Tag Futebol

So England won on Friday night, let me remind you; England-one-Germany-four.

Is it just me or does a win over a third-rate side, on home soil, not even begin to detract from the utter humiliation received this summer. Having said that, last night’s display was a far cry from the shambles of South Africa, with the likes of Joe Hart, Adam Johnson, and Theo Walcott bringing a new lease of life to the England team – enthusiasm, energy and purpose that we didn’t see this summer.

It goes unsaid that he got in wrong in South Africa and we can reminisce about the lows of the 2010 World Cup for the next 50 years, but what’s the point. We need to look forward and perhaps, just maybe, after last night’s performance our national side is beginning to do just that.

In Capello we trust. He promised us a massive shake up of the team and it seems he has delivered. However, had it not been for injuries I have no doubt in my mind the likes of Phil Jagielka and Gary Cahill would have been replaced with John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. In hindsight, the injuries to Ferdinand, Terry and Lampard were a blessing in disguise.

For me it’s no coincidence that England appeared to play better without Terry and Lampard, Phil Jagielka and Matt Dawson looked solid at the back and Lampard went unmissed in an otherwise perfect midfield. It still defies logic why Capello persists with a 4-4-2 formation, when 4-3-3 would appear to suit England far better. Walcott, who I thought played well, was left to fend for himself in wider areas, he looked lost at times a far car from the player who tore apart Blackpool on the opening day of the season. Wayne Rooney was forced far too deep.

Despite scoring early England never really took hold of the game during the first half and I saw very little to suggest the team has moved on. That was until the pressure of the task was lifted by a second goal. With a slender cushion England got the ball down and an Arsenal-esque style of football rang round Wembley – free flowing possession play and counter attacking displays that would punish the World’s best.

Amidst the negatives of Capello’s previous selection nightmares Defoe looked sharp and his turn of foot upfront is what England have been lacking for years. Reversing his usual chances-to-goals ratio, and then some. At last he showed the form they sometimes see at Spurs. Joe Hart proved why he is the man for the number one jersey, two brilliant saves kept England in the game and allowed Capello some breathing space; he just seems to ooze composure. At the back we looked professional, obvious signs of communication between the back four, unlike before, and how reassuring it was to have one fast and one very fast central defender. As for Milner and Johnson are these the wingers we have been longing for? Pace, skill and an ability to pick a pass and not to mention net a goal or two. Last night was a good indication of the direction England can move in, it may just be unfortunate that the man pushing them is Mr Capello.

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Despite the poor opposition and the changes that were made through injuries as opposed to choice England looked relatively convincing. Whether or not Capello has restored his faith remains to be seen as it’s going to take much more than that for me to fully believe in our potential. I’m happy to sit on the fence on this debate, at least until Tuesday. I have this passion for England that doesn’t allow me to comprehend that our national side is doomed.

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Now it is not often you will see me do this, but I am about to praise Barcelona. Dad if you’re reading this, don’t panic I have not got a gun to my head, I am genuinely impressed by something they have done.

What is this thing I hear you cry – well Barcelona now include buy back clauses in the sales of their young players – Romeu being the latest one to have such a clause. This will give them at the very least the option to have first refusal on the player should Chelsea wish to sell him, and at a very reasonable price too. It is also claimed by Mundo Deportivo that Barcelona have the option to buy the player back not only this summer, but also in the summer of 2013 – without Chelsea’s consent and even worse, for a pre-arranged fee– contrary to what AVB claimed. Mind you, this is the man who does not judge strikers on the amount of goals they score, but all in all, some pretty savvy business from the Catalans and Rosell.

Well to be fair, after the humiliation of having to pay huge sums of money, not to mention courting both Pique and Cesc for months before convincing them to return ‘home’ it is about time the club started protecting its unbelievably talented La Masia players.

Now the idea is to let them progress through the ranks, then sell them to another club for a couple of years, allow them first team experience and see if they do develop into the level of player required at the Catalan giants, and then sweep in and take them from under the unsuspecting club who have placed them in their first team and allowed them to grow as a player. If anyone else did this, God only knows how the media and clubs would react, but been as though Barca are ‘more than a club’ I am sure everyone will see this as almost a community service, allowing the player to return home to the Camp Nou.

