Forza Futbol - A better lens into the World's Game. We talk about UEFA Cup, Champions League and International matches, especially when they intersect with teams in Spain and Italy, we talk transfer rumours, gossip and everything else that revolves around the world's greatest game. @ OleOle

Thursday, 27 December 07, 05:44 AM

Diego Armando Maradona is mad. Yes, he wants to meet the President of Iraq and plans on getting a tattoo of Venezuelan supremo Hugo Chavez, but that’s not the form of the word I’m talking about. He’s angry because the guy he helped bring in to coach his beloved Buenos Aires club, Boca Juniors, Miguel Angel Russo, stepped down recently, when just days after losing the FIFA World Club Cup, Russo walked out of a meeting with Boca chief Pedro Pompilio refusing to fire his top two assistants.

The first names bandied around as his replacement were Gabriel Batistuta and Guillermo Barros Scheloto, who had both talked about getting into club management, but Boca have apparently settled on Carlos Ischia of Rosario Central, a former assistant to Carlos Bianchi when he coached at Boca Juniors. When asked about Ischia, by the Argentinean news agency Telam, Maradona responded, “I don’t like Ischia as coach. I don’t believe he would be the ideal choice for the team.” Why the problem? Both Ischia and Bianchi are close associates of Guillermo Coppolla, who was an advisor to Diego’s during his playing days and are both still bitter about their acrimonious split. Some in the Argentinian media are forecasting this as the first of many changes to the xeineixes, which may mean selling players, replacing the entire coaching staff, trainers, shifting tactics, and will more than likely signal the end of Diego Maradona’s influence at the club; but the key maybe the changing of the guard on the pitch.

Before the appointment there was some talk of Clemente Rodriguez of Espanyol coming back from Spain to help Riquelme, but it looks like a return to three at the back like Ricardo LaVolpe, and it might mean some of the problems that LaVolpe had with (amongst others) captain Martin Palermo in the dressing room. The experienced players have had a relaxed time at the club under Russo, Riquelme returning was a notch on their belt, but this is not what the player leadership expected or wanted. But the board believe that someone needs to pay for the loss to AC Milan, and if Russo wouldn’t fire his assistants, regardless of his winning the Copa Libertadores, then everyone under him and around him would be blamed.

All I can think of, if this marks a new turn to Boca Juniors, with the return of Bianchi as the kingmaker and the departure of Diego, will this lead to the selling of young players like Ever Banega and what of the field generals like Martin Palermo? Defender Juan Angel Krupoviesa has already been sold to Marseilles, the board has already mandated the selling of experienced players, and what then of temperamental genius Riquelme? A return to Spain, a move to Italy or England?

Mando from FF

Being a Fan part II

Sunday, 07 October 07, 02:16 AM

The last time I asked this sort of question, it was whether or not someone could call themselves a true fan if you questioned a manager or the direction that your team was going in (clearly I don´t know what I´m talking about because my team is first place in the Premiership in spite of the criticisms I gave it), but instead I have another question for you all.

Well, I interviewed Tim Stannard of football365.com the other day here in Barcelona, you´ll hear the interview when I get back and not a minute sooner, but one of the questions I asked him was if you still support a club. and while I won´t reveal his club, he did say that you couldn´t in his opinion support more than one club. A club chooses you, it defines who you are, and you could no more choose more than one club as choose more than one set of parents. Those are my words, not his in case anyone cares.

Well, I support Arsenal in England and they define who I am in that sense. I´ve watched them since Dennis Bergkamp came to them in the early 1990´s and they have a style that suits what I like about football, but I also care deeply about AS Roma, for not as long and yes I´ve only followed them since Batistuta went there to win Fabio Capello a scudetto, but I have the scarf and I sing the songs, and I consider myself a fan.

Which makes sense to you? I´m ambivalent about it actually, there were times that I felt like I was cheating on my girlfriend, but I´ve sort of squared it by saying to myself that Arsenal hold my interest intellectually, they define what I think is good and precise, almost mathematical about football. AS Roma on the other hand hold my heart, and I root for them despite them not being very good most years and when they´re good I rub it in people´s faces and when they lose I spin out of control by it, it has nothing to do with my head or a choice I´ve made but a gut feeling I had all along.

