O Clássico – Battle of the big guns

My preview of the Portuguese title decider for Back Page Football

It couldn’t have been scripted better. All season long in Portugal’s Primeira Liga, Benfica and Porto have been clear at the top. Neither side have been beaten, and neither have let up, leaving surprise package Paços de Ferreira trailing in their wake. Now in the penultimate round of games, they go head to head.

When the Lisbon side took on sixth place Estoril on Monday night knowing a win would restore their 4 point lead over their northern rivals, they finally blinked.

In the end, they couldn’t overturn Jefferson’s opener. 1-1 it finished. giving fresh life to the battle at the top. On Saturday night, they travel to the dragon’s den for a clássico that will define the domestic season. Win and Benfica will be crowned champions; lose and they’ll surrender control of their destiny.

The stakes could not be higher for Jorge Jésus’s side. On Wednesday, they’ll take on Chelsea in the Europa League final. Ten days later, they’ll duke it out with Guimarães in the final of the Portuguese Cup. Navigate the coming fortnight, and they’ll emulate André Villas-Boas’ treble winning campaign of 2011. But after a hard-fought campaign, they could end up with nothing.

All or nothing. Jésus has endured his ups and downs in his four years at the helm. For better or worse, he’s been defined by his stunning first season, when a free-wheeling, attacking Benfica side ran riot to claim their first league crown in five seasons.

The problem is that they’ve never quite scaled the same heights. A year later, they had to endure the triple coronation of Porto. They even missed the boat on an all-Portuguese Europa League final in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, falling to SC Braga in the semi-finals.

That first season left him with enough credit in the bank to continue, and they excelled for three quarters of last season. Having dumped Manchester United out in the group stages, they gave Chelsea an almighty scare before bowing out in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. But then fatigue caught up, leaving Porto to steal a march on the home stretch.

His opposite number, Vítor Pereira, is also no stranger to the vagaries of fate. Number two to Villas-Boas, his elevation owed more to circumstance than design. The timing of Villas-Boas departure caught the club hierarchy by surprise. Domingos Paciência would been their first choice but after quitting Braga, he’d already taken charge at Sporting.

The president Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa opted for continuity. But Pereira endured a testing start to the campaign. Despite holding on to all but Radamel Falcao from the treble side, they flopped in the Champions League. With Domingos Paciência available again, Pinto da Costa’s patience was wearing thin.

Their subsequent title defence sparked a change of heart.

Both sides entered the season depleted following the summer transfer market. For Porto, that meant losing Hulk, the driving force behind recent successes. This is a fact of life in Portuguese football, and one against which Porto have repeatedly proven adept at insuring themselves.

His replacement was already waiting there, in the wings. The Colombian James Rodríguez had steadily assumed greater responsibility in the side last term. This season he’s not been found wanting in the Brazilian’s absence, chipping in with 10 league goals.

Matters proved tougher for Benfica. Having already lost Javi García to Manchester City, Zenit St Petersburg came in with an 11^th hour bid to meet Axel Witsel’s buyout clause. With the Portuguese transfer window already shut, they were in no position to reinforce.

But Jésus has adapted. Without those two guarding the defence, the task has fallen to Nemanja Matic and Enzo Pérez; the latter of whom is expected to return from injury this weekend. The step-up proved too great in the Champions League, where they finished behind Barcelona and Celtic in their group.

But domestically, having played with a solitary striker in recent times, we’ve seen a return to a more attacking style by necessity. Oscar Cardozo, the beanpole Paraguayan, had continued to bang in the goals. Alongside him, the Brazilian Lima has been in scintillating form in their 4-4-2.

Porto’s template remains 4-3-3. With James injured in their previous encounter in January, a thrilling 2-2 draw, Pereira opted to play Steven Defour in a spoiling role on the right.

The Belgian has failed to nail down a consistent starting place, so expect to see a midfield three here with Fernando at the base. Lucho González will pull the strings alongside a standout performer from last summer’s European Championships, João Moutinho.

Alex Sandro has been passed fit at left back and his work down the left flank with Silvestre Varela ensures a busy evening for Benfica’s right-back Lorenzo Malgarejo. Nicolás Gaitán, Benfica’s main creative outlet, has to keep his defensive discipline to assist on that side of the park.

