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The Club World Cup is a farce

December 21, 2011 //
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FIFA’s Club World Cup is again taking football down the wrong alley. FIFA is looking at the financial gains in organizing this competition instead of prioritizing the 3 key points that matter most:

  • Stay close to the fans of the competing clubs
  • Bring back the passion of a 2 leg competition in the home stadiums of the 2 finalists
  • Limit this to a European vs South American champion final (until other continents reach the same level of football excellence)

Instead of that, the current edition is played in the neutral grounds of Japan or UAE for so-called football promotion efforts and some degree of sponsorship pressure (thanks Toyota…). I wonder how many Santos fans could pay for a stay in costly Tokyo?

Come on, let’s go back to the incredible Intercontinental Cup and to some of the most memorable matches like the famous Celtic –  Racing final of 1967!

Maracanazos will always privilege passion above $€£

 

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Categories FIFA, Thumbs down

Is Mourinho transforming Real Madrid into a mad dog?

August 19, 2011 //
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Mad Dog On Property Warning Sign

Looks like it after yesterday’s great game. I had already referred to Mourinho as being the first hacker coach in football’s history. The Special One is transforming the classy image that Real Madrid has patiently built up since 1902. Pepe and Marcelo are his preferred hound dogs in this image transformation of the Merengues. I wonder what the honorary president Alfredo Di Stéfano thinks about Mourinho’s doings.

Mourinho’s barking tactic can work but only if Real starts winning titles. The Real fans currently support their coach because they perceive that their team is edging closer to the arch-rival Barça. But like in politics, populism dies as quickly as it grows.

As long as Messi doesn’t get hurt and that Fabregas successfully integrates – he did so in the 10 minutes played yesterday – the new magic midfield with Iniesta and Xavi, I don’t think any howling dog will even get close to the ankles of the Blaugrana!

Maracanazos think that this Barça is the best club of all times!

Photo Credit: Vectorportal

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Categories Clubs, Coaches, Thumbs down

Leaving a trace?

June 30, 2011 //
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Airplane traces

The summer season is one really I don’t appreciate in football. Agents are calling journalists left and right to distribute bs about how much club x wants to pay his player a sum of y which my sons would have a hard time believing in. How many of these players are really worth the sums that are being talked about? Take the case of Samir Nasri. He has played some good games at Arsenal. Some. Has he made an impact with the Gunners? No. While at Marseille? No. For the Bleus? Not yet. And now his agent seems to be clinching a £20m deal with Man City! Has Nasri left a trace anywhere? Not….yet. Have Viera and Henry left a trace? Yes!

Maracanazos are tired of agents’ rumours.

Photo credit : Christian Haugen

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Categories Clubs, Stars, Thumbs down

Is Mourinho the first hacker coach?

May 3, 2011 //
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Following my last post on Real Madrid, I see Mourinho as the first football hacker. The Special One analyzes his opponents source code and then introduces malware (think Pepe + Alonso + Diarra against Barça) to disrupt and corrupt. Come on Mourinho, don’t let the dark side of the force eat you up for ever.

Maracanazos are all Jedis!

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Categories Clubs, Coaches, Thumbs down

Why are injuries on the rise

March 24, 2011 //
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Don’t know if it’s only me, but I observe many more players constantly injured than say 20 years ago. Several factors should point to the opposite:

  • The size of squads of the richer clubs is much larger than it used to be. Some years ago, did you ever here any talk about the “depth of the substitute bench”?
  • FIFA referee policies are much stricter in protecting players than they used to be
  • Medical progress
  • Better equipment and pitches

Despite these points, I see players getting hurt left and right. What are the possible reasons for this:

  • More games than before with the appearance of the infamous Cup Leagues as well as the Champion League and Europa League round-robins adding to the number of matches played each season
  • The physical density of players has increased thereby making tackles more dangerous than they used to be
  • Intense pre-season physical training which causes severe damages some months thereafter
  • This might not be politically correct, but I wonder if hidden doping practices have an incidence on how injury prone players have become??

