The Lion's Den

The Dream Is Over

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:32:34 -0600

About... a half-hour ago, the Scotland-Italy game ended. The score was 2-1, for Italy. I'll get right down to the point and save the details for someone else to provide.

It was a rainy day in Glasgow, at Hampden Park, but that didn't stop Italy from scoring, via Luca Toni. The Bayern Munich man had recieved a quick pass from teammate, Antonio Di Natale and with the outside of his foot, he one-timed the ball into the back of the net. 1-0, Italy. But, right before the break, Scotland could've equalised, as a Scottish player had headed the ball, from a corner kick, and it was definintely headed gol-bound. But with Gigi Buffon out of position, an Italian defender had cleared it, well, off the line.

As we went into the second half, the rain seemed to let up a touch, but the pitch was still very slippery. Scottish and Italian players didn't really have a good grip on the grass, as they were sliping and sliding all over the field. In the 65th minute, Scotland had gotten a free-kick, just outside the area. The ball was struck with some menace from James McFadden, but the ball had deflected and went straight through the wall. Lee McCulloch gave a hard kick at it, but Gigi Buffon was able to save it... only to see the ball slip out of his grasp (mostly due to the wetness on the ball) and Barry Ferguson got the rebound. He kicked into the gol for the equaliser. 1-1, Scotland. As us TV viewers saw the replay, Ferguson looked to be off-side, but nothing was given. The ref said it was a perfectly legal gol.

As time was winding down, the game looked as if it were going to end as a tie. Scotland looked poised to celebrate, as the game was already in the 90th minute. But when the referee had called, what looked to be, an un-necessary foul, Italy had a chance to score a late, late, LATE winner. The free-kick was a few yards ahead of the corner flag, so it did look kind of like a mini-corner. With a genius like Andrea Pirlo on the field to take the kick, Scotland had to be very careful. Andrea Pirlo is not only a free-kick specialist, but is one of the best "curlers of the ball", in the entire world.

He kicked the ball. It seemed as if his free-kick was a bad one, but as the ball curled towards the back post, Christian Panucci (who had a chance to make it 2-1, a few minutes earlier) ran onto the ball and headed it home from 5 yards out. 2-1, Italy in the 90th. The whistle blew and the game was over.

With the win, Italy have now quailifed for the Euro 2008 championship. The funny thing is, with the Italian win, France have also qualified... without having to even kick a ball. They still have to finish their last 2 games, but they have already qualified, all thanks to Italy.

Meanwhile, Scotland's dream of making it to the European championship, next summer in Austria-Switzerland... are now over.

When Will It Stop?

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:29:07 -0600

Scandals, violence and, even worse... innocent people killed. This is the sad state of 21st century for Italian football.

Some 500 years ago, peasants, vagabonds, ill-mannered and uneducated, ignorant people began a movement which would evolve into the modern game. It seems like half a millennium later the same people are trying their best to end football, well at least for Italians anyway.

The shooting of a Lazio fan is the latest in a long list of shameful incidents which have plagued the Italian game. The Italian football authorities still try to cover up the mess which has seen Calcio being shunned and laughed upon by the world.

What the Italians have to realise is that World Cup and Champions League victories will not wipe away a tarnished image and replace it with a shiny one. Everyone associated with Calcio - the clubs, the authorities and the fans have to wake up and face the reality.

The president of the Italian F.A, Giancarlo Abete, described the tragic events on Sunday as “nothing to do with the sport.” It’s pig headed arrogance like this which explains why the Italian game will never manage to climb out of the cess pit.

When fans and policemen are killed because of football-related violence then it has everything to do with the sport but, of course, Abete will never admit to this. It is because of poor rules and regulations that incidents like this happen.

In April a new list of rules were implemented to help eradicate the “violenza negli stadi.” The new rules were made, after Italian policeman, Filippo Raciti, was killed during the Sicilian riots, back in Feburary. Apart from the tragic shooting that day, the world witnessed the game between Atalanta and AC Milan being abandoned because the so called "Ultras" insisted the game should be called off in respect of the Lazio fan, Gabriele Sandri, a 26-year-old disc jockey, who was sadly killed.

Later in the evening there was chaos in Rome as property was destroyed and scores of vehicles burnt by hundreds of Roma and Lazio fans who wanted to show solidarity with Sandri.

One could argue that this is fair enough but it shows that really, the people who have the power in Italian football are the Ultras, and not Mr. Abete and the Italian football authorities.

One of the rules stated that clubs should break all ties with the Ultras, and violent fans would be banned from Italian stadiums - however every Sunday around Italy we see Ultras taking part – these are the people who are supposed to be banned from the stadia.

