Morbo Minute–Regular Service is Resumed

There were midweek games last week.  I struggled through Granada v FCB.  The Blaugrana were sluggish and only prevailed on a wonderful free kick by Xavi.  Elisa at Forza Futbol suggested fatigue, and she might be on to something.  I will mention some other factors later as well.  I also caught Atletico Madrid’s trip to San Mames.  After a balanced first half with a slight edge to the hosts, Los Leones came to life right from the second half whistle and were rewarded with two quick goals from Llorente (he was almost subbed in the first half) 20 minutes into the half.  Atletico had no reply and were overwhelmed for the rest of the match losing 3-0.

—————–

As for this weekend. . .

Levante finally lost, and now Real Madrid and FC Barcelona are back on top, the positions they will finish the season.  As for the Granotes, the feel good story from Valencia, their story will now be whether they will remain in the top half of the table or begin their inexorable shame spiral down the table a la Hull City in 2008/09.

FCB were back among the goals.  Watching the highlights, the Blaugrana rang rings around Mallorca scoring what looked like simple goals but had everything to do with movement, finishing and composure.  As for Real Madrid, they got an early goal against Real Sociedad and ground out the result, which should put them in good stead as they mount their challenge against the champions.

Sid Lowe wrote his eulogy for the Expendables of Levante after they suffered their first loss of the season and fell to third in the table.  For the first quarter of the season, they were THE story of the league, but now their time is up, and everyone can go back to ramping up for el clasico and who will win the Pichichi race between Messi and CR7.

Phil Ball wrote a great piece this week, tying in a youth coaching experience to the Real Sociedad v Real Madrid game. He argues that the Txuri-urdin should have gone for it, or at least not have parked the bus so obviously and awkwardly from a personnel perspective.  Nice thought but I point him to Espnayol last year at the Nou Camp or even this year v Real Madrid to a certain extent.  If you poke the bear, you will not win.  The only two teams that have stood up to Barcelona toe to toe last year were Valencia and Villarreal, and only because they had the pace and technical ability to do so.  This year if you do that to Real Madrid they will eat you alive.

Staying with Los Merengues, Madridista Mac had another excellent review of the Real Madrid game and weaved in some very telling statements concerning the current squad and their eternal enemy.  Besides breaking down Mourinho’s tactics, including player movements and team goals (especially scoring first which has served as a tremendous platform for Los Merengues this season) thus far this season and how Real Sociedad was able to frustrate them for long stretches, he laid out how to win the real goal—the league:

Now all we need to do is to keep piling the points on -especially as the cules struggle with injuries, fatigue and possibly form issues. If we can head into the December clasico with a comfy lead (at least 4 points), it will allow us the advantage of playing without fear of losing and only the objective of winning. Win that, and they face their annual January fitness blues (recovering from the Club World Cup) further behind us and that just might be the cushion we need to win La Liga.

Alex Grant at El Centrocampista took a couple of minutes to remind everyone that even though Real Madrid are off to fantastic start, hitting the high notes with the usual suspects plus Coentrao and even Kaka, they still have Nuri Sahin on the bench, who has yet to make an appearance this season.  I hope he doesn’t get lost in the shuffle like Granero and Canales and Gago.  Easy to say be patient but look around.  Can he really wait until next summer’s pre-season to stake his claim?  Interesting to see how this shakes out.

As for the Blaugrana, Kxevin at Barcelona Football Blog summarized everything over the last week perfectly.  Messi and the team had been off in the last couple of matches but they managed to find the next gear against an opponent who was useless and normal service was resumed.  He also mentioned a source of concern for me, which is Villa’s lack of finishing lately.  Hopefully it is just a blip and he starts finding the back of the next towards the end of the month and heading into December (ie AC Milan and Real Madrid).  He also highlights Pep bringing along the next generation: Thiago, Cuenca and Deulofeu.  Remember a couple of years ago, no one knew who Pedro was and in 24 months he won everything two or three times at club level and was on the Spanish World Cup squad.  Injuries are a concern and that is why La Masia must continue to churn out ready made replacements.

Sid Lowe commented on the Guardian’s Football Weekly that Guardiola is concerned about the physical condition of the squad, the thinness of the squad and the Puyol/Pique partnership, considering that neither have been fit this season and it affects how the team plays from intensity to possession.

Maxwell at SpanishFootball.info chimed in on the lack of goals at FCB.  He pinpoints their policy of possession and that they must perform at a very high level to turn this into dominance.  Teams the were able to attack them (Valencia) or stay well organized and a little lucky (AC Milan and Sevilla) are able to blunt the attack and get something out of the match.  However, if FCB are all on song, then the opponent will have to be extremely fortunate to walk away with anything but a thrashing and that is the drama of the season.  Can Barcelona hit top gear every match?  That’s what it will take to win the league this year because Real Madrid have the hunger, the frustration and the right tactical framework to regain the title.  Game on!!

Finally, thoughts have to go out to the Yellow Submarine.  The guys at VillarrealUSA.com posted this injury list:

  • Cani – Sprain to the right internal ligament – OUT 6 weeks
  • Marco Ruben – strained left adductor – OUT for City, doubtful for Espanyol (Sunday)
  • Camuñas – bruised right fibula – Doubtful for City
  • Marcos Senna – left hamstring – will be rested for City & Espanyol to be back after the FIFA break
  • Plus Rossi could be out for up to six months

OUCH!!

