The most iconic football player of the the last 20 years who-is-not-Zidane, AC Milan’s Paolo Maldini retired last weekend still holding down a first team place at the age of 41. Here are 5 possible reasons for his legendary status in football folklore.

1)  Genes

Paolo’s father is Cesare Maldini, the captain of the 1963 European Cup-winning  Milan side. Maldini senior also played in defence, making up one of the best defensive duos of all time with his famous partner-in-crime, „ich habe fertig” Giovanni Trapattoni. He, like his son was famous for his fair play, elegance on the ball and leadership abilities.

2)    Upbringing

It is apparent in Paolo’s every action on and off the pitch that the values he inherited from his parents served him well all his career. A dignified personality with an unshakeable self-belief, he was able to captain Milan for more than 12 years by never raising his voice, but acting as a role-model in the dressing room and on the field. 

3)    Loyalty

Not many players can play for their whole career at the same club, at such a high level. Milan put his faith in Maldini when he made his debut at the age of sixteen and he paid them back by being a loyal servant to the club ever since. It also helped that he never had to acclimatise to another club, had the same president and club director except for the first few months of his pro-career, thus knew the club inside-out.

4)    Mentor

If ever there was a player who could teach the young prospect the art of defending it was Franco Baresi, who achieved the same legendary status among the Rossoneri faithful. Though Baresi played primarily as a sweeper, he showed Maldini how to stop attackers by perfect positioning, spotless tackling and coordination of the defensive unit to work the offside trap like a finely-tuned machine. No wonder that for some sections of the Milan fans, Numero 6 is still regarded as the ’Real’ capitano of the club.

5)    Stature

At 1,86m height and able to play with both legs, Maldini is the prototype of the ideal defender. Tall enough to clear the ball with his head, but with low enough gravity center to turn with the best of strikers, there was nothing this man could not dot handle. Add to this his positional sense and in his prime his speed and it’s no wonder that Maldini was able to deliver world class performance as a left-back and in central defence, in Milan and in the Squadra Azzura.

300 million Euros. That’s the amount everyone is talking about in Madrid when they are summing up the new Real-president’s transfer kitty for the summer. Florentino Pérez came back with a bang, has grandous plans for the immediate future and wants to reinstate the Gálacticos era that his first presidential term was famous for.

It would be the perfect time to create a finely balanced team for new head coach Pellegrini. The Chilean was a master in bringing out the maximum from limited resources at Villareal; now with seamingly endless resources he would be able to win it all. However, he won’t get a word in deciding who the club is signing for the new season and with all the talk being of star forwards and midfielders, the balance of the team is again at stake.  

During Pérez’s first reign, Real were successful in the initial years, winning the league twice in 2001 and 03, and the Champions League in 2002. After the uncompromising Del Bosque was ousted in 2003, the club went totally in the direction of signing more big names like Beckham and releasing useful squad players like McManaman or Solari. Their only hope for defensive soliditiy, Makelele also left in 2004 when his request for equal salary with the big stars was rejected. 2 more barren years have followed and Pérez had to leave office in 2006 with his project being ridiculed by the masses.

All that seems to be forgotten by now, the multimillionaire has won the presidential election without opposition, and with the fans and club members eager to see glittering stars and scincillating football instead of hard-working, ’efficient’ but ultimately boring warriors in the famous white shirt. Players like Gago, Sneijder, Diarra, Robben or Heinze will surely be on the transfer list to make room for the expensive new arrivals. But what do Real need in order for the forwards to shine? They need stability and hard work all over the park. Can you imagine an eleven consisting of David Villa, Franck Ribéry, Kaká and Cristiano Ronaldo working hard on defense? No? Thought so... Makelele once said that in that attack-crazy Madrid of the Zidane-Figo-Ronaldo era, he and the two center-backs were the only field players doing the defending and had to cover all the time for the Gálacticos who didn’t give a dime about tracking back and helping out. Sometimes it worked, like in their duels with Manchester United in the 2002-03 Champions League quarter finals, but mostly it resulted in the team being caught out with swift counter-attacks, like when Juventus beat them in the semi final of the same competition.

