England v Italy was expected to be the least entertaining of the quarter-finals and so it proved.
A largely turgid tale of massed English defending and missed Italian chances was put out of its misery by a penalty shoot-out, won 4-2 by the Azzurri, after Ashleys Cole and Young fluffed their spot-kicks for England.
Pre-match expectations of a level playing-field seemed correct as Italy struck the woodwork in the opening minutes through Daniele De Rossi and Glen Johnson almost netted at the other end. England had some delightful touches, but as the first half wore on Italy began to control the midfield.
The second half and extra-time saw Italy firmly bossing the game and England reverting to a siege mentality. England's two banks of four and one forward tracking back resembled table football in its rigid formation, but succeeded in not conceding. The Three Lions offered no attacking threat to Italy as recompense and Gianluigi Buffon enjoyed a pleasant summer evening in Kiev. Penalties were certain.
Andrea Pirlo was by far the best player of the evening, his telegraphed passes and elegant playmaking a joy to admire. Italy used the flanks well, Ignazio Abate whipping in dangerous crosses, while Mario Balotelli sprang the England offside trap on a number of occasions. Riccardo Montolivo was a roving danger, while subsitutes Alessandro Diamante and Antonio Nocerino proved more effective than England's Andy Carroll and Theo Walcott.
For the Three Lions, Joe Hart's acrobatics and John Terry's lionheart defending saved many a goal and Steven Gerrard ran his socks off as usual, but Glen Johnson made some key errors and Ashley Young again was anonymous, as if the switch from Fabio Capello's 4-3-2-1 to Roy Hodgson's 4-4-2 has unnerved England's best player from qualifying.
England were afraid of committing men upfield, which left their players isolated when they won the ball, leading to yet more Italian possession.
Italy looked a little fitter, but extra-time and two days less rest than Germany may tell come Thursday's semi-final.
That said, a well-drilled Italian team with some dangerous elements should not be written off, no more than their World Cup winning teams of 1982 and 2006 should have been in the opening rounds of those competitions.
For Hodgson, the real work starts now with overseeing the national training centre project, 2014 World Cup qualification and hopefully, an overhaul of the national playing style. England have fallen short so many times playing their natural attacking game it was time to try a different approach.
For the first time, England approached a tournament with low public expectations and playing safety first, if not catenaccio, aiming for penalties by the knock-out stages. But against Italy they failed to apply Walcott's speed on the counter while their other flying wingman Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was left on the bench. The statistics for passing and possession tell a shocking story. Plan B worked up to a point.
Going forward, England will have to open up, pass more and hold the ball longer. Jack Wilshere is hopefully the first of a new generation to have learnt this.
An exit is always depressing, but England should take inspiration from Germany, who were abject at Euro 2000 but overhauled their country's coaching and brought through a new generation of players to become the awesome team they are in 2012.
Semi-Finals
Weds, Donetsk: Portugal v Spain
Thu, Warsaw: Germany v Italy
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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Euro 2012 football
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Senin, 25 Juni 2012
Sabtu, 23 Juni 2012
France fire Blancs as Spanish sail on to the semis
France are the latest team heading for the airport, well beaten 2-0 by Vicente del Bosque's men in Donetsk this evening.
Spain did not play fluently and a fine goal apart were never thrilling, but still won comfortably enough. The French had already lost their way in their abject 2-0 defeat to Sweden in Kiev on Tuesday, which was followed by the sort of changing-room row they hoped they had left behind in South Africa two years ago.
Watching tonight's meek surrender in the Shakhtar stadium, it is worth remembering Les Bleus were on a 23-game unbeaten run a week ago and were the last team to eliminate Spain from a competition - the 2006 World Cup. France suffered from nerves throughout Euro 2012, and bottled it tonight. Coach Laurent Blanc admitted in his pre-match press conference what most of us had been thinking - the best tactic is to keep Spain at bay for the first twenty minutes and then think about attacking. Unfortunately for France, the defensive mindset going into the game found itself outflanked by events on the pitch.
As it happened, Xabi Alonso, on his 100th appearance, scored in the 19th and his team never looked back, apart from the first ten minutes of the second half when the French pressed and had Spain backpedalling. Alonso added a penalty in injury time for the coup de grace.
France never truly threatened to score due to an incoherent forward line and lack of team spirit. While Frank Ribery twisted and turned dangerously on the left, Karim Benzema misfired at centre-forward and attacking substitutes Olivier Giroud, Jeremy Menez and Samir Nasri all failed to make an impression.
Content to sit back and soak up Spanish attacks in the first half, they failed to put their opponents on the ropes after the break when they needed an equaliser. As the minutes ticked away, Blanc's men were reluctant to throw men forward at 0-1, presumably for fear of leaving gaps at the back.
Spain won 55% of possession, low by their standards, but registered five shots on target to France's one. Cesc Fabregas looked out of sorts as the 'false No.9', while substitute Fernando Torres had another limp display, offside more than dangerous.
Winning while playing badly is a sign of great teams of course, but all Spain knows La Roja must up their game on Wednesday to beat their Iberian neighbours Portugal and on-fire Cristiano Ronaldo, the player of the tournament so far.
Tonight: England v Italy
Weds: SF Spain v Portugal
Thurs: SF Germany v England/Italy
Sun: Final
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Spain did not play fluently and a fine goal apart were never thrilling, but still won comfortably enough. The French had already lost their way in their abject 2-0 defeat to Sweden in Kiev on Tuesday, which was followed by the sort of changing-room row they hoped they had left behind in South Africa two years ago.
Watching tonight's meek surrender in the Shakhtar stadium, it is worth remembering Les Bleus were on a 23-game unbeaten run a week ago and were the last team to eliminate Spain from a competition - the 2006 World Cup. France suffered from nerves throughout Euro 2012, and bottled it tonight. Coach Laurent Blanc admitted in his pre-match press conference what most of us had been thinking - the best tactic is to keep Spain at bay for the first twenty minutes and then think about attacking. Unfortunately for France, the defensive mindset going into the game found itself outflanked by events on the pitch.
As it happened, Xabi Alonso, on his 100th appearance, scored in the 19th and his team never looked back, apart from the first ten minutes of the second half when the French pressed and had Spain backpedalling. Alonso added a penalty in injury time for the coup de grace.
France never truly threatened to score due to an incoherent forward line and lack of team spirit. While Frank Ribery twisted and turned dangerously on the left, Karim Benzema misfired at centre-forward and attacking substitutes Olivier Giroud, Jeremy Menez and Samir Nasri all failed to make an impression.
Content to sit back and soak up Spanish attacks in the first half, they failed to put their opponents on the ropes after the break when they needed an equaliser. As the minutes ticked away, Blanc's men were reluctant to throw men forward at 0-1, presumably for fear of leaving gaps at the back.
Spain won 55% of possession, low by their standards, but registered five shots on target to France's one. Cesc Fabregas looked out of sorts as the 'false No.9', while substitute Fernando Torres had another limp display, offside more than dangerous.
Winning while playing badly is a sign of great teams of course, but all Spain knows La Roja must up their game on Wednesday to beat their Iberian neighbours Portugal and on-fire Cristiano Ronaldo, the player of the tournament so far.
Tonight: England v Italy
Weds: SF Spain v Portugal
Thurs: SF Germany v England/Italy
Sun: Final
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Sabtu, 16 Juni 2012
England rejoice while Swedes head for the exit
UEFA 2012 Group D, Kiev
England 3: 2 Sweden
A helter-skelter of a game which must have pleased everyone but the aesthetes. England got the champagne after coming out on top of a five-goal thriller, but the Swedes, backed by phenomenal support, left Euro 2012 in glory, coming from a goal down to bag two in ten minutes and send England reeling for a few crazy minutes.
In the greater scheme of things, last night's yo-yo in Kiev may go down as a meaningless if entertaining tussle between two of the weaker teams in the tournament. England showed plenty of grit and fighting spirit to come from behind to win, but traditional virtues will not haul them very far. As the Swedes pack their bags, England still have to get a result against the co-hosts to avoid a speedy exit themselves.
The Three Lions are certainly more disciplined and safety-first under Roy Hodgson, but last night rode a rollercoaster which sent their supporters through an encyclopedia of emotions. The team is still learning to play with mental strength and less of the inbred cavalier quality which has so often proved their Achilles' Heel. Steven Gerrard may look glum in his assignment as an anchor instead of as a marauding midfielder but at least got the chance to swing in a diagonal cross for Andy Carroll's gleeful opener, a goal from football past where a long ball finds the big man in the box who then wraps it up.
In the end, England profited from a little more quality than Sweden in the final third. Carroll's power-header was text-book, Theo Walcott was the perfect impact sub with his troubling pace and silky feet, while Danny Welbeck's exquisite finish for the winner means he remains on cloud nine.
In reply, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic maintained a real threat for Sweden, although Kim Kallstrom troubled Joe Hart with his snapshots from distance and the young playmaker Rasmus Elm stood out as the most lively brain among a field of workhorses. England's most creative player Ashley Young had a nightmare for a change, hardly putting a foot right all evening.
It was an error-strewn game with neither defence able to defend set-pieces adequately and neither midfield able keep hold of the ball for long. But it was certainly value for spectator money.
While England's beleaguered supporters enjoyed a well-earned and rare night of joyous celebration, deep down all are aware that tougher tests await. No-one in their right mind thinks Hodgson's team are equal to Germany or Spain, and indeed the Three Lions' Euro-quest could end as soon as next Tuesday against the Ukraine. There has been little euphoria at home so far, and no St George's crosses fluttering from car windows as in previous tournaments.
Ball retention, England's perennial shortcoming, must improve, as must the sloppy marking which led to Olof Mellberg's brace and they must find a way of compensating for John Terry's now alarming lack of pace. The squad, already weakened by multiple withdrawals, remains painfully short on depth.
That said, Wayne Rooney will return to the fold and their win in Kiev plus Ukraine's exhausted surrender to France will leave the team confident of reaching the knock-out stages when the real challenges will arrive.
Sweden are left to pick up the pieces after a swift elimination. Erik Hamren's more open approach following six years of Lars Lagerback solidity has got off to a disappointing start.
Having failed to make it to the 2010 World Cup finals, hopes were high for Euro 2012, but with six of last night's side in their 30s, there will now be calls for new blood as they look towards Brazil 2014.
(c) Soccerphile & Sean O'Conor
Tags
Euro 2012 football
England 3: 2 Sweden
A helter-skelter of a game which must have pleased everyone but the aesthetes. England got the champagne after coming out on top of a five-goal thriller, but the Swedes, backed by phenomenal support, left Euro 2012 in glory, coming from a goal down to bag two in ten minutes and send England reeling for a few crazy minutes.
