Mexico overcame Russia 2-1; Portugal beat New Zealand 4-0.

Some VAR decisions so far.

Mexico overcame hosts, Russia 2-1 and Portugal beat New Zealand 4-0. The Russians played very negative football from the onset, playing and throwing the ball back more often than forward.

New Zealand always had a mountain to climb, facing tactically superior European champions. What took centre stage in the two matches was the Video Assistant Referee. 

If I am kicked, or think so, in the 18 area, I should have the right to appeal, either directly or through my captain like in cricket.

I am sure these are some of the issues to get used to for the players, operators and referees. In fact, the procedure must be simple. Any such situation, must be referred to as early as possible, and the team in possession must play the ball outside immediately. 

If a decision is consistant with the initial human referee, then play must be sportingly played back to the team who had possession.

If the reviewed case seem like a total waste of time and unfair, then player requesting a review must get a yellow card, like in simulation. 

I think that will be fair. The teams should be allowed to appeal directly those match changing situations and the appeal must be very genuine.

By the way, Cristiano Ronaldo (14th in 9 for Portugal, 75th for country overall), Bernado Silva, Andre Silva and substitute Nani were on the score sheet.

Cristiano Ronaldo scores for Portugal win over Russia - 2017 Fifa Confederation Cup

CR7 scored- Could he be heading back to Man U?

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal scored a decisive goal against Russia in the 2017 Fifa Confederation Cup.

The European champions overcame hosts by an odd goal.

Despite the football results tonight, Ronaldo proved leadership qualities in his play. Someone needs to ask what obsession with a century old argument of Ronaldo versus Messi is all about.

To begin with, I love individual brilliance of players like Ronaldinho, who I think is the best player ever in the world. I love fancy footwork.

The problem with that assessment is that his football achievements are lesser than those of Pele and Maradona. Zinedine Zidane for the same reason, sheer individual 'maestrocism'.

Lionel Messi is just brilliant, but I think that despite his eccentric ball manipulation artistry, Cristiano Ronaldo is a better player.

To qualify my point, Messi is still to win a continental title with his nation. He is not carrying the nation on his shoulder like Ronaldo does.

Messi has a lot to do to catch up in that regard. Until then, CR7 rules, although many want to believe comparing the two is like comparing oranges and stones. 

The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup football results

(Wikipedia photo)

The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia football fixtures kicked off with Russia, the hosts overcoming New Zealand 2-1 yesterday.

Tonight's football results saw Portugal and Mexico drawing 2-2 while Cameroon lost 2-0 to Chile. 

The analysis and focus turned to the Video Referee Assessment (VRA), which made a few confusing decisions.

No immediate explanations or visuals were offered to public as to what was going on during change of decisions.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid was an ordinary self in his Portuguese side while Alexis Sanchez of Arsenal came off the bench to feed Vidal with a a campagne pass for the opening goal for Chile.

Russia will continue their preparations for the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup by hosting the FIFA ConfeD Cup this summer.

The eight-team tournament is held the year before each Fifa World Cup to give the host country an opportunity to test their facilities and provisions ahead of the main event.


It features each confederatiion champions - Afcon, Oceania, European Championship and Copa America, Asian Champions, the World Cup hosts and the reigning world champions.

Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 to win UEFA Champions League 2016/17

Real Madrid of Spain retained the UEFA Champions League title, beating Italian giants, Juventus 4-1. This was their record 12th title.

Cristiano Ronaldo's influence was obvious in the first ten minutes of the match when he completed a sleek and swift move that saw the ball move from the back to the left and across to the right and then back to the centre.

Juventus got their goal a few minutes later with a classy Mandzukic goal. The goal was preventable at three different points before the ball hit the net. t each contact point, Real Madrid players put in a token challenge and even the goalkeeper, Navas could have moved a little faster or took an extra step before attempting to diving for the looping strike.

The Galaticos enjoyed over 60% of possession overall and more goal attempts and corners, although it must be mentioned that the Italians took control of the first few minutes of the match with threatening patterns of play.

That control came from constructive midfield influence and width provided by Dani Alves. That dominance became flaccid as Real began to wrestle the match and showed serious intent by dominating all departments.

The team structure and solid defending (Ramos), interceptions and winning ball in mid - Kroos as well as wing play by Marcelo ensured that Navas was never troubled most of the time.

Real retained it in class, with extreme mobility and passing in midfield by Modric, with obvious the Gigi Buffon disappointment.

The Juve achilles proved to be their usually potent weapon; Dani Alves overlapping, but he left a gap behind for countryman, Marcelo, to capitalise.

Alex Sandro useful in stopping Real attacks and driving Italians forward. Cuadrado came in as a substitute and got two quick yellow cards and left the pitch - Ramos made a meal out of the second offence.

As mentioned earlier, the first goal was pure class and there was nothing Juve could have done about it, but Casmero's goal was preventable. The ball deflected in as Khedira turned his back to the kicker instead of facing the ball head on and deal with danger. Buffon could have moved a little faster.

The ball was lost by Alves around the centre line and remained on the ground as play went on.

The second Ronaldo goal, Real's third, was preventable as the easy loss of ball with not much contest further up left Modric with a cross that looked more of the a cut back. Ronaldo's touch past Buffon was a chicky act of class.

The 4th goal resulting from Ronaldo freekick which was poorly defended as the ball deflected off the wall to the left and the defence reaction was mediocre as Marcelo retrieved the ball, beat his marker, outpaced him into the box and squared a hard and low ball into traffic across the goal.

A simple tap in by substitute by Asensio concluded the UEFA Champions League final in Cardiff in style. Ronaldo, Ramos, Marcelo and Isco instrumental to the result.

Higuin (Juventus) and Benzema (Real Madrid) were too quiet and hardly visible.

After the match today, is it fair to say Ronaldo scores when he wants? He was quiet by his very high standards, even though his contribution was regarded a man of the match performance.

UEFA Champions League 2017 final tonight - Ronaldo and no Messi

The UEFA Champions League 2017 final in Cardiff between Real Madrid  and Juventus brings the year's football fixtures to a close in grand style. In tonight football, there is Ronaldo and no Messi.

