Monthly Archives: January 2013

Drogba to Galatasaray: A Masterstroke By The Turkish Giants

  By O-Posts Team | January 28, 2013 - 19:34 | , , , , ,
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It has been quite a month for Galatasaray and their fans. Firstly, the somewhat surprise signing of Inter Milan’s Dutch talisman Wesley Sneijder, swiftly followed by the news that Didier Drogba will now be joining the current Turkish champions, Galatasaray SK. Reportedly, Drogba has joined the club on an 18 month contract at a cost of £5 million from Shanghai Shenhua, a mere eight months after joining the Chinese club.

So why has Drogba decided to leave Shanghai? Well, he has only made eleven appearances, but has scored eight goals in that time. Nicolas Anelka’s move to Juventus which was confirmed just 24 hours before Drogba’s was led to many expecting Drogba to leave the club too. Shanghai are in a poor financial state in actuality, despite being in a supposedly healthy one this time last year when they signed Anelka and in June when they signed Drogba. Despite good form, it is clear it was not quite right for Drogba being in China.

So what is Galatasaray reasoning behind their second surprise signing of the January transfer window? Galatasaray’s owners have proved in recent years that they are willing to splash the cash for players in their late 20′s to early 30′s that are experienced in Europe’s top leagues, as shown by the signings of the likes of current club captain Hamit Altintop, Emmanuel Eboue and Johan Elmander, but few expected the signings of Drogba as well as Sneijder.

I feel Galatasaray are being somewhat disrespected though by both opposing club fans around the world and journalists. People talk as if Galatasaray and the Turkish league in general have no selling point, but the club and the league absolutely do. Galatasaray are a club with huge support both in Turkey and across Europe and the rest of the world.

Although the club and its fans in particular have attracted a fair amount of negative press headlines, the majority of their fans are peaceful, but still passionate. The roar that comes from the Turk telecom stadium when they score is immense, while the Istanbul derby against long standing rivals Fernebache are must see games.

When I first heard about the signing of Drogba by Galatasaray, I instantly thought of how the former Chelsea man and club legend Didier Drogba would fit into this Galatasaray team. Well, it is pretty simple really; he will lead the line alongside Galatasaray’s main man, striker and goal machine Burak Yilmaz.

Burak Yilmaz has been in magnificent form this season, especially in the UEFA Champions League. It was on match day 4 when the Turkish striker almost singlehandedly destroyed CFR Cluj in the game in Romania, with Burak Yilmaz scoring all three Galatasaray goals in the 3-1 win.

What really impressed me personally about this performance was the fact Yilmaz scored with a header, then with his right foot and finally his left foot, making his a perfect hatrick. With every goal he made it look so easy. Yilmaz also scored Galatasaray’s winner against Manchester United and their equaliser against Braga, and both goals went a huge way to securing round of sixteen qualification for the Turkish side. Yilmaz and Cristiano Ronaldo finished the group stage as equal top scorers.

Yilmaz, like Drogba, is a tall, but deceptively quick finisher. Drogba is a lot more muscular and uses his upper body strength more than Yilmaz does admittedly, but the point is that they share many common abilities. One problem that this could cause is that both players may well feel more comfortable up on their own, or with the more technically sound and versatile Johan Elmander, the ex-Bolton and Toulouse striker.

Drogba has previously struggled to be as effective and dangerous for opposition defences while with another striker, so Faith Terim may have to rearrange and reshuffle his side’s line up on a few occasions to compliment these two world class strikers.

Despite potential changes to the side’s line up and questions about Drogba’s ability to still perform on the world stage, I am confident he can help Galatasaray secure the Turkish league title (Galatasaray are currently five points ahead of closest rivals Fernebache who are in second) and perhaps secure some other trophies too in his time in Istanbul.

With Galatasaray still in the UEFA Champions League with two games against Schalke approaching, the club’s board are clearly aiming high. The idea of a midfield with Wesley Sneider and Hamit Altintop must have excited Drogba and they could be a team to really watch out for.

 

Written by Joshua Sodergren

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Real Madrid: Casillas’ injury almost an irony for Mourinho

  By O-Posts Team | January 27, 2013 - 17:50 | , , ,
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The furore surrounding Real Madrid’s manager Jose Mourinho has reached boiling point over the last six weeks. With the reigning champions falling further behind league leaders Barcelona and the relegation of club captain Iker Casillas to the bench the Portuguese leader’s time at the Spanish capital looks to be coming to an end.

It is hard to decipher whether Madrid’s collapse this season is solely down to the players or the manager. Both pulled together magnificently last year to win the title but the physical and mental demands have clearly taken their toll.

This season the players don’t appear able to repeat their levels of performance and Mourinho clearly recognises this. However, his decision to drop Casillas to the bench for the game against Malaga just before Christmas appears to have rocked the boat a little more than expected.

Last week though the story took an unexpected twist when Casillas broke a bone in his left hand during a cup tie against Valencia. The captain now faces three months on the side lines and will miss the domestic cup semi-final against Barcelona and the Champions League first knock out stage against Manchester United.

