Round one draws to an end. The Bernabéu faithful roared. José Mourinho, as is his wont, chides those journalists who walked on his assistant the day before the game. But now that the dust has settled, what have we learned? And what does all this mean as we approach the bells for the second round?
As ever, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Real were on a high, and this was entirely understandable. They might have conceded the league, but few doubted they had any chance anyway. “It’s practically impossible now” said Alvaro Arbeloa after the game. As you were, then. “When will I get to take on this lot with eleven men” is the best summation of Mourinho’s sentiments.
But the gap had been bridged- 5 games, and three long years since they stuffed their Catalan rivals en route to a second successive title. A painful sequence of defeats; one by the odd goal, two by a brace, and two utter chasings, but almost all characterised by being out thought, out fought and outplayed all over the field. And to do it have played almost 40 minutes a man down, coming from behind made it taste all the sweeter. The possession statistics certainly told one story, but possession isn’t always everything; even, sometimes, for Barcelona.........................
Read the full article here on Back Page Football
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20 April 2011
05 April 2011
La Liga – todo mal vuelve
When José Mourinho decided to pick a fight with Manolo Preciado back in September, who would have predicted that the gruff Sporting técnico would have the last laugh in deciding the destination of this year’s championship, destroying the longest undefeated home league managerial record in history in the process? Not many, is the answer; Joseph Sexton is back to tell us why La Liga really is done and dusted this this time.
It had to happen. Nothing lasts forever. But what a ride it was. No other coach in the history of the sport could boast of such an achievement as that of of José Felix Mourinho; and it’s unlikely anyone else will. 150 home games. 0 defeats. From a 3-2 reversal exactly one month into his tenure at FC Porto on 23 February 2002, until Sporting Gijón rolled into the Bernabéu the day after April fool’s in 2011. 9 years, 1 months, and 10 days it took. And it was fitting that it was Manolo Preciado, the rugged, no-nonsense Sporting coach, who was in the opposite banquillo when the unthinkable occurred.
Read the full article here on Back Page Football
It had to happen. Nothing lasts forever. But what a ride it was. No other coach in the history of the sport could boast of such an achievement as that of of José Felix Mourinho; and it’s unlikely anyone else will. 150 home games. 0 defeats. From a 3-2 reversal exactly one month into his tenure at FC Porto on 23 February 2002, until Sporting Gijón rolled into the Bernabéu the day after April fool’s in 2011. 9 years, 1 months, and 10 days it took. And it was fitting that it was Manolo Preciado, the rugged, no-nonsense Sporting coach, who was in the opposite banquillo when the unthinkable occurred.
Read the full article here on Back Page Football
09 March 2011
La Liga: Pellegrini in Peril as Madrid march on
We’ve come to the end of a particularly hectic spell in La Liga, which culminated in a whopping 10 days of fixtures in the last 11. No less hectic were matters off the field, and two men have loomed larger than everyone else; Manuel Pellegrini and José Mourinho.
It’s a story that’s ebbed and flowed, with Mourinho apparently losing the plot prior to to the return of his Chilean predecessor to the Bernabéu in the face of some rather innoucuous questioning from a journalist during a press conference. “You’re a hypocrite!”, the Portuguese ventured having been pushed on his claims that the fixture compilers were out to get Real Madrid. The resumption of Marca’s vicious campaign against Pellegrini, and the Málaga técnico’s dignified public utterings, in the build-up cast him in a noble light. Erudite, humble, persecuted; how not to sympathise with this man?
Read the full article here on Back Page Football
It’s a story that’s ebbed and flowed, with Mourinho apparently losing the plot prior to to the return of his Chilean predecessor to the Bernabéu in the face of some rather innoucuous questioning from a journalist during a press conference. “You’re a hypocrite!”, the Portuguese ventured having been pushed on his claims that the fixture compilers were out to get Real Madrid. The resumption of Marca’s vicious campaign against Pellegrini, and the Málaga técnico’s dignified public utterings, in the build-up cast him in a noble light. Erudite, humble, persecuted; how not to sympathise with this man?
Read the full article here on Back Page Football
01 March 2011
La Liga round-up: Jornada 25
Remontada! One word summed up this weekend’s action in La Liga like no other. This was the weekend of the comeback. Not in the title race, where Real reverted to type by failing to win in A Coruña having broken their 19 year hoodoo in Galicia last term; but elsewhere we saw more swings than a well-stocked playground. So many, in fact, even those arch proponents of the anti-remontada, Atlético got a piece of the action. But it’s with the much maligned Monday night slot that we’ll begin.
Almería sat 19th going into the weekend. They’ve sunk like a stone while the sides around them had, for the most part, been slowly getting their collective acts together since the winter break. Having slipped to a draw that felt like a defeat against Deportivo the week before, they faced off against a Málaga side who’d snatched one that felt like a win at Villarreal in their previous outing. With the Andalusians lagging a point behind them at the foot of the table, neither side could afford to lose ground on Zaragoza and Gijon, who played out a draw on Saturday evening.
It all began so well for Almería. Inside ten minutes they were a goal to the good, Luna jinking his way down the left and his cross ultimately being knocked home by the on-loan Frenchman Sofiane Feghouli. And they continued to impress throughout the opening period, but imploded after the break.
It’s been a desperate time for Málaga’s trainer, Manuel Pellegrini. Unloved and chased out of town by Marca & AS despite securing the highest points haul in Real Madrid’s history last year, his remarkably successful reign at Villarreal seems largely- and unfairly- forgotten. His return to the Bernabéu in midweek can probably be chalked down as a defeat already, and with kinder fixtures awaiting his fellow strugglers, a result here was absolutely imperative.
His response? To turn to his winter signing, the former Juventus and Sevilla striker Enzo Maresca. The Italian’s goal record over the past three years hardly inspires confidence, but six minutes- and some wojus defending- later, he was at hand to level the game.
And here’s where it began to fall apart for the visitors. Leonardo Ulloa and Rodriguez both saw red. In between, Salómon Rondon was left unmarked to head his side into the lead. If the marking was suspect for the second, it was non-existent in stoppage time as Juanmí was given the freedom the penalty box to slam home emphatically. Little wonder then that Pellegrini couldn’t mask his delight after a win that lifted his side off the foot of the table.
“Of course I’m satisfied. We needed this win, above all at home. We’ve improved our situation. Hopefully we can now press on on the back of this momentum”. As for his return to Madrid, he remained inscrutable. “I will always be grateful to the Real faithful, I will always be proud of what we did manage to achieve in my time there. I will always feel lucky to have presided over a record-breaking campaign”.
