Massimo Moratti of Inter Milan is finally living his dream; the one he must have arguably seen, ever since he would have been a small boy during the Grande Inter days of the 1960’s. To emulate his father and bring glory to Inter.

However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is not getting any sleep. The club stands on the cusp of a historic treble. More seriously for him, this glorious season could be a one-off, if his inspirational manager bolts for Real Madrid at the end of the season.

As is being increasingly speculated and reported (by unnamed club sources), the chances of that happening are very high. Mourinho’s dislike for Italian football is well known. And the egotist in him will be spurred by the opportunity to manage the biggest club of them all. He will also have reason to feel that his job at Inter is done.

Massimo Moratti has a real challenge on his hand.

Logically, he can appeal to Mourinho on the grounds that he has a free hand at Inter and he will never have the same freedom at Real Madrid; what with Florentino Perez and Jorge Valdano having a strong say in matters on the pitch and off it.

But logic rarely works with the Special One.

What works though is inciting his massive ego.

Moratti’s best chance is to build a case around Inter’s legendary manager Helenio Herrera.

Real Madrid have won nine European Cups and while players like Di Stefano, Raul, Zidane and Puskas are associated with those triumphs, not a single manager is accorded the same legendary status. The Spanish club is clearly not the best place for a manager to make his mark in history.

Helenio Herrera on the other hand is almost synonymous with Grande Inter – the man singularly responsible for Inter’s greatest days. He sits on a pedestal higher than that of the clubs greatest players.

Moratti can stoke Mourinho’s competitive juices by challenging him to better Herrera. To take the French-Colombian’s place in the annals of Inter Milan.

Herrera is a challenge that will surely appeal to Mourinho. Known for his tactical nous as much for his sense of self importance, Helenio Herrera could well serve as the perfect role model for a manager like Mourinho.

Mourinho is too proud of himself to shirk from such a challenging opportunity. More so, because with the current squad at his disposal, he has a good chance of emulating Herrera.

As for Moratti. If he can pull this off, he has a chance to go one better on his father as the best owner of Inter.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Xavi and Andres Iniesta kept Cesc Fabregas and Xabi Alonso out of the Spanish starting eleven during their triumph in Euro 2008. Do we expect to see anything different in the World Cup or after that?

The simple answer is no, because there is no point in changing a winning formula, especially in the case of Spain, who rarely if ever get their formula right. Going by that logic, Alonso and Fabregas will continue to warm the benches, at the 2010 World Cup and beyond, unless the Barcelona pair suffers a major loss in form.

The loss in form doesn’t look like happening anytime soon. Xavi was the player of the tournament at Euro 2008 and has since enhanced his reputation to become arguably the best central midfielder in Europe.

And while Iniesta might be inferior to Fabregas, he has something special which the Arsenal captain doesn’t have: a chemistry with Xavi; borne out of all the match-practice they get playing together in the same position for Barcelona. Why would you break a pairing which has worked on their understanding throughout the year and is a proven alliance, for another one which has very little time to find its bearings?

Therefore, Fabregas and Alonso can either wait for Xavi or Iniesta to suffer a major loss in form or start to get some match-practice as a pair themselves. They can either join hands with one another – that will happen if Cesc decides to move to Real. If that happens then the pair of Alonso and Fabregas would get a chance to prove to the whole of Spain that they are better than the Barcelona pair, when they lock horns in the the El Clasico. If they take that chance then great, else they will atleast not have reason to complain.

But its unlikely that Cesc will move to Real. The team is a mess and more importantly, he is a Catalan and proud one at that.

He could go to Barcelona instead. The club is his natural home and they are his long time suitors. Even Xavi has publicly appealed to him to move to Barca. He will get to join on his own terms and command a starting place immediately.

That will give him a chance to pair up with Xavi. He will then get all the time to develop a chemistry with Xavi and show to the entire world, what a fine midfield pair they can be. Once that happens, its only a matter of time before they start for Spain together.

