Milan Destroyed

Being a Manchester United fan is a rewarding experience because we are a top team, and we win often. But it is nights like these when the glory is truly resounding and heartfelt, and on so many fronts.

I say this again and again and so much to the point where my friends often tell me to shut up, but there really is Only One Wayne Rooney. Being my far and out favorite player in the world, there may be some bias there, but I truly believe that there isn’t, and has never been a striker as dynamic, unique, and devastating. As if he needed to, he proved his pedigree once again tonight, hitting yet another trademark header, and tapping in a brilliant pass from Nani. There really isn’t much more to say except that – we should all be counting our great luck that we have a player of this immense talent who remains loyal to Old Trafford.

My man of the match, and the choice that most United fans agree on tonight, is Ji Sung Park. Moved to a center role, he played a box-to-box role, where he effectively reduced Andrea Pirlo to shreds on one end (quite comical, really), and stormed up to score on another. Park’s reknown industry has been used on the wing during most of his time at United, but Sir Alex made a decision to use him differently during these Milan games, and it is a decision that may redefine Park’s role in the team. He looked very comfortable, stealing the ball, moving forward, spraying it to the wing, or giving it back to Scholes for wider distribution. And the goal itself was a great individual effort as his positioning and movement allowed Scholes to produce a simple pass forward. When Nani fell while trying to cross towards the end, Park picked it up, turned the defender, and left it for Rafael to cross it unmarked. In essence, Park was heavily involved in defense and offense tonight, and based on the numerous plaudits, his immense performance, surely one of his best, has garnered unanimous praise already.

Regarding the above two heroes, Sir Alex commented: “It was a continuation of his form over the last two or three months, it’s just sensational,” said Ferguson. “I think he has improved is his movement in the penalty box.” He was pleased, too, for another scorer. “The key for us was Park Ji-Sung and Rooney,” he added. “Park Ji-Sung played with a sacrifice, an intelligence and a discipline.” (www.soccernet.com)

Other special mentions go to Fletcher, a typical lung-busting, industrious performance tonight, as well as Gary Neville, who decided that he would not Ronaldinho take over the left side again. Age is detrimental to a footballer, but class remains in certain players.

I loved watching Beckham trying to hold back the tears, the fans chanting for him, and his walk back down to the locker rooms with a Newton Heath banner strapped around his neck. He is such a great professional, and a red devil through and through. I’m sure the night was as special for him as it was for us United fans who remember the great moments of his time with us. I’m sure I speak for many of us when I say Becks is welcome back to Old Trafford any time. I am so drained of emotion, I think this was United’s performance of the season. Everyone performed well, and we made one of Europe’s best teams look like amateurs. Forza, Viva, and Allez United – lets win this thing.

 

Champions League Day

Golden Balls is finally coming back home. My dear Becks, welcome back. Just don’t take any free kicks. And when you do, make sure you remember all the good times you had at Old Trafford, and not the time when the cleat magically hit you in the face.

More seriously though, it should be a good game between Milan and United. Second legs are always fiercely contested, although I’m sure Porto would disagree based on yesterday’s bout with Arsenal. Usually, and especially when it comes to United, I have a fairly certain opinion on who is going to win. Today, I’m stumped. The results hang in a very precarious number of factors.

1) Rooney – Sir Alex claims that his star man is fully fit and ready to go. But one must wonder whether a player can really shake of an injury that got aggravated a week ago in the heat of internationals. No doubt Sir Alex did his best to prepare Rooney for this game, but the human body is what it is. Even Rooney, who tends to recover faster than most, can’t be at his absolute best, having trained less than usual do to the injury. But we’ll see.

2) Ronaldinho vs. Rafael – Last time, Ronaldinho tore Rafa a new one. Literally. It was not pleasant to watch, and I felt that young Rafael had already lost have the battle before the game, when he was in awe at the very sight of his legendary compatriot. I know Rafael can do better than what he showed last time, and he needs to actually do it this time.

