Monthly Archives: January 2013

Mario Balotelli: Could Roberto Mancini get one more chance to prove he was right all along?

  By O-Posts Team | January 23, 2013 - 19:24 | , , , , ,
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Speculation of Mario Balotelli’s possible move from Manchester City to AC Milan this month has been illuminated by stories of the striker mysteriously giving up his highly expensive rented property in Cheshire and inspiring an Italian hip-hop artist to write a song about the pitfalls of native citizenship.

There have been no stories of mass-philanthropy at petrol stations or schools, but indication all the same of the slapstick nature that has followed the character during his time in Manchester that maybe coming to an end.

For somebody who tested Jose Mourinho’s patience to the extreme upon his emergence with Inter Milan and possessed enough lack of wit to appear on national television wearing the shirt of their bitter city rivals, the £24 million move to Manchester City in the August of 2010 as Inter finally gave up on the attacker’s eccentricities and passed him on to his first Internazionale coach and mentor Roberto Mancini, was never going to be the smoothest of rides.

Two years and six months later, Balotelli is rumoured to be on his way back to Milan with his reputation for the petulant, unreliable and utmost frustrating well and truly installed. 27 yellow cards have been picked up at Manchester City and four reds, the most costly one being the scissor tackle that threatened to derail his side’s title chase with defeat at Arsenal last April.

Despite the wretched indiscipline that, just like Mourinho, has driven Roberto Mancini to the edges of his faith in his apparent talent that looked to have finally broken during a training ground fight in December, the manager still appears to hold support for his prodigy whose agent has claimed that any January move is unlikely.

“I’m not interested in negotiating with anyone” says Mino Raiola, “Mario stays at City,” which may go someway to delighting Mancini who, as some are quick to point out, has never voiced a desire to sell the player and is said to be the only member of the City hierarchy to still hold patience in the 22 year old despite ironically being the one who Balotelli has let down the most.

Too often there hasn’t been the ruthless efficiency in-front of goal that adorned Euro 2012 and neither has there been too many moments to replicate the “why always me?” motif of his two-goal inspiration in the 1-6 thrashing of Manchester United at Old Trafford. Instead the more everlasting images have been Mancini furiously reacting on the touchline to another misdemeanour, withdrawing him immediately after a needless back-heel in a pre-season friendly and from a woeful display in this season’s Manchester derby.

It was his inclusion in that game that indicated Mancini’s relentless mission to siphon the best out of Balotelli, which he has chosen to just restrict to mere glimpses, and what initially sparked Mancini to pay out the £24 million fee 2 years ago. City are seeking to recuperate £31 million for the striker, an extortionate ask when it is considered the frequency of which the Italian has proved an encumbrance to his employers.

Adriano Galliani, AC Milan’s vice-president, has said his side are eager to sign the troublesome player and expressed a willingness to negotiate, while Silvio Berlusconi has been entirely negative towards the projected move, conflicting reports that show in microcosm how much the enigmatic striker splits opinion.

Any opinion that is, apart from Roberto Mancini’s which remains completely unswayed on what his man can eventually offer to Manchester City once his shoddy attitude stops betraying the talent he possesses.

Aside from the misadventures and the comedy that has incurred his time with City, a return of 30 goals from 75 is a modest total from two years in east Manchester where he has played a significant role in a period of incredible success; he was man of the match in the FA Cup final win over Stoke in 2011 whilst as well as twenty goals last season, his measured pass to provide Sergio Aguero for his last gasp goal that sealed City’s first ever league title would have achieved him immortality in City’s history despite the infuriating underbelly of this chapter of his young career.

Balotelli has played just 31 minutes of football since that erroneous decision to field him in the derby at the start of December, but as City once again go in pursuit of their neighbours for a successive Premier League title, his services could well be needed again as he currently sits on the bench awaiting a possible shot at redemption.

If Milan’s interest passes in this window without action, as is looking increasingly likely, it will give Mancini another 5 months to launch one last desperate attempt to give the striker a chance to prove he was worth the trouble all along.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Christian Benteke: Another Belgian Talent On The Rise

  By O-Posts Team | January 23, 2013 - 17:16 | , , , , , , ,
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There have been a host of Belgian footballers that have consistently made the headlines this season for their outstanding performances for their clubs in the Premier League, but none of them have carried the fortunes of a club in a relegation dog fight and still received glowing plaudits like Christian Benteke.

His match winning prowess are invaluable for a club like Aston Villa who need players to lead the club to safety, 20 year old Benteke is taking the initiative with Aston Villa getting points every time Benteke has scored so far this season.

The highlight so far in his Villa career was a sensational performance away at Anfield where his combination of creativity and athleticism demolished the Reds with the Belgian scoring two goals and assisting another to complete a shock result.

But seven days later he was the lone striker as Aston Villa surrendered to an eight goal defeat away at Chelsea. After all the deserved praise from the previous weekend, Benteke was smothered by Ivanovic and Cahill leading for Benteke to play “off the shoulder” far too often and was constantly offside.

