Caribbean Football

Special Feature: An Analysis of the Beautiful Game’s Various Positions and Roles

By O-Posts Team | February 14, 2013 - 17:05 | A-League, AC Milan, African Football, Ajax, Anzhi, Arsenal, AS Roma, Aston Villa, Australian Football, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga, Caribbean Football, Celtic, Chelsea, Eredivisie, Features, Feyenoord, France, Germany, Holland, Inter Milan, International, Italy, Juventus, La Liga, Liga Sagres, Ligue 1, Liverpool FC, Lyon, Manchester City, Manchester United, Montpellier, Olympique Marseille, Opinion, Paris St.Germain, Porto, Portugal, Premier League, PSV Eindhoven, Rangers, Real Madrid, Russia, Scotland, Serie A, Spain, Sunderland AFC, Tottenham, UK, USA, Valencia, Zenit

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Considered as the king of thrill and excitement, football has always been one of the most popular among all games. Almost all the countries of the world welcome football with a lot of enthusiasm and passion.

Apart from skill and techniques one of the most important things which is indeed the lifeblood of football is the physical fitness of the players. It is true not just for football only; but every single game requires a great deal of physical fitness from the players. With a right training and guidance, you can achieve this level of fitness.

But only the fitness won’t do your job. You have to become serious and dedicated towards the game in order to become a successful football player in the future. Every game has its own rules and regulations and other technical matters. You have to be acquainted with these things and abide by the rules of football. More familiarity with the rules will help you to become a more technically correct player.

There is one thing more which is extremely necessary in playing football- the position. It is natural that all the players will not play in the same position. So, to assign different positions for different players is very important.

But before that the person who has been given the charge of doing this job must be familiar with the individual capability of the players and by analyzing their playing technique the players should be assigned their positions.

Every position has its own importance from the perspective of the way the entire team performs. And a good team needs to have equally good players in all these positions.

Here under are given some of the positions extremely important in a football match which will also give you the contribution of them behind a victory.

Role of the Goalkeeper

He is the protector of the team. The ultimate of the defense line, goalkeeper of a team must be so good in his action and reaction that his team can get a comfortable victory. He must be very cunning and lively so that he can become a powerhouse of inspiration of the entire team.

He needs to have a presence of mind which will tell him when to go forward to stop the opponent and when to stay inside the penalty box. In these cases, a perfect reflex is very important.

Role of the Defender

Defenders are divided into three sections inside the field- the left back, the right back and the centre back. In order to prevent the attacks made by the opponent team, the defense of a team must be solid enough. He must possess the required skill to stop the striker of the opponent team but without committing a foul- especially inside the penalty box.

And like the goalkeeper a presence of mind is very important for them because it is their duty to assume from which direction the attack might come. So, they play according to that.

Role of the Midfielder

He is the engine of his team. He acts as the lifeline by creating the chances of goal and also by controlling the total performance of his team. As a connecting link between the defense and the attack, the midfielder actually does a double work- contributes to the defense to make it stronger and also adds to the attack to make certain chances of scoring.

What happens when the positions and roles get mixed up.

Role of the Striker

The responsibility of scoring remains on him. If the striker does not possess enough skills to push the ball into the net of the opponents, the entire team suffers. So the striker must skillful, technically sound and intelligent so that no chances will miss.

The above mentioned points have given you some information on the importance of various positions in football. To win a football match one must give emphasis to all these things.

Author’s Bio

Diyana Lobo is one of the renowned authors writing on tempobet hakkında. In this article she has discussed about the importance of various positions in football. She is regular contributor to Bahis10.com.

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Special Feature: Match-fixing remains vague, but still a very clear issue

By O-Posts Team | February 9, 2013 - 11:51 | A-League, AC Milan, African Football, Ajax, Anzhi, Arsenal, AS Roma, Aston Villa, Australian Football, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga, Caribbean Football, Celtic, Champions League, Chelsea, Eredivisie, Europa League, Features, Feyenoord, France, Germany, Holland, Inter Milan, International, Italy, Juventus, La Liga, Liga Sagres, Ligue 1, Liverpool FC, Lyon, Manchester City, Manchester United, Montpellier, Olympique Marseille, Opinion, Paris St.Germain, Porto, Portugal, Premier League, PSV Eindhoven, Rangers, Real Madrid, Russia, Scotland, Serie A, Spain, Sunderland AFC, Tottenham, UK, USA, Valencia, Zenit

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On Monday, Europol, the law enforcement agency of the European Union, announced the results of an 18 month inquiry of match-fixing in football to a reaction of immense shock throughout the game.