Even I am willing to admit, this is a masterstroke by the club, and one that other clubs will surely admire – perhaps not Chelsea – and implement in their own transfers of young players, for no other reason than to keep hold or at least have the option of doing so on their young players.

It is difficult to see if a player that looks good at youth level will react and improve when put into a first team, and sometimes they need time to bed in, and this is something that clubs like United and Real Madrid cannot afford to give. Should the club not wish to send the player out on loan, they could use this strategy of a buy back clause at a pre-arranged and lets fact it nominal fee.

It could also encourage clubs who are on the fence over selling a player to go through with it, on the understanding that they have at the very least the first option to get the player back. Not only this, but it can persuade a player to move from what they consider their home with the knowledge that they can return one day – Romeu has stated that although he is grateful to Chelsea for providing him with the opportunity to play first team football at such a top club, he sees Barcelona as his home and one day wishes to return there. How soon that is remains to be seen, but given the impact he has made at Chelsea so far, they will be hoping it is later rather than sooner!

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Everton escalated Wolves’ relegation woes with three clinical first-half finishes that sealed a comfortable 3-0 win at the Molineux on Saturday.A treble of well-taken goals from Jermaine Beckford, Phil Neville and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov stunned a Wolves side that has conceded seven goals in their past two games and face an uphill battle to climb out of the bottom three with just six matches remaining.

The hosts began on the front foot with Adlene Guedioura – making his first appearance since breaking his leg in September – neatly turning and firing in a half-volley that Neville dived in to deflect wide and Leon Osman clearing Stephen Fletcher’s hopeful header.

Deprived of the attacking thrust of several first-team regulars, Everton survived an uneasy opening period to suddenly strike against the run of play.

Beckford edged past Richard Stearman to flick a 21st-minute header past Wayne Hennessey following excellent approach play from the Toffees, that allowed Osman to supply the right-wing cross.

Guedioura curled a teasing shot narrowly wide as Wolves looked to bounce back but Beckford should have added a second goal just past the half-hour mark, but he miscued his headed attempt from another right-wing Osman cross.

Everton then escaped a desperate goalmouth scramble as Wolves failed to find an equaliser, and David Moyes’ men responded with a brilliant breakaway goal of their own seconds later.

Hennessey had already pawed away a deflection off his left-back George Elokobi, but was powerless to stop Neville lashing home his first goal since 2008 with an angled shot from the edge of the area.

Worse was to follow for the hosts who contrived to set up Everton’s third as Bilyaletdinov seized upon a mix up by Wolves in midfield, to stride forward and rifle a lethal 30-yard drive in to the top corner to leave the hosts shell shocked at the break.

Wolves rallied briefly with Karl Henry and Guedioura both forcing excellent saves out of Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard but with any hint of vital survival points snuffed out by half time, the visitors coasted to a sixth match unbeaten in the league.

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill has give his biggest hint yet that James Milner is set to move to Manchester City.

Villa rejected a £20million bid from City for the England international at the end of last season, with the Midlands-based club insisting they would only listen to offers of £30million for the player.

However, speaking after his side's goalless pre-season friendly against Valencia on Friday, O'Neill said:"We didn't play him against Valencia as there could be something happening in terms of the transfer over the weekend or Monday or Tuesday.

"Until that possibly develops I thought it best to leave him out of the Valencia game.

"To my knowledge, no fee has been agreed but talks are taking place involving our chief executive and the chairman.

"I think for everyone's benefit it is probably time to try and get something done. Losing your best players at the club obviously causes you a headache and it is a problem.

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"It happened two years ago with Gareth Barry when it was not resolved. I'm sure that no-one wants to go down that route again.

"If and when the transfer takes place I will have to speak to the chairman about future transfer dealings."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Arsenal starlet Emmanuel Frimpong has admitted that he is considering a loan move in the January transfer window, as first-team opportunities at the Emirates Stadium have become limited.

The 19-year-old is behind the likes of Alex Song, Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey in the pecking order for a central midfield berth, and with Jack Wilshere also set to return from injury in the new year, Frimpong can expect to play a fringe role in North London.

The youngster is willing to put in the effort to try to get more time on the pitch, and knows he may have to be patient.

“Obviously I had a decent start to the season but when players like Alex Song are back, along with Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey, it’s normal that they’ll play because they’re more senior than I am,” he told the club’s official website.