Christian Benteke was a late transfer from Belgian club Genk where he had scored 19 goals in 41 games in the 2011-12 season. 7 million was steep figure for a player with little experience at such a competitive level that the Premier League demands week after week.

Benteke was introduced to the Premier League at Villa Park in the fixture versus an in form Swansea City. Benteke had an instant impact as a he scored coming on as a late sub. At the early stages of his career, his place in the Villa starting lineup was questioned as his first touch seemed heavy while a proven Premier League striker in Darren Bent didn’t even make the substitute bench.

Benteke established himself as the spearhead of the Aston Villa attack in the absence of Darren Bent with goals in important matches such as the equaliser versus Norwich and the late winner versus Reading.

One of the standout games for Benteke in a Villa shirt was in the Capital One Cup where after 85 minutes he had bulldozed through the usually air tight Norwich defence. His subtle combination play with Andres Weimann led to him unselfishly playing in the Austrian for his second goal of the night, while scoring from 20 yards himself in the 90th minute to complete a 4-1 victory.

December 15th was the date where I feel that Benteke began to really stand out. The Claret and Blue’s encountered Liverpool at Anfield. Villa needed a win as they were slowly creeping into the relegation zone at this time. Lambert changed Villa’s system to shore up the backline by changing to 5-3-2 counter attacking system.

Aston Villa lined out with the youngest average age for a starting eleven this season but the roars of the Kop didn’t affect them. Suddenly Benteke nonchalantly pushed the ball out of his feet and unleashed a low shot inside Pepe Reina’s near post from 25 yards out.

The Belgian then turned provider when in arguably the best team goal of the season he raced onto a Weimann pass, then returning the play to Weimann through a sublime backheel for Weimann to score. In the second half, Benteke collected a sloppy Joe Cole pass and bounced off a Martin Skrtel challenge before slotting past the helpless Reina.

The Christmas period left Villa with zero goals and thirteen conceded so that in itself states that Benteke didn’t influence games as much as he would have liked during this period. But he has scored in consecutive away games against Swansea and the opener, a stunning shot coming in at 68mph from 28 yards out in the local derby versus West Brom. In the second leg of the of the Capital One Cup tie with Bradford, Benteke despite scoring the opener was on the losing side over both legs.

Benteke has impressed me in his debut season by finding consistent goalscoring form but can still improve in his timing of runs and hold up play. His strength and aerial ability give him great tools for goalscoring, which he has used to score seven premier league goals this season.

Aston Villa have won five and drawn four in of the nine games Benteke has scored in for all competitions. Expect top clubs to be monitoring his situation at Villa over the summer if he continues this form for the rest of the season.

 

Written by Daire Kilkelly

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Football Tips: Psycho-Motoric Training Allows You to Play Football with Your Mind

  By O-Posts Team | January 23, 2013 - 16:14 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Football players do not only need physical fitness, powerful technique and perfect mental ability, but they also need to develop psycho-motor skills. This means that they need to improve their concentration abilities, multitasking, space orientation, the ability to comprehend, and enhancing memory capacity and so on.

Barcelona’s midfielder, Xavi Hernandez has stated in an interview that the first thing, which is taught to every child in Barcelona, is to keep thinking fast without losing a second. Children are taught to play football with perfection, and right from the age of ten it is imbibed in their minds that losing a ball brings shame.

This statement can be better understood if you refer to the performance of Xavi Hernandez starting from the time when the player receives the ball, till the moment it is released for a pass.

The moves go in this manner:

1. Determining an open space with a passing angle and then moving the ball into it.
2. Understanding the ball is now being passed to him.
3. Looking off from the ball and viewing the surrounding.
4. While the ball is half underway, pointing his look and predicting the spot where it will head to
5. The strength of observation during the time of absorption
6. Receiving the ball and viewing the surrounding areas while estimating the moves
7. Passing the ball with maximum accuracy towards his team member or to an open space where the team member is moving to.

Xavi is speaking about the human brain and the functions of thinking abilities during physical exercise. To put it in simple words, it is all about training and exercising the brain.

 

The talent capacity

Famous football players like Pele, Maradona, Johan Cruyff, Messi and so on are also blessed with extraordinary psycho-motoric skills. These players have many qualities but one of the most noteworthy of all the qualities is their thinking ability and the power to take the correct decision on field while in motion. Coaches have also said that talent is one thing that cannot be taught. It is something which you either have it or do not have it.

A football player who is unable to put in complete attention and distracted easily is liable to perform critical mistakes, irrespective of how talented he might be. Hard training or motivation alone is just not enough for playing good football.

Barca star, Xavi Hernandez in action.

You need to understand about the neurological pattern here on which a football player does not have complete control. The first thing towards rectifying this problem is:

• Development of consciousness and getting aware of these distractions
• Instant training which is dedicated towards complete attention

The mental effort of any football player that he uses for keeping his concentration in the game is affected by concentration and attention skills.