At the tip of the Porto attack, the Colombia international Jackson Martínez has been in exceptional form, finding the net on 33 occasions in all competitions – including one in these sides’ last meeting  at Benfica’s Estádio da Luz.

The clash will define both sides’ seasons, and most likely the future both coaches. Vítor Pereira – linked yesterday with a move to Everton – has nothing else to play for. Equally, he knows his chances of staying in his post hinges on the outcome here. Having played 47 games this season to Benfica’s 56, their freshness – and home advantage – offers them the edge.

Jorge Jésus, for his part has everything to lose. But he refused to dwell on talk of ‘dark clouds’ following Monday night’s draw. Speaking on Thursday, he was clear where his focus lies:

Outside of Portugal, it’s true that winning the Europa League is more recognised; but our priority has been the league title from day one.

If they go all the way to claim a treble to match Porto’s two years ago, no doubt he’ll be hailed as a messiah. But should they bomb, he knows he can expect to be crucified by the Benfiquistas.

Kick-off: Saturday 20:30 GMT

Probable Teams

Porto: Hélton; Danilo, Mangala, Otamendi, Alex Sandro; Lucho González, Fernando, Moutinho: James Rodríguez, Jackson Martínez; Varela

Benfica: Artur; Pereira, Jardel, Garay, Malgarejo; Sálvio, Matic, Pérez, Gaitán; Lima, Cardozo

Referee: Pedro Proença. Will be in the spotlight here. In last season’s run-in, he over-ruled his linesman to allow Maicon’s winner for Porto to stand when these sides met with the title in play. Subsequent replays showed the assistant had been correct.

Spanish Inquest: Best of Enemies

My column for Eircom SportsHub

Antoine Griezmann has been in exceptional form for Real Sociedad

This weekend’s Basque derby is full of significance. Clashes between Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad are always to be savoured, but this one will be the last at Bilbao’s cathedral San Mamés. Come next season they’ll be moving to a new home adjacent to this storied ground.

It also marks Marcelo Bielsa’s 100th game in charge- his longest time at the helm of any club. It’s fair to say matters have been more trying this term, something the Argentine readily conceded to the press pack on Thursday. “In evaluating my work this season, the conclusion is negative”.

It’s a different story up the road in San Sebastian where Phillippe Montanier has lead his side to sixth position. The Frenchman was criticised earlier in the season for his side’s perceived lack of ambition amidst underwhelming results. But of late, it’s their fluid attackers who’ve been drawing the praise.

Clearly, their key man remains the France underage international Antoine Griezmann. Last year, he’d had his head turned and his performances suffered as a result. This season, he’s regained his focus and whether playing in a fixed position or roaming free, he’s been a real nuisance to opposing defences.

It’s not just the prospect of Griezmann that will have had Athletic’s porous backline sweating. Imanol Agirretxe’s chipped in with 5 goals off the bench, and then there’s the former Arsenal man, Carlos Vela.

The Mexican finally seems to have found himself a home after multiple loan moves during his time in London. The penalty he won- and converted- in last week’s 1-1 draw with Levante was his 10th in the league to date.

Vela is another who likes to drift across the attacking line in games in order to elude his markers. His dribbling ability and intelligent link-up play are his principal assets, but this year he’s really grown as a finisher and enjoying getting frequent time on the pitch.

Athletic’s recent form has been wretched. The defence has been a calamity all season, but  further up the field their pressing game- so central last season’s success- had been an abject failure. The frequency of their concession of goalscoring chances stems largely from this. Once the initial press is beaten, their defence has too often been all at sea.

Eyebrows were raised when their stalwart between the sticks, Gorka Iraizoz, was absent from the selection for last weekend’s 1-0 reverse at Málaga. It’s true that he didn’t enjoy the best of times in their 4-0 defeat here against Espanyol, and has been unsure in several other games since the turn of the year.

Bielsa refused to give his thoughts, instead stating that “Gorka is a player with a lot of character. And I’m not one to give up my thoughts in public on selections and line-ups before I tell it to the players themselves”. But youngster Kepa- who described the Athletic goalkeeping shirt as ‘sacred’- look certain to start.

