photo credit: TheAlieness GiselaGiardino²³

Laurent Blanc–Bordeaux’s #1 Guy (not like Jack Napier in the 1989 “Batman”…that was just creepy)–thinks that France is “closing the gap” between itself and the top leagues in Europe.  Namely the EPL, Serie A, and La Liga.  Now, I’d tend to agree with that assessment, but we first have to look at what’s going on and why we think it got this way in the first place.

If you look at leagues like France’s you’ll notice that they are very consistent and though there may be one “power” team there isn’t usually a scrum at the top with two teams who are far-and-away better than everybody else.  If you look at leagues like England and Spain you see exactly that.  Real Madrid and Barcelona are miles ahead of Valencia while Chelsea, United, and Arsenal are light years in front of Liverpool.

Does this mean the level of competition is lower in France?  Yes, it does.  In France, you just need to hang out near the top and you’ll be fine.  If you aren’t in the “peleton” pretty early in the season you’ll never catch up in a place like Italy, Spain, or England.

Yes, having two teams from France–Lyon and Bordeaux–advance to the Quarterfinals of the Champion’s League is great, but that only means they succeeded in the Champion’s League.  Real Madrid and Chelsea are out and they could both EASILY win their leagues against strong teams like United and Barca.

So, is the gap closing?  Maybe.  Is it obvious?  No.  Why?  Because France still doesn’t have as much parity as the other leagues.  Teams have a better chance at taking a day off in France than they do anywhere else.  It makes more sense for French teams to be better rested for international tournaments since they have to do less at home.

photo credit: batrax

That’s the headline I’m seeing everywhere.  It’s like a media conspiracy.  Jose Mourinho didn’t kick ball #1 yesterday when Inter squeaked past Chelsea into the Champion’s League Quarterfinals.  In fact, they barely won the match, but they did win.

Now, Chelsea is left to stick with United for the rest of the season in the hopes of redeeming themselves from that awful Final match they had last season.  Inter moves on to see if they perhaps spoil someone else’s Champion’s League dreams.

I think what’s most impressive is that Inter held Chelsea scoreless at Stamford Bridge.  European soccer fans are crazy and English Soccer fans don’t play around.  So, dealing with all of that and not letting the home team score is pretty remarkable.

It should also be noted that Massimo Moratti–Inter’s president–said that Mourinho was the “Man of the Match” even though he didn’t:

1.  Kick the ball

2.  Pass the ball

3.  Handle the ball

4.  Score the winning goal

So, what does this equal?  Inter already kissing the behind of one Mr. Mourinho.  Couldn’t get a hearty congratulations to the team since they’re the ones who have to actually play these matches all over the world?

Couldn’t we forget for one second that Mourinho is only going to use this win to whore himself out to other teams even MORE?  Are we forgetting that the next headline will be “Mourinho to be fired if he does not advance to Champion’s League Semifinals”?

I say good for the Inter players.  They played a great match and won ON THE ROAD–which is very hard to do–and now they get to continue their quest.  For the President of their club to hail Mourinho over Eto’o is completely disrespectful. 

Maybe they kind of deserve each other?

So, I hop on the computer this morning–gotta love the internet, right–and I see this story.  “Jose Mourinho’s Gonna Get Fired If He Doesn’t Advance Past Chelsea“.  Really?

This came a day after I read a story that said Mourinho could be the beginning of a serious managerial shake-up in European Soccer.  Is this a coincidence?  I think not.

Mourinho is obviously not stupid and he’s figured out two things:

1.  The media loves it when people get fired

and

2.  The media loves to speculate about people getting fired.

So, I think he’s taken the following steps to stoke the market and see if the frenzy around him can be even greater than it already is.  You see, some people are probably already looking at him, but if they think he might get fired then they will have to have their checkbooks in hand when he hits the door so they can sign him on the spot.

The only way for teams to be alert to this kind of thing is through leaked rumors to the media.  The story I read said that this “tall tale” came from an “Italian Source”.  Ok, I think that Italian source is Mourinho’s people.

I can’t prove that, but I just have a hunch.  Soccer gets played out in the media more than any other sport on the planet and I think this is just another way for someone in Soccer to use the media to get what they want.

Here’s the problem.  If I’m right and Mourinho is behind this then what about his Inter club against Chelsea today?  Don’t they deserve his best effort?  Can we guarantee beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will get HIS best effort today?

I don’t think so.  That’s sad, but true.  The coaching carousel is ALREADY in motion.

photo credit: Mooganic

David Beckham’s World Cup is more than likely over as he has–apparently–torn his Achilles Tendon in a Serie A match this weekend.  Basically, the English are crying right now, but I think it’s time for the English side to get it together and make this into a rallying cry.  This could be their chance to push themselves over the edge and get into a position to win the whole thing.