3) Park – Sir Alex made a decision last match to pull Ji-Sung Park out of his natural position and give him a roaming center midfielder position. Park was clearly told to man mark Pirlo, and that he did. Pirlo was hardly able to get any passes off and was generally ineffective the entire match. The great thing about Ji-Sung Park is that his endurance allows him to hassle the daylights out of an an opponent (like Gattuso of old), and then push back forward immediately with the same zeal and agression. Sir Alex should either retain that tactic this match, or let Park do the same thing on the wing. A journalist was noting that Sir Alex has an invaluable asset in the understanding between Park and Evra, and that may be be worth a try as well. Milan’s aging defense will have a tough time double-marking Rooney, guarding eithter Valencia/Nani, and having to deal with Ji-Sung Park constantly press their offense. And I’m sure either Scholes and Carrick will be lurking around the penalty box for any loose balls that they can pound on.

All in all, it should be fantastic game. I believe that Leonardo made the right tactical decisions last time around, but his players failed to execute. Ronaldinho was flawless, but Huntelaar and Pato were far from it. If they show up to play today, we might have some trouble. The good news is, Vidic will be replacing Evans, and that should be a commanding presence in defense, something we desperately needed against Milan in the first leg.

Darren’s Prediction: 2 – 2. United goes through.

 

The Apocalyse is Near

13 signs signal the End of our World in the Holy Bible. They are as follows:

1. Many will come in the name of Christ and deceive many (Matt.24,5; Mark 13,6; Luke 21,8)

2. There will be wars and rumours of wars between nations and kingdoms (Matt.24, 6-7; Mark 13,7-8; Luke,21,9-10).

3. The first sorrows will be in the form of calamities: ‘famines, pestilences and earthquakes in divers places’, fearful sights and great signs from heaven (Matt.24,7-8; Mark, 13,8; Luke 21,11).

4. Orthodox Christians will be delivered up, killed and hated by all nations (Matt. 24,9; Mark 13, 9-11; Luke 21,12-15).

5. Everywhere men will hate and betray each other (Matt.24,10; Mark 13,12-13; Luke 21,16-17).

6. Many false prophets will appear and deceive many (Matt.24,11).

7. On account of abundant iniquity (evil deeds and unrepented sin), the love of many will grow cold. Only those who endure to the end will be saved (Matt.24,12-13; Mark 13,13; Luke 21,19).

8. The Gospel will be preached throughout the world ‘for a witness unto all nations’ (Matt.24,14; Mark 13,10).

9. After this Jews will become Orthodox Christians (Romans 11,25-28).

10. Preparations will be made for the coming of Antichrist, called the son of perdition and the beast. Preceded by false prophets and false signs and wonders, Antichrist will be a master of illusion, of ‘shock and awe’, taking away people’s freedom, but making them think that they have been freed. He will persecute the true servants of Christ with rage and fury. The Temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt for him to be enthroned there in the place of Christ – hence his name ‘Antichrist’, he who comes in the place of Christ (Matt, 24,15-24; Mark 13,14-22; 2 Thess.3-11; 1 John 2,18; Rev.13,1-8).

11. Signs will appear in the heavens, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, the sea and the waves will roar and the powers of heaven will be shaken (Matt.24,29; Mark,13,24-25; Luke 21,25-26).

12. The sign of the Son of man (the Cross) will appear in the heavens and then will take place the Second Coming of Christ with power and great glory. Angels will be sent and shall gather the elect together ‘from the four winds’ (Matt.24,30-31; Mark 13,26-27, Luke 21,27

13. Nicklas Bendtner shall score a hat trick (Arsene 52-3)

Bendtner hit a hat trick against Porto today. Scientists rank this rare occurance ahead of a bigfoot sighting or a Lochness monster surfacing.

 

Liverpool’s Darkest Hours

Anfield has an atmosphere that every football team wants. The Kop are a relentless collection of fans, one of the driving forces that give Liverpool’s players their drive and energy. It seems that these days however, even the slow, usually powerful tune of  “you’ll never walk alone” is waning among the terraces. Liverpool had an opportunity to once again reclaim their spot in the top 4 today, only to be undone by Wigan’s Hugo Rodallega. But who is to blame?

Out of Ideas?