Meanwhile, his former club may well have blown once and for all whatever slim chance they retained of overcoming Barcelona. Not that Marca, or anybody else for that matter, is clamouring to call for José Mourinho’s head on the back of that. No, with Jorge Valdano sidelined, the special one’s position seems more secure than ever. Even the cowed sporting director was at hand to back up the team’s efforts. The press- and the 70% of those polled on AS’s website who want the former Ballon d’Or winner out the gap come the summer- have channelled their frustrations on Kaká, who endured another poor evening before being hauled off on the hour mark.
In truth, this was a million miles from some of the horror shows Real have suffered over the years on their travels to the Riazor. They played well, probably well enough to have won several games, particularly so after Kaká’s exit. But a heroic display from goalkeeper Dani Aranzuiba- who lest it be forgotten, had scored to earn Depor that draw against Almería a week before- coupled with erratic finishing, and plain old bad luck, saw them slip back to seven points behind the champions. Mourinho blamed the fixture schedule at full time, much to the mirth of just about everybody. Cue a slew of interviews with, amongst others, Sevilla boss Gregorio Manzano telling everyone’s favourite mouthy Portuguese “¡Callate!”. “We’ve played four games in nine days, and you don’t hear me complaining!”. Barcelona president Sandro Rosell rowed in pithily on Monday “Pep never complains about this, and neither do our rugby team, our basketball players, or those in the NBA.”
Barcelona won, again. Well, okay; Mallorca certainly didn’t lie down, but once Messi opened the scoring the result was never in any doubt. Further goals from David Villa and Pedro Rodriguez probably make it look a lot easier than it was though, and their lack of cohesion in Xavi’s absence would have left the culés hoping that their midfield talisman will be well rested ahead of coming challenges.
We might well have seen the game of the week on Sunday, as Valencia staged another remontada against Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames. It was certainly an impressive performance by Los Ches. Juan Mata and recent recruit Jonas turned it around after Fernando Llorente had put the hosts ahead a quarter of hour in. That’s 8 out of the last 10 games where Valencia have scored in the final ten minutes, and their fourth comeback of the new year; not only that, but if Opta José is to be believed, they’ve now gained more points from losing positions than anyone else this season. And Joaquín put in an incredible shift.
Will this match be remembered for any of that, though? Not bloody likely. No, David Navarro saw to that with one of the most laughable pieces of playacting you will see anywhere this year, which had Bilbao’s starlet Mikel San José wondering whether the oscar for best actor should have gone his way, and Marca branding him as public enemy number one. How to even do it justice? You’ll have to view this one on youtube. How Joaquín managed to keep a straight face during when stating that he and his team-mates would defend the niggly little so-and-so “to the death” leads one to believe that he possesses a talent for deadpan stand-up that we’ve managed to overlook up until now.
Back to the comebacks, then. The aforementioned Atlético came back twice to draw at home to Sevilla, with José Antonio Reyes earning the point twelve minutes from time. Sevilla had, of course, staged the week’s greatest comeback-that-never-quite was in winning in Oporto, but bowed out of the Europa League on away goals midweek. Villarreal, who’d had to come back from Marek Hamsik’s opener to progress in the same competition against Napoli were at it again, with Nilmar equalising at the death away to a Racing side who continue to impress under the stewardship of Marcelino.
As for the papers; when they haven’t been screaming blue murder over Navarro or the activities of Arsenal’s youth recruitment policies, Serie A related transfers have been the staple. Inevitably, after his tremendous display in Udinese’s 7-0 routing of Palermo, much of this talk has centered on wideman Alexis Sánchez. Tuesday’s Sport reports that Barcelona face stiff competition from the likes of Milan, Juventus and Manchester United to sign the Chilean maestro for a rumoured 40 million euros. His coach Francesco Guidolin was quoted as saying that “we’ll have to see what happens [with Sánchez]. All this talk is bound to turn his head. What’s certain is that he is destined to become one of the best attackers in the world.”.
Meanwhile, the staggering, gin-slurring old lady Juventus could be planning a double swoop on Barcelona this summer. El Mundo Deportivo, regurgitating speculation from the Turin daily Tuttosport tells us that a move to convince Argentina captain Javier Mascherano and tomorrow’s next big thing, yesterday, Bojan Krkic to trade the blaugrana and trophies for the bianconeri and mid-table mediocrity next term is in offing. This, of course, ties in neatly with growing speculation that former Liverpudlian corner-flag decapitator and graduate from the Paul Scholes school of tackling, Momo Sissoko, will be on his way to Real in in the close season. Oh, and while we’re at it, that renowned attendee of the Bernard Hopkins school of annoyingly-speaking-of-one’s-self-in-the-third-person, Dani Alves, announced that “I can’t imagine a Dani Alves without el Barça”, leaving this column to point out, yet again, that this certainly did not seem the case when his agent was putting out feelers to Manchester City a couple of months back.
And a final ‘oh!’; Kaká’s father (also his agent) was quoted in Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport on Tuesday morning on the subject of his son moving back to his former club Milan, and refused to deny the rumours. “You’ll have to speak to [Milan CEO] Adriano Galliani. Is it possible? We’ll shall see.”
Results:
Atlético Madrid 2 Sevilla 2
Espanyol 4 Real Sociedad 1
Sporting Gijon 0 Real Zaragoza 0
Mallorca 0 Barcelona 3
Deportivo La Coruña 0 Real Madrid 0
Hércules 0 Getafe 0
Levante 2 Osasuna 1
Racing Santander 2 Villarreal 2
Athletic Bilbao 1 Valencia 2
Málaga 3 Almería 1
Midweek Fixtures:
Tuesday:
Espanyol v Mallorca
Sevilla v Sporting Gijon
Wednesday:
Getafe v Atlético Madrid
Osasuna v Deportivo La Coruña
Real Sociedad v Levante
Villarreal v Hércules
Real Zaragoza v Athletic Bilbao
Valencia v Barcelona
Thursday:
Almería v Racing Santander
Real Madrid v Málaga
06 February 2011
La Liga: Week 12 Review + Week 13 & El Clásico Preview
(This article originally appeared in Back Page Football on November 27th 2010
Round 12 of La Liga saw the top two pull ahead of the chasing pack with large victories on Saturday evening, but it was the earlier encounter between Villarreal and Valencia that saw this pair slip behind which provided the most gripping contest of the week. The host’s manager Juan Garrido refused to shake hands with his counterpart Unai Emery off the field. But on it the latter’s Valencia team came close to having the last laugh until Giuseppe Rossi popped up 17 minutes from time to secure a draw which, on balance, his side’s second-half dominance merited.
If the second half was Villarreal’s, then the first belonged to Valencia. Emery’s side employed a three man central defence which stifled the opposing attack. Meanwhile, Joaquín was in menacing form at the other end and it was the former Betis man who laid on the opener for Adrian Aduriz. After the winger cut back a tempting right-hand ball from the byline, Aduriz flicked the ball home despite the attention of three home defenders inside the six yard box. It may have taken a touch off a defender, but it would be churlish to deny the beauty of its execution.
