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Serie A: 2012/13 Team of the Season

  By O-Posts Team | June 15, 2013 - 00:51 | , , , , , , ,
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Blighted by controversy, coloured by innovative formations and blessed with emerging talent, it couldn’t be anything else but a season in Serie A. We count down the campaign’s best XI with the help of, what else but a back 3?

 

Goalkeeper- Federico Marchetti (Lazio)

Marchetti saw himself on the fringes of the Cagliari squad upon his return from the 2010 World Cup with Italy, though his move to Rome has seen him return to the Azzurri such has been his form. 13 clean sheets in the league, as well as some solid performances as the Biancocelesti won the Coppa Italia.

Lazio also took points off the all conquering Juventus in Turin thanks to a fine performance from Marchetti, a superb flying save from Arturo Vidal being the highlight.

 
Centre-back- Hugo Campagnaro (Napoli)

The 32 year old Argentine has let his contract run out after four years in Naples and could be set to follow coach Walter Mazzarri to Inter Milan, though few Napoli fans can begrudge him his move after a superb season. Campagnaro made 29 appearances as the Partenopei finished runners-up in Serie A with just 36 goals conceded.

The no-nonsense defender made over 300 clearances at the back, as well as winning 61 of his 87 tackles.

 
Centre-back- Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)

The 6 ft 1 inch defender is an imposing force at the back for the old lady, possessing overwhelming strength to shrug attackers off the ball and the height to win the majority of his headers, shown by a 68% success rate in the air.

As well as being formidable in defence, he also showed an elegant side of his game as he offered a good attacking outlet down Juve’s left and a 90% pass success rate indicates his prowess in helping Conte’s men build from the back.

 
Centre-back- Andrea Barzagli (Juventus)

If Chiellini’s great form wasn’t enough, he was partnered by Barzagli, the experienced 32 year old who made 34 appearances as Juventus steamed to the Serie A title with just 24 goals conceded.

Barzagli compensated for declining pace with supreme positional sense as Juve’s back-line remained firm throughout the campaign.

 
Left Winger- Alessio Cerci (Torino)

After signing for Torino from Fiorentina for a cut-price deal last August, the 25 year old left-midfielder looked to be on the scrap-heap, though Cerci’s season has been one of rejuvenation as he terrorised numerous defences to help Torino escape relegation.

He scored 8 goals and created a total of 60 chances in his 35 appearances, earning him a call-up to the Italian national team.

 
Right winger- Arturo Vidal (Juventus)

Vidal’s 50 successful tackles shows how effective he was in protecting Andrea Pirlo but the Chilean midfielder was far more than that as he joined Juve’s attacks with energy and dynamism, scoring 10 goals (as he finished joint-top scorer) and creating 35 chances from the right side.

A fine mover of the ball, Vidal completed 84% of his attempted passes, as his versatility was vital to Andrea Conte’s ability to shift his side’s system.

 
Centre-midfield- Borja Valero (Fiorentina)

Similar to Cerci, Valero’s first season at his new club has been a revelation. The Spaniard showed assured technique in the heart of La Viola’s midfield, assisting 11 goals, creating a mammoth 74 chances and dictating play with around 1,800 passes in total.

His quality was essential to Vincenzo Montella’s free-flowing side, making 37 appearances as Fiorentina qualified for the Champions League.

 
Centre-midfield- Marek Hamsik (Napoli)

The Slovakian playmaker is blessed with superb vision and his ability to drop deep to pick the ball up from the midfield and spray passes around in attack was vital to Napoli’s return to the Champions League.

He scored 11 goals as well as assisting 14 from his slightly altered position on the left side of attack, as well as creating 100 chances for his teammates.

 
Attacking midfielder- Francesco Totti (AS Roma)

It is impossible to leave the evergreen Italian attacking-midfielder out as he shows no sign of slowing down with age. His 12 goals moved him up to second on the all-time Serie A goal-scoring list with 227, while his 12 assists helped Roma salvage a disruptive season to finish a respectable sixth in the league, as well as runners up in the Coppa Italia.

Despite reaching the ripe old age of 36, Totti still managed 33 starts for the Giallorossi and remains integral to their fortunes.

 
Attacking midfielder- Stephan El Shaarawy (AC Milan)

The Egyptian-born youngster celebrated breaking into the Italian squad at the start of the season with a brilliant campaign where he hit 16 goals and assisted 4 to help the Rossoneri into third place.

From his position on the left side of Max Allegri’s 3-pronged attack, the 20 year old demonstrated electric pace, confidence to take men on and assured finishing throughout, striking up a potent partnership with fellow youthful frontman Mario Balotelli.

 
Centre-Forward- Edinson Cavani (Napoli)

The 26 year old Uruguayan hit-man is courting interest from right across Europe this summer and rightly so after a season in which he struck 29 goals to fire Napoli back to the Champions League after a year’s absence.