Meanwhile, the whole Fernando Llorente saga continues. Next year, he’ll be leading the line for Juventus. For the time being, it’s hard to see what he has to do to get himself back into Bielsa’s plans.

“Llorente will be available, as will [defender, Fernando] Amorebieta”. The fact that Llorente didn’t train with the first team on Wednesday should confirm another frustrating night on the bench for the Spain striker.

Fortunately for Athletic his stand-in, Aritz Aduriz has been in exceptional form this term, with the former Valencia man contributing 12 goals; their next highest scorer is Mikel San José, the former Liverpool centre back.

Certainly, they can do with all the help they can get in attack. Óscar De Marcos is still a doubt, and Carlos Gurpegui- never much of a goal threat- limped off in the defeat in Málaga. Iker Muniain has been off the boil all season, and may not even make the starting line-up here.

Meanwhile, La Real’s Uruguayan attacker Chory Castro was talking big in Wednesday’s press conference. “I can’t tell you how much I want to win at San Mamés. They’re down at the moment and we have to make sure they don’t get up”

“They’ll want to pick themselves up so it’s up to us to make sure they can’t. If we have the opportunity to stick away two or three goals, then fine... we’ll do just that because that’s our job.”

Big words indeed, but given Athletic’s travails of late one wouldn’t put it past him and his team-mates to make this another excruciating night for the home side.

Original article here on Eircom SportsHub

Spanish Inquest: Clash of the continents

My column for Eircom SportsHub

Edinson Cavani has yet to strike up a partnership with Luis Suárez for Uruguay

Another slice of history beckons for Vicente Del Bosque on Wednesday. When Spain take the field against Uruguay it will mark the occasion of his 68th match in charge of La Roja - equalling the record set by Ladislao Kubala.

 

Unlike the Hungarian maestro, Del Bosque has laid his hands on international football's most glittering prizes. His side will face off against one of the great names in this arena, the Copa América holders of Oscar Washington Tábarez, as the first world champions meet the last.

 

In the last international cycle, this was the clash we were denied: the champions of Europe versus the champions of South America. They came close, but ultimately Brazil and Spain's paths never crossed. In the Confederations Cup, Spain were eliminated by the USA while Dunga's Brazil side fell to Holland in 45 minutes of madness in Port Elizabeth.

 

This doesn't quite have the same glamour billing as the clash that never was, and not just because for all their incredible successes Uruguay lack the cachet of Brazil. That terrific run which saw them make the semi-finals in South Africa and culminated with a record 15th continental title in Buenos Aires has petered out as the Celeste undergo a difficult generational change.

 

It looked to be going so well. Fresh from their success, Uruguay began the marathon South America qualifying section like a train. Moreover, they had the Olympics to look forward to as they looked to bed in the next generation talent from their underage squads.

 

But just as the senior side began to falter, the U23 selection endured a torrid time of it in London when the youngsters failed to step up and a heayweight frontline of Luís Suárez and Edinson Cavani failed to gel. Amomgst the pre-tournament favourites, they failed to progress beyond a navigable group.

 

Spain's exit at the same stage represented a hiccup, but for Tábarez this was a real blow. His reorganisation of the tiny country's youth set-up has seen them cast the net as far as possible in the hope of grooming the next generation of players for the senior team. It's not all about results, but their poor showing has left him reliant on ageing legs.

 

The resumption of their World Cup campaign brought further pain. A Lionel Messi inspired Argentina ran riot when the sides met in October, the 3-0 final score a pale reflection of their great rivals' dominance. That followed a 4-0 humbling away to a Colombia side on the rise.

 

One figure from that Olympic squad earmarked for the seniors was Southampton's Gastón Ramírez. The former Bologna man has had a mixed start to his time in the Premier League but was expected to feature. Unfortunately for Tábarez, an injury sustained at Wigan means he's absent.

 

This, and the fact that Diego Forlan won't start will necessitate a change of shape. A one-time progidy, the 23 year old Nicolas Lodeiro should start in the hole behind the forwards. This inteligent number 10 is rebuilding his career with Botafogo in Brazil following an unhappy stint at Ajax.

