Football's top ten moments of the decade
It's been an eventful ten years of international football. To ring in the new year, he's my list of the best ten moments of…
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A life long lover of football whether playing, watching or writing about the game. Tactics, history, culture, and how they all intertwine throughout the world game is one of sport's greatest stories.
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It's been an eventful ten years of international football. To ring in the new year, he's my list of the best ten moments of…
The Premier League has been memorable this decade for so many different reasons, as giants have fallen and new contenders have established a new…
The UEFA Champions League has routinely delivered the most dramatic moments in football as the premier club competition in the world. The quest to…
Mikel Arteta’s opening act at the Emirates Stadium was an act of grittiness and fluency that has largely deserted them so far this season.…
The 2010s was a period of transition for the English Premier League as the already diverse competition took an even more cosmopolitan transformation. An…
It may not have been as humiliating as the 4-0 drubbing last time these sides clashed, but Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Stamford…
The first half of the season has been dominated by Liverpool, but this is by no means a Liverpool-dominated team. One of the great…
He’s announced himself previously as the special one or the happy one, and although he hasn’t explicitly stated it, Jose Mourinho seemingly presented himself…
The opening act of Frank Lampard’s tenure at Stamford Bridge has so far been a tempestuous affair, with the budding optimism brought upon by…
Spain’s group stage clash with Chile during the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a moment in time that signalled somewhat of a passing of…
Among the abundance of Chelsea and premier league records held by Frank Lampard, one of the more exceptional ones is the 164 consecutive Premier…
Of all the miraculous feats of escapology and unyielding defiance that characterised Chelsea’s journey to become kings of Europe in 2012, the single defining…
Manchester City won the 2017-18 Premier League crown at a canter, but their title defence last season panned out much differently. Liverpool’s sustained brilliance…
From the moment Gary Caldwell clattered into Eden Hazard with a thunderous challenge during his debut against Wigan, the Belgian’s toughness and durability was…
A gruelling season of transition and attrition for both Chelsea and Arsenal will culminate in an all England Europa league final. The match will…
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure from Manchester United in 2013, we’ve been told that transfer windows, managers, players and money would one day return…
From the very first act against Manchester United in 2012, to possibly the final act against Leicester City in 2019, the sight of Manchester…
The reportedly imminent departure of great Chelsea talisman Eden Hazard to Real Madrid would be right up there in price and significance with Cristiano…
The great Greek ancient tragedian Sophocles said, “But when a god sends harm, no man can sidestep it, no matter how strong he may…
They are celebrated as two giants of modern management. Art versus pragmatism. Silk versus steel. Philosophy versus psychology. In the blue corner is Pep…
thanks. I guess the article leads itself to purport just the rise of just korea and japan but in essence the whole continent has improved over the years just that these two nations have been at the forefront. I think even if is only a couple of countries that are doing well it raises the whole profile of a region so it makes chinese players for instance look better because they are in asia. I dont think at any stage australia have ever been ahead of japan and korea. I mean this as a collective team because sure the players aus have produced from a long time ago were absolute class right through to todays stars but 3 wc appearances compared japans 7 and korea who are chasing 8 consecutive world cups in 2014 for an overall of 10 proves over the stretch aus have not been ahead in a significant capacity. Yes most people commenting are saying there are several codes in australia and japan and korea etc have football as the number 1 sport but aus benefit from multiculturalism. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that one day aus can become a footballing superpower due to this reason because there are endless possibilities with brazilians,italians, africans,spaniards,croations etc being able to play for aus with the problem being retention of these talents. I think you would be out of your mind to think that the a league could one day become an elite league that is the pinnacle of the sport. Europe will always be the drawcard and lets face it a talent like amini would rather play in the bundesliga than the a league because its simply better. These leagues have taken decades to become what they are today and unless australia moves to europe by some geographic miracle it will never be showcasing the best talent but rather a breeding ground. You only have to look at argentina and brazil, they are two of the best footballing nations in the world yet their leagues that have been established for a long time lose all their talent to europe because that is where the holy grail is like it or not.
