Ever since the arrival of the Roman Abramovich era at Chelsea, the world of football seems to exist in two separate yet parallel universes.

There are clubs who teeter on the brink of bankruptcy despite brief flirts with glory (a la Leeds United and recently at Portsmouth). Then there are other clubs whose history has been blanketed by anonymity and mediocrity but now whose names, with the financial aid of the multi-billionaire, are dared uttered in the same sentence with title aspirations. There is no need to mention them by name because they know full well who they are.

Critics of the “open checkbook” operations at such clubs are accused of nothing more than jealousy and envy. Those same critics return the favor by branding such clubs of representing everything that is against the essence of football. If ever there was a time when fans view the game in distinct shades, black and white, now is that time.

To Chelsea’s credit, despite the loss of Jose Mourinho, the club has maintained their competitive edge in challenging for silverware on a consistent basis despite the game of musical chairs amongst past managers. If there is a club that seems to have mastered in getting the most for your money, then all eyes should be on Stamford Bridge. For one club far removed from London, there are many similarities with Chelsea in terms of financial resources, aspirations and even a former Chelsea manager. But that’s where the similarities end.

FC Bunyodkor may be a name that is remotely familiar with a handful of readers here on Soccerlens.com but a nice article was written about the club by Chris Rickleton on June 21, 2009. At the helm of footballing matters for the club is none other than Luis Felipe Scolari. While Mr. Rickleton’s explanation of Bunyodkor’s history is probably better than mine, it is worth mentioning here again that Bunyodkor’s finances, at worst, mirror Chelsea’s financial muscle, or at best eclipse the money poured into the club thus far by Roman Abramovich.

When Bunyodkor offered then Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o a “dizzying” sum of $25 million to play for three months, it didn’t take a genius to conclude that money is not an impediment to this club. Despite signing for Bunyodkor on June 8, 2009, Scolari’s first real test was its quarter-final fixture in the Asian Champions’ League against South Korea’s Pohang Steelers on September 23, 2009. The domestic league had been merely scrimmage exercises for Bunyodkor. Scolari had a good four months to acquaint himself with a squad filled with capable players such as former (in the sense of 10 years ago) World Player of the Year Rivaldo and 2008 Asian Player of the Year Server Djeparov.

Like many “nouveau-riche” clubs, Bunyodkor had an urgency to win a title of importance and meaning to establish itself as an elite club. Unlike the mentality that appears to plague “nouveau-riche” clubs in the Premiership, which amounts to winning something to justify the spending, Bunyodkor have no worries in silencing the critics because up until now, despite its lavish spending and speculative ties to Uzbek strongman Islam Karimov’s daughter, there have been no real football critics.

Sure, fans across the world lifted an eyebrow or two at the suggestion of Samuel Eto’o playing for such a relatively unknown club back in 2008. The same happened again when Scolari signed a year later. But just like any other curiosity, interest dies with time and most of us can’t even locate Uzbekistan on a map. This shouldn’t be the case but sadly it can be. Such is the dilemma of the club to project itself as a brand name in the international football community.

That appeared to change on September 23, 2009 when the club hosted South Korean K-League side and Korean Cup winners, Pohang Steelers in the first leg of their quarter-final encounter in Tashkent. Despite conceding the first goal to the Korean side, a questionable second yellow card on Pohang’s Kim Hyung-il opened the flood gates for Bunyodkor as Victor Karpenko and a two goal strike from Server Djeparov ended the first leg on a score line of 3-1 for Bunyodkor.

The second leg was played in Pohang’s Steelyard stadium, a facility that was never used in the 2002 World Cup in Korea, but was the country’s first football only stadium. Holding onto their 3-1 first leg advantage was the key for Bunyodkor to advance to the semi-finals and a chance to win Asia’s premier club competition and a spot in the 2009 FIFA World Club Championship. In other words, for Bunyodkor, everything was at stake.

