After another calendar year of football, there have been some fantastic goals and LiberoFootball is back to look back on some of the best:
Martin Palermo – Best Header (04/10/09)
Before this goal, in a 3-2 win against Velez Sarsfield, Martin Palermo was most famous for missing a trio of penalties in a 1999 Copa America first round tie against Columbia in a 3-0 loss. He never wore the Argentina shirt until a call-up this year by a desperate Diego Maradona, where his last-gasp winner against Peru gave their faltering campaign a much needed boost.
Velez Sarsfield goalkeeper German Montoya came out of his box to clear the ball, which sailed harmlessly, at head height, towards the centre circle, where Palermo was standing, 38.9 metres from goal. The rest is history. The veteran striker said afterwards, “It always happens to me. When I look for similar stories of other players there aren’t any. Things happen to me that I can’t explain”.
UEFA have had massive publicity in the past week – mainly for the wrong reasons. Wednesday night’s Champions League qualifier at the Emirates Stadium was at the centre of the controversy. Eduardo dived after minimal contact from Arthur Boruc – that much is true. What followed is ridiculous.
Firstly, a charge was administered to the Brazil-born Croatian based on Article 10, paragraph 1c of their regulations which deals with ‘acting with the obvious intent to cause any match official to make an incorrect decision’. The prospect of a two-match ban is being mentioned for Eduardo, assuming he can be proven to have acted with intent and a desire to cheat and deceive the referee. While the player dived, there was minimal contact with Boruc. Can UEFA prove this clearly? It does seem unlikely.
It seems that UEFA have suddenly decided to pull out a rule barely referred to in the history of the Champions League. A cynic would argue this organisation is acting upon the media hysteria in Scotland and England. But that is exactly what is happening. The last time a player was banned for diving also involved a Scottish side. Lithuanian Saulius Mikoliunas did so against the national side. Of course the coincidence has led to Wenger claiming the Scottish influence at UEFA has led to the charge being administered. UEFA general secretary David Taylor, a Scot, said of Wenger’s comments:
“It’s our duty to apply the rules without fear or favour. We simply refer the matter to the disciplinary committee, which is independent.”
Wenger’s dismay at how UEFA informed Arsenal of the charge is understandable. A number of senior officials were in Monaco for the CL group stage draw and could have easily been informed by UEFA. Instead a fax was sent to the club, where it was only spotted by a junior worker, who informed Wenger of UEFA’s rash decision.
The retrospective ban has opened the door to a dangerous path for UEFA. When a player is caught simulating a tumble by the referee on the pitch, he is in most cases cautioned. Why the sudden increase in punishment if the action has been taken after the match? It makes little sense and lacks any consistency.
Yet again, England is being placed as strong contenders for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. All after two giants of world football were dispatched in the Ukraine and Slovakia. Patrick Barclay, now of The Times, has claimed only Spain present a viable threat to England’s quest for global supremacy.
To return from Wembley late on Wednesday night, turn on the television and find Argentina being mangled by Bolivia was to be reminded of just how close England are to world supremacy.
This idea is flawed, with the closest contenders all masters of possession football – a style which England undoubtedly struggle against. Brazil, Argentina, Spain all play a ‘tiki-taka’ or ‘pass and move’ game, and even Lippi’s Italy can play fluid counter-attacking that can expose the holes in a static England. The Germans always perform on the big stage, while a number of other sides are also capable of defeating England in a one-off game and vice-versa. Holland, Russia, Turkey are also strong contenders and it would be logical to place England below that bracket currently, given the failure to qualify for Euro 2008 and the inability to play against sides who can starve England of the ball.
Arsenal appear to be experiencing what Bayern Munich and AC Milan did in the past few years. The side has transparent flaws which from the outside seem quite easily fixable, with balance being the buzz word bandied around Arsene Wenger’s recent press conferences, along with the now-famous quotes such as ‘We lacked a little bit of sharpness’ and ‘We played with a little bit of a handbrake’. The imbalance in the side has meant neither priority of goals and clean sheets is fulfilled simultaneously.
