ON OWEN HARGREAVES

 

(His hair was poetry)

Whereas most fans of English soccer were left feeling a bit saddened by the inevitable retirement of Paul Scholes, I was more affected by the loss of a player who, at his peak, was a comparable performer. Owen Hargreaves was, for me, much more than just a combative, skilled, and injury plagued footballer. He was the reason that I chose #4 as my number in college. He was also the only reason why I watched all of England's games during the 2006 World Cup; England was downright miserable for most of the tournament, but Hargreaves's drive and ambition alone almost sparked them to a semi-final birth. In this day and age, however, Hargreaves name is almost immediately followed by a combination of the following: injured, semi-retirement, missed opportunity, potential unfulfilled. It saddens me immeasurably that this maestro of the midfield only played a mere 27 (!) games during his four years at Manchester United, yet he still carries a certain legacy for me as a wonderful and talented (albeit oft hurt) man...

THE BEAUTY OF FANDOM

 

A great injustice to my status as one of the biggest footy-fans I'm aware of is that lack of live matches I have attended in my life. Indeed, prior to this weekend, I had only attended one professional game, that being a very early (and very poorly played) MLS final. I'm not even aware of who was playing, such is the amount of time that has passed since that event. So, in order to partially correct this great injustice, and at the encouragement of my girlfriend, Victoria,  I attended the Gold Cup quarterfinals. Honduras was victorious (by virtue of penalty kicks) over a tepid Costa Rica, while Mexico overcame an early, surprising deficit to defeat Guatemala (by virtue of Chicharito's genius). The games were more exciting than I could have hoped for, but the experience of the entire spectacle was epic, unforgettable, and completely detached from mainstream American sporting events...

THE MAN OF THE MOMENT

The 'Silly Season' that is the transfer market has begun to heat up in recent weeks, with Manchester United and Liverpool both making grabs at highly rated, young English players. Arsenal too have been in talks with a few prospects (who they will undoubtedly turn away in favor of a 17-20 year old, unproven prodigy), with Côte D'Ivoire winger Gervinho being the most well known name targeted. Yet there is one man who, undoubtedly, is the most sought after player in Europe at the moment-- Alexis Alejandro Sanchez Sanchez, who unfortunately goes simply by Alexis Sanchez, was viewed a year ago as a player with great skill and promise but not quite the finished product. This season at Udinese, however, Sanchez has become both the fulcrum of, and an integral part within, a potent strike force alongside Antonio Di Natale. Udinese surprised almost all Italian footy pundits by finishing 4th in Serie A this season, snatching the last, coveted Champions League spot that seemed destined to be granted to Lazio. Most credit Udinese's fantastic season to Sanchez's brilliance.

The man in question is one of the most explosive, technically gifted, and intelligent playmakers in world football. He also happens to only be 22 years old, making him a potential superstar for the next decade. Alexis Sanchez is an interesting mix of Andres Iniesta and someone akin to Neymar. He has that uncanny ability to maintain possession of the ball in the most impossible of situations, but can also transfer his ability to keep the ball into goals. Furthermore, his ability to pick out gaps with perfectly weighted passes means he could serve as an attacking midfielder, or possibly even the almost extinct Trequartista (think Francesco Totti in his prime). He is used as a second striker for Udinese at present.

What is the most intriguing aspect of Sanchez's current transfer saga is how differently he could be used at the various clubs currently seeking to add him to their respective rosters. The main five clubs who currently boast both the prestige and the money to secure Sanchez's signature are Barcelona, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Real Madrid. Should Alexis end up at Barcelona, he certainly will not remove either Iniesta or Xavi from the starting line-up. Undoubtedly, he would serve as replacement for the aging David Villa, or for Pedro should he encounter a slump in the coming campaign. What's interesting about Barcelona is that they picked up a similar player in Ibrahim Affelay not 6 months ago. How they would fit both into their future plans would be a bit of a conundrum for Pep Guardiola et al. 

Chelsea desperately needs an attacking midfielder in the wings given Frank Lampard's age, but Sanchez would likely be pushed out wide during the upcoming season. They still lack two explosive wing players, and although Sanchez is not an out-and-out winger, the Blues will likely leave Lampard in the center of the field for one more season (at least).  Manchester City would similarly be hesitant to place Sanchez into their attacking midfield position-- but for good reason. David Silva currently holds (and excels in) that role, so Sanchez would either play just underneath Carlos Tevez should he remain in Manchester, or be moved to the left flank.  Real Madrid would do similarly; Özil simply cannot be removed from his position, and Ronaldo/Benzema/Adebayor/Higuain... will fill the striking roles.

For Manchester United, though, Sanchez might find himself in the optimal position. United desperately need a creative force in their midfield, especially now that the Ginger Prince Paul Scholes has rode off into the sunset of retirement. An attack of Sanchez/Rooney/Hernandez would terrify any defense, and service from Valencia and Nani could compliment such a trifecta of attacking prowess wonderfully. As a fan of the club, I certainly hope he ends up in the red of Manchester, yet I also wish to see this occur as a fan of the game. It would be a shame to see such a talent shoved out towards the flanks, when he is so crafty and dynamic in the center of the park.

