The collapse of the Saudi team

Saudi Arabia lost today 5-0 to Japan in the last game of the Asian Cup. This is the worst defeat for the Saudi team from another Asian team since 1981 when it lost 5-0 to New Zealand. In general, this is the lowest point ever reached by the Saudi football after the 2002 0-8 defeat from Germany.

Saudi team was beaten from within before the start of the game. After Peseiro was replaced, head of Saudi Federation was himself replaced. There were rumors that Saudi players left the camp. Another rumors (from the Japanese press) that some players seen drunk at late hour at night.



However, I am not that shocked by this defeat, I don't see it that bad .................

First of all, when the team internally has problems, fights and serious issues, you can expect the worse. It happened to a wonderful Cameroon team in 1994 WC. After a great start, they faced Russia in the last game. Russia surprisingly beat Cameroon 6-1. The reason was that the team had internal problems, rumors of players trying to stay-over at the US, and financial issues.

So, collapsing in such situations was not surprising. I expected Japan to win at least 2-0.

When Saudi lost the 0-8 in 2002 vs. Germany many people were aiming for a big change in Saudi Football Federation, but nothing happened. Now, the big change is happening and people are aiming for a restructure of the football federation.

One man, the team manager, Fahd Al-Musaibih was very well known by his mismanagement and was a big factor in killing players morals for many years. Rumors that he resigned today.

Still too early to judge, but if real restructure happened, we can see Saudi team 1994 again.
A lot of pressure from the media that cannot take it anymore, as Adil Essam Eddin famous comments after Jordan defeat (this link in Arabic)

Will the Saudi football take a U-Turn or continue sinking?

I could not find a better picture to represent the conditions of the Saudi football today better than this one

Saudi Arabia officially was the first team to exit Asian Cup 2011 after two defeats from Syria 1-2 and Jordan 0-1. It is not a big issue to lose a game or two, but, the way Saudi lost and the whole set-up of the team and the journey this team has taken since 1994 World Cup till today, is the real issue. 

(the links in this post are full of interesting videos)

Little Bit of History:

Let me go back to the Owairan goal in 1994, and the very good mondial for the Saudi team, it didn't come by a chance or just as an individual effort. It was a result of a lot of progress since 1984 when Saudi won their first Asian Cup.

By 1992, it was apparent that the Saudi team is heading towards something big, especially when you watch such wonderful goals vs. USA and Argentina in the first Confederation Cup. 

After the 1994 WC, Saudi football started to decline slowly. 1994 WC coach Jorge Solari quit the Saudi team. The Saudi federation kicked out the coach that won 1996 Asian Cup (Vengada) and next year the coach that reached 1998 WC (Pfister), only to hire Carlos Alberto Perreira, who himself was kicked out as a Saudi coach after failing to reach 1990 WC. Ironically, Perreira was kicked out during 1998 WC after losing to France 0-4. Saudi Arabia had to play last group games vs. South Africa with the joke local coach Mohammad Al-Kharashi.

All of this worked well, Saudi still had good talents from the past who managed to make the ship kept going, up and down.

Then, comes the worst event of the Saudi football history, the 0-8 defeat vs. Germany in 2002. After that Mondial, the Saudi Football Federation started to talk about big plans to have big change of the Saudi football. A lot of committees, consultants and real plans.

However, things only went worse. 9 coaches were changed, many players were kicked out of the national team, sidelines then returns. The story was almost the same. Yet, Saudi team fans had two things to remember:
- Qualifying to the 2006 WC.
- Playing the Asian Cup final in 2007.
Yet, the coach of both teams were kicked out. I was so sad about Calderon from Argentina, who lead the team to 2006 WC. It was the last time that the Saudi team played a decent good football.

Little Bit of Today:
Saudi football clubs and league started to decline slowly. Talents today are not rich like yesterday. And even the new promising talents, they peak only for 2 to 3 years. They earn millions of dollars which prevent them from being a good target for the small European Clubs that played big role in developing football in African countries.

So, Saudi football lost almost everything possible in recent years:
- AFC Champion League: Last time a Saudi team won was 2005. Before that, it was always a common factor in this league.
- Gulf Cups: Saudi team lost four last cups. Last time won was in 2003.
- Asian Cup 2011: Saudi team entered with already a have campaign against the Coach. Everyone was awaiting what will happen?
- After losing the first game vs. Syria, Saudi Football Federation changed the coach and appointed Nasser Al-Johar. (he is the same one who lead the 0-8 defeat). Changing the coach during the competition is something common, and was done for the fifth time.
- Now Saudi lost the second game on a row, vs. Jordan. Both teams used to be considered among the "piece of kick"  in the past.
- Today there was big announcement that six Saudi players quit international games. Something that was never happened before in Saudi football.

The talk about the Saudi Football Federation is the biggest topic (directly or indirectly) in all football channels in the region, the media, the forums, the cafes and everywhere.