Yes there are people out there who don’t care about the game and are hell bent on causing trouble in grounds around Italy. But one asks the question: why are they still allowed in following decades of violence which continue to affect Calcio?

As we saw on Sunday the Ultras seem to be winning the Calcio battle. Sadly it seems as if they are the ones who have the powers which influence the Italian game, and this isn’t a new thing, it’s been like this for years.

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Image: Both, players and security officials try to stop fans from breaking the glass barrier of the Stadio Atleti Azzuri d'Italia, during the Atalanta-Milan match.

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The sad reality is we will never see a trouble-free Calcio while the Ultras continue to dictate how football should be run in Italy.

In the end this will just cause people to stay indoors and watch football on the television. And who can blame them?

Here is a list of people who have died in the past 30 years in Italy due to domestic football violence, mostly involving Ultras:

28, October 1979: Lazio fan Vincenzo Paparelli (33) died during the derby against AS Roma after being hit by a missile fired by a Roma Ultra.

22, March 1982: Roma fan Andrea Vitone (14) died in a train fire after Roma Ultras had set a carriage on fire following a defeat to Bologna.

8, February 1984: After clashes between Udinese and Triestina supporters, Sandro Furlan was arrested and questioned by police. He was released but then fell into a coma and died three weeks later.

30, September 1984: Milan fan Marco Fonghessi died after being stabbed by another Milan supporter. The murderer thought Fonghessi was a Cremonese fan.

7, December 1986: Sambenedettese fan Giuseppe Tomasetti died after being stabbed with a knife.

9, October 1988: Ascoli fan Nazzareno Filippini, 32, died eight days after being attacked by four Inter Ultras.

18, June 1989: Fiorentina Ultras throw a Molotov Cocktail into a car with travelling Bologna supporters. Nobody dies, but a 14-year-old is left with horrific and permanent facial disfigurement.

10, January 1993: A 22-year-old throws himself off a train after being attacked by four Messina Ultras and dies.

29, January 1995: Genoa fan Vincenzo Spagnolo (25) died after being stabbed by a Milan fan outside the Marassi-Stadium. The match was aborted at halftime.

17, June 2001: Messina-Fan Antonio Curro died due to a self-made bomb that exploded during the Sicilian derby against Catania.

20, September 2003: Napoli fan Sergio Ercolano (20) died during clashes in the derby match against Avellino.

27, January 2007: Club-Manager Ermanno Licursi from Sammartinese died because during fan clashes. He died trying to divide both fan-groups.

2, February 2007: Policeman Filippo Raciti (38) died after a blunt stone was thrown into his car during the derby between Catania Calcio and US Palermo.

And now... 11, November 2007: Lazio-Fan Gabriele Sandri (26) dies.

When is all this violence and murder going to end and who can stop it?

What are your views on this topic?

Lucky Number 8

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 22:06:21 -0600

Liverpool put on a scintillating performance at Anfield, as they scored 8 and conceded 0 against Besiktas.

From a fantastic team performance, midfielder Yossi Benayoun stood out with a marvelous hat-trick (32, 53, 68).

Before the Israeli grabbed his trio of goals, Peter Crouch, restored to the starting line-up, opened the rout with a goal, at the second time of asking (19).

Then came Benayoun’s goals, followed by a Steven Gerrard deflected goal that put the finish on a lovely piece of build-up play (68).

Dutch youngster Ryan Babel took to the field mid-way through the second-half and quickly added two more, one a cute flick, (78, 81), leaving Crouch to finish a remarkable score-line with a late header (89). 8-0.

First Half

Apart from an early scare from young Memhet, Liverpool dominated the early proceedings, in-effect setting the tone for the rest of the match.

A quick attack in the 2^nd minute from Besiktas reminded Liverpool of the threat posed by their front-line, as Delgado raced away down the right flank before cutting an opportunist ball back into the box where the energetic 20-yr-old midfielder, Memhet, timed his late run perfectly, but just couldn’t connect as well with a sliding shot that traveled a yard wide of the near-post.

From there Liverpool dominated everything.

A minute after the visitors chance, Liverpool hit back, as Andriy Voronin mimicked Memhet’ sliding shot from a Peter Crouch knock-down to the send the ball an agonizing yard wide of the post.

Only five minutes later Peter Crouch, who was fervently supported by the home fans for his impressive first half display, made his intentions clear by winning and taking a quick free-kick, before racing into the box to meet John-Arse Riise’s cross with a firm header then he should have had hit the target with.