So, if the Valdano-Pérez duo really signs the aforementioned four world beaters, what room is left there for Pellegrini to finetune the team? How much money will be left in the Bernabéu treasury to sign great defensive midfielders and defenders? The current line-up of Real at the back consists of an average Brazilian (Marcelo), a very attack-minded, but ultimately deconcentrated Spaniard (Ramos), one Argentine who is below average in positioning and crazy with his sliding tackles (Heinze) and one Portugese who has been banned from the game for misconduct and anyhow looks like a raving lunatic on the field (Pepe). Let’s not even mention the German destroyer, Metzelder, who is below-par and can be turned inside-out by any decent striker and there we are: the whole back-line needs to be replaced. Kaká, Ronaldo, Ribéry, Villa and possibly Xabi Alonso will each cost 25 to 70 million Euros. Pellegrini will have to push his case very hard with his megaloman president to build a team that can keep him in place until at least the end of his first season in charge. If he can convince Valdano, the sporting director to shift the attention of his president for at least temporarily to the necessity of reinforcing the back-line then he might have a chance to build a TEAM in the very sense of the word. If not, I’m afraid history will repeat itself and no matter how many stars Real Madrid will have in attack, without real cohesion and defensive solidity, they will be found out time and again both in La Liga and in the Champions League.

My verdict: time for Pérez and Valdano to shift their focus a bit and give a damn about the defensive aspects of the game as well. Otherwise their 'spectacular project' as they like to call it will fall flat on its face yet again.

Rome, Stadio Olimpico, Wednesday, 27th 2009 - The two heavyweights of European football clash on the grandest of stages. One club is looking to do the treble that the former has achieved exactly ten years ago while the other is looking to do the double-double in terms of defending their league and Champions League titles. One is considered to have the best attacking trio the game has seen since a long time – a winger, a predator and a genius. The other has the meanest defense and two world class forwards – the bulldog and the gigolo. Let’s take a look at whom or what can tip the balance in each team’s favour. 

Manager vs. Manager 

Sir Alex Ferguson has been in business for many decades now. Countless trophies won in Scotland, England and in Europe as well. In the previous decade he has constructed his teams on all-round attack with the idea that they will always score one more goal than the opponents – resulting in such classics as the 3-3 games vs. Barcelona in their treble season (98-99). During the last 5-6 years however, Fergie realized the need to play in a more controlled, defensive style in Europe especially when away. He has also groomed his star players into highly versatile warriors, ready to sacrifice themselves for the need of the team (best example: Rooney playing as left winger for most parts of the 2008-09 CL campaign). 

Pep Guardiola was one of the cheekiest footballers of his time, the epitome of the ’football brain’ or the Xavi-of-the-nineties if you like. These traits shone through in how he has set-up the new-look Barca in his first year in management – keeping possession, playing in a creative but still very organized way and giving as much freedom as possible to his footballers to express themselves (particularly to Xavi and Iniesta). During the campaign he has shown that he is able to handle the pressure of his position and won the league, cup and along-the-way masterminded the 6-2 demolition of Real Madrid in the Bernabeu.  

Barca attack vs. ManU defence 

Ronaldinho, Eto’o, Guily is how the forward line looked when Barca last won the Champions League in 2006. Since then, Henry joined Eto’o on the left, while Messi grew into the magician most of us expected him to be. The system is roughly the same, but working even better than under Rijkaard, producing an incredible goal tally both in La Liga and in Europe. Barca’s three musketeers are the envy of world football. However, in the final Henry will play only half-fit due to the injury he suffered against Madrid, so it is left to Eto’o and Messi to shine. Messi, if given the space is able to outfox any defense in the world, while the Cameroonian is the best finisher around. Still, their threat was almost nullified against Chelsea and in last year’s semi finals Ferdinand and co. were dispatching them with relative ease. They need to invent something to surprise the Englishmen or they will end up again with no goals.  

The defensive pairing of Ferdinand and Vidic was the bedrock of every ManU successes over the last three seasons. If last year they were excellent, this year they proved to be even better – marking out such giants like Ibrahimovic and Adebayor from crucial games. Of course it helped that with Evra and O’Shea, both full-backs were playing on a world-class level and the midfield with Fletcher and Carrick was expertly shielding the back four. 

Midfield vs. Midfield 

Manchester’s midfield was considered to be the world’s best in 1999. Now, they can be considered to be the most consistent and excellent both in attacking and defending. Though the tireless Fletcher will be dearly missed, with Carrick, Scholes, Anderson and Giggs there are more than enough options to counter the Catalans in the middle of the park. Speaking of Park, the Korean winger is probably playing his best football since joining ManU in 2005. He is not the most skilled, hasn’t got the best cross, but what he lacks in flair and ability, he more than makes up with his incredible work rate and unselfish play. 

