Wolfsburg 3-2 Manchester United. The main success from Van Gaal's first season was qualifying for the champions league and now, before Christmas in his second season, United crash out of one of the easiest groups in the competition. Seven goals in six games and the only English team to have failed to qualify for this season's knockout rounds. With their injury list growing and the fans starting to turn against the manager with chants of "attack, attack, attack" being heard regularly throughout games and now booing starting to creep in, it is quite clearly a nightmare first half of the season.
Things started to go bad back in October when United were dumped out of the Capital One Cup after a goalless 120 minutes and a poor penalty shoot out at home against Championship side, Middlesbrough. In a season where United need a trophy to show progress, the Capital One Cup was the easiest option, especially after Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs were also knocked out before United. The Champions League and Premier League were always going to be long shots but the FA Cup and League Cup were there to be won and to be defeated by a second division team has hurt the fans.
The lack of goals is also a real frustration as United have now took part in six 0-0 draws by mid December. Only two teams have scored less in the top ten in the Premier League and although they are still in the top 4 and in the title race, it seems like they don't quite have enough and will not be able to match the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal in the long run. When results like Stoke 2-0 Man City, come around, United need to capitalise on it and put pressure on them however, they are unable to do so and the 0-0 draw at home to West Ham shows this. The goal scoring problem has a lot to do with the fact that Rooney and Martial are the only two strikers in the main squad as Van Gaal has also overseen the departure of Van Persie, Hernandez, Falcao, Welbeck, Zaha, Kagawa, Nani, Di Maria as well as the recent loan departures of Wilson and Januzaj. All of this has happened in Van Gaal's 18 months in charge and yet people question why United are struggling to score. Any one of these players give an attacking threat that United are lacking especially with the fact that Hernandez has already scored 14 goals this season and players like Zaha are huge influences in their new clubs.
The lack of squad depth that United have is worrying as well as now that the injuries are starting to pile up, there are no real first team back up options. By the end of the Wolfsburg game, United were playing Varela, Borthwick-Jackson, Lingard and Powell. McNair and Pereira were both on the bench and Memphis and Martial were also in the starting eleven. The lack of experience is astonishing and although I want to see young players given the chance, I don't want to see it under these circumstances because this is out of desperation and United shouldn't rely on them this much. However they don't have a choice now taking injuries into account, there is a lack of experience and quality in the main squad.
The failure to qualify for the knockout rounds of the Champions League is the most disappointing as it was a very easy group. CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg are decent teams but shouldn't be too tricky and PSV would have been a tougher test last season when they were the best team in the Netherlands but as they lost their best players in the summer, there is no excuse for getting one point out of six against them. Finishing third in the group has left United in the Europa League for the rest of the season and if United don't win the Europa League or at least get to the semi finals, there will be a lot of angry fans calling for Van Gaal's resignation as there are only three trophies left to be won for United, the Premier League, the Europa League and the FA Cup. To keep the fans happy, something must be won, some might think the best one to win is the league but it doesn't matter what as long as the trophy cabinet back at Old Trafford gets added to. However, if nothing is won after £250 million has been spent, it might just be time for Van Gaal to leave.
Thursday, 10 December 2015
Friday, 27 November 2015
Ronaldo and Messi in England?
Over the last 6 months, the rumours of seeing Messi and/or Ronaldo playing for a Premier League side have increased but is there any possibility of it happening? It would be something amazing but I have to admit, it seems unlikely. The Premier League claims to be the best league in the world and it is the richest, yet the two best players in the world do not play in it so they would surely be a way of cementing the league as the best.
Messi:
Expense - As he is considered to be the best player in the world by millions worldwide, it is no secret that he will cost a lot. The transfer fee and also his wages would limit his sale to a handful of clubs in England, only realistically, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are the main clubs who can afford him. It is claimed that to tempt Barcelona too sell up, it would take a bid well in excess of £100 million and even possibly closer to the £200 million mark. It is also claimed that an English club would have to pay him more than Barcelona and some of the possible wages that have been talked about have risen to about £800,000 a week.
Happy at Barcelona - He won the treble last season and they are arguably the best team in the world so it would take a lot to make him want to give that all up. If he stays at Barcelona, he will win trophy after trophy and break record after record but the only thing that might make him want to go to England, is the idea of a new challenge for the final years of his career. Winning trophies outside of Spain would show any doubters that he is one of the best ever footballers because one criticism could be that a lot of his success is due to being a part of a great Barca side, this is even backed up by the inability to win silverware with Argentina. However, he still has 6 or 7 years at the top level if not more so he still has time to deal with international success.
