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. 

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?

Viva the Fifa 2014 World Cup Champions - Germany beats Argentina 1-0

Germany, Die Mannschaft, are the 2014 Fifa World Cup champions. The match started with a very good composed possession football by Germany while Argentina kept compact in their defensive shape. The Europeans’ build-ups with Kroos and Ozil, who pressed in midfield, ended up with Mascherano, who gave good cover in front of Demicheles and Garay. Lionel Messi and Lavezzi found small pockets of spaces on the right flank and ran at defenders. Hummels had to be at his best while Neuer pulled out saves as he came off his line and made his threatening presence unsettle the attackers.

The South Americans’ two units of four across (midfield and defence) shifted well across the field as they retained their shape. The midfield got attracted and were sucked into the game as Germany stroked the ball around. They needed to stay solid and maintain the tactical discipline as the Germans pried for crevices.

Messi kept menacing on the right flank and threatened with each great run into the box. Higuain failed to convert a back pass by Kroos, in one of the two rare Germany mistakes. He hit the target after Lavezzi set him up but he was offside.

Argentina came stronger from the break, with Messi slicing his left-footed shot past Neuer and upright post. They began to thread passes to the front-runners, often playing long balls for Higuain to run to. Neuer almost decapitated the Argentinian striker as he rushed out of his penalty area to punch the ball to safety. While air-borne, his knee caught Higuain on the neck as they both tumbled to the ground.

Biglia became aggressive in midfield while Sergio Aguero squandered possession numerous times. Palacio came in to miss the chance of the tournament. Germany defended strongly and efficiently absorbing all the pressure. The ball fell kindly to Muller and Schurle later in the half but rolled away to Romero. Lahm and Muller were a big concern for Argentina as they asked questions on the left side.

Then came the moment. Mario Gotze received the ball that was won in midfield on the left and played along the line to Schurle. The Chelsea man played a perfect cross to Gotze. The German striker had space and time to take it on his chest, cushioning it on his first touch by slightly withdrawing the contact surface area thereby setting himself for a shot. A step later, he raised his head to time the run of the onrushing Romero. He planted his non-kicking foot slightly behind the dropping ball, which he volleyed with the shoe laces in a controlled manner. He angled the boot appropriately to keep the contact on the ball in the middle so as to limit the height of the resultant kick.

The ball whistled past the diving Argentina goalkeeper and nestled into the net. That goal stood and shall ever stand as the one that stood between Messi and eternal glory. Sentiment aside, Argentina did not hit top gear until the match today, but it was not enough on the day. Messi tried to act as a team player in moments when he should have been selfish and single-handedly weaved his way past the Germany defence.

Manuel Neuer won the Golden Glove while Messi’s consolation was the Golden Ball.  James Rodriguez of Columbia was the Golden Boot winner with his six goals. Paul Pogba won the Young Player of the Tournament. 

Argentina will win the 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup

Arjen Robben is the player of the tournament. With two matches of the 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup to go, it is safe to say that a player who was almost retiring at Chelsea around a decade ago is the player of the tournament. That is barring an expected huge Lionel Messi performance on Sunday. Robben moved from the English Premier League to Real Madrid and carried the ‘bad boy’ tag with him until his Bayern Munich destination a few seasons back. He left Spain again on the verge of collapse but found room and warmth to grow. That resuscitation in Germany moulded him into a great player the world is witnessing today. He is wiser with less hair, truly a revelation for the Dutch in this Fifa World Cup.

The Netherlands hoped to play the final and many fancied them to do so, and even win it, but they have been too good from start until a match ago. The problem was that they had been at their peak far too early as their performance and winning huge in earlier matches proves. They played attractive football and, reached the ceiling by the quarter-final stage. Louis van Gaal is well aware of this fact and his expression of his dislike of their fixture against the hosts is proof of the fact. I personally believe Brazil are more beatable now than they were against Germany. Their dilemma around who to play and restore pride and whether to exclude the tried and tested to give new blood a chance to have a run is real. Van Gaal stares the prospects of failing to win what he feels is a dead rubber or the humiliation of the resurgent Brazil in the face.

As for Argentina, they always raised their game just enough to scrap the result. Save for their encounter with the Dutch, they did enough to get what they wanted. While it was a difficult match physically and mentally, they will be expected to hit top gear against Germany in the final. To make their case harder though, they have a day less to both recover and to prepare for that final. They endured a 120-minute long extremely competitive energy-supping match plus the emotional wrecking penalty shoot-out in tough weather conditions.