In the greater scheme of things, last night's yo-yo in Kiev may go down as a meaningless if entertaining tussle between two of the weaker teams in the tournament. England showed plenty of grit and fighting spirit to come from behind to win, but traditional virtues will not haul them very far. As the Swedes pack their bags, England still have to get a result against the co-hosts to avoid a speedy exit themselves.
The Three Lions are certainly more disciplined and safety-first under Roy Hodgson, but last night rode a rollercoaster which sent their supporters through an encyclopedia of emotions. The team is still learning to play with mental strength and less of the inbred cavalier quality which has so often proved their Achilles' Heel. Steven Gerrard may look glum in his assignment as an anchor instead of as a marauding midfielder but at least got the chance to swing in a diagonal cross for Andy Carroll's gleeful opener, a goal from football past where a long ball finds the big man in the box who then wraps it up.
In the end, England profited from a little more quality than Sweden in the final third. Carroll's power-header was text-book, Theo Walcott was the perfect impact sub with his troubling pace and silky feet, while Danny Welbeck's exquisite finish for the winner means he remains on cloud nine.
In reply, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic maintained a real threat for Sweden, although Kim Kallstrom troubled Joe Hart with his snapshots from distance and the young playmaker Rasmus Elm stood out as the most lively brain among a field of workhorses. England's most creative player Ashley Young had a nightmare for a change, hardly putting a foot right all evening.
It was an error-strewn game with neither defence able to defend set-pieces adequately and neither midfield able keep hold of the ball for long. But it was certainly value for spectator money.
While England's beleaguered supporters enjoyed a well-earned and rare night of joyous celebration, deep down all are aware that tougher tests await. No-one in their right mind thinks Hodgson's team are equal to Germany or Spain, and indeed the Three Lions' Euro-quest could end as soon as next Tuesday against the Ukraine. There has been little euphoria at home so far, and no St George's crosses fluttering from car windows as in previous tournaments.
Ball retention, England's perennial shortcoming, must improve, as must the sloppy marking which led to Olof Mellberg's brace and they must find a way of compensating for John Terry's now alarming lack of pace. The squad, already weakened by multiple withdrawals, remains painfully short on depth.
That said, Wayne Rooney will return to the fold and their win in Kiev plus Ukraine's exhausted surrender to France will leave the team confident of reaching the knock-out stages when the real challenges will arrive.
Sweden are left to pick up the pieces after a swift elimination. Erik Hamren's more open approach following six years of Lars Lagerback solidity has got off to a disappointing start.
Having failed to make it to the 2010 World Cup finals, hopes were high for Euro 2012, but with six of last night's side in their 30s, there will now be calls for new blood as they look towards Brazil 2014.
(c) Soccerphile & Sean O'Conor
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Senin, 04 Juni 2012
Euro 2012: Italy up against it again
*The last time Italy entered a tournament in crisis was in 2006 at the height of the Calciopoli scandal, when the dark side of that nation's football showed its face in daylight again.Gli Azzurri traveled to the World Cup in Germany under a cloud but came home with the trophy.
1980 saw another match-fixing expose, Totonero, blacken the name of calcio. Yet Italy ended up winning the 1982 World Cup, thanks in no small part to six goals from striker Paolo Rossi, who only appeared because his three-year ban in the wake of Totonero had been reduced to two on appeal.
Euro 2012 coach Cesare Prandelli will be hoping a similar siege mentality envelops his squad and that this time around they can draw on the same hidden reserves of strength which carried Enzo Bearzot's and Marcello Lippi's elevens to their famous triumphs. The latest calcioscomesse (match-fixing) scandal has already claimed the scalp of Italy left-back Domenico Criscito and there was more bad news today when centre-back Andrea Barzagli was ruled out of the group stage with a thigh injury.
Italy might appear a perennial giant but are more of an enigma. At times they sink without trace unexpectedly (Euro '96, Euro 2004) or else sweep to the final when no-one foresees it (Spain '82, USA '94 or Germany 2006). There is definitely something special about those blue shirts and tournaments, but the Azzurri do not have a midas touch. Just look at how they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in the dying seconds of the Euro 2000 final.
With less than a week to go before Euro 2012, Italy's preparations are as troubled as ever. Friday's 3-0 defeat to Russia in Zurich was their third loss in a row, after home defeats to Uruguay and the USA. It was also their third game without scoring a goal, despite the attacking talents of Mario Balotelli and Antonio Cassano.The combustible Balotelli limped out of training today and last week confirmed his highly-strung soul when he promised to "kill" any banana-throwing racists he comes across in Eastern Europe and go to jail if necessary.
Italy the nation is also in choppy water amid deep economic gloom and the unedifying spectacle of an unelected technocratic government, after the ineffable Silvio Berlusconi finally relinquished his grip on power last November. The national team carry an even bigger burden than usual on their backs. Football can take people's minds off a recession and the soccer-mad Italian press will not miss a beat during Euro 2012.
A win in Kiev for the Azzurri and the nation buys itself some time.
So business as usual for the much-maligned traditional slow-starters to tournaments, who often end up having the last laugh by winning them.
And if Italy were in any doubt about what happens when the going gets tough, the Azzurri kick-off in Gdansk on Sunday with the small matter of a Mediterranean derby against reigning European champions and World Cup holders Spain.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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Euro 2012 football
Minggu, 03 Juni 2012
Spain avoid China crisis in Seville
The World Champions completed their preparation in defence of their European title tonight with a 1-0 win over China in Seville.
Spain played an unimpressive first half creating little of note and indeed it was the visiting Chinese, coached by former Real Madrid and La Roja legend Jose Antonio Camacho, which came closer to scoring.
Striker Zheng Zhi wasted two good opportunities by finding the side netting and Iker Casillas' legs instead of the goal.
But the Spanish came out for the second half like raging bulls, thanks in no small part to the introduction by coach Vicente del Bosqueof the attack-minded Andres Iniesta, Jesus Navas and Fernando Torres.
And the home side soon had the tiki-taka flowing with that familiar quickness of feet and telepathic passing and movement we have grown to know so well over the past few seasons.
Before long, Iniesta and Torres had thumped the woodwork. Chinese dreams of stealing a famous win evaporated as their red shirts were pinned back into their own half, unable to launch any more of the dangerous incursions they had made before the break.
A Spanish strike looked likely as Del Bosque's men funneled forward but the home supporters in the Olympic Stadium had to wait until the 84th minute for a goal before David Silva finished off a passing move by side-footing into the net from close range. Their 4-3-3 promotion ended up utterly dominating China's 4-2-3-1 with 72% of possession.
Spain could have added more as they finished very strongly, erasing a toothless first 45 minutes in the process and sending a message to the Euro 2012 qualifiers that they are not about to let go of their trophy in a hurry.
The Euro 2008 winners begin their title defence against Italy next Sunday in Gdansk, before group games against Eire and Croatia.
China meanwhile are on a long road of rebuilding having missed out on World Cup 2014 after defeats to Iraq and Jordan in the third round of AFC qualifying in late 2011/early 2012.
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Euro 2012 football
Spain played an unimpressive first half creating little of note and indeed it was the visiting Chinese, coached by former Real Madrid and La Roja legend Jose Antonio Camacho, which came closer to scoring.
Striker Zheng Zhi wasted two good opportunities by finding the side netting and Iker Casillas' legs instead of the goal.But the Spanish came out for the second half like raging bulls, thanks in no small part to the introduction by coach Vicente del Bosqueof the attack-minded Andres Iniesta, Jesus Navas and Fernando Torres.
And the home side soon had the tiki-taka flowing with that familiar quickness of feet and telepathic passing and movement we have grown to know so well over the past few seasons.
Before long, Iniesta and Torres had thumped the woodwork. Chinese dreams of stealing a famous win evaporated as their red shirts were pinned back into their own half, unable to launch any more of the dangerous incursions they had made before the break.
A Spanish strike looked likely as Del Bosque's men funneled forward but the home supporters in the Olympic Stadium had to wait until the 84th minute for a goal before David Silva finished off a passing move by side-footing into the net from close range. Their 4-3-3 promotion ended up utterly dominating China's 4-2-3-1 with 72% of possession.
Spain could have added more as they finished very strongly, erasing a toothless first 45 minutes in the process and sending a message to the Euro 2012 qualifiers that they are not about to let go of their trophy in a hurry.
The Euro 2008 winners begin their title defence against Italy next Sunday in Gdansk, before group games against Eire and Croatia.
China meanwhile are on a long road of rebuilding having missed out on World Cup 2014 after defeats to Iraq and Jordan in the third round of AFC qualifying in late 2011/early 2012.
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Euro 2012 football
Sabtu, 02 Juni 2012
Euro stars' mixed final auditions
With less than a week until Euro 2012 kicks off in Warsaw, UEFA's top soccer nations have been flexing their muscles in their final friendlies.Eleven of the sixteen qualifiers got the morale boost they had wanted by winning their last games before jetting out to Eastern Europe, but four lost theirs (Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal and Ukraine) and one drew (Croatia).
Holders Spain brushed off South Korea 4-1 in Bern on Friday, and La Roja take on China in Seville on Sunday night.
Germany, many people's favourites to win the tournament, beat Israel 2-0 in Leipzig. Joachim Low's team despatched the Netherlands 3-0 in a friendly last November, but more recently showed their vulnerability with a 2-1 home reverse to France in February and another shock defeat, 5-3 away to Switzerland last week.
The Dutch, another hot tip for the title, recovered from their 2-1 home reverse to Bulgaria a week ago by thumping Northern Ireland 6-0 in Amsterdam on Saturday night.
Italy, probably psychologically afflicted by yet another betting scandal involving players, crashed 3-0 to Russia in Zurich, while the increasingly-fancied France won their third game on the trot, 2-0 at home to Serbia.
Portugal continued their winless 2012 with a 3-1 home loss to Turkey in the Estadio da Luz, Lisbon. The Czech Republic, a dark horse in some quarters, lost 2-1 to Hungary in Prague. Denmark downed Australia 2-0 in Copenhagen while Eire beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in Dublin. Sweden won 3-2 at home to Iceland.
England, in Roy Hodgson's first game at Wembley, laboured to a 1-0 win over Belgium, but both centre-backs Gary Cahill and John Terry hobbled off injured. Greece beat Armenia by the same score, while Croatia drew 1-1 in Norway.
Hosts Poland gave themselves a confidence boost with a 4-0 win over Andorra, but Ukraine slipped to a 3-2 defeat in Austria, their first in 2012.