Tax Problems - The main thing that might make Messi want to leave Spain is that he feels he is being targeted and unfairly treated over the tax issues. He would be free from scrutiny in the UK and would not have to constantly be answering questions. I just don't think one lifestyle problem could make him move away from the country and life that he calls home. England is the unknown, he knows Barcelona better than anybody so it would be easier playing for the club he loves and in the city he loves and dealing with the questions surrounded by family. If things get worse, you never know what might happen but right now, I think he would prefer to stay where he is and just deal with any allegations.
Ronaldo:
Price - Like Messi, he would cost a ridiculous amount, likely to be around the £80 - £100 million range so it will be the same three English teams that can afford him but it seems unlikely for him to join Manchester City due to his loyalty to United and I don't think he would want to work under Mourinho after their time together at Madrid. You would think that United would be his first choice because of his history with the club but football often throws up surprises so we can't be sure.
Unhappy in Madrid - Stories about Ronaldo being miserable come out of Madrid every couple of months and after their 4-0 defeat at home to Barcelona, there are clear signs that things aren't as good as we would think. Pressure is on Benitez, Perez and the squad as a whole and the constant criticism isn't really helping Ronaldo. The idea of playing for a team that fully appreciates him could persuade him to come back to England. Manchester United would welcome him back with open arms as he is still considered a hero to the fans.
If either of them decide to join the Premier League, it will most likely in a couple of years when the new tv deal gives a English teams a lot more money as they will be happier to spend the huge amounts needed and Ronaldo and Messi will both be a few years older and nearing the end of their careers so a final challenge will seem appealing to them.
Messi:
Expense - As he is considered to be the best player in the world by millions worldwide, it is no secret that he will cost a lot. The transfer fee and also his wages would limit his sale to a handful of clubs in England, only realistically, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are the main clubs who can afford him. It is claimed that to tempt Barcelona too sell up, it would take a bid well in excess of £100 million and even possibly closer to the £200 million mark. It is also claimed that an English club would have to pay him more than Barcelona and some of the possible wages that have been talked about have risen to about £800,000 a week.
Happy at Barcelona - He won the treble last season and they are arguably the best team in the world so it would take a lot to make him want to give that all up. If he stays at Barcelona, he will win trophy after trophy and break record after record but the only thing that might make him want to go to England, is the idea of a new challenge for the final years of his career. Winning trophies outside of Spain would show any doubters that he is one of the best ever footballers because one criticism could be that a lot of his success is due to being a part of a great Barca side, this is even backed up by the inability to win silverware with Argentina. However, he still has 6 or 7 years at the top level if not more so he still has time to deal with international success.
Tax Problems - The main thing that might make Messi want to leave Spain is that he feels he is being targeted and unfairly treated over the tax issues. He would be free from scrutiny in the UK and would not have to constantly be answering questions. I just don't think one lifestyle problem could make him move away from the country and life that he calls home. England is the unknown, he knows Barcelona better than anybody so it would be easier playing for the club he loves and in the city he loves and dealing with the questions surrounded by family. If things get worse, you never know what might happen but right now, I think he would prefer to stay where he is and just deal with any allegations.
Ronaldo:
Price - Like Messi, he would cost a ridiculous amount, likely to be around the £80 - £100 million range so it will be the same three English teams that can afford him but it seems unlikely for him to join Manchester City due to his loyalty to United and I don't think he would want to work under Mourinho after their time together at Madrid. You would think that United would be his first choice because of his history with the club but football often throws up surprises so we can't be sure.
Unhappy in Madrid - Stories about Ronaldo being miserable come out of Madrid every couple of months and after their 4-0 defeat at home to Barcelona, there are clear signs that things aren't as good as we would think. Pressure is on Benitez, Perez and the squad as a whole and the constant criticism isn't really helping Ronaldo. The idea of playing for a team that fully appreciates him could persuade him to come back to England. Manchester United would welcome him back with open arms as he is still considered a hero to the fans.
If either of them decide to join the Premier League, it will most likely in a couple of years when the new tv deal gives a English teams a lot more money as they will be happier to spend the huge amounts needed and Ronaldo and Messi will both be a few years older and nearing the end of their careers so a final challenge will seem appealing to them.