If asked to choose between the two I almost always say Roma, but I still think you can support more than one team in one league or else I wouldn´t be struggling with really finding a squad to support in La Liga, or the fact that I like Werder Bremen, PSG or Ajax, Chivas de Guadalajara or especially Boca Juniors in other leagues around the world.

What do you think?

Mando of FF, La Liga Talk and Serie A Talk

Aguilas de America v Boca Juniors: Copa Panamericana 2007

Saturday, 21 July 07, 06:02 PM

Copa Panamericana 2007 Aguilas v Boca Juniors

After a lot of running around and a less than professional detour for batteries, I arrived at All-Tell Stadium in Phoenix, Arizona for the final regular day of the group stages in the Copa Panamericana, a tournament put together by Pro Entertainment and Directv, and broadcast locally by Telemundo on tape delay. It seemed like I was on tape delay myself as my flight got in 25 minutes before the start of the match and I got into Glendale sometime around injury time in the first half and I was feeling like a kid not old enough to drive taking the family car out for a spin, looking in the rear view mirror for a cop. I was holding my press pass dearly, but I settled eventually in a nice chair overlooking the Boca Juniors goal in the pressbox and watched the remainder of the first half.

After round robin play in Group 1, Boca Juniors and Club America of Mexico were facing off Friday night for the opportunity to reach the final on Sunday after both clubs summarily dismantled Alianza Lima of Peru by equally impressive 2-0 scorelines. It looked on paper to be the class match of the tournament as both clubs were taking it seriously, Boca bringing not only Martin Palermo, Neri Cardozo but also Sebastian Battaglia, and a mix of up-and-comers from the youth ranks. The Aguilas, despite voicing disappointment at low turnout and lack of support at the tourney by their Phoenix fan base earlier in the week, also fielded a side much like the one they'll put out for their apertura tournament, headed by ex-Boca and Borussia Monchengladback midfielder Federico Insua, and with noted names like Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabañas and Lucas Castroman on the bench, they had a side likely ready for the apertura tournament in Mexico. Only Rodrigo Palacios and Juan Roman Riquelme for Boca and Guillermo Ochoa for America, who were all still on holiday from their late round finishes in the Copa America, were missing from the sides.

It was hard to tell what the first half had been like, other than the scoreline which had Boca up 1-0 to America after a typical fox in the box performance by captain Martin Palermo, who took advantage of a mistake by defender Ismael Rodriguez (the beauty of replay in an empty pressbox), and scored decisively. But talking to the other reporters, they mentioned that neither team had done much to that point to warrant the scoreline.

While the horns were blaring, I decided to take a look around the place. For Americanista fans, what few their were, it must have been a disappointment, and I saw many of them wandering around during half time with their red, blue and yellow flags and capes, but they were still very vocal, especially in the curva section by the far goal. In the near goal, their was an empty concrete slab behind the pitch, with what looked like indentations running all along the surface right up against the interior wall. I decided to forego buying some schwag and get down to field level to get a closer look. What I found was a marvel of engineering. For those people who remembered the Velstin Arena (home of Schalke '04) in Germany for the last World Cup, you may remember reading about their retractable field, well University of Phoenix Stadium also has that kind of set-up. Most days the grass lies leisurely outside in a football pitch sized planter on rails, but when the buses filled with supporters come expecting a match, the field gets choo-chooed back into place, a process that takes about 4 hours to complete. The 72 degree weather indoors was incredibly helpful as the scorching Arizona heat left me breathless as it is.

Well, I saw the second half from behind the goal, watching the Boca bench do their warm up drills to my left. Each had that hungry look of the football obsessive wanting in on a match that they imagined only they could change the result. They seemed to silently, without looking at the mullet-headed trainer, plead to be let in on the action. The pace behind the goal was about as leisurely as it was with the first team on the field. Aguilas came out needing to make up the goal difference, maybe force penalties, to reach Sunday's final and Boca, uncharacteristically, closed up shop and decided to weather the attack. Most of the last 45 was spent towards the other goal away from my sight lines but rather than complain about the lack of creativity by the Xeineixes and a lack of opportunity by the Mexicans, I'll just thank the folks at Ziga Zoga who helped bring this report back from blistering Phoenix, Arizona. While Alvin Mendoza might have scored, ultimately it was I who scored.

Boca Blow Up

Being a Fan part II

Aguilas de America v Boca Juniors: Copa Panamericana 2007