“Aaron and Alex had to wait for their chances in the past and that’s what happens in football. You have to be patient and can’t expect to be thrown straight in. You need to keep learning and hope that, when your chance comes, everything goes well.

“At the moment it’s hard for me to get into the team, no doubt about that. When you aren’t playing, the obvious choice is to go out for a little while and try to get some game time.

“When January comes we’ll see, you never know how things will go, so we’ll look at it then,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Michel Platini has been re-elected as UEFA president until 2015, vowing to battle the ‘scourges’ of violence in stadiums and match-fixing.The 55-year-old former France captain, who has been in the post since 2007, was re-elected unopposed at the UEFA Congress in Switzerland on Tuesday.

His policies of opening up European club competitions to lower-ranked teams and toughening financial rules on clubs to crack down on reckless spending have made him popular amongst member nations, and Platini vowed to continue to fight to reduce crowd violence.

“There is no place in football for those who transform passion into violence and pride into sectarianism,” Platini said.

“Every country should establish a whole battery of legal measures enabling them to ban hooligans from stadiums. Every country should appoint a prosecutor in charge of illegal betting and corruption in sport.”

“I have started meeting the heads of state and government of countries particularly affected by this problem. It is important that their countries realise the seriousness of the situation and that they find a way to help us, you and their national associations.”

Another policy of Platini’s has been to introduce financial fair play rules in order to help curb sky-rocketing expenses at clubs around Europe.

Under the new rules, clubs in European competition will only be able to spend on transfers and wages what they earn in revenues.

“This project should enable us to prevent some of our most time-honoured clubs from going under because of risky management by an irresponsible few,” Platini said.

“In 1984 Jacques Georges (ex-UEFA president) used a phrase that I have been drumming home constantly for months and thought I had coined myself: ‘We all know what it means if we spend more than we earn, and in football it would mean the end of the game.’

“On the topic of club finances, allow me to remind you of just one figure: together, Europe’s professional clubs accumulated net losses of 1.2 billion euros in 2009 alone.”

“So yes, there is a huge amount of money in football, but more importantly there is a moral problem in the way this money is sometimes generated and used.”

“Financial fair play is a crucial project that will enable us to clean up certain practices within our game.”

“It will be implemented in full in the course of my next term and we will apply the rules with the courage and resolution for which UEFA should be known.”

Bolton Wanderers have strengthened their squad ahead of the new Premier League season with the signing of Real Madrid defender Marcos Alonso.

The 19-year-old left-back joins fellow summer signings Robbie Blake and Martin Petrov at the Reebok Stadium and has penned a three-year deal at the Lancashire-based outfit, after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed transfer fee.

He made his debut for the La Liga giants last season after he replaced Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain in their 2-0 victory over Racing Santander and, although he may not make an instant impact, Trotters manager Owen Coyle believes he is certainly one for the future.

Speaking to the club's official website, Coyle said"He is an exciting young player who has undoubted quality and he will bring that into our mix. I think that we have a real talent on our hands.

"I have said before that when we are investing money in transfers that I want to do it with young, talented players.

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"He isn't the finished article yet – he's a young player making his way – but you don't get through at Real Madrid without having a bit about you."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Everton have been handed a huge boost as midfielder Marouane Fellaini has agreed to a new five-year contract that will keep him at the club until June 2016.

The Belgium international’s deal at Goodison Park was due to expire in the summer of 2013, and there were fears on Merseyside that the club would be forced to sell their prize asset this summer to avoid losing him on a Bosman ruling.

However after negotiations over the last number of months Fellaini has put pen to paper on a new contract.

“We’re all pleased that Marouane Fellaini has signed his new contract and we’re looking forward to working with him in the years to come,” coach David Moyes stated.

Club chief executive Robert Elstone has admitted that the agreement is excellent news for the side, and that Fellaini is an important member of Moyes’ squad.

“We are delighted to have secured the services of Marouane for the long term,” Elstone told the club’s official website.

“As everyone is aware these negotiations have been ongoing for some time but both parties remained positive that we would reach agreement.

“Marouane has been a hugely influential player for Everton since his arrival in 2008 and we hope that remains to be the case for the next five years,” he concluded.

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By Gareth McKnight

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Aston Villa missed a penalty and a hatful of chances, allowing Bolton to snatch all three points 3-2 from their clash at the Reebok Stadium.