The big question that everyone is awaiting:
- Will the Saudi Football Federation be changed totally? Which will mean the Saudi football might make a big U-Turn and repeat something of the 1994 WC memory?
- Or it will continue, and this means, Saudi Football and Titanic will have similar fates?

Saudi Arabia changed 24 coaches since 1994 WC

"It is not acceptable for Saudi Arabia. The coach has had enough time, more than a year and a half, to do a perfect job."  as said by Sultan bin Fahd, the President of the Saudi Arabian Football Association.

It was one of the most stable and long times that the coach stayed at the "Green Falcons" as used to be called. That period was one and a half year!!!!!

Jose Peseiro was fired after Saudi defeat by Syria 1-2 in the first game of the Asian Cup. He was replaced by Nasser Al-Johar, a local coahc. If I am not mistaken, this would be the first ever victory for Syria against Saudi Arabia, at least in the first team level. (source: my memory)



Here is some irony:

- As per Dubai Sport Channel analysis, Nasser Al-Johar (the new coach) was sitting in the game and taking notes in his note book. So, the decision to change the coach was mostly decided. The Saudi Football Association was only waiting for the right time.

- Nasser is not a new coach. This is the fifth time that he been appointed as the coach of the Saudi team (always called as the substitute coach, or the spare part).

- He was the coach that lead the team to worst defeat in its history: 0-8 vs. Germany in 2002 World Cup.

- Saudi national team changed 24 coaches since Candinho was fired in 1993 WCQ (which is practically when the team qualified to the WC for the first time in their history).

 Mohammed Al-Kharashy 1993
 Leo Beenhakker 1993
 Mohammed Al-Kharashy 1994
 Ivo Wortmann 1994
 Jorge Solari 1994
 Mohammed Al-Kharashy 1995
 Ze Mario 1995
Vingada 1996
 Otto Pfister 1998
 Carlos Alberto Parreira 1998
 Mohammed Al-Kharashy 1998
 Otto Pfister 1999
 Milan Máčala 1999
 Nasser Al Johar 2000
 Slobodan Santrac 2001
 Nasser Al Johar 2001
 Gerard van der Lem 2002
 Martin Koopman 2002
 Nasser Al Johar 2004
 Gabriel Calderon 2004
 Marcos Paqueta 2006
 Helio dos Anjos 2007
 Nasser Al Johar 2008
 José Peseiro 2009
 Nasser Al Johar 2011

- Let's do some benchmarking, Germany changed 5 coaches during the same period. Italy changed 7 coaches.

- Saudi team itself changed 21 coaches in 36 years. (1957-1993) as 1957 was the first coach appointed.
Now, it changed 24 coaches in 18 years (1993-2011), that is almost double the speed.

These are all small indications of the professionalism of football in Saudi Arabia and the reasons why the team that qualified to the second round in 1994, cannot now qualify to the second round of the Asian Cup.

First two games summarize Asian Football

Qatar lost to Uzbekistan 0-2 and Kuwait to China with the same result. The two games summarize what's going on in Asian football today.

- The decline of football in Western Asia: in 1978, Iran was the team from Western Asian to qualify to the world cup. Western Asia added 9 more teams till the 2006 World Cup: Kuwait, Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Iran. 2010 was the first time that Western Asia missed the World Cup. The level is on decline and there is no sign of healthy recovery.

- Two great goals, two lousy goals: watching the four goals were interesting. Two wonderful goals to watch represents the skills in some of the Asian players. Two lousy goals of poor defending represent the lack of team organization in some Asian teams.

- The rise of Central and Eastern Asia Countries: this is too early to judge, as we need to watch Japan and Korea who are expected to emerge much stronger. But, teams in Central Asia like Uzbekistan started to pose more trouble to other Asian teams.


Watch here the two goals of China vs. Kuwait

Why do I support January World Cup 2022!

Qatar winning the World Cup 2022 bid sparked so much controversy in the world media and blogs. Now, Blatter recent comments that he expects WC 2022 to be held in January will even spark more controversy. I predict people will say, why FIFA is changing the World Cup rule if the conditions of a country is not suitable to host a World Cup in the first place?

I am a big supporter for the idea of having a World Cup in January, for many reasons, even before Qatar ever thought to host a world cup:

First, let's talk about Qatar conditions:

- I am from Saudi Arabia, which has very similar weather conditions and I know how it feels in the summer. Yes, Qatar promised air-conditioned stadiums to reduce the temperature from 40s to 20s Celsius centigrades.   So, having the sever weather conditions won't be that much of an issue for players and people in the stadium.

- Well, in reality, weather conditions won't be that bad for players. Most of the soccer games in this region are played during night most of the year, when it gets really hot. Weather is very acceptable in June. It gets to late 20s, and to late 30s sometimes. If you remember, in 1994 World Cup, players managed to play in 40C degrees. 

The ones who will suffer are the fans. They won't have that much of an entertainment most of the day in outdoors activities.