He might not be able to do that before the South Africa World Cup but he has a long time left in the game and lots of international matches to play. The current Spanish squad is young and they will be good for years to come. For all the glory Cesc Fabregas wins at club level, his career will be unfulfilled if he doesn’t achieve the same at international level. And for him to even start doing that, he needs to make a move to Spain sometime really soon.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

By his own admission Jose Mourinho isn’t happy in Italy. He is itching to either return to his beloved England or satiate his ego further by taking charge of the biggest club of them all – Real Madrid.

The Champions League will give the ‘Special One’ the perfect platform to make a pitch for the Spanish job.

His biggest challenge in the Champions League semis would be to rein in Lionel Messi and shackle the free-flowing Barcelona attack. This is a prospect which no manager in Europe relishes.

But if Mourinho can manage to do that, and I wouldn’t bet against him pulling off this almost impossible feat, then Florentino Perez would walk to his door step to sign him. It is another matter that the door would be guarded by Massimo Moratti himself.

The Real Madrid president isn’t too pleased with his current manager and would be tired of the sight of Messi scoring yet another hat trick and the sounds of the experts singing Barcelona’s praises over and over again.

Signing the world beater that Mourinho is, could well be the final and most crucial piece in world beating squad that Perez has assembled.

On the flip side, if Mourinho’s side is overrun by the Barcelona juggernaut, then he can kiss his Real Madrid dreams goodbye. He will still remain the “Special One”, but not special enough for Perez and Real Madrid. They have no time for losers, especially those humbled by their bitter rivals.

Jose always loves a challenge. The make or break nature of the Barca clash will bring out the best in him. Or will it be the worst.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Sir Alex Ferguson hates to lose. More so when his team gets outplayed. His angst was evident in the press conference as he admitted that his team had played poorly.

At the same time, Alex Ferguson doesn’t waste time agonizing or introspecting after setbacks and is known to take corrective measures without much ado.

As reported by Harry Harris on Soccernet, Fergie has realized that he hasn’t reinforced his squad sufficiently after the departures of Ronaldo and Tevez and will look to do so at the first available opportunity.

Until now, the lack of signings had led to speculations that the Glazers had refused to open their chequebook owing to the massive debt burden. Fergie had scotched such notions making it clear that he thought his squad was good enough and he didn’t need to make any big name signings. He seemed right as the Red Devils continued to make a serious challenge for both the EPL and the CL. If Fergie didn’t want new players then how could you blame the Glazers.

Now that Fergie wants to make some signings, the focus will be on the Glazers and their chequebook.

Will they or won’t they

Their action will also decide the fortunes of the Red Knights.

The American owners could shut the dissidents up for good by making the cash available for their manager.

Not doing that will swell the army of yellow and green supporters, including yours truly.

The coming summer will tell us whether having the Glazers at the helm is a good thing or not.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

In addition to being the champions in 2007-08, Man United were also the best team in the league, both, offensively and defensively. The scored the maximum goals and conceded the fewest — also ending up with the maximum number of clean sheets as well.

The following table gives the goal scoring and conceding details of the top four. Man United led on all counts:

2007-08 EPL Season

And now here’s the same table for the 2008-09 season so far. Numbers in brackets show the expected number had the clubs maintained last years averages. We are only 11 games into the season and the averages will change, but there is enough of an early trend to worry United fans and bring a cheer to their Chelsea counterparts.

2008-09 EPL Season so far

United are still as good as last year in banging in the goals but their defense seems to be slipping. The numbers point to a clear fall in their defensive standards from last year. Their performances against Liverpool and Chelsea where they couldn’t defend one-goal leads corroborate what the numbers have to say. Last year, United were winning these games, holding on to one goal leads splendidly. Not so this year.

The other interesting thing shown by the numbers is the huge leap taken by Chelsea — both offensively and defensively. Liverpool have the same number of points, but Chelsea under Scolari have started doing what Abramovich always wanted — decimate the opposition with their attacking prowess. And at the same time they seem to have improved on their defense — supposed to be the highlight of Jose’s reign. Wonder what the great one has to say now

But more importantly, are we seeing a worrying trend for United?

What do you think?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Diego Maradona is going to be the next coach of the Argentinean national side, and personally, I am mighty kicked about it.