Asia begins to rise, but Australia stalling
david i think you are being ignorant if you think demolishing the uzbeks is a monumental achievement. Rankings mean nothing but australia being around the top 20 should now no longer struggle against anyone in the region not even japan or korea. Qualification for wc’s has to be seen as a breeze against teams like jordan, bahrain, uzbeks etc otherwise australia will never be a force if they struggle to beat these minnows. Clearly aus were outplayed by japan and were never threatening against korea. The asian cup just proved the superiority of japan and and making the final for aus was only a minor milestone. 2015 ac on home soil has be a win or aus def are stalling.
Asia begins to rise, but Australia stalling
i dont think that will materialise im afraid ben and i agree morimoto has to leave catania he is a great talent but it might be time to go back to japan to hone his skills because if he cant cut it at catania then its pretty bleak
Asia begins to rise, but Australia stalling
Really good article i agree with most things. Being a die-hard blues fan i am not ready to declare that John Terry and Ashley Cole are passed it and believe they are capable of playing great football for a few years yet. As for the rest of the veterans i think its important to keep an extra experienced backup or to like a drogba or anelka and benayoun and malouda because one of the reasons chelsea were so dismal last season was that when they won the double they released Deco, Juliano Belliti, Michale Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho and Joe Cole. These players are experienced and hardened professionals who can steer Chelsea on course when they fall off the rails like when injuries hit last term, but the shipping out of a a significant number of players and leaving depth problems was the issue last year. If Lukaku or Neymar or Aguero wants to be signed to partner torres then kalou and anelka/drogba must go and gradually integrate danny into the XI. Modric or Sneijder or even Diego would add a spark but could cost michael essien or John Obi Mikel a spot in midfield. There are many things to way up, and like AVB said the team is good enough as it minus torres to win anything but injuries hit hard and bad form was a killer. Last season was an aberration and i think sticking to the 4-3-3 is important and i dont’t necessarily believe Chelsea have to change their style because they play a unique style combing power, fluidity, compactness and physicality into a mean machine and is rarely replicated in world football. If they can add some class and fleet footedness into this team to add to the grunt and power then it can win the cl but i would say buy a playmaker and forward and integrate the youngsters and c how u go and if it doesnt go right then start to rebuild
Five things Chelsea can do to win the League
wow this is a really nice article well done. I think its a really valid point that players should not be compared across different eras simply because of the many variables that need to be taken into account. The whole notion of technological improvements that may improve modern perfromances as opposed to the whole environment of modern players and the scrutiny they cop and how their lives on and off the pitch is magnified. The idea that a pele or a maradona with modern day treatment and boots etc could play even better or they would not be able to cope with the intense media scrutiny of today and thus would not be as good as how a ronaldo or messi plays today. There are endless arguements for which player or club is the best ever but really it is a futile argument and so your peles, maradonas and messis have to be labelled as the best of their generation because you just simply cannot make a bias free and impartial judgement like in any other sport . On the argument itself i am not a barcelona supporter or someone who loves to watch messi more than any other player but i admire barcelonas football and marvel at messi. I believe barcelona are not the greatest side ever and dont believe messi is the best ever player. I think it is an insult to players such as ronaldo,ronaldinho and cristiano ronaldo or even an alessandro del piero or zidane who have played a lot longer than messi to not even be mentioned in the same breath or considered better. If messi can continue to play like this for a long time then he has to be considered the best of his generation and in the conversation for best ever. My question is where do you draw the line for gen? Surely a ronaldo or zidane or has to be mentioned in this arguement if we are talking about generations.