In comparison, Germany did stroll past Brazil and literally had a field day. Their recuperation and preparations will be longer and better, naturally. What makes this music to their ears is the fact that they had the same Dutch ‘early peak’ and scrapped through when Ghana let it slip. The United States stretched them to the limit and so did the Algerians. They hit the ceiling as they reached top gear to get past the Africans. It was a welcome relief that Brazil did not turn up on Tuesday. That luxury afforded by the hosts has more physical benefits than mental. After that stroll, concentration levels may drop a degree. Argentina will be sharper mentally but a notch low physically.

At this high level of the game, there are very fine margins in the football factors of performance. The obvious cases of altitude, weather, nutrition, motivation and all that jazz do count. Of course, the majority of the players who will take it to the turf on the 13^th of July are Europe based. So, the altitude and weather will count for little. The managers and players know each other pretty well, but something will have to give. There can never be an doubt of proper and professional preparation in the field of play.

Football is such that the team that will walk away victorious, needs to create one opportunity and utilise it. Given this line alone, this is a huge ask and a burden whose solution eludes many. In the German Bundesliga, Under-9 to Under-17 teams are taught at least nine patterns of attack to create that one opportunity. Congruently, it means with this knowledge, one has to learn how to stop nine attacks, or know nine defending ways. There are a lot more at higher levels of the leagues, and it is a project that goes through to the national team. It has to start with recognising each and every one of them and the variants, and then deal with it effectively and ruthlessly.

As humans, it takes several attempts to be precise even on something we are expects in. The match may not provide such opulence to try and try again. This is when a team needs one moment of brilliance from its top player. It may be any player for that matter but chances can never be taken. Argentina will have to dig in deeper and pull off a stance to utilise Messi more than they did against Holland. It would have been very painful for him to have been anonymous in most of extra time and then fail to have an opportunity at the highest level, in the final. Germany on their part, are a well-orchestrated choir driven by the mentality to be exceptional in both attacking and defensive jobs. That roundedness of their structure makes it harder to single out individuals. Each has a role to play, basically, to be efficient in their area of operation. Many depend on doing simple things right all the time. It can be just once.

Defenders have to be technically disciplined and tactically sound in decision-making. This means winning all balls all the time without making any errors. The same goes for the midfield, whose other concerns includes top quality passing of the ball forward with minimum loss of time. The ball played early and fast on the ground makes it easier for the strikers to score. That is how they effectively scored seven goals out of a mere thirteen attempts at goal against Brazil. Most of the opportunities were very easy to convert. Given that supply, the strikers' clinical finishing would be top priority. Thomas Muller is known for his inferior natural technique, but what he was taught in his adolescence, he will execute with perfection and with ease.

Joachim Low and Alejandro Sabella have tasks in their hands, but one can be assured they started that many years back. It becomes a different kettle of fish when one realises they have a World Cup finals within days. Coaching is about shaping a team to create the opportunities to score and psyche the players to execute well as efficiently as possible when that moment of truth comes. The same goes, as he has to work with the same team to deal with those moments coming from the opposition in the same match. They have to manufacture a great moment in attack and then deny the star players any room for their moment of brilliance.

Both cases can be successfully achieved by the same team on Sunday, or one team gets one aspect right and the other team win the other option. The two teams can have it both ways in the same match in varying degrees and portions. Once in a while, due to bad team preparation or excellent tactical work by opposition, none of this happens. This explains the woeful Brazilian night at the hands of the Germans and the following day’s draw between the Netherlands and Argentina.

All said and done, the Germans’ excellent group work becomes harder to deal with. They had time to chillax before the big day. Argentina over-relies on Messi and as a collective, have not really wowed anybody, but they will welcome back injured Angel Di Maria, in which case they may not need a great team performance. After all, they have Javier Mascherano who officially has the most passes in the tournament so far. Unofficially, he has the most interceptions and the highest ball retrieval rate. The 2014 Fifa World Cup final is the day they may step up into the plate and be counted, the day Lionel Messi will prove he is the greatest player in the world ever. With all due pressure on him, that is the moment to deliver as developing cold feet can only prove he is a sissy, to the delight of both Pele and his country man, Diego Maradona. The two are wrestling over the title they impose on themselves and Messi is here to end that war on Sunday. Cometh the moment, cometh the Messi!!