 

Psycho-motoric training

The importance of physical fitness cannot be ruled out as it affects both concentration and attention skills. However, even if a player is physically fit, the symptoms of mind getting fatigued cannot go unnoticed.

It has been observed that players who have performed psycho-motoric training since months have reported of having both improvement and better attention ability in the game. They have also expressed the feeling of remaining fresh for a longer duration. You should not be surprised with this. Human brain reacts to physical training with equal extent in the same manner as body muscles do.

 

Conditions of Psycho-motoric training

Psycho-motoric training can be divided into general training that fits to all kinds of specific training and sports activities and is adjusted to its nature. There are multiple conditions for different exercises:

• Regular – when the player is fresh
• Intensive – when the player puts in effort
• Under tiring or fatigue conditions.

 

Author’s Bio:

Albert Steve is a sportswriter, and he also interviews popular sports people for a magazine. You could also check out his interview with Mericle, who is quite a big name in American football.

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English Premier League: The Story So Far

  By O-Posts Team | January 22, 2013 - 21:08 | , , , , , , , , , , ,
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With the festive period now out of the way and just passed the half-way point of the season, we have a pretty clear picture of where things stand top and bottom of the Premier League.

Though there have been a few surprises: the excellent first half of the season West Brom have had, the relegation scrap that Newcastle are now embroiled in and just how shockingly awful QPR were under Mark Hughes; the title race is somewhat predictable.

I said before the season kicked off, that the title will be a 2 horse race and that I fancied Man Utd to nick it ahead of rivals City. That prediction is looking likely to come to fruition and if it does, with City’s second consecutive exit from the Champions League at the group stages, it could cost Roberto Mancini his job; although Pep Guardiola’s decision to take over at Bayern in the summer may cause the City owners to stick with Mancini.

Despite costing £24m, Robin van Persie could prove to be a bargain for Utd. His finishing prowess has been the difference for his side this season and much needed at times, as a once solid defence has become porous; but the determination to win back the title after the final day drama of last season and the goals of van Persie is likely to be enough to see them through.

Despite their impressive start to the league campaign, I felt the imbalance in Chelsea’s squad would cause them to falter and that has happened. It was still something of a shock though to see Di Matteo sacked when he was and even more of a shock to see Rafa Benitez take over the reins at Stamford Bridge.

Perhaps, just as surprising is that after starting the season with just 2 strikers, they haven’t looked to rectify the situation thus far in the transfer window. Demba Ba has come in, but Daniel Sturridge has gone to Liverpool and with Fernando Torres looking forlorn once more, it puts a lot of responsibility on Ba.

Tottenham, under Andre Villas Boas, have done better than I expected and although Gareth Bale is their match winner, Moussa Dembele has been the man who’s made them tick; at £15m, he’s been a very good piece of business for AVB. The Spurs squad still lacks a bit depth in certain areas, but despite them too often looking to sit on a lead, the players seem to be taking to AVB’s ideas.

Arsenal fans will be hugely disappointed with their current position and all too familiar lack of consistency. The return to fitness and form of Jack Wilshere and impressive performances of Santi Cazorla are amongst the few bright lights in a largely frustrating season so far. Podolski has a decent goals return so far, but too often ineffective stuck out on the wing, instead of being used in his natural striking role.

Fellow summer signing, Giroud, has struggled to make an impact, but it seems he thrives off crosses and that’s not something Arsenal provide in abundance. The positive end to the Walcott contract saga could give them a lift, but the weakness at left back and defensive midfield continue and it’s hard to see them finishing top 4.

Walcott's contract renewal... one of the few positives for Arsenal this season.

Walcott’s contract renewal… one of the few positives for Arsenal this season.

Everton got off to their best start to the season in 8 years, arguably over achieving by being in real contention for a top 4 finish. The Toffees have a strong starting XI, with Baines, Pienaar and Fellaini being their stand out performers, but the lack of depth to their squad means that should they start to pick up a few injuries, the second half of the season could be tougher for David Moyes men.

After a difficult start to the season, Liverpool are adjusting to Brendan Rodgers ideas and are playing some good football. The wasteful finishing of last season continued early this campaign, but the goals have started to flow recently, especially for Luis Suarez.

The Uruguayan hitman has already reached the 20 goal mark and has been truly outstanding, carrying the burden of being 1 of only 2 senior strikers, following Andy Carroll’s loan move to West Ham and then the only fit striker, once Fabio Borini got injured on international duty. The recent addition of Daniel Sturridge has eased that burden and the Reds are looking better equipped for the send half of the season, but the top 4 is still likely to still be beyond reach.

Swansea’s impressive debut Premier League season has been followed up with a mature campaign thus far under new boss Michael Laudrup, who unearthed arguably the signing of the summer in Michu, an absolute steal at £2m.

Another manager gaining plaudits, is Steve Clarke at West Brom in his first managerial job. The Baggies have continued to be solid, but they’re also playing some good passing football, exceeding the expectations of most, including yours truly.