Second: let's talk about the quality of the World Cup itself:

- I remember reading an interview with Beckenbauer about 10 years ago, he was saying that the Champion League will compete with the World Cup. Later I have realized what Beckenbauer meant. If you look today into the World Cup, you find many of the big stars reach the month of June very exhausted with very little to introduce.

- The following great stars had great local or European season, and a very terrible World Cup or Euro tournament: Marco Van Basten 1990 and 1992, Zidane 2002, Ronaldinho 2006, Messi 2010, C. Ronaldo 2010.

- in 2002, Ronaldo (Brazilian version) was out most of the season and came back only few weeks prior to the World Cup. This why he had a great World Cup, as he was very fresh.

- In my opinion, mid season (i.e. January) is the best time to held a World Cup tournament, so the players are already warmed up, in peak of their fitness and can produce finest game during their season.

Yes, European calenders can be disturbed, but I think it worth disturbing the calenders in order to see players like Messi, Zizou and Ronaldinho in their best form during the World Cup.

Egyptian football thunder storms

Egyptian football was the best of the Arab and Middle Eastern world in the last decade. They managed to produce a lot of impressive talents, skills and teams (Al-Ahli on club level and the National Team). However, one very big problem this country has is the attitude of most of the best players.

Shikabala:

A recent incident happened few days ago after the big derby Al-Ahli vs. Zamalek, when Shikabala, who I consider him the most talented footballer in the whole Arab world today, faced with racist comments and chanting from the fans, so, he did raise his shoe in the face of the opponent, Al-Ahli fans, after the game.

The incident is shocking, but if you were not shocked enough, here is more into it:
This incident was the talk of sports channels in last few days, and in all interviews I heard, the club officials were very supporting of the player, and gave him the excuses to get out of his nerves.


What happened next, that Shikabala mentioned that he quit international games for good. Hassan Shahata, the Egyptian coach, said that Shika is already out of his consideration. The coach always kept Shika out of his serious squad anyhow.

Few months ago, the same player, threatened a famous Zamalek figure to kill him. The issue went without a ban, with only few thousand dollars fine.

Mido:

Of course, he got the most famous incident of irresponsible attitude in history of Egyptian football.
It was the 2006 African Cup when he refused to be replaced in the semi-final.

I think the reason why Egypt was so successful in winning last 3 African Cups was not just the way that Hassan managed his team psychologically before technically and how he refused sharply for the return of Mido for the next four years.

Mido didn't like it at all, with such comments.
(this interview in Arabic, but he question coach decision to keep him away, and that everyone knows how great he is, except the coach. I do my own international fate, not the coach)

Mido played previously in Ajax Amsterdam, at the same time with Ibrahimovic and Martin Litmanen, but he wasted his chances big time. He questioned coaches like Ronald Koeman who said about him "even if I had to play with ten men, I would not have him back". Leo Beenhakker added "every coach comes up against one unmanageable player in their career, for me, it was Mido".

Mido at his famous 2006 incident Semi-Final, was replaced at the extra-time with Amro Zaki, who scored a goal just few seconds after the replacement.

Amro Zaki:

He had his own good share of the naughty attitudes. He played for one year with Wigan. He had a super start of the season scoring 10 goals and leading the top scorer in the first several games. Later he started his own dispute and lousy attitude with Wigan. The coach Steve Bruce described him as "the most unprofessional player I have ever worked with".

Essam El-Hadary:

The legendary keeper, who was one of the most important factors in winning all previous three African Cups, had his own share as well. He used to play for the biggest team Al-Ahli, but left to Sion without any notice to his club. Two years later (few months ago), FIFA decided on this dispute and banned him from playing for four months and 800 thousands dollars.

I think Hassan Shahata is doing great job in dealing with such personalities and great skills.

Messi one-two-goals

One of the great qualities that Messi aquire is his ability to play team work, quick passes, and move around with "One-Two" passes. It is a very smart, unselfish way to get through defences using team-mates.

Not a lot of players, or big stars do that. You don't recall it a lot in players like Cristiano Ronaldo for example. But you find it in the best quality of players, some of the big names, Pele, Maradona, Zidane, Beckenbauer, Romario, Roberto Baggio, Zico and, of course, one of best them with skill: Lionel Messi.

Recently he scored a passionate goal vs. Real Sociedad with great set of "One-Two" passes



Here is a wonderful clip some of his best "one-two" goals



I was watching some old clips, and I saw this one for Maradona. It directly reminded me of this goal for Messi vs. Panathinaikos.



The way he received the ball, the quick swift one-two passes, his flexible body, the balance ..... one more way of similarities of the two players.
Here is the original version of the goal, by Maradona :)

Barcelona passing machine crushed Real Madrid

Totti said after the 5-0 great game:

"This Barcelona is unbeatable, if three teams had played yesterday against Barca they would have all lost, not only Real Madrid. The Barca players were devastating, ran less than Madrid and they controlled the ball. I think they are the best team ever."

I might agree. I have seen Brazil 1982, Italy 1982, Argentina 1986, Germany 1990, AC Milan 1989 (which also crushed Real Madrid 5-0), Brazil 1994, France 2000, MU 1999 and much more, I cannot claim that I have seen anything like Barca last week, at least in what they do best, the passing machine and the midfield.