Early in the season, creatively and goals were at a premium, unfortunately for Arsenal, at both ends of the pitch. The lack of a midfield shield or enforcer meant too many runners bypassed the ball-watching Denilson and Arsenal were conceding far too many chances. The focus shifted once Fabregas strained knee ligaments in the home clash against Liverpool, with Song the only viable option. The decrease in attacking potency catalysed a shift to a more defensive approach, with Clichy and Sagna reducing the frequency of their attacking forays, Song and Denilson breaking up opposition attacks but creating largely nothing. The pressure of creativity fell largely on the shoulders of Samir Nasri, a promising signing in his first six months of English football. To be fair to the former Marseille youth, he had largely adapted very swiftly, but on several occasions, he has opted to pass back to his full-back rather than attempt to put his marker on the back foot, ending any attacking momentum. The club was also reliant on Robin van Persie for goals and assists; he provided both through the whole of January. Such pressure on two players is in most cases ephemeral.
Don’t you just love deadline day? Brian Swanson and Dharmesh Seth repeatedly refer to their millions of sources and contacts around the footballing world and attempt to break news every other second. The obsession of the 24 hour media and its constant need for new news and exclusives is hilarious. The number of times Sky Sports News has contradicted itself over the past 72 hours is quite frankly disturbing. This is supposed to be a reliable source of news not a tabloid or the disgusting excuse for a website in tribalfootball.com
Take for instance, the ‘sagas’ of Robbie Keane and Andrei Arshavin. This morning we were told that Arshavin had arrived in London for talks if a fee was to be agreed. Then suddenly, the deal was off, as Arsenal and Zenit couldn’t agree a fee. Arshavin was supposedly off to the airport, despite all flights from Heathrow being cancelled.
The whole racism issue in Spain was apparently set to be eradicated after the initial furore about former Spain coach Luis Aragones calling Thierry Henry ‘a black s**t’ in a bid to motivate his then team-mate Jose Antonio Reyes. The measly fine awarded for the incident was a day’s wages in £2000. And the Spanish FA declined to take any action initially, before being forced by the Spanish anti-violence commission.
The Russian side has been the most vocal in the January transfer window, alongside Garry Cook and his failed attempt to sign Kaka and Adriano Gaillani’s desire to keep David Beckham. From the various voices at the club, vastly differing news has come out of St. Petersburg. Together with Andrei Arshavin’s talkative agent Dennis Lachter (the Guardian compiled evidence of his tendency to speak when a mike is put before him); the move of the Russian playmaker has led astray the media who appear to be changing the state of the move to Arsenal with every passing day until the February 2nd deadline.
If Liberofootball.com was an employee of BSkyB or ITV, it would be looking for every single angle to sensationalise yesterdays Champions League draw for the round of 16.
The Anglo-Italian ties have made the headlines as Claudio ‘Tinker-man’ Ranieri returns to Stamford Bridge to face his former side Chelsea with Juventus. The 54 year old Italian tactician has been heavily criticised for his moment of madness against Monaco in 2004: Hasselbaink on the right wing? Clearly the tabloids haven’t gotten over the fact that managers make mistakes.
Real Madrid have a championship-winning attack and a relegation-suffering defence. Barcelona seem to have excellent quality in both departments. The results of both sides this weekend only strove to emphasise this idea. Barcelona thrashed real Valladolid 6-0, while Real Madrid laboured to a 4-3 success in a whirlwind of a game against Malaga. The stunning parallel between both games was that strikers Samuel Eto’o and Gonzalo Higuain both scored 4 goals.
Real Madrid 4 Malaga 3
The latter was a source of ridicule for a small section of the Bernabeu crowd for his inability to hit the target regularly (and that doesn’t been scoring, but actually not skying his shots over the crossbar). Yet over the last few seasons, the Argentinean has improved his accuracy and his impact on the team. Scoring the title-winning goal last summer for Madrid to win their 31st title has been the catalyst Higuain has needed. When Real Madrid signed Fernando Gago and the River Plate youth product, many assumed that it was the former Boca Juniors man, who was the better signing. These pundits claimed Gago would replicate the legacy of Fernando Redondo. Instead, it has been Higuain, who has taken on the mantle of rescuer.
If there was a Venn diagram to describe Luiz Felipe Scolari, it would involve Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger. The Brazilian coach has formed a side which encompasses parts of the ethoses of both the ex-Chelsea coach and the Arsenal manager. There were doubts of the manager’s credentials in club football, having never managed in Europe. Apparently winning a World Cup with a Brazil side that many have called the worst ever to do so is not enough.