Martin O’ Neill’s Sunderland endured an arduous start to the campaign, but recent form has dramatically improved; with regular goals from Steven Fletcher and the attacking threat of Adam Johnson, the security of a mid-table finish looks certain; something local rivals Newcastle cannot be so sure of at the moment.

It’s been well publicised that the Magpies form has been disastrous since manager Alan Pardew signed an 8 year contract, but injuries to key players Taylor, Cabaye, Gutierrez and Ben Arfa are more significant than that contract and despite the loss of Ba to Chelsea, Newcastle have too much quality to be relegated and I’m sure will end up mid table.

Of the three newly promoted sides, West Ham have looked the most secure. The experience of manager Sam Allardyce and key squad members means their Premier League status should be safe.

Southampton and Reading have impressed at times, but have also looked naïve in some matches in what is a tough learning curve for both sides; the bizarre sacking of Nigel Adkins could potentially have ramifications for the spirit they will need in order to survive.

Adkins.... bizarrely relieved from his duties at Southampton.

Adkins…. bizarrely relieved from his duties at Southampton.

The impulsive summer spending of Mark Hughes at QPR was a recipe for trouble and their diabolical performances in the opening few months of the season cost Hughes his job. The appointment of Harry Redknapp is a good one, but it’ll be as difficult to shift the average players on over inflated contracts, as it will be to keep the hoops up. However, you wouldn’t rule out them surviving on the final day of the season, with some kind of dramatic twist.

The decline of Aston Villa has been a shocking one; Paul Lambert is a manager of undoubted talent, but a mixture of phasing out the big earners, injuries to key players and having to rely on unproven youngsters is looking too much of a task. Unless Villa an experienced defender and central midfielder, they could quite easily be looking at Championship football next year.

Another team staring relegation in the face is Wigan. Roberto Martinez has received praise for his positive approach and keeping a weak squad up, but this year it’s hard to see them defying the odds again, unless 2or 3 rumoured loan signings materialise.

In short, I think the current top 4 of Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs won’t change, but who goes down is a lot more difficult to call, but I think it will be 3 from Reading, QPR, Aston Villa, Southampton and Wigan; I don’t know why, but I have a sneaking suspicion that QPR and Villa will just escape.

So, it’s certainly not been a classic season so far, but the battle for places at the top and bottom promises to make things interesting.

 

Written by Andy Wales

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Younes Belhanda: Another Hot Talent On His Way To Turkey

  By O-Posts Team | January 22, 2013 - 20:11 | , , , , , ,
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Highly regarded Montpellier and Moroccan international star Younes Belhanda is in talks with Fenerbahce over a move to Turkey. The two clubs are in the later stages of negotiations and are still trying to agree a fee that will see the 22 year old swap the blue and orange jersey for the blue and yellow one.

The Turkish giants released a statement saying, “We have begun talks with Montpellier and Younes Belhanda over a move for the player”.

This will come as a blow for Montpellier, who currently sit 12th in the French league. With many players gone, moving or linked with moves away, they are enduring a difficult period and will need to reinvest in the squad.

Last season saw Montpellier crowned French champions for the first time in their history. Belhanda’s impressive performances have seen interest ignited by some of the biggest clubs in Europe, with North London duo Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur among those keeping a close eye on the gifted playmaker.

However it seems as if Fenerbahce will land the Moroccan International and the move will see Turkey inherit two of the finest attacking talents Europe has to offer, as Wesley Sneijder has joined Galatasary from Inter Milan.

After making his debut a little over three years ago, Belhanda has won the French League title and was named in the 2011-2012 Ligue 1 Team of the Year whilst also picking up the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award. His pending transfer to Fenerbahce should work out for both the purchasing club and player.

At the tender age of 22, Belhanda has many years ahead of him and a move to Turkish football would possibly raise his profile further and is expected to compete for trophies within the division.

Belhanda is currently on international duty with Morocco at the African Cup of Nations.

 

Written by Farhan Daw

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Wigan: The Latics’ Premier League Romance Could Be About To End

  By O-Posts Team | January 22, 2013 - 19:46 | , , ,
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Wigan’s rise from the old Division Two to the top tier in just two seasons and subsequent plucky existence in the Premier League remains a good old fashioned underdog story in a game that looses further touch with common sense by the week.

Chairman Dave Whelan, despite his many outspoken imperfections, would not sack his manager for gaining two promotions in two years with his side sitting fifteenth at the top table, he would probably back him if he guided his team to relegation which seems increasingly likely with Wigan four points and four places below Southampton and staring a return to the Championship down the eye after eight dogged years competing with the very best.

The Latics have won just five times in 23 games and the weekend’s defeat to Sunderland became their eleventh winless game from their last thirteen matches. They are known for being risers to the occasion when it really matters, they had four points less at this stage last year before a great climax to the season eventually kept them up, but as Sunderland condemned them to their seventh home defeat of the season, the most in the league, it looked likely this year could see their stay of execution under the amicable Roberto Martinez finally ended.