"this wasn’t an inherently ‘tactical’ victory. Barcelona won primarily because of the cohesion and quality of the interplay in midfield. Their passing patterns in the centre of the pitch are the result of years of experience playing together, something Real couldn’t hope to match" (Zonal Marking Site)

What did numbers say?

- Barcelona had 67% possession of the ball vs. Real Madrid, that just crushed Ajax 4-0 few days earlier.

- Barcelona did 608 successful passes, vs. 245 for RM, that is 70% of all passes in the game.

- Barca had 6 kicks on the target, 5 were successful. RM had two kicks on target, zero success rate.

What was impressive is the patterns of Barca positions of players each time the ball was with them, or was not with them. They looked like the fleets of fishes, and how they shape many different patterns as they travel together.

I don't think I ever seen any strong fast midfield like Barca, and this last game was the best of their performance.

Gardiola knew very well how to employ Messi talent, which he did one of his finest games ever, despite the fact that he missed few chances and didn't score.

In Argentina, the team was so slow and distracted, they reached nowhere, Messi always had three players around him, and he was not able to pass to any player. There was no pattern at all in Argentina.

Xavi, Iniesta, Messi were no doubt the skeleton of the midfield. One great player, a core part of this Barca team is often missed by the media, Sergio Busquets. Check out this video

Friendlies review (2 of 2): Spain is the biggest loser

Portugal x Spain (4-0):
Portugal took revenge from Spain by a humilating 4-0 victory to the WC winner. Well, it is always usual that the WC winner has some low performance. But, to lose 1-4 to Argentina then 0-4 to Portugal, for sure will put some pressure on the coach and the team as a whole.

It worth mentioning, that Spain won all of its three games in the Euro 2012 qualifications.
Spain was lucky again as the ref disallowed a correct wonderful goal for Ronaldo.

This link has all the goals of the game.

Egypt x Australia (3-0):
Again this was a very important political and psychological win for Egypt. Egypt is ranked #10 in the world and I think they deserve it and they won the last three African Nations Cups. Yet, they failed to qualify to the WC since 1990.

The story is always the same, they just lose some easy points before getting together when things are too difficult. Now, they just did exactly the same in the 2012 CAF qualifications. This time Egypt tied with the weak Sierra Leone before losing to Niger 0-1. Now they are the last of a group of four.

Everyone in Egypt was talking that it is time to change the coach, and the whole team. We need fresh blood.
So, this victory is a big push back. Not only that, but the goal of the game came from Gedo, the top scorer in last CAF. He had internal problems in Egypt with a hefty fine of a half million pound (around 100 thousand dollars).



Morocco x N. Ireland (1-1)
Morocco been out of WC since 1998 and now out of last CAF. Morocco used to be one of best African teams, and in recent years they lost that spark. What's interesting that Moroccon players are doing very well in European clubs. Now, this is the first game with the Belgian coach Eric Gerets who just had big success with a Saudi club. Hopes started to return again with this coach. So, a tie with Ireland is just a very good start for a new journey. Watch the goals of the game

France x England (2-1):
I am sure, I don't need to express my opinion on why it is a very good victory for France to get back into the world top ranking again. I have not seen the game as I was watching Argentina Brazil one. But, looking into the goals, I can say that both goals give a hint, that there is some good team work behind the blues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLsfdT3FRSw

Now, I had a casual shirt that represents the french national team. I used to wear it, actually I always weared something about France when Zizou used to play. Now, especially after the last WC, I was thinking to throw this shirt, I never felt like wearing it. Not only for the bad performance, but more for the attitude behind it.

Now, I might wait a little bit, and see ....... will I wear it again???!!!

Friendlies review (1 of 2): Messi is the biggest winner

Some of the today's friendlies carried a lot of the psychological and political importance. Here is a review of some

Argentina x Brazil:
Not very exciting game, Brazil was better as a team. Argentina looked paled and fragmented. Still no team work. However, plitically, it was very important win for the 'temporary' coach Batista. This means he might continue for a longer time with Argentina.

Also, Messi scored a goal to remember, with a great 'One-two' run from midfield around four defenders. He also had a great chance in the first half.


again, this goal will remind people of Maradona great run in 1990 vs. Brazil . Of course Maradona run was more important and difficult. But, from aesthetic point of view, there are some similarities.

Also, I think this goal - together with many recent beautiful goals - for Messi, will give him a lot of credit and enhance his chances to win the Golden Ball award for this year.

In my opinion, he will win it with tight difference with Xavi, Iniesta and Schnieder. Despite only having one league title, and failing in the WC, he still got big chances to win it, just like Marco Van Basten in 1992. He won Italian league, but failed in Euro 92, he still won it with some memorable goals.

1974 final = 2010 QF

I was reading World Soccer pre-World Cup 2010 special issue, and I read Franz Beckenbauer memories of the 1974 WC final against Netherlands that ended 2-1 before Franz raised the trophy as a captain.

