Brave Australia lose 3-2 to Holland in the 2014 Fifa World Cup

 

This was cracker of a match, more so that the unfancied Australians took the game to the 2010 South Africa World Cup finalists. The Dutch looked very ordinary as they wondered what had hit them. It was one Tim Cahill. However, the former Everton kingpin's troops were brave in the fight but very naïve to let it slip.

After being guilty of a mistake in midfield, Australia presented Arjen Robben with a chance to run at their defence. The striker had to shrug off a very physical challenge and stay on his feet, run with the ball from the centre line creating a three versus one situation against a back paddling defence. Robben still had work to do as he contended with the approach of a sprinting defender who dived in desperately in vain. The Bayern Munich striker tucked the ball into the right of the net with the goalkeeper on his knees.

It was the response of the Socceroos that lit the stadium. After winning the ball in midfield as well, the ball was played to the left past a failing attempt to retrieve it. A diagonal ball was ferociously volleyed past the keeper by Cahill. The Australian’s lining up of the volley complemented the run as he ticked all the boxes of the key factors of volleying on the run. He kept his eyes on the flight of the ball, kept excellent concentration, arms wide for balance and struck the ball at the mid-point below the centre of the ball. The ball flew over the bemused goalkeeper into the roof of the net.

Australia had obvious goal-scoring opportunities that they squandered before half time. Both teams began to press each other up field and opened the game for each other. The seesaw affair continued to entertain. The Dutch were caught napping once more, failing to clear their lines and committing a handball by Janmaat in the penalty box. Wesley Sneider fouled his man in midfield and the resultant free kick ended with the ball in the penalty box. Up stepped Jedinak to send the goalkeeper the wrong way for a rare lead.

The Netherlands’ response was just as swift. Australia fluffed a glorious chance, the chance of the tournament so far, when they failed to utilise one of the three-versus-ones they had; one being overplayed by Cahill to his left when he could have reduced the weight of the pass or opted to passed to his right and the other where they passed over the responsibility and passed square. The bizarre choice to chest the ball goal wards summed up the day for the Socceroos, as they paid for it directly from that counter attack.

The Netherlands swiftly moved forward in numbers and with pace. They found the Australia defence flat footed and square. The threaded ball found its way to Robin van Persie who stabbed the ball home with Jason Davidson covering the offside against three attacking Dutch players. The marking was extremely bad and there was no man charging towards the passer and the scorer.

After several easy chances by Australia, Depay took a ball in midfield and glided across the central defence to crack a speculative long-range effort that swerved to the right and bounced in front of the goalkeeper who made a meal of it and paid dearly. The ball nestled at the right bottom corner of the net. Again, there was no pressing from the Australian midfield and no one charged towards the ball. Depay savoured the space and a free and perfect hit.

For their effort, it was such a disappointing result for Australia who should have won the match by a wide margin, against their fancied opponents. For that kind of display, they did not really deserve to go home this early. They were very clever in dealing with Robben’s right to left inward runs as they screened him eternally, however they were naïve enough to boot themselves out of the 2014 Brazil Fifa World Cup.   

Manchester United produce a once off vintage performance

It is expected that at their poorest, Manchester United would be in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League at any given season. The abominable start to their current season made us and their followers to question their abilities to win anything anywhere. Olympiakos of Greece made us think we were all ever correct with that 2-0 home victory. This was rubbed in by Liverpool's 3-0 league triumph at Old Trafford a few days ago.

Prior to the match, one could feel a great sense of urgency on the players. The start of the match proved exactly that and then there was this fear that all this would come back backfiring due to the anxiety to perform in front of the vociferous home crowd. Despite the development of the match, few people could have bet on them winning 3-0, let alone with a Robin van Persie hat-trick.

It has been such a long time since I saw such commitment is combat. The Red Devils threw their bodies on the line, literally. I was humbled by the sheer determination of all departments, something a coach cannot build or instill. The easiest thing to say, if one did not watch the match, is to say the Greeks are a week team. That is totally wrong. They may be, but on the time, their play could have upset Bayern Munich or Barcelona but Manchester United could have none of that.

For the Man U faithfuls, the prayer is to produce such a performance week in and week out and that is not possible. It is a once in a year outing where everyone pulls off all stops in sync. David Moyes' charges may go all the way and win it but they will never produce display that anytime soon. Winning any further matches in Europe against any remaining teams means that the opposition has to put less because United dug deep to get where they are and they should be proud.

Robin van Persie - Deal or no deal?

My football appetite really need nursing and the transfer market in the English Premiership is general a yawn, and the excitement over one particular deal saddens me. By it's nature, the Robin van Persie move from London's Arsenal to Manchester's United looks set to be most 'exciting' and probably 'significant' to both sets of fans and for obviously different reasons.