Wigan’s football remained as stylish as ever as they slipped to the 2-3 reversal to Martin O’Neill’s in-form team, as expected under Martinez who has refused to compromise his continental roots despite desperate streaks of form that have become habitual at the DW. It has been the strangest of back-stories, the Spaniard landing in the obscurity of an unestablished club in Division Three, they were only elected to the Football League as recently as 1978, who has gone on to become a sophisticated hero in the rugby-fanatical lands of north Lancashire.

Dave Whelan, one of the few remaining working class hero owners involved in the game, has led a one-man crusade against extortionate season ticket prices, they have the cheapest in the Premier League at £250 and remarkably, the 6th cheapest out of the whole 92 clubs in the league pyramid.

It is hard to imagine how a club like Wigan, living on a paltry attendance of an 18,000 average despite the attractive prices, can survive amongst the behemoths of Arsenal, Manchester United and co. but they do, and they do it with fluid football on the pitch to boot, it would take the sternest of hearts to wish the league would lose Wigan who continue to fly the flag for the little guy amongst the rich and powerful.

One wouldn’t expect to find tactical innovation in the unfashionable setting of Wigan, but Martinez’s 3-4-3 is a pioneering system driven by the brilliant James McCarthy in the heart of midfield allows for high pressing and neat passing which is a product of Martinez’s Spanish footballing education.

Against Sunderland however, defensive fragility caused by the recent long term injury to Ivan Ramis which could tip them closer to the brink of relegation, saw an early David Vaughan own goal cancelled out by three strikes that the home side, despite Angelo Henriquez’s late header, had no tangible answer to.

The second half display which saw vast improvement and Martinez “pleased”, had come too late and it left the Latics a meagre five points from the last possible thirty on offer. Attacking has also been a problem despite the neat build-up that Martinez presides over, twenty five goals have been scored in the league but the side remain short of a consistent source of goals.

Arouna Kone, a summer budget signing from Levante, is top scorer with just 6, while Franco Di Santo, despite showing glimpses this season of a talent that once swayed Chelsea to his services, has been once again frustrating in front of goal, he has just four. Martinez will be hoping Manchester United’s Angelo Henriquez produces his proposed talent to bridge the quality gap that has gone missing in losing Victor Moses and hasn’t yet been sufficiently been replaced.

The likes of Mohamed Diame, the midfield powerhouse now at West Ham, Hugo Rodellega and Charles N’Zogbia who have departed for Fulham and Aston Villa respectively in recent years have been relied upon to provide the quality needed for Martinez’s modest outfit to barely survive, but this season such individual threat seems worryingly absent.

Jordi Gomez, Jean Beausejour and Roger Espinoza provide an exotic influence in servicing Di Santo or Kone in attack, in front of the energetic midfield of James’s McCarthy and McCarthur, but there appears to be nobody wiling to step up and make the difference like Moses did last year and form is suffering as a result.

Defeat to Sunderland is just the latest setback in a long line for Martinez and he will set about trying to guide Wigan on another belated change of course back to safety with fourteen games left, yet it is increasingly looking ominous that the small Lancashire will finally lose their flimsy Premier League status after eight years at the top spent proving small clubs can cut it with the best without selling their soul.

It will be sad to lose them.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Arsenal: What Walcott’s Signature Means For The Club

  By O-Posts Team | January 21, 2013 - 20:16 | , , , ,
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Walcott contract renewal... one of the few positives for Arsenal this season.

So after protracted negotiations over two years, Arsenal have now tied Theo Walcott down to a ‘long term’ contract.

The details if you are to believe the scribes out there are that Arsenal will pay Walcott GBP100,000 a week over the next three-and-half years making him the highest-paid player at the club.

Given the way Arsenal have been bleeding important players over the last few seasons this was a deal that the club needed beyond footballing reasons. After losing Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Robin Van Persie and Alex Song in a short space of time, failing to retain the services of their current top goalscorer would have been a disaster for the Gunners. It would have wiped the Emirates off the map as an attractive destination for top players. It is hard enough trying to attract anyone now with the dearth of trophies but with a revolving door policy for stars in place, it makes it doubly so.

The strange and sadly typical thing about Arsenal fans is that before he committed his future to the club many of them were screaming at what they termed the lack of determination by the board to tie up the deal. Now that he has signed, they are beginning to question whether he is worth the amount he will be getting and if the club would have been better off without him.

There may be some truth in the speculation surrounding the lack of leadership in the signing players. After all, what Walcott wanted six months ago is what he has signed for now. So all we have had is months of speculation only for the original deal to be signed.

The reality of it all is that it is now up to Walcott to make himself a success at the club. He needs to fulfill that potential which caused Arsene Wenger to put faith in him as a 16 year-old to bring him in from Southampton and motivated the ridiculous decision by then England manager Sven Goran Eriksson to take him to the World Cup.

There are many who doubt his ability to do so but there is every indication that the England international is relishing the responsibility of becoming the main man at the red half of North London, at least for the next three-and-a-half years.