With Deco switching to Chelsea in the turbulent summer of 2008, it was left to Iniesta to fill the void left in Barca’s 3-man midfield. And boy, did he do a great job... Together with Xavi, they play such a high-tempo, switching-from-defense-to-attack-in-a-split-second-game that most of their opponents are struggling to even man-mark them, let alone mark them effectively. Should the ball slip through the two small midfielders, there is a man-mountain to cope with in the form of Yaya Touré who if occasionally wanders forward can score absolute monster goals, witness his solo-run and vicious strike in the Copa del Rey final against Bilbao. 

ManU attack vs. Barca defense 

ManU’s attack is difficult to judge for the simple reason that where do you count Ronaldo in? Is he a midfielder/winger or a forward? He can dribble and score with both feet, his heading ability is only rivaled by Drogba and his free-kicks are unpredictable to say the least. Rooney is a forward, who often finds himself on either wing, doing the dirty defensive work while looking for opportunities to exploit on the counter. The other two prominent members of the forward line are Tevez and Berbatov. The Argentine is a Rooney-type forward, who runs all match long like his life depended on it and seems to pop up in the most important moments to score decisive goals. Berbatov on the other hand has still to prove that he was worth the 30 million pounds ManU paid for him. He was often accused of being disinterested during matches, and his goal per game rate is quite awful. But what he has is a lethal instinct for goal. Who knows, maybe he will pull out a trick in the most important game of the year... 

Marquez, Abidal, Dani Alves, three starters for Barca’s defense will be missing out on the final. It isn’t looking rosy from this perspective for the Blaugrana. Piquet and Yaya Touré will most probably play in central defense, with Puyol filling in on the right. The main weak point however can be Silvinho’s lack of fitness this season. His old legs were already exposed this year and Ronaldo will surely give him a nightmare down the left flank.  

Tactics 

Barca are traditionally using a 4-3-3 system which against most opponents seems to be working perfectly. The draw-back of this system is that it can be quite rigid. In the semis this year Chelsea and last year ManU already showed that with a tight 4-5-1 line-up Barca’s threat can be nullified and their creative players are struggling heavily.

Manchester is looking to play in a 4-5-1 formation, with Ronaldo in the center, Park on the right and Rooney on the left, with Carrick and probably Anderson sharing the central midfield positions. The advantage of this formation is that in defense, it can be very tight for the opposition but in attack the transformation from 4-5-1 into 4-3-3 can be seamless and done in a very short period of time, effectively killing off the opposition on the counter-attack. Precisely this tool will be the one that Ferguson will be relying heavily on: he knows that with proper defending he can kill of Barca’s offensive threat just like Chelsea did and with a shaky Barca backline they can be highly vulnerable on the counter. The other main weapon of ManU will be the set plays. Vidic at corners and Ronaldo with goal-bound free kicks, it just doesn’t get more dangerous than this. 

Squad power/Bench length 

The Barcelona bench is stronger than it was last year but with the suspensions and the injury of Marquez there won’t be many useful players to be introduced by Guardiola. Should the result demand action, the players he will most probably turn to are Bojan, Gudjohnsen, Keita and Busquets. The young Spaniard is a clone of Messi with a hint of Ronaldinho in him, able to score spectacular goals but his slight frame might be easily out muscled by the likes of Ronaldo and O’Shea. Gudjohnsen and Keita were playing in various midfield and forward positions during the season but neither of them have showed much promise – probably because Guardiola relied too heavily on his preferred starting eleven whenever possiblethus giving no time to his subs to gain valuable match time and fitness. Busquets however, is a player who combines the physical strength of Touré with the finesse of Xavi. If there is one player who can apply pressure on the English backline then it is him. You could have thought the same of Alexander Hleb, who came with such aplomb from Arsenal last year but who delivered absolutely nothing since he put on the famous shirt. Wasteful in possession, complicating things with his endless dribbles, lacking in fitness and ultimately in confidence. 

The Red’s squad is one of the most finely balanced in football. They are also lucky with suspensions so Ferguson would be able to name two sides of almost equal strength and even his B-team would be a real match for anyone. Brown and Evans in defense have proved themselves countless times. Giggs and Scholes for the midfield ditto. In attack, Ferguson can rely on Tevez to come in and score the decisive goal. I would even go as far as to say that the former Boca Juniors-man is better as a substitute than as a starter. 

As a result... 