 

Forlan himself was in fine form on Spanish radio, as he reminisced over his 7 years in Spain. Asked if Uruguay were 'the kings of football' he sensibly batted away the question, before turning more serious in his response.

 

“It's inexplicable - if you look at it logically - that a country so small, with three million-odd people, can keep competing against the big boys and winning titles... it's extraordinary” Given that Forlán has been the glue that held their attack together, it'll be interesting to see how they fare without him.

 

For Spain's part, it's likely that their line-up will have a distinctly Barcelona makeup. Xavi and Xabi Alonso have both withdrawn, meaning an abandonment of Del Bosque's favoured double pivot for something more akin to the Catalans' take on 4-3-3.

 

Sergio Ramos and Álvaro Arbeloa are expected to make up the right side of defence, with Chelsea's Juan Mata the remaining non-Barcelona player in an eleven which will include Victor Valdés. Cesc Fábregas has been in the form of his life, often lining up in the forward line for his club but should feature in the midfield here.

 

Many long to see Isco get his maiden run-out but as, in his own words, “the best players in the world in my position are ahead of me” he'll surely start on the bench. Carles Puyol will win his 100th cap, while Chelsea's César Azpilicueta and Mario Suárez of Atlético hope to feature at some point for their first.

 

More than anything, this game represents and interesting clash in styles. Uruguay are no mugs, they know their strengths and their success has been built on playing to them. This means that a hard running midfield focusses on winning the ball before supplying it to the heavy hitters up front. Whether they will see enough of it and whether Lodeiro will prove adept at providing the darts remains to be seen.

 

Their preference is for a deep defensive line, and this will be further necessary as their captain Diego Lugano looks sure to feature. After 18 months with limited game time at PSG prior to his recent move to Málaga, he'll form a Spain-based partnership with Atlético's Diego Godín.

 

The likely full-back pairing of Inter's Álvaro Pereira and his namesake Maxi of Benfica are expected to patrol the whole flank, using their energy to give width in attack without compromising their defensive duties. Another option on the right is the more defence-minded Martin Cáceres, who's also comfortable at centre back and being part of a back three.

 

18 months ago before the South Americans suffered their prolonged dip in form, their chances of a win would have looked a distinct possibility. As it stands, they find themselves very much the underdogs. But it's a role they've always revelled in, and if the Suárez-Cavani partnerhip finally clicks they have the tools in their locker to put the hurt on the World and European Champions.

Original article here on Eircom SportsHub

Spanish Inquest: Cup runneth over

My column for Eircom SportsHub

Manol de dios- Agirretxe condemns Barça to their first league defeat of the season

In the end, it was almost an after-thought. Attention was firmly trained on the Bernabéu before a ball was kicked in anger on week 21 of the season, just as it remained on Wednesday. Last week's mini-crisis at Real Madrid hogged the headlines as the recriminations grew.

In many ways, the cup was a welcome distraction for Real Madrid who nevertheless went into the game off the back of their best form of the season. The Spanish league calendar restarts with the return on week 20, when the order of games from the first half of the season is repeated.

It's too late to make good on a woeful opening half of this term for Real, but they appear to have taken those early setbacks personally. It all started to go wrong when Iker Casillas and Pepe clashed heads on the opening day at home to Valencia. Real might have been out of sight but instead were fortunate to get away with a 1-1 draw as Roberto Soldado's goal was incorrectly flagged offside.

If the feeling was that this had been aberration, then by week two it was already a full-blown crisis. Expected to dismiss little Getafe without fuss, a second-half showing of staggering stupidity at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez saw them go down 2-1 to the club from the south of the city.

The revenge has been brutal. Either side of being dumped out of the cup by Real, Valencia were ripped apart at the Mestalla last week, conceding five without reply. This week, Getafe's moment of reckoning arrived. Having held out in tense opening period, a ten-minute Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick left them licking their wounds on the short trip home.