Football's great but futile 'best ever' debate
hi i reckon you have a valid point but you just cannot measure footballing performance by statistics-at least not find consclusive evidence that one team is greater than another from one era to another. Barcelona are a terrific side and i have a lot of admiration for how they go about the game- it is pure, stylish,brilliant and more importantly wins games. Now there have been phenomenal teams that have been assembled over the journey like your liverpools, real madrids, manchester uniteds and milans but i believe that barca cannot be considered the greatest of all time unanimously until they breakaway from the most important statistic of all- trophies won. Real, liverpool,bayern and ajax all won 3 cl title during their golden era while milan and united have won 2 and 1 during there dominant periods. If barca can perhaps do the unthinkable and win it 2 years in a row(which is historically almost impossible as no one has achieved this in the cl era) or even a 3 peat and stretch that cl titles won to 4 or 5 with the continued application of this spellbounding style then i like many would say they are the greatest of all time. Many people are hooked and convinced by the fact that barcas brilliant and philosophical approach as opposed to a pragmatic style that has won them their trophies is the reason why they should be considered the greatest but im sure that you win dont win two trophies for winning with style. The statisitics of pass completion etc are a reflection of how they play not their dominance- ball retention is an aspect of the game just like playing direct or long passing or crossing- barca have just identified this as the most vital part. Perhaps they are the most brilliant side ever but greatest is not meritted yet. I believe manchester uniteds 1991-2011 side is the greatest ever because it keeps winning and plays beautifully and has contained some of the greatest players of all time. Most people dont know that barca went 6 years without a trophy before dinho brought back the glory and thus the modern barca are a reward for patience and belief in a philosophy. United have stayed strong all throughout and represents winning.
Don't get caught up in Barcelona hyperbole
My mate is a Avid Gunners supporter and I have discussed this in detail with him but the stadium was built in 2006 and it has been 6 years now without a trophy which is farcical, surely they would have won something during this time i mean this isnt Stoke City, it is Europes powerhouses. When Wenger adjusts or is sacked by someone who gets it right then Arsenal can be a real force with the spine of the team of Scshezny,Vermauelen, Sagna, Cesc, Song, Nasri, Walcott and Van Perise leading the way with important signings that fixes up problems at Cb, wide player and quality striker that competes with RVP to find a starting spot in order to keep him working hard.
The changing of the guard in European Football
In fairness i do think that Inter Milan won’t be seeing much success in the near future unless household changes are made as is the same for Bayern as they are already lining up changes. As for Chelsea their ageing squad could be mowed down very soon by a younger and more hungrier team such as Arsenal or Man city
The changing of the guard in European Football
I would have to disagree with you that Hertha Berlin is the biggest team in Germany. I don’t know if you mean by prestige or supporters but Bayern Munich and the usual suspects such as Leverkusen, Dortmund, Hamburg and Stuttgart are certainly bigger than Hertha. I do agree that it is highly competitive as a league collectively but once it comes to the cream of the crop Bayern really don’t face much competition at all to be perfectly honest, just the relegation battling and mid table and european tussling is fascinating. It is Europe’s highest scoring league and thus is a great spectacle but to say the British or Spanish leagues are the most watched leagues and are far more superior to the Bundesliga in terms of overall quality and would never be threatened by the bundersliga. Economics really isnt relevant in this case. Rather the wastage lies with Bayern, their spending capabilities compared to their domestic counterparts is quite ridiculous and to not win a trophy with the likes of Robben, Ribery, Gomez, Schweinsteiger, Lahm and Klose runny around for them is pretty woeful and really it would be complacency or sheer jadedness that would stop them from winning every year in the league considering only Stuttgartin 07 and Wolfsburg in 09 and of course Dortmund now have won the bundesliga in the last 10 years just to show Bayern’s dominance o recent times
The changing of the guard in European Football
i totally agree with what you are saying expecially about how the domestic asian leagues are more superior than some european leagues. Im not devaluing the domestic leagues but im saying that australia have to find your harry kewells, tim cahills, mark schwazers and mark brescianos who are have played for are still playing for teams like liverpool, everton, fulham, blackburn and lazio. Of course playing for bucharest in romania or tomsk in russia will not be any different in terms of quality than a sydney fc. Sure these korean and japanese players have honed their skills at home to convert into success abroad but they were signed young enough to be raw and have a long career but old enough to deliver around 20-23. Our youngsters and i mean the top shelf ones have to get ready in oz and go over there asap to develop and become the harry or mark.
Asia begins to rise, but Australia stalling