When I read it, it was so interesting to me, it was like reading Robben or Sneijder talking about their game vs. Brazil:

Franz said:

"As regards to the final, after Muller made it 2-1 it was relatively certain we'd protect our lead. Perhaps it was a good thing Holland took the lead in the first minute, perhaps they weren't as focused for the rest of the match as they had been before. That gave us a chance to come back into the match.


It was a great psychological advantage for us to take the lead. Then Johan Cruyff was shown a yellow card for dissent. There were all signs that made me think the Dutch were getting nervous and that we'd survive the second half.


Paul Breitner reckons the Dutch became arrogant after scoring the first goal and fell victim to overconfidence. I'm not sure, after taking that early lead, they may have thought things were going to plan and that it was their day. They weren't as determined after that"

You can just take out the Dutch names and put Brazilian names, and you can read an analysis of Netherlands Brazil 2-1 in last Mondial.

Valderrama would fit Barca style

Sometimes it is very important for the player to be in the right place at the right time to star. A player can be a world star with one team that needs his style, and can be just okay with another team.

From 1987 to 1994 the world would remember a very interesting phenomena from Columbia with long crazy blond hair, called Carlos Valderrama. Today, whenever I watch Barcelona or Spain playing, I remember him.

First, let's watch some of his beautiful moments:



Carlos had certain abilities that made him star a lot with Columbian golden team that era:
- Outstanding short thourough passes
- Beautiful one touch football
- Extraordinary skills in keep the ball
- Taking great positions and dictate certain pace in the midfield
- Ability to win any one-to-one challenges and maneuvering in small spaces

all of that made him the best star for Columbia, it was a joy to watch him.
Jorge Valdano said about him in a game of Columbia vs. England in 1987
"I remember the one of Colombia against England at Wembley, where the least English player in the world, which was Valderrama, made himself the owner of the match with his short passing football, permanently dictating the rhythm with his enormous personality"

yet, he was bit slow, didn't score a lot, which made him struggle in club levels at Europe. He left to Montpellier, and didn't make it big, ended many times in the sub bench.

Laurent Blanc, his teammate said about him:
"Down there it’s all about passing. Here it’s more physical and there’s less space. It wasn’t easy for Carlos"

But, isn't it what today Barca or Spain are looking for? and this style will start appearing more and more in the world of football today. To keep possessions of the ball in the midfield. Carlos style would fit best Barca today. Carlos Velderrama style came almost two decades later to be called "Tiki Taka" to be the new buzz word in football.

In other words, if Xavi came one or two decades ago, and in France or England, he might retire unnoticed and without much noise.
Here is another wonderful video for him with amazing skills:

Maradona: "asta la vista"

Crazy news lying in the horizon that Maradona might be back to coach Argentina again.

And who's saying that? Carlos Bilardo.
"If Diego comes and talks, I don't know what can happen. It's all a question of talking," Bilardo told the news channel Todo Noticias. "I would not close any door. We are awaiting the outcome. Anything can happen."

If this happened, then I believe that AFA is one of the worst Football Associations in the whole world.
I think Maradona won't come back, and all of these comments are just to let him exit in a nice way. He is a people figure and no one wants to be seen as a rival to Maradona.

WC Notes3: The fall and rise of Europe

One of the most important observations of this World Cup is the role of Europe in it. It is less critical from one side, and more important from other side.

When the first round finished, it was the worst ever mondial for European countries in the modern history fo the World Cup.

1986 was the first tournament that had 16 teams to qualify to the second round, Europe always dominated the lucky teams. In 2010, Europe had the worst mondial:

# of European teams qualified to the second round:
1986: 10 teams
1990: 10 teams
1994: 10 teams
1998: 10 teams
2002: 9 teams
2006: 10 teams
2010: 6 teams

Not only that, we seen some remarkable results from Afro-Asian teams beating European sides:
South Africa France 2-1
S Korea Greece 2-0
Japan Denmark 3-1

In some groups, a European team was able only to beat a European team, and nobody else outside Europe:
- Serbia could not beat either Ghana or Australia and only managed to beat Germany.
- Slovakia too could not either of New Zealand or Paraguay, but managed to beat Italy
- Switzerland as well could not beat either of Honduras or Chile but managed to beat Spain

The final result was that European teams played 29 games against non-Euopeant teams in the first round:
they won 11, tied in 10 and lost 8. That is a very low record for Europe.

But in the second round, European teams never been defeated by non-European side.
The draw had a verdict that the 6 European teams will play each others, they must be down to 3.
People started to talk about a semi-final without any European team.

At the end of the Mondial, the top three places were reserved only for Europe.
It was the first time ever that a European team win the cup outside their continent.
And the first time since 1958-1962 that a continenet win the cup twice in a row.

So, what happened?
- I think Europe is dominating more and more the global football. And this does not only include the European sides, but the Champion League role in the World Cup. CL became a university for footballers to get trained in the best performance and most sever pressure and conditions. This goes for all teams around the world.