—————–

There are great English language podcasts out there.  Here are a couple I listened to this week:

Forza Futbol had Jorge Zuazola on from the Spanish Leadership.  He was a great interview with several strong opinions:

  • Who will be on the Spanish National Team at Euro 2012?  He feels that Torres and Llorente could be on the outside looking in.
  • Zuazola gave this thoughts on the state of the league and said that fans won’t change, meaning they like supporting their local team and the Big Two.  It is not in the Big Two’s interest to divvy up the pie equally, which means, I add editorially, they will fight to keep the status quo so that they keep the rest of the league down and keep their advantage over other European sides.  He also mentioned that, in his opinion, the club team of choice has switched from Real Madrid to FC Barcelona.
  • Zuazola also brought up the US National Team.  He doesn’t think Klinsi will succeed and wanted to use the Spanish model to move the US forward.

SpanishFootball.info put up their latest pod and gave their thoughts on the everyone’s surprise package Levante.  The panel also discussed Sevilla’s early start, including their unbeaten run, the draw against FCB, and keeping several clean sheets.  Finally, they looked at Villarreal’s disappointing season thus far and wondered if the finger should be pointed at Garrido.  They also isolated the team’s lack of movement and fluidity and Nilmar’s injury.

—————–

Finally, looking ahead to Round 11, there are some intruiging clashes.  In particular I would interested in seeing Betis (in absolute free fall) against Malaga and Espanyol v Villarreal.  Unfortunately these are not on US TV or legal internet services.  Here is what I found.  (All Times EST).  Bilbao hosting FCB looks tasty, and I’m hoping to watch Levante v Valencia before LSU/Alabama.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011

1:00 ET           Mallorca            v          Sevilla FC                  GOL TV              

3:00 ET           Real Betis         v          Málaga             

5:00 ET           Levante            v          Valencia                    ESPN3                     

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2011

6:00 ET           Real Madrid       v          Osasuna                  GOL TV (replayed at 9:30am)             

10:00 ET         Granada            v          Racing Santander                     

10:00 ET         Real Zaragoza   v          Sporting Gijon          ESPN3    

12:00 ET         Espanyol           v          Villarreal                       

12:00 ET         Rayo Vallecano v          Real Sociedad              

2:00 ET           Athletic Bilbao   v          Barcelona           ESPN3            

4:00 ET           Getafe               v          Atlético Madrid         GOL TV    

2011
11/02
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OFB–My Costume? The Old Lady

Friday night I hosted a poker party which I do every couple of months.  Nothing major.  Low price cash game that is more for getting people together than bolstering someone’s nest egg.  After three hours I was up a whole 15 cents.  Go me.  The result of the late night and several frosty adults beverages was missing the early EPL games: Everton v Manchester United and Chelsea v Arsenal.  I wasn’t too upset about missing the United game.  I figured it would either be a 0-0 draw or a crushing defeat for the Toffees.  Turns out United won 1-0 which is a decent response to the thrashing they took last Sunday.  As for the London Derby, I guess I missed the game of the century, with RvP scoring three more goals in a 5-3 win for the Gunners.  After all of the doom and gloom of the early season, they have risen to 7th and Wenger’s men seem to be the up.

I also missed Roma v AC Milan, which turned out to be a cracking 3-2 win for the visitors.  Again another team, AC Milan, which are trending upwards.  I did however manage to catch Inter Milan v Juventus.

Inter Milan 1 Juventus 2

Inter were quickly out of the blocks, with Cambiasso just missing as the ball bounced around the penalty area, Sneijder firing straight at Buffon and Obi finding joy in the left hand channel.  But then Big Game Mirko struck. The move started with Pirlo playing Lichtsteiner into the right hand channel, and the Swiss RB squared it for Matri who shot straight at Castellazzi, but Mirko was there to blast home for the visitors.  This was immediately followed by Vucinic setting up Matri who shot agonizingly wide, before being played in again and dealt with by the Inter rearguard.  The Nerazzurri regained control of the match creating several half chances, especially Zarate who went just wide.  Then Sneijder reversed the ball to Maicon who blasted past Buffon from the corner of the penalty area to equalize.  After Pazzini’s header went off the crossbar, Juventus responded with a quick one two at the top of the area between Marchisio and Matri which resulted in a composed finish from Marchisio.  The remainder of the half was end to end, and Marchisio missed in his attempt for a second as his off balance flick went wide.  There were shouts for a PK but the ref got it right.

The hosts started strong again in the second half, with Juve struggling to get a hold of the ball, and early yellows to Chiellini and Pepe put the team on edge. Several half chances fell to Pazzini with no results.  Matri was isolated and did get into the dangerous areas of the first half.  As for Inter, Maicon rolled back the years and was a constant threat on the right hand side.  Things got testy midway through the second half when Sniejder started really going at the ref, Vidal was taken down and Pirlo clipped Sniejer.  Conte changed things up with 20 minutes to go, bringing on Estigarribia on for Matri.  My guess is that he did this to peg back Maicon, and this permutation had mixed results.  Juve had several chances to seal the match without taking advantage but the verve with which Inter played was gone by the last 10 minutes and the Old Lady hung on for three vital points.

Juve go top of the table after nine matches and are still unbeaten.  I am hesitant to say this (after the collapse of last season and the nightmarish last two campaigns) but I think they have a real chance to finish in the European places, maybe even the Champions League.  Their struggle will be breaking down the unfancied sides, especially away from home, plus how they will respond to the inevitable first defeat.  But for now, the bianconeri are well organized and have some momentum heading forward.

Here are some thoughts from the team at Juventiknows.com.  Big praise for the grinta showed by The Old Lady.