I know I predicted that they wouldn’t make it out of their Group because of poor management, but management may not even make a difference now.  If this team wants to rally around its core and basically shut out everyone else they can really do something special.

Look at a team like the Boston Red Sox.  In 2004 they had already dealt Nomar Garciaparra and they went on to win the World Series.  He was part of the “Idiot clan” that put that team over the top.  Well, him leaving and the pressure of the moment made that team band together and win a World Series.  They even gave Nomar a full-share of the title because he was so beloved.

The same can be true here.  Beckham is gone and this is the kind of “bulletin board” material that the English need to say “Screw the rest of the world, let’s fight for our brother!”

Are they actually going to do that?  I don’t know.  Fabio Capello was stupid enough to comment:

“We have to wait for the results of the scan, but it looks like he is out of the World Cup.  I spoke with him after the game on Sunday night to offer my support, as did Franco Baldini.”

Listen, just offer your support and move on.  Speculating on a scan is idiocy.

Hopefully the players take note and decide to band together because Capello obviously knows nothing about building a real “team”.

I hope Becks makes a full recovery and I hope the English players do something special at this year’s World Cup.

Manchester United hammered AC Milan 4-0 to move into the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Leading 3-2 after the first leg, Man Utd tightened their grip on the tie when Wayne Rooney scored again. With the goal Rooney became on the second player in history to score in both legs of a European tie against Milan.

Any hopes that Milan had of getting back in the game were killed a minute into the second half when Rooney ran onto a brilliant ball from Nani to score his 30th goal of the season and knock Milan out of the Champions League.

After that it was party time at Old Trafford as Park Ji-Sung added a third after a great Paul Scholes pass.

By then, all that was left for the fans was David Beckham’s return to Old Trafford. His appearance was met with massive cheers and he almost had a fairy tale return when his 20 yard volley was turned over the bar by van der Sar.

Darren Fletcher rounded out the scoring with another header as United rounded off a 7-2 aggregate triumph.

Post Match Quotes
Sir Alex Ferguson, United manager

“It was a marvellous second-half performance. We got the break with the early goal in the second half and after that we played very well. When we play with that tempo we’re difficult to play against; it was a solid United performance.

It’s a challenge [for Wayne Rooney to beat Cristiano Ronaldo's 42-goal haul of 2007/08]. I was happy with him getting to 30 to be honest with you. He just keeps improving and tonight again he was sensational. Ji-Sung Park showed sacrifice, intelligence and discipline and we needed that against [Andrea] Pirlo because he’s a very good player for them. With the kind of team we’ve got it doesn’t matter who we play next.”

Leonardo, Milan coach

“We will have to analyse many things about the game but this is not the time to do it. We deserved something more in the first leg but this time around United’s victory was clearly deserved. They had a brilliant start, scored early on and everything became easier for them.

We did some good things in the Champions League this season. I thought we had a chance after our first-leg performance but we were up against a very good side. We lost [Alessandro] Nesta a few hours ahead of the game, than his replacement [Daniele] Bonera in the first half. I took a risk by fielding [Massimo] Ambrosini in defence, but it didn’t pay off.

It will be impossible to quickly put this game behind us but we are just four points adrift of Inter in Serie A with 11 games to play and we have to try to catch them.”

photo credit: CLF

Becks isn’t making up the difference…I don’t think.

Alexandre Pato is out with a hamstring strain and MAY NOT be able to play against United in the second leg of their Champion’s League Round of 16 matchup.  This is a problem for AC Milan because they need Pato for the Champion’s League and the rest of their club season.

With AC Milan nursing a 3-2 deficit against United there really is no room for slip-ups and now the “slips” are coming.

Pato is Milan’s top scorer and a firecracker on the field.  Meanwhile, Alex Ferguson is reportedly getting a ton of money to buy players in the offseason.  It seems he isn’t comfortable relying on Wayne Rooney for goals, but he can’t complain since he still has his top scorer.

With Pato out I don’t see how the 3-2 deficit can be overcome.  This WAS a dream matchup that got marred by injury and looks to be a United blowout.  Manchester United has risen to the top of the EPL table and now they get to take that momentum into this match with Milan.

Wednesday night will prove to be horrific for Milan because there’s no way in the world they are going to find someone else to score goals.  Plus, they are running into the freight train known as United.  It’s a pretty easy one to call.

United – 3   AC – 1

Where will AC’s one goal come from?  The person that fills Pato’s spot.  The problem with that:

If Pato goes out and I’m right then there is a dude who’s getting his time AND scoring goals.  This always creates turmoil in locker rooms and I don’t really think ANYBODY can afford that right now.

We know that Fergie isn’t the only guy who’s getting alot of money to spend in the offseason.  If guys catch even a whiff of discontent then they might walk.  It’s a fine line to walk, but it must be walked for supremacy in the Champion’s League.

If I’m wrong and Milan wins without Pato then it gets even worse.  Ouch!

Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Michael Essien along with Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o have been shortlisted for the BBC African player of the year 2009 award.

The trio who gained the most votes from a field that included Barcelona’s Seydo Keita and Yaya Toure will now be crossing their fingers and hoping that they emerge victorious in the March 11th CAF gala that will take place in Accra, Ghana.

Out of all the three players, Didier Drogba is the only one who has not won the award. Technically, Drogba was the winner for the 2007 edition but could not collect his award in the February 2008 CAF gala because his country was still participating in the Africa Cup of Nations.

CAF decided to hand Kanoute the award because of his “availabilty”. In fact Kanoute was the only player to attend the gala ceremony in Lome, Togo and in their wise judgment, Africa’s governing football body gave the Mali and Sevilla striker the award.

As you can guess Drogba was not a very happy man. He also decided to withdraw himself from all future CAF awards. There is some good news however, Drogba has since resolved his differences with CAF and he will participate in this year’s edition where he is the favourite to win.

Double D will be up against Chelsea team mate Essien and 3 time winner Eto’o. Essien and Eto’o are very talented players but do not stand a chance against Drogba. The Ivorian is currently the EPL’s second top scorer with 19 goals in the League while Eto’o is yet to reproduce the form he had at Barcelona. The Cameroonian is struggling in the Italian Serie A. Essien on the other hand has had a season hampered by injuries and will be lucky to emerge as the second runner up.

Photo credit: join 1 goal

photo credit: B Rosen

Let’s use our heads people!

There seems to be some confusion over what some people thought were harsh and uninformed comments about Fabio Capello.  Listen, I know what a good Soccer mind is and that’s not at question.  I know he won Serie A like 5000 times.  I get it!  Here’s the problem:  What do we know now?

For example:  Liverpool starts there Europa League campaign today.  They saay they’re ready to breakout from this pathetic season.  Do you believe them?  I’m going with what I know…they’ll have a hard time.

Real Madrid is gunning for another United player and all I can do is go with what I know.  They’re a bad version of the Yankees in Soccer.  They can collect all the talent in the world and it won’t matter.  Do you REALLY think they’ll catch up to Barca?

So, when Fabio Capello creates a firestorm around his English National Team by stripping John Terry of his captaincy instead of being smart and getting the whole team together and doing some “damage control” I can only have one reaction:

What’s happening right now is stupid.  You can tell me he won Serie A 10,000 times and you’d get the same answer from me.  He’s being an idiot NOW.  Not yesterday.  Yesterday he was a genius.  Today…he’s foolish.

Look at Real Madrid.  You can tell me they’ve won LaLiga 5 million times (I’m not looking up the stats by the way) and it won’t matter.  Right now…they are moving in the wrong direction with the wrong intent. 

I can only work off the knowledge I have right now.  Right now they’re trying to cannibalize other teams in hopes of fixing internal problems that they have.  That’s dumb.  What else can we say?

For future.  Let’s think about what’s going on right now.  We can romanticize the past…but that was then and this is now.

European giants Real Madrid and AC Milan were last night given the shock of their lives when they both lost in their respective first leg knockout ties.

7 time European champions AC Milan suffered their worst defeat ever at the hands of Manchester United as they were beaten 3-2 at home to end their dominance at the San Siro  over the English club.

Real Madrid lost 1-0 away to Olympique Lyon and they will now have to win convincingly to ensure they progress to the quarters. Lately, the Merengues have been a pale shadow of their former selves at least in Europe and they will want to avoid another disappointing exit from Europe’s elite club competition to appease their fans.

Milan on the other hand have an uphill task when they meet United at Old Trafford for their return fixture. The rossoneri will have to beat the Red Devils with a huge goal margin to tip the balance in their favour.

I have to say Milan played a good game last night and their star Ronaldinho just seems to be getting better with every game. The Brazilian scored one and set up team mate Seedorf for Milan’s masterpiece second. They only have themselves to blame for their missed chances. Huntelaar, Antonini, Pirlo and Ronaldinho all missed chances that would have won the game for Milan.

History Fsvours Milan but i think the rossoneri bit off more than they can chew, However, they can still cause a surprise 3 weeks from yesterday.

Photo credit: Marcp_dmoz

Inter Milan overcame Wesley Sneijder’s early red card to beat AC Milan 2-0 and moved nine points clear of their city rivals in the standings.

Victory for AC Milan would have taken them to within three points of Inter with a game in hand, but they were under pressure from the start and conceded after just ten minutes when Diego Milito drove low into the far corner from the left for his 13th league effort this term.

Sneijder was shown a red card for dissent with 27 minutes gone, yet Milan failed to capitalize and were left reeling by Goran Pandev’s 65th-minute free-kick.

Then in injury time Lucio was sent off for a handball inside the area, but Julio César kept out Ronaldinho’s penalty to seal the outcome.