Scolari, currently the highest paid manager in the world (yes, he makes even more than Pep Guardiola and Sir Alex Ferguson), was smiling at the half-time break as the score sat at 0-0. An early opportunity in the second half found Kim Jae-Sung latch onto a through ball and calmly shoot past the keeper and it was 1-0 Pohang. A diving and yet awkward header from Pohang’s Brazilian striker, Denilson, off a corner kick made it 2-0 for Pohang and just like that, in the span of nine minutes, it was Pohang who were ahead on the away-goals rule. A third goal by Denilson appeared to end the tie and make a mockery out of Scolari’s contract, but as football has its way, Victor Karpenko found space and time to shoot and put one past Pohang’s keeper in the 90th minute. Bunyodkor were saved from the brink and lived yet another day to keep the dream alive.

Surely in Rivaldo’s head, at some point in the match, there must have been flashes back to that Barcelona-Chelsea quarter final tie in the Champions’ League some nine years ago when Barcelona had lost 3-1 in the first leg only to win 5-1 at the Camp Nou in extra time. Any aspirations of repeating that feat for Rivaldo and Bunyodkor were put to rest when Pohang’s Macedonian strike man, Stevica Ristic, met the ball before the Bunyodkor keeper and defender to head in a fourth for Pohang in extra time. That goal gave Pohang the advantage on the aggregate and Bunyodkor’s season at the continental level came to a rude and crashing halt.

Not the most mouth-watering of ties on the calendar, yet the match has been touted to be one of the best played so far in the fledgling years of the Asian Champions’ League. And for all the negative associations Bunyodkor have created for themselves, from the flaunting of astronomical sums of money at players past their prime to shady ties with individuals more known for their human rights abuses and unsavory reputations, perhaps that’s what the Asian Champions’ League needed to put itself on the map of more fans.

Bunyodkor go back to the drawing table and will have to ask themselves whether paying a coach the sum of thirteen million Euros is acceptable when the return is a quarter-final loss and a guaranteed no-show in Dubai for the 2009 FIFA World Club Championship. More or less the same question that Chelsea’s Peter Kenyon must have asked before parting company with Scolari.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Flashback to the summer of 2000 and in the wake of Florentino Perez’s first dramatic ascension to Real Madrid’s presidency, Barcelona was prized away from the heart and soul of their post-Cruyff side, Luis Figo. And while Figo’s transfer to los merengues was received like a dagger in the heart by Barça fans around the world, the club was left with a hefty sum of money from the transfer.

But what are riches when you are left with only your wounds to lick? That sentiment was shared amongst Barça fans yet compounding the agony for Barça would be the seismic gulf in leadership as Perez’s presidency coincided with a new president over in Catalunya, Joan Gaspart. That gulf in leadership capabilities was exposed as the two presidents presided over their respective clubs in the months that followed.

With newly found injection of cash into its coffers and still with a squad comprised of talented footballers, such as then world player of the year Rivaldo, Barcelona could have dictated its own future by wisely spending the money in buying players that would strengthen a squad that came short in both the domestic league and Champions’ League.

Instead, Gaspart reacted in a knee-jerk way by spending all the funds from a world record transfer on players who were living more on their reputations of seasons past than on what they could actually bring to the table. While Marc Overmars and Emmanuel Petit were certainly instrumental in Arsenal’s 1997-98 league-cup double season, their abilities had surely waned by the beginning of the 1999-2000 season. Yet along with Valencia’s Gerard Lopez, all the money obtained from the Figo transfer was used to acquire these three players.

Arguably it might have been impossible to find someone as talented as Luis Figo to fill the gap that was left, but Gaspart’s act of desperation could be equated to selling a BMW to purchase three used, albeit fully optioned, Fiats. In Gaspart’s mind he was not going to be outdone and every action by Real Madrid was to be met by an equal and opposite reaction. Yet there was nothing “equal” about these transfers and Barcelona embarked on three seasons of mediocrity capped off by nearly failing to qualify for Europe in Gaspart’s final season at the helm.

Now some nine years later Florentino Perez has returned and has made no hesitation to restore the “galacticos” era to a club that has looked like a stranger to success this past season. The sums of money being secured to bring Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to the Stantiago Bernabéu are not merely astronomical but may indeed surpass the GDP of certain less fortunate sovereign states, let alone a football club. Yet the point of this article isn’t to discuss the morality of the sums of money being flouted by football clubs. Rather, in light of the spending and acquisition of quality world class footballers, what is the appropriate response by FC Barcelona?