EURO 2012 Fri 8th June - Sun 1st July
Group A: Poland, Greece, Russia, Czech Republic
Group B: Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Portugal
Group C: Spain, Italy, Eire, Croatia
Group D: Ukraine, Sweden, France, England
Full Schedule
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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Euro 2012 football
Kamis, 31 Mei 2012
Confederations Cup venues announced
Brazil has revealed the venues for the 2013 Confederations Cup, the now traditional warm-up for the following season's World Cup Finals.
The six stadia for the eight-team competition are as follows:
The tournament, which will take place between the 15th and 30th of June 2013, has five of the eight finalists confirmed already.
Brazil will kick-off in the nation's capital Brasilia on the 15th of June next year before playing their other group games in Fortaleza and Salvador. The final is in the Maracana on the 30th.
The finals draw takes place in Sao Paulo on the 24th of November this year.
The seleçao will be going for a hat-trick of Confederations Cups, having won the 2005 edition in Germany, beating Argentina 4-1 in the final, and the 2009 tournament in South Africa, coming from 2-0 down to beat the USA 3-2.
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
The six stadia for the eight-team competition are as follows:
Belo Horizonte (Mineirao) - 70,000
Brasilia (Nacional) - 71,500
Fortaleza (Castelao) - 67,000
Recife (Pernambuco) - 44,000
Rio (Maracana) - 76,500
Salvador (Fonte Nova) - 56,500The tournament, which will take place between the 15th and 30th of June 2013, has five of the eight finalists confirmed already.
Qualifiers:
BRAZIL (hosts)
SPAIN (World Cup holders)
URUGUAY (Copa America holders)
MEXICO (Gold Cup holders)
JAPAN (Asian Cup holders)
+
UEFA European champions (June 2012)
Oceania OFC Nations Cup winner (June 2012)
AFC African champions (Jan/Feb 2013)
Brazil will kick-off in the nation's capital Brasilia on the 15th of June next year before playing their other group games in Fortaleza and Salvador. The final is in the Maracana on the 30th.
The finals draw takes place in Sao Paulo on the 24th of November this year.
The seleçao will be going for a hat-trick of Confederations Cups, having won the 2005 edition in Germany, beating Argentina 4-1 in the final, and the 2009 tournament in South Africa, coming from 2-0 down to beat the USA 3-2.
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Jumat, 18 Mei 2012
Can the Celts host Euro 2020?
At first glance it did not look serious.
Two last-minute expressions of interest in hosting Euro 2020 were registered before the deadline to add to Turkey's existing one.
One came from Georgia and the other was a joint proposal from Eire, Scotland and Wales.
The Turkish government had been desperate for rivals to the Turkish FA's bid to emerge so UEFA lent on two groups to express an interest. 2020 is also Olympic year and Istanbul is in the running for the rings against Baku, Doha, Madrid and Tokyo.
The Ankara government would much prefer the Games to the Euros, so was dismayed when Germany pulled out of the Euro 2020 race, leaving Turkey as the sole bidder. The International Olympic Commission has made it clear no country can host both tournaments in one summer.
With 24 finalists involved, whichever host is chosen will have to provide ten up-to-date stadia, two holding a minimum of 50,000 seats, three at least 40,000 and four 30,000.
It is hard to see how Georgia (pop. 4.5 million), despite its growing economy, will be able to muster that many arenas, while its infrastructure surely also requires a miracle.
The tri-Celtic bid also looks a long shot, although not impossible, as a number of large and modern arenas with experience of hosting football already exist in those countries:
Wales has two other modern football stadia whose capacities could be increased without too much difficulty - Cardiff City Stadium (built 2009, 27,000 seats) and Swansea's Liberty Stadium (2005, 20,500).
Ireland's other football stadia are nothing to write home about, although it has a dozen Gaelic football stadia with capacities of 30,000 or more, but they are mostly standing venues, while the only all-seated stadia of sufficient size reside in tiny towns which would be too small to host Euro 2020.
In terms of access, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Wexford or Waterford would be the realistic candidates to have their arenas rebuilt.
Although giving out three automatic qualification spots is unprecedented, the transport connections are probably easier than between Poland and Ukraine, the hoteliers less likely to overcharge and the police more trustworthy.
More importantly, the presence of a competitor allows Istanbul to challenge for the Olympics in the final IOC vote in Buenos Aires in September 2013. The Euro 2020 decision is not until the following Spring, which allows Turkey the back-up of the European Championships.
Turkey is still the outstanding candidate for Euro 2020, having narrowly missed out on hosting Euro 2016 to France. As a strategic geo-political bridge between the Islamic world and the West, the large nation on the edge of Europe is high on the politicians' list of priorities.
But should Istanbul get the nod for the summer games, the Euros could be heading back to the British Isles for the first time since England hosted 1996.
- Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Two last-minute expressions of interest in hosting Euro 2020 were registered before the deadline to add to Turkey's existing one.
One came from Georgia and the other was a joint proposal from Eire, Scotland and Wales.
The Turkish government had been desperate for rivals to the Turkish FA's bid to emerge so UEFA lent on two groups to express an interest. 2020 is also Olympic year and Istanbul is in the running for the rings against Baku, Doha, Madrid and Tokyo.
The Ankara government would much prefer the Games to the Euros, so was dismayed when Germany pulled out of the Euro 2020 race, leaving Turkey as the sole bidder. The International Olympic Commission has made it clear no country can host both tournaments in one summer.
With 24 finalists involved, whichever host is chosen will have to provide ten up-to-date stadia, two holding a minimum of 50,000 seats, three at least 40,000 and four 30,000.
It is hard to see how Georgia (pop. 4.5 million), despite its growing economy, will be able to muster that many arenas, while its infrastructure surely also requires a miracle.
The tri-Celtic bid also looks a long shot, although not impossible, as a number of large and modern arenas with experience of hosting football already exist in those countries:
- Croke Park (Eire) 82,000
- Millennium Stadium (Wales) 74,000
- Murrayfield (Scotland) 67,000
- Celtic Park (Scotland) 60,000
- Hampden Park (Scotland) 52,000
- Aviva Stadium (Eire) 51,000
- Ibrox (Scotland) 51,000
Wales has two other modern football stadia whose capacities could be increased without too much difficulty - Cardiff City Stadium (built 2009, 27,000 seats) and Swansea's Liberty Stadium (2005, 20,500).
Ireland's other football stadia are nothing to write home about, although it has a dozen Gaelic football stadia with capacities of 30,000 or more, but they are mostly standing venues, while the only all-seated stadia of sufficient size reside in tiny towns which would be too small to host Euro 2020.In terms of access, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Wexford or Waterford would be the realistic candidates to have their arenas rebuilt.
Although giving out three automatic qualification spots is unprecedented, the transport connections are probably easier than between Poland and Ukraine, the hoteliers less likely to overcharge and the police more trustworthy.
More importantly, the presence of a competitor allows Istanbul to challenge for the Olympics in the final IOC vote in Buenos Aires in September 2013. The Euro 2020 decision is not until the following Spring, which allows Turkey the back-up of the European Championships.
Turkey is still the outstanding candidate for Euro 2020, having narrowly missed out on hosting Euro 2016 to France. As a strategic geo-political bridge between the Islamic world and the West, the large nation on the edge of Europe is high on the politicians' list of priorities.
But should Istanbul get the nod for the summer games, the Euros could be heading back to the British Isles for the first time since England hosted 1996.
- Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Bob on the ball
Having just watched the engrossing documentary, "Marley", it is worth remembering how much the beautiful game meant to the legendary reggae singer and cultural figure.Despite hailing from the cricket-loving Jamaica, Bob Marley played football almost as much as he played music and was never far from a ball and a kickabout with his friends.
When he took over the mansion of 56, Hope Road in the Jamaican capital Kingston, an exclusive street which was home to the Prime Minister and other dignitaries, he converted the large front yard into a football field, nicknamed 'the stadium', where he would play on a daily basis.Many photos remain of the rastafarian icon with a football, including ones of him in Battersea Park, London, his home in the mid 1970s. Although a famous Pan-Africanist, his father was actually a white Jamaican of English stock with his roots in Sussex.
Coming from Jamaica to England was thus in a sense returning to half of his roots, as well as to the homeland of the sport he loved so much.
"Football is whole universe to itself," Marley explained. "I love it because you have to be skilful to play it, you know. When we play football, we're playing music."When asked why he said of football, "I need it", he replied simply, "freedom - because football is freedom."
Tragically, the global phenomenon that was Bob Marley came to an end in 1981, when he fell ill with malignant melanoma. Flying home to Jamaica after unsuccessful cancer treatment in Germany, Marley died in Miami, aged only 36.
The loss to Jamaica, reggae, black identity and the world was immense, though his message of love and music of happiness remains, in football as elsewhere.
What a shame he did not live to see Jamaica reach their first ever World Cup, at France 1998.
No doubt had he lived, Bob would have been there in person to serenade the Reggae Boyz' finest hour as they won their first ever finals match, against Japan.
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Kamis, 03 Mei 2012
Muamba miracle makes football proud
Fabrice Muamba may never play again for Bolton or the England set-up, but his triumphant return to the Reebok Stadium last night was something out of a fairytale.
When he collapsed with a cardiac arrest on the field during the Tottenham v Bolton F.A. Cup tie on the 17th March, a whole nation feared the worst. White Hart Lane watched stunned as paramedics performed CPR and defebrilation on the pitch in full view of everyone present and watching on television. Luck would have it that an expert cardiologist was also present in the stadium.
That day, fans and players alike tweeted to urge everyone to pray for a miracle. It later emerged his heart had stopped working for 78 minutes, during which time he was effectively dead. Fast-acting doctors had ensured he had a fighting chance, although his heart did not work again unaided until two days after the initial attack, when his condition was changed from critical to serious.
A month later he was discharged from the London Chest Hospital and last night returned like a conquering hero to Bolton Wanderers.
"I am ok. I am getting stronger every day and happy to be back," said a subdued but clearly touched Muamba.
Muamba's return was as if the hopes and prayers of a nation's football followers had resuscitated him as much as the doctors had. "Even if you're not religious, pray for Fabrice", said a memorable tweet.
Football is sometimes compared to organised worship and at times like this the boundaries cross. At White Hart Lane, supporters clasped their hands as if praying to God for deliverance from death. Who knows if the collective willing of Muamba to live had an effect science has yet to explain.
But yesterday's reunion showed football's sense of community at its strongest. Sharing emotions en masse is perhaps the sport's greatest attraction. Whether the experience is good or bad, we want to feel it with others around us, and that makes us feel we belong.
The stadium rose as one to acclaim their favourite son as he rejoined them. To see an African-born son of an asylum-seeker acclaimed so joyously by so many native Britons was proof enough that football can bring out the best in humanity.
Welcome back Fabrice.