Argentina needed penalties (4-2) to dump the Dutch in 2014 Fifa World Cup

 

Playing for a finals berth, Argentina and Holland began the encounter in a cagey manner, probably with the 7-1 result of the other semi-final in mind. The South Americans patiently waited for the Dutch to come at them, but with both teams employing the same tactic, the Netherlands decided to press in midfield around the centre line.

They choked the supply line to Lionel Messi and avoided fouls around the edge of the penalty area and blocked the Zabaleta path on the right. They narrowed the playing field and squeezed the match into their comfort zone. On transition, they looked to pick a long ball into the pockets occupied by Robin van Persie.

Argentina insisted on playing on the right involving Zabaleta and Messi tried central runs towards goal. The Dutch had a plan of tripling up on him. Mascherano performed at the highest level as he anticipated each move and intercepted every ball played through and across midfield. He sprayed the passes to the front-runners and took charge of the middle of the park. His authority was complemented by the unexpected work-rate of Perez.

Perez worked well and hard and took the weight off the shoulders of Messi. This enabled the South Americans to take grip of the match in the second half as their attacks became more meaningful and threatening. Argentina pressed a little higher with the front players fore-checking and winning the ball as soon as it was lost. The longer the match progressed without the goal, matters changed and the match swung to the Dutch.

They took the match by the scruff of its neck with controlled forward movement. Both sides took single long-range shots and went to reserve mode. Arjen Robben got control of the ball and ran at the defenders, touching and keeping the ball for a little too long. Mascherano recovered and tapped the ball for a corner kick.

Substitutes, Palacious and Maxi Rodriguez had clear-cut chances to put the match away. The former got himself into the box after chasing a looping ball from midfield. Face to face with Cillisen, he rushed his headed attempt over the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper had fainted to comeout and forced the striker’s action, making it easy for himself to collect the weak header.

Messi had been quiet for a while as he suddenly appeared with a strong run from the right flank. His cross eluded all but Rodriguez tried a side-footed volley, an action that showed some indecision on his part. He could have controlled the ball and tucked it past the keeper.

While Messi spent most of the extra time marked out of the match, Robben created himself room by his mobility to various positions in front and midfield. He shifted to either wing and touched the ball as often as he liked. This made his threat real with every touch.

The penalty shootout failed to supply the Dutch drama as Romero stole the show with acrobatic saves of Vlaar and Sneijder penalty kicks. Although Robben and Kuyt converted, it was the clinical Argentinians who tucked in theirs successfully.Messi, Lavezzi, Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez converted to book a date with Germany in Maracana on the 13^th of July 2014.  

Argentina beat Iran 1-0 in 2014 Fifa World Cup

Negative football typified Iran’s first half approach as they frustrated Argentina with ultra-defensive tactics. They were compact, quick to close down attackers, set out to have all men behind the ball and doubled on the man in possession and then tried to counter attack with few players after winning the ball. The aggression made them commit fouls outside the penalty area but the South Americans wasted the chances.

Iran won a few set plays and proved a little more threatening in both delivery and in dealing with them than the revered former champions. They only sent in four men in the penalty area for corner kicks and free kicks, allowed three in the attacking half and the rest guarded against the counter attacks. When pushed hard, they had all players in the penalty area and gave Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria the attention of three markers.  

Argentina could not create a clear goal-scoring chance but squandered the half chances that came their way. They probed ineffectively with quick little passes outside the D-zone. The quality of the final ball was bad as they could have tried going around the wings at fast pace. On few occasions, they got Zabaletta and Di Maria in good crossing position, but the deliveries took too long and lacked quality.

Iran had the best two chances of the match, forcing Romero to make an excellent save in the 63^rd minute and one of the save of the tournament in the 66^th minute. A reasonable counter attacking opportunity came in the 85^th minute but Reza was not clinical in his finish. In between, there were penalty shouts after the hard-working Dejagah raced into the penalty box and seemed to have his progress halted by a challenge that the referee thought was legal. Argentina looked vulnerable in corner kicks.

