and Carragher only passes awry once.

Yossi Benayoun was the other unsung hero of the game. His assist to Torres on the first goal was world-class quality in a pressure situation. He trailed only Lucas in total touches, led the team in dribbles, played several superb balls through, and even dropped way back for several key defensive stoppages during the final quarter of the game. While he had several turnovers (7--second only to Carragher), most stemmed from his quality efforts to create openings in attack, not poor play.

There's a lot more that might be said about what the data shows, but I'll cut it short there for now, with the final observation that there's no statistic to describe the quality of Torres' goal. For all SAF's complaints about the referee work on Sunday, Ferdinand's desperate and unavailing effort to stop El Nino was the closest thing to a penalty in the game, and didn't even draw a whistle.

But for all the quality that surfaced in Sunday's game, in the end, the only statistic that really matters is the point tally on the league table. By that all-important count, ManU is still on top and Liverpool still have a ways to go...

Read more »

English Premier League: Manchester United v Manchester City - Craig Bellamy, Bad Defense, and Michael Owen

In the English Premier League, Manchester City lost to Manchester United in the last minute of extra time after Craig Bellamy equalized only minutes earlier. Michael Owen came off the bench to poke the ball past Shay Given as time expired after the ageless Ryan Giggs sent a perfect pass into the box.

First off, in England, they pronounce derby as "darby." Why? Weird.

Second, Craig Bellamy celebrated a while, punched a fan, and made a fool of himself but that can't take away the fact that he had an incredible game.

Third, Manchester City's defense is terrible. They cannot finish in the top four if their defense doesn't get organized. Why was Michael Owen give that much space? Why were they hoofing the ball up field for the last 5 minutes instead of controlling and passing? It seemed like Bob Bradley took over the Manager's spot for the last 5 minutes and implemented his super secret strategy for blowing 2 goal leads: just boot it.

Watch the Match of the Day highlights here.

Matt

Read more »