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
When he collapsed with a cardiac arrest on the field during the Tottenham v Bolton F.A. Cup tie on the 17th March, a whole nation feared the worst. White Hart Lane watched stunned as paramedics performed CPR and defebrilation on the pitch in full view of everyone present and watching on television. Luck would have it that an expert cardiologist was also present in the stadium.
That day, fans and players alike tweeted to urge everyone to pray for a miracle. It later emerged his heart had stopped working for 78 minutes, during which time he was effectively dead. Fast-acting doctors had ensured he had a fighting chance, although his heart did not work again unaided until two days after the initial attack, when his condition was changed from critical to serious.
A month later he was discharged from the London Chest Hospital and last night returned like a conquering hero to Bolton Wanderers.
"I am ok. I am getting stronger every day and happy to be back," said a subdued but clearly touched Muamba.
Muamba's return was as if the hopes and prayers of a nation's football followers had resuscitated him as much as the doctors had. "Even if you're not religious, pray for Fabrice", said a memorable tweet.
Football is sometimes compared to organised worship and at times like this the boundaries cross. At White Hart Lane, supporters clasped their hands as if praying to God for deliverance from death. Who knows if the collective willing of Muamba to live had an effect science has yet to explain.
But yesterday's reunion showed football's sense of community at its strongest. Sharing emotions en masse is perhaps the sport's greatest attraction. Whether the experience is good or bad, we want to feel it with others around us, and that makes us feel we belong.
The stadium rose as one to acclaim their favourite son as he rejoined them. To see an African-born son of an asylum-seeker acclaimed so joyously by so many native Britons was proof enough that football can bring out the best in humanity.
Welcome back Fabrice.
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Rabu, 02 Mei 2012
Record night as Real win La Liga
Wasn't this the golden age of FC Barcelona?
Barely a week ago the blaugrana were going for a clean sweep of trophies as their legend as the greatest football team of all time continued to be told.
Now Barça are out of the Champions League and have handed their Spanish title to Real Madrid with a loss to their arch-rivals at the Camp Nou.
This evening Real clinched La Liga in style by beating Europa League finalists Athletic Bilbao 3-0 away to open up an unassailable seven-point lead with two games remaining. Lionel Messi did what he could, bagging his ninth hat-trick of the campaign as Barcelona beat fourth-placed Malaga 4-1.
On an evening of records, Messi scored his 68th goal (46 in the league) to prise away Gerd Muller's 39-year record for strikes in one season, while Real coach Jose Mourinho won a title in his fourth different country, following league championships in Portugal (Porto), England (Chelsea) and Italy (Inter).
How does that achievement measure up?
Little-known Croat Tomislav Ivic won titles in Belgium, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal and Yugoslavia, six different nations. Ernst Happel won in his native Austria, Germany, Italy and Portugal, as has current Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni.
Louis Van Gaal (wins in Holland, Spain & Germany) comes closest in terms of big-league wins, followed by a number who have won titles major nations: Carlo Ancelotti has won titles in Italy & England and is chasing a third in France this year, Arsene Wenger has clinched the title in France and England, while a trio have bagged Serie A and La Liga crowns - Vujadin Boskov, Fabio Capello and Helenio Herrera.
Valencia, a distant 29 points behind Barcelona in third place, qualified for next season's Champions League by beating Osasuna 4-0.
*Newcastle United continued their march towards the Champions League with a 2-0 win at rivals Chelsea.The Toon sit fifth in the Premier League, four points clear of the Blues and a point behind third-place Arsenal. Newcastle play Manchester City at home and Everton away in their final games.
*Also in England, the Football Association has criticised The Sun for its mocking of new England manager Roy Hodgson's speech impediment. "We are delighted at the media response to Roy's appointment," FA chief David Bernstein said, "but are disappointed with the headline in The Sun, which we consider is in poor taste and disrespectful." The Press Complaints Commission confirmed it had received over 100 complaints about the front page of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid.
* Fiorentina have sacked manager Delio Rossi after a touchline altercation with one of his players. Rossi becomes the 19th coaching casualty in Serie A this season, smashing the previous record of 15 in the 1951-'52 season. Serie A has 20 teams.
* Ajax retained the Dutch title with a 2-0 win over Venlo.With one match to play they are six points clear of Feyenoord and seven above PSV. UEFA rank the Eredivisie as the eighth-best league in Europe.
*The title race in Italy is going down to the wire as Milan closed to within one point of leaders Juventus. The Rossoneri beat Atalanta at San Siro 2-0 but Juve could only draw 1-1 at home to Lecce. Juve play Atalanta at home in their final game, but must first travel to Cagliari. Milan are at home to lowly Novara on the last day of the season, but face a Milan derby with Inter before that.
The final day of the season in Italy is traditional for deals to be struck and friendship credits to be stored up, American writer Joe McGinnis was surprised to discover in his memorable book ' 'The Miracle of Castel di Sangro'.
* Ukraine is having a dreadful PR week ahead of its hosting of Euro 2012 in June. After a catalogue of delays and warnings about its poor infrastructure and UEFA boss Michel Platini labeling its hoteliers "crooks and bandits" for jacking up their room rates, four bombs exploded in Dnipropetrovsk at the weekend, injuring 27 people. Now high-level political disapproval is starting to appear.
European President Jose Manuel Barroso has said he will not attend Euro 2012 in protest at the politically-motivated imprisonment and apparent beating of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The Austrian and Croatian governments have also confirmed they will not be attending the tournament in any form and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is said to be considering whether to pull out or not. Tymoshenko has been on hunger strike for two weeks now.
Euro 2012 was supposed to be Ukraine's advert to the world, although with a pro-Russian President, one cannot but help wonder how much they want to impress the E.U. to the west anyway. Platini, after many a headache, will just be glad when it is all over.
- Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Barely a week ago the blaugrana were going for a clean sweep of trophies as their legend as the greatest football team of all time continued to be told.
Now Barça are out of the Champions League and have handed their Spanish title to Real Madrid with a loss to their arch-rivals at the Camp Nou.
This evening Real clinched La Liga in style by beating Europa League finalists Athletic Bilbao 3-0 away to open up an unassailable seven-point lead with two games remaining. Lionel Messi did what he could, bagging his ninth hat-trick of the campaign as Barcelona beat fourth-placed Malaga 4-1.
On an evening of records, Messi scored his 68th goal (46 in the league) to prise away Gerd Muller's 39-year record for strikes in one season, while Real coach Jose Mourinho won a title in his fourth different country, following league championships in Portugal (Porto), England (Chelsea) and Italy (Inter).
How does that achievement measure up?
Little-known Croat Tomislav Ivic won titles in Belgium, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal and Yugoslavia, six different nations. Ernst Happel won in his native Austria, Germany, Italy and Portugal, as has current Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni.
Louis Van Gaal (wins in Holland, Spain & Germany) comes closest in terms of big-league wins, followed by a number who have won titles major nations: Carlo Ancelotti has won titles in Italy & England and is chasing a third in France this year, Arsene Wenger has clinched the title in France and England, while a trio have bagged Serie A and La Liga crowns - Vujadin Boskov, Fabio Capello and Helenio Herrera.
Valencia, a distant 29 points behind Barcelona in third place, qualified for next season's Champions League by beating Osasuna 4-0.
*Newcastle United continued their march towards the Champions League with a 2-0 win at rivals Chelsea.The Toon sit fifth in the Premier League, four points clear of the Blues and a point behind third-place Arsenal. Newcastle play Manchester City at home and Everton away in their final games.
*Also in England, the Football Association has criticised The Sun for its mocking of new England manager Roy Hodgson's speech impediment. "We are delighted at the media response to Roy's appointment," FA chief David Bernstein said, "but are disappointed with the headline in The Sun, which we consider is in poor taste and disrespectful." The Press Complaints Commission confirmed it had received over 100 complaints about the front page of Rupert Murdoch's tabloid.* Fiorentina have sacked manager Delio Rossi after a touchline altercation with one of his players. Rossi becomes the 19th coaching casualty in Serie A this season, smashing the previous record of 15 in the 1951-'52 season. Serie A has 20 teams.
* Ajax retained the Dutch title with a 2-0 win over Venlo.With one match to play they are six points clear of Feyenoord and seven above PSV. UEFA rank the Eredivisie as the eighth-best league in Europe.
*The title race in Italy is going down to the wire as Milan closed to within one point of leaders Juventus. The Rossoneri beat Atalanta at San Siro 2-0 but Juve could only draw 1-1 at home to Lecce. Juve play Atalanta at home in their final game, but must first travel to Cagliari. Milan are at home to lowly Novara on the last day of the season, but face a Milan derby with Inter before that.
The final day of the season in Italy is traditional for deals to be struck and friendship credits to be stored up, American writer Joe McGinnis was surprised to discover in his memorable book ' 'The Miracle of Castel di Sangro'.
* Ukraine is having a dreadful PR week ahead of its hosting of Euro 2012 in June. After a catalogue of delays and warnings about its poor infrastructure and UEFA boss Michel Platini labeling its hoteliers "crooks and bandits" for jacking up their room rates, four bombs exploded in Dnipropetrovsk at the weekend, injuring 27 people. Now high-level political disapproval is starting to appear.European President Jose Manuel Barroso has said he will not attend Euro 2012 in protest at the politically-motivated imprisonment and apparent beating of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The Austrian and Croatian governments have also confirmed they will not be attending the tournament in any form and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is said to be considering whether to pull out or not. Tymoshenko has been on hunger strike for two weeks now.
Euro 2012 was supposed to be Ukraine's advert to the world, although with a pro-Russian President, one cannot but help wonder how much they want to impress the E.U. to the west anyway. Platini, after many a headache, will just be glad when it is all over.
- Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Selasa, 01 Mei 2012
Olympic men's soccer 2012
Men's Football Tournament 26th July - 11th August 2012
Venues -Old Trafford, Manchester 76,000
Millennium, Cardiff 74,500
St James Park, Newcastle 52,000
Hampden Park, Glasgow 52,000
Ricoh Arena, Coventry 32,500
Group A: Great Britain, Senegal, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay
Group B: Mexico, South Korea, Gabon, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Egypt, Belarus, New Zealand
Group D: Spain, Japan, Honduras, Morocco
1st round - 26th July, 29th July, 1st August
Quarter-Finals - 4th August (London, Manchester, Newcastle & Cardiff)
Semi-Finals - 7th August (London & Manchester)
Bronze medal match - 10th August (Cardiff)
Final - 11th August (London)
Bookies' favourites in order: Brazil, Spain, Great Britain, Uruguay, Switzerland, Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Egypt, Belarus, Senegal, Morocco, Gabon, Honduras, U.A.E., New Zealand.