—————-

Sunday rolled around with me recovering from a little too much Halloween fun.  Let’s just say I should by stock in Leinenkugel’s brewery.  Anyway, after slowly starting the day, UM/MSU was out of the question (MSU won 1-0 on a second half header), so I went home, cleaned up the house and took Larry to his drum lesson.  While waiting, I read that Spurs beat QPR 3-1, which sees them tied for third in the table with Chelsea and Newcastle and fifth due to Goal Differential, although they have a game in hand over Chelsea.  Despite slow starts and unusual, even freakish, results, the Sexy Six is coming together.

—————-

I’m going to mention the MLS which I don’t do very often.

The Onion News Network did a great spoof, creating the disease of Chronic MLS.

Then I came across the hubris of New York Red Bulls courtesy of the Dirty Tackle.  They are down 1-0 (RESEARCH!!) to the Galaxy heading back to California, so it looks like they can start booking vacation trips.

—————-

Finally, my brother sent me this little Arsenal tidbit.  I appreciated the fan’s sense of loyalty and vision, even his historical knowledge, referencing Jack Walker financial infusion into Blackburn during the mid-90′s, and Arsene’s response is straightforward.  I don’t deny what the Professor has done over the last 15 years and even applaud it, but the point is, supporters, players and hopefully everyone at the club want trophies.  You play to win the game.  In the league they really haven’t been a factor since winning in 2004 and finishing runners-up in 2005.  And what about the FA Cup?  Look at recent finalists besides the Big Four: Cardiff, Portsmouth, Villa, Everton, Millwall and West Ham.  How can Arsenal not even challenge for that?  They are not going to win the Premier League or Champions League this year or in the foreseeable future.  Therefore cups may be their only option for the next couple of years.  Not sure I could swallow that as a Gunners fan.

2011
10/31
CATEGORY
Old Futbol Buffet
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MatchDay Memory–Playing Hooky

Italia ’90 was my first World Cup, and I didn’t even know what I was watching.  I had been playing soccer for years, but had no connection with any club or country.  The game was just something my family did during the week, with my parents driving all of us around town to a myriad of practices and games.  The World Cup came around, with games on a combination of Univision (in Spanish, punctuated by calls of GOOOALLLLLL!!) and TNT (with commercial breaks), and I was introduced to the strange phenomenon of Schillaci.  For a while I didn’t even know what a Schillaci was, but in the snippets I would see, a Schillaci would occur. By the end of the tournament, I had discovered that Schillaci was a person, who ended up winning the Golden Boot with six goals.  Even later, as I came to know more, I would find out that Schillaci played for Juventus from 89-92, having a great debut season with 15 goals.  Based on research, he tailed off after that, due to injuries, moving on to Inter and the J League.

During one week of the tournament I was at a church youth conference called Christ in Youth (CIY).  For a couple of hours in the afternoon, we would skip our afternoon session and go down to the basement of one of the dorms, with a bunch of other truants, and watch soccer, play pool and hang out.  (I figure the statute of limitations has run out on this and my youth minister, if he is reading this, is not going to yell at me).  Turns out I was trading one religion for another.

I was vaguely aware that the United States had qualified and that this was a minor miracle.  I have no recollection of the thrashing they took at the hands of Czechoslovakia, and I barely remember them holding out for only a 1-0 defeat to the hosts.  My biggest takeaway of the tournament was Roberto Baggio.  I saw a highlight of his goal against Czechoslovakia and thought, who is this guy?  I kept his name in the back of my mind for four years and then, in his pomp atUSA’94, I became very aware of all that he had done and would do.

Really the tournament was experienced over eight years.  USA’94 had a summary of 1990, which filled in a couple of blanks.  I read Among the Thugs, which saw the tournament through the very narrow prism of English hooliganism.  Continued research and reading supplied more and more info, but a job at a soccer store just after the 1998 World Cup, with access to highlights tapes (yes, tapes), really gave me a full experience of the tournament—Higuita’s hair, Roger Milla’s dance, Gazza’s tears, and Germany’s victory.  Plus all of those goals by Schillaci.

2014 is less than three years away, but if life has taught me anything so far, it’s that three years might as well be tomorrow.  Germany 2006 seems like yesterday, with Zidane leading France to the Final before his moment of madness, and South Africa 2010 is fresh in the memory, seeing Iniesta firing La Furia Roja to glory.  The World Cup in Brazil will mark a quarter of a century since the Three Lions’ finest moment since 1966.  Hopefully by 2014, they will have their act together and go on another run.  Twenty years on from hosting the Finals, the US will have one more chance with the old guard (Donovan, Boca, Howard) before turning the team over to the Young Guns.

Every four years I say, “This is the one I’m going to”, knowing in my heart that I am not going.  The way things are heading, ie the club game taking over the international game, I may not have a World Cup to go to, but that’s a different discussion.  For now, I am counting down the days to Brazil 2014 and await the memories that will be created.

2011
10/28
CATEGORY
MatchDay Memories
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Weekend Warrior

So decent games on this weekend.  Will ManU rebound?  Is Arsenal back on track?  Can Juve take down Inter?  Can FCB score?  Can Real Madrid score in the second half?  Plus MSU hosts UM in a Big 10 matchup.

EPL
SATURDAY
7:00AM ET Everton v Manchester United ESPN3
7:45AM ET Chelsea v Arsenal ESPN 2 and ESPN3

SUNDAY
12:00 ET Tottenham Hotspur v Queens Park Rangers FSC

SERIE A
SATURDAY
12:00 ET AS Roma v AC Milan FSC
2:45 ET Internazionale v Juventus FSC

LA LIGA
SATURDAY
2 or 3:00 ET (NOT SURE) Barcelona v Mallorca GOLTV

4 or 5:00 ET (NOT SURE) Real Sociedad v Real Madrid ESPN3

COLLEGE SOCCER
SUNDAY

12:00 ET UM at MSU DeMartin Soccer Complex BTN

2011
10/27
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Morbo Minute–Levante LeapFrog the Big Two

See what I did there?