Full of pace, power and unerring finishing, Cavani is arguably the best central-forward in Europe and Rafael Benitez has a fight on his hands to keep the league’s top scorer at the San Paulo with his ambition to win trophies consistently outweighing just last year’s Coppa Italia.

 
Manager- Vincenzo Montella (Fiorentina)

Antonio Conte saw his team march to a successive title by a margin of nine points whilst Walter Mazzarri and Max Allegri both negotiated choppy waters at their clubs to finish in the Champions League qualification spots. Though it’s the manager who claimed the fourth who wins this gong, Vincenzo Montella for forging a cohesive, fluent Fiorentina.

His midfield of David Pizarro, Borja Valero and Alberto Aquilani were all transformed from stalling careers to providing the elegant backbone to La Viola, providing some of the most entertaining football in the division.

Stevan Jovetic and Adem Ljajic were excellent in attack, spearheading Montella’s 3-5-2 to a higher finish than the richer, more illustrious Inter Milan, Roma and Lazio.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Champions League: End of Season Awards

  By O-Posts Team | May 28, 2013 - 00:29 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Surprise package: Galatasaray

Many looked at Galatasaray’s team at the start of the Champions League season thinking they were a team with a few decent players, but nothing that would create any real waves in Europe’s elite club competition.

In reality, they surprised many after a disappointing start where they only had one point after three games. With some excellent performances by Turkish striker Burak Yìlmaz including a hat trick away to Cluj, Galatasaray found a way to get second place in their group.

Many thought this was where the journey would end, but a 3-2 victory away to Schalke after a 1-1 home score put them through, with the added help of champions league winners Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder.

Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over the Turkish champions at the Bernabeù looked to have dumped Galatasaray out, but in the second leg Galatasaray went from 1-0 down to 3-1, needing two goals to go through.

Real Madrid managed to make it 3-2, but the buzz around the Turk Telecom was unforgettable, a bit like Galatasaray’s campaign.

 

Biggest flop: Manchester City

Hopes for Manchester City were high after an incredible league success the season before, but their campaign turned out to be a massive letdown that has now appeared to at least partially cost Roberto Mancini his job.

Despite being in the “group of death” or “group of champions” with Ajax, Real Madrid and finalists Borussia Dortmund, not winning a single game was a colossal failure on the part of a club who’ve spent such huge sums in acquiring their squad. They were unlucky to lose 3-2 to Madrid on match-day one, but they were outclassed both home and away by Borussia Dortmund and were lucky to draw to them at home.

Ajax too beat the Citizens in Amsterdam, and drew 2-2 in Manchester, meaning City finished bottom of the group. A painfully disappointing campaign.

 

Best goal: Luis Alberto (CFR Cluj) vs. Manchester United

Few would have seen Luis Alberto play previously to CFR Cluj’s Champions League adventure this season, but the little known Brazilian produced his own memorable moment in this season’s UEFA Champions League in the game against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

 

Cluj needed to win and hope Galatasaray didn’t in order to go through, and despite being heavily unfancied to win away to the Red Devils they did thanks to Alberto’s goal, but Galatasaray won as well.

Nonetheless, Luis Alberto’s 30-yard strike that sped into the net beyond the outstretched arm of David de Gea will be a goal that will live long in the memory of every CFR Cluj fan.

 

Best Game: Borussia Dortmund 3-2 Málaga

After a somewhat drab and edgy 0-0 draw in Spain in the first leg of this quarter final, most expected Dortmund to comfortably beat their opponents in front of their oh so passionate fans. However, an early goal from the experienced Joaquin gave Málaga a 1-0 lead and a pivotal away goal. Robert Lewandowski then produced a great run and finish to put Dortmund level on the night, but behind on away goals.

And then the controversy began; as Dortmund pushed forward, Málaga broke and Eliseu tapped in from two yards and despite being in a clearly offside position, the goal was given. However Dortmund weren’t going out lying down, they bombarded the Málaga goal, with Reus scoring to make it 2-2, still not enough for victory.

 

With a minute left of stoppage time, Reus shot across goal and after a scramble Felipe Santana tapped in to make it 3-2, yet replays showed he too was offside.

Dortmund didn’t care though as Signal Iduna Park erupted in elation and inspired Dortmund to the final, which they would narrowly lose to fellow Germans, Bayern Munich.

An incredible game in an incredible atmosphere in an incredible season for Bayern Munich.

 
Best XI: Weidenfeller, Lahm, Dante, Varane, Alaba, Gündôgan, Schweinsteiger, Müller, Ronaldo, Yìlmaz, Lewandowski

Honourable menitons: Schweinsteiger, Neuer, Marchisio, Martinez, Robben, Ibrahimovic, Matuidi, Messi, Isco, Pirlo

 

Written by Joshua Sodergren

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Should “Blizzard Soccer” Be Part of the Sport?