Pablo wasted a decent chance to extend his side’s leads two minutes after the break, but his effort sailed over the bar. At this point the price of Emery’s robust strategy was beginning to tell, however. On-loan Borja Valero picked up a yellow card for Villarreal, but the overall foul count stood at a whopping 14-1 for the visitors. Valencia were forced deeper and deeper as the half progressed, practically parked on their own 18 yard line as the game entered the final quarter. But Villarreal were getting little change and their chronic inability to create anything from wide situations suggested that the game might be slipping beyond their grasp.
They had a weak penalty shout on the hour mark as Rossi burst through the centre, but the Italy striker appeared to have merely fallen over under minimal contact. Exactly ten minutes later, Nilmar sought to breach the blue lines, but having been forced wide and off balance, his shot lacked the power to really test César Sánchez. But then finally Bruno worked his way into some space on the left flank, curling in a superb ball which Rossi struck beautifully home on the volley to make it 1-1. A packed El Madrigal errupted into pandemonium; now the tide had turned decisively and it was all Valencia could do to hang on until the end.
And hang on they did, but only just. Stankevicius was sent-off for a second bookable offence after scything down Santi Cazorla on the left; from the ensuing free, Villarreal might have secured all three points. Meanwhile, a yellow count of 8-2 (and by now, 6-25 in fouls) tells you all you need to know of how perilous the visitors’ position had become. They sought and succeeded to turn the game into a dogfight, and managed to prevail. Late on Cazorla saw a powerful effort saved, and a preposterous dive from Ruben was as good as the hosts could muster as added time drew to a close.
Down in Almería, Barcelona ripped their hapless hosts to shred, and 8-0 margin matching the record for an away victory in the division. The opening exchanges proved to be nothing more than a phoney war; David Villa got two bites but failed to open the scoring on seven minutes. Right away, Almería broke and Pablo Piatti had a decent near-post effort saved.
That was as good as it got for the hosts. Amidst scene of defensive ineptitude that would make a League 2 side blush, they collapsed spectacularly to find themselves five goals down by the time the game had reached the 37th minute. Lionel Messi’s opener was arguably the pick of the bunch, the Argentine playing a neat one-two with Villa to drill home from outside the area. Iniesta doubled the pain two minutes later, before Acasiete turned the ball into his own net. Another double salvo saw Pedro and Messi extend the lead. At the break Guardiola took advantage of the opportunity to rest Xavi Hernández. Substitute Bojan produced two smart finishes, either side of Messi’s third on the night- his 101st league goal for the club- to compound Almería’s misery. Having effectively been given one final chance to save his job, it was hardly surprising to hear shortly after the conclusion that trainer Juanma Lillo would now be looking for a new one.
At the Bernebeu, Real were given a stern test yet still ran out 5-1 winners against Athletic. A preposterous scoreline -given the balance of chances and play, particularly in the opening 45 minutes- but one which underlines the growing menace of Real’s attack under Mourinho as the players gel. Higuaín exposed the visitors’ defensive inadequacies to open the scoring, and Ronaldo scored a fine goal to extend the lead on the half hour. But Fernando Llorente, who has been having a storming season to date, was proving a handful for Carvalho and Pepe. It no surprise when he popped up to head home and bring his side back into the game 5 minutes from the break. Game on, then.
Or not, as it transpired. On 57 minutes Real were awarded what has been called in some circles (mostly Basque and Catalan, it should be added) a soft penalty. To the chagrin of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos stepped up to despatch the kick.
But the man they call CR7 in Marca is more the incredible hulk than the incredible sulk these days, and this seemed only to spur him on. The force and swerve which he put on his 62nd minute free kick left Athletic keeper Iraizoz flapping in its wake as the pall pinged home. Maybe not the best of goalkeeping, but it would seem harsh to lay all the blame on the poor man minding the net. A late penalty saw Ronaldo match Messi’s earlier efforts, and reach the landmark of 50 league goals faster than any player in the club’s illustrious history.
The most striking result of the weekend was Sevilla’s 2-1 defeat at home to Mallorca, who now tail the Andalusians by just two points. Not a good result for the home side, but a great one for coach Gregorio Manzano’s former club, who never had much love for him during his stint there and have even less since he upped sticks to take on the Sevilla post.
Fortress Cornelia is the gift that keeps on giving for Espanyol. Yet another victory at their new fortress, 3-0 over Hercules, sees them move in to the Champions League berth bequeathed by Valencia. Deportivo, meanwhile, moved away from the relegation mire with a 3-0 thumping of Manuel Pellegrini’s Málaga. Levante also did their chances of survival no harm, coasting to a 3-1 victory over fella strugglers Racing Santander. Caceido’s brace for the hosts were the pick of the bunch, and Levante will need him in this form in order to remain in the top division. Elsewhere, Atlético continue to impress, with Forlán, Agüero and Simão all on target as the tonked Real Sociedad 4-2 in San Sebastien. Getafe and Zaragoza rounded off the weekend with a turgid 1-1 draw on Monday night’s graveyard shift.
Results:
Villarreal 1 Valencia 1
Almería 0 Barcelona 8
Real Madrid 5 Athletic Bilbao 1
Espanyol 3 Hercules 0
Osasuna 1 Sporting 0
Deportivo La Coruña 3 Malaga 0
Levante 3 Racing 1
Sevilla 1 Mallorca 2
Real Sociedad 2 Atlético Madrid 4
Getafe 1 Zaragoza 1
This Weekend
All of Spain’s three remaining Champions League sides scored big victories in midweek, but the only talking point was the conduct of Real Madrid in contriving to get Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso sent off for blatant time-wasting late on to wipe their card count ahead of the knockout stages. The sheer, brazen blatancy of it all has forced UEFA’s hand, and now charges have been laid at the players, manager and two further players- Iker Casillas and Jerzy Dudek- who appeared to pass on Mou’s instructions to his charges. The feeling in Madrid is that they might get any potential ban quashed on grounds of precedence; several years back, they found themselves in a similar situation but UEFA enacted no punishment in the end. Probably the most likely outcome here will be a fine, one which Real too will probably try to resist.
Going into this coming weekend’s 13th round of fixtures, it would the understatement to end all understatements to say games looms largest above all others; Sporting hosting Real Sociedad in Sunday’s 5pm CET kick off. Okay, all joking aside, we will begin without mentioning the big one for there are several other games worth looking out for. Saturday’s late kick-off see a buoyant Atlético host the ever improving Espanyol. Home form has been the key to the visitors success this season, but one feels that Atlético should prove to be too much for them here. Earlier that day, Sevilla will want desperately to get back to winning ways against a poor Getafe side. Likewise Villarreal; having taking just a point form their last two matches (admittedly, the first of those was at Barcelona) they will be presented with a fine opportunity to do so as they visit Zaragoza. Hércules and Levante on Sunday could prove to be a decent encounter, and neither side will want to cede ground as they sit just two and one point respectively above Málaga in the relegation zone.