Olympic Men's Football Champions
2008 Argentina
2004 Argentina2000 Cameroon
1996 Nigeria
1992 Spain
1988 Soviet Union
1984 France
1980 Czechoslovakia
1976 East Germany
1972 Poland1968 Hungary
1964 Hungary
1960 Yugoslavia
1956 Soviet Union
1952 Hungary
1948 Sweden
1936 Italy
1928 Uruguay
1924 Uruguay
1920 Belgium
1912 Great Britain
1908 Great Britain
1904 Canada
1900 Great Britain
Official schedule
Official ticketing site
-Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Minggu, 15 April 2012
England headless with two months to go
With less than two months until Euro 2012 kicks-off in Warsaw, England alone of the finalists do not have a confirmed manager.Tottenham Hotspur's 1-5 humiliation by Chelsea today may usher the hot favourite Harry Redknapp closer to the exit door at White Hart Lane and the Jubilee Line to Wembley Park.
Spurs can now add F.A. Cup elimination to their meagre tally of six points from 24 since Fabio Capello called it a day on the 9th of February and the light of national expectation shone upon their coach instead. The inescapable conclusion is that the speculation has unsettled the North London club, from the directors in the boardroom to the players on the field.
Stuart Pearce remains caretaker manager, and will have a busy summer if he coaches the national team at Euro 2012, followed by the Great Britain team at the Olympic Games in July & August, as well as maintaining his day job as England U21 manager.
England have a friendly away in Norway on the 26th of May, followed by a home friendly with Belgium on the 2nd of June, their final warm-up game before Euro 2012 begins in anger for them nine days later against France in Donetsk.
"We haven't approached anybody and have approached no club," FA General Secretary Alex Horne told the BBC last week. This line is hard to believe, and if true, reveals astonishing complacency and an irrational belief if the prosaic talents of Stuart Pearce.
"We know exactly what we're doing between now and our first game against France," Horne went on, astonishingly, "and we just need to slot a manager in, giving that individual enough time to get used to the set-up."
Yet waiting another month leaves the new coach with hardly anytime to "get used to the set-up". Perhaps the FA are hoping that by parachuting the new coach into the job as late as possible, England will enjoy the honeymoon long enough to last a successful Euro 2012.
Or else Pearce, who has sculpted a well-organised but uninspired U21 side, showed enough promise in his 2-3 debut defeat to Holland as national team manager, to have the job for at least the summer. He knows the set-up inside-out after all.
Whoever will occupy the team bench in June, England have been in another fine mess since Capello, the coach with the all-time best record of any Three Lions manager, felt he had no choice but to resign and walk away.
Euro 2012 managers by age:
Giovanni Trapattoni (Ireland) 73
Dick Advocaat (Russia) 64
Franciszek Smuda (Poland) 63
Morten Olsen (Denmark) 62
Vicente del Bosque (Spain) 61
Oleg Blokhin (Ukraine) 59
Bert van Maarwijk (Netherlands) 59
Fernando Santos (Greece) 57
Erik Hamren (Sweden) 54
Cesare Prandelli (Italy) 54
Joachim Low (Germany) 52
Stuart Pearce (England) 49
Michal Bilek (Czech Republic) 46
Laurent Blanc (France) 46
Slaven Bilic (Croatia) 43
Paulo Bento (Portugal) 42
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Euro 2012 football
Kamis, 12 April 2012
Euro 2012 waiting to catch fire
Euro 2012 is less than two months away, although there is little excitement building up yet.
Some of this can be put down to the continent-wide recession, which Polish and Ukrainian hoteliers have ignored, given their suicidal decision to hike accommodation prices to unaffordable levels, a spectacular own-goal which the UEFA President and Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich have both publicly condemned. Michel Platini labelled the profiteers "bandits and crooks" this week.
The organisers claim to have sold all the tickets, but given England alone, a nation with a strong tradition of travelling fans, have sold barely 3,000 to their supporters, expect the East European touts to be left with unsold batches and locals who snapped up tickets expecting a similar payday to be left short-changed.
Swathes of empty seats may be visible on television in June, unless the two host nations drastically reduce their hotel prices to sensible levels or thousands of Polish and Ukrainian kids are given the unsold tickets.
This unseemly cashing-in has cast an unfortunate dark shadow on Euro 2012, bolstering the gold-digging stereotype many Westerners have of Eastern Europe, a region which has never hosted the World Cup and only once hosted the European Championship, the four-team 1976 edition in Yugoslavia.
The football itself should be top-quality however, with both World Cup finalists involved and a number of fascinating questions: Can the Spanish Empire maintain its tiki-taka hegemony? Will the Dutch get revenge for their World Cup final defeat? Will a resurgent France challenge for the title and will we forget again how awesome Germany's record in tournaments is?
The usual suspects look hard to bet against. The young and multicultural Germany put four past both England and Argentina in the World Cup's knock-out stages after all, which was no mean feat, and late last year despatched the Dutch in a friendly. The Netherlands, who most recently beat England 3-2 at Wembley, boast a panoply of talent in midfield and attack but will have to hope their ho-hum defence does not let them down.
Italy, rebuilding after their dismal 2010 exit, should provide some green shoots to admire, as will England, likewise in a period of change after a poor World Cup. Add in the wild cards like Russia, Denmark and Ireland, as well as the host nations, and a tasty dish of many flavours is on the menu.
Not least for Platini, Euro 2012 has been a long and arduous road, full of headaches, final ultimatums and second chances. Even though many of us will not be there in person, it will be an almighty relief when Poland kick-off in Warsaw on the 8th of June.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Some of this can be put down to the continent-wide recession, which Polish and Ukrainian hoteliers have ignored, given their suicidal decision to hike accommodation prices to unaffordable levels, a spectacular own-goal which the UEFA President and Ukrainian leader Viktor Yanukovich have both publicly condemned. Michel Platini labelled the profiteers "bandits and crooks" this week.
The organisers claim to have sold all the tickets, but given England alone, a nation with a strong tradition of travelling fans, have sold barely 3,000 to their supporters, expect the East European touts to be left with unsold batches and locals who snapped up tickets expecting a similar payday to be left short-changed.
Swathes of empty seats may be visible on television in June, unless the two host nations drastically reduce their hotel prices to sensible levels or thousands of Polish and Ukrainian kids are given the unsold tickets.
This unseemly cashing-in has cast an unfortunate dark shadow on Euro 2012, bolstering the gold-digging stereotype many Westerners have of Eastern Europe, a region which has never hosted the World Cup and only once hosted the European Championship, the four-team 1976 edition in Yugoslavia.
The football itself should be top-quality however, with both World Cup finalists involved and a number of fascinating questions: Can the Spanish Empire maintain its tiki-taka hegemony? Will the Dutch get revenge for their World Cup final defeat? Will a resurgent France challenge for the title and will we forget again how awesome Germany's record in tournaments is?
The usual suspects look hard to bet against. The young and multicultural Germany put four past both England and Argentina in the World Cup's knock-out stages after all, which was no mean feat, and late last year despatched the Dutch in a friendly. The Netherlands, who most recently beat England 3-2 at Wembley, boast a panoply of talent in midfield and attack but will have to hope their ho-hum defence does not let them down.
Italy, rebuilding after their dismal 2010 exit, should provide some green shoots to admire, as will England, likewise in a period of change after a poor World Cup. Add in the wild cards like Russia, Denmark and Ireland, as well as the host nations, and a tasty dish of many flavours is on the menu.
Not least for Platini, Euro 2012 has been a long and arduous road, full of headaches, final ultimatums and second chances. Even though many of us will not be there in person, it will be an almighty relief when Poland kick-off in Warsaw on the 8th of June.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Rabu, 08 Februari 2012
It's Harry's game as Capello era ends
As the dust clears from the impact of the news that Fabio Capello had called it a day with/been fired by England, the Football Association have a minor headache to deal with in their search for a replacement.
Harry Redknapp has had his name on the job for some time, at least since Tottenham Hotspur's dazzling display in last year's Champions League convinced the doubters he could cut it in international football. But what will Spurs chairman Daniel Levy be thinking tonight, only hours after breathing a sigh of relief that his coach had been acquitted of tax evasion at Sout
hwark Crown Court. Levy has played hardball more than once before when his star attraction wanted to leave.
Tottenham are flying this season again, third in the league, seven points off the leaders and playing the most attractive football in the country. The loss to Spurs of their mercurial manager will be painful for a club finally sniffing success after years of frustration. Qualifying for the Champions League may seem immaterial as Redknapp was always going to leave for England in the summer, but a league championship would have been a fitting send-off. Perhaps Redknapp will wait until July, or take the job part-time from now, but however one looks at it, the unexpected end of Capello's England career has left a right mess for the F.A. to clean up.
Capello won around two-thirds of his games and England most recently beat World Champions Spain, but lost when it counted, miserably against Germany at the World Cup Finals in South Africa. England were lethargic and insipid from the moment they touched down and lost Rio Ferdinand to injury, failed to beat the USA and Algeria before they scraped past Slovenia, only to be thrashed in the second round.
He has manifestly failed for the first time in his career, and his English misadventure tarnishes his previously exemplary record. Never mastering the language helped nobody, while his stern style, although at first praised for instilling much-needed discipline in his overpaid charges, became brittle and unhelpful in the final dispute which caused his downfall.
Pride came before his fall, as the Italian publicly slammed his employers on RAI television, precipitating an acrimonious parting of ways today in London. He was foolish to speak out like that, but the F.A. also failed to establish an effective relationship in the first place where both parties respected each other. Being overruled over John Terry's captaincy for a second time was too much for Fabio to take.
Yet sadly Capello always seemed a hired gun rather than an integral team member, his poor English hampering a full immersion into a country and its football culture. Allegedly eschewing the telephone, Capello's communication line to the F.A. became fatally garbled when assistant Franco Baldini, who spoke fluent English, left to become Roma's general manager last autumn.
Redknapp seems to tick all the boxes for England, but we must hold our horses before we can toast our first silverware since 1966. Will the inability to bring in foreign players do for chequebook-happy Harry, and will the lack of regular games frustrate his pally style? Or will the higher level of competition simply prove too much for his abilities?
Has a nation once again got drunk on the idea of a magical saviour instead of looking at the bigger picture of a national football culture behind Germany's in organisation and tactics and trailing Holland and Spain in terms of technique? And why has the F.A. still not introduced a winter break, one of the key reasons for England's demise at the World Cup, which Capello highlighted.