Thursday, 15 October 2015
Looking forward to Euro 2016
As you may know, the group stage for Euro 2016 qualification is now over and we know the first twenty teams to qualify. This is a good time to look forward at next summer's competition and comment on how the qualification has gone for most teams. The majority of top teams have qualified except for The Netherlands who have famously missed out for the first time since 1984 and now due to the increase of teams, we will see a couple making their debuts in a major competition and their debut in the European Championships.
Group A of qualification saw the Czech Republic, Iceland and Turkey, as the best 3rd place team, make it to France next year. Although none of the teams have world class squads, they will all be difficult to beat as they all got a minimum of 4 points against the Dutch. They all do have some recognizable faces to look out for as Barcelona's Arda Turan captains the Turks, Petr Cech will be in goal for the Czechs and Swansea's Gylfi Sigurdsson is Iceland's talisman and top scorer in qualifying. All of them will be going into the tournament to enjoy it rather than to win it but any of these teams could get to the quarters if luck is on their side.
Belgium and Wales qualified through Group B and both of them should be going to France to try and test themselves against the best in Europe. Their squads are currently seen as the golden generations and they are both in the top 10 of FIFA's world rankings as of the start of October 2015. Belgium ranked 3rd in the world and Wales are in 8th. Belgium have a long list of world class players and Premier League representatives at their disposal with a potential spine of their team consisting of Courtois, Kompany, De Bruyne and Eden Hazard. They could go all the way in France next summer as they reached the quarter finals in Brazil last year despite not really impressing. Belgium just need to copy Wales' attitude towards squad unity instead of being a team of great individuals. Moving on to Wales' impressive qualifying campaign, we can see that they are following their motto, "Together Stronger", with every player playing their part for the team, no matter if it is the world's most expensive player or somebody playing in the Championship. They do what they have to do for the good of the team. They have a few great players with the likes of Bale, Ramsey and Williams and combined with the attitude and eagerness of the squad as a whole, they shouldn't be afraid of any team as on their day, they can match anybody. They did so in the qualifiers by beating Belgium at home and holding their own in a 0-0 draw away to the 3rd ranked best team in the world. This will be Wales' first ever European Championships and their first major tournament since the 1958 FIFA World Cup so it should be one to remember for players and fans.
The current European champions, Spain, qualified without much trouble with nine wins out of ten and only conceding 3 goals in the process. They will be going into the competition to try and defend their title as best in Europe after a disappointing defense of their world title last year. With something to prove and a squad full of world class players, Spain should be one of the favourites to win the entire competition. With six players who started the 2010 World Cup final win in a good position to get a call up for the Euros next year, the squad still clearly has a very experienced and successful spine. The only negative would be that Spain won multiple qualifying games by only a goal to nil and not in a completely impressive way but that doesn't really matter because a win is a win and their World Cup win saw them win multiple games, including the final 1-0. Slovakia will join Spain after finishing as runner up of Group C. Slovakia beat the Ukraine to the second qualifying spot and in the process they pulled off a big shock by beating Spain 2-1. With the capability of pulling off a shock result and with Napoli's Marek Hamsik as their leading goalscorer in qualification, they should be a tough test for anybody.
World champions, Germany, seemed to find qualifying a little bit harder then they probably should have as they only confirmed their place in France after the final game. They narrowly beat Scotland 2-1 and 3-2, only got one point from two games against the Republic of Ireland and lost 2-0 away in Warsaw. Despite a less than impressive qualification, Germany still finished as group winners and should still be confident of doing well next summer. Apart from Lahm and Klose, Germany have kept most of their World Cup winning squad together and should be able to show why they are ranked as the 2nd best team in the world in France next year. Poland finished second in Group D behind Germany after a successful qualification campaign that saw them lose only one game. They go into the European Championships with the joint record top scorer in a Euro qualifying campaign, Lewandowski, after he scored 13 goals in the qualifiers. If Lewandowski keeps his current form, Poland should be able to get to the quarter finals at least and will be a team to avoid as their only defeat in qualification was against the reigning champions of the world.