Maracanazos are worried by the health factor

Categories Thumbs down

Dogmatic football

March 16, 2011 //
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That is what French football has become. Dogmatic in its assertive arrogance that the physical dimension of the game supersedes technical and tactical skills. The French Premier League has become the symbol of a football dominated by the physical aptitudes of players but so scarce in technical talent. Unfortunately for French teams, their technical weaknesses show up blatantly when opposed to their European counterparts.

Take the Champions League game yesterday between Marseille and Manchester United. Even though Man Utd played a very average game, they were still miles ahead of the Olympians when it came to the quality of passes and dribbles. Marseille looked like a squad of bullies pushing the ball with a total lack of fluidity.

The French Football Federation should urgently re-think how football should be taught, starting at the youngest age. Platini, the best French player of all times, was certainly not a model of fitness, but he had the technical vista that went far above his physical limitations. French national team coach Laurent Blanc, who was a technical ace, understands this I am sure but without  the backing of the French football family, the Euro 2012 and World Cup 2014 (if France qualifies) will not be so different to World Cup 2010.

Maracanazos are fed up with dogmatism.

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Categories Clubs, Teams, Thumbs down

Where is AC Milan heading?

February 17, 2011 //
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As my readers know, I am more of an AC Milan fan than an Inter one. Lately however, the Rossoneri seem to be on a parallel path to their owner, Berlusconi. AC Milan is synonymous amongst football fans with fuoriclasse. The most titled club in the past 20 years has always had an image of style, class, elegance, think Maldini, Van Basten, Sacchi, Baresi, Shevchenko, etc here. In contrast, the behavior of Gattuso against Tottenham during Tuesday’s Champions League second round match is totally out of line with what to expect from an AC Milan player. You can add to that Ibra’s complete lack of team work, Flamini’s aggressiveness, an aging squad and a general lack of vision. Has AC Milan’s game philosophy evaporated. I prefer watching the great Milan of 1989 in its mythical 5 – 0 win against Real Madrid in the European Club Champions semi-final!

Maracanazos are worried for AC Milan.

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Categories Clubs, Thumbs down

How prepared do you need to be?

January 16, 2011 //
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That is the question I have been asking myself following the curious way the FIFA has in handling the 2022 Qatar World Cup. After the idea of co-hosting the competition with neighboring countries, it also seems that the Cup could now be held during winter to avoid the scorching heat during June/July. The problem is that the Winter Olympics are also held at the same time. Perhaps FIFA should ask the CIO to organize the winter games during the summer?? I find it strange that the bid for a World Cup involving so much time and money is so dismally unprepared.

Maracanazos are saddened by such amateurism.

Categories Thumbs down, World Cup

Ban the Winter break market

January 4, 2011 //
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This might seem old fashioned to some, but I really don’t see why clubs should be allowed to buy and sell players during the Winter break. There are several problems at stake:

  • Teams should stay coherent throughout at least one season. What’s the point in having substitutes if you don’t use them when needed?
  • It gives coaches an excuse for not finding the real solutions to increase the team’s cohesiveness by allowing to buy and sell instead just after 4 to 5 months into the competition.
  • It’s strange for a player to end up in 2 rival teams (if the transaction occurs between 2 clubs of the same league) during the course of a season. Isn’t there a risk of unfair competition?
  • Instead of waiting until the end of the season, the Winter break gives agents and their players a half-term window of opportunity to assess their market value based on just a couple of months of competition. How relevant is that?

UEFA should stop any transactions during the Winter break. It would do football a favour and would help good coaches shine by their handling of a same group of players throughout the season.

Maracanazos like to think long-term.

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Categories Clubs, Thumbs down

Kaiser Franz looses faith in the FIFA and so do I

December 14, 2010 //
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Franz Beckenbauer said he would shortly leave FIFA following his dissapointment at the publicity made on the votes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. I had already shared my puzzlement about the choice of Qatar and the Kaiser’s decision to quit only reinforces my doubts on how the votes were organized.

Another troubling element is that it is now apparent that other countries could co-host the 2022 World Cup along with Qatar. I don’t get it. Either a host country’s project is fully detailed and the voting is based on its completeness or it isn’t. In the latter case, how can can you cast your vote on an incomplete picture?

Maracanazos would have liked to known who Monsieur Jules Rimet would have voted for.

Categories FIFA, Thumbs down, World Cup
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