The analysis of football tonight will centre around different brands of the game the fast defensive Italian football with swift precise counter attacking and the solid systematic attack of the Spanish.

It must be said that Real have a lost a second or so in their speed of attack and became a calculating force of destruction. This is due to the aging of the Ballon' Dor winner who now plays more with head than feet.

Without the brute force of Athletico Madrid, the cunning nature of FC Barcelona, both protagonists ooze confidence as their capability to dish out the two elements is common knowledge.
 
This Champions league brings few things to the fore. Zinedine Zidane, like many Spanish managers fast-tracked into greatness, has people talking of him as a great coach already. Winning this will make his fans happy.

Personally, a great manager is not one who is able to stick when thrust into luxury. That is not bad either, as many managers have failed to develop staying power in those positions. To me, it is a sign that one is not a bad manager, than to confirm as a good manager, and there is a huge difference.

The good thing is that many, like Pep Guardiola, develop in that environment to be good managers due to coaching the best players who earn thew most money, by default of course. The managers coaching the worst squads with minimum budgets and bring them to greatness, usually go back to find another situation of a rescue mission perennially. Back to the match tonight.

A lot of experience comes to the party, with Cristiano Ronaldo making his 136th appearance, the only players with more than 50 with two different clubs (52 with Manchester United and 84 with Real Madrid) and Gianlugi Buffon (39) making it his 104th appearance.

Buffon's case is a sad one. He is one of the two centurions (with Zlatan Ibrahimovic) to have not won it. H e has been there many times and sentimentally, he deserves the winners' medal. However, Ronaldo has to put the Ronaldo or Messi argument to bed.

Already, the Portuguese has honuors with his country and record hat-tricks under his belt. Still, there is an army of doubters of who is the greatest. This is not a blatant support for him, but as a team player, he has no equal. Lionel Messi has incredible individual brilliance.

Without making this a poll of who is better, I leave it in your hands and look to Gareth Bale. Consider that the match is in Cardiff and Gareth Bale, born in a hospital a few minutes away from the stadium, may play only part of the match from the bench. It is never rosy even for the best.

Who is your money on, and why?

Portugal beat Ghana 2-1 in 2014 Fifa World Cup

Ghana and Portugal exited the 2014 Fifa World Cup despite Germany doing both a favour by beating the United States of America 1-0. Portugal scored in each half through a Ghanaian defender and Cristiano Ronaldo. Ghana had pulled a goal through Asamoah Gyan.

The Europeans’ goals were very soft and easy. Like many seen so far, they were generated from the left flank. They retreated too much and too often but managed a few dangerous counters. Cristiano Ronaldo struck a post with a cross due to lack of Ghanaian pressing on the right. He received a cross from the right and forced a great save from Dauda when he headed towards goal from point blank range.

The Africans had to execute a well orchestrate counter attack for their goal. Poor crossing from the right and the lack of quality on the final pass characterised the first half. Gyan forced an excellent save from Beto with a right-footed shot. Otherwise, the match became subdued and dull at the beginning of the second.

Ghana could have been punished harder as they were guilty of very short and square passes at the back. What makes this a cause of concern is the fact that Nigeria and Cameroon were found wanting in the same areas with the same behaviour. Cote D’Ivoire too, are not innocent.

 The match grew in stature after the goal. The counter attack on the left with Andre Ayew set up the goal. He played Kwadwo Asamoah who belted a left-footed cross with his outside of the foot to pick up Gyan’s run. Gyan headed the ball down past an air-borne Beto.

Portugal attacked the left flank and and delievered a cross that the defenders failed to clear. The headed ball went into a 12o’clock position and Dauda palmed it into the feet of Ronaldo who hit a first time shot to make it 2-1. Ronaldo had great chances but Dauda put a man-of-the-match performance. It was Waris who squandered the best chance as he head wide with a glaring goal after a Gyan cross from the left.

The goals were a result of poor marking, no pressing on the man taking shots or crosses.

Germany whitewashes Portugal 4-0 in 2014 Fifa World Cup

Portugal started the match very strongly putting the Germans on the back foot with their passing and creative play in midfield. Germany did well to absorb the pressure and stay composed. As Portugal found spaces in midfield and defence as they fought for and won the ball upfront. All the Germans could afford were counter-attacks as there were gaps on the right and left channels as the wingbacks got sucked into action.

Quick inter-passing on the right caught the Portuguese napping as their defence stretched to the limit and a desperate attempt to deal with the attack resulted in a very soft penalty awarded to Germany. Muller tucked the ball neatly into the left corner of the net.

If that goal was a fortunate gift, the second was almost a part of a ‘score one, get one free’ promotion. A similar counter-attack after a patient and composed football by Portugal, Germany sent a long ball to the right, played a cutback, took a deflected shot that went out for a corner. With the attention of three defenders, Mark Hummels rose majestically to powerfully head a Toni Kroos corner-kick past the goalkeeper.

Until then man-of-the-match, Pepe received a simple ball at the back and fended off Muller’s challenge, brushing his face with a stray arm. Muller theatrically fell, attracting Pepe’s wrath who confronted him while still seated and head-butted him. The referee took exception to that behaviour and sent the Real Madrid defender off.

It became a little too easy for the Germans as they cut through the outnumbered opposition like hot knife through butter. They enjoyed the better exchanges on the right, lobbed the ball over the centre to the left. Failure to pick the second ball became detrimental as that ball was centred to the penalty spot and the defender half-cleared the ball to Muller in a tight spot. Muller gladly doubled his goal tally with a hard and low shot.

Portugal had lost a man through injury, made a forced substitution as damage control for the sending off. They lost probably their second best player in Contrao through another injury. They tried to stay compact as Germany tried to stretch them further. To their credit, they created half-chances occasionally and chased every ball.

Poor ball handling by the goalkeeper gifted Muller with his hat-trick. The initial error of his poor clearance presented a good chance that the Germans squandered. The follow up attack came from midfield as the ball was fed to the right, crossed into the 12-yard box. The goalkeeper went down for it but only parried it to the feet of the German striker who directed the ball over the line.