England comfortably qualified as winners of Group E with a 100% record as they won all 10 games. Things will be a lot tougher next summer with more difficult opponents but things look very positive for England as they have a good squad and they appear to be doing everything they can to put the disaster of the World Cup behind them. They will be hoping to get to at least the quarter finals to prove that they can compete with the best in Europe again. Switzerland follow England in qualifying from Group E and they too didn't have much trouble. Before the qualifying began, it was clear that England and Switzerland were the best two teams in the group with the their opponents being average at best. The Swiss won seven out of ten games but the biggest downside to their qualifiers is that against England, they didn't put up much of a fight. With this in mind, I don't think that Switzerland will do much in France next summer, instead, they will be lucky to get out of the group stage.
Northern Ireland and Romania both qualified from Group F. It is Northern Ireland's debut in a European Championships and I think it will be an incredible journey for everybody involved, but they won't be much of a threat and they will likely be the whipping boys of their group like the Republic of Ireland were in Euro 2012. I think Romania will share the fate of the Irish as they will be there to make up the numbers instead of being serious contenders. Despite this, both of their qualifying campaigns have been impressive as Northern Ireland won the group with six wins and only one loss. Kyle Lafferty was also the group's top scorer as the Northern Irish outscored all of Group F opponents. Romania managed to not lose a single game as they won five and drew five and although Northern Ireland were the group's best attacking side, Romania were the best defensive team as they only conceded 2 goals. Therefore, statistically, Romania are the best defensive side in any qualifying group. England and Spain were the next best with 3 goals conceded.
Group G saw Austria and Russia qualify but in two different ways. Austria qualified quite comfortably with nine wins and a draw and getting some impressive results such as a 4-1 win away in Sweden and home and away wins against Russia. With 28 points out of a possible 30, it is clear that Austria have the second best points total in qualifying behind England's 30 points. Russia qualified 2 points ahead of Sweden and they had the fortune of getting 3 points handed to them after their away tie in Montenegro was abandoned due to crowd trouble. Austria should be excited about next summer as they have a great opportunity to try and get some good results. There is no reason why they can't get to the quarter finals. Russia, however, will not do as well and I can see them struggling to get out of their group.
Italy and Croatia both qualified from Group H and they both managed to do so without losing many games. The Italians didn't lose a single game and the Croatians only lost one in their qualification. This Italian side is really not the same standard as the 2006 World Cup winning side or even their Euro 2012 runners up side. They still have players such as Buffon, Chiellini and Pirlo but the Italians seem to be unable to replace the ageing stars with players of equal quality. Italy should still do quite well next summer but it would be a miracle if they reached the final like last time. Croatia are also not the same side that was considered to be one of the best in Europe four years ago but they still have players like Modric, Rakitic, Kovacic and Mandzukic. Any team with players of that quality should be able to be a match for anybody in Europe but I don't think it won't be enough to get them past the round of sixteen.
Portugal and Albania qualified from Group I and it seemed to be easy for Portugal as they won seven out of their eight qualifying games however, they narrowly won all of those games by a single goal with 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 wins. They do have the best European player in Ronaldo and this is realistically, his best chance to win silverware with Portugal as the main Portuguese squad is ageing and the FIFA World Cup in three years seems to be just a step too far. Ronaldo won his country 9 points with his goals in qualifying and it is essential that he remains fit for the Euros. With Ronaldo, Portugal should get out of the group and could get as far as the semi finals but without him, I can see them falling at the first hurdle like they did at the world cup in Brazil. Albania will be joining Portugal in France next summer as they beat Denmark to the runners up spot and have qualified for their first major tournament in their history. Despite an impressive 1-0 win away to Portugal, Albania were not great in qualifying as they only just got through with inconsistent results and being handed the 3 points against Serbia after the game was abandoned due to violence. They shouldn't be much trouble to beat in next summer's Euros so they should fall in the groups but it is still an incredible accomplishment to qualify and they should be proud and try and enjoy it while it lasts.
The hosts, France will be looking to establish themselves as one of the best teams in Europe after a quite inconsistent last five years in major tournaments. They will be going into the competition with high hopes as the last two major tournaments to be held in France, the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 1984 European Championships were both won by the hosts. The French squad is perfectly capable of winning the competition next summer as they have a good blend of youth and experience. The likes of Varane, Digne, Zouma, Pogba, Kondogbia, Griezmann, Martial and Lacazette will be mixed in with players who have more than 50 caps for France such as Lloris, Evra, Sagna, Valbuena and Benzema. The squad is in a great position with more players that I haven't mentioned playing for top Premier League, Ligue 1, La Liga and Bundesliga teams. The strength of the current squad can be seen through their fake qualification campaign as they won seven out of their ten centralised friendlies that they played against their Group I opponents so I think France should be a threat next summer and be confident of getting to the last four at least.