- From one side, smaller teams from the world are improving. I think this Mondial was the tightest in its result. There was one bizzare result only (7-0). Other than that, it was reasonable results all over.
Asian teams in particular showed big improvement.
Two african sides were very competitive (Ghana and Cot Devoir)
Teams like New Zealand and Honduras showed big improvement. Even biggest teams in the world need a real big effort to beat them.

- That made it very difficult for European teams to find its way to the second round.

- From the other side, we seen slow down of Africa, and the two big sides in SA: Brazil and Argentina.

- I don't think that Europe had a big jump as much as Brazil and Argentina were not present at their best (especially Argentina).

Only future will tell us if the world of football will be dominated by European sides, or it was just an exceptional year?

Maradona hallucinating again

Diego Maradona has accused the Argentine Football Association (AFA) of "lies and betrayal" after his contract as national coach was not renewed. Maradona claimed national team manager Carlos Bilardo "worked in the shadows" to oust him after Argentina's quarter-final exit at the 2010 World Cup. He also accused AFA president Julio Grondona of lying about his future.

"Grondona lied to me. Bilardo betrayed me," "When we were in mourning [after the 4-0 defeat by Germany at the World Cup], Bilardo was working in the shadows to get me fired."

I could not find a better picture to describe Maradona in this situation. After been widely known for best ever footballer in history, he is putting himself on a very low class situation.

The whole setup for the Argentinian team management was a bit of weird since Maradona came back to the spotlights.

When I first heard about it, I thought it was kinda a joke. Then, I heard that Bilardo is manager and Maradona is the coach. I started saying that this is a very smart setup. Bilardo for technicalities, and Maradona is for the inspirational factor. Kinda like Prime Minister and the Queen for Britain.

For the history, Maradona struggled so much under Menotti time in Argentina (sort of Messi today). Bilardo came, and brought sunshine to Maradona. He made a big bet. Fired all stars, including the WC winner captain Passarella, and assigned Maradona as the captain. In 1986, he rented a home in Napoli and made a setup for Maradona to have extra exercises, things that are not related directly to football. Focus, concentration, movements .... anything you can imagine without a ball.

This why Maradona in 1986 was very exceptional. So, I was sure Bilardo back again, this is a great bless for Argentina.

But, soon Bilardo resigned.

Now, Bilardo and Maradona are rivals.

 

If this is true, that Bilardo worked in the shadow to fire Maradona (the coach), then a big salute to him, to save Argentinian football and save the beautiful football in general for the world.

VIVA Argentina, Maradona is not the coach

Finally, the funny and wierdest era of Argentinian football is over. Maradona is not the coach anymore.

A statement on the AFA website read: "Mr Julio Grondona made the members of the executive committee aware of the conversation with Mr Diego Maradona, setting out the points which had come out from the meeting. The executive committee unanimously resolved not to renew the contract with Mr Diego Maradona as coach of the Argentina national football team." AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo added: "Maradona's requirements were very far from the FA's possibilities."

When I heard the news that AFA might renew Maradona contract, I thought this is more than insane. Maradona coached only twice in 1994 and 1995 and acted very funny, and was fired immediately. Then he coached Argentina since 2008. He lost to Bolivia 6-1 and Germany 4-0. This is the first time in my life that I see Argentina lost to Brazil at home (1-3).

He had one of the biggest inventory of skillful players in the world today, and they were playing alone, without any team bonding. No tactics, no defence. He was kissing and hugging everyone including his daughter and threatening journalists.

Today's news is great for everyone loves Argentina football or Messi. As I am one of the many that thought Messi had very bad luck to have Maradona as a coach (same bad luck Maradona had by having Menotti as a coach in 1978 to 1982)

Notes from the WC2: The mental factor

I always say that football is a mental game as much as it is a technical skills and a physical effort game. We seen the mental focus had big role in many games:

- Brazil had almost had a nervous breakdown vs. Netherlands. I never seen a big team collapse this way in my life. They lost the game mentally before losing it technically.

- German coach, keeper and few players mentioned after losing to Spain, that they lacked courage to attack, and confidence that game. When you watch the game, you can see it. May be it was a reflection of a power difference, or the young age of the team. In either cases, we saw German players as a tigers vs. Argentina, and cats vs. Spain.

- I never forget North Korean player who was crying during the National anthem vs. Brazil. NK played like a game of a lifetime that day.

- I didn't watch the 7-0 game live! I recorded it. I was amazed. The first half was only 1-0. Before the goal, you can claim Korea was the better side. Who watch the first half, would say Korea would lose 1-2. After conceiving the second goal, they collapsed mentally, and got five more easy goals.

- There is something to admire so much on a player like Iniesta, that is his mental focus. His goal vs. Chelsea in the 1-1 famous Champion league 2009 semi-final, and his goal vs. Netherlands had one thing in common: the mental focus and clarity of thinking. Many great stars would miss easy chances at such critical moments.