Germany ran down the clock in energy-saving mode as the Portuguese hoped for a face-saver, employing a 1-4-3-2. They were pretty much pleased to deal with the pedestrian pace of the match in the second half.  Neur had to deal with a closing remark by Cristiano Ronaldo whose last minute free kick stung his palms to bring to an end a miserable occasion for Portugal.

Moyes appointment would equate to nepotism

Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United's 26 year old reign comes to the gentlest gradient a coaching career can ever take. During these days when the football world was appreciating how German football is ckoke-slamming the Spanish, many had not even digested the greatness of Messi, seen by how much ordinary Barcelona are in his absence.

Many were still having another shot at the effectiveness of Jose Mourinho, given both his tightening of the screw against youthful and fluid Borussia Dortmund in the second leg and the interest of Chelsea to redeem themselves by rehiring him - to me an absolute mistake on the part of The Only One and Roman Abramovich.

All that aside, the speculation of SAF's end has always been speculated since the early part of the decade when he had effectively resigned but made a sudden U-turn. In subsequent years, we all looked for the signs and it became less interesting with time. Somehow, there were no hints even this time, and when it came, the most successful coach in sports had to call it quits.

The scheduling of his hip surgery for August 2013, when the season's preparations are supposed to be in full swing must have been kept secret but it then left all with no choice but to officially announce his retirement. Then the rumours of his possible successor emerged but it was more of speculation. David Moyes is favoured for whatever reason, but maybe, with all due respect to Moyes, Jose Mourinho is the man the manage that team.

The media wastes time narrating and detailing the success of SAF. Who does not know what he achieved? In our lifetime, you can be assured that no one will ever manage pull through for so long with one team. It may never be seen ever.

Jose Mourinho sets trends and records of a different nature and his attention span can never be close to that of SAF. Instead of the doomed grand re-entrance at Stanford Bridge, Mourinho would keep the SAF legacy alive at Old Trafford.

Moyes is able and like Fergie, Scottish. I guess I have an issue with that, because in Africa it would have been called nepotism. Maybe that was not the point but I smell a rat in a Scot replacing a Scot. Are the Scots revenging for the English ridicule at every opportunity, including the saying that copper wire was a result of two Sctos pulling a penny in a fight?  In all speculation since 2002, that name was never ever mentioned.

Ole Gunner Soljkaer, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were a few tauted names, probably we were being sold a dummy. Moyes has a comfortable job at Everton who may have to bring in a new manager to replace Moyes if the deal goes through.

Anyway, maybe Rafa Benitez will be at the Merseyside next season as he paves way for Mourinho at Stanford Bridge. Whatever happens, Manchester United will have to disintegrate and then rebuild to be a force that it was under SAF. Some big names will surely leave, those loyal to him like Wayne Rooney to Real Madrid or PSG. The new man, say Mourinho will bring his own baggage like Cristiano Ronaldo. The moulding of the team will depend on that chemistry of bonding between the old and the new.

Whoever comes in and whatever they do, they will have a rebuilding exercise whose success will determine how close to the Man U that SAF built they come. It may be good and/or close but never the same.

The only El Classico Real dominated

I cannot remember the last time I watched Real Madrid dominating Barcelona in open play they way they did this week. It has never been so clear, ever. In so many other matches that the Galatico won, they got the result by luck or brute force. This was one moment they dominated each encounter and duel player per player and unit by unit. Despite that, they conceded and scored only once and at the dearth.

As a show, the match was entertaining. Barca had clear cut chances besides the one put away by Cesc Fabregas. Real missed a few clear-cut opportunities but scored a half chance through a young centre back in Raphael Varane in that El Classico at the Bernebeu.

By some measure, it was a typical Barcelona versus Real Madrid fixture but played under cooler vibes and smarter tactics. The usual ping-pong between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were never a big deal and the blow by blow attacks were enjoyed by Madrid for a change.

Barca enjoyed better quality on the day’s proceedings while Madrid had reasonable quality time with the ball. Their movement in midfield showed an improved construction by the mastermind, Jose Mourinho. The plan was never to stop the opponents from playing, but to push his team’s abilities to the maximum.

Still, they were not close to what that talent can do. In the middle of their worst campaign under the reign of The Only One, it remains to be seen if the approach will be implemented in the return leg at the Camp Nou.   

The match was tidier and cleaner than many previous encounters. Both Messi and Ronaldo not scoring was testimony of fresh things happening, that they do not need to be gladiators even if they are protagonists. Many saw it as Barca losing their grip rather than Madrid getting their bearing right on the way to out-playing the Catalans.

It would be nice to hear the opinion of the neutrals.

Extra-terrestial Lionel Messi breaks records as usual

I have never been inspired by a single event like I have been by the Fifa Ballon d'Or ceremony but I am not sure exactly why. Argentina's Lionel Messi, won the World Player of the Year award incredibly for an unprecedented fourth year running. 

I heard people thinking that the the Barcelona player's 91 goals in one calender year, 2012 though being a record, does not count for much because he won nothing for the Catalans and Argentina. But the story here is that I am an inspired man.

By the time I went tot Brazil over 10 years ago, I had over 6 coaching courses under my belt. I had coached and managed teams in the first, second and third leagues and it was before my 31st birthday.After I cam back with my first international qualification, I had registered two teams and an academy, educated many coaches by the time I was 33.

My former course-mates have taken teams to Africa Cup of Nations, both Charles Mhlauri of Zimbabwe and Stanley Tshosane of Botswana. Farouk Jeyman of Fiji Islands works with Fifa. My coaching students are multi-championship winners across Southern Africa. What I met is people praising me for what I have done.

I have not yet produced. These guys made their mark -  their history. Since the Brazil trip, I have attended over 20 courses, clinics and seminars, mostly as an instructor. Until my recent FA International qualification, being a student again did not appeal much but I realise I have much to learn. I have plenty to achieve.     

It could be how much hard work needs to be done in the game that made me feel inspired. My previous article about Sepp Blatter's comments on racism must have agitated a great deal of what I feel. At the end of the day, it is the effect of the game in many people's lives. It inspires us but we choose how.

I have said and been proven right that Real Madrid and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who was second for the third time since winning the 2008 edition and Barcelona and Spain's Andres Iniesta are the best players in the world. One day, we hope to produce in this worked one player close to Messi.