You are assured of a very balanced view because I am neutral. Without a shadow of doubt, RVP is bound to do well, and even remind the Old Trafford crew of one Rudd Van Nistelrooy. It must be remembered that he had been average for most of the years and blossomed only last season. Without wanting to be the one to curse him, it is common knowledge why. (We pray for the ankles to be intact.)

Man U will always catch the eye as the richest club and their deals will always attract our attention, even as their enemies. No matter how one looks at it, for whatever reason, this was a less exciting prospect than the acquisition of Ashley Young last season. That kept the whole market exciting, and Young is still to hit top gear.

As for RVP, as loud as they may appear, Man U fans are as blown away by the deal as they would have us believe, just as the Arsenal followers are not really spending sleepless nights at his departure.

The Dutch will slot into the team with easy, being the main man supported by Wayne Rooney, Nani, Young and sometimes twinning with the hungrier assassin in Danny Welbeck. His transfer is more of a headache or the Gunners when looking at options to replace him at the Emirates, and for many teams who wanted to buy him and championship contenders, that was a dream.

The whole point is to work at the championship path the day before the journey, clearing and paving the ways. Man City and Chelsea are ever indebted to Sir Alex Ferguson. At this point, the horse race has been trimmed to three and the chess games begin.

For the umpteenth time, Arsene Wenger has been castrated but still hopes to produce by May 2013. As much as it is very much possible, if it was that hard with the form of RVP, how much more tough now without a reliable goalscorer, goalkeeper, central defenders and probably the best anchor in the league, as Alex Song may be going soon?

Being optimistic is one attribute of the revered Frenchman, and he will tell you there is no panic and life goes on. One secret about the businessman mind of Wenger is that he is a realist. With all the talent and cash at their disposal, Man U, City and Chelsea will never win the Barclays Premier League in one season. It can only be one. If Chelsea take it, the costs of the Manchester side's wage bills, purchases of players and sundry will be enormous.

It also means, say United my end up third. After all the business transactions, and competing for third, it is way more astute to spend less, far less and pick up 4th spot and the result would just be the same -  UEFA Champions League football. Mr Wenger will get there, with or without RVP, and assembling a multi-billion squad is no guarantee to the glory and the calculation of risk prudently points to getting 'there' economically and 'stress-free'.

As for the final destination of the title, there is no question of the hunger to revenge the blue side by the Red Devils, but Chelsea may cunningly snatch it away from the brawling neighbours, but without Didier Drogba, it  will be a mountain to climb, not to say Chelsea was DD11, but surely DD11 was Chelsea.

Arsenal play like Barca

I watched Barcelona in their last UEFA Champions League and could not help but think about one article you posted comparing Arsenal's pressing game with Barca's free-flow passing attacking style.

What I noted is Barca has one formula of play. No plan B or C. Just keep ball, go through opponent D-zone. The same hammer and push analogy you used to describe Arsenal is exactly what Barca do. They hit & push...no rebuilding.

Only one winger Alves, is used to attack, he mostly cuts in to supply the ball in the D zone, looking for Messi especially. If at all he crosses, it is a low one because Barca have height disadvantages.

To counter that, they put more bodies behind the ball, three midfielders in the D-area and the two centre backs to crowd and close the route.

I would say Arsenal has a variety of attacking options.

1) Through the D-zone via Ramsey/Rosicky setting up RVP or them shooting.

2) wing play from both sides Walcot/Sagna or Gibbs/Chamberlain crossing either for headers or tap in or pulling ball back.

3) quick breaks utilizing pace by Walcot esp.

4) Vision.... Song playing lobs for forward to catch opponent on back foot because they always expect slow build up.

I must say that RVP has scored great volleys from this. Bro, my amateur analysis says if only Arsene could buy quality players his model could make Barca look ordinary.

By Robert Gorbachev Sibanda

Robin van Pierse's roots

They say goal-line video technology may be a reality soon. If you are Frank Lampard, this is good news. If you are a coach in the rural areas, this benefit is as good as a parachute on the moon.

Arsenal turned on the style once more, after an eye-brow raising 5-2 performance against Tottenham Hotspur last week. It was that Robin van Pierse, again, who grabbed the headlines with a very late winner in their 2-1 away win against Liverpool at Anfield.

I like van Pierse and his price tag and wages request are getting the necessary massage. Depending on how many eyes you watch football with, the temptation to sell, by Arsenal is there. It may not be the temptation to sell, but to accept. Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid are talking. That is not rocket science anyway.

Coming to your eyes, let's take a look at the Gunners' former players. Well, take just Samir Nasri. He was the hottest property last season until the move to the Citizens. He has since been ordinary. Among other factors, his limited game time and competition are to blame. van Pierse maybe leaving soon and the same fate awaits him.