There are now four spaces left for teams in the play offs as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Sweden, Hungary, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Norway and Slovenia will fight for those limited remaining places so it will be interesting to see who will qualify. Any of these teams could make it but depending on who is drawn against who, I think the best teams that should qualify are Denmark, Ukraine, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland. As it is, I think this will be Ibrahimovic's last European Championships as he will be 38 going into the Euros in 2020 so it would be nice for him to have one last go, similar to Shevchenko during the 2012 Euros. The draw for the play offs will be on the 18th of October and there should be some great games to reach the championships next summer.
Group A of qualification saw the Czech Republic, Iceland and Turkey, as the best 3rd place team, make it to France next year. Although none of the teams have world class squads, they will all be difficult to beat as they all got a minimum of 4 points against the Dutch. They all do have some recognizable faces to look out for as Barcelona's Arda Turan captains the Turks, Petr Cech will be in goal for the Czechs and Swansea's Gylfi Sigurdsson is Iceland's talisman and top scorer in qualifying. All of them will be going into the tournament to enjoy it rather than to win it but any of these teams could get to the quarters if luck is on their side.
Belgium and Wales qualified through Group B and both of them should be going to France to try and test themselves against the best in Europe. Their squads are currently seen as the golden generations and they are both in the top 10 of FIFA's world rankings as of the start of October 2015. Belgium ranked 3rd in the world and Wales are in 8th. Belgium have a long list of world class players and Premier League representatives at their disposal with a potential spine of their team consisting of Courtois, Kompany, De Bruyne and Eden Hazard. They could go all the way in France next summer as they reached the quarter finals in Brazil last year despite not really impressing. Belgium just need to copy Wales' attitude towards squad unity instead of being a team of great individuals. Moving on to Wales' impressive qualifying campaign, we can see that they are following their motto, "Together Stronger", with every player playing their part for the team, no matter if it is the world's most expensive player or somebody playing in the Championship. They do what they have to do for the good of the team. They have a few great players with the likes of Bale, Ramsey and Williams and combined with the attitude and eagerness of the squad as a whole, they shouldn't be afraid of any team as on their day, they can match anybody. They did so in the qualifiers by beating Belgium at home and holding their own in a 0-0 draw away to the 3rd ranked best team in the world. This will be Wales' first ever European Championships and their first major tournament since the 1958 FIFA World Cup so it should be one to remember for players and fans.
The current European champions, Spain, qualified without much trouble with nine wins out of ten and only conceding 3 goals in the process. They will be going into the competition to try and defend their title as best in Europe after a disappointing defense of their world title last year. With something to prove and a squad full of world class players, Spain should be one of the favourites to win the entire competition. With six players who started the 2010 World Cup final win in a good position to get a call up for the Euros next year, the squad still clearly has a very experienced and successful spine. The only negative would be that Spain won multiple qualifying games by only a goal to nil and not in a completely impressive way but that doesn't really matter because a win is a win and their World Cup win saw them win multiple games, including the final 1-0. Slovakia will join Spain after finishing as runner up of Group C. Slovakia beat the Ukraine to the second qualifying spot and in the process they pulled off a big shock by beating Spain 2-1. With the capability of pulling off a shock result and with Napoli's Marek Hamsik as their leading goalscorer in qualification, they should be a tough test for anybody.
World champions, Germany, seemed to find qualifying a little bit harder then they probably should have as they only confirmed their place in France after the final game. They narrowly beat Scotland 2-1 and 3-2, only got one point from two games against the Republic of Ireland and lost 2-0 away in Warsaw. Despite a less than impressive qualification, Germany still finished as group winners and should still be confident of doing well next summer. Apart from Lahm and Klose, Germany have kept most of their World Cup winning squad together and should be able to show why they are ranked as the 2nd best team in the world in France next year. Poland finished second in Group D behind Germany after a successful qualification campaign that saw them lose only one game. They go into the European Championships with the joint record top scorer in a Euro qualifying campaign, Lewandowski, after he scored 13 goals in the qualifiers. If Lewandowski keeps his current form, Poland should be able to get to the quarter finals at least and will be a team to avoid as their only defeat in qualification was against the reigning champions of the world.