Unlike the summer of 2000, where Barcelona had been touted to win the treble before it all came to a stuttering halt, the summer of 2009 is a time of reflection on the unprecedented success that was brought to Barcelona this past season. And during this period of reflection and contemplation, the presidency and management at the Camp Nou ought to carefully study how to avoid the failures that the Gaspart presidency navigated through in perhaps the darkest years of the club’s history (a period that helped catapult the current president, Joan Laporta, into power). The best way to study failure in hopes of preventing a repeat is to analyze how the failure began. All fingers point to that fateful summer in 2000 when Barça appeared to act in the transfer market more from its newly gained inferiority complex than from sound football based decisions.

Now the temptation over in Camp Nou is to match Real Madrid’s spending capability and bring in some heavyweights to appease anxious supporters and show the world that whatever Real Madrid can do, Barça can do it better. Some see the hunt for David Villa of Valencia to fall into this category. Yet this is the one route that Barcelona should avoid because titles and honors are never won in this fictitious football season we create for ourselves: the transfer season. Furthermore Barça’s successful football philosophy can potentially be hijacked to making a few headlines on the numerous dot com sites (this included) and news dailies around the world by following its rival’s lead.

It is to Barcelona’s good fortune that the men occupying positions of leadership are more level headed and less emotionally prone than Gaspart, who later admitted that his judgment was often overcome by his emotions as a fan of the club. He surely didn’t need to admit something that was so evident after Barça’s 1992 European Cup victory at Wembley when, acting more like a member of the ultra group Boixos Nois, Gaspart flung himself into the Thames River to celebrate.

Unlike Gaspart, Laporta has overseen the club not only secure three trophies this past season whilst showing the world the beauty of attacking, one-touch and flowing football, but did so after overseeing the club win the Champions’ League in 2006. Thus, Laporta is not one to rest on his laurels nor is he one to succumb to the toll that internal politics can inflict on its leaders. But more importantly, as an original member of the Elefant Blau group that attempted to wrest control of the presidency away from the more authoritarian Luis Nuñez in the late 1990s, Laporta has dedicated his presidency to balance the global recognition that Barcelona has gained over the years with preserving its unique identity as a symbol of Catalunya.

And when that ideal is translated into the realm of football, Laporta, football director Txiki Begiristain, manager Josep Guardiola and the fans will appreciate the fact that a little over a month ago seven homegrown players from Barcelona’s cantera (Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Sergi Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi, and Victor Valdes) placed their hands on the Champions’ League trophy in Rome. Success, when it has come to Barça, has always been a blend of homegrown and foreign talent. It is this principle that should guide Barcelona in this transfer market despite all the fireworks going off in Madrid.

No doubt that with each presentation of another record breaking transfer at the Bernabeu the feeling in the Camp Nou is one of awe and perhaps a little envy. And with speculation over Frank Ribéry’s transfer to Real Madrid, the summer may still have a ways to go. Yet Barça must plot within its own parameters on how to retain the success by carefully picking players it needs and not those that merely mirror the abilities of Kaka, Ronaldo and Benzema.

With Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez both marshalling the midfield, Barça might want to address their goalkeeping woes along with signing more adequate defenders should they find themselves in a situation similar to the days leading up to the final played in Rome. With talks of Samuel Eto’o leaving or staying, signing another world class striker such as David Villa is appropriate, not for name value but for ensuring depth in squad talent. There might be a collective consensus amongst Barcelona fans that repeating the treble is asking for too much. Yet the club ought to use that gold standard in guiding its policy in the transfer market and on the pitch in the upcoming season.

The needs of Barcelona should be foremost and unlike Gaspart’s fiasco, this Barcelona is capable of making sound football judgments.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Not to say the least, this past campaign has been a huge disappointment for “cimbom” fans as the club not only failed to defend its 2007-2008 league title, but finished fifth in the league and narrowly squeeked into next season’s Europa League via the second qualifying round. Certainly not the kind of pedigree for a Champions’ League winning manager.  