Barcelona began their return run by showing a rare glimpse of their own mortality. Having walloped Real Sociedad on the first day, their encounter at the Anoeta was already a far cagier affair even before Gerard Pique's sending-off. They looked to have weathered the storm after a heavy deflection beat Victor Valdés for Chory Castro's equaliser. But 30 seconds into injury time, Manol Agirretxe slid through to deliver their first defeat of the campaign.

That defeat might have come as early as week two. On a balmy Sunday evening in Pamplona, Barca looked uncharacteristically leggy and off-key against Osasuna. With their pressing all over the place, each stray pass brought the home crowd to their feet and, leading since the 17th minute there, really looked no way back for the Catalans/

There was, but it came off the back of a moment of monumental misfortune. The build up to Lionel Messi's equaliser contained the non-award of an offside and then an expert — if entirely unintentional — pass off the heel of referee César Muniz Fernández at its closing stages. In the protests that followed, several cards were flashed; including a red for Francisco Punal. Minutes after all died down, the Argentine popped up again to net the winner.

This time round, luck had nothing to do with it. Despite Robert Loé equalising Messi's opener, the home side were 3-1 up by the break. After it, the world footballer of the year added his third and fourth, taking him to 16 goals from his last nine starts.

The jokers in this king's cup pack are Atlético Madrid. Back in week two a Falcao hat-trick had given a glimpse of things to come as they vanquished last year's Europa League finalists Bilbao 4-0 at the Vicente Calderon. Here, there was no Falcao and instead a 3-0 victory for the struggling Basques.

“Without Falcao, Atleti are a mid-table side” ran the Marca headline on Monday. Perhaps a harsh assessment as undoubtedly this had been the most complete performance seen this time round for Marcelo Bielsa's side by some distance. But there's a grain of truth in it too. Without their attacking fulcrum, they've won just two of their seven league games, and the bad news is that barring a miracle they'll have to make do without him for their midweek cup game.

Which brings us to last team making up the quartet, Sevilla. If you've heard reports of their saleable assets being linked to all and sundry this transfer window, then it's not without foundation. Sevilla's financial issues are the sort that most of the league's sides would warmly welcome. Rather then being mired in debt or in administration, the need to sell has been precipitated by their first annual loss in the last seven.

A fortnight ago they dispensed with their manager, the former Real Madrid midfielder Michel. In truth, probably a better pundit than a football coach, the telegenic Michel was replaced by the former Valencia boss Unai Emery.

It's far too early to offer any objective assessment of his work to date. But given his previous record at Valencia, the club's president José María del Nido will be hoping Emery can elicit a better response from what still remains one of the division's more talented squads and that the momentum gained from their Monday win over Granada will offset the effects of having a day less to prepare for Thursday's semi-final.

Original article here on Eircom SportsHub 

Spanish Inquest: Banking on it

My Eircom SportsHub column

Pipe dream- Valencia's Nou Mestalla arena sits uncompleted

Stop me if you think you've heard this one before. A club breaks into the Champions League. Not only that, but then they go on to exceed all expectations. Giddied, all sense of financial probity goes out the window. Years later, they're still shaking their heads at the almighty mess left behind.

 

Firstly, it should be pointed out that Valencia are not Leeds. They've never quite gone into freefall, but rather have remained remarkably competitive. Not only that, but they've performed herculean feats in reducing the club's debt- which stood at an eye-watering €500m back in 2008.

 

In a country coming apart at the seams, they should be lauded for their canny work in undoing past mistakes. But now, they face the worst possible of fates: falling under the control of the regional government.

 

That may sound like quite a statement. After all, Valencia are famously saddled with two stadia: one can't afford to complete and another they can't sell following the collapse of the country's property market.

 

Their president — the economist, Manuel Llorente — carries his own share of the blame for what went wrong. But equally, his manoeuvring of the club back to a healthier financial state shouldn't be ignored. The genesis of the current problems can be tracked back to the departure of Rafa Benítez in 2004 following the most successful period in the club's history.

 

Benítez's war the American pair Hicks & Gillet was presaged by a similar falling-out over control of transfer policy at Valencia. After claiming the league title — his second in three years — along with the UEFA Cup, the manager departed for Anfield.