England comfortably qualified as winners of Group E with a 100% record as they won all 10 games. Things will be a lot tougher next summer with more difficult opponents but things look very positive for England as they have a good squad and they appear to be doing everything they can to put the disaster of the World Cup behind them. They will be hoping to get to at least the quarter finals to prove that they can compete with the best in Europe again. Switzerland follow England in qualifying from Group E and they too didn't have much trouble. Before the qualifying began, it was clear that England and Switzerland were the best two teams in the group with the their opponents being average at best. The Swiss won seven out of ten games but the biggest downside to their qualifiers is that against England, they didn't put up much of a fight. With this in mind, I don't think that Switzerland will do much in France next summer, instead, they will be lucky to get out of the group stage.
Northern Ireland and Romania both qualified from Group F. It is Northern Ireland's debut in a European Championships and I think it will be an incredible journey for everybody involved, but they won't be much of a threat and they will likely be the whipping boys of their group like the Republic of Ireland were in Euro 2012. I think Romania will share the fate of the Irish as they will be there to make up the numbers instead of being serious contenders. Despite this, both of their qualifying campaigns have been impressive as Northern Ireland won the group with six wins and only one loss. Kyle Lafferty was also the group's top scorer as the Northern Irish outscored all of Group F opponents. Romania managed to not lose a single game as they won five and drew five and although Northern Ireland were the group's best attacking side, Romania were the best defensive team as they only conceded 2 goals. Therefore, statistically, Romania are the best defensive side in any qualifying group. England and Spain were the next best with 3 goals conceded.
Group G saw Austria and Russia qualify but in two different ways. Austria qualified quite comfortably with nine wins and a draw and getting some impressive results such as a 4-1 win away in Sweden and home and away wins against Russia. With 28 points out of a possible 30, it is clear that Austria have the second best points total in qualifying behind England's 30 points. Russia qualified 2 points ahead of Sweden and they had the fortune of getting 3 points handed to them after their away tie in Montenegro was abandoned due to crowd trouble. Austria should be excited about next summer as they have a great opportunity to try and get some good results. There is no reason why they can't get to the quarter finals. Russia, however, will not do as well and I can see them struggling to get out of their group.
Italy and Croatia both qualified from Group H and they both managed to do so without losing many games. The Italians didn't lose a single game and the Croatians only lost one in their qualification. This Italian side is really not the same standard as the 2006 World Cup winning side or even their Euro 2012 runners up side. They still have players such as Buffon, Chiellini and Pirlo but the Italians seem to be unable to replace the ageing stars with players of equal quality. Italy should still do quite well next summer but it would be a miracle if they reached the final like last time. Croatia are also not the same side that was considered to be one of the best in Europe four years ago but they still have players like Modric, Rakitic, Kovacic and Mandzukic. Any team with players of that quality should be able to be a match for anybody in Europe but I don't think it won't be enough to get them past the round of sixteen.
Portugal and Albania qualified from Group I and it seemed to be easy for Portugal as they won seven out of their eight qualifying games however, they narrowly won all of those games by a single goal with 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 wins. They do have the best European player in Ronaldo and this is realistically, his best chance to win silverware with Portugal as the main Portuguese squad is ageing and the FIFA World Cup in three years seems to be just a step too far. Ronaldo won his country 9 points with his goals in qualifying and it is essential that he remains fit for the Euros. With Ronaldo, Portugal should get out of the group and could get as far as the semi finals but without him, I can see them falling at the first hurdle like they did at the world cup in Brazil. Albania will be joining Portugal in France next summer as they beat Denmark to the runners up spot and have qualified for their first major tournament in their history. Despite an impressive 1-0 win away to Portugal, Albania were not great in qualifying as they only just got through with inconsistent results and being handed the 3 points against Serbia after the game was abandoned due to violence. They shouldn't be much trouble to beat in next summer's Euros so they should fall in the groups but it is still an incredible accomplishment to qualify and they should be proud and try and enjoy it while it lasts.
The hosts, France will be looking to establish themselves as one of the best teams in Europe after a quite inconsistent last five years in major tournaments. They will be going into the competition with high hopes as the last two major tournaments to be held in France, the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 1984 European Championships were both won by the hosts. The French squad is perfectly capable of winning the competition next summer as they have a good blend of youth and experience. The likes of Varane, Digne, Zouma, Pogba, Kondogbia, Griezmann, Martial and Lacazette will be mixed in with players who have more than 50 caps for France such as Lloris, Evra, Sagna, Valbuena and Benzema. The squad is in a great position with more players that I haven't mentioned playing for top Premier League, Ligue 1, La Liga and Bundesliga teams. The strength of the current squad can be seen through their fake qualification campaign as they won seven out of their ten centralised friendlies that they played against their Group I opponents so I think France should be a threat next summer and be confident of getting to the last four at least.