Another of the Reds outstanding performer was Alvaro Arbeola, who played more like a right-winger than a fullback. The Spaniard raised the Kop to their feet as early as the 9^th minute as he played a one-two down the flank, then drove into the box, but to only kick himself for overrunning the ball when in a promising position.

Arbeloa was at the heart of Liverpool’s swift attacking play again only three minutes later as he rampaged down the right flank before squaring the ball to Yossi Benayoun, whose instant flicked shot beat Hakan Ankan in the Turk goal, but skimmed of the outside of the post for a goal-kick, much to the dismay of the rampant home crowd behind the goal.

But the fans were not made too wait long for the opening goal, as another piece of flowing build-up released Peter Crouch, whose run into the box was aided as Diatta’s attempted tackle unintentionally knocked the ball into the lanky striker’s path.

From there Crouch did the rest. His instant left-foot shot was well parried by the keeper, but no defender could react quicker than the much-maligned forward who raised the roof off Anfield by slotting away the rebound (19).

Besiktas tried to maintain their 4-3-3 formation with Delgado and Ozkan supporting Bobo.

But the unrestrained running of fullbacks Fabio Aurelio and Arbeloa coupled with the masterful ball-winning of Javier Mascherano meant the away side were forced into a formation that resembled more of a 4-5-1, leaving a hapless lone-forward in Bobo.

The Reds kept the pressure up as two minutes after their goal Riise saw his thumped header from an Aurelio corner cleared off the line by opposition captain İbrahim Üzülmez.

Soon after it became clear that Crouch was warming to the praise lavished on him from the stands as he sent a speculative effort from the edge of the penalty area wide of the goal.

Shortly later Liverpool had grabbed their second as a sleeping Besiktas defense failed to react to Riise’s long throw down the line that sent Voronin racing down the left-flank.

With the Turk’s backline unbalanced the Ukrainian picked out Benayoun unmarked at the back-post, who in turn controlled the ball instantly before lashing a half-volley into the far-corner of the net (32).

Throughout the first half Liverpool had took a hold of the ball and on the rare occasions they relinquish possession their hunger to snatch it back was so successful that it took until the 38^th minute before Besiktas enjoyed a prolonged period of possession.

The half-time whistle blew to send the Anfield noise to ear-splitting levels.

Second Half

Liverpool picked up exactly where they left off, as the set themselves among the Besiktas players with a terrier like resolve and imposing passing style of play.

Benayoun reminded the away side of their intent four minutes after the restart, as he drifted in off the right flank to head a Gerrard cross into the ground and into the keeper’s grateful hands.

But Besiktas didn’t heed the warning as the Israeli stole in unnoticed to tap in the rebound from a thunderous Riise shot that could only be parried by the keeper (53).

At this stage the crowd were rocking Anfield as they recognized their side had effectively put the game to bed.

Instead of easing of the accelerator the players pursued more goals with a real craving to make a statement, and Benayoun soon recorded his first hat-trick for his new club as once again tapped in a goal from 5 yards after a stinging Gerrard free-kick from 25 yards out proved too strong to hold for the Besiktas keeper.

Gerrard was a constant thorn in the Turkish side, as his bounding runs from the middle created Liverpool’s best openings. The England international was unlucky not to score from such a run in the 63^rd minute, as he saw his left-foot shot well saved by Hakan Akrian.

But the Liverpool skipper wasn’t too be denied as once again instigated and then finished off a fluid passing move by bursting into the box, and then firing a shot that deflected off Diatta and into the net (68).

Ryan Babel, on for Andriy Voronin, made an instant impact as he turned Benayoun’s square ball across the goal in by a deft flick with the ball in-between his legs (78). Out of all the goals the Dutchman’s was possibly the best as it bought back memories of a famous goal scored similarly from a legendary Red former winger: John Barnes.

Babel then made it two for him and seven for Liverpool with a goal that was as equally as fortuitous as his first had been elegant. A long put up the field was allowed to bounce by Ibrahim Toraman, who then turned to smash the ball clear but could only hit the ball onto Babel which then drifted over the hapless keeper and into the net (81).

With the famed ‘You’ll never walk alone’ ringing out around the stadium, Peter Crouch arrived on time to head in Benayoun’s return cross (89), to register a remarkable 8-0 score-line for a rejuvenated Liverpool over a bewildered Besiktas outfit.

Valencia Gets Their Man

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 14:23:18 -0500

Ronald Koeman has agreed to become the new coach of Valencia and will officially sign a two-and-a-half year deal this week, according to reports in Spain.