What a weekend.  Although I didn’t see as much as I would have liked, between highlights and match reports, you would almost think there was healthy competition in the league instead of the doom and gloom that has been going on for the last year and a half (Scotland 2.0, Two Table League, why are they even playing these matches, etc.)

Sid Lowe put Sevilla goalkeeper Javi Vargas in the spotlight after his heroic performance against FCB in a 0-0 draw.  A late bloomer, playing only his 49th league match at the age of 29.  Never give up I suppose.

La Liga Loca made a note that Espanyol notched their second straight victory, which has got them climbing up the table (8th before the midweek matches).  He also mentioned that the Racing Santander owner is being investigated by Interpol, which raised my eyebrows.  Interpol started the inquiry of Ahsan Ali Syed following complaints of alleged financial cheating and breach of promise in various deals made through his firm Western Gulf Advisory.  Yikes.

Phil Ball moved from his discussion of the media punta last week to the technically adept center backs like Mascherano, Pique and Sergio Ramos (when he plays there for Real Madrid), and how this position is reshaping the Spanish game.  As he went to the drab draw between Real Sociedad and Getafe, there wasn’t much else to talk about.

—————

As for the Big Two . . .

Madridista Mac reviewed Real Madrid’s imperious performance against the nouveau riche club of Malaga.  Mourinho slightly changed the tactics of Los Merengues, with his squad passing more on the counter instead of depending on CR7′s pace and moving the line very high up the pitch to nullify Joaquin and Cazorla.  The result was 45 minutes of incisive, razor sharp attacking which netted four goals.  Real Madrid are now in second with el clasico only about 45 days away.

As for FC Barcelona, I read the reviews at Total Barca and Barca Offside.  I don’t understand the 3-4-3 with Adriano on the wing.  Seems like they beat Villarreal with it and it became the new thing, yet whenever they use it now, they struggle and have to revert to the 4-3-3 (Valencia and Sevilla as examples).  Pep is always trying to find permutations so that the squad does not become stale or predictable, so if they are not going to alter their system for anyone, then see it out and do it.  Some of it is based on injuries, but with Mascherano stepping up as a center back, they can run a 4-3-3 and get it done.  Again, it comes down to the finishing.  I’m gathering stats, but basically FCB has 70-75% of the possession but have been hit and miss in terms of goals.  If a goalkeeper is hot in the case of the Sevilla, then what do they do?    Messi has scored a ton of goals, but he has off days and I really feel that Villa should be scoring more.  He wastes a lot of chances, when he is not offside.

I watched Barca control the game against Granada Tuesday afternoon, and if not for a stunning Xavi free kick, the Blaugrana would have gone scoreless for the second straight match, and that was against a relegation candidate with only 10 men for half an hour.  As for their eternal rival, they play Villarreal Wednesday afternoon, then a couple more patsies.  After the international break, their schedule goes Valencia, Atletico Madrid, Gijon, Barca, Sevilla.   That will tell us a little more about Los Blancos and where the title might end up.

—————

Standings after 8 matches:

  P W D L GD PTS
Levante 8 6 2 0 11 20
Real Madrid 8 6 1 1 22 19
Barcelona 8 5 3 0 22 18
Sevilla 8 4 4 0 4 16
Valencia 8 4 3 1 3 15
Málaga 8 4 1 3 -1 13
Betis 8 4 0 4 -3 12
Espanyol 8 4 0 4 -4 12
Atlético 8 2 4 2 2 10
Osasuna 8 2 4 2 -6 10
Athletic 8 2 3 3 0 9
Mallorca 8 2 3 3 -2 9
Rayo 8 2 3 3 -3 9
R Zaragoza 8 2 3 3 -7 9
R Sociedad 8 2 2 4 -3 8
Villarreal 8 1 4 3 -7 7
Getafe 8 1 3 4 -4 6
Granada 8 1 2 5 -8 5
Sporting 8 1 1 6 -7 4
Racing 8 0 4 4 -9 4

—————

In other news . . .

Alex Grant at El Centrocampista took a look at the average ages of the top three, which made for some interesting reading.

  • Levante:  30.63 (including a defensive line of Ballasteros, Juanfran, Javi Venta and Nano, who are all above 30)
  • Real Madrid: 25.27 (Mourinho’s emphasis on quick, counter attacking football has seen an influx of youth and pace into the Bernabeu.)
  • Barcelona:  26.45

I came across this little tidbit at adifferentliga.  As one of the editors of VillarrealUSA posted: Garrido did not force Santi Cazorla to leave, place us in the Group of Death, and ask our best players to disappear. I have plenty of disagreements with Garrido, but hardly anyone is on form right now. Look in the mirror, boys.

—————

Podcasts

Graham Hunter was on Off the Ball last Thursday and talked about the fitness of Iniesta and Puyol at FCB.  He had some interesting comments as these influential players try to stay on the pitch and off the training table.

Fernando Palomo of ESPN Deportes was on ForzaFutbol to discuss his path in the media industry, which was fascinating.  Then they moved on to discuss La Liga and how to fix the league, a constant topic this season.  Again, even TV money distribution was discussed as well as announcing the match schedule farther in advance.  As for the Big Two, Palomo made this comment: FCB games are better, bordering on art, but Real Madrid games are more entertaining, which I thought was kind of interesting.  The tiki taka of FCB is amazing but can alternate between boring as they crush an opponent with a hat full of goals or frustrating as the goals will not come no matter how much possession they have.