There are now four spaces left for teams in the play offs as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Sweden, Hungary, Denmark, Republic of Ireland, Norway and Slovenia will fight for those limited remaining places so it will be interesting to see who will qualify. Any of these teams could make it but depending on who is drawn against who, I think the best teams that should qualify are Denmark, Ukraine, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland. As it is, I think this will be Ibrahimovic's last European Championships as he will be 38 going into the Euros in 2020 so it would be nice for him to have one last go, similar to Shevchenko during the 2012 Euros. The draw for the play offs will be on the 18th of October and there should be some great games to reach the championships next summer.
Friday, 2 October 2015
Best Team in Europe?
This is almost an impossible question to answer as there are three teams that stand out above the rest however, the Champions League could potentially be won by any of ten teams who would be aiming to get to this years final. This leads to another question, does winning the Champions League actually determine that you are the best team on the continent? Most of the time, I would have to say yes. Barcelona were the best team last season however, were Porto really the best team when they won the competition back in 2004? The same could be asked about Red Star Belgrade's victory in 1991 and Steaua Bucharest's triumph in 1986. I would have to argue that they probably were not the best teams in Europe at the time but they just had amazing years. Greece won the European Championships back in 2004 but nobody would give them the status as the best European team for that year, instead it is referred to as one of the biggest shocks in football history.
We start by looking at last year's winners, Barcelona. They won their second treble in six years and were comfortable 3-1 winners in both the Champions League and Copa del Rey finals. With a strike force of Messi, Neymar and Suarez, who scored 122 goals between them last season, it is understandable for them to be considered as one of the best teams around. However, things didn't start particularly great this season after losing 5-1 on aggregate to Athletic Bilbao in the Supercopa de Espana. Even when they won games, it has been considered less than impressive as six out of their seven wins this season have been by a singular goal. A 1-1 draw away to Roma and a shocking 4-1 defeat to Celta Vigo add to the sense that things haven't been quite right for Barca so far this season. With the injuries starting to pile up as Messi, Iniesta, Adriano, Rafinha and Vermaelen all now out, things seem to be going from bad to worse for the current European champions. Despite all of these negatives, Barcelona are currently second in La Liga and are also top of their Champions League group after the first two rounds of fixtures and with the new signings, Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal being allowed to play from January onwards, it's pretty clear that they are still a massive force in world football.
Real Madrid are also considered to be one of the top three in Europe and are having an impressive start to the season. They are yet to lose a game and they have only conceded one goal in all competitions. The appointment of Rafa Benitez for Madrid's most recent managerial change didn't seem like the most ambitious but there is not much to be critical of them so far as they find themselves third in La Liga, only two points behind the leaders Villarreal, and they are top of their Champions League group with two wins out of two. This Madrid side have the players and the know how to go far in all competitions this season but their first real test will come against Atletico Madrid this weekend so we will see if they can keep up their impressive start to the season against their closest rivals and if so, they really will be contenders for the Champions League.
Bayern Munich are the third team who are referred to as likely Champions League winners and with Guardiola in charge, it is only a matter of time before they do win it again. Bayern are currently top of the Bundesliga with seven wins out of seven and also top of their Champions League group with two wins out of two. They have one of the best squads in Europe with the most in form striker in Lewandowski and an incredible amount of World Cup winners within the squad that shows that they know how to win on the biggest stage. Bayern have reached the semi-final stage of the Champions League for the last four seasons in a row and they last won the competition in 2013 so they do have the ability to compete with the two Spanish giants and they should reach the semi-finals again this season.
Outside of the the main three teams mentioned, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and PSG would all be hoping that they can compete against the main three this year. Juventus and Atletico Madrid were losing finalists in 2015 and 2014 respectively and would be hoping to reach those heights again this year however, their domestic seasons haven't started as well as they would have hoped. Atletico sit fifth in La Liga and Juventus are currently in fifteenth just two points above the relegation zone in Serie A. Despite the domestic problems, Juventus are top of their Champions League group after wins over Manchester City and Sevilla and Atletico Madrid are second in their group.