So here we are then. El clásico. The world’s biggest club game, this time being billed by many as the single biggest club encounter of all time. If only those pesky porteños Boca Juniors and River Plater hadn’t already nicked the title ‘Superclásico’ you’d think they’d have gone for that. Surprisingly, for once, the papers and television people have exhibited some restraint in not plumping for El Super-Dooper-Clásico. Small mercies, and all that.
Leaving all the hype aside, this does promise to be something very special indeed. Both sides littered with current world cup holders, ballon d’or winners past, present and almost certainly future. The sheer concentration of talent, the contrast in styles, and the presence of José Mourinho on the sidelines, post-ban, all of this means that it couldn’t be anything less.
The sniping began almost immediately. When asked after the Bilbao game for his reaction to Almería’s thumping earlier on, Cristiano Ronaldo said “So Barcelona scored 8? Let’s see them do that next weekend”. Real’s defence has been miserly this season, and Barça’s only marginally less so. Both sides have scored 33 goals; Ronaldo leading the way in the league by 15-13 from Messi. Both sides already have more points than they did at this stage last season, when both went on to smash the previous record haul for a Liga campaign. Mourinho, speaking to the press ahead of the Ajax game said that his had been his best 12 days since joining Real, and he intended this to continue.
The temptation in some doom-mongering quarters is to suggest that Real will park the bus, and be content with the 0-0 to see them remain on top. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility, and it may well end scoreless, but this writer just doesn’t see it quite panning out that way. Much was made of last season’s Champions League second leg encounter. Necessitated by the expulsion of Thiago Motta, Mourinho’s Inter ceded possession to grind out the narrow defeat which saw them through. But people forget just how good Inter were in the first leg where, after falling behind, they simply blew the visitors away in a powerful, physical and deadly display of counter-attacking football. Last year’s Inter, in terms of the starting XI at least, were a superb team. But there is simply no comparison to be made between the attacking riches Mourinho possesses at Real. Ronaldo is looking unstoppable at present, and Angel di Maria has settled quickly and produced some sparkling football. Pipita Higuáin is scoring goals, and most importantly looking confident. Speaking to Newstalk 106’s Off The Ball, Graham Hunter suggested that it might be a possibility for Real to withdraw the effervescent Mesut Ozil, in order to beef up the midfield. This would make sense as Real will need to cut off the patterns weaved by Iniesta and Xavi in the engine room if they are to be able to bring their own stellar attack into play. Certainly, all the talk from Madrid, from the club and the press is that they feel ready to go to the Camp Nou and win. There will be goals in this one for sure. I’m going to put my neck out and go with the same prediction I made in my local cervesería’s sweepstakes- a 2-2 draw. So there you have it then, a nil-all snore-fest is what we’ll probably get.
Fixtures:
Saturday:
Zaragoza v Villarreal (18:00 CET)
Sevilla v Getafe (20:00 CET)
Atlético Madrid v Espanyol (22:00 CET)
Sunday (17:00 CET, unless stated otherwise)
Hércules v Levante
Mallorca v Málaga
Racing Santander v Deportivo La Coruña
Sporting Gíjon v Real Sociedad
Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna (19:00 CET)
Valencia v Almería (21:00 CET).
On, and of course, Monday:
Barcelona v Real Madrid (22:00 CET)
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Pablo wasted a decent chance to extend his side’s leads two minutes after the break, but his effort sailed over the bar. At this point the price of Emery’s robust strategy was beginning to tell, however. On-loan Borja Valero picked up a yellow card for Villarreal, but the overall foul count stood at a whopping 14-1 for the visitors. Valencia were forced deeper and deeper as the half progressed, practically parked on their own 18 yard line as the game entered the final quarter. But Villarreal were getting little change and their chronic inability to create anything from wide situations suggested that the game might be slipping beyond their grasp.
They had a weak penalty shout on the hour mark as Rossi burst through the centre, but the Italy striker appeared to have merely fallen over under minimal contact. Exactly ten minutes later, Nilmar sought to breach the blue lines, but having been forced wide and off balance, his shot lacked the power to really test César Sánchez. But then finally Bruno worked his way into some space on the left flank, curling in a superb ball which Rossi struck beautifully home on the volley to make it 1-1. A packed El Madrigal errupted into pandemonium; now the tide had turned decisively and it was all Valencia could do to hang on until the end.
And hang on they did, but only just. Stankevicius was sent-off for a second bookable offence after scything down Santi Cazorla on the left; from the ensuing free, Villarreal might have secured all three points. Meanwhile, a yellow count of 8-2 (and by now, 6-25 in fouls) tells you all you need to know of how perilous the visitors’ position had become. They sought and succeeded to turn the game into a dogfight, and managed to prevail. Late on Cazorla saw a powerful effort saved, and a preposterous dive from Ruben was as good as the hosts could muster as added time drew to a close.
Down in Almería, Barcelona ripped their hapless hosts to shred, and 8-0 margin matching the record for an away victory in the division. The opening exchanges proved to be nothing more than a phoney war; David Villa got two bites but failed to open the scoring on seven minutes. Right away, Almería broke and Pablo Piatti had a decent near-post effort saved.
That was as good as it got for the hosts. Amidst scene of defensive ineptitude that would make a League 2 side blush, they collapsed spectacularly to find themselves five goals down by the time the game had reached the 37th minute. Lionel Messi’s opener was arguably the pick of the bunch, the Argentine playing a neat one-two with Villa to drill home from outside the area. Iniesta doubled the pain two minutes later, before Acasiete turned the ball into his own net. Another double salvo saw Pedro and Messi extend the lead. At the break Guardiola took advantage of the opportunity to rest Xavi Hernández. Substitute Bojan produced two smart finishes, either side of Messi’s third on the night- his 101st league goal for the club- to compound Almería’s misery. Having effectively been given one final chance to save his job, it was hardly surprising to hear shortly after the conclusion that trainer Juanma Lillo would now be looking for a new one.
At the Bernebeu, Real were given a stern test yet still ran out 5-1 winners against Athletic. A preposterous scoreline -given the balance of chances and play, particularly in the opening 45 minutes- but one which underlines the growing menace of Real’s attack under Mourinho as the players gel. Higuaín exposed the visitors’ defensive inadequacies to open the scoring, and Ronaldo scored a fine goal to extend the lead on the half hour. But Fernando Llorente, who has been having a storming season to date, was proving a handful for Carvalho and Pepe. It no surprise when he popped up to head home and bring his side back into the game 5 minutes from the break. Game on, then.
Or not, as it transpired. On 57 minutes Real were awarded what has been called in some circles (mostly Basque and Catalan, it should be added) a soft penalty. To the chagrin of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos stepped up to despatch the kick.