They revealed that a total of 680 matches across the world were fixed, including a Champions League tie that had been played in England which went someway to hinting at the seriousness of their findings. Not only would they concern a club close to home, but it gave a lucid indication that match-fixing was now festering in the very highest levels of the sport.

It was an investigation that originally only involved Germany, Finland and Hungary, but expanded to over 30 countries spanning right across the world. The European Police revealed that Asia had staged 300 corrupt matches while Europe played host to 380, including “several top football matches in European leagues as well as World Cup and European Championship qualifiers”.

Officials went to the extent of revealing the figures of corruption in Germany-based matches alone; £13.9 million in total was wagered to a profit of £6.9 million and very worryingly, as they voiced from behind a stall in The Hague, this was “just the tip of the iceberg”.

However, there was a slight sense of apprehension to the report that UEFA are now awaiting in detail according to Rob Wainwright, Europol’s director. The FA, reacting to the bombshell that one of the matches in question was a Champions League game hosted in England “three or four years ago”, said they were “not aware of an credible reports into suspicious Champions League fixtures played in England, nor has any information been shared”.

The match in question was quickly confirmed as Liverpool’s one-nil win over Hungarian side Debrecen back in 2009. Charges involved Debrecen goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic for not informing officials that he was approached by fixers prior to a game with Fiorentina in that campaign, for which he was banned for two years. However, the charges only specified the Italian club and not Liverpool, who maintain they have never been told by any organisation that the match at Anfield was under investigation.

A case that concerned a goalkeeper who had previously been severely dealt with by European football’s governing body hardly fitted into the sensationalist headlines the investigation should have demanded, but it was clear as the revelation continued that the issue went far, far deeper into the heart of the game. They created a macabre of criminal syndicates, based mainly in Asia, using facilitators in Europe to bribe and corrupt all those involved in the game for financial gain.

Over 425 suspects were identified by an investigation that involved 50 arrests and 80 further search warrants. Wainwright portrayed a dark, eerie criminal network spreading itself into Europe from its epicentre out in the far-east.

It is believed that the betting syndicates are operating not only on results, but on certain events in matches similar to the no ball scandal that scourged the Pakistani cricket team back in 2010. That should be familiar to the everyday football fan who is exposed to in play betting and the plethora of markets now available to betting companies who have developed into a mass businesses on the back of such practice.

The wide-scale of Europol’s match-fixing probe.

With so many areas on which to place money in the sport, there is always a suspicion that a footballer can take advantage on an individual level, it was Southampton’s Matt Le Tissier who claimed he made a spread-bet, of which he failed, on himself to win the first throw-in in a game with Wimbledon back in 1995.

Europol’s findings have taken that suspicion and multiplied it to a grave worry that manipulation is taking place on the grandest of scales via a murky underground network of criminals threatening to send a game that has always prided itself on fair play and honest competition into a state of decay.

With the African Nations Cup taking place in South Africa, Paul Put, the Belgian coach of Burkina Faso, said he was not surprised by Europol’s findings, claiming the problem is pandemic.

He has had a previous run-in with the practice having served a three year ban in Belgium after being found guilty for fixing two matches while manager of Lierse, a con allegedly organised by Chinese business man Ye Zheyun and has led to forty people being charged. “Match-fixing has always existed in football” said Put, “that is reality but what can you do about it?”

Even stronger views came from Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger who feared these revelations would form a “tsunami” that would overwhelm the sport. “I cannot accept this” said Wenger, “I was always aware there was a lot cheating in the game and we are not strong enough on what is happening”. These words were motivated partly by Wenger’s past with corruption that involved his Monaco team being caught up in the match-fixing scandal with Marseille in the early 1990s and he now calls for severe sanctions on those found guilty.

Wenger did allay fears over the domestic game though, remaining adamant that English football remains free of corruptive influence, “match-fixing is not a problem in England” said the Frenchman.

The football world will now await the next chapter of this saga, that will probably appear with the details of UEFA’s revision into the Europol investigation, with a great deal of agitation. There will be a hope that the more the governing bodies continue to peruse over the investigation with the finest of tooth-combs, the more information will gradually begin to come clearer in order to erode away the mystery that is shrouding this squalid world of corruption.

The European Police have gone a long way to confirming a fear that football is blighted by a darker-side but there is a sense that it has only scratched the surface, it now must delve further into the abyss in order to ensure football remains free of the disease lurking underneath.

Written by Adam Gray

Follow Adam on Twitter @AdamGray1250

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The history and future of the Guyana national football team

By O-Posts Team | November 4, 2012 - 17:09 | Caribbean Football, Features, International

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28 January, 1921. ‘British Guiana’, as they were known back then, are preparing for their first ever international match. The opponents? Neighbours ‘Dutch Guiana’, now known as Suriname. A 2-1 away victory was assured, and this was the start of a footballing revolution in the small Caribbean country.