Despite some of Mourinho’s recent backing of the back up keeper Antonio Adan there is a feeling that games against some of the best sides in Europe may be a step too far.

The club has therefore moved quickly to bring in some cover for their captain and have purchased Diego Lopez from Sevilla. The former Madridista left the club in 2006 after falling behind Casillas in the pecking order but is now delighted to return to the club he grew up at. Having established himself as one of the best keepers in the league during his spell with Villarreal he has struggled to hold down a first team place at Sevilla this season so a move suits both parties.

It is very difficult not to see a sense of irony in Casillas’ injury this week. It is not the first time in recent memory that a Madrid player has held a majority sway within the dressing room and questions were raised about the legitimacy of Casillas’ relegation to the bench when it initially happened.

Power struggles are a common theme at the club and although Mourinho may have wanted to make a point by dropping his captain he would have wanted him fit to face Barcelona and Manchester United.

However, it is now the situation he finds himself in and with Madrid desperate to win their tenth Champions League trophy this season it is time to focus. There should never be a player in any side who is an automatic selection and this is clearly what Mourinho wanted to underline.

However, he now finds himself without the best goalkeeper in the world for the most crucial part of the season.

 

Written by Andy Hunter

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Arsenal: Who should the Gunners sign before the deadline?

  By O-Posts Team | January 26, 2013 - 14:34 | , , ,
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The week of the transfer deadline: where clubs pay over-the-odds for players they sometimes don’t need. Players names are thrown around, numerous sightings of players at airports, and it’s all covered in the hyped-up extravaganza of ‘Transfer Deadline Day’ on Sky Sports.

Onto Arsenal. It’s fair to say this season hasn’t exactly gone as well as the Emirates faithful had hoped. The Gunners lie in 6th place; 4 points behind North London rivals Spurs. This is simply unacceptable, but it isn’t the first time we’ve been here.

For example, Spurs held a double-digit points lead over Arsenal last year – only to seize it in the final few games. With Spurs looking an improved team under Andre Villas-Boas, and Arsenal lacking a certain Robin Van Persie – this doesn’t look like happening again.

So, who should Arsenal push for? Arsenal lack a domineering presence at the base of midfield. Someone to disrupt opponents counter-attacks, break up play, and be the foil for the more creative players: Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla etc.

Whilst I’ve long been a supporter of Francis Coquelin, it doesn’t feel as though Wenger has the same belief in the Frenchman. Someone more physically robust and more experienced, for whom Coquelin could be the understudy to would be a very good addition.

Mohamed Diamé is available for £3.5m from West Ham. He’s a player that has played brilliantly in West Ham’s decent start to the Premier League season. A huge presence in midfield, Diamé’s value and Premier League experience make it a very steady and logical investment.

Etienne Capoue is another option. The recently capped Frenchman is a very capable defensive midfielder, and should definitely be looked out – before his price continues to rise. I’m unsure as to whether Toulouse would allow him to leave only a week after losing Moussa Sissoko. One to look at though.

Despite Olivier Giroud’s steady start to his Arsenal career, it’s fair to say Arsenal require a little more firepower up front. A name being thrown about is David Villa. Simply put: he’s one the best strikers of our generation. Whether Arsene Wenger would be able to tempt Barça to selling is another matter.

Villa.... to Arsenal before deadline day?

Villa…. to Arsenal before deadline day?

 

Loïc Rémy was a player whom would have added something too, alas, he went to QPR. Stefan Jovetic is yet another top player that has been linked with Arsenal, but I just think his asking price would be far too much to entertain.

To conclude: there aren’t a wealth of the players for Arsenal to sign, but the few that are available and Arsenal are interested in would add something to the team in the pursuit for 4th place.

As a fan of the North London club – I would love us to make one last push for David Villa, whilst also adding Momo Diame for £3.5m. In the end, we’ll probably end up singing nobody.

The life of a football fan, eh?

 

Written by Frank Hobbs

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Arsenal: Wenger’s lament is holding the Gunners back

  By O-Posts Team | January 26, 2013 - 13:13 | , , , ,
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All the media billing surrounding Wilfried Zaha’s now completed transfer to the Premier League as a talented 20 year old involved Arsenal in a move that would have made perfect sense.

A player moving to a club renowned for its success in harnessing raw potential and now housing a good crop of young Englishmen went hand in hand with logic until they reached the figures. £15 million was the reported fee Manchester United eventually paid to land his belated summer services while their north London rivals slammed the briefcase closed and shuttled off to dormant austerity.

The ease with which Manchester United brushed aside Arsenal for Zaha’s signature should be of grave concern to the Gunners who still hold Andrei Arshavin as their record signing for the same £15 million fee.

It is this prudence and transfer inactivity that caused Robin Van Persie to highlight “ambition” as he moved to Old Trafford for £24 million in the summer, a move that has fired United to the top of the table with Arsenal, genuine challengers to English dominance just ten years ago, a small speck in the rear-view mirror by the margin of 19 points after 23 matches.