Wherever he does end up, Sanchez will likely be the most expensive move of the summer. 

Unless he stays in North East Italy of course. He and Di Natale could yet wreak havoc on Serie A defenses for one more year...

POOR MEN PLAYING A RICH MAN'S GAME

While certainly not a new topic of discussion, it is rather intriguing to me that football (on a global scale) is being catered to middle-upperclass fans more and more. I say this for multiple reasons; one being season ticket prices across the board for the highest leagues in Europe. For this blog, the focus will be mainly on the Premiership. A quick look at 2010's ticket prices for the English Premier League shows that the cheapest Arsenal FC season ticket goes for about 900 pounds (almost 1500 US Dollars). Chelsea and Manchester United's cheapest season tickets will run you about 900 dollars; far cheaper, yet still a solid dent in any common man's checkbook. These three clubs do indeed represent the upper echelon of expensive tickets in England, yet there remains a steady increase across the board for all English teams despite the quality of the product being given back to the fans. Recently relegated Wolverhampton, for example, have even more expensive tickets than Man United, Everton, Man City, and other much better clubs. 

The above examples serve to illustrate the ongoing motion to remove the purest and most enthusiastic fans from football grounds in favor of those who possess the largest coffers. Since its very creation as a sport, soccer has served as a battleground and spectacle for those less fortunate in society. To play the game, one only needs a ball; goals, sidelines, and teams themselves can be improvised. As such, the original costs of creating and running a club were miniscule, with most expenses going towards travel. The modern era continues to alter this though; in order for clubs to succeed, global superstars need to be purchased and paid for by the club owners and its supporters. The Glazer Family takeover of Manchester United was met with overwhelming disdain by the Old Trafford faithful, yet those cries have been ignored as the club continues to have massive success in the modern era. Essentially, what is happening (at least for the biggest clubs in the world) is that working class men and women are being removed from the stands in order for the club to continue to be competitive. Some are OK with this notion, others continue to rebel against it (i.e. the fans who continue to wear green and yellow 'anti-Glazer' scarfs in Manchester). At any rate, as ticket prices continue to rise for the biggest teams in the world, football becomes ever more a rich man's spectacle.

Why the above claims are so strange, though, is that the game remains one played and dominated by poor, or lower middle class players. It is often an anomaly for a player outside of perhaps North America to begin his footballing life surrounded by the comforts that a middle-upper class live style affords. Brazil's Kaka, for example, is one of the only national team players in his country to come from a well-off family. The previously-blogged-about Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Neymar, Pele, Garrincha, and most other Brazilian legends came from impoverished and destitute cities, some even living in Rio's infamous favelas. In England, similar circumstances produced many of the Three Lion's best players. Wayne Rooney's father, for example, was a simple laborer, and he grew up in a council house. Great players, it seems, are still often produced from circumstances that create a drive and purpose within the individual. They see football as a means to live beyond the lives that their parents lived. 

Alfredo Di Stefano, perhaps Real Madrid's greatest player of all time, was once asked what makes a great footballer. His answer was simple, "You have to be hungry". In America, we might read this as meaning you have to be driven, you have to be motivated and stay motivated. Señor Stefano meant none of these things; he was talking about literal hunger. Perhaps the best fans also are created from this literal hunger, but they won't be able to watch their clubs from inside the stadium, will they?

*Bits taken from : http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=509122&root=europe&cc=5901

http://www.footballfancast.com/2010/06/football-blogs/premier-league-season-ticket-prices-a-tad-unfair

ZIDANE COULD STILL START FOR EVERY TEAM NOT NAMED FC BARCELONA

Spare me the complaints stemming from this being against a team of retired, overweight, slow Bavarian legends. If Zinedine Zidane had not retired from footy after his 2006 renaissance performance in Germany, he would likely still be in the top 10 of the world's elite central midfielders. The touch, the vision, and the strength all seem to be there in abundance even now. The commentator during this game makes a solid point as to why Zizou called such a premature end to his glorious career. Essentially, he reasons that Zidane did not want what happened to Paul Scholes to happen to himself; he did not wish to play until he could only function as a bit player, a minor cog in a greater machine. Zidane was a player who single-handedly embodied and conducted the teams for which he played. He was France in 1998, in 2000 and again in 2006. He was Real Madrid when they last carried the European Cup. It simply wouldn't be right to see this maestro trot onto any pitch in the 70th-odd minute, looking to change a game with a brief cameo rather than being the one who set the pace of said game all along.

In all honesty though, right now, would he start at Manchester United, where the midfield currently consists of some combination of Carrick/Giggs/Fletcher/Anderson? The answer is undoubtedly yes. What about at Chelsea, where Essien, Lampard, and the distinctly average Obi-Mikel ply their trade? Again, one has to say that he just might find himself in the starting eleven.

What if he wished to return to Madrid? Would he displace Khedira, and somehow mesh with Mesut Özil to create the most diabolically creative midfield in global soccer?