He has blamed injuries, fitness, all factors other than himself and the players. Perhaps today was the last straw, and manager Rafa Benitez has finally crossed the line where he is blaming his own players. It is frustrating to me when managers will insist that they were faultless. I think it is cowardly, and I think Rafa is a downright coward for that. So many of his actions, while not mine to praise or criticise, have just been mind-boggling. And it goes back beyond this season. Here are five main issues I have with the Liverpool manager:

1) Ruining Babel’s career

How is Babel worse than Ngog? How is he not worth giving a chance? WHY did he buy him? He bought this promising dutchman, and sat him for years. To me, such a waste of talent is unacceptable. Even right now, today, I would be glad to trade Babel for Nani. I truly believe Babel is a great talent, that has rotten on the bench for no apparent reason. I feel sorry for him, and I blame Rafa for denying the world a super star.

2) Flawed rotation policy

Rafa swears by a rotation policy. Face it Rafa, it sucks. The rotation is commonly used among top teams, to keep star players fresh, and to nurture upcoming talent. What is meant to be a match-to-match tweaking for fitness, has too often turned it to a complete overhaul of formation and players for Rafa. Case in point – Barcelona runs a rotation, switching in Pedro, Busquets, Keita, Henry, Bojan and so forth. But they keep the same basic tactics, and the same passing and running patterns. I remember there was a three game stretch earlier on this season, where Rafa ran a 4-4-1-1, then a 4-3-3, and then a 4-2-3-1. That is not the sign of a calculated and forward-looking rotation. Its blind experimentation. Confusing, and pointless.  And yet he wonders why there is no chemistry and communication among the team?

3) Over reliance on Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard

Both were injured this season at one point or another. The result says it all. Any manager will be devastated with the loss of players of the caliber. But in Liverpool, particularly so, because the class of those two far exceeds that of the others. Rafa being Rafa, complained to no end, as though his situation was unique, and no other teams have faced such a crisis. Of course, among his infamous “facts,” he won’t recall that it was cold, clear “FACT” that Manchester United last year, suffered the injuries of Rio, Vidic, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Ronaldo and Evra not long after boxing day. Look where we ended up Rafa. Shut your trap.

4) Misuse of Liverpool’s transfer budget, and more importantly – complaining about it.

I recall Rafa complaining last year about he doesn’t have as big of a budget than teams like United and Chelsea. Then don’t waste it on Dossena, especially when you have two other left backs. Don’t buy Robbie Keane, if you are going to complain about how he doesnt fit into the system. Don’t buy Voronin, or Lucas, or Pennant. Can you imagine how angry the owners must be at that waste of money? 

5) Tactical deficiencies

Rafa lovers will start to sing about the european final. Yes, 4 goal comeback to win, it was wonderful. I’m still convinced that the victory was more attributable to Steven Gerrard than it was to Rafa. Oh, and fast forward from 2006. Any tropies? Cups? Anything?

I could go on, but instead of writing an even longer blog entry, its easier just to watch Liverpool at their next game, and see the confidence level of their players in their eyes. I still maintained some respect for the man who guided a team to European glory. Any manager does that deserves it. But that last straw was dropped when he decided to turn on his players rather than admit, for once, that he might have made the wrong decisions. Even Sir Alex has admitted his mistakes. Is this man so pompous as to assume that he is so wonderfully perfect, so incapable of misjudgment? Sorry ‘pool fans, the glory days are over. Fat Man has to go.

 

Nike Unveils World Cup Jerseys

This week, Nike unveiled the new official world cup jerseys for several countries like Brazil, Portugal, the US, and so forth. They put a lot of pride in that they used recycled material, and how light the fabric is.

I’ve already expressed on humble opinion on the US jerseys, but I’ve come to find out that there was a method behind the madness. The “sash” theme, or pageant style as I call it, took its inspiration from the jerseys of the 1950 USA World Cup team. (source: footballshirtculture.com) This team recorded an infamous victory over England, in what was likely the greatest embarassment England felt from the Americans after the War of Independence.

The Colonies Win Again

For those interested, I stumbled across a promotional video on Team Korea’s jerseys starring Bolton Wanderers winger Lee Chung-Yong.

For more information on your particular country’s updated kit, please visit footballshirtculture. You can get your kits there for the World Cup, as well as the Nike Store.

 

Hero? or Villain?

Legend to Villain?