"It's incredible to win a fourth in a row, amazing," said Messi. "I want to share this with my Barcelona team mates and my Argentina team mates." said Messi who scored 12 goals including his first two international hat-tricks for his country.

If humble people like that do not inspire one, it is interesting to see how else one can plug and suck the juice to carry on and take a further step in life. For the good of the game, I can only hope that sooner or later I will be on that podium for whatever reason. Dreaming? Yes and watch that dream unfold.
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Enjoy a Merry footballing Christmas

Merry Christmas to those it may concern. English Premier League players do not have much luxury to wine and dine as most are in camps for the Boxing Day fixtures. Go on, indulge yourself and treat yourself with an extra drink and cake slice on their behalf. If anyone asks, tell them I said so.

The weekend football was interesting and surprising in many ways but I will only sing praises for Swansea. You got to love this team. Their patient build up of every attack are so well thought out and their spirit is commendable. It is not just how they bullied Manchester United and drew out harsh criticism from Sir Alex Ferguson, they played what I call sweet football.

Let us mention Chelsea demolition of Aston Villa by an avalanche of an octa-salvo. It may have been the effects of the Fifa Club World Cup or just a frustration venting stampede and poor Villa were on their way. Not that Villa played badly though they could have done much with the ball and defended much better. It might have been the Rafa Benitez effect, whereby he induced some sense of guilt or just pure luck.

Many would wish not to remember Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid. I draw a lot of criticism of seeing that average team being just that - average. They are driven by too much money and hindered by even too much coaching. Frankly, The Only One is now a disservice to the Galatico. They play far too tense and very rigid.

It is not their failure to defend that is amazing, but also the way they miss simple chances. Teams playing Madrid so far have scored so many simple goals that Madrid failed to convert. This turns out to be invitation to trouble as small teams smell blood and throw everything into the game. One thing a good team needs is never to prove that they can be beaten.

I still think that only a few players can win a place in the Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City or United line-ups. That is how bad they are. Cristiano Ronaldo is a highly talented player probably suffering the publicity fatigue. His dependability hit a knock every time there is strong comparison with Lionel Messi. In rare spells of brilliance, he dances with him toe-to-toe until he gives in to media attention disorder.

The Messi records dismembered his game completely at a time Madrid needed a players of his or Messi's calibre. The Bernebeu camp this season needed a talisman who could turn nothing into a win and exactly when that needed to happen, Ronaldo failed to turn up to the party. The team needs a crazy game changing player for now and if Cristiano cannot do it, who in the world can?

Just to quash one belief that everything looks bigger on TV, unless you watch them live week in and week out, you may just have a slight clue that Stoke City have tall players. Wait until you see the team, from back to front. Those guys are huge. I mean huge. TV does not do justice to their heights and sizes and in their case, they are much smaller on your screen than they really are.

Again, merry Christmas

When football comes of age

I have been in Gabon close to 5 months and what a people we have here. And like in many of my sojourns, of interest to me is how different people think of themselves, and of others. Like in Libreville, the vibe filters from the airport through the greenbelt right down to the ghetto.

Gabonese people think their football has come of age, and if you saw their 2-2 draw with Portugal, you will understand why. First of all, the guts and tenacity of the godfathers of football to attract the likes of Real Madrid’s Pepe in a long list of high profile players should be commended.

Gabon pushed their luck, scored first, made Pepe look ordinary, claimed a ‘disallowed goal’, conceded a penalty and actually were on the score-sheet twice on the rainy night.

The small equatorial rain forest country is not resting on their laurels after a successful joint hosting with Equatorial Guinea of the 2012 AFCON which was won by Zambia. They are building on the remnants of that positive vibration and with success.

For those who missed the action, it is not the result that got us talking. It was the all round performance. The team oozed confidence and exhibited sleek silky touches and bravery. The commitment and tactical discipline was very impressive.

Working and doing business with assorted nationals and ethnicities can show you a thing or two. Experiences in the coaching field, even during the days as a coaches instructor, never answered the questions of why certain nations bullied their adversaries to submission, in some cases with shocking ease.

With an all-round performance of the Gabonese, the ball, the pitch, strength, speed and sheer talent were not only responsible for what we saw. The attitude, determination and belief proved that improved self-image was pivotal.

The mentality should never last a few minutes or days. It should be permanent. There is never a doubt of small nation players doing well overseas and failing to deliver at home. More often than not, they are blamed for shying away from crunch situations in fear of injuries, but the truth cannot be any further than that.

This nation started drilling oil over 30 years ago and the benefits are not anything to write home about. If the resources are channeled to filter through the system to benefit the game, soon, given the mentality shown this week, the sky is the limit for the small nation. It must be emphasized that the qualification to the AFCON 2013 by a small nation like Cape Verde may have inspired other budding teams.

Here are some of the opinions and sentiments of the locals in Libreville:

“The game here has improved much after the arrival of Cameroonian coaches and whites from Europe. Corruption was rife and it is still a problem as politicians want to run the show."

"There is hope and as you could see, the players did not care Portugal were. We used to be afraid of whites and players could have been of the ‘team of Luis Figo or Cristiano Ronaldo. Now we can play anybody without fear but our technique and tactics have to improve. We could have scored many goals.”

"We are a small nation but not a small team. We have come a long way and we are ready for the best in Africa."

Bayern dump Real to reach final

Home advantage counted for nothing as Bayern Munich dumped host, Real Madrid out of the UEFA Champions League at the Santiago Bernebeu on penalties. The gruelling semi-final started with Khedira getting an early shot on target after being fed by Di Maria who went to the by-line and pushing a cut-back.

The very dramatic and fast paced opening saw a long ball from the left across the penalty box, and Alaba handled the ball to give away a penalty but was unfairly yellow carded as he was already going down with that hand. Cristiano Ronaldo calmly converted the penalty in the 5th minute.

Ronaldo was left unattended outside the penalty area and fired a low shot past the goalkeeper in the 14th minute to take control of the matters over the visitors who came in with a 2-1 lead from Germany last week.
Bayern Munich themselves created and wasted very clear-cut opportunities with Arjen Robin and Frank Ribery being chief culprits.