But the man they call CR7 in Marca is more the incredible hulk than the incredible sulk these days, and this seemed only to spur him on. The force and swerve which he put on his 62nd minute free kick left Athletic keeper Iraizoz flapping in its wake as the pall pinged home. Maybe not the best of goalkeeping, but it would seem harsh to lay all the blame on the poor man minding the net. A late penalty saw Ronaldo match Messi’s earlier efforts, and reach the landmark of 50 league goals faster than any player in the club’s illustrious history.
The most striking result of the weekend was Sevilla’s 2-1 defeat at home to Mallorca, who now tail the Andalusians by just two points. Not a good result for the home side, but a great one for coach Gregorio Manzano’s former club, who never had much love for him during his stint there and have even less since he upped sticks to take on the Sevilla post.
Fortress Cornelia is the gift that keeps on giving for Espanyol. Yet another victory at their new fortress, 3-0 over Hercules, sees them move in to the Champions League berth bequeathed by Valencia. Deportivo, meanwhile, moved away from the relegation mire with a 3-0 thumping of Manuel Pellegrini’s Málaga. Levante also did their chances of survival no harm, coasting to a 3-1 victory over fella strugglers Racing Santander. Caceido’s brace for the hosts were the pick of the bunch, and Levante will need him in this form in order to remain in the top division. Elsewhere, Atlético continue to impress, with Forlán, Agüero and Simão all on target as the tonked Real Sociedad 4-2 in San Sebastien. Getafe and Zaragoza rounded off the weekend with a turgid 1-1 draw on Monday night’s graveyard shift.
Results:
Villarreal 1 Valencia 1
Almería 0 Barcelona 8
Real Madrid 5 Athletic Bilbao 1
Espanyol 3 Hercules 0
Osasuna 1 Sporting 0
Deportivo La Coruña 3 Malaga 0
Levante 3 Racing 1
Sevilla 1 Mallorca 2
Real Sociedad 2 Atlético Madrid 4
Getafe 1 Zaragoza 1
This Weekend
All of Spain’s three remaining Champions League sides scored big victories in midweek, but the only talking point was the conduct of Real Madrid in contriving to get Sergio Ramos and Xabi Alonso sent off for blatant time-wasting late on to wipe their card count ahead of the knockout stages. The sheer, brazen blatancy of it all has forced UEFA’s hand, and now charges have been laid at the players, manager and two further players- Iker Casillas and Jerzy Dudek- who appeared to pass on Mou’s instructions to his charges. The feeling in Madrid is that they might get any potential ban quashed on grounds of precedence; several years back, they found themselves in a similar situation but UEFA enacted no punishment in the end. Probably the most likely outcome here will be a fine, one which Real too will probably try to resist.
Going into this coming weekend’s 13th round of fixtures, it would the understatement to end all understatements to say games looms largest above all others; Sporting hosting Real Sociedad in Sunday’s 5pm CET kick off. Okay, all joking aside, we will begin without mentioning the big one for there are several other games worth looking out for. Saturday’s late kick-off see a buoyant Atlético host the ever improving Espanyol. Home form has been the key to the visitors success this season, but one feels that Atlético should prove to be too much for them here. Earlier that day, Sevilla will want desperately to get back to winning ways against a poor Getafe side. Likewise Villarreal; having taking just a point form their last two matches (admittedly, the first of those was at Barcelona) they will be presented with a fine opportunity to do so as they visit Zaragoza. Hércules and Levante on Sunday could prove to be a decent encounter, and neither side will want to cede ground as they sit just two and one point respectively above Málaga in the relegation zone.
So here we are then. El clásico. The world’s biggest club game, this time being billed by many as the single biggest club encounter of all time. If only those pesky porteños Boca Juniors and River Plater hadn’t already nicked the title ‘Superclásico’ you’d think they’d have gone for that. Surprisingly, for once, the papers and television people have exhibited some restraint in not plumping for El Super-Dooper-Clásico. Small mercies, and all that.
Leaving all the hype aside, this does promise to be something very special indeed. Both sides littered with current world cup holders, ballon d’or winners past, present and almost certainly future. The sheer concentration of talent, the contrast in styles, and the presence of José Mourinho on the sidelines, post-ban, all of this means that it couldn’t be anything less.
The sniping began almost immediately. When asked after the Bilbao game for his reaction to Almería’s thumping earlier on, Cristiano Ronaldo said “So Barcelona scored 8? Let’s see them do that next weekend”. Real’s defence has been miserly this season, and Barça’s only marginally less so. Both sides have scored 33 goals; Ronaldo leading the way in the league by 15-13 from Messi. Both sides already have more points than they did at this stage last season, when both went on to smash the previous record haul for a Liga campaign. Mourinho, speaking to the press ahead of the Ajax game said that his had been his best 12 days since joining Real, and he intended this to continue.
The temptation in some doom-mongering quarters is to suggest that Real will park the bus, and be content with the 0-0 to see them remain on top. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility, and it may well end scoreless, but this writer just doesn’t see it quite panning out that way. Much was made of last season’s Champions League second leg encounter. Necessitated by the expulsion of Thiago Motta, Mourinho’s Inter ceded possession to grind out the narrow defeat which saw them through. But people forget just how good Inter were in the first leg where, after falling behind, they simply blew the visitors away in a powerful, physical and deadly display of counter-attacking football. Last year’s Inter, in terms of the starting XI at least, were a superb team. But there is simply no comparison to be made between the attacking riches Mourinho possesses at Real. Ronaldo is looking unstoppable at present, and Angel di Maria has settled quickly and produced some sparkling football. Pipita Higuáin is scoring goals, and most importantly looking confident. Speaking to Newstalk 106’s Off The Ball, Graham Hunter suggested that it might be a possibility for Real to withdraw the effervescent Mesut Ozil, in order to beef up the midfield. This would make sense as Real will need to cut off the patterns weaved by Iniesta and Xavi in the engine room if they are to be able to bring their own stellar attack into play. Certainly, all the talk from Madrid, from the club and the press is that they feel ready to go to the Camp Nou and win. There will be goals in this one for sure. I’m going to put my neck out and go with the same prediction I made in my local cervesería’s sweepstakes- a 2-2 draw. So there you have it then, a nil-all snore-fest is what we’ll probably get.
Fixtures:
Saturday:
Zaragoza v Villarreal (18:00 CET)
Sevilla v Getafe (20:00 CET)
Atlético Madrid v Espanyol (22:00 CET)
Sunday (17:00 CET, unless stated otherwise)
Hércules v Levante
Mallorca v Málaga
Racing Santander v Deportivo La Coruña
Sporting Gíjon v Real Sociedad
Athletic Bilbao v Osasuna (19:00 CET)
Valencia v Almería (21:00 CET).