 

Written by Larry Kwirirayi (www.larrykwirirayi.com), founder and owner of Three Men On A Boat (www.3-mob.com).

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Aron Johannsson: A Player On The Crossroads Between Motherland And Birthplace

  By O-Posts Team | January 21, 2013 - 19:44 | , , ,
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Most footballers don‘t have to make a decision when it comes to playing for your national team. Either you‘re picked or not, and if you‘re picked it is safe to assume that you will most likely show up – at least while you‘re still young.

Aron Jóhannsson is one of the players for whom the choice is not as simple as that, but indeed much more complicated.

The Icelandic striker, who currently plays for AGF in the Danish Superliga, has a tough choice ahead of him but will soon need to make a decision.

Despite Jóhannsson being 100 percent Icelandic, the fact remains that he was born in the United States while his parents were studying there, and not moving to his native country until he was three.

This means that the 22 year old striker has a duel nationality and can choose to play for the United States if the offer arrives.

Not even a year ago, nobody was even thinking about this possibility. Jóhannsson was barely good enough for the Icelandic U21 side, let alone the United States national teams, boasting of forwards such as Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and the up-and-coming Jozy Altidore.

But in the last year, Jóhannsson has made ridiculous improvements and is now one of the best players in Denmark and the joint top scorer of the league.

So far, Icelandic national team coach Lars Lagerback has ignored Jóhannsson and not deemed him good enough for the team, but then again Iceland has strikers such as Kolbeinn Sigþórsson, Björn Bergmann Sigurðarson, Alfreð Finnbogason and perhaps now, Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen, available.

When Lagerback finally decided to pick Jóhannsson for a friendly against Andorra, he had to withdraw because of an injury. And now Jurgen Klinsmann is interested. Very interested.

Klinsmann invited Jóhannsson to come with the U.S. national team to a training camp in January, an offer which Jóhannsson accepted but again unfortunately – he had to withdraw due to an injury.

The fact of the matter is still that Jóhannsson is now on crossroads. The next Icelandic national team game is a friendly against Russia on February 6th, and the next competitive game is in March. If Jóhannsson plays those games, it‘s done – his choice will have been made.

Trying to put oneself into his position is quite hard. On one hand, I doubt he feels much more American than I do. On the other hand, he has a chance to become the first Icelandic player to ever play at the World Cup – where the U.S. almost has an automatic entrance.

My question is – should you treat national teams like a club? Many players, such as Eduardo da Silva (Croatia), Pepe (Portugal) have ended up playing for a national team different to their own country, and I guess that is an alright choice.

But isn‘t the pride of wearing the colors of your nation, playing for the people of your country, what this is all about? Isn‘t the national team about that, while your club is more about getting the paycheck or personal glory?

Only Aron Jóhannsson can decide. Whatever his choice, I will respect it, but I sincerely hope he chooses to play for Iceland – his country. Even if he gets picked for the U.S. team, it‘s not 100 percent that he will always get to play. It‘s a risk. Choose wisely, Aron!

Bonus: Watch this video of Aron‘s hat-trick this season, the fastest hat-trick in Denmark‘s history.

 

Alexander Freyr Einarsson is a sports journalist at Icelandic football website 433.is. You can follow him on Twitter via @alexander_freyr.

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Adam’s Premier League Column – Lamps sends out message to Chelsea

  By O-Posts Team | January 20, 2013 - 20:52 | , , , , , , , , , ,
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All of the nine Premier League fixtures survived the snowy conditions, and it certainly didn’t put a dampener on the games. Towards the end of the week, Southampton sacked boss Nigel Adkins, who brought the Saints into the top-flight with two successive promotions.

The footballing world has deemed the decision as harsh and unfair, and I have to agree. Their performances had improved under the former physio, and the sacking came as a shock.

His successor, Mauricio Pochettino, has to win over a lot of people, and it is perhaps too soon to judge him, although I think that the Argentine, who doesn’t speak English, will find it incredibly hard to win over his critics. Welcome to the Premier League, Mauricio!

Here are my top three games of the weekend-

 

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1

This was truly a game of two half’s. Arsenal’s first half performance was sloppy, lacking passion, drive, and their players were non-existent. Young midfielder Jack Wilshere was the standout performer for the Gunners, and their defence was shaky at the best of times. Sagna had the worst game I think I’ve seen him play, and Santi Carzola went missing throughout the first forty-five minutes.

Chelsea, on the other hand, looked threatening with every attack. Hazard’s trickery, Mata’s dribbling and Ramires’ energy and drive was a joy to watch. It didn’t take long for the hosts to get over their 2-2 midweek draw at home to Southampton when they let slip a two goal lead.

Juan Mata’s driven shot sailed past ‘keeper Szczesny to send the hosts in front on six minutes, although the Gunners should have had a free-kick during the build-up. Ten minutes later, the home side were awarded a penalty after Ramires was brought down by the outstretched leg of Szczesny, although replays suggest that the Brazilian midfielder took a dive. Frank Lampard stepped up and slotted coolly into the bottom right hand corner to send out a message to the club that he’s not finished yet.