Former Villa defender Gary Cahill twice pulled Wanderers level after goals from Darren Bent and Marc Albrighton had put the visitors ahead before Ivan Klasnic fired them in front five minutes from time.

Villa boss Gerard Houllier was left to rue a series of missed opportunities including a fantastic penalty save from Jussi Jaaskelainen to deny Ashley Young.

The result meant Houllier’s decision to rest his key players in midweek backfired disastrously with his side still in relegation trouble as well as dumped out of the FA Cup.

The Frenchman made nine changes from the side that limped out of the Cup competition at Manchester City on Wednesday night, with in-form wingers Young and Stewart Downing recalled alongside the cup-tied Bent.

And Bent almost made an immediate impact when he latched onto a Young through-ball but when face-to-face with Jaaskelainen, the England striker dithered and left the ball behind as he tried to go round the keeper.

They were deservedly ahead in the 16th minute with a smart break started by Luke Young in his own half. The ball was worked to Kyle Walker, who raced past Stuart Holden and crossed to Bent, who couldn’t miss from four yards.

The former Sunderland striker, who has scored in 13 of his last 14 games against Bolton, almost added to his tally when David Wheater’s headed clearance hit him in the face and ricocheted off the bar.

But on the stroke of half-time Cahill drew Wanderers level with a near-post header from Martin Petrov’s corner.

Villa should have restored their advantage after the break but wasted two gilt-edged chances. First, Downing blasted off target from six yards after good work from Albrighton.

Then Bent’s shot was heroically blocked by Wheater and when the ball fell for Young, Bolton keeper Jaaskelainen was at his brilliant best to keep out his strike.

Villa finally got the second in the 65th minute when Downing stormed past Paul Robinson to cross for the unmarked Albrighton to scramble home.

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And the visitors should have wrapped up all three points five minutes later when Young was brought down in the box by a clumsy Wheater challenge. The winger picked himself to take the spot kick but Jaaskelainen guessed correctly and made a fine low save to his right.

And Houllier’s side were made to pay when Cahill pulled Bolton level again when he followed up his own header saved by Brad Friedel.

Then, with just four minutes to go, Klasnic finished brilliantly on the turn to steal the victory.

I had been planning on watching the World Cup’s third place play-off because I wanted to squeeze the last drops out of this World Cup, but also because I was unsure of what to expect from it. On one hand I could see an open, free-flowing, attacking game – the game in the World Cup with comparatively little to play for and thus less pressure but equally high levels of passion. But on the other hand I could see the factor of this being an ‘unimportant game’ equalling a drab, lifeless affair where the only decision both teams cared about was when the final whistle would blow.

Of course I hoped for the former.

The former is what I got. Even though both team’s achievements after the World Cup will be reaching the semi-finals as opposed to where they actually finish on Saturday night, they both wanted to win the game.

It was one last hurrah for two teams who have created two of the best stories from this World Cup – Germany’s demolition of Argentina and Uruguay’s thriller against Ghana. But it also served a purpose for individual players. Those who had an eye on the golden boot and those who would not play in another World Cup had a last chance to make an impact.

The first half sprung into life with Germany playing the no-fear, expansive, passing football which has brought them so many new fans and admirers over the last four weeks. They deservingly took the lead when Muller reacted quickest to a goalkeeping error and brought himself into the reckoning for the coveted Golden Boot. If anyone doubted the passion before the game, Schweinsteiger’s reaction to giving the ball away prior to Uruguay’s goal showed how much he wanted to win it.

To say that the second half started in the vein of that first half ended may be doing it an injustice. Forlan’s superbly controlled volley not only gave Uruguay a lead, but also shook up the race for the Golden Boot even further, bringing him level with Muller, Villa and Sneijder. If you’d made a cup of tea after that goal, you’d have missed Germany’s equaliser. The final 2-3 score line in favour of Germany seemed justified in regards both to the game itself and the tournament as a whole. Two consecutive 3rd place finishes is one hell of an achievement.

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Neither team wanted to lose, but equally neither team was scared to lose – attitudes unique in this World Cup. These things combined equalled an engrossing and enjoyable 90 minutes and answered any questions that I had before the game. The final whistle brought no trophy, just the pride of coming 3rd and the satisfaction of winning a fifth game at this year’s World Cup. What England would have given for that?

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