Lead striker, Gomez and a 19-year-old Alaba tried from a long distance in desperate attempts and with 23 minutes played, all  Bayern players looked too desperate and careless. They were not punished by the inept Madrid side that lacked a cutting edge that saw them win the El Classico 2-1 a few days ago.

Pepe, who played a blinder, brought down Gomez inside the box and Robin beat Ike Cassillas to level the aggregate 3-3 in the 26th minute. Madrid started piling up pressure and creating more chances with Benzema and Ronaldo.

It was however Marcelo who was pushing forward well on the left being complemented by Mezuit Ozil. At crucial points of the match, Gomez proved too wasteful as the Real defence was being continuously curved open in the middle.

After the half-time break, Bayern took control of the match with goalkeeper Neuer making brilliant saves including one from Benzema. Real Madrid sought in vain to stamp their authority in midfield as Ribery and Schweinsteiger probed the left wing assisted by Badstuber while Lahm contributed more to the offensive cause than the defensive collective of Bayern on the right.

Xavi Alonso provided a solid link in winning the ball and initiating attacks while the aggressive Gustavo did the same for Bayern. Gustavo rode his luck with numerous fouls committed against Ronaldo, Marcelo and Ozil. The resultant free-kicks were quite direct by Ronaldo, causing minimum threat to Neuer.

The Special One introduced Kaka for Di Maria in the 75th minute. The visitors threw caution to the wind and effectively controlled the midfield as if they were the home team, pushing Real on the back foot and causing them to rely on counter attacks.

Munich was far more accurate in passing and a little patient compared to Madrid who grew impatient. With 5 minutes regulation time remaining, Gomez lost the best opportunity of the match after being set-up by Robben, who himself had wasted a glorious chance in the first half.

Extra time started well for Madrid, with a promising corner-kick and they increased the pace of the match, taking the initiative to open the Munich defence. Pepe surged forward several times until he attracted fouls from Gustavo who finally earned himself a yellow card.

Kaka had chances to wrap it up with 8 minutes of play remaining but was too hesitant. He overdid things and lost possession at crucial times and taking too long to release the ball.

Marcelo's performance was however outstanding with his interception, dribbling and passing. His contribution in defence and attack play was so crucial and he tirelessly toiled consistently the entire match until the penalty shoot-out.

Youthful Alaba drove a hard and low shot past Cassillas to open the shoot-out account while the revered Ronaldo missed his spot kick as Neuer dived low to save a hesitantly taken kick. Gomez slotted the second one while Kaka missed exactly the same way Ronaldo did - same shot, same spot and same save.

Cassillas saved Kroos's attempt to give Madrid some hope as Xavi Alonso followed up with a cool conversion. Captain, Phillip Lahm had his penalty saved by Cassillas and Madrid were in it again. It did not last that long as Sergio Ramos took his to the rafters, ballooning it way over the bar.

Schweinsteiger faced Casillas to complete an unlikely rout to embarrass Jose Mourinho. The final kick rubbed salt into the La Liga campaign that saw Barcelona bow out to Chelsea 24 hours earlier and of course, setting up a potential thriller between the Blues and Bayern who will be hosts. Both finalist will play their respective FA Cup final matches before the Champions League final.

Bayern will face Borussia Dortmund while Chelsea will date Liverpool a week before their 19th May 2012 date. For neutrals, it will be a final of the underdogs, and probably the best thing to happen as the usual suspects will be watching the finals like the rest of us, on TV.

Messi will be number 4 for a long time.

Lionel Messi has a very long way to go to be the best footballer of all time, even number 3. Messi of Argentina, won the highest individual footballing honour for the 3rd consecutive time last week, a feat achieved by fewer that 5 players and at this rate, one he may achieve once more, as long as his team stays tops and Cristiano Ronaldo remains arrogant, (I seem to be the only person admiring the Portuguese's attitude and that is his undoing to many.) but it will take his take him far more effort to get in touch with the Top 3 Footballers of the all time.

Barcelona are the team of the decade by far, domestically and in the UEFA Champions League, out doing themselves over and over and I am not about to praise them any further. After all, it is not so long ago that I told you about the beginning of their end. Many took it that I meant that Real Madrid are a better team in comparison. Madrid have been better, of course, after the arrival of Jose Mourinho. 

The protracted verbal war and psychological warfare that boardrooms and racial slurs characterised The Special One's arrival in Spain but things calmed down as teams went into business. Now, Barca are wilting and Lionel Messi is proving to be human.

There was a time that I think he has measuring up to Zinedine Zidane, because I think Zizou is the greatest thing that happened to the game after Pele and Diego Maradona in that order. A few more seasons may see him getting there but he is running out of time. With what he has done and achieved, Argentina should have been FIFA World Cup champions. You may want to argue that World Cups are not a measure of everything and you are wrong.

Players like Pele, Maradona and Zidane had tremendous club success and their World Cups were cherries on top. No matter the glitter of any career from thence forth, if anyone can collect everything at once and fails at the World Cup, no one will remember their name.

The last generation of great footballers had one particular player, Eusebio. The Mozambican born Portuguese would have rated well alongside Pele, had he won a World Cup with Portugal. World Cups provide a platform for football patterns and evolution as well as player character.

Maybe also not so great in their clubs but so charismatic at the game were characters like Romanian George Hagi, a size 5 Number 10 who made football look so simple and had a tremendous shot. Hristo Stoichkov of Bulgaria is yet another great player of the World Cup. 

Why I bring these names forth, Messi has not mad much impact for Argentina as these have made for their countries during their prime. In that mix you could add Davor Suker of Croatia and Michel Platini of France. These players made huge impacts on the game for both the tournament and their countries.

As of now, Messi is so ordinary and by passion, is ranked amongst these. As for the actual influence of results, there is just so much ground to cover and I think he is running out if World Cups. Since 2014 FIFA World Cup is in South America, it may be his time t come out of the closet and be counted, but there will be Neymar of Brazil to compete with.  

Messi may not need to really win the FIFA World Cup, but at least to set it alight, to make his presence felt at least may be enough to secure a and seal a Top 4 position, but as for the actual Top 3, he needs to do what Pele did in 1958 in Sweden, Maradona in Mexico '86 and Zidane's France '98 at least. These men had to deliver the magic even in the actual final, and it was not the finals that made them great. They were already tops and the wizardry of the last games of the World Cups became the seal of approval. 