Torres struggled throughout the game and had a couple of chances to send Chelsea out of sight, but he didn’t take them and the second half was a different story.

Arsenal were a different team in the second half, they looked more up for it and were winning far more second balls, and they forced Chelsea to concentrate. Walcott halved the deficit on 58 minutes with a clinical finish, but it wasn’t enough to take a share of the points. Chelsea put in some terrific last ditch tackles, and based on their first half display, thoroughly deserved the three points.

Arsene Wenger reflected, “We gave them too much room in which to play in the first half. We had the first chance but missed it. I thought Coquelin was injured for the first [Chelsea goal], and I’m not convinced at all that it was a penalty on the second one.”

 

Liverpool 5 Norwich 0

It was a comfortable victory in the end for Liverpool against a team who they have memorable experiences with in recent outings. It took twenty-six minutes for the home side to break the deadlock, and it was Jordan Henderson’s top corner strike that separated the two sides.

Ten minutes later, Luis Suarez then netted at the far post to double their lead after he ran through on goal after Daniel Sturridge cleverly left the ball, and from that moment on, the Canaries were just left chirping. Suarez and new boy Sturridge linked up well throughout the game, and they seemed to just understand each other’s movements and playing styles right away.

Sturridge then converted himself on 59 minutes, becoming the first player since Ray Kennedy in 1974 to score in each of his first three games for Liverpool. Steven Gerrard’s drilled effort seven minutes later made the score 4-0 before Raheem Sterling’s cross-cum-shot ricocheted off of Ryan Bennett’s leg and into the empty net.

A game that Norwich will want to forget quickly and it will be interesting to see how they re-group next week when they play host to Non-League side Luton Town in the F.A Cup, although I expect a much changed Canaries side.

 

West Ham United 1 Queens Park Rangers 1

Okay, perhaps not the most glamorous of ties, but it was certainly an entertaining match. It was a much needed point for Harry Redknapp’s QPR, and it was debutant Loic Remy who popped up with the goal from outside the box to give Rangers some much needed impetus.

West Ham continued to fight, and had around forty-six crosses in the match, and their persistence finally paid off as former Hammers’ player scored his first goal on his return to Upton Park, after he pounced on a re-bound.

A point dropped, maybe, for the Hammers, and with the amount of chances they had, they could have won 10-1, but it wasn’t to be.

 

Team of the Week

Results in full:

Liverpool 5 – 0 Norwich
Man City 2 – 0 Fulham
Newcastle 1 – 2 Reading
Swansea 3 – 1 Stoke
West Ham 1 – 1 QPR
Wigan 2 – 3 Sunderland
West Brom 2 – 2 Aston Villa
Chelsea 2 – 1 Arsenal
Tottenham 1 – 1 Man United

 

Written by Adam May

Follow him on Twitter @Amay132

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Premier League: Another Super Sunday Dawns Upon Us

  By O-Posts Team | January 20, 2013 - 12:17 | , , , , , ,
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Another Super Sunday is upon us. The last one was spellbinding and thought provoking; simply irresistible stuff from all the teams involved. Although the 2nd match was blighted by an inexplicable defensive howler by Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny, it was still a great game. Well, that is the past now. On to the next one.

Today’s DOUBLE HEADER pitches two London rivals (West and North) against each other and another London team against the red army of Manchester.

The first match is to be staged at Stamford Bridge where the Landlords haven’t found it all smooth sailing in recent weeks. Chelsea and Rafael Benitez dropped 2 points v the relentless Saints who have a new manager now in 20-cap retired Argie CB, Mauricio Pochettino (famously nicknamed the Sheriff in Spain) and that is just one of a string of poor results they have had.

Visitors, Arsenal, have been on a rough ride lately, with the last League match leaving a sour taste in the mouths of the Gunners’ faithful. Defeat to Manchester City and the manner in which it was inflicted upon left Arsene Wenger embittered and stunned.

Despite beating Swansea in midweek (F.A CUP Replay) and getting Theo Walcott to sign a new contract, the Frenchman will be looking for a swift response when his wards travel to West London- a ground they are well familiar with and had success there last season when a certain Robin Van Persie struck a hat-trick on the way to a 5-3 win.

Rafa Benitez is under immense pressure at CFC. He would do everything humanly possible to win over the Blues’ faithful as they have no ounce of love/loyalty/support for him. It is even made worse by the 16th minute (every match) rapturous applause by the fans for Champions League and F.A Cup winning Roberto Di Matteo who, in their eyes, was wrongly dismissed by owner Roman Abramovich.

Results haven’t exactly gone his way either. Save for some awe-inspiring performances v Aston Villa et al, there have been some dampeners…worst of all, the World Club Cup Final defeat to TITE’s Corinthians in Japan.