  By O-Posts Team | May 18, 2013 - 21:58 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The World Cup playoff game between the United States and Costa Rica on March 22, 2013 was especially memorable. Played in the middle of a storm in Colorado, the game was the closest thing to blizzard soccer fans had seen in awhile.

For 90 minutes, players had to contend with an increasingly torrential downpour of wet, white flakes. Afterwards, the severity of the conditions had millions of soccer enthusiasts wondering: should play in such treacherous conditions really be allowed?

 

Why Continue?

World Cup games are obviously the most important in the sport and can be difficult to reschedule. When a team and its fans have already traveled thousands of miles for the game, canceling is something to avoid at all costs. In addition, postponing the game may mean players won’t get enough rest before their next round.

In this particular game, it didn’t look like the weather would cooperate any time soon. If the game hadn’t been played that night, it wouldn’t have been for quite awhile.

 

Is It Safe?

In spite of tight tournament schedules and pending forecasts, the safety of the players should be the number one consideration when choosing to continue a game. Looking back, was it really safe to continue a game in the middle of a blizzard?

In defending their decision to continue play, refs saidthe players hadn’t been sliding on the snow very much. While this may be true, any soccer player will tell you injuries don’t necessarily happen during slides.

These players were cold, wet, and covered in so much snow that they could run it through an EDI water purification system and use it to hydrate themselves. In these conditions, even the slightest misstep can cause an injury. If nothing else, the players’ immune systems were lowered by the weather.

 

Who Should Make the Call?

If the game has already started, refs make the final call as to whether it will continue. However, is this fair? Shouldn’t the league, coaches and players have more of a say in whether conditions are safe?

 

Written by Michael Deaven

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Infographic: The Top Paid Football Players Throughout History

  By O-Posts Team | May 18, 2013 - 21:40 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The argument over how much footballers are paid in the modern era has been going on for years now and shows no sign of stopping. Some of the world’s biggest names are now playing with wage packets that let them take home more in a week than many of us will make in our lifetimes, and all for kicking a ball around – if they even get on the pitch of course!

It hasn’t always been the case that players earned hundreds of thousands each week, however. In actual fact, some players were earning the equivalent of £228 each week back in the 1900s, the same as what many full-time workers in the “real world” earn today.

This infographic, created by equipment retailer The Soccer Store, shows just how times have changed, from the early days of £4 per week right up to the £200,000-a-week contract signed by Carlos Tevez in 2009.

 

 

 

Written and created by Matt Rawlings

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Vitesse Arnhem: Bony the inspiration behind the Vitas’ meteoric rise

  By O-Posts Team | April 30, 2013 - 20:44 | , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The Eredivisie season 12/13 is drawing to its end, with only three games remaining, Ajax’s four point lead seem sufficient to win their third consecutive title. The most exciting Eredivisie title race in years is over, however the season 12/13 did bring some surprises. The most noteworthy one is Vitesse’s stable performances and indomitable form. To the surprise of most fans, Vitesse sat on a top-flight position throughout most of the season. Let us look back on their marvelous campaign.

Jordania’s wishes to turn Vitesse into the league champions were underlined by a positive transfer period. After last year’s successful campaign wherein the club finished 7th , consequently winning the right to play in the Europa League, supporters were ambitious and hopeful for an even better year. Success comes with sacrifices, due to his good performances, Alexander Buttner moved to English giants Manchester United for an amount estimated at around €5million. Vitesse needed to bolster their squad if they wanted to seriously challenge the traditional top three in the Netherlands.

Jordania is a smart director and thinks long term, instead of splashing cash, the Georgian business owner decided to put his signifant network to work. His close ties with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich allowed him to loan three players from the Blues. Tomas Kalas and Patrick van Aanholt stayed for another season, and Gael Kakuta came to strengthen the wings. The squad seemed competitive on paper, but with an average age of around 22, the team was in dire need of a leader. Former club icon and captain Theo Janssen was signed from Ajax for €500k, along with experienced midfielder Simon Cziommer.

The season started quite negatively for Vitesse, after advancing to the final play-off round in the Europa League after beating Lokomotiv Plovdiv on a 7-5 aggregate score, the team faced Guus Hiddink’s FC Anzhi. Vitesse were unable to cope with the likes of Samuel Eto’o, Yuri Zhirkov, Lassana Diarra and Boussoufa – and the club from Arnhem were sent losing 4-0 on aggregate.

The start of the national campaign gave a better perspective; the first five games were converted into four wins and one draw against ADO Den Haag, resulting in a temporary first place in the Eredivisie. The away victory against Feyenoord [0-1] was utmost surprising, and an awakening call of the traditional top three that Vitesse might prove to be a potential treat in the near future. The team looked sharp and defensively very stable, only conceding two goals in the first five games. With Piet Velthuizen known as a very reliable goalkeeper and the centre back duo: Kashia and Kalas, the defensive line gave an impressive performance of four consecutive clean sheets.