While Zaha was finalising his move to Manchester, Wenger was entertaining the press with an idea to limit the amount of shopping one can do in the January transfer market, evidently casting an eye to Newcastle’s scattergun de Francais as they stand on five imports and counting. It was hard not to class this two-signing idea as self-sufficing from a manager who has yet to get involved in the transfer festivities and has no intentions to unless, as in his words, “the right player becomes available”.

Wenger was doing a mighty-fine job of towing the Ivan Gazidis and Stan Kroenke party line of strict financial thrift, he was almost convincing as he said “we have the resources inside the club to do well” with limp defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea that emphasised the gulf between Arsenal’s troubles and the quality of those at the top.

Scroll back a little further and it’s the embarrassing League Cup exit to Bradford City that comes into view as an argument for a squad that urgently needs addressing before finishing outside of the top four for the first time in sixteen years becomes a starker reality.

Bayern Munich, Jupp Heynckes’s fluid runaway leaders of the Bundesliga, await with bated breath in the last 16 of the Champions League but the Emirates remains occupied with nothing but tumbleweed.

Wenger was asked about Napoli’s muscular goalscoring phenomenon Edinson Cavani last week and refused to rule out a £30 million bid for what looks more like a child’s fantasy than any realistic transfer rumour.

Increasingly burdened by the weight of austere demands from those above him, Wenger was desperately trying to placate the disillusioned fans who happen to fork out the league’s most expensive season ticket on top of having to watch a yearly fire sale of their best players.

Van Persie and Alex Song departed London for a combined total of just over 30 million euros in the summer while in came Santi Cazorla, Olivier Giroud and Lukas Podolski for around the same expenditure. Break-even is the motto, avoid loss is the game, yet Wenger remains happy that his “accountant is just in the next house, he is ready when we need to spend money” .

That money could well be lumped on Steven Jovetic, Fiorentina’s 23 year old attacking midfielder who can also play out wide. The Montenegrin is the poster-boy of Fiorentina’s Serie A renaissance and his stock is high as a potent creative force and scorer eight goals this season, drawing obvious comparisons to Dejan Savicevic, Milan’s “magician” of the early 90′s.

£20 million is the reported asking price for Jovetic’s direct skill and trickery that causes havoc between the lines, and would add further potency to an already technically-gifted Arsenal frontline that has sometimes lacked cohesion in this campaign.

Jovetic.... would give Arsenal another dimenson.

Jovetic…. would give Arsenal another dimenson.

There is little doubting Jovetic, to the neutral observer, is worth it just like Zaha; he would provide Arsenal with another dimension in attack and offer a goal threat as well as the ability to provide for others, a well rounded young footballer.

Yet, consider it is £5 million in advance of the most Wenger has ever summoned from the kitty to spend on a single player and it seems mightily unlikely that the Belgrade born starlet will be swapping the art and culture of Florence for the hustle and bustle of Islington within this forthcoming week.

Or anybody else for that matter as Wenger persists to produce from within. A within that is capable of a 5-1 demolition of West Ham but lacks the steel and quality necessary to compete with Chelsea and Manchester City as the gap from the top widens into a chasm that is threatening Arsenal’s sustainability as a leading force, as possible Champions League blackout looms large on the horizon.

Once they drop out, they will find it very tough to get back in with the elite, that is unless Gazidis, Kroenke and Wenger finally cave in to the ire afforded them at every AGM and loosen the financial restrictions instead of waiting patiently until their prophesied saviour of Financial Fair Play comes into force. Until then, talk of Zaha, Cavani and Jovetic remains in the clouds.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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FA Cup Preview: Manchester United vs Fulham

  By O-Posts Team | January 26, 2013 - 12:54 | , , ,
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Bulgarian superstar, Dimitar Berbatov returns to his old stomping ground this evening as his Fulham team take on former employers, Manchester United in an F.A Cup 4th Round tie that has the makings of a tasty encounter. It’s been 10 whole years since a Junichi Inamoto inspired Cottagers inflicted a painful loss on the Red Army. They wouldn’t mind another victory later this evening.

Fulham boss, Martin Jol holds the unenviable record of NEVER recording a win in all competitions against Sir Alex Ferguson. It hurts the Dutchman when he’s reminded of that by pressmen every time it is Manchester United he next faces. He will go all out tonight in the hope that he snatches his first win over the Red Devils and it will be even more pleasing at the Theatre of Dreams.

The likes of Giorgos Karagounis, John Arne Riise, Bryan Ruiz, Hugo Rodallega, Steve Sidwell, Brade Hangeland, and DIMITAR BERBATOV will be motivated as ever to send Manchester United out of the Cup and qualify for the 5th Round.

Easier said than done as they are aware of how daunting a task it is to beat Manchester United, talk more of doing it on their home turf.