On, and of course, Monday:
Barcelona v Real Madrid (22:00 CET)
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La Liga Round-Up: Week 11
9This article originally appeared in Back Page Football on November 15th 2010. )
The most eagerly awaited match-up of the 11th round of games in La Liga took place at Camp Nou on Saturday night, with champions Barcelona hosting a Villarreal side in a rich vein of form. This writer was left faced with one of life’s more pleasant dilemmas; to cut the tale short, the lure of seeing up and coming New York hipsters The Drums won out, which means we won’t be focussing on the Blaugrana’s 3-1 victory in any depth. But happily Sunday’s encounter between Real and struggling Sporting Gijón, against the odds and all semblance of logic, turned out to be a cracker of a game with plenty of talking points. As the suspended José Mourinho glared down from the stands, Real, individually and collectively, appeared to fall back on some of their worst habits of recent years. But the manager will surely have cracked a wry smile as his side did what Mourinho sides always do; somehow, when the game and decisions appeared to conspiring against them, their determination saw them literally (note- not ‘literally’ in the Jamie Redknapp sense of word!)scramble over the line and win when the possibility of a humiliating defeat appeared palpable.
It wasn’t sexy. It wasn’t pretty. And a sulking Cristiano Ronaldo, whose only tangible contribution to the game aside from one moment of sheer brilliance was to incite the crowd in the aftermath of Alberto Botía’s injury time expulsion, cut a figure more akin to his infuriating 2004 vintage than that of the behemoth we’ve become accustomed to seeing in Real’s colours. Equally, Gonzalo Higuaín, who ludicrously transpired to be the match-winner appeared to be having one of those days which leaves the meringues’ faithful throwing their sunflower seeds to the ground in disgust, muttering all manner of obscenities; and seasoned followers of his precociously talented but at times strikingly ineffective compatriot Angel di María, would have read all the signs and felt this wasn’t going to be Real’s day. Ozil was below par too. But as it was, and with the exception of Ronaldo, the men in white refused to be dispirited and emerged victorious after a mammoth effort from the Rojiblancos.
It could have been very different. Aitor Karanka, the special one’s assistant, prowled the technical area with all the menace of a frightened chihuahua. Mourinho grimaced behind the tinted glass of the directors box, at one point flicking a v sign towards the home support. The outstanding Gastón Sangoy, who gave Marcelo a torrid evening on the right flank might have had the presence of mind to centre the ball on instead of blasting wide early in the second half. Moments later, Higuaín had a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside. But it was hard to find fault with Sangoy later in the half. From the same position, advancing in from the right wing, his low effort blazed just inches wide of Casillas’ far post.
The contrast between the Catalan and Madrid presses’ reaction was depressingly predictable. The Barcelona dailies recalled last weeks war of words between the two managers. ‘Ganada Canalla’, the insult directed at Mourinho as Manolo Preciado finally lost his temper at Mourinho’s constant provocations, ran the headline in Sport. It’s an antiquated term, but probably best translated as villain. A villainous victory. The Madrid press, not surprisingly emphasised the positives, the winning mentality Mourinho has brought to the club. But perhaps Mou should choose his battles more carefully in future; after accusing Sporting of rolling over against Barcelona, they played out of their skins last night.
The game was intriguing. Aside from the level of technique on display, it resembled an exciting Premiership contest. Sporting out-Mourinhod Madrid when not in possession, squeezing the space and cutting off the more dangerous passing options. But they weren’t content just to sit back; every time a Madrid attack broke down, they looked to get the ball forward quickly. But for a lack of guile in the final third, they might easily have broke the deadlock.
Meanwhile Madrid were equally manful in trying to initiate rapid counter-attacks. Juan Pablo, perhaps unfairly blamed in some quarters for his part in the night’s only goal performed heroics. Higuaín was thwarted on several occasions, and a rasping di María effort early in the second half was turned behind for a corner. At the other end, Casillas dropped a clanger and played a near-suicidal pass to Carvalho with a Sporting forward bearing down on the Portuguese. It was end to end stuff, and the fun didn’t end when the goal finally came.
It was the introduction of the much maligned Karim Benzema for di María that proved to be the catalyst. Moments after arriving, he tested Juan Pablo with a rasping drive from distance. Later he was penalised for handball whilst trying to create an opening for his team-mates, although the ball appeared to strike his shoulder. It appears Mourinho’s harsh words earlier this season about the young Frenchman are beginning to pay dividends. On 82 minutes, Sergio Ramos swung a cross into the box from the right; the sort of cross which had thus far been meat and drink to the Sporting defence. But Benzema rose above his marker at the far post and powered a header towards the goal. Juan Pablo got a strong hand to it, but it wasn’t enough. With the ball already trickling over the goal-line, Higuaín stole the Frenchman’s glory by prodding home.
The the fun wasn’t over yet. Barral went close with a header with Casillas grateful to hear the referee’s whistle after he made a pigs ear of collecting the ball. Immediately Higuaín threatened on the counter, but this time the assistant was justified in raising his flag. Ronaldo, who had resorted at times to kicking opponents in frustration- on one occasion, winning a free when a card for the Portuguese would have been more appropriate- drew a foul from Botía deep in injury time. It was cynical and late, the sort of tackle that might merit a yellow in Britain but is generally worth a red in those parts of the world where referees don’t take an á la carte approach to FIFA directives. But his reaction, all pumped fists and beating of chest was a display of motivation conspicuously absent in his preceding 93 minutes on the pitch.
In the end, Real closed the game down. Immediately after the goal, Higuaín made way for Lassana Diarra and shortly afterwards Ozil was replaced by Arbeloa. Casillas and assorted Madrid players drew the ire of the home side by taking the proverbial in wasting time at every opportunity, which the referee deigned not to sanction. It had been a marvellous game, particularly in the second half. But, although Mourinho may have been in the stands the late substitutions were true to his instincts and Real closed the deal expertly. It was a hell of a battle. The final statistics showed possession and goal chances to be more or less even, But with just two weeks to go to El Clásico Madrid remain one point ahead of Barça. And for the first time in Pep Guardiola’s tenure, they can justifiably dream of victory, But more on that later.
As for Barça, this writer’s temptations to attend were tempered somewhat by the uncertainty of what would transpire. Would Villarreal give it a real go for thirty minutes but end up shipping three or four? In the end they did ship three, but the game was closer than one might have feared. Villa gave Barça the lead on 22 minutes, only for Nilmar to equalise 4 minutes later. Messi and Xavi were imperious throughout, but it took 58 minutes for the Argentine to restore the home side’s lead. A comeback by the visitors still remained a possibility, but Messi finally settled the crowd’s nerves with an 83rd minute strike. Ronaldo’s hot-streak may have cooled this weekend, but the Argentine’s show no signs of slowing.