Maybe I'm just dreaming, but at 38 he isn't THAT old, and he is Zinedine Zidane...

EL FENOMENO AND THE FUTURE OF BRAZILIAN SUPERSTARS

One of the strongest and most vivid memories I have of watching soccer as a kid harken back to the summer of 2002, where I found myself watching the pre-match buildup for Brazil's semi final tie versus Turkey. As the camera turned its attention to the players warming up, it was as though only one performer was of any significance to ABC's American audience. The camera panned upwards to show the back of Ronaldo Luiz Narazio de Lima's training top and managed to catch him turning to his left and winking at a compatriot. A superstar in the purest and grandest sense, Ronaldo had only just managed to even make the tournament roster. He had been recovering for almost three entire years in the build up to the World Cup, after suffering a ruptured tendon in his knee on two separate occasions during a horrifically unlucky spell at Inter Milan. Yet the world's gaze was transfixed on this 'Phenomenon', and seemed to be certain that no matter what the circumstances, it would be Ronaldo who would steal the show in Korea/Japan. 

The world was right.

At this point in the competition, after Brazil's first 5 games, Ronaldo had already notched 5 goals in what was fast becoming an epic campaign. Despite this, and despite being pinned as massive favorites in the tie, having already defeated Turkey in their opening fixture, Brazil found themselves tied at halftime against an upstart national side in their semi-final battle. What gave Brazil the lead (one which they so desperately deserved despite the heroics of Turkish goalie Rustu) was likely the second greatest (see Maradona v England) individual effort  in World Cup history. A description of the play cannot truly encapsulate the heroics, the skill, and the will required to produce such a goal. A video of it serves the purpose far better.

In the aftermath of this magical display, the game and the tournament itself was Brazil's to lose. The Selecao went on to win the cup, Ronaldo won the golden boot with 8 strikes, and all was right in the soccer world. That is how I remember El Fenomeno, much like the rest of the world. He sported a heinous triangular buzzcut, he was overweight, he had a gapped tooth smile, and he was unstoppable. 

Nike created the 'Superstar' aspect of Ronaldo just prior to (and even more fervently in the immediate aftermath of) his domination in Korea/Japan, and R9 became a household entity. As the advertisement that prefaced this increasingly long blog post reflects, Ronaldo's rise to fame has sparked the creation of many celebrity superstars on Brazilian soil. The main two filling that role at present are Santos' teammates Neymar and Ganso. One must wonder, though, whether the glorification of Ronaldo may hamper the careers of these two wunderkinds. As the viral video shows, After Ronaldo (A.R.), we now have press conferences where a 19 year old Neymar sits before a room of ravenous reporters, preening his cockatoo haircut, dressed in several hundred dollars worth of Selecao paraphernalia. Is this really what we as football fans want, or what the player needs?

Would we have it any other way? If this is the direct result of what happened in 2002, when I truly became a fanatic of the game, the answer must be a resounding 'no'.

THE LOVE AFFAIR CONTINUES

He scores with his head, he scores with his feet, and he embarrasses the goalie with a Penenka penalty to finish off his hat-trick. His recent play has been igniting crowds on both sides of the Atlantic, and he is perhaps the biggest celebrity in Mexico of late. Play on little pea... play on

SIDE NOTE: class finish by Juarez on the first goal...pure class

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK

Fernando Torres is a world class player. Those who mock him incessantly in the British Press and elsewhere have forgotten that this is a man both on a new team and still struggling to recover from an injury that made him a shadow of the player that ruled Liverpool's Kop. He has not produced the goods for Chelsea, and perhaps he will never look right in the blue and white of West London's finest, but a quick look at this weekend's goal reminds us of what the true number 9 is still capable of accomplishing when on his day.

It was not shocking that Torres scored his 73rd minute 'icing-on-the-cake' strike against a dreadful USA squad, but what is certainly of note was the perfection of the run, touch, and finish from an out of form striker. Velero's pass was perfect (and in all due respect, he is an incredible player in his own right) and Torres smartly stayed well in front of a lazy US back four, yet it was Torres's touch and toe-finish that captured the imagination of the global audience. I myself was half expecting a heavy touch to foil the Spaniard's plans, given what he has demonstrated at Stamford Bridge the past four months (and lest we forget that his lone goal in Chelsea blue came courtesy of a forgiving mud puddle). But in a flash of an eye, Torres's lovely weighted touch with his left boot placed him perfectly between the scrambling Cherundolo and the on-rushing Howard. The finish was something out of a Filippo Inzaghi highlight reel: a cool toe-poke off the far post. 

Fernando Torres isn't 'back' because of this mesmeric finish. He never left, but rather has been desperately attempting to fit in to newer, bluer, richer surroundings. If I were a betting man, I'd wager that this was just what the man needed to get his club (and furthermore his Spain) career back to its circa 2008 heights. This, and perhaps a few months of easy R&R as well as Riccardo Montolivo to pull the strings in Chelsea's midfield.