The Dutchman has, reportedly, reached an agreement with Los Ché after a quick round of negotiations and will replace Quique Sánchez Flores at La Mestalla.

Valencia approached PSV about talking to Koeman, who had a contract with the Dutch giants until 2008, and were given permission to make their offer.

After accepting the contract laid out by the Spaniards, Koeman will take over until the summer of 2010 with the remit of challenging for silverware and playing entertaining football.

Flores was sacked in the early hours of Monday morning after Valencia slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Sevilla, which followed a number of tepid displays already this term.

Speculation over his successor was rife with José Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Marcelo Lippi, Vicente Del Bosque, Didier Deschamps and Luiz Felipe Scolari, all being mentioned.

Koeman's name only cropped up in the press on Wednesday morning and by then talks between Valencia and the trainer were already close to a conclusion.

The other big names in the frame had almost all ruled themselves out, although it now appears doubtful that any of them were formally approached.

After working as Louis Van Gaal's assistant at Barcelona for 2 years, Koeman moved out on his own and guided Ajax to the Dutch Eredivisie title in 2002, along with the Dutch Super Cup, in the same year. Then, he went on to win the Dutch league again, in 2004. After that, he had moved to PSV Eindhoven and had won the championship last term.

He also won the Portuguese Super Cup during a brief stint as coach of Benfica.

Ballon d'Or 2007

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 16:35:14 -0500

This year, just like years past, the French magazine, France Football, has come up with a list of over 50 players. All of these players have a chance at winning the most prestigious (individual) award in Europe... the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball). Internationally, France has the most nominees, with 11 Frenchmen making the cut. At club level, FC Barcelona and AC Milan both have the most, each with 6 players on the list. Out of all 50, who do you think deserves this award the most?

Click here to see all of the nominees.

Which Is The Biggest?: Club Rivalries

Tue, 16 Oct 2007 22:14:00 -0500

There are many great rivalries throughout the world of football. Barcelona v. Real Madrid, Celtic v. Rangers, Arsenal v. Manchester United, etc. The list goes on and on and on. Most of the world's biggest and most popular, are in Europe, but there are many intense rivalries in South America, North America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, as well. There are way too many rivalries and local derbies to name, so what I want to discuss is... which rivaly, throughout the world, is the biggest and most fierce?

Click here to see ALL of the rivalries in club and international football.

FIFA World Player of the Year 2007

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:02:10 -0500

Today, Wednesday, October 10th, 2007, a list of players have been released by FIFA. Over 30 players are on the list. Every single one of them, are up for the biggest award an individual footballer can win... the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Here is the list of the 30 players, that can win this glorious award:

Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus FC - Italy)
Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid CF - Italy)
Petr Čech (Chelsea FC - Czech Republic)
Deco (FC Barcelona - Portugal)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea FC - Cote d'Iviore)
Michael Essien (Chelsea FC - Ghana)
Samuel Eto'o (FC Barcelona - Cameroon)
Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan - Italy)
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC - England)
Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona - France)
Juninho (Olympique Lyonnais - Brazil)
Kaká (AC Milan - Brazil)
Miroslav Klose (FC Bayern Munich - Germany)
Philipp Lahm (FC Bayern Munich - Germany)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea FC - England)
Rafael Márquez (FC Barcelona - Mexico)
Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona - Argentina)
Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan - Italy)
Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan - Italy)
Franck Ribéry (FC Bayen Munich - France)
Juan Román Riquelme (Villarreal CF - Argentina)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC - Portugal)
Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona - Brazil)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United FC - England)
John Terry (Chelsea FC - England)
Carlos Tévez (Manchester United FC - Argentina)
Lilian Thuram (FC Barcelona - France)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool FC - Spain)
Ruud Van Nistelrooy (Real Madrid CF - Netherlands)
Patrick Vieira (FC Internazionale Milano - France)

Kaká Named FIFPro World Player Of The Year

Fri, 5 Oct 2007 23:07:54 -0500

Fédération International de Footballeurs Professionels (FIFPro) have announced the results after their 57,500 members voted for their favourites from the 2006-07 season.

After Ronaldinho retained the honour last year, his compatriot Kaká has lifted the award this time and as clearly delighted.

“I am humbled to receive such an honour," the AC Milan star told the FIFPro website. "To follow my good friend and such a great player as Ronaldinho makes this a very special award for me.

"To be recognized by my fellow professional players worldwide coming from over 50,000 players is amazing. I would like to thank my teammates and coaches and everyone involved at Milan and the national team, as well as my family and friends for their support.