Elsewhere, Hercules secured the points with an impressive comeback at home to Real Sociedad. David Trezeguet turned back the clock to produce a classic finish to level matters just after the break. On 51 minutes, Royston Drenthe struck a belter of a free kick which proved to be the decider. But the game was marred by sad scenes at pitch-side later on when a ballboy collapsed. With the well documented spate of deaths due to SADS and near death experiences in Spanish football in recent times in unprecedented numbers, people feared the worst initially. Thankfully, it transpired that the ballboy had suffered an epileptic fit, and has recovered.
Mallorca v Malaga and Racing v Espanyol proved to be bore draws, with Espanyol indebted to keeper Kameni’s penalty save to secure a point. Alavaro Negredo paid back a chunk of his hefty transfer fee to net a last minute winner for a ten-man Sevilla at Zaragoza. Costa scored a stunning opener as Valencia ran out 2-0 winners against Getafe at the Mestalla.
The story of the week has really been the war of words before and after the game between José Mourinho and his counterpart Preciado. As Sid Low’s piece which has just gone live on the Guardian’s football site deals fantastically with this entertaining fiasco, we’ll skip that here. But the other main talking points of the week were the rather suspicious happenings at FIFA, where, already under a cloud of suspicion over alleged collusion, the president of the Spanish Football Federation was seen to pass a note to his Qatari counterpart reading ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Hemos ganado’. – “We won!”. Needless to say, both deny that there was anything untoward in this, and in truth the story has barely been mentioned in the spanish press. Finally, the upcoming clásico has been moved to Monday due to the Catalan elections taking place on the Sunday of that week, the originally scheduled date. “We’re going to have up to 80,000 volunteers working for us that day, many of them Barcelona fans”, said a local Politco, understatedly. “It wouldn’t be fair to deny them to chance to see this game”. Quite right.
Other results:
Athletic Bilbao 1 Almeria 0
Atlético Madrid 3 Osasuna 0
Malaga 1 Levante 0
(Manuel Pellegrini’s first win at his new post, courtesy a a wonderful strike from Eliseu)
Follow me on Twitter here.
It wasn’t sexy. It wasn’t pretty. And a sulking Cristiano Ronaldo, whose only tangible contribution to the game aside from one moment of sheer brilliance was to incite the crowd in the aftermath of Alberto Botía’s injury time expulsion, cut a figure more akin to his infuriating 2004 vintage than that of the behemoth we’ve become accustomed to seeing in Real’s colours. Equally, Gonzalo Higuaín, who ludicrously transpired to be the match-winner appeared to be having one of those days which leaves the meringues’ faithful throwing their sunflower seeds to the ground in disgust, muttering all manner of obscenities; and seasoned followers of his precociously talented but at times strikingly ineffective compatriot Angel di María, would have read all the signs and felt this wasn’t going to be Real’s day. Ozil was below par too. But as it was, and with the exception of Ronaldo, the men in white refused to be dispirited and emerged victorious after a mammoth effort from the Rojiblancos.
It could have been very different. Aitor Karanka, the special one’s assistant, prowled the technical area with all the menace of a frightened chihuahua. Mourinho grimaced behind the tinted glass of the directors box, at one point flicking a v sign towards the home support. The outstanding Gastón Sangoy, who gave Marcelo a torrid evening on the right flank might have had the presence of mind to centre the ball on instead of blasting wide early in the second half. Moments later, Higuaín had a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside. But it was hard to find fault with Sangoy later in the half. From the same position, advancing in from the right wing, his low effort blazed just inches wide of Casillas’ far post.
The contrast between the Catalan and Madrid presses’ reaction was depressingly predictable. The Barcelona dailies recalled last weeks war of words between the two managers. ‘Ganada Canalla’, the insult directed at Mourinho as Manolo Preciado finally lost his temper at Mourinho’s constant provocations, ran the headline in Sport. It’s an antiquated term, but probably best translated as villain. A villainous victory. The Madrid press, not surprisingly emphasised the positives, the winning mentality Mourinho has brought to the club. But perhaps Mou should choose his battles more carefully in future; after accusing Sporting of rolling over against Barcelona, they played out of their skins last night.
The game was intriguing. Aside from the level of technique on display, it resembled an exciting Premiership contest. Sporting out-Mourinhod Madrid when not in possession, squeezing the space and cutting off the more dangerous passing options. But they weren’t content just to sit back; every time a Madrid attack broke down, they looked to get the ball forward quickly. But for a lack of guile in the final third, they might easily have broke the deadlock.
Meanwhile Madrid were equally manful in trying to initiate rapid counter-attacks. Juan Pablo, perhaps unfairly blamed in some quarters for his part in the night’s only goal performed heroics. Higuaín was thwarted on several occasions, and a rasping di María effort early in the second half was turned behind for a corner. At the other end, Casillas dropped a clanger and played a near-suicidal pass to Carvalho with a Sporting forward bearing down on the Portuguese. It was end to end stuff, and the fun didn’t end when the goal finally came.
It was the introduction of the much maligned Karim Benzema for di María that proved to be the catalyst. Moments after arriving, he tested Juan Pablo with a rasping drive from distance. Later he was penalised for handball whilst trying to create an opening for his team-mates, although the ball appeared to strike his shoulder. It appears Mourinho’s harsh words earlier this season about the young Frenchman are beginning to pay dividends. On 82 minutes, Sergio Ramos swung a cross into the box from the right; the sort of cross which had thus far been meat and drink to the Sporting defence. But Benzema rose above his marker at the far post and powered a header towards the goal. Juan Pablo got a strong hand to it, but it wasn’t enough. With the ball already trickling over the goal-line, Higuaín stole the Frenchman’s glory by prodding home.
The the fun wasn’t over yet. Barral went close with a header with Casillas grateful to hear the referee’s whistle after he made a pigs ear of collecting the ball. Immediately Higuaín threatened on the counter, but this time the assistant was justified in raising his flag. Ronaldo, who had resorted at times to kicking opponents in frustration- on one occasion, winning a free when a card for the Portuguese would have been more appropriate- drew a foul from Botía deep in injury time. It was cynical and late, the sort of tackle that might merit a yellow in Britain but is generally worth a red in those parts of the world where referees don’t take an á la carte approach to FIFA directives. But his reaction, all pumped fists and beating of chest was a display of motivation conspicuously absent in his preceding 93 minutes on the pitch.
In the end, Real closed the game down. Immediately after the goal, Higuaín made way for Lassana Diarra and shortly afterwards Ozil was replaced by Arbeloa. Casillas and assorted Madrid players drew the ire of the home side by taking the proverbial in wasting time at every opportunity, which the referee deigned not to sanction. It had been a marvellous game, particularly in the second half. But, although Mourinho may have been in the stands the late substitutions were true to his instincts and Real closed the deal expertly. It was a hell of a battle. The final statistics showed possession and goal chances to be more or less even, But with just two weeks to go to El Clásico Madrid remain one point ahead of Barça. And for the first time in Pep Guardiola’s tenure, they can justifiably dream of victory, But more on that later.