FABIO CAPELLO'S ENGLAND RECORD:
Played 42, Won 28 (67%), Drew 8, Lost 6
World Cup 2010: Second Round
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Harry Redknapp has had his name on the job for some time, at least since Tottenham Hotspur's dazzling display in last year's Champions League convinced the doubters he could cut it in international football. But what will Spurs chairman Daniel Levy be thinking tonight, only hours after breathing a sigh of relief that his coach had been acquitted of tax evasion at Sout
hwark Crown Court. Levy has played hardball more than once before when his star attraction wanted to leave.Tottenham are flying this season again, third in the league, seven points off the leaders and playing the most attractive football in the country. The loss to Spurs of their mercurial manager will be painful for a club finally sniffing success after years of frustration. Qualifying for the Champions League may seem immaterial as Redknapp was always going to leave for England in the summer, but a league championship would have been a fitting send-off. Perhaps Redknapp will wait until July, or take the job part-time from now, but however one looks at it, the unexpected end of Capello's England career has left a right mess for the F.A. to clean up.
Capello won around two-thirds of his games and England most recently beat World Champions Spain, but lost when it counted, miserably against Germany at the World Cup Finals in South Africa. England were lethargic and insipid from the moment they touched down and lost Rio Ferdinand to injury, failed to beat the USA and Algeria before they scraped past Slovenia, only to be thrashed in the second round.
He has manifestly failed for the first time in his career, and his English misadventure tarnishes his previously exemplary record. Never mastering the language helped nobody, while his stern style, although at first praised for instilling much-needed discipline in his overpaid charges, became brittle and unhelpful in the final dispute which caused his downfall.
Pride came before his fall, as the Italian publicly slammed his employers on RAI television, precipitating an acrimonious parting of ways today in London. He was foolish to speak out like that, but the F.A. also failed to establish an effective relationship in the first place where both parties respected each other. Being overruled over John Terry's captaincy for a second time was too much for Fabio to take.
Yet sadly Capello always seemed a hired gun rather than an integral team member, his poor English hampering a full immersion into a country and its football culture. Allegedly eschewing the telephone, Capello's communication line to the F.A. became fatally garbled when assistant Franco Baldini, who spoke fluent English, left to become Roma's general manager last autumn.
Redknapp seems to tick all the boxes for England, but we must hold our horses before we can toast our first silverware since 1966. Will the inability to bring in foreign players do for chequebook-happy Harry, and will the lack of regular games frustrate his pally style? Or will the higher level of competition simply prove too much for his abilities?
Has a nation once again got drunk on the idea of a magical saviour instead of looking at the bigger picture of a national football culture behind Germany's in organisation and tactics and trailing Holland and Spain in terms of technique? And why has the F.A. still not introduced a winter break, one of the key reasons for England's demise at the World Cup, which Capello highlighted.
FABIO CAPELLO'S ENGLAND RECORD:
Played 42, Won 28 (67%), Drew 8, Lost 6
World Cup 2010: Second Round
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Tags
Euro 2012 football
Senin, 30 Januari 2012
Speed inquest sheds light, BBC Fashanu doc
The mystery surrounding the death of Wales coach Gary Speed unraveled somewhat today at the official inquest.
While the coroner concluded there was not enough hard evidence to record a deliberate suicide, instead of just a cry for help presumably, we did learn that Speed and his wife had been having problems in their marriage and had rowed on the night he died.
His children were in bed and his wife had driven off following the argument and spent the night sleeping in the car when her husband failed to return her phonecalls. Shortly after 6am she saw his body hanging in the garage.
This news corrected the initial statements issued to the press, which had left everyone bewildered how someone so apparently happy and successful could end it all in a flash.
Now we know there were warning signs, not least in a text he sent the week before when he spoke of a desire to kill himself. Friend Alan Shearer confirmed Speed had mentioned his marriage was in a rocky patch, but added that it was nothing unusual in long-term relationships.
Speed's mother gave perhaps the most touching testimony, describing her son as a "glass half-empty person" and noting sadness in his eyes shortly before his death.
It is still a tragedy with no happy ending, but at least it makes more sense now. Speed's many clubs have given him moving tributes, while Wales' friendly with Costa Rica next month should be a fitting send-off.
Speeds' death came in the same week that 'A Life too Short', the tale of German international goalkeeper Robert Enke's suicide, won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. Author Ronald Reng had previously penned an entertaining chronicle of another German goalie Lars Leese's year with Barnsley in the Premier League - 'The Keeper of Dreams'.
***
If admitting depression remains somewhat of a taboo in soccer, Stan Collymore aside, coming out as gay still seems hopelessly impossible. Tonight BBC4 screened a documentary optimistically called 'Britain's Gay Footballers', where Amal Fashanu, the 23 year-old niece of the much-traveled Justin Fashanu and daughter of ex-Wimbledon legend John, asked why no gay players had come out since her late uncle more than twenty years ago.
The most poignant moment was when Amal confronted her own father about his famous ostracising of his brother. John Fashanu came close to admitting he was wrong to have done so, but could only confess he could have done more to help and at the time believed Justin had brought shame onto the family by revealing scurrilous details of his sex life to Rupert Murdoch's Sun.
Predictably, her quest for some sign that English football is about to exit the dark ages ended fruitlessly, with one voice after another expressing the mantra that gay men still cannot feel comfortable in soccer. Most players, depressingly, refused to even discuss the issue on camera with Amal, though QPR bad boy and twitterer extreme Joey Barton said he expected to see openly gay players within a decade.
A chat with self-outed Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas and a visit to Sweden where Glenn Hysen's gay son plays fourth division football with no obvious problems, confirmed we have no excuses left in the game's homeland. Homosexuality has been legal in England and Wales for 45 years after all.
The FA, UEFA and FIFA need to take more of a lead however and eradicate homophobia as passionately as they campaign against racial discrimination. The authorities' relative silence on the issue is sending the wrong message to a sport which revels in the full glare of modern publicity but in its social makeup and entrenched attitudes still inhabits a bygone age. Awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup Finals to homophobic nations certainly did not help, but there is time for everyone to change for the better.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Euro 2012 football
While the coroner concluded there was not enough hard evidence to record a deliberate suicide, instead of just a cry for help presumably, we did learn that Speed and his wife had been having problems in their marriage and had rowed on the night he died.
His children were in bed and his wife had driven off following the argument and spent the night sleeping in the car when her husband failed to return her phonecalls. Shortly after 6am she saw his body hanging in the garage.
This news corrected the initial statements issued to the press, which had left everyone bewildered how someone so apparently happy and successful could end it all in a flash.
Now we know there were warning signs, not least in a text he sent the week before when he spoke of a desire to kill himself. Friend Alan Shearer confirmed Speed had mentioned his marriage was in a rocky patch, but added that it was nothing unusual in long-term relationships.
Speed's mother gave perhaps the most touching testimony, describing her son as a "glass half-empty person" and noting sadness in his eyes shortly before his death.
It is still a tragedy with no happy ending, but at least it makes more sense now. Speed's many clubs have given him moving tributes, while Wales' friendly with Costa Rica next month should be a fitting send-off.
Speeds' death came in the same week that 'A Life too Short', the tale of German international goalkeeper Robert Enke's suicide, won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award. Author Ronald Reng had previously penned an entertaining chronicle of another German goalie Lars Leese's year with Barnsley in the Premier League - 'The Keeper of Dreams'.
***
If admitting depression remains somewhat of a taboo in soccer, Stan Collymore aside, coming out as gay still seems hopelessly impossible. Tonight BBC4 screened a documentary optimistically called 'Britain's Gay Footballers', where Amal Fashanu, the 23 year-old niece of the much-traveled Justin Fashanu and daughter of ex-Wimbledon legend John, asked why no gay players had come out since her late uncle more than twenty years ago.
The most poignant moment was when Amal confronted her own father about his famous ostracising of his brother. John Fashanu came close to admitting he was wrong to have done so, but could only confess he could have done more to help and at the time believed Justin had brought shame onto the family by revealing scurrilous details of his sex life to Rupert Murdoch's Sun.
Predictably, her quest for some sign that English football is about to exit the dark ages ended fruitlessly, with one voice after another expressing the mantra that gay men still cannot feel comfortable in soccer. Most players, depressingly, refused to even discuss the issue on camera with Amal, though QPR bad boy and twitterer extreme Joey Barton said he expected to see openly gay players within a decade.
A chat with self-outed Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas and a visit to Sweden where Glenn Hysen's gay son plays fourth division football with no obvious problems, confirmed we have no excuses left in the game's homeland. Homosexuality has been legal in England and Wales for 45 years after all.
The FA, UEFA and FIFA need to take more of a lead however and eradicate homophobia as passionately as they campaign against racial discrimination. The authorities' relative silence on the issue is sending the wrong message to a sport which revels in the full glare of modern publicity but in its social makeup and entrenched attitudes still inhabits a bygone age. Awarding the 2018 and 2022 World Cup Finals to homophobic nations certainly did not help, but there is time for everyone to change for the better.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
Euro 2012 football
Selasa, 15 November 2011
International night, Euro 2012 finalists set
The final lineup for next summer's European Championship in Poland & Ukraine is now set after tonight's playoff second legs, with a strong field of sixteen heading for Eastern Europe.There were no winning fightbacks following the first legs and Portugal, the Czech Republic, the Republic of Ireland and Croatia all advanced to Euro 2012, eliminating respectively Bosnia & Herzogovina, Montenegro, Estonia and Turkey.
The sixteen qualifiers are thus:
Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, France, England, Portugal, Denmark, Croatia, Sweden, Eire, Czech Republic, Greece and Russia.
All the big guns are there, and Croatia, Sweden, Russia and Ireland make the boat having missed out on the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.
The Netherlands' Klaas-Jan Huntelaar finished as top scorer in Europe with twelve goals, followed by Germany's Miroslav Klose with nine.
England were the best supported team with an average home crowd of 77,000, followed by France with 65,000.
The draw for the finals takes place in Kiev on the 2nd of December and the tournament itself is from the 8th of June until the 1st of July.
***
* World Champions Spain's lukewarm friendly form continued when they scraped a 2-2 draw in Costa Rica. Trailing 2-0 at the interval, David Silva pulled one back in the 83rd minute and David Villa spared their blushes with a leveller three minutes into injury time. As with Saturday's defeat to England, Spain fielded a full-strength team for the clash in San Jose, Costa Rica.
In other European friendlies, Germany blanked the Netherlands 3-0 in Hamburg, Italy lost 0-1 to Uruguay in Rome, England beat Sweden for the first time since 1968, 1-0 in London, while France drew 0-0 at home to Belgium. The USA won 3-2 in Slovenia while there were home wins for both Euro 2012 hosts: Poland beat Hungary and Ukraine Austria, both by 2-1 scorelines.