Use another eye each time Arsenal play and place it on one Alex Song. This man drove Nasri. The same man controls van Pierse. He commands Arsenal. He is the heartbeat of the Emirates. 

For me, there are two best midfielders in the Barclays Premier League; Alex Song and Alex Song. Whoever buys Robin, as they should have done with Samir, should get Song along. Andy Carroll may seem way better that the Dutchman in the long run. 

Without Song, the Gunners will be playing for promotion in the Championship.

The State of Zim Football

Manchester United made a meal of dispatching non-league football team Crawley, out of the FA Cup with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford. It is easy to say that Man U did not need a sledge hammer to crush an ant, but if you asked Sir Alex his thought at 10 minutes before the end of that encounter, you would have been nearer the truth. Now its water under the bridge.

There is fresh rumours basically meant to rock the Arsenal boat before their big dates with Barcelona in the Champions League, the Carling Cup final, the FA Cup and the Barclays Premeir League title quest. Inter Milan are said to want Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin for big bucks. The rumours are notorious in many fronts. They mention huge figures for the pair, playing into Arsene Wenger's appetite for good business. The 2 played a pivotal role in beating Barca a few hours ago. The Gunners are addicted to cheap under aged players. van Persie spent a good time sidelined by injury and Arshavin is an off-form one day wonder who turned up on Wednesday. What does Inter really want, really?

For these reasons, the monger seem to strike a good cord to make good reason that Wenger will sell high and buy low. Frankly, Arsenal can afford to play without the 2. They can even do without a below Cesc Fabregas at the moment. They need to grow a new leader, and hopefully, they will be welcoming Frimpong in the new season. His relationship with Jack Wilshire and Alex Song will be very interesting to watch.

As for replacing van Persie and Arshavin, Wenger can do that by walking the streets of Paris and sign African French players for a song, of course. Moruane Chamakh and Nicklus Bendtner are good enough for target men. They will be finishers of repute in their class. For a teaser, Knowledge Musona of Kaizer Chiefs is one player the Gunners can do with. The Zimbabwean has an eye for goal and may benefit greatly from the supply of Wilshire, Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri and Song.

Talking of Zimbabwe, one of their traditional clubs, Zimbabwe Saints are back in Premier League after purchasing a $32 000, 00 franchise from Eagles Football Club. It is a welcome development for the country's marginalised second biggest city as that brings to 3 the number of top flight teams, after Bantu Rovers were relegated and Chicken Inn promoted. Faded giants, Highlanders FC are expected to continue a good run under new coach, Mkhuphali Masuku, who had a good last minute sprint at the end of last season.

Arsenal beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Emirates

Arsenal began the UEFA Champions League match taking the initiative and pushing forward very well and at the required pace at every opportunity. They were far more penetrative than their usual selves, motivated to win and trying to score early. Theo Walcott was the architect of their moves but it all ended in barrenness in front of goal.

Barcelona started cautiously in going forward but they made sure to press from upfront but they were content with slowing things down to break Gunners momentum. The Gunners should have been rewarded for their first 15 minute spell, but Barca came back strong settling and taking the initiative. Their intentions were underlined by Messi's dink missing the upright and then David Villa getting vital touches and spaces behind defensive lines.

Abidal's vital touch put off Robin van Persie after a flowing move involving Walcott and Cesc Fabregas. Messi set up Villa who beat the goalkeeper with a low shot in the 25th minute for the first goal. Pedro's back heel was well saved 3 minutes later before van Persie wasted a golden chance to equalise on a counter. Barca sieged the Arsenal half like a swam of bees, posing as much danger. A 37th minute goal attempt by Messi looked a genuine goal but was ruled offside, but Messi is class.

Gunners coach, Arsene Wenger, did well to have Emmanuel Eboue and Samir Nasri. Walcott's fine form and Jack playing with amazing maturity was a refreshing site. Arsenal should have compacted midfield with Fabregas, Wishire and Song anchoring play to close off all spaces for Messi. Messi played from almost a central defensive position and when the man comes with an attacking momentum from that deep, there is not much one can do. Villa and Pedro were running rings and tearing the Gunner defence to tatters.

Barcelona always attack starting from the back, with all offensive option flat and square before the attacking 3rd of the field. Defenders are drawn off good defending positions and then the acceleration from the forwards and midfielders explodes like a spring loaded effect with lethal effect. It is safe to assume they play a 1-5-5 formation with 2 extra guys beefing up attack to make 7 strikers at any given attacking move and the same happening when possession is lost, to give 7 defensive men in defence. So you can safely say Barca play a 1-7-7 formation if you like. They have extra personnel in each phase.