The most overlooked training aspect of the game.

Mostly due to ignorance and turning a blind eye to detail, many teams and top coaches take one thing for granted. I must admit that until I watched the last El Classico myself, I would not have noted this to write an article. It is something I had done with my teams, especially at amateur level.
Let us think this way for a while and see if we can make head way. I will draw contrasting examples to make a point, but this is applicable at high level, as it did in the Barcelona versus Real Madrid a few days back.

Say Barca, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Spurs are drawn amateur clubs in big Cup encounters. Does it matter who wins the toss and they get to kick-off the match? It does, and by how much? A long way.
First and foremost, the questions of whether it is a home or away fixture comes in. This takes into account the home crowd; whether it will be a happy full house or it is an away encounter without any spectatorship.

Take it the big team is playing away. In this case, they may be the ones to kick off the match. The ball should be meant to go around and make every member of the team touch it as often as possible. This has two effects. It settles the nerves and ascertains the superiority of the team before the novices get excited of playing against the Wayne Rooneys and the Rafael van der Vaarts. Train this with your team.

The ball possession also sends the message to the terraces that the big boys are in town. The coach must therefore make his team understand this. Here I am assuming the big team has their first choice players in the park, which they should most of the time. Possession for extended periods at the beginning is key.

Reversing the order of things, the smaller team may be the one getting to kick-off. Being amateurs and their coach not following this on www.tsendex.wordpress.com, they will be very nervous and trying to figure out how to get autographs of the accomplished pros. The big team will have to pounce like a hungry wild cat onto the prey and get the ball back lighting fast.

Your team may be the small amateur side playing in front of your home crowd. The responsibilities are the same. Make sure that the big team and their fans get the memo that you are here to stay, by simply keeping the ball, moving it around fast and accurately. This settles the nerves of everybody in the team. It will give you an earlier indication as to who is in it and who is not.

The other advantage of this is that it brings the crowd into it and the boys will love when the stadium breaks into song. From there on, it is the bigger team to question if they can cope. Some may even start looking at the stage to see where they are and what is happening.

Be warned about failing to win the kick-off. It is not necessary to dive into tackles and try to win possession in swift sweeping motion. It will be essential to be patient and steady. The normal tendency will be to lose shape and the discipline of the strategy when the experienced professionals move the ball around.

Your team will need win the vital first tackle and get the applause of the home crowd, and then keep that ball for extended periods of time. Less emphasis should be placed in rushing forward to score. Failure early on may sup all the confidence the players have and they may withdraw.
The other scenario when you are the top dog and playing at home and you have to kick-off, is to send the long ball into the small team’s box and chasing looking for the early mistake before the nerves settle. The message to the novice boys is, ‘Here comes trouble’. They quickly note that they are in the wrong league and are in danger. The same can be done even if the smaller boys kick-off and they send the ball back. Sprinting to the ball and crowding them will make them feel outnumbered and then they will be prone to make mistakes.

This brings the point of the El Classico. This happens even in the big league. Real Madrid were on the score sheet with less than half a minute on the clock. They could have doubled the matters minutes later. The problem with big clubs of equal egos, it goes beyond the tactics and Barcelona were back in the game after being let loose by Real.

Real had matters under control for the first 12 minutes and Barca had no answers to their movements, but they let themselves down by their sloppy attitude in scoring. Cristiano Ronaldo could have killed the game, not once and not twice.

The point is, the way Real started the match was not a dressing room issue. I can tell you they spent so much time working on their strategy which worked well, albeit temporarily. At least, fortunately for their preparation, they knew they were at home. It just came to who was going to kick-off.

That classic example also showed a point I would have missed. At high level, that kind of pressing must produce results quickly, because the pace cannot be sustained by men who are not on steroids. The energy demands are extreme and you need the positive results when fatigue takes its toll.

At lower levels of the game, the difference may be minimal, but if you have a good eye, you will not miss it. Take time to plan and practise kick-off, just as you do with corner-kicks and penalties. It may be the one thing that saves you a point, a Cup or a job one day.

Barca's El Classico 3-1 win a Real fault.

Winning El Classico 3-1, Barca proved they too, depend on luck sometimes. Real Madrid had control of proceedings until great defensive blunders of a Christmas gift nature. Jose Mourinho took over an ordinary Real Madrid and formed a formidable force to compete with Barcelona, arguably the best team in the world.

Alexio had no right getting to the ball that was delivered by Messi. When he did receive the ball, from a central position and under pressure, Cassillas had clear view of events and distance was with him to adjust, not easy but possible. Contrary to popular belief, that goal had nothing to do with the genius of Messi or the clinical finish of Alexio. It was a lax Madrid sleeping on duty.

As it stands, The Special One must change formation and quickly. Rumours that he is hunting down Frank Lampard gives the impression that he has come to this realisation, but the choise of his solution makes one doubt.

The Galatico’s problem is Mezuit Ozil. The German maestro is the weakest link in the Real team. Not that he is a bad player, but he is costing the team real mileage in the way Mourinho wants to play. With Cristiano Ronaldo on low gear on the left, Di Maria was at full throttle on the right.

Ozil’s duties were supposed to be, providing wall assistance for the two speedsters to deliver crosses on the byline and to pick the second ball from Benzema. On the particular day, Ronaldo was lukewarm and arrogantly off form, besides his extravagance in front of goal.

Dani Alves naturally closed down his path, needing Ozil to come across for one-twos and tearing away to the central position. Important to note is the intelligence of Di Maria in noting the lack of mobility of the German Ozil. The Argentine relentlessly probed the middle channel with the ball.

After collecting the ball from his half, he made ground, bound for the box directly, thus eliminating the need and use of Ozil. Given the fact that Madrid started on fire pressing from the final third at high tempo, it was going to be interesting to see the balance of scales had the usually dependable Ronaldo had been more clinical. However, as it turned out, the great and enviable work of Jose was made ordinary in the least as defeat at home was embarrassing.