There was just enough time on the clock for one magic action by Messi. He received the ball from the right, taking it to his left foot with just man in attendance. He set himself for a shot, raised his head to see the position of the keeper, planted the non-kicking foot alongside the ball, spread his arms wide for balance, his eyes on the ball, he struck the ball at the bottom half with the inside of the foot to give it a spin. The ball rose and curled around the defender and the diving goalkeeper to the net, breaking the brave and fighting Iranian warriors.

Iran failed to properly deal with a cross, making a clearance to their left. The ball fell to Zabaletta who played the ball along the line and the reverse pass to the inside was collected by Messi who slowed down, searched for options, tried to find space and an angle for a shot. Reza was a shade too far, enough for the Argentinian to do the needful, scoring a fabulous goal for a hard fought 1-0 win.

Argentina beat a fighting Bosnia Herzigovina 2-1

An unfortunate deflection off the foot of Kolasinac at the far post was all Argentina carried into half time. It was a cagey start from both side, but Argentina pushed the ball around to calm their nerves and impose their game while hoping to intimidate the debutants of the Fifa World Cup in Bosnia Herzegovina. The newcomers retreated only up to the centre line and then tried to bite at that point. They pounced when the ball moved and withdrew with each failed attempt to win the ball.

A combative right back felled Aguero on the left. Lionel Messi curled the ball to the far post. The free-kick brushed Aguero’s head and descended to the left back’s feet and went past a desperately diving goalkeeper for the most unfortunate goal of the games so far.

Argentina were duly unsettled by the pressure of the settled European side who did well to look past the unlucky goal. They started to depend on counter attacks and long-range shots as they failed to pick up the second ball outside the penalty area. Despite the compact, composed and concentrated defensive behaviour, they were too slow in attack.

Messi tried too hard and easily gave away the ball, sometimes in dangerous areas as the defence doubled and sometimes tripled on him. Bosnia seemed to enjoy the experience, showing no fear or respect for the former champions. They closed all entry to their penalty area and kept Aguero under lock and key. They grew careless towards half time as the decision-making became poor in the final third. Few men were committed to attacking duties at that point.

For an experienced side, Argentina began to be sloppy and there were too many loose balls in midfield. Play became scrappier as the minnows were guilty of losing concentration in attack, with too many stray passes in midfield. The quality of their final ball was masked by a few corner-kicks later in the half. Six players stayed on or before the penalty spot and rushed to attack the ball as soon as it was in flight.

The beginning of the second half saw a panicking Argentinian defence as the novices turned on the screw. They pressed up field just outside the 18-yard area as they got committed to winning the ball early near the Argentinian goal. They squandered a few fair chances. The forays upfront triggered a reaction and spurred the South American attack.

The big moment came when the ball was won on the right of the midfield where a short dance took place. Captain Messi took off in full flight and exchanged passes at the D area with Higuin, waltzed past a few challenges, keeping his balance and composure, and curled a low hard drive around the sprawling goalkeeper. The ball hit the left upright and rolled across over the line for a memorable goal by the Barcelona maestro. Henceforth, Messi and company stamped their authority in the match and starte to dictate the terms of operation with ease.

Bosnia still had some fight left and they refused to throw in the towel. Their efforts drew a few fantastic saves from Romero, each attack encouraging the next. Their rear became exposed badly as Messi produced several trademark runs from midfield into the attacking third. Di Maria and Aguero were a little extravagant as they wasted a few chances to stretch the lead.

Bosnia Herzogovina were to be rewarded with their maiden goal when they won the ball on their left, threaded a weighted pass into the penalty area for Ibisevic to run to and drive it between Romero’s legs which reduced its pace but the ball agonising trickled past the goal line for a memorable goal.  

Was UEFA semi-final Draw fixed?

Let's rely on my not-so-genius memory, as many will attest. I have not much time to research but save for the cases you know, my memory has not betrayed me fatally but do not make life-decisions made here.

Bayern Munich played Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League around 20 years ago, give or take 2 years. The draw pitting Barcelona and Bayern in a semi-final whose first leg is to be played at the Allianz Arena is not suggesting that it is deja vu.

Last year's runners-up Bayern will have to navigate past Barca, an easier feat now than it can ever be as it has been proved that the Spanish are breakable, especially without Lionel Messi. Messi may be fully fit by then, changing the dynamics.

In that very bad twist of fortune, Real Madrid also travel to Germany to face Dortmund before the return legs in Spain. The prospects of either an all-Spanish or all-German final at Wembley Stadium on May 25 will be the talking point for many pundits.