The Red Devils, just back from their 4 day break in Doha-Qatar, are raring to go. Still reeling from the last gasp equaliser they conceded at the Lane six days ago, the team will want to put things right today vs the men from West London.

 

David De Gea was heavily criticised for being at fault for Clint Dempsey’s goal on Saturday, but will be expected to keep his place this evening except Fergie wants to reshuffle the pack with one eye on Southampton on Wednesday.

Sir Alex was absent from the trip to the far east. He stayed back to attended Celtic Legend, Sean Fallon’s Funeral and tie up the deal to bring Wilfried Zaha to Manchester United; goals he achieved with distinction. The Ivory Coast born attacker is heading to Old Trafford in July after an agreement was reached with present club, Crystal Palace on Friday.

The Red Devils have both form and history on their side as they haven’t lost in two months and sit atop the EPL table with a 5-point cushion over Manchester City. The F.A Cup is a different kettle of fish as it springs surprises season after season.

 

PROBABLE LINE UPS

MANCHESTER UNITED

SAF will be without Darren Fletcher (out for the season), Jonny Evans (hamstring) and Ashley Young (knee). Asides these, he has a full squad to choose from, but might rest one of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic who have to be used wisely as very important fixtures come along in the next couple of weeks.

Lindegaard/DDG, Rafa/Jones, Vidic, Smalling, Buttner, Carrick, Scholes, Valencia, Nani, Kagawa/Rooney, RVP.

 

FULHAM

Dutchman, Jol will be without the services of Simon Davies (neck), Kerim Frei (groin) and Mahamadou Diarra who is still recuperating. Others have been passed fit with a clean bill of health.

Schwarzer, Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Richardson, Duff, Karagounis, Sidwell, Kacaniklic, Ruiz, BERBATOV.

 

Written by Ohireime Eboreime

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Chelsea: Hazard – ball boy incident blown out of proportion

  By O-Posts Team | January 25, 2013 - 19:09 | , ,
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In my many years of watching football, I can’t recall an incident as bizarre and baffling as the one involving Eden Hazard on Wednesday night. I’m sure you’ve all seen the footage, Hazard kicked the ball boy at a time when Chelsea were frustrated and in urgent need of the ball, after the ball boy was blatantly time wasting.

The term “kicked” is a highly suggestive term and connotes the entirely wrong images. It suggests that Hazard, in a fit of rage whacked the ball boy as hard as he possibly could.

That is in no way the case. The only reason Hazard swung his foot back was to get the ball out of the ball boy’s body which covered the ball in an attempt to waste time.

I myself have played in games with friends where the goalkeeper has had both hands on the ball and in an attempt to score a cheap goal players have kicked the ball out of his realm. Childish behaviour, I know, but this is all Hazard wanted to do. Get the ball. He didn’t mean to kick the boy (if he even did) surely anyone speaking honestly would realise and appreciate this?

A 22 year old footballer kicking a ball “boy” is also misleading. The term “boy” connotes he was about twelve or thirteen years old, but in reality the “boy” is seventeen. He knew exactly what he was doing, Hazard didn’t attack some innocent kid, which is the way some people are referring to the situation as.

The ball boy was purposefully wasting time, as his tweet sent earlier in the day read “#needed for time wasting”. The ball boy covered the ball with his body, it was obvious that he was attempting to waste time. After the kick, the boy was clearly exaggerating the severity of his injury, you could see it in his face. He obviously felt some pain, but there can’t have been much damage.

Don’t get me wrong, Hazard deserves some blame. It was foolish to kick a ball boy; it’s foolish to kick anyone on a football pitch, especially with the cameras which are seemingly able to pick up everything that occurs on the field of play. Ultimately, Hazard made an immature, unnecessary, and spare of the moment decision that backfired, and resulted in him receiving a red card.

I cannot blame or criticise the referee’s decision either. It is extremely rare that a player gets involved in a physical altercation and with only his assistants to offer contrary opinions.

In the end, a red card was probably appropriate as Hazard did physically assault someone, albeit not intentionally. Any more punishment of Hazard would be unnecessary, with the exception of perhaps a verbal telling off by the FA.

To conclude, I believe this entire incident has been blown out of proportion on a ridiculously large scale. Hazard did in no way mean to hurt the boy; in fact I don’t think he even meant to touch the boy at all. He wanted the ball, and did what was required to get it.

Admittedly, Hazard crossed the line and should have been calmer rather than kicking or trying to physically force the ball out of the boy’s control. I agree sending Hazard off was the appropriate decision from referee Chris Foy, but some of the reaction to the incident has been utterly ridiculous.

The boy was not in much pain, but people are acting as if it was a kick on the scale of Eric Cantona’s Kung-Fu kick in a Manchester United game away to Crystal Palace. Now that was reprehensible.

To suggest more punishment and branding Hazard a ‘’thug’’ as some tabloid newspapers have is laughable, he has apologised and I hope this is the end of this particular fiasco.