 

Having won that little battle at great cost what Valencia permitted next defies all explanation. With wage costs already spiralling out of control, in came Claudio Ranieri. Moderately successful in his first spell at the club, his second spell bordered on farce. Llorente and company effectively handed over the keys to the till; Ranieri embarked on a binge of signing average players for extravagant fees and exorbitant wages who proved difficult to shift on under his successors.

 

Any list of examples would go on and on, but the outcome was ruinous. At least amongst that sorry list came David Villa in 2005 and with the maturation of David Silva and later Juan Mata there remained the bones of a decent squad and— crucially — saleable assets.

 

But the other key factor was the arrival of Unai Emery in 2008 as manager following the rancorous reign of Ronald Koeman. Sometimes, you only appreciate a good thing once you've lost it. Valencia's fans are a notoriously intolerant bunch, and Emery like Benítez before him didn't escape the boo boys. His crime? Critics point to some 50 leads squandered in all competitions, or his inability to stay close to Real and Barcelona. But finishing third the last three seasons was as impressive as the resultant Champions League cash was crucial. His contract wasn't renewed last summer, and they've been well off the pace as a result.

 

About 18 months ago, it was reported that a deal with the local government and banks would see the remaining €250m debt wiped clean — and also allow work to resume on the new stadium. It was never going to be as simple as that. Rather, the regional government guaranteed a loan of €81m from a local bank to ease the club's cash flow crisis. That bank was subsumed into Bankia; a mega-bank laden with toxic assets created by the national government. With Bankia being bailed out to the tune of €20bn last year — and the regional government's bond rating long since relegated to junk status — this week's default on interest payments by the club saw it effectively turned over to Valencian government.

 

What a cruel fate this could prove. Of all of Spain's 17 autonomous communities, Valencia wins hands down in any race to the bottom for fiscal mismanagement. There's the airport in Castellón, completed but never opened in 2011 — as demand was neither there, nor ever had been. Later it even emerged that its runway, not being of standard dimensions, was worse than useless. This is but one example of a litany of failed vanity, pork barrel projects.

 

Then there's the composition of the government itself. Ironically a stronghold of the right-wing Partido Popular, who rode back into national government with the promise — more than fulfilled — to push through incredible austerity measures, the Valencian branch has long been a viper's nest of clientelism and corruption. For three years we saw the grinning face of local party chief Francisco Camps entering and exiting court hearings as part of the infamous Gurtel case daily on our televisions. His final vindication in the supreme court proved a pyrrhic victory for just two months after being re-elected again, he resigned his post as president of Valencian community.

 

The parallels are there. Valencia the club, and Valencia the region both got burned flying too high on a wave of euphoria and idiocy. But while Valencia the club has long since become a model case on how to slash expenses whilst somehow managing to keep producing the goods, the region's record in this area is dire and only moving in one direction. What this means for the club going forward having brought in Ernesto Valverde as manager is anyone's guess, but the prognosis doesn't look good.

Original article here on Eircom SportsHub

Pochettino plotting a Spanish raid?

A follow up on Pochettino's potential targets for the Southern Daily Echo (my name is missing from the byline for some reason..)

NEW Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino is expected to return to Espanyol as he seeks to make an impact at St Mary’s.

The Argentine was in charge of the La Liga Club for three and a half years prior to his sacking last November.

And Spanish sources have told the Daily Echo that Pochettino could turn his interest to several of his former players.

Among them is attacking midfielder Joan Verdu, who has been Espanyol’s best player this season by some distance, and on loan striker Samuel Longo. And Pochettino is also being linked back in Spain with his former Espanyol loanee midfielder Phillipe Coutinho.

The Brazilian youngster, 20, was previously linked with Saints earlier this month when Nigel Adkins was still in charge.

Coutinho – said to be on the verge of joining Liverpool from Milan – played the second half of last season on loan to Espanyol.

Despite being a selling club, Espanyol are expected to be very keen to hang onto prize asset Verdu, whose contract expires this summer.

A product of Barcelona’s youth system, the 29-year-old was signed by Pochettino from La Coruna in the summer of 2009.

Verdu has scored six goals in 20 appearances this season, compared to scoring only five goals in each of his previous two campaigns under Pochettino.