In my every day song, the chorus is that Barca are fading and by the end of the semi-final, I may have to reconsider and conclude that they are faded. They were bullied by AC Milan, only going past just. They beat Paris Saint-Germain in the quarter-finals, again, just, on away goals.

Bayern are newly-crowned Bundesliga champions and appear the most solid team so far. Despite all this, I do not fancy them, but I am not sure how long the brittleness of the Catalans will last.

On the other hand, Madrid, who eliminated Galatasaray this week, are playing their best football under Jose Mourinho, or for the first time since the dominance of La Liga by Barcelona. It will be the two sides’ fourth pairing overall in the Champions League.

Dortmund have a young and energetic squad compared to the Spaniards, but their gods had to more than smile at them to see off a determined Malaga who felt robbed. One could be tempted Real will revenge for the Spanish.

The truth is that The Only One is caught in two minds. Rumours of him going back to England and his personal ambitions to be The Only Special One make this one interesting. It's not rocket science that Jose will head elsewhere if he wins the Champions League, and his team has the capacity to do it. Sentimentally and tactically, they are favourites at this point.

Realistically though, a minimum of 180 minutes of the 2012/13 Champions League football must elapse with two victories for them. This means beating a dynamic and versatile Borussia and then seeing off cultured Barca or Bayern. It would be nice to have the Spaniard against the Germans in England but time will tell.

Talking of England, I wondered if failure to have representation at this point meant the Barclays English Premier League has lost some shine. This is prompted by the lost of Newcastle and Tottenham Spurs in the Europa League last night.

It could be small technical faults and Chelsea may win the second tier Cup anyways. If these events are a measure to go by, it places Spain and Germany as the kings of league football. As relative as that may be, there may be some truth depending on how much football you talk about.

England has the money to attract the best players. I am not sure the same can be said by the coaches/managers. That translates to excellent technical levels that are void of tactical football in the league. My personal opinion is that the world outside England strikes a good balance of cash, talent and tactics. Anyway, that's a topic for another day.

For now, we await the first legs to be played on April 23 and 24, with the second legs to take place on April 30 and May 1. At least you have the liberty to forget reason and think by heart and you dream your team will kick bottom. For us, we start scrutinising details that range from possible line-ups to personalities that make the squad.

The margins of error in the execution of each pass or ball reception, as well as the speed of decisions and time spent on the ball will influence and be influenced by what happens away from the ball. The possible politics surrounding the refereeing is inevitable but one hopes that the true champions will win it by themselves and for themselves.

There has been enough cry about UEFA deciding the fate of the title by the 'disenfranchised' side like Malaga, and while I disagree with their racism issue against them, it is high time cases that saw Didier Drogba sanctioned a few years back, become extinct. I think this is a quality semi-final line-up and while it could have been fixed, I do not think so.

Semi-final draw
Bayern Munich v Barcelona
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Messi is incredible

Most clubs possess a 'Messi' of their own. Manchester United's Robin van Persie, Luis Suarez of Liverpool, Gareth Bale of Tottenham Hotspur and the list is endless and it all depends on the coach and the fans.

Barcelona have their own 'Messi' and that is Lionel Messi. It does not matter the opinion of pundits, media, coaches or any fans. Messi is great, greater than the greatest players because of the way he has carried a very weak and unable Barca on his own. With every cough, the Catalans struggled and struggled big time.

At this point, I do not need an opinion about how bad La Liga champions-elect are. They have been bad, and for a long while, only the mask performance of one Messi seduced us to believe they are good. They pass the ball well, yes, but they defend like school boys. Maybe that is good enough but I am not sold on that one.

The abilities of Iniesta and Xavi are undoubted, but Barca can easily do without each or both, but not without Messi - never. May I mention that after losing 0-2 to AC Milan in Italy two weeks ago, we all wrote Barcelona off. Their 4-0 victory is nothing short of a miracle. Without Messi, that scoreline could have easily belonged to Milan, believe it or not.

The Italians arrived at the Camp Nou believing being Italian is a defensive strategy on its own. They were almost right and they crowded both Messi and the spaces he works it. It worked wonders and nobody could have done a better job. I have never witnessed Messi have such a bad day in office. He lost the ball in one match more than I have seen him in a year.