Looks quite even on paper doesn’t it, but I have a suspicion that Man Utd will simply have too much energy, talent and organization for Barca to contain for the full ninety minutes. Their defense, especially compared to this makeshift Barca backline is the best in the world. Their midfield is aggressive, well-balanced and hard-working. Their flair players are in good form, Ronaldo especially booming with confidence and I also think that Tevez wants to prove himself to his suitors before he leaves the club, while Berbatov has too much to prove, so he as well will put everything he has into the match. Barca on the other hand has been defeated in their last 2 league matches, and although they’ve won the cup final it was against a terrible Bilbao side. In the semis Chelsea was able to outwit, outmuscle and outplay the Catalans and without Ovebro’s incompetent refereeing and Hiddink’s mistake in taking off Drogba at a crucial moment, they would surely not have made it through.

Well, Euro 2008 finally is on it's way, creeping into our daily lives like an unwanted but utterly necessary addiction. At least this is how I felt about it when I started to watch the first game on Saturday. Though most of the matches have been quite entertaining up till now, one has to say, the quality of play could be better. Most coaches at the Euro are fascinated (maybe even blinded?!) by keeping it safe, not allowing any space for the opposing strikers and hoping to sneak in one or two at the other end and getting away with it without having to take any risks.

Well, if this was the idea of the Swiss, Austrian, Romanian, French, Italian or the Greek coach, they were left with a mountain to climb for the remaining two group matches. Okay, the host nations gave it a brave fight-back but to be frank: both the Czechs and especially the Croatians were beatable on the day. I was not so stunned by the inability of the Czech team as those who expected an onslaught from them similar to Euro 2004 should have seen the warning signals. By losing Nedved and Poborsky to retirement, Rosicky to injury and their whole forward line (Koller and Baros) to a complete loss of form, it was no surprise that they struggle. They will be beaten by Turkey and swept aside by Portugal, that is for sure.

The other Eastern European team shocking their many supporters by their poor display were Croatia. It seems that Bilic just can't get his magician Krajncar to take matters seriously. The Portsmouth midfielder has all the abilities in the world but he just doesn't seem to care and sadly, this attitude looks to transpire onto the whole squad. Not to mention that they looked jaded after 45 minutes of Austrian onslaught. Bilic will surely have to do something to liven up his players otherwise it will be curtains to the proud Croatians before they know it. Germany however, considered the best in their group and favourite for the title lived up to their billing by delivering an effective and powerful performance against a spirited Polish side. I have to admit, I've started to doubt the German's ability to produce another great team after seeing how they suffered in the Ribbeck-Voller era from 1998 till 2004, but Klinsmann and later Jogi Loew transformed the Nationalmannschaft into a brutal force that plays with utter precision and an incredible self-belief. Not to mention that finally they have competent strikers to score goals: Gomez, Klose and the much under-rated Podolski worked beautifully together, it was almost as good to watch as the Torres-Villa duo today.

Last but not least I was completely amazed how tactically naive the French were in their encounter with Romania. Anyone with even a tiny bit of brains could figure out how Domenech would set up his team thus anyone could have done what the Romanians have: double up on the wings, mark Ribéry to the death, keep Benzema and Anelka at bay and there we are, absolutely no threat on the Romanian goal. It is hard to comprehend what Domenech was expecting by deploying two ultra-defensive midfielder and one completely out-of-form winger next to Ribéry. Where would the creativity come from? The play of the French in the last decade was based upon Zidane's creative insticts. Now that he's gone, there is no one (well, on the bench with Samir Nasri there is...) to pull the strings and the end result is inevitably a dull 0-0. I would even go as far as using Henry (given that he is fit) as a playmaker to insert some mobility and imagination into their otherwise unimaginative way of play. Why not? If Rijkaard had the guts to use him as a left-sided winger, Domenech could use him as a number 10.

As for the positive part of the Championships so far, I expect to cover that in an upcoming post, so don't think that it is all just the negative side I am seeing and moaning about here :)

No manager, discontent in the dressing room, want-away key players and second place finishes on three fronts. This is surely not what Roman Abramovich has been imaginging for himself when Chelsea began the 2007-2008 season with José Mourinho still at the helm.

However, the Russian billionaire soon lost patience with the team's indifferent and boring displays and decided in September 2007 that it was time to sack the Portugese manager and bring in someone he could influence with much more ease. Though Avram Grant almost proved to be a decent appointment given that he was one-spot kick and one Emile Heskey-goal away from winning two precious trophies, his fate was always solely in the hands of the owner who made him manage a world class team without any relevant experience from the past.