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The new Saints manager also sanctioned the loan signing of Longo from Inter Milan last summer.

But with Espanyol’s main striker Sergio García back following a lengthy injury layoffs, Longo has not featured too much recently to Inter’s annoyance.

Inter are believed to be keen on recalling the Italian Under 21 international – but only with a view to finding a new club.

Boca Juniors forward Nicolas Blandi is also believed to be close to joining Espanyol, pushing Longo further down the pecking order.

Sources have also told the Echo that Pochettino could be interested in his former Espanyol keeper Carlos Kameni.

He is rated as one of the best shot-stoppers in the Spanish league and capped 70 times by Cameroon.

Kameni left under a cloud last January, citing a lack of ambition from the club.

However, the excellent form of Wily Caballero means he's been forced to play back-up at Málaga.

Pochettino has also been linked to Anderlecht’s versatile Argentine defensive midfielder Lucas Biglia.

Arsenal are believed to have been monitoring the 26-year-old, who is rated in the £8m category.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE ON THE SOUTHERN DAILY ECHO

The facts about Saints boss Mauricio Pochettino

Following the shock sacking of Nigel Adkins at Southampton, the South Coast daily, Southern Daily Echo, asked me to write this profile of the new man Mauricio Pochettino

Just who is Mauricio Pochettino? Understandably, that’s a question many Saints fans will be shaking their heads to following the departure of Nigel Adkins. Understandable, too, is the disappointment that a man responsible for back to back promotions was shoved so unceremoniously aside. This was cemented by the fact that Adkins had overseen an impressive turnaround in form following a difficult start to the season.

But, in many ways, this also marks a bold and intriguing move on Saints’ part. Some may have been noted that Pochettino left his former side Espanyol mired in the relegation places last November, just as Adkins was engineering Saints’ ascent away from the lower reaches. But as far it goes with Pochettino, this only tells part of the tale.

It also says a lot for his reputation in Spain for honesty and loyalty that his sincerity was never questioned.

Six months is a long time in football, but the writing had been on the wall for some time at the Barcelona-based club. Money is a scarce commodity in Spain outside the big two. A grossly unequal TV deal saw third-placed finishers Valencia receive as much from TV as the team that finished bottom of the pile in England, Wolverhampton Wanderers. When Michu rolled up at Swansea City last summer, it wasn’t because he was some unknown in Spain.

Rather, his paltry release clause of £2m was too much for teams eying him up after an excellent campaign with Rayo Vallecano.

Espanyol have it worse than most. After nearly two decades without a home, they moved into a new 40,000 seater stadium on the outskirts of the town in 2009. Rather than providing a financial fillip, it proved a drain on resources. Dwindling TV money and growing debt meant the club were forced to do more with less.

In every transfer window since, they’ve been forced to sell their best players. In their place came a ragtag mixture of youth teamers and short-term loanees. In effect, Pochettino was having the rug pulled out from under him every six months. Yet, rather than complain, he carried out his duties diligently, keeping the club consistently competitive despite all this instability. Last summer’s clear-out was simply a step too far. With eight first-teamers injured, and a mixed bag of recruits insufficient to paper over the cracks, Espanyol endured a dire start, losing eight of the first 13 games under Pochettino.

Off the field, the board were at war, resigning en masse in October.

Back on the park, foolish and unfortunate red cards allied with moments of rotten luck – for example, a 2-1 loss at Valencia to a last minute penalty in his penultimate game in charge – meant even better performances went unrewarded. The Valencia loss was Espanyol’s third last minute defeat of the term, and his side also picked up their SIXTH red card of the La Liga campaign in that game.

A man who once famously claimed to send his kids to bed in Espanyol pyjamas, the circumstances of the job had become intolerable for Pochettino.

And yet even as results improve under his successor – Javier Aguirre – it is impossible to find anyone connected to the club with a bad word to say about Pochettino. Aside from the sense of genuine affection, there’s a recognition that a good coach who had worked miracles became a victim of circumstances.