Sid Lowe was on Beyond the Pitch.  He covered a lot of ground as usual:

  • There is still fallout from the Laudrup leaving Real Mallorca.
  • Villarreal and their emotional state.
  •          Can they pick themselves up after a devastating loss to Manchester City?
  •          Can they hold on to players in the next two transfer windows?
  • TV money and eroding fan support were discussed.  This, coupled with the impending financial crisis in Europe, means the next one to three years could be dicey for La Liga in terms of revenue.
  • Bielsea’s progress at Athletic Bilbao was brought up.
  • The competition between Ozil and Kaka at Real Madrid was talked about.

—————

Isaiah from Barcelona Football Blog posted on the soccernet.com blog about the problems facing La Liga, in particular the beatings some of the teams have taken at the hands of FCB and Real Madrid.  A couple of weeks ago, I asked the same question on my blog about Barcelona in particular.  For the Racing/FCB game, I didn’t even make an effort to watch the game live or on replay. Instead I waited for Levante v Malaga on Sunday for my La Liga game that weekend.

The only reason to watch Racing/FCB match was that it was after an international break, where the Blaugrana usually struggle. Unless FCB are playing a real team (Real Madrid, or Valencia (best game of season so far) or Villarreal, who are down this year) or a supposed pretender (Malaga or Levante possibly) then the result is almost assured.

As for the league in general, there are compelling games, you just have to hunt them down—Basque derby, Valencian derbies, relegation battles (already).  If you want to watch Real Madrid or FCB, watch them in the Champions League; then you will see them tested (sometimes).

Of course, as soon as I say this, they struggle away to Gijon and then Sevilla go to the Nou Camp and get a draw, Barcelona’s third of the season.  The problem for the champions this season is turning their dominance into goals.  They routinely have 65 to 75% but they have only turned this into thrashings 4 times out of their 8 matches thus far.  When FCB and Real Madrid hit the high notes, the gap is evident and marked, but so far this season, teams that are organized, fit and a little bit lucky can get something from Pep’s Team.  Just something to think about.

—————

OK.  Think that’s enough.  Enjoy the midweek games, then a full slate on the weekend, highlighted by, well just watch the games.  Maybe a slumping Malaga against a rising Espanyol on Sunday might make for compelling television.

2011
10/26
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Old Futbol Buffet–Noisy Neighbors Silence the Theatre

Another busy week culminated in yet another busy weekend.  My church did a Pumpkin Carving Event for the neighborhood kids, and since I’m in charge, that meant last minute details: buying supplies, making sure we had enough help, confirming the venue, setting up the event.  I was hoping to gorge myself Saturday on Malaga v Real Madrid, FCB v Sevilla, and Juventus v Genoa.  Saturday night rolled around and my source for the games bailed and McDonald’s internet sucks, so I was left with match reports and highlights.

Sunday was jam packed with soccer.  Or could have been if I was single, childless and devoid of responsibility.  The game slate was as follows:

Manchester United v Manchester City at 8:30am

MSU Women v OSU at 12pm

Valencia v Athletic Bilbao at 2pm

Villarreal v Levante at 4pm

——————

Manchester United 1       Manchester City 6

I joined the Manchester Derby 30 minutes in, with United down 1-0.  The first thing I noticed was the complete lack of atmosphere.  Both teams were playing in a cemetery, with the crowd only making some noise towards the end of the half.  Not too many highlights and it seemed like all of United’s shots were straight at Joe Hart.

The path of the game was determined just a minute into the second half as Jonny Evans hauled down Balotelli and received a straight red.  Surely this will be his last season at Old Trafford, as mistakes and injuries plague his game.  The only reason he’s playing now is because the twins are hurt, thus Smalling has to play on the right instead of in the middle.

For a while, United played better down a man, at least pinning back City for a time, but some neat interplay in the right hand channel ended with Milner fizzing the ball across the goal for Balotelli to tap in for his second.  After that United slowly lost the plot, shipping a third and then absolutely throwing in the towel at the end, giving up three goals in about three minutes, losing 6-1.

The swagger and edge of the opening weeks is totally gone, with tepid European performances and lackluster matches in the league being the order of the day.  They have played the contenders (mostly at home) and have gotten 10 of 15 points, but gone is the home unbeaten streak, the goals seemed to have dried up, and the team is trending downwards.

The return fixture is six months away, and United are down five points (essentially six due to Goal Difference).  It is far too early to hit the panic button.  All you have to do is look at Chelsea’s start to the season last year and know that almost no lead is safe.  It may be that the gap will close after Christmas as United starts their typical second half surge and City has to play some of the big guns between now and then.  City have had a great week, grabbing a last gasp winner against Villarreal to keep their European ambitions alive and putting their local rival to the sword in crushing fashion.  They are slowly gaining the winning mentality and maybe they will have enough to raise the Premier League trophy in May.

——————

I didn’t get to the rest of the games.  Not surprising when there are fliers to be taken down, a child to be taken to his drum lesson, and a house to be cleaned for church.  It happens.  But I am looking forward to the midweek league fixtures in Spain and Italy this week.  England teams will be participating in the League Cup.  ZZZZZZ!  Here are some of the matches I’m looking forward to:

Tuesday

2:30 PM  Juventus v Fiorentina     FSC

Wednesday

4:00 pm  Real Madrid v Villarreal        GOL TV

Thursday

4:00 pm  Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid      GOL TV

As for the weekend . . .