Frank Lampard is a renowned midfielder and possibly a comrade in arms for Jose, but the role he has to play at Real will need a lot of work rate. Lampard is 33 and delivering at that pace will need him to be where he has never been before in terms of physical conditioning. A pound for pound replacement for Ozil may be financially out of reach for Real now, meaning Lampard is always a plan B for Jose.

Under the circumstances, Jose Mourinho can still be the best in Spain and Europe with what he has. He has to change formation. Karim Benzema and Hinguin must play alongside, not in tandem, but square. This will require extra attention from defenders, reducing the traffic of the opposition moving forward from the back even in counter attack opportunities.

Real can revert to the former tactic later in the match when every situation is under control. After all, Ozil is a good impact player and maybe then, he can start scoring again

Big earners of football cash

On seeing a WD40 can labelled 'CFC Free', a Chinese friend of mine wanted to know whether it was necessary to have the CFC as he did not have to pay for it, or look for a cheaper brand of 'loosening spray'. WD40 is a water displacement agent that acts by removing the water that oxidises metals forming corrosive effects that locks components together. To free these, the water has to come out. The manufacturer had made 39 attempts prior to the final product, hence the name, Water Displacement agent at the 40th attempt (WD40) name.

God is for Roy Hodgson and all of us. The former Liverpool boss was given just £7.3 million pay-off after being fired by Liverpool at the beginning of 2011, grossing £8.8m in that short stinct, or earning an average of £320,840 a week. If this guy can earn this money, you and I can. Not that there is nothing special about the man, but we can be as special.

The Special One at Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho is said to be rated at £228,000 a week and the same report according to Eurosprt, classifies Messi as earning £210,000 a week, Wayne Rooney on £200,000 and Cristiano Ronaldo on £191,000. The charismatic David Beckham gets £120,000 weekly.

These monies do not include endorsement deals or other incomes not classified as salaries. It goes on to show that earning big is now a small task. Keep checking my name (and yours) on the Forbes' Rich List. It's called faith, but faith without deeds is dead.

Messi or Ronaldo?

If the team is Barcelona, then it Messi. For Manchester United, definitely, Ronaldo. Cristiano is finding his Man U form at last. Big names moving to big clubs are likely to suffer the ‘Thierry Henry effect’. This is a phenomenon whereby one is a ‘cult leader’ in his team and then moves on to be an ordinary ‘Jack and Jill’ at another man’s cult centre.

There has been cases of Ronaldinho, Robinho, Adebayor, Berbetov, Hargreaves, Ballack, Shevshenko, Kaka, the list is endless. Ronaldo seemed to be immune but quickly faded until the arrival of Jose Mourinho, his countryman, at the Santiago Bernebeu. Save for that, he was a mighty flop.

Big name footballers thrive on their idol status where they are. This definitely drives the Portuguese Ronaldo. He wants to be important, and only when he feels so does he act important. He plays to outshine somebody all the time. He is exquisite and elegant in many ways.

As for Lionel Messi, he is a humbled flambouyant playful magician who plays for himself. He is like a kitten, least concerned about whether we are watching or approving him. Messi keeps himself happy only for himself. Selfless as his nature is, his delights comes from personal special execution of technique in dribbling, passing or scoring.

For Ronaldo, it is all glory, at whatever the cost and the price, and he does not care whether we like it or not. His arrogance is excellent for an underdog team, especially when the teams rises to the occasion and win. All must revolve around him. Only then is all well. For that reason, Ronaldo tries far too hard to get his way, by hook or crook. Messi deals in hook only and he does it well.

Given the 2, I would choose Ronaldo if I succeeded Sir Alex Ferguson, and Lionel Messi if I took over Barcelona. That is far too biased to make an opinion, but I will get neutral. Let us take the English top 5. United has already taken Ronaldo, so for City, I would take Messi, Spurs Ronaldo, Liverpool without doubt, Messi as well as Chelsea.

I am not sure you are clear why. Manchester City has the personnel necessary for Messi to play his football without altering much play or pattern of the whole structure. Many players would be in Ronaldo’s way and their pace would be far too slow for him.

As for Spurs, it is where Ronaldo would thrive exceedingly well. Harry Redknapp plays too much fluidity from midfield going forward and the way Gareth Bale and Luka Modric move, Ronaldo would have a field day exploiting the spaces they provide, or else, they would be the ones that wreck havoc, together with van der Vaart. Messi would be lost in that team, unless Steven Pienaar and Aaron Lennon play upfront and then rest being defensive players.

Liverpool have reasonable solidity and their confidence would do with a cutting edge of the diminutive Argentinean. Messi would win all Liverpool matches single handedly. A plus would be the supply line to Luiz Suarez being opened. David Ngog and Dirk Kyut would also have a field day. Ronaldo would completely kill the team and fade in that mud that The Reds play nowadays. He would be as disastrous as his first year at Real Madrid.

Like City, Chelsea have all Messi needs to tear a lion apart. With Michael Essien solid in the defensive role, Flourent Mouluda would flow everywhere and Didier Drogba would be at his best. There is no way Ronaldo would be recognisable in that line-up and his role seemed to be cancelled by Malouda, Salomon Kaloe and Drogba. He would never be an extra dimension there, but a duplication of an unfunctioning mechanism.

The English Premiership Football, Ronaldo scores 4 at rampant Real Madrid.

Following the hectic full Champions League program, football giants in England and Spain were involved in boring encounters, that is, of course, if you are not fanatical about everything your teams does. You are excused. For football lovers, the best match for today was arguably the West Ham versus Newcastle encounter. Carlton Cole scored his first goal in ages after being set up by Puiqionne but Nolan cancelled that with a cool but tricky finish after Andy Carrol out jumped the West Ham defence to set up his skipper.

A 69th Barton cross gave Carrol his 5th goal of the season as he scored a header. Carrol started the season with an incredible hat-trick and has been ordinary until today. The match was the best of the Premiership but globally, La Liga's Real Madrid were rampant as they subdued their smaller opponents win convincing pin-fall. They practically choked the less fancied Racing Santander to asphyxiation.