* Argentina overturned a half-time deficit to beat Colombia 2-1 in their 2014 World Cup qualifier in Barranquilla, Colombia. Lionel Messi equalised Dorlan Pabon's opener on the hour mark and Sergio Aguero bagged the winner with five minutes to play. In another CONMEBOL qualifier, Ecuador beat Peru 2-0 in Quito.
* Asian giants Japan and South Korea both lost in 2014 qualifying tonight - Nippon lost 1-0 away to North Korea, while the Korean Republic lost 2-1 away to Lebanon. Australia won 1-0 in Thailand, China won 4-0 in Singapore and Iran won 4-1 in Indonesia. There were also qualifiers among the lesser nations of Africa and the CONCACAF region.
* In the pick of tonight's African friendlies, Nigeria beat Zambia 2-0, Ghana beat Gabon 2-1 and Zimbabwe beat neighbours South Africa 2-1.
(c) Sean O'Conor and Soccerphile
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Sabtu, 12 November 2011
When the Kings came to town
England 1:0 Spain
Wembley Stadium, London
Wembley was full, sold on the dream of the king's touch
, as the world's No.1 soccer nation Spain dropped by for an evening.
A strange pre-match atmosphere, as the usual patriotic fantasy rang increasingly hollow: No-one expected England to win and most were hoping for a defeat short of embarrassing.
A 90,000 defending army expected its fortress to be breached, and that it would only be a matter of when, not if the Spanish Armada would get revenge for 1588.
They had their full team out: Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa were facing Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott and Danny Welbeck - ouch!
In the first five minutes the red sea washed over Wembley as expected, Spain marinating possession and donning the mantle of the home side as they took their game confidently to their raw hosts. England were second best, pinned back in their own half, unable to string multiple passes together or create moments of danger. This was no ordinary home game.
Spain enjoyed the (three) lions' share of of the ball and out-shot England 21 to 3 overall, but never showed real 'animo' until they chased an equalizer in the final quarter, inst
ead stroking the ball around as gently as crown green bowls. It was a lesson for the land of macho power-play from a visiting maestro. Simple yet brilliant: Play it to feet and flick it quickly when danger nears but never lose possession.
Yet Fabio Capello's team still merited their win for holding firm having stolen the lead against the run of play. Scott Parker's astute anchoring and his last-ditch lunges saved the day more than once, while the lone strike was a goal made in England. James Milner muscled away on the left and won a free-kick. He looped his set piece into the melée and Darren Bent soared highest to nod the ball against the post.
Enter the wily old head of Frank Lampard, increasingly tipped to lose his place as he drew level with Bryan Robson on 90 caps, as the only one following up as an open goal gaped. England wanted it more and were hungry for the scalp of FIFA's No.1-ranked nation. Their defence held firm and withstood the Spanish onslaught; job done.
Yet Spain were clearly a class apart and England fans left buoyant but slightly subdued, knowing a narrow win had probably flattered the hosts. Even the loudest loudmouths at Wembley began hollering at England to pass and keep the ball down after a few minutes of watching la furia roja hold sway with effortless élan.
The fruits of tiki-taka are still ripe, a playing system streets ahead of any other in 20
11.
England and other nations play in a linear fashion, hitting front men with crosses or runners in channels or working the ball upfield with diagonal passes or dribbles. Spain eschew the 'droit au but' approach and prefer to keep possession, spinning a spider's web of flicks and passing triangles which send ball-watchers' heads spinning as the play changes direction with every pass.
Only late in the game with the introduction of Fernando Torres to supplement Cesc Fabregas did Spain attack in a more 'vertical' way.
Tiki-taka is maddeningly predictable yet unplayable at the same time, a winning formula that has bagged the European Championship and World Cup in an unprecedented golden age for a hitherto jinxed giant.
Spain are not all-conquering however and have already been beaten five times since 2008 as it happens, twice competitively - the USA beat them 2-0 at 2009's Confederations Cup and Switzerland edged them 1-0 at last year's World Cup. Make that six losses for the champions now. Friendly defeats have come in Italy (2-1) this summer, and in Portugal (4-0) and Argentina (4-1) last year.
It is as if in away friendlies the Spaniards take their feet off the gas and use them for practice and make sure they do not lose when it really matters, while the home teams are eager to beat the World Champions.
The US beat Spain in 2009 through conceding the wings and forming t
wo solid banks of four to frustrate their close-passing through the middle, leaving American speedsters Landon Donovan and Charlie Davies to chase balls over midfield and stop the Spanish full-backs overlapping. Like England at Wembley, Switzerland grabbed a goal and kept a tight ship to frustrate the more talented Spaniards and hold out for a close win. Spain are beatable.
Being reigning European and World champions can become a millstone - everyone wants to say they beat you so they raise their game accordingly. As Spain manager Vicente del Bosque confirms,
"Anything except winning will be seen as a disaster and that doesn't help us at all."
For England, there was little to get excited about, but some green shoots showing promise: Danny Welbeck and Jack Rodwell impressed, Phil Jones fought manfully out of position, while man of the match Scott Parker proved why he should have gone to South Africa.
England remain an underachiever on the competitive stage but had beaten three World Cup holders at Wembley before Saturday: West
Germany were dispatched 3-1 in 1954 and 2-0 in 1974, while Argentina with a teenage Diego Maradona succumbed 3-1 under the twin towers in 1978.
Beating the mighty Spain in 2011 in a friendly will not count for much in the long run, though a win is a win is a win.
Euro 2012 will be a whole different ball game.
ENG: Hart, G.Johnson, Lescott, Jagielka, Cole, Walcott (Downing 46'), Jones (Rodwell 56'), Parker (Walker 85'), Milner (A.Johnson 76'), Lampard (Barry 56'), Bent (Wellbeck) 63'.
SPA: Casillas (Reina 46'), Arbeloa, Pique, Ramos (Puyol 74'), Alba, Busquets (Torres 64'), Alonso, Xavi (Fabregas 46'), Iniesta (Cazorla 74'), Silva (Mata 46'), Villa.
Goal: Lampard 49'.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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Wembley Stadium, London
Wembley was full, sold on the dream of the king's touch
, as the world's No.1 soccer nation Spain dropped by for an evening.A strange pre-match atmosphere, as the usual patriotic fantasy rang increasingly hollow: No-one expected England to win and most were hoping for a defeat short of embarrassing.
A 90,000 defending army expected its fortress to be breached, and that it would only be a matter of when, not if the Spanish Armada would get revenge for 1588.
They had their full team out: Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa were facing Phil Jones, Joleon Lescott and Danny Welbeck - ouch!
In the first five minutes the red sea washed over Wembley as expected, Spain marinating possession and donning the mantle of the home side as they took their game confidently to their raw hosts. England were second best, pinned back in their own half, unable to string multiple passes together or create moments of danger. This was no ordinary home game.
Spain enjoyed the (three) lions' share of of the ball and out-shot England 21 to 3 overall, but never showed real 'animo' until they chased an equalizer in the final quarter, inst
ead stroking the ball around as gently as crown green bowls. It was a lesson for the land of macho power-play from a visiting maestro. Simple yet brilliant: Play it to feet and flick it quickly when danger nears but never lose possession.Yet Fabio Capello's team still merited their win for holding firm having stolen the lead against the run of play. Scott Parker's astute anchoring and his last-ditch lunges saved the day more than once, while the lone strike was a goal made in England. James Milner muscled away on the left and won a free-kick. He looped his set piece into the melée and Darren Bent soared highest to nod the ball against the post.
Enter the wily old head of Frank Lampard, increasingly tipped to lose his place as he drew level with Bryan Robson on 90 caps, as the only one following up as an open goal gaped. England wanted it more and were hungry for the scalp of FIFA's No.1-ranked nation. Their defence held firm and withstood the Spanish onslaught; job done.
Yet Spain were clearly a class apart and England fans left buoyant but slightly subdued, knowing a narrow win had probably flattered the hosts. Even the loudest loudmouths at Wembley began hollering at England to pass and keep the ball down after a few minutes of watching la furia roja hold sway with effortless élan.
The fruits of tiki-taka are still ripe, a playing system streets ahead of any other in 20
11.England and other nations play in a linear fashion, hitting front men with crosses or runners in channels or working the ball upfield with diagonal passes or dribbles. Spain eschew the 'droit au but' approach and prefer to keep possession, spinning a spider's web of flicks and passing triangles which send ball-watchers' heads spinning as the play changes direction with every pass.
Only late in the game with the introduction of Fernando Torres to supplement Cesc Fabregas did Spain attack in a more 'vertical' way.
Tiki-taka is maddeningly predictable yet unplayable at the same time, a winning formula that has bagged the European Championship and World Cup in an unprecedented golden age for a hitherto jinxed giant.
Spain are not all-conquering however and have already been beaten five times since 2008 as it happens, twice competitively - the USA beat them 2-0 at 2009's Confederations Cup and Switzerland edged them 1-0 at last year's World Cup. Make that six losses for the champions now. Friendly defeats have come in Italy (2-1) this summer, and in Portugal (4-0) and Argentina (4-1) last year.
It is as if in away friendlies the Spaniards take their feet off the gas and use them for practice and make sure they do not lose when it really matters, while the home teams are eager to beat the World Champions.
The US beat Spain in 2009 through conceding the wings and forming t
wo solid banks of four to frustrate their close-passing through the middle, leaving American speedsters Landon Donovan and Charlie Davies to chase balls over midfield and stop the Spanish full-backs overlapping. Like England at Wembley, Switzerland grabbed a goal and kept a tight ship to frustrate the more talented Spaniards and hold out for a close win. Spain are beatable.Being reigning European and World champions can become a millstone - everyone wants to say they beat you so they raise their game accordingly. As Spain manager Vicente del Bosque confirms,
"Anything except winning will be seen as a disaster and that doesn't help us at all."
For England, there was little to get excited about, but some green shoots showing promise: Danny Welbeck and Jack Rodwell impressed, Phil Jones fought manfully out of position, while man of the match Scott Parker proved why he should have gone to South Africa.
England remain an underachiever on the competitive stage but had beaten three World Cup holders at Wembley before Saturday: West
Germany were dispatched 3-1 in 1954 and 2-0 in 1974, while Argentina with a teenage Diego Maradona succumbed 3-1 under the twin towers in 1978.Beating the mighty Spain in 2011 in a friendly will not count for much in the long run, though a win is a win is a win.
Euro 2012 will be a whole different ball game.
ENG: Hart, G.Johnson, Lescott, Jagielka, Cole, Walcott (Downing 46'), Jones (Rodwell 56'), Parker (Walker 85'), Milner (A.Johnson 76'), Lampard (Barry 56'), Bent (Wellbeck) 63'.