Vitesse’s form would drop after their notable season start. The following six games resulted in two draws against Heracles Almelo and sc Heerenveen, three wins against FC Groningen,FC Utrecht, NAC Breda, and their first loss against AZ Alkmaar, ending their 11 match unbeaten run.

The precarious results could have been far worse, the team struggled in most matches, but it was the rise of Wilfried Bony securing most points for Vitesse. After his dramatic, yet brilliant game winner against Feyenoord, his confidence skyrocketed and the striker netted 8 goals in 5 matches, including a hat-trick against SC Heerenveen.

In the remainder of the first half of the Eredivisie season, Vitesse would earn the nickname: Giant killers. After their last minute victory against Feyenoord, on the third of November, Ajax was brushed aside in their own Amsterdam Arena! Wilfried Bony single-handedly brought down Ajax with a brace.

FC Twente were held off with a draw and a heroic 4-1 victory over neighboring rivals N.E.C made up for their 1-2 loss against PSV. The winter break came by, and Vitesse finished fourth, trailing 6 points behind leaders PSV. Furthermore, the club qualified for the quarterfinals in the KNVB Cup [Dutch National Cup] by demolishing amateur team ADO’10 with 10-1. Vitesse will face Ajax.

Based on last season’s performances, the team progressed quite nicely, but was not considered as one of the title contenders amongst the general Eredivisie public.

Moreover Vitesse was forced to let Wilfried Bony participate in the African Cup, after Sabri Lamouchi called up the strong striker to the Ivorian national team. Wilfried Bony scored 16 Eredivisie goals in the first half. All critics agreed, Vitesse would drop form without Bony.

In the month of January without Bony, Vitesse would silence all of the critics. First off AZ was swept aside with a convincing 4-1 score-line, and afterwards honouring its nickname, Ajax came to Arnhem and were sent home without any points 3-2. And the month’s highlight: rivals N.E.C were defeated in their own stadium in Nijmegen 2-1.

After losing twice against Vitesse, Ajax would finally get their revenge. The two teams locked horns in the KNVB Cup, and the Dutch giant demolished Vitesse 0-4.

Vitesse, survived the month without Bony, and had proven the critics wrong. Nonetheless, the notion of Bony’s skill and goal scoring drift were unquestioned. After Cote D’Ivoire got eliminated in the quarterfinals against Nigeria, Bony returned to Vitesse.

Upon return, his first following match he scored a brace and secured one point against PSV, his team again honouring their nickname of the “giant killers”. Under guidance of Wilfried Bony, Vitesse went on a 7 match winning streak, wherein the bulky striker scored 14 goals in 9 matches. Rutten’s men established theirselves as title contenders, however after a 3-3 draw against relegation candidates Roda JC, Vitesse dropped out of the race.

Bony….. imperious form and the team’s main man.

However, just last week, league leaders Ajax drew against SC Heerenveen, giving Vitesse, PSV and Feyenoord a glimmer of hope. Vitesse could shrink the gap to three points, but had a tough match up ahead. The surprising side had to travel to Rotterdam, to face Feyenoord in the Kuip. Beforehand, winning would seem impossible, as Feyenoord maintains an impressive 24-match unbeaten run in de Kuip, furthermore troublesome news arose in the Vitesse camp.

Wilfried Bony injured himself during training, and will be unavailable during the match, alongside teenage star Marco van Ginkel. The overwhelming Feyenoord crowd and the loss of Wilfried Bony proved too much to handle for Vitesse. Feyenoord defeated Vitesse 2-0.

Vitesse is now sitting comfortably in fourth position, still fighting strong for the second place [gives right to enter the Champions League play-offs], and although the title is unrealistic, finishing on that second spot would be an extraordinary achievement, and one to be proud of.

This season, Jordania’s wish will not come true, but major steps have been taken. The general public’s laughter has ended, Vitesse managed to upset the traditional three, and most certainly in the near future, Jordania will get what he wants.

 

Written by Siew Joe Lee

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Check out his site on everything Dutch football, Dutch Football-League

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The Upcoming Football Video Game That Plunges you Into the Seedy World of Match Fixing

  By O-Posts Team | April 26, 2013 - 19:33 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Video games and football have gone hand in hand for decades, with games like FIFA 13, Pro Evolution Soccer and Football Manager hitting the bestseller lists year on year, giving players the chance to play at managing or playing as their favourite teams.

A new game that is currently under development aims to turn the football management game on its head, taking players deep into the sinister underworld of football corruption and allowing them to play as a shady match fixer.

Game Changer – The Football Match Fixing Game is being made for iOS and Android mobile and tablet devices, and will be made available in early 2014 if the developers successfully gain funding with their upcoming campaign on popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

In Game Changer, you can bribe players, pay off police and officials, blackmail referees and do all kinds of other interesting and immoral things to try and ensure the results you want, and then make a fortune by betting on your fixed outcomes.