 

Written by Joshua Sodergren

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Special Feature: Why Alex Morgan is the next face of Women’s Football

  By O-Posts Team | January 25, 2013 - 15:22 | , , ,
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2 years ago many of us wouldn’t have recognised the name of one of America’s finest female forwards. A fantastic run at the 2011 Women’s World Cup, an Olympic Gold medal later and Alex Morgan is sitting next to some of the best footballers in the world in Zurich as she assembles as one of the three women nominated for FIFA’s women’s player of the year. In a short period of time the youngster from Diamond Bar, California has gone from a super-sub to one of the USA’s leading faces in professional football.

Only at the age of 23, Morgan is already scoring match defining and game winning goals. Such as her World Cup final strike v Japan and her last minute header against Canada which saw the USWNT through to their fifth consecutive Olympic final. If Morgan can score such crucial goals using her weaker skill in the sport, who knows what kind of attacking force she will bring about in years to come. She could make the game as simple as placing a bet on Nuremberg or like taking candy from a baby…. you get the point.

“She’s still a genetic freak, in my opinion,” Abby Wambach said. “She makes plays that you don’t expect anybody to make.”

Pundits are already labelling the youngster as the next Mia Hamm, while Abby Wambach deemed Alex as her next partner in crime – rather ironically replacing Mia Hamm.

‘She said she didn’t think she had had a partner in crime” – in this case, goalscoring – “since Mia Hamm in 2004,” Morgan said at a press conference – referring to Abby Wambach.

Alex joined her now ‘partner-in-crime’ Abby Wambach as a starter during the final of the CONCACAF qualifiers in Canada, where the lightening striker scored two goals and assisted in another two to help her team towards a 4-0 win over Canada. Ever since that fantastic display from Morgan, Pia Sundhage granted the wishes of many fans as she gave Alex a place in the USA’s starting line-up. Pia’s decision worked in her favour as Alex ended the year with 28 goals, 9 multi goal games and 21 assists.

Alex joined Mia Hamm as the only USWNT players to have recorded at least 20 goals and 20 assists in a calendar year and she also became the third and youngest player to reach at least 20 assists in the same year. While Alex was recording individual achievements, she also matched a 21 year old record with Abby Wambach.

The duo together matched Mia Hamm’s and Carin Jennings’ record of 55 goals as most goals scored by a duo in USWNT history. She has either scored or assisted on 41 per cent of the USA’s 120 goals this year and, by herself, she easily out-scored and out-assisted her opponents, who combined for 21 goals and 12 assists in 32 games against the U.S.

“My style (was) more of a slasher type, being able to use my speed and acceleration to get behind players. Alex has that ability, but she’s also so strong that she’s able to just kind of hold off players, probably more than I ever was. You see her score a lot of goals by getting the ball served into the box and players bouncing off of her.” Mia Hamm stated in the LA Times.

2012 finished superbly for Alex Morgan as she finally landed herself a spot in the USWNT’s starting 11 and she also won her first ever Olympic gold medal.

Along with those accomplishments, she was also nominated for an ESPY Award for Best Breakthrough Athlete Nominee and she won the Women’s Sports Foundation award for sports woman of the year and US Soccer athlete of the year. Due to her feats on the field, she was also shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d’or.

Just to think she achieved all of this in just over a year and a half ago.

“I’ve probably improved the most with my vision of the game and my movement off the ball. It’s a big step whether it’s from college of the youth team to the full national team,” Alex Morgan stated.

“Training as consistently as I have been with the national team, these improvements have come naturally with a high level of intensity and competition. You just have to think and move quicker.”

Now in 2013, Morgan has signed on with the Portland Thorns for the USA’s third attempt at a Professional Women’s football league – the NWSL.

“I’m really excited to be considered part of the Portland Thorns organization and I’m happy to see where all of my other teammates were allocated. As part of the national team we’re very excited to be part of this league, to grow the game of soccer in the U.S. and for me personally to continue my dream of playing in the U.S.”

Morgan, along with her US team mates, will market the new league off to a good start as the USA, Canada and Mexico have funded the new league in hope their respected players can play in a competitive environment leading up to the 2015 Women’s World Cup. All three countries are hoping to use their players to grow a league which will be aggressive, ambitious and fierce and attract the attention of international viewers.

“I look forward to starting this league off right and continuing this league in the coming years. I really thank U.S. Soccer for stepping forward, I appreciate their commitment to the league along with the Canadian and Mexican Federations. So I hope this league gets off to the right start and I’m very excited to be part of it, to stay in the U.S. and continue to grow the game here.”

As Alex Morgan has obtained attention involving her international exploits, she now wants to make a new name for herself in the new league – using her global trademarks to grow the league past the standards of its past two failed brothers.

“How good will she be in four years?” Sundhage said. “Depends on what she wants.”

This is why Alex Morgan is the next face of Women’s football. She is a successful striker who has lead her team’s to countless surreal victories and medals and off the field she is a growing role model for all females in football or any other athletic sports. Her past history is just the start for this determined and aspiring player and audiences have only seen snippets of what her powerful left foot and strategic head can do.