Chelsea find themselves in fourteenth in the Premier League but their European campaign is not any better as they find themselves third in their group behind Porto and Dynamo Kiev. For the two Manchester teams, things look slightly better as they occupy the top two positions in the Premier League and they aim to prove a point in Europe. United are second in a group where everybody is on three points but they are looking to prove that they belong in the Champions League after last season's hiatus and City are trying to go further than they have done in recent years but first they have to get out of a group with Juventus and last season's Europa League winners, Sevilla. Finally, we have the French champions, PSG, who are trying to be the first French team to win the Champions League since Marseille in 1993. PSG are currently unbeaten this season in 11 games, finding themselves top of Ligue 1 and joint on points with Real Madrid at the top of their Champions League group. With the arrival of Di Maria, they are starting to build a team capable of really challenging this season.
With all these teams in contention, it is hard to say who is the best and who will reach the final of this year's Champions League. I would have to say that one of the main three teams will reach the final but nobody has won the competition in back to back years since AC Milan in 1990 so I think it will be too difficult for Barcelona to win it this year. I think it will be between Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and PSG to win it.
Thursday, 1 October 2015
Eight out of a possible fourty four players starting for United, City, Chelsea and Arsenal were English
As the title suggests, I'm going to be having a look at Manchester United's UEFA Champions League game at home to Wolfsburg, Manchester City's trip to Monchengladbach, Arsenal's game at home to Olympiacos and Chelsea's away trip to Porto as well as other games from this season and previous Champions League campaigns. United started the game with only two Englishmen, Smalling and Rooney and people have hugely differing opinions on the the topic and a lot of questions have been thrown around such as is the lack of English players just modern football? Is it even a problem? Can it be avoided in future? And does it really damage the England National team's future chances?
I'll start with the fact that all four of the English Champions League teams were guilty of lacking a respectable number of English talent as Cahill was the only English starter for Chelsea and Manchester City had Hart and Sterling to match United's two. Arsenal did better, however, only by one as Gibbs, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain started for The Gunners. You could argue that if everybody was fit, the numbers could and should be higher as Arsenal were missing Wilshere and Welbeck, United were missing Shaw, Carrick, Jones and Young. City and Chelsea don't have the the same depth of English players but Terry and Loftus-Cheek could arguably have started for Chelsea and the same could be said for Delph for City.
You would think that the number of English players has diminished over the years but surprisingly, it hasn't been by much. If we look back to the infamous treble winning Manchester United squad, there was a higher number of Englishmen but for the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich, only Neville, Beckham, Butt and Cole started the game. Liverpool's dramatic 2005 Champions League win in Istanbul saw only two English players, Gerrard and Carragher, start the game. If we skip ahead to United's win over Chelsea in 2008, the numbers are a lot better as ten of the twenty two players who started the game were in fact English. Chelsea's 2012 Champions League win in Munich saw Chelsea start with Cole, Lampard, Cahill and Bertrand. The same amount that United started with in Barcelona thirteen years earlier. The numbers fluctuate over the years but there isn't a huge difference between now and fifteen years ago.
To judge if the lack of English players is a result of the modern game, we have to look across Europe at the other top teams. In PSG's 3-0 victory against Shakhtar Donetsk, there was only one French player, Matuidi, in their starting eleven. Atletico Madrid could only manage three Spanish starters with Juanfran, Gabi and Oliver Torres and Real Madrid had four Spanish players starting (Nacho, Carvajal, Arbeloa and Isco). Barcelona also had four as Pique, Busquets, Iniesta and Sandro Ramirez started. Even last season's runners up, Juventus, only managed four Italian starters for their 2-0 victory over Sevilla as only Buffon, Chiellini, Barzagli and Bonucci started. These show that it isn't only the English teams that are lacking local players as the majority of top European teams have very multi-cultural squads.
If we want to use the lack of English starters as a possible reasoning behind the English national team's failings in major tournaments in recent years, there has to be a real correlation between the two and there really isn't much of one. With the squad that has been named for the upcoming England games, the players come from twelve different football clubs so it doesn't matter that a couple of clubs don't have many English starters because they are being spread around the other English teams. So although I personally would prefer to see six or more English players starting every game for the top Premier League clubs, it isn't the end of the world and the upside to having less English players is that it is exciting to see the great foreign players such as Alexis Sanchez, Anthony Martial, Eden Hazard, Yaya Toure and others in the Premier League.
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