Saturday

12:00 PM  Roma v AC Milan (11:55am ET)          FS+

2:30 PM  Inter Milan v Juventus               FSC

——————

I am super behind on my podcasts, so not much to share there.  One pod I did catch over the weekend was Beyond the Pitch, who had Daniel Taylor and Roberto Gotta on.  Taylor was on to preview the Manchester Derby and provide insight into the Tevez situation.  Gotta and Anto talked about the news at the big Serie A clubs–AC Milan, Inter and Juventus.  All three are in transistion and future successes are still in doubt as the respective managements sort out finances and squads.

Speaking of Serie A, Paolo Bandini recapped Milan’s stunning comeback away to Lecce in the Guarian, featuring a hat trick from substitute KPB.  This may be the kickstart to the league campaign that Rossoneri fans have been waiting for.

2011
10/24
CATEGORY
Old Futbol Buffet
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Morbo Minute–European Round Up

I didn’t know how to feel about this week’s games.  FCB was playing Viktoria Plzen, who some sites were claiming are the Czech Barcelona (looked more like the Czech Tottenham Hotspur between the unis and the performance), and Manchester United was playing a Romanian team that I couldn’t pronounce.  The real action seemed to be in the Group of Death (Group A), with each team needing maximum points to give them the best chance of progressing.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2011

Manchester City           2-1       Villarreal          

Going into this match, both teams were at the Last Chance Saloon.  City needed all three points to get their campaign back on track after a home draw with Napoli and a spanking away to Bayern Munich, while the Yellow Submarine couldn’t hope to qualify for even the Europa League with a third consecutive loss in this competition.

Villarreal got off to a dream start when a Silva turnover ended up at the feet of Rossi, who called Hart into action before Cani knocked in the rebound after only three minutes.  The conditions and aggressiveness of both sides created a scintillating opening 20 minutes with City really taking the game to the Spanish side, creating lots of half chances.  It took a while for the Yellow Submarine into the game, with the pace hard to match, possession at a premium, and Rossi on his own.  De Guzman was not quite sharp enough. Despite helping to set up the opening goal, he was just a half step too slow.  Just when it looked like Villarreal were settling into the game to grind out an away victory, an own goal by Marchena got City off the hook before half time.

Villarreal started off the second half a little more threatening with Rossi testing Hart again and Valero doing a decent job of pulling the strings.  The team seemed to have a little more rhythm and was establishing some width.  Aguero came on at the hour mark as Mancini reshaped his side, with Barry holding, YaYa starting play and Silva and Nasri dictating proceedings (although they both faded).  Dzeko was struggling and he should have done both with a couple of his chances.  With 10’ to go, Mubarak came on for Perez, and Milner came in for Nasri.  The edge had gone out of game, and it was heading for a draw with three minutes of added time.  Villarreal were dead on their feet and City had just a little bit left, but Aguero got the Citizens out of jail as Milner set up Zabalyeta who squared it across for the Argentinean to score.  In the end, it was three points for the blue side of Manchester, with Villarreal being exposed at the end of the match and Mancini getting his subs absolutely right.

Richard Thorburn from http://elcentrocampista.com/ had this recap while for a more biased view read Allen’s comments from http://www.villarrealusa.com/.

Napoli                          1-1       Bayern Munich

CSKA Moscow           3-0       Trabzonspor

Lille                              0-1       Internazionale

FC Basel                      0-2       Benfica

Otelul Galati                 0-2      Manchester United

Dinamo Zagreb          0-2      Ajax Amsterdam

Real Madrid                 4-0       Lyon

Los Merengues conquered their French opponents again, with Benzema putting his former team to the sword.  @MadridistaMac made some interesting comments about the rotation and tactics for Real Madrid, who are all but in the knockout stage.  By the way, CR7 did not score in a second consecutive match for Real Madrid.  Everyone might want to have their Apocalypse Kit in order.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2011

Barcelona                     2-0       Viktoria Plzen   

The Blaugrana cruised past the Czech Champs, including a sick combination goal between Iniesta and Messi.  With FCB and AC Milan on seven points after three games, it looks like the match on 11/23 will decide the group.

AC Milan                     2-0       BATE Borisov

Bayer Leverkusen         2-1      Valencia                      

Los Che are in real danger of not progressing, with a defeat at the BayArena.  Based on reports they did not do enough with their first half advantage and were punished by the Germans.  However @OutsideMid took a different view on Leverkusen’s performance.  Ouch!!

Chelsea                        5-0       Racing Genk

Marseille                      0-1       Arsenal

I watched a replay of this match to get a feel for both teams, not seeing Arsenal for a while and had not seen Marseille this season.  The match was not great, with the  Gunners looking a shadow of themselves without Nasri and Fabregas.  Valbeuna looked great for L’OM but did not see much of the ball in second half.  The Professor seemed to have gotten his subs right as Ramsey smashed in the winner in injury time.  Overall this was 90 minutes that I’m not getting back.  Thank goodness I watched with some friends and had some beers.

Olympiakos                  3-1       Borussia Dortmund

FC Porto                      1-1       Apoel Nicosia

Shakhtar Donetsk        2-2       Zenit StPetersburg

——————
Europa League

Athletic Bilbao          2-2       SV Salzburg

Los Leones made two changes after having to play on Monday night.  They were stunned by Salzburg in the first half and were down 2-0 at halftime, but they picked themselves up, and two Llorente PK’s earned them the point.  They stay on top of the group and travel to Salzburg in a couple of weeks.  If they avoid a loss and get all three points against Slovan Bratislava, they should be in good shape against PSG on the last match day.