As you grow in influence in the criminal underworld, you can fix games in bigger and more prestigious leagues around the world to gain higher profits, as well as being able to team up with crime boss characters and even your real life friends (thanks to social media integration) to get better results.

The game promises to blend elements of conventional football games and sims with the kind of stories and gameplay you normally see in crime games and RPGs, as well as featuring a sophisticated gambling system that allows you to implement all kinds of interesting strategies to make your fortune.

The developers, Game Changer Games, are also keen to make sure the game contains plenty of dark humour, because match fixing is, after all, a pretty horrible thing.

If you are interested in finding out more about the plans for Game Changer and the Kickstarter campaign that will hopefully make the game possible, you can check out the official website at www.gamechangergame.com or follow the developers’ official Twitter account @gamechangergame.

 

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Serie A: A Preview of this Week’s two Titanic Clashes

  By O-Posts Team | April 14, 2013 - 18:02 | , , , , ,
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Juventus have set the pace in Serie A yet again. The Old Lady of Turin currently hold a 9 point lead over second placed Napoli and could see this increase if results go their way tonight. The Juventini will be looking to get back to winning ways after suffering elimination from the Champions League in the hands of Bayern Munich.

The German club destroyed their Italian counterparts, 4-0 on aggregate (2-0 H&A) to set up a mouth watering, eagerly anticipated, block buster clash with almighty Barcelona in the semis. Lazio on other hand, know that tomorrow’s game is the one of the last few opportunities to secure qualification to the next season’s Champions League.

Anything less than 3 points tonight and things will become very, very delicate. A.C Milan are one of the most in-form teams in the Italian League and it is no surprise that they have maintained third place for a long time now.

Victory over 2nd placed Napoli will take the Berlusconi owned outfit to within one point of tonight’s opponents and a chance to claim 2nd place in the next couple of weeks.

 

A.C MILAN-NAPOLI

The Milanese have won 4 and drawn of their last 5 Serie games and lie third in the League standings, four points behind 2nd placed Napoli. This would have been inconceivable at the beginning of the season with poor result after poor result coming for the 2011 Italian Champions. Allegri was on brink of a sack and things were going from bad to worse.

However, the ship has steadied ever since and it is a different Rossoneri now. The purchase of Mario Balotelli coupled with the rise to prominence of ‘Faraone’ Shaarawy has been very crucial to the Milan resurgence. El Shaarawy has carried the team all on his way at various times this season. The Egyptian-Italian’s phenomenal form has seen him earn caps with the Azzurri.

Today’s opponents, Napoli, also possess some of the deadliest footballers in Serie A. It is no accident that they sit a place ahead of Milan and still harbour the ambition of winning the Scudetto despite the 9-point lead Juventus have.

The Neapolitans, who have won three of their last 5 games, know that a win over the red and black will all but ensure 2nd place is theirs to lose. Edinson Cavani leads the scorers chart with 22 goals already this season. This means that two Uruguayans comfortably sit atop the marksmen list of two of Europe’s best leagues (England and Italy). He went scoreless for some time, but has come back strong to bang in the goals as he so regularly does.

Marek Hamsik provides the needed creativity from attacking midfield and chips in with some vital goals. Milan know all about these two guys. Stopping them tonight will not be a piece of cake.

Allegri must come to terms with the fact that ‘bad boy’ Mario will not be available for the next 3 games after he was suspended for collecting his 5th yellow card and insulting match officials in Florence. He is also set to face the disciplinary committee of his club for allegations of smoking on the train to the Artenio Franchi.

Consequently, ‘II Pazzo’ will lead the line with El Shaarawy and teenager, M’baye Niang. The EL-BA-NI partnership will have to wait until Mario returns from suspension.

Ricco Montolivo has been exceptional in the last month or so. The midfield pearl’s displays have caught the eye. A superb one again today and Milan could be singing the glory song.

 

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Milan:

Abbiati, Abate, Zapata, Mexes, Constant, Montolivo, Boateng, Flamini, Niang, Pazzini, El Shaarawy

The absence of Balotelli is a huge loss for Milan. Stephan El Shaarawy has not scored since the end of January. Well, Pazzini has goals in him.

 

Napoli:

De Sanctis, Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Britos, Maggio, Behrami, Dzemaili, Zuniga, Hamisk, Pandev, Cavani

Walter Mazzarri’s men use the wing-back system like Juventus. With Maggio and Zuniga marauding down the wings. Swiss duo, Behrami and Dzemaili will take the midfield roles with Hamsik ahead of them. Blerim Dzemaili has scored 4 goals in his last 2 Serie A games. He is a man in form.

The meeting at San Paolo ended all square (2-2).

 

 

LAZIO-JUVENTUS

Prior to midweek, the Laziali and the Bianconeri were Italy’s last two representatives in European Competitions. However, both of them have been thrown out with the Biaconceleste at least earning a creditable 1-1 draw at home to Fenerbahce. The extra motivation will be with the Rome based club.