Juan Mata has been phenomenal this season, and alongside Steven Gerrard, has assisted the most goals in the League this season (8). He has also weighed in with 7 League goals and he is the main threat to the Arsenal team come tomorrow.

Senegalese power-packed striker, Demba Ba scored his 1st League goal on Wednesday v Southampton and will be looking to continue in that fashion. He has already faced Arsenal this season for Newcastle and knows very well how to put goals past them.

Fernando Torres is misfiring after everyone thought he had found his best form with the coming of the man who lured him to ENGLAND. In truth, he has been a disappointment. Inspirational captain, John Terry, could return to the starting 11 after sitting out the Southampton game.

Arsene’s Arsenal will be fuming at the loss of vice captain and midfield lynch pin, Mikael Arteta to injury just before the Manchester City game amid further bad news after the loss that he will be out for three weeks.

He will however be buoyed by the return of Abou Diaby and the breathtaking form of Jack Wilshere, whose brilliant goal knocked the Swans out of the F.A CUP in midweek. Santi Cazorla has relaxed a little bit, but you never discount a WORLD CLASS footballer’s contribution…do that at your own peril.

Olivier Giroud will hope to be back among the goals tomorrow and Theo Walcott will expect to celebrate his new contract with a fine performance. The defensive pairing of Per and Vermaelen can snuff out any attacking threat CFC will pose if they are at the peak of their powers.

 

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

CHELSEA: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Luiz, Cole, Ramires, Lmapard, Oscar, Mata, Hazard, Torres,

ARSENAL: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Diaby, Wilshere, Cazorla, Walcott, Giroud, Podolski

PREDICTION- A 1-1 draw or 2-1 Arsenal.

 
SPURS-MANCHESTER UNITED

The second match of the day kicks off at White Hart Lane between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United. The reverse fixture at Old Trafford saw the Lilywhites claim their first win in 23 years in that stadium and they are confident that they can secure an unlikely double over the League leaders.

In Gareth Bale, they possess one of the best players in the League and he has shown this season that he can even be as good as the best players in the World. His hat-trick at Villa Park in addition to other superb showings at various times are testament to that fact. Jermain Defoe is on fire as well and the form of Aaron Lennon is even scarier.

The diminutive winger has expressed himself in the most spectacular manner as the season has worn on. Bale and Lennon are easily the best wingers in the EPL at the moment and will definitely give Rafael Da Silva and Patrice Evra one hell of a game today.

The back line of Vertonghen and Dawson is water tight and have to be at their extreme best to keep out the returning Wazza and RVP from scoring.

Andre Villas-Boas was in one of his happiest ever moods when his boys left Old Trafford with all 3 points the last time they met. His managerial acumen will be called upon to ensure Spurs do all they can to defeat the red devils again.

The Red Army of Manchester United are in such excellent form. 9 VICTORIES out of 10 and 26 goals scored is astonishingly exquisite. It is the goal concession rate that is a thing of concern. The return of Nemanja Vidic has helped shore up the defence in the last few games and Sir Alex will be glad that his Captain is in contention to feature in this crucial match.

With Manchester City closing the gap earlier in the day after putting 2 past a hapless Fulham, the RED DEVILS cannot afford to slack in their own assignment. It is win or nothing for the 19-time English Champions. West Ham were sent out of the cup on Wednesday in a replay that saw the return of many 1st teamers including Wayne Rooney and Luis Nani who has missed the last 16 games.

SAF was angered by the way Rooney fluffed his lines when taking a 2nd half penalty in midweek and suggested that he took a cue from S’ampton’s Rickie Lambert who has converted 31 out of 31 spot kicks. That was the 10th penalty Wazza had lost since he started taking them. Not one to reckon with at all.

Spurs must pay special attention to former player, Michael Carrick who has been MUFC’s best player this season. Of course, the likes of Van Persie and Rooney who between them boast of 24 Premier League goals and 13 assists need no introduction and the Whites of North London have it all to do in their attempts to curtail them.

Another threat, unlikely before this season, is Patrice Evra, who, together with Jonny Evans, have managed to get on the scoresheet on 7 occasions. His forays into the opposition area this term has yielded the right results and if not keenly and properly watched, can inflict untold damage as the match progresses.

Sir Alex is an old campaigner. He knows how to defeat any team in the Premier League and hasn’t lost at the Lane in 11 meetings. He is very aware of the threat the Lilywhites pose and has everything at his disposal to match them player for player, talent for talent.

Another victory will be expected…whether comprehensive or hard fought.

 

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR: Lloris, Walker, Vertonghen, Dawson, Naughton, Parker, Dembele, Sigurdsson, Lennon, Bale, Defoe.

MANCHESTER UNITED: DDG, Rafa, Rio, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Cleverley, Kagawa, Nani/Valencia, Wazza, RVP

 

PREDICTION: An outright Manchester United win. I am probably a bit biased. Just a bit.

 

Written by Ohireime Eboreime

Follow him on Twitter @ohiskaka1990

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