Udinese                        2-0       Atlético Madrid

Los Colchoneros suffered their first defeat of the competition as two late goals won it for the Italian side.  Based on reports, Atletico had decent periods of the match but their finishing was poor.  The return leg will be at the Calderon in a couple of weeks.  A win and the Spaniards can plan for European football early in 2012.  A loss means they will start all over again.

Spanishfootball.info has a little better summary of each match.

2011
10/21
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Old Futbol Buffet–Something for the Weekend

I came across some stuff earlier this week that I thought I would pass along.

If you do not read Paolo Bandini (@Paolo_Bandini ) each Monday at the Guardian, you are missing out.  His synopsis of the Rome Derby was fascinating and he is always a great read.

Staying in Italy, Aaron and Marco looked back at a predictably frustrating match as Juventus were away to Chievo Verona.  Maybe Conte didn’t quite get the formation right, but another clean sheet from the defenders.  However, questions must be asked about Krasic.  This is beyond a dip in form.

One more Serie A note.  Anto and Matteo looked back at the opening months for AC Milan.  It has been a mixed bag as the transition continues for the Rossoneri.  With one month Pato not firing in the goals and leading the line, Milan has been left with Ibra, who has been indifferent thus far, and Cassano, who has been great but struggled against the better sides.  It will be interesting to see how they get to January and then what moves they make to push in the second half of the season.  11/23 is the big game against FCB at the San Siro.  Will they try to sucker punch the Blaugrana or take them on?

Speaking of FCB, found this video on totalbarca.com.  Remember, enjoy this team.  We may never see another like it.

Finally, if you want to know anything about German Football, Uli Hesse is the man to ask.  Great info, insight and laughs on his appearance on Beyond The Pitch.

2011
10/20
CATEGORY
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Morbo Minute–The Day of the Frogs

A couple of Spanish National Team notes from the international break. . .

Sid Lowe took a look at Spain, examining the team selection for the recent internationals and forecasts what the team might look at next summer in Poland and Ukraine. La Furia Roja will need to sort out these areas: left back (Jordi Alba), a backup center back (several possibilities), and one more striker (Negredo, Soldado, or Torres).

@LaLigaLoca focused on David Silva’s reintegration into the squad.

—————-

As for the league, Olly Dawes (@OllyDawes) examined Espanyol’s slow start to this season going into this round of matches.  This is almost the exact opposite to their fantastic start to the last campaign.  Los Periquitos slumped after returning from the winter break, only winning 6 of their 22 matches (6W 3D 13L) and finishing 8th.  This year they have started with six points from their first six matches and are mired in 15th.  Not good.  Note: Espanyol picked up three vital points against Rayo Vallecano.

Higuaín and Messi continue to score at will, which @LaLigaLoca led his Good Day, Bad Day off with.  Neither struggled after the international break, with Real Madrid and Barcelona consolidating their spots at the top of the table, as Valencia and Real Betis slipping again.  Levante continue to be the surprise package, as Sid Lowe put into context: player wages, average age of the squad and historical success of the club.  Phil Ball went the other way in the top of the table clash against Malaga, mentioning the inconsistencies of the Malaga Project before moving on to talking about David Villa and the rise of the media punta or false #9 in La Liga and La Furia Roja and beyond.

The round featured another candidate for goal of the season, as Helder Postiga pulled of this for Zaragoza against Real Sociedad.

—————-

Sunday afternoon, I watched Levante v Malaga.  Going into the match Levante (their nickename is Granotes meaning Frogs) was joint top of the table (behind FCB on goal difference) and Malaga was fourth.  For Malaga this was expected as their project continues to take shape, but for Levante, who barely survived last year (only winning three of their last nine matches), these are heady times.  Back from the international break, Levante was close to full strength, with Xavi Torres’ (his transfer from Malaga contained a clause that meant Levante would have to pay if the midfielder played against his former club) replaced by Francisco Farinos.  For Malaga, they were without Julio Baptista (injured in a friendly against Real Jaen during the international break).

Both teams started with lone strikers with Malaga very fluid behind Ruud van Nistelrooy.  Carzola was pulling the strings with Isco and Joaquin switching flanks, Maresca picking up the ball from the back, and Toulalan sitting in between the center backs a la FCB.  Monreal made his first start of the season, his chance at making the national team slipping away with every good Jose Enrique performance.

The first half was full of incident. Malaga had tons of possession in the first half, but were not dangerous in the final third.  Levante seemed content to keep Malaga at arms length and counter if possible, which paid off after 13’ as Juanlu got to the byline to square for Barkero, who made no mistake. Malaga continued to knock the ball around without any real threat.  Then on 27’, a long ball got Kone in on goal, which Willy (his given name is Wilfredo Caballero) came out to meet but he used his hands, received a second yellow and was sent off.  The resulting free kick trickled through the wall and Juanlu was first to react, poking it past Ruben (Maresca was sacrificed) who came on in goal.    Ruben had a rough 15’, totally misplaying Valdo in the corner, which was saved off the line, and then making a complete hash of a ball over the top, which Kone walked in.  Halftime couldn’t come soon enough for Malaga, down a man and down 3-0.

Pellegrini made two subs at half time, Rondon for van Nistelrooy and Seba Fernández for Cazorla.  Once I saw those, I knew the Chilean was laying down and getting ready for next week.  Rondon was a little more active and Isco seemed to get on the ball more with Santi out but again no cutting edge.  Levante were content to let Malaga knock the ball around and hit the visitors on the break.  They had a few chances but nothing too dangerous.  The last 20 minutes or so became a series of individual dribbling contests as the fight of the game was gone.