The 5th placed team have lost three of their last five games. A draw in last weekend’s Rome derby was seen as two points lost. Hernanes has been tremendous for Petkovic’s side this season, but he let himself and Lazio down in that game by missing a penalty and conceding one at the other end that Er Pupone duly dispatched.

Miroslav Klose is back and that is a bonus for the Biancoceleste. His 10 goals before the long layoff helped the Sky Blues to Champions League places. They have since capitulated afterwards. The much travelled Sergio Floccari has deputised at times for the German Legend. It hasn’t been enough nonetheless.

Hernanes has been the shining light all season and bar the 2nd half performance v the Giallorossi last time out, he has rarely put a foot wrong. Federico Marchetti in goal has been one of the Aquile’s most consistent performers. The Italian goalie’s exploits haven’t gone unnoticed by Cesare Prandelli. Only that Gigi Buffon will be very difficult to displace. PSG’s Salvatore Sirigu has found that a futile mission too.

If the Coppa Italia finalists still want to qualify for the UCL, today’s game is a must win.

Juventus are no easy ride for anyone. Well, except you are Bayern Munich. Apart from the German destroyers, no side has been so dominant against the Old Lady since Antonio Conte took over and came back from a 4 month suspension in December.

Tomorrow night against the Biancoceleste, the league leaders have it all to do in order to restore the confidence that was nowhere to be found on Wednesday. Andrea Pirlo will not want to see Bastian Schweinsteiger anytime soon. The German midfielder gained revenge over the Italian master in both legs of the European tie. It was a performance that drew comparisons with some of the very best ever. A virtuoso display of excellence.

Marchisio cut a forlorn figure in both legs and his ineffectiveness when playing against Europe’s finest footballers showed to a great extent. The absence of Giorgio Chiellini is another minus for the Juventini. The defence without him have coped….with him, they are water tight.

Mirko Vucinic and his strike partners were no match for Dante and Danny Van Buyten who effortlessly kept them very quiet. A Cana-Ciani partnership might be weaker on paper, but can put on a similar show. Tonio Candreva is that stunning winger these days. He knows the Old Lady very well, having spent a season there on loan some seasons ago. His form this campaign has been great.

Ogenyi Onazi has shown flashes of what he is capable of, especially in the European stage. A vital squad member who can come in handy at any time.

 

PROBABLE LINEUPS

LAZIO:

Marchetti, Gonzalez, Cana, Ciani, Stankevicius, Candreva, Ledesma, Onazi, Hernanes, Mauri, Klose

The prominent Senad Lulic is suspended for this tie, so Alvaro Gonzalez comes in for him. The return of the imposing Klose is a massive boost for Vladimir Petkovic’s team.

 

JUVENTUS:

Buffon, Peluso, Bonucci, Barzagli, Asamoah, Marchisio, Vidal, Pirlo, Lichtsteiner, Vucinic, Matri

The return of Arturo Vidal and Stephan Lichtsteiner will be music to the ears of Conte. Although Chiellini is out through suspension, the old lady have enough in their arsenal to wreck havoc at the Stadio Olimpico.

Alessandro Matri is set to replace the Quag in attack, while Kwadwo Asamoah at left wing back is an automatic choice when fit.

 

Written by Ohireime Eboreime

Follow Ohis on Twitter @ohiskaka1990

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Champions League: A Brief Look At This Year’s Semi-finalists

  By O-Posts Team | April 12, 2013 - 17:20 | , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, and Barcelona are the final four out of the 32 teams that qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League. Borussia Dortmund replace Chelsea if you take last season’s semi-finalists into context. Real, Barca and Bayern have been consistent over the last two seasons and their qualification to the semis is testament to the fact that the pendulum has swung.

English teams were left to lick their wounds as none got past the last 16, even though Arsenal left with pride and Manchester United denied amid Nani’s controversial sending off.

It is important to note here that the last teams standing fully merit their places. Dortmund staggered into the semi-finals with a last gasp revival v Malaga- a game marred by controversy. Bayern annihilated Juventus home and away, Real Madrid sorted Galatasaray out, 5-3 on aggregate….While, Barcelona sent PSG packing on away goals rule.

Let’s find out what all the teams possess in their arsenal.

The ‘FAB 4′ of European Football by all standards this season will slug it out for the chance to line up in Wembley for this year’s UCL final. All four teams have equal chances of hoisting the most coveted trophy in European club football.

 

REAL MADRID

‘La Decima’ is the aim and once again, Jose Mourinho has qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League for the 3rd straight year. A fantastic achievement worthy of praise. This time however, failure to at least reach the final will be seen as a major letdown by all those associated with the Capital club. Cristiano Ronaldo has once again carried the team on his shoulders. His 11 Champions league goals is the highest he has ever scored in this competition since his debut for Manchester United.