People were right to believe that Alex Morgan is the next Mia Hamm as the number 13 is already matching up to records set by one of the greatest American female players and her style of play, if not sizes up to Mia’s, but it can even overcome the legend herself.

She is a spokeswoman for Women’s football and will take the USA – domestically and internationally – where only Mia Hamm could have possibly dreamt of. No matter what team she plays for and wherever in the world her career takes her, she will always leave an impacting footprint and legacy which will be passed down and watched by many generations to come.

“I think maybe in the beginning people saw her as a pretty face who scores goals,” Megan Rapinoe has expressed. “But she’s so much more than that. Her game has developed so much.”

 

Written by Siobhan Pedroza

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Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa: The Biggest Coup of the January Transfer Window

  By O-Posts Team | January 24, 2013 - 19:53 | , , , , , , ,
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Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa could turn out to be the coup of the January transfer window for Newcastle United. Already a full French international, Yanga-Mbiwa is a mightily impressive signing for the Magpies and at £6.7 million, an absolute bargain. The Frenchman is a ball playing centre-back who uses his strength and speed to deal with anything that is thrown at him. Not to mention the fact that at just 23 years old, there is still room for improvement.

It’s been clear that Newcastle have needed a centre-back for a while now and having failed to bring one in for the last few windows, it was imperative that action was taken this month.

Their defence has been struggling in recent months with doubts surrounding the future of Coloccini, Taylor having more injury problems and Williamson quite simply not being good enough all providing issues. Added to the fact that the club are languishing down in 16th, they couldn’t have picked a better time to bring in one of the top centre-backs in France.

With Coloccini’s future being resolved, for the time being anyway, Yanga-Mbiwa could complete a formidable partnership. With the additions of Mathieu Debuchy and Yanga-Mbiwa to the backline, Newcastle will begin to play from the back much more rather than simply hoof the ball forward aimlessly.

Yanga-Mbiwa has a stunning record for a player of just 23 years old. Having played over 200 games and captained Montpellier to an unlikely Ligue 1 success last season, it’s clear that Yanga-Mbiwa has experience beyond his years. His immense talent has been rewarded this season with him receiving his first 3 caps for the French National team and these are surely the first of many.

Newcastle have a quality player, and leader, on this can only be seen as a huge positive considering the situation the club currently find themselves in.

 

Written by Will Robson

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Special Feature: Footballers Turned Poker Stars

  By O-Posts Team | January 24, 2013 - 19:15 | , , ,
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The career of many professional sportsmen and women is not long lasting, especially those that involve being at the peak of physical fitness to keep ahead of the rest and on top of their game. The time comes, all too soon for some, when bowing out gracefully is the logical thing to do, leaving a gap to be filled where once there was achievement, competition, admiration and money.

Some like to spend their time with family or resting on their laurels, enjoying the fruits of their labour. Some will make the most of a freedom that many won’t have experienced for many years, due to strict exercise regimes and commitment to a team or club, sometimes even their country. Or, some may play poker!

What else keeps the dynamo ticking for those who have a lust for competition, a need for thrills and a love of winning a huge jackpot prize? Poker has all the elements that the ex-sports person has experienced on a professional level throughout their working career.

Footballers in particular appear to be choosing poker as both a way in which to spend their free time or as a chosen second career path once they have hung up their boots for the last time. Already used to glamour and affluence, they find this again in the poker world, and combining their skills with luck, rather like they once did on the field, it makes perfect sense as to why poker is attracting more and more footballers from all over the world.

Two highly regarded footballers who are finding success with poker are the UK’s Teddy Sheringham and Gianluigi Buffon from Italy. Buffon, who still plays for Juventus, plays poker in his free time, whilst retired Sheringham has made somewhat more of a second career out of playing poker, although he also began playing while he was still very much the professional footballer.

Teddy Sheringham kicked of his football career way back in 1982 and played at some of England’s most respected clubs during his 26-year career. Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and Manchester United are just a few of the clubs that had the honour of having one the best strikers of the time play for them.

Along with three more of the country’s top strikers, those being Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole, Sheringham had his most successful season during 1998-1999, playing alongside them for Manchester United. During this time they won the Premier League, Champions League and the FA Cup, earning the nickname of the Fantastic Four. During that season, they were well and truly unbeatable.

Teddy also achieved many accolades for his clubs, winning practically every domestic competition that he entered along with his teammates. Before retiring from football in 2008, Teddy looked to have already set up himself up as a serious poker player, playing in his spare time and getting involved in the celebrity poker playing circuit.

Not just good on the pitch, he has proved himself to be quite a star at the poker table too, his achievements include winning himself €93,121 while playing at the European Poker Tour No Limit Hold‘em’ main event in Portugal, his biggest win to date, and also achieving fourteenth place in the World Series of Poker Europe main event, where he won $66,000. Here is one man who didn’t for one moment ‘think it’s all over’ when he retired from football!