During France’s friendly against Spain yesterday, the home crowd was booing Henry at every touch of the ball. According to many sources, this was in light of his obvious cheat-like behavior (shown below) against Ireland some months ago that caused an international buzz around the legendary gunner. As someone very perplexed by this truly bizarre situation, I must ask French fans – Why?? Why are the French, the one contingent who profited from his handball, mad at him? His act of cheating got them into the World Cup! Were it not for his handball, France would have not qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 30 years. I know that Henry’s handball was despicable, but the fact of the matter is, that handball resulted in the France’s qualification, as well as the press turning all their attention to him rather than criticising the deficiencies of Les Bleus. As far as I’m concerned, they owe him a lot at this point for 1) getting them in the world cup 2)enduring the crap that they would have had to deal with. At the very least, he doesn’t deserve boos from his own fans. I simply can’t understand fans who boo their all-time top scorer for doing something that saved their asses. Talk about biting the hand.

 

Oranje!

Check out Nike Football’s new Oranje promo. The Orange defeated Team USA 2-1 yesterday, but there wasn’t much hope for the Americans from the beginning. Not only were Holland favored, but Team USA was missing Sochaux attacker Charlie Davies and Fulham veteran Clint Dempsey. I was excited to watch Bolton’s rising star Stuart Holden, but he was taken out early through a rough tackle. Owen Coyle will not have his American playmaker for another six weeks, which is a blow considering Holden’s impressive debut two weeks ago. I’m sure Coach Bradley wasn’t pleased either. Team USA needs to get all their players fit and ready for the World Cup if they want to show the world how much they have improved. Speaking of which, Landon Donovan is set to return to MLS soon, and I believe his next game is supposed to be his last with Everton.

 

Pictures of the Day

Ms. Texas?

I don’t know what was wrong with the existing uniform, but Nike has just announced Team USA’s new uniform. While this is only speculation, I’m thinking that Nike agreed that Team USA is full of girls, and thus a pageant-style garb would suit them better. Ms. Texas here is certainly proving them right.

“I know it was you, Ji-Sung. You broke my heart. You broke my heart”

The Drogfather gives his long time EPL foe a strong hug after an exhausing friendly at Loftus Road. Korea Republic solidified their preparations today by winning 2-0, while the Elephants of the Ivory Coast continue to feel the absence of a proper manager. Hiddink is possibly in the pipeline, among others.

GET OUT MY HOUSE

Doesn’t this remind you of Mortal Kombat? If goalkeeper Rene Adler was asian-looking, this could totally be a Liu Kang, Brutality scene. Argentina won this one 1-0 thanks to the ever impressive Gonzalo Higuain.

His form? Perfect.

Is he about to do a cartwheel?? Or is that the beginning stance of his acceleration? Who knows. Peter Crouch is England’s man of the hour with two goals propelling them to victory. Probably unleashed his frustration at losing his Tottenham spot to one Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Who needs Torres?

Valencia’s prolific frontman punishes France. It is difficult to find another footballer in current circulation that is more lethal than El Guaje.

**Disclaimer: None of these pictures are of my own, they are from a variety of outside sources.

 

Internationals!

It give me great pleasure to kick off this blog on a day where many of the world cup finalists will be testing their best squads against others in a crucial round of pre-world cup friendlies. It is customary for world cup finalists to schedule a practice battle against opponents that are similar to the ones they are to face during the tournament. By my count, I believe there are 35 friendlies today, and it should be an action-packed schedule.  Here are some of the interesting matchups that should garner much attention.

France Vs Spain

Even with the absence of El Nino and Cesc, it should be an exciting game consisting of, but not limited to:

1) Iniesta tumbling to the ground “under pressure”

2) Henry making defence-splitting passes to Gallas (not with his feet or head).

3) Puyol’s magnificent mane.

4) “The Power of Patrick Vieira” (if you don’t get it, play some fifa)

5) Sergio Ramos getting a yellow card.