He became the 3rd player ever to score 10+ goals in consecutive seasons after Messi and Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Xabi Alonso and Sergio Ramos sat out the 3-2 defeat at the Turk Telekom Arena through suspension, but are expected to return for the double header v Barcelona, Bayern or Dortmund. Real Madrid know all about these three teams. In the last two seasons, they have encountered all of them and most recently defeated Barcelona twice in four days.

It seems Mou has found the strategy to beat Barcelona. Bayern Munich and Dortmund have been successful against the Merengues and the Borussens won one, drew one in the Group Stages of this season’s campaign.

 

Borussia Dortmund

Jurgen Klopp is trying to make up for what has been an appalling season for the Schwarzgelben. They relinquished the Bundesliga crown to Bayern Munich last weekend in what has become the earliest time the German League trophy has been won. Being 20 points behind Bayern and eliminated by the team in the DFB POKAL is a terrible pill to swallow.

They have switched attention to the European cup and were within 3 minutes of bidding farewell to the tournament until a stroke of luck and some astonishing decisions sent Pellegrini’s Malaga packing. Mario Gotze and Marco ‘Rolls’ Reus are elated to say the least.

A shot at ultimate glory is two steps away and they are determined to give it their all. Robert Lewandowski scored his 6th UCL goal in the Malaga game. The man who has scored in ten consecutive League games is the main attacking threat for the 2nd placed team in the German top flight.

 

BAYERN MUNICH

No one will doubt Die Roten’s title credentials. The 23-time German Champions have been almost impeccable this season. In the year 2013, only Arsenal have won against them. The dismissal of Juventus sent a clear statement to other aspiring winners that the Munich based club want their 5th European trophy at all costs.

The bitter taste of last year’s defeat in their own home is still in the mouths of all those connected to the Bavarian outfit. Anything but a win will be seen as a step backwards. Jupp Heynckes lost all three trophies last season and wants to make amends. One is in the wraps, the other two are withing sight.

Bastian Schweinsteiger proved yet again that he can mix it up with the best deep lying playmakers in the world last night when he kept Andrea Pirlo quiet for much of the game. He himself was phenomenal throughout. Another excellent performance by the German machine. Mario Mandzukic will not be available for the 1st leg of the semi-final after he picked up a needless booking in yesterday’s game. Gomez or Pizarro will take his place. The latter has scored 5 goals in his last three games in all competitions.

They’re a definite threat.

 

BARCELONA

The best team in the world were saved from elimination by a Pedro pile driver after the introduction of 4-time Ballon D’or winner, Lionel Messi. El Pulga’s entry into the field of play galavanized the Blaugrana and it was no surprise when Barca scored barely minutes after his arrival. He is on eight goals (3 behind CR7). It will take the bravest of men to bet against him winning the Ballon d’Or for the 5th straight year anyways. He is the highest goal scorer in League play anywhere in the World with 43 La Liga goals.

Andres Iniesta is the most brilliant footballer in the world in my opinion. His football is more enjoyable than sex. One skill yesterday sent me shivering for minutes. If Barca are to go all the way, Iniesta yet again must come good in both legs. Tito Vilanova will not want to play Real Madrid yet after recent disappointments. Any of the German teams will be welcomed with open arms.

Barcelona are 2nd favourites after Bayern to win the competition. The Catalans defence is very shaky and that could be their greatest downfall.

 

Written by Ohireime Eboreime

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Stevan Jovetic to Arsenal: A Potential Game Changer for the Gunners

  By O-Posts Team | April 7, 2013 - 16:20 | , , , , , , ,
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Despite the transfer window being closed, there will always be rumors all over the market. Arsenal, usually, are being linked with almost every player available in the market, and end up singing no one. Today, we’ll be focusing on Fiorentina’s talented striker Stevan Jovetic.

The Montenegro international has been heavily linked with a move away from Florence at the end of this season, with teams like Arsenal, Man City and Juventus all ready to sign him. All these teams are tempting for a young striker like Jovetic, but which one is the best for him? In my opinion, he should opt for the Gunners.

I’ll take the case of each team a side, starting with the Italian giants Juventus. The Old Lady have been in a great form this season and are undoubtedly on the right track to retain the domestic title. However, after a great start of their Champions League campaign, they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich and are probably heading out of the competition.

Juve are definitely a great team and any player will be lucky to play there, but Jovetic may have to face a lot of competition to make it in their starting line-up, with the likes of Matri, Vucinic and new striker starting signing on this coming summer, Fernando Llorente, all ahead of him. Beside, after some great years with Fiorentina , a move to another Italian team might make him the most hated man in Florence, so he may want to move to the Premier League looking for new challenges.

Moving on to Man City’s case. The blue team of Manchester is not exactly the best team for young talents. Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclair, Adam Johnson and Samir Nasri were once regarded as the future of the Premier League, but a move to last season’s league champs changed all that. The same thing can happen to Jovetic. With Aguero,Tevez and Dzeko standing in his way, he’ll be warming the bench with Nasri and Sinclair next season if he decides to join Man City.