‘Superman’ Gianluigi Buffon is another professional footballer who is quietly making a name for himself playing poker. Buffon plays for Italian club Juventus and also played for Italy when they won the World Cup in 2006. As a talented goalkeeper, he has captained Juventus and Italy during his career and has earned endless decorations for his outstanding achievements.

Winning cup competitions, domestic leagues, the Serie A goalkeeper award a stunning eight times, the list just goes on and on for this talented player. Gigi has a lust for life and has also it seems, a lust for poker. However, he is not quite as accomplished as Teddy Sheringham at this stage, possibly due to the time he has free to devote to playing. Nevertheless Gianluigi is an avid and reputable player on the poker scene.

Both Teddy Sheringham and Gianluigi Buffon have played on Team PokerStars along with some of the top names in poker, including Jonathan Duhamel, Victoria Coren and Chris Moneymaker. Take a look at www.pokerstars.com to learn more about the current team.

 

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Pep Guardiola: A Masterstroke By The German Heavyweights

  By O-Posts Team | January 23, 2013 - 21:03 | , , , ,
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There have been rumours spreading like wild fire since the beginning of last week that former Barcelona player/manager and history maker, Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola will take over from current Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes at the end of the season.

The speculations were becoming stronger by every passing minute and doubts were put to bed when the German giants announced last Wednesday that indeed Mr Guardiola was to become their next manager cum the end of the season.

It was a decision well applauded by a few, but many were astonished that the former Spanish midfield pearl chose the Bavarian outfit over the likes of CFC and Manchester City. He (Pep) even stated his desire to manage in England one day since he never had the opportunity to ply his trade there as a player. Bubble bursting news for all EPL followers.

There was some outrage on the announcement by Bayern re: Guardiola. Nevertheless, his former charges at Barcelona like Captain Carles Puyol and GK Jose Pinto gave him their full backing and all the support he ever needs to succeed at the very demanding Bundesliga outfit.

However, even more despairing was the extreme displeasure shown by a very strong, passionate and dedicated Bayern Munchen fan from Bulgaria called Vasil Kotsev(@jmliak). Having temporarily retired (in his own words) his twitter account well over 6 months ago, he brought it outta retirement Wednesday night for a few hours to express his utter disgust at the appointment of Pep Guardiola.

Below are the points he raised on why he’s not in the least pleased with the Gaurdiola capture.

@jmliak- I am going to bring this account out of retirement for a few tweets, because there are some things that need to be said today..

@jmliak- Bayern probably made their biggest mistake (signing Gaurdiola for next season) since appointing Jurgen Klinsmann back in 2008

@jmliak- I am going to outline why I think so, and everyone is welcome to try and counter any of my points. I actually look forward to that.

@jmliak- Point 1: Pep good for youth players? Out of the 10 youth players he introduced, only 1 (Busquets) became a regular at Barcelona.

@jmliak- Point 2: Pep is awful at transfers. Hleb, Ibra, Sanchez, Mascherano, Villa, Chygrynsky, Fab. Dani Alves is his best buy- enough said. Sold Eto’o

@jmliak- Point 3: Pep doesn’t work with out and out strikers. Ruined Villa’s career, nearly did the same to Ibra. Bayern currently have 3 pure strikers now.

@jmliak- Point 4: Pep did not build this Barca team. Pep inherited Van Gaal and Rijkaard’s team, and despite his efforts, he did not change much.

@jmliak- Point 5: Pep didn’t make Xavi world class. Xavi really is a late bloomer, and he was only given a chance when Deco left. Hardly Pep’s accomplishment.

@jmliak- Point 6: Pep doesn’t use wingers and they eventually leave. Hleb and Sanchez to name just two. Bayern have Ribery, Robben, Shaqiri and Muller.

@jmliak- Point 7: Pep has ;little to no input in FCB’s success. He stumbled upon the best midfield and the best attacker. All he needed to do is field them.

@jmliak- Point 8: Pep just sat and watched games for free on the bench. He’s a zero tactically and couldn’t do anything when the going got tough.

@jmliak- Point 9: When Messi did not play well and Pep faced a coach who actually has a clue, he was helpless. Hiddink and Mourinho just 2 of them.

@jmliak- Point 10: Under Pep, Barca turned into a limited team in which 10 players supported one. Each time Messi was shut out, Barca lost.

@jmliak- Point 11: If Bayern wanted possession football and youth players, they would have stayed with Van Gaal. He is better than Pep in every aspect.

@jmliak- Point 12: Pep does not know German. No quality coach would agree to work in a country and not know the language (Quoting Mourinho here).

@jmliak- Point 13: Bayern need a coach that has tactical ability and win-at-any-cost attitude. They needed Mourinho, not Pep. Should have waited 6 months.

@jmliak- Point 14: Jupp worked really hard to build a team that is Multi-dimensional and flexible. Pep will be the end of that. Bayern shouldn’t be Barca.