Can anything match the sight of a portly Maradona pacing the sidelines, shouting expletives at the officials and rival players, and jumping animatedly at the slightest sign of excitement?

Jokes aside it’s a bold move on the part of AFA and is a risk that is definitely worth taking.

The national side has been through a really rough patch the last 7-8 years and was going nowhere despite having a very talented generation of players. It’s been painful to watch such a gifted bunch mesmerize us one day and then fall flat the next day

A host of great coaching names have come and gone, each laid low by depressing results. While Bielsa and Pekerman were at the helm of disappointing World Cup campaigns, Alfio Basile couldn’t even last the qualification campaign. The failure of these illustrious names also makes it plain obvious that this team needs more than just a coach.

This team lacks a leader on the pitch. Riquelme can orchestrate the attacks but he is hardly a natural leader. The manager needs to fill-in for that lacuna, and who better than Maradona to galvanize the troops with his powerful personality — after all he continues to remain the biggest influence in Argentinean football.

The doubters will question his coaching credentials, with both his previous stints having ended rather unceremoniously. But there is a huge gulf between coaching Racing Club and managing the national side — and it is the enormity of the task at hand and the prestige attached to it that will bring out the best of Diego — a la 1986. Maradona loves his country and its football heritage dearly and will do anything to restore it to its rightful place. And then there is always Carlos Bilardo to take care of the coaching stratagem. They have created magic previously and could well do an encore.

There are also fears about his drug habits — will he turn up for training in an inebriated state and make a fool of himself during international matches?

I don’t think that will happen and the reason is simple — Maradona loves the game of football too much and is a different person once he is actively involved in it. He was an addict almost his entire playing life but football kept him going. The dependence on drugs and his subsequent deterioration also coincided with inactivity on the football front. Now that big time football is back in his life, Maradona will have fewer reasons and less time to abuse.

Argentina could have gone ahead and appointed another excellent ‘coach’. There is no shortage of those in Argentinean football. But they needed the ‘hand of god’. And there is only man in the entire country that has got that.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The final of the Euro 2008 was played last Sunday and most soccer fans are already over it and involved neck deep in the transfer activities that will go a long way in determining the destiny of their favourite clubs in the coming season. It is therefore a good time to look back and try and identify what could possibly be the lasting memories of Euro 2008.

After all, the euphoria is already over (except for Spain) and we can no longer re-collect the amount of tiny details that we could do a week back. The short-term memory bank of Euro 2008 has already been wiped clean and the condensed reminiscences that are still with us are finding a place for themselves in our long term storage.

So lets pick out the memories which will define Euro 2008 and remain entrenched in our minds forever — much in the same way as the Van Basten volley of 1988, the double strike of Olivier Bierhoff in Euro 96, the Danish fairy-tale of 1992 or the heroic performance of the Italian defence in Euro 2000.

To ensure that the process is robust, I am not going to be relying on the internet and I saw enough of the tournament to not miss anything important.

So here goes (in no particular order):

The ‘wonder goal’ scored by the Dutch against Italy

Most of us never saw the ‘Total Football’ of the 70′s (in person that is). But we caught a glimpse of what it would have been like as the Dutch scored a spectacular counter-attacking goal against Italy. Holland had a disappointing exit from the tournament but their performance in the first 270 minutes was a thing of sheer beauty. We should be hearing more of Van Basten the coach in the future.

The ‘heart-breaking’ Turks

Grabbing one win with a sensational late goal is usually gratifying enough but the Turks managed three in a row!!! Their late comebacks were heart-breaking for the opposition fans – the Swiss, the Czechs and the Croats. No one would have broken so many in the course of one tournament. Their exploits could usher in a new term — doing a Turkey, every time someone gets a late winner. And all this with nearly half the squad injured or suspended.

No suffering as an English fan

I am an Indian. But we identify a lot with the English — having been ruled by them for so long and then from watching the comprehensive coverage of the EPL week in and week out. Not having our home nation India to cheer for, we invariably end up supporting England at most major tournaments and needless to say, we are a dejected lot when all is said and done. Therefore for once, we could watch the tournament in peace without the threat of heart break looming large (I am not counting the 1994 World Cup as we had no EPL coverage then). Unluckily for us and luckily for England (now that Capello is on board) this might be a one off. The memory will surely last.