All this leaves us with the best choice for Jovetic, Arsenal are in desperate need for a replacement for RVP. Summer signings Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, despite scoring a good amount of goals, have failed to prove to be the best successor for RVP.

However, Jovetic has been regarded lately as the new RVP. He’s versatile, has good dribbling skills, good finisher and most important, he fits perfectly with Wenger’s style. And luckily for him, he won’t face much  competition in the picking order.

In my opinion, he’ll be Wenger’s first choice, and he’ll get the chance to develop and become one of the best strikers in the world, since Wenger is known for doing so. However, in order to sign him, Arsenal need to break their transfer record and pay around £25 million, which could prove to be an obstacle.

These are my thoughts on Jovetic. Any team will be lucky to sign him – he’s terrific striker, skillful and a good finisher. Wenger should act swiftly to get his signature.

 

What do you think? Please share your thoughts.

 

Written by Ahmad Ezzeddine

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UEFA Champions League: Quarter-final First Leg Previews

  By O-Posts Team | April 2, 2013 - 15:20 | , , , , , , , ,
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In previous years, the Champions League has tended to get more and more dramatic as it goes along. However, this year, both the group stage, and the round of 16 have been full of drama with world class teams Manchester United, Shakhtar Donetsk, Arsenal, last year’s winners Chelsea, to name just a few, already being dumped out.

So with this season’s tournament already being full of excitement and tension, these quarter finals promise to be nothing less than spectacular.

 

Bayern Munich vs. Juventus

Both these teams are considered “dark horses” to win the competition by many, but only one will make the semi-finals as these two European giants clash, with the first leg being held in Munich.

Both teams look set to win their respective domestic leagues, and won impressively at the weekend. Bayern tore Hamburg apart, winning 9-2, while Juventus picked up a colossal three points in a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan at the San Siro. Both these sides are flying, with Juventus having one of the most organised teams in world football, and Bayern having the most well rounded and energetic sides.

Bayern’s attacking trio of Müller, Kroos and Ribery will look to create chances for the deadly Mario Mandžukic, but if any side can neutralise the threat posed by these four, it is the expected Juventus defence of Barzagli, Chiellini and Bonucci, helped by energetic wing backs Lichsteiner and Asamoah.

Bayern’s Javi Martinez is suspended for this game, so Bayern will need to rely on Luis Gustavo to help Bastian Schweinsteiger keep Claudio Marchisio, Andrea Pirlo and goalscoring midfielder Arturo Vidal quiet. Juventus tend to keep the ball regardless of the opposition, but against a creative Bayern side in the expectant Allianz arena, this may be difficult.

A genuinely mouth-watering tie.

 

PSG vs. Barcelona

Barcelona have fond memories of the French capital, having won this very trophy in Paris back in 2006, in a 2-1 victory over Arsenal. However, despite having virtually won La Liga a while back, this Barca team arrives in Paris with question marks regarding their ability to play away from home.

In the round of 16, Barca were beaten 2-0 against Milan, with many suspecting they wouldn’t be able to overturn that result. Barcelona managed it however, winning 4-0 in Catalonia, so PSG will need a huge result if they are to go into the second leg with strong hopes of going through.

PSG’s defence that includes Brazilians Thiago Silva, Alex and ex-Barca left back Maxwell, will need to remain fully focused and determined if they are to silence Messi and co., and knock out the side who many consider tournament favourites.

 

Malaga vs. Dortmund

At the start of the tournament, many considered Malaga a side too weak to make waves in the Champions League and Dortmund a side just too young to compete against Europe’s elite. However, both of these hard working sides are just two games away from a place in the Champions League semis.

Malaga’s well-oiled machine of a defence has conceded a mere 6 goals in 8 champions league games this season, while Dortmund possess one of Europe’s most feared attacks, with Reus, Götze, Lewandowski and Błaszczykowski all hitting form right now.

Malaga do possess creative players themselves though, such as the highly regarded Isco and Joaquin.

Definitely one of the most tactically unpredictable quarter finals.

 

Real Madrid vs. Galatasaray

After getting through to the quarter finals in a highly controversial manner against Manchester United, Jose Mourinho’s quest for an historic third Champions League triumph runs through Turkish champions Galatasaray.

Although Galatasaray aren’t the most feared team left in the competition, their impressive 3-2 win away to Schalke in the round of 16 second leg is a prime example why they shouldn’t be dismissed, especially with the champions league’s top scorer (along with Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo) Burak Yilmaz in absolutely unbelievable from, as well as a presumably determined Wesley Sneijder returning to his old stomping ground of the Bernabeu.

Galatasaray’s Hamit Altintop and Felipe Melo will be expected to do a great deal of running to prevent Mesut Özil and Xabi Alonso from controlling the game too much, although this may prove a task too much for this tenacious Galatasaray side.

 

Written by Joshua Sodergren

Follow Joshua on Twitter @chelsealad1365

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