Well, football always been so much a mental game, but I think this factor is becoming more and more critical in the world of football.
I think the speed and pace of game, the pressure of the opponent, the little time that is left for the player to make a move contributed a lot to this factor.

As Joachim Löw put it in an interview with World Soccer, that the speed is becoming so much important in football, and it is not only the physical speed, but the mental speed as well.

WC Notes1: The curse of a red card

One thing that strikes me in this world cup, is the bad news of a red card for the team. It is almost an assurance that the team will lose.
There were 17 red cards in 2010 Mondial, in which most of them, was a clear factor for the team defeat.

It was not long ago, when a red card meant a bless to the team, as the remaining 10 players will sweat more, and perform 120% instead of 100% of their energy to win the game.

- Cameroon beat Argentina in 1990 with 9 players
- Cameroon beat Brazil ten years later in Syedny 2000 Olympics with 9 players too.
- Do you remember Italy beating Norway 1-0 after Palioca got a red card? (1994)
- Or beating Nigeria in the same mondial 2-1 after getting a red card too.

it is very easy to find dozen of more examples of critical games, where red cards only meant a test of the stamina of the team.
This mondial it was different, a red card was a decisive factor and loss of balance that lead to a certain defeat.

Here is the story of the 17 red cards, and i will highlight clear examples in yellow:

First Round:

1- The first was for Uruguay vs. France. Game ended 0-0. Later if we look back into both teams, I think it was obvious that Uruguay should win at normal conditions.

2- Second was Algeria vs. Slovania. Algeria played better and was closer to victory, when Ghazal got a red card. Keeper did his fatal mistake, but the team was not able to come back at all.

3- Serbia got their red card vs. Ghana at 75th minute. It made things more complex, and they 11 minutes later they conceived a goal.

4- Australia got the red at 56th minute vs. Germany. They were already 0-2 down. So, I will skip this example.

5- South Africa got a red vs. Uruguay at 76th minute, they were down 0-1. Team collapsed and soon, it became 0-3.

6- Greece got a red at 33rd minute vs. South Korea. They lost 1-2

7- Klose got the red vs. Serbia. Immediately Serbia scored and the game ended 1-0 for Serbia. This is the best example, where the red made very clear gaps in German team, and it marked inability to come back.

8- Australia got another red vs. Ghana. They were 1-0 ahead. They tied 1-1.

9- Kaka red vs. Ivory Coast was useless as it was at the end of the game, and they were already winning 3-0.

10- Switzerland got a red vs. Chile at 33rd minute. Chile dominated after that, and the full second half, till they won 1-0.

11- France got a red at 25th minute vs. South Africa. SA was leading 1-0 already. Things went from bad to worse and France lost 1-2.

12- Algeria red vs. USA was at last minute, so, we won't count it.

13- Chile did a great game vs. Spain. They got a goal. When they got the second and the red, it was clear that the game was totally gone.

Second Round:

14- Only one red card for Portugal at 89th minute, so it didn't mean a lot.

Quarter Final:

(here are the examples are more exciting)

15- MELO: this is the best example. When he got the red, you can almost see it, that Brazil chances to come back dropped from likely to very very very very unlikely. It was in the 73rd minute. Dutch were winning 2-1. The red was like a bullet of mercy for the Samba.

16- Suarez red vs. Ghana was the best red may be in the history of the game. Obviously, it is irrelevant to this post.

The Final:

17- It was clear, that gap that HEITINGA has left to the orange. The goal came exactly from the depth of the Orange. If he didn't get the red, there would be very big chance that both teams would play PKs.

There were not a single example out of the 17, where the team was able to collect itself and fight back better after the red card.
So, why is that?

Honestly, I don't know the answer for sure. But let me think loudly:
- The football became much more tactical, where defending and filling gaps is key to win. Discipline became important more than ever. This requires physical fitness and a lot of running more than ever. A red card is almost a bullet to the team.

- The World Cup was after a long exhausting season. Most teams were not in their top fitness. Some cities were at high altitude. So, a red card meant more in this tournament than previous ones.

- They were coincidents. To be more accurate: the red card always got into the weaker team that day. A red card was a sign of desperation. So, in those cases, always the weaker side get the red, and this why they lose. (well, this might explain many games, but not at alllll Germany defeat vs. Serbia)

Reflections on the WC Final

After almost a week of the World Cup final, here are some thoughts about the final game

It was a chess game between two coaches:
This final brought to my memory Brazil x Italy final in 1994.
You feel that both coaches were playing chess game, where they moved players right and left, each one trying to counter the other coach move.

Quick Spanish start, and the counter plan:
high pressure from Spain. Netherlands were caught in defending their own half, TILL, they started to press very early, almost from the Spain half. Pressuring a lot on Boscuice, Alonso, and Xavi. Seems Netherlands were able to put Spain in the first half on hold. Big success from the Orange.