SPA: Casillas (Reina 46'), Arbeloa, Pique, Ramos (Puyol 74'), Alba, Busquets (Torres 64'), Alonso, Xavi (Fabregas 46'), Iniesta (Cazorla 74'), Silva (Mata 46'), Villa.
Goal: Lampard 49'.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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Euro 2012 football
Kamis, 10 November 2011
FIFA back down in poppy row
England will be allowed to wear poppies on their shirts against Spain on Saturday after all, albeit as an armband.An extraordinary row had been stirred up after the Football Association announced the England team would sport the Remembrance Day flower for their friendly against the World Champions. Scotland and Wales plan to do the same for their games against Cyprus and Norway.
FIFA reacted monolithically by refusing to countenance it, citing their regulations against "political, religious or commercial" symbols on national team shirts.
Political leaders and royalty reacted with rage, the London media went into frenzy and two members of the English Defence League, a protest group which draws a number of soccer thugs, scaled the roof of FIFA House in Zurich to protest.
Ignoring the fact that several nations' shirts have Christian crosses or Islamic crescents on them, or that Adidas, FIFA's favourite manufacturer, Nike, Umbro and other brands already have their logos emblazoned on shirts, the accusation that the poppy was a political symbol was well wide of the mark.
Poppies are ubiquitous in England in the week leading up to the 11th of September commemoration of those who served and/or died in conflicts. Military veterans man the entrances and exits to every major railway station, adults and children alike wear them and no TV presenter would be seen dead without the little red flower in their lapel.
Indeed, the pressure to be seen honouring the fallen has led to some complaining of 'poppy fascism'.
But it is definitely not "political". All parties unite to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, Britain's national war memorial. The poppy, which comes from Canadian John McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields' poem and American campaigner Moina Michael, succeeds in uniting the nation in quiet reflection, pacifists and non-pacifists alike.
On that basis, FIFA should never have interfered with something so close to a nation's heart which was a one-off because it just so happened England had a friendly at home a day after Armistice Day. The interventions of UK Prime Minister David Cameron and future king Prince William were probably due to their unpleasant experiences at the World Cup vote a year ago, where both left fuming at having been lied to by FIFA Ex.Co. members.
At the same time, did England need to wear a poppy? Their alternative plans of having a giant red flower on the pitch and having poppies on England training shirts and tracksuits and a minute's silence before kick-off surely would have made the point that football remembers too.
1,000 servicemen and women are due to attend to as part of the FA's 'Ticke
ts for Troops' giveaway. Indeed, there has been a creeping military feel to England home games in the last few years. Now it is customary for uniformed soldiers to carry the flags around the field, to sometimes line up to be honoured and for the P.A. system to encourage the crowd to applaud, as 'Help for Heroes' collectors raise money for the families of those serving in Afghanistan.The connection between the national team and the national army is becoming a little blurred in England, and FIFA were right to assume all national shirts should be left alone, but equally the strength of feeling in Britain on the issue was something they should have been aware of before clumsily putting their foot down.
In terms of football politics, England and FIFA look as far apart as ever, with the motherland of the game having given up the dream of ever hosting the World Cup again. Until regime change happens in Zurich, the FA can content themselves with mini-victories like this one.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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Senin, 24 Oktober 2011
City's pyrrhic victory?
Manchester United 1:6 Manchester City
Scorelines don't come much more amazing than Sunday's Mancunian derby, but was there really much reason to celebrate, however many records tumbled at Old Trafford?
With a few days' recuperation from that shellshock of a final score, can the result be deemed a welcome riposte to or even wholescale power shift from the hegemony of moneybags Chelsea and Manchester United, or another symptom of the obscene, out-of-control spending in the English top division which is upsetting its natural order of competition?
Watching Fergie's nose rubbed into the dirt certainly had its charms for those of us who do not buy into the 'Glory glory Man United' hype machine, as the Scot's lazily applied moniker of 'football genius' suddenly hung by a thread after such a an utter pasting.
And it was not unpleasant to see City's supporters for once get the upper hand on their storied and hitherto more monied rivals. The Blues have played Torino to Juventus, Espanol to Barcelona for so many long and grueling years, that anyone's sense of fairness would not begrudge them a moment in the sun.
For my whole life Man City, who last lifted the Championship in 1968 and whose last taste of glory was the 1970 Cup Winners' Cup before last season's FA Cup win, have seemed cursed to underachieve. Even when they looked like winning the FA Cup in 1981, their goalscorer Tommy Hutchinson then put through his own net to let Tottenham back in to triumph, after a replay.
A sense of injustice turned into angry frustration among some fans, a similar phenomenon one can witness at Cardiff City or Leeds, but after an endless string of disappointments, along came rich men from the East bearing gifts. David could fear Goliath no more and City had arrived.
Yet the underdog tag which won City sympathy is fast evaporating in the face of such a merciless spending spree by the Abu Dhabian owners. Just take a look at the Blues' winning team. Whilst five were Englishmen, only one had come through the City youth system (Micah Richards). United by comparison fielded eight Brits throughout the 90 minutes, two of whom had been developed in-house. But City's foreign legion surely eclipsed United's, whose overseas stars comprised Anderson, David De Gea, Patrice Evra, Javier Hernandez and Nani.
Compare that to the ambrosial cornucopia of Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Gael Clichy, Edin Dzeko, Alexsandar Kolarov, Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri and Yaya Touré, plus the Premier League's top entertainer of the hour, David Silva. United had been outspent off the field and thus outgunned on the pitch.
With the Arab owners pouring money into a new academy complex and showing no signs of acknowledging any recession, City will soon spend their way to the heights of England, Europe and the world.
With no restriction on salaries, money does not just talk in the Premier League, it bellows. The pyrrhic element to this famous win will tell in the signal it has sent to soccer's governing bodies. If the Blues maintain their unerring march to European conquest, UEFA and FIFA will be forced to act and impose control on clubs' spending as the playing field will have become too tilted.
City's devastating victory shows the Premier League is absurdly top-heavy, listing like the Mary Rose into the waters of the Solent. There is no pretence of a 20-team competition and a gulf now exists even amongst the top teams. On any given Sunday, to plagiarise a term from American Football, Man U, the reigning champions, should not lose 6-1 at home to anyone. What made it so shocking was that it seemed no aberration, no one-off.
Does it have to be like this? No. Later that night some miles to the south, the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fought out a much closer NFL game at Wembley. In America, that well-known communist regime, a salary cap keeps its football field level, and the worse teams get first pick of the best young players.
The more the Premier League continues with no regulation, the more meaningless games like Sunday's will become. Bring on the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules.
Doubtless some new fans in Asia will be sporting blue shirts instead of their elder siblings' red ones, but there was a time when you supported a team for reasons other than it was far richer than the others, who are clearly finding it increasingly impossible to compete.
With this elephant in the room, Sunday's thrashing of United was less proof that the Premier League is unpredictable and competitive, but that its free-market model is in serious need of financial regulation.
For it seemed less a case of one club outplaying another through superior football than one simply outspending another, in an increasingly frightening way.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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Scorelines don't come much more amazing than Sunday's Mancunian derby, but was there really much reason to celebrate, however many records tumbled at Old Trafford?
With a few days' recuperation from that shellshock of a final score, can the result be deemed a welcome riposte to or even wholescale power shift from the hegemony of moneybags Chelsea and Manchester United, or another symptom of the obscene, out-of-control spending in the English top division which is upsetting its natural order of competition?
Watching Fergie's nose rubbed into the dirt certainly had its charms for those of us who do not buy into the 'Glory glory Man United' hype machine, as the Scot's lazily applied moniker of 'football genius' suddenly hung by a thread after such a an utter pasting.
And it was not unpleasant to see City's supporters for once get the upper hand on their storied and hitherto more monied rivals. The Blues have played Torino to Juventus, Espanol to Barcelona for so many long and grueling years, that anyone's sense of fairness would not begrudge them a moment in the sun.
For my whole life Man City, who last lifted the Championship in 1968 and whose last taste of glory was the 1970 Cup Winners' Cup before last season's FA Cup win, have seemed cursed to underachieve. Even when they looked like winning the FA Cup in 1981, their goalscorer Tommy Hutchinson then put through his own net to let Tottenham back in to triumph, after a replay.
A sense of injustice turned into angry frustration among some fans, a similar phenomenon one can witness at Cardiff City or Leeds, but after an endless string of disappointments, along came rich men from the East bearing gifts. David could fear Goliath no more and City had arrived.
Yet the underdog tag which won City sympathy is fast evaporating in the face of such a merciless spending spree by the Abu Dhabian owners. Just take a look at the Blues' winning team. Whilst five were Englishmen, only one had come through the City youth system (Micah Richards). United by comparison fielded eight Brits throughout the 90 minutes, two of whom had been developed in-house. But City's foreign legion surely eclipsed United's, whose overseas stars comprised Anderson, David De Gea, Patrice Evra, Javier Hernandez and Nani.
Compare that to the ambrosial cornucopia of Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli, Gael Clichy, Edin Dzeko, Alexsandar Kolarov, Vincent Kompany, Samir Nasri and Yaya Touré, plus the Premier League's top entertainer of the hour, David Silva. United had been outspent off the field and thus outgunned on the pitch.
With the Arab owners pouring money into a new academy complex and showing no signs of acknowledging any recession, City will soon spend their way to the heights of England, Europe and the world.
With no restriction on salaries, money does not just talk in the Premier League, it bellows. The pyrrhic element to this famous win will tell in the signal it has sent to soccer's governing bodies. If the Blues maintain their unerring march to European conquest, UEFA and FIFA will be forced to act and impose control on clubs' spending as the playing field will have become too tilted.
City's devastating victory shows the Premier League is absurdly top-heavy, listing like the Mary Rose into the waters of the Solent. There is no pretence of a 20-team competition and a gulf now exists even amongst the top teams. On any given Sunday, to plagiarise a term from American Football, Man U, the reigning champions, should not lose 6-1 at home to anyone. What made it so shocking was that it seemed no aberration, no one-off.
Does it have to be like this? No. Later that night some miles to the south, the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers fought out a much closer NFL game at Wembley. In America, that well-known communist regime, a salary cap keeps its football field level, and the worse teams get first pick of the best young players.
The more the Premier League continues with no regulation, the more meaningless games like Sunday's will become. Bring on the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules.
Doubtless some new fans in Asia will be sporting blue shirts instead of their elder siblings' red ones, but there was a time when you supported a team for reasons other than it was far richer than the others, who are clearly finding it increasingly impossible to compete.
With this elephant in the room, Sunday's thrashing of United was less proof that the Premier League is unpredictable and competitive, but that its free-market model is in serious need of financial regulation.
For it seemed less a case of one club outplaying another through superior football than one simply outspending another, in an increasingly frightening way.
(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile
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