What Southampton are getting is not just a clever and adaptable manager. They are also getting a man for whom youth development is in his DNA. In that respect, the marriage could just be a perfect one. But first he’ll have to win over a fan base understandably angered at Adkins’ departure.

There is more than one way to skin a cat but, in terms of harnessing young talent, Spain seems to be getting the job done better than most. That’s not just borne of financial necessity, but also methodology. Any youth system capable of producing the likes of Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain must be onto something already. A look at Saints’ current first team squad shows three home-grown players who have appeared in the Premier League this term – Luke Shaw, James Ward-Prowse and Adam Lallana.

Espanyol’s academy record is even more impressive than Saints’ recent one.

They have produced a remarkable 15 Spanish internationals across all age levels this century alone, and some 40 current regulars in Spain’s top two divisions is testament to this. Talk to anyone inside the club who witnessed his shake up of their set-up, and they’ll come back to you with glowing words.

One such man is youth coach Sergi Angulo, since departed. “Our philosophy is based on the collective concept, with two touches max – build the attack through the best pass, from the back; making the best decision for the group,” he said. “That’s why we produce players who understand teamwork, and how to ‘read’ the game”

Another is Mark O’Sullivan, a former League of Ireland player currently coaching underage in the Swedish top flight. Given that O’Sullivan previously studied at Ajax and Barcelona for his UEFA licenses, his words carry weight.

“There’s a clear divide between practice in Northern Europe and Spain, and you see this clearly at Espanyol,” he told me. “In Sweden, Britain, even in Holland, there’s too much emphasis on individual, isolated training. “You take one kid aside, get him to work on his dribbling, or his control, whatever. The thing is, I’ve never seen a player tackled in a match by a training cone.

“At Espanyol – and I saw this too at lower division sides in the area – it’s fully integrated.

“Forget the cones. Set up a bunch of kids in a match-type scenario, and let them work it out for themselves. “It’s the closest thing to street football. “Once the scenario’s over, they’re taken aside, asked questions, asked for their thoughts. This can go on for minutes. “Then you set them up again, let them at it, and see if they can do better; invariably, they do.

“This is the key – let them arrive at the answer, rather than dictating it to them. “This is how you develop game intelligence, and this is where Spain beats us hands down. There’s too much of a tendency in Northern Europe to breed athletes and isolated training exacerbates the problem.

“So you end up with guys who are fine physical specimens, even with great technique in isolated situations. “That’s great. But you also need to be able to apply that in matches, think fast, make decisions instantly. “I saw this right across the age levels at Espanyol.

“In Sweden – and Britain is no different – there’s an alarming drop in players’ capacity in this area once they hit 13. “Solving this ... that’s our biggest challenge.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE AT THE SOUTHERN DAILY ECHO

Pep's backing for new Saints boss Pochettino

Guardiola's a fan of Pochettino, as I explained in this piece for the Southern Daily Echo

Mauricio Pochettino’s remarkable work with the Espanyol youth academy helped win him a dream job with Saints – and the backing of ex-Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola!

The 40-year-old Argentinian was sacked by the La Liga club towards the end of last November with Espanyol bottom of the table.

In his last 20 league games with the club, stretching back to the end of last season, the new Saints boss won just three and lost 13.

During his 145 games in the Spanish top flight with Barcelona-based Espanyol, Pochettino’s win ratio was 34 per cent with 44 per cent of games lost.

But it was his work with Espanyol’s academy that mainly attracted him to Saints chairmanNicola Cortese.

Pochettino is held in high regard in Spain, and Bayern Munich boss in waiting Guardiola has said: “I admire him for his ideals, his character. The foundations of his principles are always the same.”

Saints’ academy has produced gems in recent years such as Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Alex Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and now Luke Shaw.

But Espanyol’s record is even more impressive, and Pochettino takes a lot of credit for that.

They have produced a remarkable 15 Spanish internationals across all age levels since the turn of the Millennium.

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Around forty players currently appearing in Spain’s top two divisions have come from Espanyol.

Cortese has said he wants to build a Barcelona-type model at Saints. Seven of the Barca side that started the 2009 Champions League final were home-grown, and Cortese believes he can oversee such a system at St Mary’s.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE ON THE SOUTHERN DAILY ECHO