On such a bad day for the magician, a glimple of who who is came in 5 minutes with a stunner from as little a space as could fit an ant. He squeezed the ball through a needle's eye with the accuracy to goal to match. One may have seen similar goals but the difference here is that the little Argentinian knew what he was doing and had every intention of doing that.

Five minutes from the break, with as little space from similar circumstances, maybe a little demanding, he coughed out the same deadliness and his intentions were less clearer, only this by his standards. Whether he is the greatest ever football player will remain a matter of opinion, as many measure that in term of accolades and team achievements. As an individual, Zinedine Zidane, Pele, Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho have been very close to what Messi is giving us, and maybe they gave more but an I doubt.

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.
.

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

Post mortem: It's what Barca did not do, or not?

Suddenly, everyone think Chelsea FC are the heroes and Roberto Di Mateo the man. It is surely with good reason and man do they deserve it! A friend of mine excellently summed it up well by saying that the only time he saw a team defend with such gusto and with their lives, was way back in 1990, at the Italia '90 Fifa World Cup during the opening match when 9-men Cameroon shut out and beat the world champions, Argentina, 1-0.

I usually fore go my agreements and disagreement with fellow bloggers like Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez. I am tempted to boast about it once in a while. I went through one analysis which showed we wrote it about about the same time, but given our different geographical locations, I will not say they were copying my posts.

Without giving much detail of total agreements we had about how Barcelona lost it, it is suffice to say that the game of football is like that. The odds Chelsea faced from the first leg in London and then Barcelona were almost insurmountable, but when a team stands up to be counted, special things happen.

After the departure of one AVB, I went through his reign that faced resistance of the team's old guard. Much attention was also given to how the Blues could be a very dangerous team. At this point, all can see that they are team that have suddenly ran out games to win the Premiership.

Having said that, some coaching needs to be thrown into the works and so far, Di Mateo's philosophy has not come in to the fore. What has been exhibited is what African township footballers call a 'money game mentality'. Tactics and talent count for nothing.

Defending with one's life and body is one acceptance mode if one is devoid of necessary qualification to compete. That drove Chelsea. Al things equal and pound for pound, they knew they were no match for Barcelona.

What the Catalan faithfuls and the technical department will now defend with their lives, is the answer to the question flying throughout the media at this moment -  that they have no plan B, but then, one must understand the footballing meaning of their plan A to start with.

Those privileged to have accessed my book, The Anatomy of Football will know by now, the obvious facts that a team to score goals, they need to have the ball. The defence philosophy becomes easy to deduce, given that you must not concede if you keep it, well of course.

Barcelona kept the ball to themselves and got carried away too much in doing that. It is how keep it and what you do with it next that will matter more.

The Spanish team, despite their shining record and statistics, never passed their quarter-final status, save for 3 minutes. This was after the Andreas Iniesta's goal and the Ramirez's strike. The rest of the 200 minutes of the matches, they were either either at par or chasing the game.

Their comfort lay in sharing the deal with the Londoners before Didier Drogba hit the net at Stanford Bridge, after which they were over and out, and then at the point Busquets scored at the Camp Nou. As afore-mentioned, they only momentarily took the initiative with Iniesta's superb strike. With the magical Brazilian's deft touch, they were doomed once more, albeit permanently.

For their efforts, Chelsea were on the back foot from the front. Much of the fixture depended on what they did, and how well they would continue to do it. They needed to close down attacks and stop conceding the ball they could not have. That called for discipline and character.

Knowing how difficult that can be in real life, John Terry became human and nearly cost the team dearly when he was red-carded for an offence he really did not need to commit. Under the circumstances, it was not about numbers, statistics or tactics as already said. It was a different ball game.

While I attracted hate from Barca fans as a 'hater' of the Catalans, it may start to make sense what I always tried to put across. I love football and Barcelona. Lionel Messi is my favourite footballer and, of course, the best player ever. My point has been, and always be, the team is finished. How?

With their incredible ability to possess, pass and play the ball, they should have the ability to play in frontal lines and even more. Many saw as the only option for Chelsea to park the bus in front of the Barcelona goal, and surely, so did Barca themselves.

The Spanish giants used the same eyes to look at their own available solutions to the problems; to plummet the bus to total destruction. They wanted to ride over the flat remains of the steel heap and much over it bare-footed. They have successfully done that before against Real Madrid and other big European teams. Maybe the size of the competitions warranted it.