Barcelona were a pale shadow of the team that won the 2010 FIFA World Cup, scoring a couple of scrappy goals against Zaragoza through a resurgent Lionel Messi. Apart from the goals, there is nothing to talk about match. On the other hand, Real Madrid looked a little more solid for a team that had a bruising weekend. Higuin outpaced the defenders and slotted the ball under the advancing goalie in the 10th minute.

Cristiano Ronaldo showed his hunger of old as he finished off a Higuin cross, 5 minutes. Ronaldo scored 12 minutes later, taking advantage of his offside position. Madrid are just enjoying their football and are a joy to watch. Racing Santander looked so lost in the Santiago Bernebeu as Ronaldo continued with his individual show and even lost count how many goals he scored.  Ozil got the one of the 6 Madrid scored but Pepe Diop had a thunderbolt to unleash in the 73rd minute to save face in a 6-1 scoreline.

Chelsea collected maximum points in a pedestrian affair to go 5 points clear of the top of the Barclays Premier League. They walked past Wolverhampton with a 2-0 scoreline with a Flourent Malouda goal that made the Frenchmen a joint top scorer with Man City's Carlos Tevez, as well as a goal by substitute Salomon Kalou. Didier Drogba was back from injury and the champions did not show they had fresh men who did not play during the week.

Tottenham Hotspur were up against a stubborn and yet determined Everton side. They dealt with the frustration of match officials and will feel lucky to scrap a home point. It was obvious how the Inter Milan match supped some energy out of the team as they struggled to match the Everton strides. It took a rare Tim Howard goalkeeping error. Peter Crouch rose to drop the ball across the goal line for in form Van der Vaart to rip off the net. A point took Spurs to 3rd and 3 points would land them the 2nd spot.

Sunderland had charity to thank as a record own goal from Richard Dunne, his 8th, gifted them the points against a spirited Aston Villa side. Villa fought in vain for the share of the spoils and Sunderland soared in the standings to 8th.

The biggest story in England though, is the Marc-Antoine Fortune and Yousouf Mulumbu goals that sent West Brom the 4th position of the log after a 2-1 win over Fulham at the Hawthorns. Fulham’s woeful away record continued as they had no answers when it mattered most as they have not won away since August 2009. Wigan and Bolton shared the spoils 1-1. Birmingham City were 2-0 victors over Blackpool.

It is still to be seen how a record contract signed by Wayne Rooney will play for Manchester United against Stoke City tomorrow. Liverpool's new owners will be eager to see the impact of their bail-out when The Reds engage Benjani Mwaruwari's Blackburn Rovers at Anfield. The game of the week will always be Arsenal versus Manchester City for one reason. Arsenal are perennial under-achievers on their way down while City are as much underachievers given their resources but they are on the ascendance.

		Pl	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	Pts
1  Chelsea		9	7	1	1	25	2	23	22
2 Manchester City		8	5	2	1	12	5	7	17
3 Tottenham		9	4	3	2	11	8	3	15
4 West Brom		9	4	3	2	13	15	-2	15
5 Arsenal		8	4	2	2	18	10	8	14
6 Manchester Utd		8	3	5	0	18	11	7	14
7 Sunderland		9	2	6	1	8	7	1	12
8 Bolton		9	2	6	1	13	13	0	12
9 Aston Villa		9	3	2	4	9	13	-4	11
10 Everton		9	2	4	3	9	8	1	10
11 Birmingham		9	2	4	3	10	12	-2	10
12 Stoke City		8	3	1	4	9	11	-2	10
13 Blackpool		9	3	1	5	13	20	-7	10
14 Wigan		9	2	4	3	7	16	-9	10
15 Fulham		9	1	6	2	10	11	-1	9
16 Blackburn		8	2	3	3	7	8	-1	9
17 Newcastle		8	2	2	4	12	12	0	8
18 Liverpool		8	1	3	4	7	13	-6	6
19 Wolverhampton		9	1	3	5	8	15	-7	6
20 West Ham		8	1	3	4	6	15	-9	6

Levante Holds Real Madrid To A Draw.

Newly promoted Levante held Real Madrid to a 0 - 0 draw, fall short of the giant act of fellow new La Liga boys, Hercules who thumped Barcelona last week.

Real Madrid have been playing more purposefully in a more relaxed way and with controlled emotions since Jose Mourinho arrived. Their finishing still needs fine-tuning to reflect their flowing football, which they seem to enjoy. Hinguin was always threatening with telling moves into the penalty box with and without the ball.

Madrid, who used to play at a thousand miles an hour without any real threat to the opposition nor results to show for it, squandered tonnes of possession and let Levante off the hook. As they played in this particular match, it was ever promising that the glory days are around the corner. Sergio Ramos  and Marcelo were less careless, supporting Ozil very well.

The Special One's team won balls in the midfield and passed it forward in fluid attacking movements synonymous with Barcelona,  instead of running all night with it. Levante deserve credit for keeping a blank sheet going for the half-time break. Xavi Alonso lost a few passes though despite a good partnership with Samiar Khadira.

Team work was more visible, replacing a battle of egos of the overpaid individuals that was the order of day in months gone by. Cristiano Ronaldo's 37th minute header and 42nd minute attempt almost opened the floodgates for Real, but either the goalkeeper was good to the challenge or luck abandoned the Portuguese maestro.

The second half was more promising for Real as they stepped up the pressure. The newly promoted Levante did not lay back and wait for Madrid to slaughter them. They worked their socks off, supporting the man under pressure very well. Ricardo Carvalho had to be at his best as the new boys did not show any respect for the big names.

Karim Benzema came in for Ozil while Pedro came in for Di Mario in the 60th minute, in a bid to take control of the match. Actually, they almost ripped open the Levante defence in the 64th minute with crisp passing but fluffed the final ball.  There was a good spell for rest of the match, which included a penalty appeal for handball.

Levante continued to frustrate Real moves with sometimes over-committed tackles. Real possessed the ball with authority but their penetration was expertly foiled by excellent defensive work, which Arsenal of England would have to learn, and the failure to deliver the clean final ball. They must be commended for their patience under the circumstances as they kept looking for the elusive opening with incisive passing beyond the central defence. 

Jose Mourinho was visibly displeased with the result, but surely impressed with the progress the team has made in their ability to move the ball around. He remains very Special no matter how much you dislike him.