It took Andre Arshavin's introduction and artistry on the left to interplay with Gael Clichy to set up van Persie. The Ducth beat Valdes in the 77th minute at the near post with a clinical first touch strike to level matters. Arshavin came in with a classical finish with 7 minutes of play remaining, after receiving a neat pass from Nasri. Wilshire and Fabregas exchanges passes and sent through Nasri on the right. The Gunners smelt blood and became relentless in pressuring a rattled Barca, who did not know what hit them.
 
A late threat by Barca was smothered by the Gunners and it was such an incredible turn around of events. Arsenal now know Barcelona are beatable and the stage is set for the return leg in Spain in the 2nd leg. Today is celebration night but it is still a tall order to face a Barca seeking revenge.

Arsenal Blast Pathetic Blackpool.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

The Arsenal artillery could be seen launching attack after attack as Gunners played sleek one touch passing. Blackpool goalkeeper worked a little over-time making telling saves. Andre Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosiscky and Chamakh took turns to miss glaring opportunities or see their efforts saved. Walcott's double and Arshavin's penalty were enough for the first half.

The Arsenal defence were a pathetic lot, failing to thwart weak and occasional Blackpool build-ups. Blackpool, who were reduced to 10 men when a defender denied a goal-scoring opportunity to Chamakh, have a salary cap of GBP 10000,00 per week and it was not hard to see why. Blackpool conceded the 4th after Abu Diaby finished a well calculated cross. Walcott sliced through their defence and slotted a cool pass to the net.

Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas came in for Arshavin and Diaby hoping to add to the 5 goals already scored. Walcott was later replaced by Carlo Vela. The changes slowed down the match and Blackpool regrouped to decelerate Arsenal attacks.

Chamakh finally broke his duck scoring with a head after Carlos Vela earned a corner kick from a fine run.  The match picks up pace and for a moment, Blackpool seemed out-numbered. They nearly got their goal towards the end. Arsenal wasted a dozen chances themselves.

Is this a statement for Arsenal to say they have a shout of where the title will go, or that they are in it to win it?

Arsenal Blast Pathetic Blackpool.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

The Arsenal artillery could be seen launching attack after attack as Gunners played sleek one touch passing. Blackpool goalkeeper worked a little over-time making telling saves. Andre Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosiscky and Chamakh took turns to miss glaring opportunities or see their efforts saved. Walcott's double and Arshavin's penalty were enough for the first half.

The Arsenal defence were a pathetic lot, failing to thwart weak and occasional Blackpool build-ups. Blackpool, who were reduced to 10 men when a defender denied a goal-scoring opportunity to Chamakh, have a salary cap of GBP 10000,00 per week and it was not hard to see why. Blackpool conceded the 4th after Abu Diaby finished a well calculated cross. Walcott sliced through their defence and slotted a cool pass to the net.

Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas came in for Arshavin and Diaby hoping to add to the 5 goals already scored. Walcott was later replaced by Carlo Vela. The changes slowed down the match and Blackpool regrouped to decelerate Arsenal attacks.

Chamakh finally broke his duck scoring with a head after Carlos Vela earned a corner kick from a fine run.  The match picks up pace and for a moment, Blackpool seemed out-numbered. They nearly got their goal towards the end. Arsenal wasted a dozen chances themselves.

Is this a statement for Arsenal to say they have a shout of where the title will go, or that they are in it to win it?

Arsenal Blast Pathetic Blackpool.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]

The Arsenal artillery could be seen launching attack after attack as Gunners played sleek one touch passing. Blackpool goalkeeper worked a little over-time making telling saves. Andre Arshavin, Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosiscky and Chamakh took turns to miss glaring opportunities or see their efforts saved. Walcott's double and Arshavin's penalty were enough for the first half.

The Arsenal defence were a pathetic lot, failing to thwart weak and occasional Blackpool build-ups. Blackpool, who were reduced to 10 men when a defender denied a goal-scoring opportunity to Chamakh, have a salary cap of GBP 10000,00 per week and it was not hard to see why. Blackpool conceded the 4th after Abu Diaby finished a well calculated cross. Walcott sliced through their defence and slotted a cool pass to the net.

Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas came in for Arshavin and Diaby hoping to add to the 5 goals already scored. Walcott was later replaced by Carlo Vela. The changes slowed down the match and Blackpool regrouped to decelerate Arsenal attacks.

Chamakh finally broke his duck scoring with a head after Carlos Vela earned a corner kick from a fine run.  The match picks up pace and for a moment, Blackpool seemed out-numbered. They nearly got their goal towards the end. Arsenal wasted a dozen chances themselves.

Is this a statement for Arsenal to say they have a shout of where the title will go, or that they are in it to win it?