"Thank you also to FIFPro for this award and for your work in protecting the interests and welfare of players around the world."

While Kaká earned a place in the World XI, it was Barça that gained the most nominations with Carles Puyol, Lionel Messi and Ronaldinho being named in the side.

Gianluigi Buffon retained his place as the favourite keeper, while Fabio Cannavaro was also named in the team again along with Ronaldinho from the 2005-06 vote.

The FIFPro World XI for 2006-07: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus FC), John Terry (Chelsea FC), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid CF), Carles Puyol (FC Barcelona), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool FC), Kaká (AC Milan), Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona), Didier Drogba (Chelsea FC), Ronaldinho (FC Barcelona).

FIFA Soccer 2008

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:33:04 -0500

What does managers, trainers, support personnel, 30+ leagues and 15,000 players have in common?

They are all part of the 20% extra you get in this year’s FIFA Soccer 2008. Don’t worry EA Sports FIFA Soccer 2008 is the American title. Basically, everywhere else, it will still be FIFA Football 2008. We all know there can be only one football!

The Shot

The FIFA series is improving with every release and it is no different this year. In the previous version we’ve seen an improvement in ball movement and player animation. The focus in 08 is - the shot. The difference between success and failure of a shot will depend on air resistance, backspin, player skill and the force you apply to the ball. Now you can expect to see different shots from the player’s foot depending on the situation. If you are dribbling at full speed it will be tougher to score if you just stop, turn and shoot the ball, where as a player that has a wide open straight lane to the net, will find it easier. The player dribbling at full speed will have his shooting meter fill up faster, than the player moving slowly, but again it all depends on the player’s skills. In other words - tougher shots will fill up the meter faster.

Be a Pro

A new feature in the series, is the “Be a Pro” mode. Some people might already know it from the NFL-series (Superstar mode). You will play the position of any one player from striker to sweeper during the entire match. You are responsible for his assignments and roles, with helpful arrows on the pitch, that shows you, your area of responsibility and which members of the opposite team you’re assigned to mark. The camera will follow you on the pitch, with the Gears of War-inspired chase cam, when you break into full sprint with the ball. At halftime you get feedback on your progress and you’ll be ranked at the end of the match depending on how much you contributed. This is tied in to the Xbox360 achievement system.

The “Be a Pro” mode is only available offline, but in a few years, it is EA Sports’ goal of having 11 different people, from anywhere in the world, play 11 different people from another part of the world, online!!

What else is new?

The trick system is improved. FIFA 08 has borrowed a bit from NBA Street HomeCourt, but do not expect any un-realistic double backflips and a scissor kick. As previously mentioned there is a new camera angle, inspired by the Gears-of-War’s chase cam, every time you sprint. Running at top speed will also make you less agile and skillful. Of course, the player detail is improved, yet again. In FIFA 07, Wayne Rooney looked more like Shrek, than what he does in real life. In 08, Wayne Rooney looks like Wayne Rooney.

Also, there are supposed to be 30 leagues confirmed in the game. In FIFA 07, there was only 27. The FAI Premier League of Ireland, has already been established in FIFA 08. So, what are the other three? Rumour has it, that the Australian A-league and Czech Gambrinus League will be the other two new ones. This has sparked a lively discussion on many forums, since a lot of FIFA fans believe their local league belongs in the FIFA series. Especially, the South Americans. They really hoped the Argentinian league would be featured in FIFA 08. They argue that the English Football League One and Two should be removed and replaced by the Argentinian and the Chilean football leagues.

But, as always expect FIFA 2008 to be out before Christmas. It is scheduled to be released this fall for all platforms, Xbox360, Nintendo Wii and DS, Playstation 2 and 3, PSP and PC.

If you want to know more, then please visit FIFA 2008 News to get the latest news.

Alexander the duck: SC Internacional To AC Milan

Sat, 4 Aug 2007 19:25:42 -0500

Alexandre Pato, or Alexander the duck, has just signed with the current European Champions, AC Milan, of the Serie A, in Italy, for an undisclosed fee. He is transfering from Sporting Clube Internacional of Brazil, where he made a name for himself. It has to be said, that the Milan fans have bragging rights, as this Brazilian kid, was wanted by, practically everyone, from Barcelona to Chelsea. Pato definitely has the skill and the talent to become the next Ronaldo, the next Kaka, or the next Ronaldinho. I am, very much, looking forward to seeing him play for Il Rossoneri, in the seasons ahead, but we won't be seeing him play, until Janurary, because he is a non-EU, minor, which means he is not a European citizen. So...

What are your thoughts on this??