@jmliak- Point 15: Pep is about to work with a man thrice more stubborn, forceful, and influential than him.- Sammer. Good luck with that.

@jmliak- Point 16: Probably the biggest proof that Pep was a pawn at Barca is that his assistant is doing better than him so far in the League.
The 16 points above are just off the top of Mr Vasil’s head as he put it, but some are very valid and well constructed, although I personally disagree with a few, I sincerely am with him for the first 3 points. Point 4 has some truth in it, but someone has to inherit a team. He (Pep) changed the team wholly and brought a new winning mentality to the set-up and made them very very difficult to beat…Van Gaal and Frank’s teams didn’t embody that.

Point 5 is what I kept hitting on in 2008. Xavi only became Barcelona’s main midfield man when Anderson ‘DECO’ De Souza left. The Barcelona no 6 emerged from Deco’s shadow to establish himself as not only a mainstay in the Blaugrana team, but the fulcrum. So Pep just monitored the situation and supported the motion.

Point 6 is a fact. But where I think Mr Kotsev is wrong is the tagging of Muller as a pure winger. In a 4-3-3 format (Pep’s favoured strategy), Muller is a wing forward/left sided striker and can easily adapt to the Guardiola master plan (however and whenever it changes) because he is a technically gifted footballer. Same goes for Robben, Ribery and Shaqiri.

Mr Vasil was too angry to think straight when he was tweeting point 7. Pep is pivotal to whatever Barcelona are and will be in future. He totally brought a new meaning to tiki-taka and atttacking football. He transformed good players to great players and is the reason why Messi is regarded as one of the best footballers in History. He is the focal point of football transformation in modern times. He is that revered.

Point 8 is absolute nonsense. Arrant balderdash. If Pep wasn’t tactically adept, he wouldn’t have won the staggering number of titles in his time at the Catalan club. As for point 9, it is a matter of opinion really. I do not quite agree with it. Pep has a dominant record v Mourinho (Hiddink floored him tactically, though).

Point 10 is a half truth. Messi was the main beneficiary of the Guardiola ideology. Pep’s Barcelona teams were built around the Argie great – that was why Eto’o and Ibra were shipped off. Leo was always the main man and that was Pep’s thing.

Point 11 shows that Mr Vasil hasn’t really forgiven Uli, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (KHR) and Franz Beckenbauer for showing Louis Van Gaal (LVG) the exit door. But saying Van Gaal is better than Pep in every aspect is going over the top. Possession football? Spare me that.

In Guardiola’s 247 games as Barcelona manager, Hi side out-possessed every team they faced. An unreal statistic. In terms of promoting youth players, only a few have/can bettered/better Mr Van Gaal. Andres Iniesta is eternally grateful to the Dutch managerial legend for whatever he is today, and many other greats who were given a chance by LVG.

Point 12 is easily the most trivial. Pep is taking over the Reds in 6 months. That should be more than enough time to learn some German. No intelligent and well trained soldier goes to war unprepared and Josep is too super to falter in that respect.

Point 13 is also sheepishly mundane and daft (with all due respect). Pep knows how to win and it is only after next season, we can begin to judge him based on what he has done right or wrong. Mourinho is a class act, so is Guardiola.

Point 14 sees Mr Kotsev showing sympathy for the departing Fohlen Legend, Jupp Heynckes. Yes, he has made the Bayern team multi-dimensional and bla bla bla…But the Football World is a harsh place as seen with Julio Cesar Falcioni’s dismissal at Boca and EL PELADO Almeyda’s at the Monumental (River Plate).

These are just a few examples of how managers are shipped off at the slightest provocation, not minding what they have won or/and done; Sean O’Driscoli’s at NFFC is a recent one. About the phrase/statement- ‘Bayern shouldn’t be Barca’. That’s the idea, right? Sammer and his team want Pep to make DIE ROTEN unbeatable and unplayable like Barca were in his four years at the helm. Mr Vasil should take a chill pill here.

Point 15 shouldn’t really be a problem. Sammer is stubborn, headstrong, strong-willed and very influential. Other football directors have been worse attitude-wise and still managed to get along with their coaches. Pep and Matias will come good for the sake of Bayern Munich and who knows? They might become the best of friends. Life is unpredictable you know.

Point 16 is more or less laughable. ‘The end justifies the means’ they say. Pep was La Liga Champion 3 of the 4 years he was at the Nou Camp and whichever way he started out every league season is inconsequential as long as he reached his set objectives. I like the phrase-’so far’, as the league is still on. Don’t get me wrong, Tito has been exceptional ‘so far’. Not yet ‘so good’

All in all, PEP GUARDIOLA’s return to football has been saluted by majority of us as a welcome relief and we hope he does very well at the ALLIANZ ARENA. Wish you the best Josep the Great.

Opinions/Views are humbly welcome. Please state your minds in the comment box.

 

Written by Ohireime Eboreime

Follow him on Twitter @ohiskaka1990

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