As for Barça, this writer’s temptations to attend were tempered somewhat by the uncertainty of what would transpire. Would Villarreal give it a real go for thirty minutes but end up shipping three or four? In the end they did ship three, but the game was closer than one might have feared. Villa gave Barça the lead on 22 minutes, only for Nilmar to equalise 4 minutes later. Messi and Xavi were imperious throughout, but it took 58 minutes for the Argentine to restore the home side’s lead. A comeback by the visitors still remained a possibility, but Messi finally settled the crowd’s nerves with an 83rd minute strike. Ronaldo’s hot-streak may have cooled this weekend, but the Argentine’s show no signs of slowing.
Elsewhere, Hercules secured the points with an impressive comeback at home to Real Sociedad. David Trezeguet turned back the clock to produce a classic finish to level matters just after the break. On 51 minutes, Royston Drenthe struck a belter of a free kick which proved to be the decider. But the game was marred by sad scenes at pitch-side later on when a ballboy collapsed. With the well documented spate of deaths due to SADS and near death experiences in Spanish football in recent times in unprecedented numbers, people feared the worst initially. Thankfully, it transpired that the ballboy had suffered an epileptic fit, and has recovered.
Mallorca v Malaga and Racing v Espanyol proved to be bore draws, with Espanyol indebted to keeper Kameni’s penalty save to secure a point. Alavaro Negredo paid back a chunk of his hefty transfer fee to net a last minute winner for a ten-man Sevilla at Zaragoza. Costa scored a stunning opener as Valencia ran out 2-0 winners against Getafe at the Mestalla.
The story of the week has really been the war of words before and after the game between José Mourinho and his counterpart Preciado. As Sid Low’s piece which has just gone live on the Guardian’s football site deals fantastically with this entertaining fiasco, we’ll skip that here. But the other main talking points of the week were the rather suspicious happenings at FIFA, where, already under a cloud of suspicion over alleged collusion, the president of the Spanish Football Federation was seen to pass a note to his Qatari counterpart reading ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Hemos ganado’. – “We won!”. Needless to say, both deny that there was anything untoward in this, and in truth the story has barely been mentioned in the spanish press. Finally, the upcoming clásico has been moved to Monday due to the Catalan elections taking place on the Sunday of that week, the originally scheduled date. “We’re going to have up to 80,000 volunteers working for us that day, many of them Barcelona fans”, said a local Politco, understatedly. “It wouldn’t be fair to deny them to chance to see this game”. Quite right.
Other results:
Athletic Bilbao 1 Almeria 0
Atlético Madrid 3 Osasuna 0
Malaga 1 Levante 0
(Manuel Pellegrini’s first win at his new post, courtesy a a wonderful strike from Eliseu)
Follow me on Twitter here.
This Blog has been dead for long enough!
Sorry folks, I stopped posting my articles here quite some time ago. And then, for a while, whilst studying abroad, I just stopped writing full stop.
I'm back on the saddle now, and have been covering Spanish football for a variety of outlets. Principally, I am the Spanish Football correspondent for Back Page Football
I also write for two other blogs: 90 Minutes Plus Injury Time;
And soon, the new site of the vagabond and much-travelled ex-Arsenal player, Rohan Ricketts, Column 10.
In addition, I've recently guested on the United States' number one daily Soccer radio and podcast show, World Football Daily.
And as far now, I'm going to bring this blog up to date with what I've been writing lately, plus my spot on World Football Daily.
16 March 2009
Jon Stewart v Jim Cramer
Television gold from Comedy Central.
Yesterday's Observer had this to say:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
America cheers as satirist delivers knockout blow to TV finance gurus
For the past 10 days the US has been gripped. Even President Obama tuned in as the country's foremost TV comic, Jon Stewart, unleashed an extraordinary broadside against TV's top financial commentators for their part in the unfolding economic crisis.
First came the imperial marching music and a fiery explosion. "You've watched snippets of them for days, or meant to after your friends sent you the link," a voice boomed with mock gravity. "Tonight, the week-long feud of the century comes to a head."
It was a comically absurd drumroll for what, on the surface, was merely a squabble between TV presenters. In one corner, Jim Cramer, the closest thing to a celebrity in American financial journalism. In the opposite corner, Jon Stewart, the satirist and host of the fake news programme The Daily Show on Comedy Central. But unlike many a big fight, this one more than surpassed the hype. Nothing less than financial reporting itself was put on trial – and found severely wanting.
Cramer, who dispenses raucous advice to investors on the Mad Money show on the business channel CNBC, was eviscerated by a serious and genuinely angry Stewart. Meek and contrite, Cramer was pummelled like a rope-a-dope over his profession's failure to be an effective watchdog of Wall Street. There was no cornerman to throw in the towel.
The interview was one of those classic television moments that crystallised the public mood in the credit crisis. Stewart articulated the anger and bewilderment of millions of Americans who now feel ripped off and afraid. He framed the question everyone wanted asked: how were the financial masters of the universe allowed to pursue their ruinous behaviour unchallenged for so long?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the rest of the artice here
And see it for yourself below.
Yesterday's Observer had this to say:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
America cheers as satirist delivers knockout blow to TV finance gurus
For the past 10 days the US has been gripped. Even President Obama tuned in as the country's foremost TV comic, Jon Stewart, unleashed an extraordinary broadside against TV's top financial commentators for their part in the unfolding economic crisis.
First came the imperial marching music and a fiery explosion. "You've watched snippets of them for days, or meant to after your friends sent you the link," a voice boomed with mock gravity. "Tonight, the week-long feud of the century comes to a head."
It was a comically absurd drumroll for what, on the surface, was merely a squabble between TV presenters. In one corner, Jim Cramer, the closest thing to a celebrity in American financial journalism. In the opposite corner, Jon Stewart, the satirist and host of the fake news programme The Daily Show on Comedy Central. But unlike many a big fight, this one more than surpassed the hype. Nothing less than financial reporting itself was put on trial – and found severely wanting.
Cramer, who dispenses raucous advice to investors on the Mad Money show on the business channel CNBC, was eviscerated by a serious and genuinely angry Stewart. Meek and contrite, Cramer was pummelled like a rope-a-dope over his profession's failure to be an effective watchdog of Wall Street. There was no cornerman to throw in the towel.
The interview was one of those classic television moments that crystallised the public mood in the credit crisis. Stewart articulated the anger and bewilderment of millions of Americans who now feel ripped off and afraid. He framed the question everyone wanted asked: how were the financial masters of the universe allowed to pursue their ruinous behaviour unchallenged for so long?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read the rest of the artice here
And see it for yourself below.
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