A fantastic result for Levante, who are away to Villarreal next week.  With the Yellow Submarine out of sorts this could be a chance for one or all three points to help the Frogs’ cause.  As for Malaga, it doesn’t get any better because they host Real Madrid in the next round, and with Los Merengues firing in the goals (and Ruben looking terrible between the sticks), this could be a rough one.

—————-

Mando (@espanyolusa) at Forza Football shot off a quick rant about the state of fan support in La Liga.  He gave some troubling stats and some legitimate points about the future of the league–ticket prices, start times, financial disparity.  Again, this is the issue that’s not going away.

Finally SpanishFootball.info (@espanafutbol) had Tim Vickery (@Tim_Vickery) on their latest podcast. Jaime McGregor and Vickery covered a lot of ground, starting with Neymar’s possible (ie eventual) transfer to Europe.  There was a real chance of him joining Chelsea but now Real Madrid look to be the favorites, although it probably won’t happen until 2012 or 2013 due to Santos’ participation in the World Club Championship and the upcoming Olympics.  As for Santos’ chances against FCB in December (assuming they both qualify for the final), Vickery feels that, unlike previous finals, the South Americans will be able to go toe to toe with the Europeans, as Santos has kept Elano, Ganso, and Neymar for the time being.

There are many South Americans in Spain—Rondon, Montero, Gago, Banega to name a few.  Vickery told listeners to keep an eye out for Edwin Cardona (’92) from Colombia (midfielder playing with Atleticon Nacional), Rui Dias from Peru and Bryan Carrasco (’91) from Chile (outside back or winger playing for Audax Italiano).  Marcelo Bielsa to Athletic Bilbao was also mentioned.  Vickery worries that it may not be the right move due to Los Leones lack of attacking options and resources.  The movement of South Americans to Europe led to a discussion of Riquleme’s transfer to Barcelona at the beginning of the century.  Vickery said it was the right time but the wrong club as Riquleme didn’t really fit in with the Blaugrana of van Gaal.

The guys also discussed players’ roles on their national teams.  Dani Alves plays a different role on the Brazilian team, and there is a lot of competition at both outside back spots, with Marcelo probably on the outside looking in.  There is also the disconnect between Messi’s play with Barcelona and Argentina.  With Argentina there is no system and similar personnel so it is no wonder that he can’t replicate the same sort of performances.  Vickery mentioned that because of the rise of club football, it may not be necessary for Messi to win the World Cup to be considered one of the all time greats.  Finally, Mascherano was discussed, due to his use at FCB as a center back.  While this works for the Blaugrana, his lack of height would be exposed at the international level.

All in all, very entertaining and informative, as always with the Vickipedia is on any show.

—————-

Fixtures this weekend:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2011

12:00 ET           Racing Santander          v           Espanyol                       El Sardinero

12:00 ET           Sporting Gijon               v           Granada                        El Molinón

2:00 ET             Málaga                         v           Real Madrid                   La Rosaleda      ESPN3

4:00 ET            Barcelona                     v           Sevilla FC                      Camp Nou         GOL TV

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2011

10:00 ET           Real Sociedad   v          Getafe               Anoeta            ESPN3

11:00 ET           Sporting Gijon    v         Granada

12:00 ET           Atlético Madrid  v          Mallorca                        Vicente Calderón           ESPN3

12:00 ET           Osasuna           v          Real Zaragoza               Reyno de Navarra

2:00 ET            Valencia            v          Athletic Bilbao               Mestalla                        GOL TV

4:00 ET             Villarreal            v          Levante             El Madrigal                                GOL TV

6:00 ET             Real Betis         v          Rayo Vallecano             Benito Villamarín

Find a bar stool or set your DVR or both.  Lots of quality matches this weekend, with the US TV audience having a chance to catch most of them.

2011
10/19
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Old Futbol Buffet–Got My Fill

My weekend was filled with footy. Friday night some of the guys from my over 30 team went out for a little post season celebration.  The evening started with the Women’s Club Soccer game between MSU and UM, a little rivalry tussle to get everyone ready for the big football game the next day.  The game itself wasn’t that great, a glorified high school game to be honest, and if I had not brought a full thermos of Bailey’s and coffee on a chilly night I would have really suffered.  Then it was on to Claddagh’s.  I felt like Half and Half’s (Guinness draught and Harp Lager) and then the Jägerbombs made an appearance.  After a couple of those, it was time to call it a night.

Saturday morning Liverpool hosted Manchester United.  Thank God I don’t live on the West Coast, which would have put the start time for this match at 4:45 in the morning.  I missed the opening half hour (barely got up and still hungover), and the remaining moments of the first half were pretty dire.  Halftime came and my signal went out.  I still don’t know if it was ESPN3 or my air card but basically I had to switch the match tracker and missed a much more exciting second half.  When Gerrard scored for the Scousers I figured this would be the end of the unbeaten run in the league but Fergie had planned the last 30 minutes to perfection with his subs and Hernandez popped up for the equalizer.  That’s how it ended.  City won their match against the Villians to go top of the table and set up the big derby next weekend.

Sunday I watched Levante v Malaga, which I will talk about in more detail during my upcoming Morbo Minute.

————–

Eric Wynalda (@Wynalda11) had another strong appearance on @BeyondthePitch podcast. He gave his thoughts on the US National Team (in particular the roles of Shea, Dempsey, & Donovan). He spent some on the MLS, including looking back at Beckham’s time in the US and the future of the league. I couldn’t agree more about US players going to Europe to play. They finished on how the game should be covered by US TV, which has always been a source of frustration for me.

The guys at Juventiknows.com came up with 10 reasons to become a fan of Juventus.  I know I’m a little biased but it’s pretty compelling.

2011
10/17
CATEGORY
Old Futbol Buffet
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