Second half: looking for chances:
As I have mentioned in a post before the game, Spain attack from the middle, with so many passes, and Netherlands are good in pressing, when they do the right pressing. Ask Dunga about it.
Del Bosque did great chess moves: 1. Jesus Nava instead of Pedro, his first game in the World Cup. He stretched the Orange defence creating a lot of chances from the right. 2. This created spaces in the Middle. Fabregas went on to exploit it and take pressure out of Xavi. Xavi was still marked, this left Fabregas and Iniesta to do a game of their lifetime (the goal came from both of them).

At the same time, Robbin was alone to the right in the first half, hardly getting a corner kick. Now, he goes more from the middle, Scnider behind him. This created two counter attacks, which he missed both. They would have changed the whole scenario. I think Netherlands did it all well, according to their capabilities. I didn't find though that the substitutions added value.

Two great keepers, with heroic defending from the Orange, saved the 90 minutes without a goal.

The Spanish depth of subs:
This is very important factor, Del Bosque used Navas, Fabregas and Torres. Villa didn't find that 11th July is his dream day, no problem, we got few options. We seen in contrast how Netherlands were strugelling to find quality players to replace Keyt. We seen Dunga struggeling to replace Elando and Ramirez after injury and yellow cards.

Wasting the chances:
In a game like the final, concentration is a key element, where chances might not come frequently, especially for the weaker side, like Netherlands. A lot of credit must be given to Casillas, but also, it was Robbin who missed golden opportunities. We all have seen how Iniesta made the best out of his only real chance. We remember how Fabiano got most of his very few chances in all games he played. Same blame would go to Kaka in his quarter final vs. Netherlands. This why Iniesta deserves big credit for his finishing touch. Remember him in the 2009 Champion League semi-final vs. Chelsea?
He does not score a lot, but when needed, he is a hero.

Selfishness vs. Team work:
Wisley Sneijder wasted his chance of carrying the world cup and the golden ball. He tried to score a goal that everyone will talk about a chip from the midfield. It didn't work. He repeated it few times, even after the Spanish golden goal. In contrast, Spanish players got a lot of skills, but they mold it into the team work, of short passes, taking positions, big difference.

Red card:
It was expected. May be Netherlands deserved early in the game, when De Jong did that Karate kick vs. Alonso.
We seen how Spain moved very smartly, taking advantage of the gap. And when you watch the goal, you see the gap.
I expected Netherlands coach to retreat to the maximum, and save whatever can be saved till the PKs. But, he didn't and lost.

A deserved win:
No doubt, and it was with a style.

Barca touches:
The semi final goal was a combination of Xavi and Poyul.
The final goal was a combination of Fabregas and Iniesta.
All four players were at Barcelona football academy together with Messi at one stage.
I think Barca academy worth pondering and other academeis and countries should learn from it.

Casillas:
Deserves to celebrate, two great saves in the final that made big difference. If either of them were scored, he was not to be blamed.
Dutch keeper didn't do any less, in reality, he did a great saves vs. Kaka and Maicon in the quarter final that saved the Orange in the first half.

Van Bronkhorst
The Dutch captain, with his last game ever. He had bitter farewell, yet, he deserves to retire proudly. He had a big game, and he had big role, and made a great save vs. Fabregas. He was up to the game. At least he didn't do a headbutt like Zizou.

What's wrong with Cruyff?

This should be the worst tackle in this WC!

The Dutch legend Johan Cruyff upsetted many people in his country when he said before the final that he wants Spain to win the cup as they play a more beautiful football.

After the final, he launched an attack on the way Netherlands played "And regrettably, sadly, they played very dirty. So much so that they should have been down to nine immediately, then they made two [such] ugly and hard tackles that even I felt the damage. This ugly, vulgar, hard, hermetic, hardly eye-catching, hardly football style, yes it served the Dutch to unsettle Spain. If with this they got satisfaction, fine, but they ended up losing. They were playing anti-football."

The way I see this criticism, is very much like Pele and Milla before the World Cup. It is about jealousy.

Cruyff till today is regarded as the best ever hero for the Orange, and played beautiful football in 1974 but failed to win the cup. I don't think that he wants other new stars to make what he failed to do.

Ironically, Cruyff deserved a red card at 1974 final with also an English referee Jack Taylor.
He kept arguing with the ref after the first half, and he gave him a yellow card. Just few minutes in the second half, Cruyff did a very bad tackle on Sepp Maier, the German keeper, and he was VERY lucky that he was not sent off.

Cruyff big mouth:
Cruyff is famous with his big mouth that caused him some trouble:

- We talked about the yellow card in 1974 final, that was about to turn into red.
- Cruyff says, that he decided to retire at his best performance, because he insulted many people on his time. He didn't want to wait his peformance decline and they pay him back.
- It caused him and the Dutch the 1978 World Cup. He decided to pull out from the Orange at 1978 World Cup. It is said that it was protest on political situation in Argentina. Other stories say, that he was threatened if he played there, he would never see his family again. He talked about government links to Mafia, and paid the price.
- Finally, this recent media war vs. the current orange team.