This one was a different kettle of fish altogether. The bus was bigger, Blue and its tyres fully inflated. Their easiest option, which I have seen them fail to implement well now than they did before, was to tow the bus away. Hook up a tow-bar and drive away the thing and slot balls in.

In football terms, instead of staying years at the edge of the Chelsea penalty box, they could have kept the ball further out, slowly and inch by inch. Players, no matter how old and how mature, they will always follow the ball. It does not have to make sense whatever they do, as seen by the red card Terry received, they always get attracted to the leather.

The obvious space created between Petr Cech and his third class central defenders in wing defenders, Ivanovic and Bosingwa, was where their money was. It is common knowledge how the fast-paced Messi intrinsically interweaves passes with Iniesta and Xavi into the box at great speed.

All Barca did, was failed to slide away a bus they tried to grind to powder when it was ready to roll. For their good part, they waited for the pounding to finish and efficiently threw precise attacks at very opportune moment with tell composure that their chief architects, Xavi, Messi and Iniesta would be jealous about.

Given 90% of the squad have Fifa World Cup medals to their well-deserved and due credit, failing to see and act on that qualifies me to tell you that they are finished. As the leading team in the world, they are done. Their history and momentum may carry them a little further, but either the coach or some key players will have to go and leave the rebuilding process to commence, the sooner the better.

(The Anatomy of Football is currently available at discounted rates at the Amazon online store.)

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

UEFA Champions League Results - As cruel as It can be, Baile rocks.

Incredible as it began, it finished in a historic and incredible Gareth Bale hat-trick. Champions, Inter Milan of Italy hosted rookies, Tottenham Hotspur of the Barclays English Premier League at the famous San Siro Stadium. As Murphy Law would have it, everything that can go wrong at any match actually went wrong for Spurs as they suffered a first minute goal, conceded an early penalty that earned goalkeeper Gomes a red card and a conversion by Samuel Eto'o in the 11th minute. It was 3-0 by the 14th minute and with 10 men and less than 35 % possession, the first ever English team to win the European Cup were down and out when Eto'o scored the 4th after just 35 minutes.

Just as it started with the Eto'o show, Gareth Bale was a gear up with an incredible hat-trick of two mirror goal of top drawer quality and sheer determination that you will not see anywhere in a long time. The Bale show started in the 52nd minute before it lulled for the entire half, In injury time, Bale accelerated from the centre line on the left channel, running the entire length of the pitch to blast a sizzling hot shot below the body of sprawling Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar, exactly the way he scored the first goal, step for step and stride for stride in injury time. Aaron Lennon was set on his bike as he attacked his marker to about the D-area before releasing Bale on his left, exactly on the spot he pulled the trigger for the first 2 goals. His classic precision took wind out of Inter and thank God, time ran out.

In a memorable match for the Bale performance in particular, as was the Manchester United come back against Bayern Munich in the year Samuel Kuffor cried several barrels of tears in 1999, the disastrous start by Spurs looked set to be historic in the other direction and for the wrong reasons. As any coach would tell his players at half-time, it was not about how Spurs began, but how they ended. In the dressing room, Harry Redknapp was at pains trying to solicit eye contact after heads dropped due to the defense that went to sleep early and were punished. Frankly, the officials were not even there for Spurs.

His words were definitely in the line of 'Let us take ourselves from the mess we just put ourselves in. Good teams will be judged from how they come out of trouble that how they ride the crest'. With 10 men against the champions who are 3rd in their league and have been perennial performers at the same level, and given the circumstances of the match, a final 4-0 score would have been respectable for the Englishmen. The 4-3 final results, which had both the fans and referees panicking in the dying seconds, underlines the battered team that has 2 key players in Rafael van der Vaart and Gomes suspended and top scorer Jermaine Defoe injured. Spurs showed the class that many didn't know possible, though a lose is a lose.

While this was a performance of character out of this world was happening in Italy, Manchester United were being even more average at Old Trafford against Bursaspor whom they beat 1-0. Nani scored a well taken goal for the valuable points. Barcelona also won 2-0 at home with Lionel Messi scoring a double. Rangers and Valencia drew 1-1 as did FC Twente and Werder Bremen. Shalke 04 beat Hopoel Tel Aviv of Israel 3-1. Lyon were 2-0 victors over Benfica in France.

What do you think went wrong for Spurs and what is your opinion of Gareth Bale?