The fixtures were sporadic. The team’s next game would not come until 1923, ironically against the same opponents. Fast forward 14 years, and British Guiana are just coming up to their third match.

The international footballing programme was in its infancy in the early 1900’s, hence the long waits for games – that were, albeit, mere friendlies.

In November 1947, British Guiana entered their first ever tournament; Standard Life. The competition was hosted by Trinidad & Tobago. The team survived four games, earning two wins, one draw and suffering just the one defeat to the hosts, losing 2-0.

But better things were to come. Three years later, in 1950, British Guiana played out its first home games, all of which were to Trinidad. Like their Caribbean counterparts – the Trinidadians were rusty as their last competitive matches were in the Standard Life championship.

Although the former British colony national side was just starting out, it was something new; a fresh challenge; an attempt at getting Guyanese football on the map.
Football was coming into life in British Guiana. The revolution had begun.

1966 was an important year. It was the year that saw Guyana gain independence from the United Kingdom, with a corresponding change of name for the national team.

However, the supporters were made to wait five years before the footballing calendar got underway.

And when the fixtures did come around, they were significant. They were qualifiers for the 1971 CONCACAF Championship against Suriname. The draw was unfortunate for Guyana, as they had to travel away for the first outing, losing 4-1, and then at home they were again beaten, 3-2

In 1976, Guyana entered their first ever World Cup qualification campaign. The target: to reach the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina. Quite a challenge but it provided hope for the Guyanese community as somehow their World Cup dream could become a reality.

The team would play a two-legged preliminary in the Caribbean section of the CONCACAF qualifiers against Suriname. Despite winning the first leg 2-0 at home, they struggled in Paramaribo as they were swept aside 3-0.

Perhaps their brightest and proudest moment was qualifying for the 1991 Caribbean Cup, where they managed to cement a 4th place finish in a tournament in which they excelled.

And one mustn’t rule out 2006 as a significant milestone for Guyanese football. The side held down 10 successive victories. The impressive form boosted their FIFA World Ranking position by 87 positions in little over a year.

Consequently, they rose up into the top 12 of CONCACAF and their reputation was strengthened.

One competition which has been particularly kind to Guyana is the Caribbean Cup. In 2007, the team missed out on a semi-final berth on goal difference alone. Had they have achieved the feat of reaching the last four; they would have qualified for the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. That would have been some achievement.

And in 2008 and 2010 they reached the third round, only to get knocked out as the latter stages of the event loomed. Maybe that sums Guyana up, the bridesmaid and never the bride. So close every time. A country that lacks financial investment and resources, it’s difficult to stamp your authority on a region where the likes of Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago and Haiti reign supreme.

So, what state is the modern Guyana national football team in nowadays? It’s actually developing quite smoothly. Late October concluded their World Cup qualifying campaign as they gave it their all but ultimately lacked that extra edge in quality, as a result finishing bottom of the group with one point.

They fared so well to even get to the third round. Led by iconic skipper Chris Nurse, a polished midfield general who plays in the North American Soccer League with Puerto Rico Islanders, Guyana are making steady progress.

There is much to look forward to. In mid-October, the team began their Caribbean Cup campaign in St Lucia in Group 2 – a group consisting of the hosts, Curacao and St Vincent & Grenadines. Guyana secured two wins out of three and finished at the summit of the group progressing to the next stage.

Interestingly, the Caribbean Cup is a competition that isn’t tremendously acknowledged within the football unit, often slipping under the radar. It’s a well-respected footballing event in the Caribbean, always promising a carnival atmosphere and the putting the onus on the youth.

Since its establishment in 1989, it’s come on leaps and bounds. Serving as a qualification tournament among CFU members for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, it frequently sees the island’s heavyweights Trinidad & Tobago (eight-time winners) and Jamaica (five-time winners) show dominance. But that’s not to say Guyana cannot bridge the gap…

The second round resumes on 14 November and this time the opposition will be a lot tougher. Matches against Haiti – who are improving all the time, Grenada – who boast the standard of players such as Jason Roberts of Premier League side Reading and French Guiana – who excelled in the latest edition of the Coupe de l’Outre-Mer.

The development and reputation of the Guyana national football team has come a long way since the early 1920s. 1966 was arguably the most important year for the sport in Guyana, as it was the year when independence was gained and the year when a new generation was created.

Written by Nathan Carr

Follow him on Twitter @caribbeanftbl

Check out his excellent site about everything Caribbean Football, The Home of Caribbean Football

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