For once the Spanish were victors

Will not delve too much into why this would be a lasting memory. We all know why.

The ‘Master Coach’

It takes a really special manager and an outstanding coaching job to pass the ‘lasting memory’ criterion. Guus Hiddink and his effort with the Russians got full marks on both. The most accomplished manager heading into the tournament was also the ‘best manager of the tournament’ — like a top seed who also ended up winning — doesn’t happen too often in major tournaments. We’ll always remember the Dutchman who brought the Dutch juggernaut to a grinding halt and did that with such attacking verve that we almost forgot that it was the team at the receiving end (Holland) which had been winning hearts for their attacking play. As a neutral fan (who just supports good football) I had been rooting for the Dutch yet there was no sadness when they went out.

The blunders and the ‘what if’ discussions

There is a chance that we might forget the guys who did well but rarely are the villains forgotten. Usually their blunders have a decisive impact on their teams fortunes and spawns a ‘what if’ discussion for the ages. Romanians will talk about Mutu’s missed penalty and what could have been. Same goes for the Czechs and the horror goal conceded by Petr Cech. Portuguese fans will debate the impact of Scolari’s Chelsea announcement and then there will be the regulars — the referees and the usual set of refereeing decisions which could have gone either way.

And finally…

Euro 2008 did not have a single player who took the tournament by storm — a clear cut ‘player of the tournament’. Many like Ronaldo were expected to do so but failed. There were some wonderful performances no doubt but no player stood out like a colossus. We will not be associating this tournament with the brilliance of any player. Rather we will remember the team efforts. The ‘total football’ of the Dutch. The crisp passing of the Spaniards. The boundless energy of the Russians and the indefatigable spirit of the Turks.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Andrei Arshavin has openly expressed a desire to join Barcelona. While players do this all the time, in this case the Spanish Club has opened negotiations with the player’s current club, clearly showing intent to add the player to their squad.

As an opening salvo, the player’s current employers have agreed to let the player go provided Lionel Messi goes in the opposite direction. The offer also includes a payment of 20 million pounds to be made to Barcelona. While the offer sounds preposterous, there is actually some logic to it. But in spite of the logic, which I will come to later, it will be in Arshavin’s best interests if Barcelona rejects the offer outright and there are no further negotiations.

And here’s why

There is no place for Arshavin in the Barcelona playing eleven. A player of his class and age (at 27 he’s not a youngster exactly), should not be wasting his time getting frustrated on the bench. He will hardly have a role to play for Barcelona. And that is precisely the reason why the club should not be wasting their time chasing him and should concentrate on their other more important transfer targets.

Why there is no place for Arshavin in the Barcelona playing eleven

Arshavin can either play as a playmaker or as a second striker. Provided he joins Barca, he will be denied a chance to play in either role by Lionel Messi (the reason why Zenit’s offer could actually improve his chances of playing), Bojan Krkic, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta. These guys are proven performers at Barcelona and Pep Guardiola would not break a settled combination.

Additionally, Arshavin is at his best when the attack is built around him; like it is at Zenit and the Russian National team. There is no way he will enjoy the same luxury at Barcelona. In a best case scenario, Arshavin will be forced to play out of position or in a role that he is not too comfortable in and therefore there is little chance that Barcelona will be able to fully benefit from his talent.

Arshavin and Barcelona should learn from the past

In their recent history, Barcelona have had an embarrassment of attacking riches. Many wonderful players have borne the brunt of this surplus. The name which comes most easily to mind is that of Juan Roman Riquelme. He never got a decent chance to show his worth at Barcelona but prospered on moving to Villarreal — a club which built their attack around him. Arshavin with his close control is in many ways similar to the Argentinean.

Playing at Barcelona is a privilege but the Russian would be wiser to move to a lesser club. Not only will he get to play regularly, he will also get to play to his strengths.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News