In all seriousness, European Champions El Furia Roja are the likely winners. It will undoubtedly be a difficult contest, as France’s physical midfield never makes it easy for their opponents. I feel that the Spaniards will be under more pressure in the midfield than usual. Nonetheless, the creativity of individuals like Xavi and Iniesta should provide plenty of opportunities for David Villa, who does not often need many chances to hit the back of the net. They will also need Marcos Senna to battle Les Bleus’ Toulalan or Lass. France is undergoing a difficult stage in their preparation, where their starting strikers are not at their best. Henry has featured sparingly for Barcelona, while Benzema is losing the Nou Galacticos frontman position to an in-form Gonzalo Higuain. Anelka’s goalscoring streak has slowed since last season, but he is likely to feature. We may see the likes of old boy Djibril Cisse or even Louis Saha, who has been a revelation for the toffees since his arrival from United. If France are to win this game, much of their attacking inspiration will have to come from “Scarface” Franck  Ribery, or Bordeaux playmaker Yoann Gourcuff.

Darren’s Prediction: 2-1 Spain.  

Germany vs Argentina

Definitely another one to watch out for, as it would be a sin not to grab an opportunity to possibly witness Fat Diego do another face-first chest slide on to the pitch. People, these moments are the ones we futbol fans need to watch so that we can tell our kids. Whether Maradona can finally get away from the cocaine line and start players under the age of 35 will be the real test for the Argentinians. In an encouraging move, he has finally called up Walter Samuel, following a year long shun. I sympathize with Maradona in that he has a host of world-class strikers that are hard to put together on the same field. Milito and Higuain would be a nice two top, but then you have to put Tevez, Messi, and Aguero out of their natural positions, and vice versa. He definitely has a headache there. How he uses these individuals will be key to Argenina today, and over the summer. Germany, on the other hand, has the opposite problem. They need strikers. Podolski has forgotten that scoring is an important part of the game, Klose is terrible, leaving Mario Gomez as the only confident option. As usual, talisman Michael Ballack will have to drag his side forward, a job he is more than capable of doing, but whether that will be enough remains to be seen. Mascherano will foul, do dirty shoves, complain, whine, roll his eyes, pretty much using all his key skill sets to frustrate Ballack. Adding to their striking misfortune, coach Loew is causing some uncertainty among the German camp with contract issues. It should be a physical, and probably boring game.

If anything else, just watch the Messi-ah. I hope he’ll play well to save our souls from boredom.

Darren’s prediction 2-2

England vs Egypt

If I wasn’t a proud South Korean, I would support the Three Lions. As the EPL is that main league I watch, its only natural that I feel inclined to support English players, especially if they play for United. There are three aspects that will need to be addressed for Capello’s boys today: Wayne Rooney, the left back, and right wing positions. England seems to be quite solidified in their game plan at this point, Capello having done all his experimentation over the past year. The absence of Wayne Bridge and the injury of Ashley Cole will require Villa’s Warnock or Everton’s Baines, both of which are good candidates. I predict that Warnock will start. Wayne Rooney picked up a knee injury in last Sunday’s league cup final, but Capello says he will feature. Rooney has always been quick to recover from injuries, and England fans can expect to see him roam around the pitch today. As for the right wing, Aaron Lennon would have been the starter were he not injured. It looks like the two likeliest will either be perenniel wonderkid Theo Walcott or David Beckham. James Milner might feature, but there were serious talks of his move back to right back for this game, as Capello hasn’t been impressed by Micah Richards, or with the fitness of Wes Brown. In any case, it should be a fairly full squad for England, and if Rooney is healthy, all should be well. The African champions are sure to give them a strong challenge, especially if rising star Mohamed Zidan shows up to play. However, Capello is a man with a plan, and if he is able to use Rooney right, England should find no problems.

God Save the Queen. And my boy Wayne.

Darren’s Prediction: 2-0 England.

In the interests of time, I can only briefly preview these three games, but there are definitely many interesting match-ups to watch today. USA plays Netherlands which should be tough without the pace of Charlie Davies, or an out-of-shape Gooch, predictions should be conservative for the the Americans. Italy plays Cameroon, and Lippi has announced he will not call-up Super Mario – what an idiot. I hear that Nigeria has pounded Congo 5-2, but my Koreans just smashed the Ivory Coast this morning, so hope remains for the South Koreans just yet. Even the much maligned Lee Dong-Gook (former Middlesbrough striker) scored, and I’m going to be honest, he never scores.

Enjoy days like today my friends, its the one day where friendlies will actually be played with some conviction.