Whoever will be named as successor to Grant in the coming weeks, he has a near-impossible task to face. Abramovich will expect nothing short of beatiful, eye-pleasing football from next season on with at least 2 trophies in the cabinet by June 2009 (and we are not talking about the League Cup, FA Cup double here). The new coach's first and foremost task will be to set up the team that will challenge on four fronts but the list of players who want out of the club is as long as Abramovich's yacht: the two most notable of them are Drogba and Lampard who seem destined to follow Mourinho to Inter. The Ivorian will not be missed by the Chelsea hierarchy who are fed up with the striker's show-acting, but Frank Lampard is such a key part of the team that replacing him will be a much harder task for Peter Kenyon (club managing director) and Frank Arnesen (head of scouting) than making him agree a new deal.

Others who have one foot already out are Sevchenko, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Sidwell, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Malouda, Pizarro, Tal Ben Haim and Michael Essien, who allegedly was contacted by Mourinho and probably also on his way to foggy Milan.

Also unclear is the future of goal-keeper Carlo Cudicini who might already be fed up with being second behind Petr Cech. The same applies to Wayne Bridge. The ex-Southhampton left-back was sitting on the bench for the last three years first behind Asier Del Horno and since 2006 behind Ashley Cole. Can he tolerate another year on the sidelines when it is obvious that he has enough talent to make the England squad?

Last but not least on the uncertain players list is Nicolas 'I change clubs every year' Anelka, who showed during the Champions League final that a mercenary remains a mercenary who is only motivated by big bucks and knows no loyalty. How else can anyone explain the bored look on his face after he missed the decisive spot-kick in the CL final? The new manager will surely have this on his mind as well.

Not many are left from the squad on whom the new team can be built. In goal, Petr Cech remains one of the best goalies and his best years are still ahead of him. The defensive quartet has two rock solid England players with Terry and Ashley Cole but the other centre-half and right-back position continue to be a problem. Ben Haim has been a catastrophe, Alex hasn't been given enough time to settle, not to mention the January purchase of Grant, Branislav Ivanovic, who couldn't even get a game yet. If Carvalho stays, then the spot is filled but that remains to be seen. In right-back, Essien had to deputise almost all season as neither Paulo Ferreira nor Juliano Belletti were able to make this position their own. Chelsea also realise this, so they snapped up José Bosingwa from FC Porto for 16 million pounds. Another Portugese right-back flop?

Given that Kenyon is able to convince Lampard and/or Essien to stay, the midfield looks to be alright. Makelele still has one or two years left in him, Ballack rediscovered his form by 2008 and with Obi-Mikel, Chelsea possess one of the best young defensive midfielders on the planet. It will also depend on what tactics the new manager will apply, but on the wing the club will need to invest heavily. SWP showed during the last three years that he is not capable to rise to the occasion, while Malouda has been a flop especially for a world champion. The only player capable of showing some wizardry skills here remains Joe Cole, the steady little dribbler who had one of his best seasons so far in 2007-2008.

In the forward line, if Shevchenko, Drogba and Pizarro are sold, only Kalou will remain. Needless to say, this department will need a lot of attention and added firepower if Chelsea are to score anywhere near Manchester or Arsenal next season.

Abramovich is reportedly ready to plunge into his endless money bag and spend heavily on new, and more importantly: EXCITING players. There is talk of Messi, Kaká, Robinho, Ramos coming to London for incredible sums but let's not be fooled: these players are priceless for their clubs and will not be sold. There are however much more feasible targets on the market, if Kenyon and co. are willing to look lower down the list of "Most interesting players available for inorbitant sums": for example David Villa, the Valencia striker, who is looking for a new challenge and is capable of scoring 20+ goals per season. Gareth Barry, who can be bought for about 17-20 million Euros and is an England international with great leadership skills. For the wide positions there is David Bentley, the ex-Arsenal midfielder. Why not also try to sign Lukas Podolski from Bayern München? The guy is young, talented, burning with desire to show himself after being dismissed by successive Bayern coaches and importantly, with Ballack he would have a good mate from Team Germany already settled at the Bridge.

If these four players would be bought, the team could look like the following:

Cech - Bosingwa, Terry, Carvalho/Alex, A. Cole - J. Cole/Bentley, Ballack, Makelelé, Lampard/Barry - David Villa, Kalou/Podolski. Complemented by a strong manager in the Guus Hiddink/Mark Hughes mould, this team could yet again rival Manchester to the Premiership trophy and anyone to the Champions League final. But for this to happen, 4 things need to happen at Stamford Bridge:

• Appoint a strong manager to lead the team and banish any ghosts of Mourinho and the horrible-ending of last season
• Sign players who still have a hunger for success and mould them together with the existing squad as quickly as possible
• Trim down the squad to 20-22 excellent players and sell every useless/egoistic star
• Make Abramovich not interfere with team affairs at all, a.k.a. let the experts do their work in peace