Considering that only one year ago Rijkaard was managing FC Barcelona and had guided los blaugranas to the Champions’ League in 2006, one might be inclined to think “how the mighty have fallen.” Rijkaard was recently linked to his old club, AC Milan, and the job vacated by a departing Carlo Ancellotti. So for some, the progression from FC Barcelona, to potentially AC Milan and now to Galatasaray is seen more as regression.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

One week after a much acclaimed Champions’ League final in Rome, FIFA’s Congress passed a new resolution removing age limits on a player’s ability to change national teams. While the vote received little fanfare as more attention seems to be affixed on whether Kaka will play for AC Milan, Real Madrid or Chelsea, the potential repercussions on international football are enormous.

Before delving into the potential consequences it may be worthwhile to discuss what the actual rule change entails. Originally once a player had played for a national team at any level (whether senior level, U-23, U-17 and so on) that player was prohibited from donning the shirt of another national side. Then a rule revision allowed a player who had played for one national team to switch to another national side so long as the player in question had never played for the full national team and so long as the switch occurred before his 21st birthday.

With Wednesday’s new vote, a player who has never played for the full national team, despite what his age is, can now switch allegiances to a new national team. Mind you, to switch to a new national team that player would be subject to the naturalization requirements and laws of the new country.

I recall a clever advertisement made by gaming giants Electronic Arts promoting their Euro 2004 video game with a picture of Ronaldinho sitting on Rio de Janeiro beach (Copa Cabana I presumed) reading a newspaper with Euro 2004 articles and the catchy phrase that went along the lines of “He won’t be playing, you will.”

The ad highlighted how the best player in the world at the time was sidelined from taking part in perhaps the second most prestigious international competition due to his nationality (and how you wouldn’t be sidelined so long as you shelled out the required monies to buy EA’s video game and “take part” on your Playstation).

Yet four years on, we were watching Brazilians by birth, Marcos Senna, Mehmet Aurelio and Roger Guerreiro play important roles for their new national teams in Euro 2008 (Spain, Türkiye, and Poland, respectively).

Now as we turn the corner to see which thirty one countries will join next year’s hosts South Africa for World Cup 2010, it remains to be seen whether this ruling will be the international version of that seismic “Bosman” ruling back in the 1990s that essentially restructured the transfer market and has given us an important part of the modern game (i.e. a separate “transfer season” in the off-season that is as exciting for some as the real season).

My own personal speculation is that the international game as we know it will now be further diluted into a mercenary market that serves a symbiotic relationship between national team and player. For national teams that traditionally lack the manpower or talent to get onto these big stages, there is a renewed pool of talent to choose from. For players who fail to make the grade on their national teams, and who are over 21 years of age, the doors international football are no longer eternally closed. More importantly they have a stage to potentially raise their stock value for suitor clubs that may never have had an opportunity to assess this hidden talent under the old system. In this new paradigm both the national team and the footballer mutually benefit. Yet this benefit is at the expense of the essence of international football.

What then exactly is the essence of international football? FIFA’s slogan “for the good of the game” has meant more and more recently the inclusion of every conceivable nation to be part of the football community. Sepp Blatter would have that football be played in every corner of the globe and on its face, what true football fan can disagree with that ideal? And to further this goal it only makes sense that those with the knowledge of football be sent forth to nations where football is still in the developing stages. By lifting the age restriction on players from switching nationalities, FIFA’s goal can be further advanced as it allows players who are left without a national team to play for a country that certainly needs an amount of talent and experience. When looking through the FIFA lens, the new rule change is a godsend for underachieving national teams.

But for fans of the international game (who share my view), what real meaning does it have when you have a player on your national team whose only reason for playing is to play international football? Not every player will fit this bill and even those who do will certainly kiss the national team crest and make every effort to memorize the words to their new national anthem to look the part. As Luis Figo once quipped toward his new Brazilian-born teammate Deco, that one could learn the words to the national anthem but could not sing them from the heart. The line between a player who genuinely makes a switch for a new country because he has adapted and naturalized legitimately and a player solely switching for personal gain is blurred and certainly not one that is bright lined.

What value does a World Cup or a European Championship hold when a Brazilian plays for Scotland, or a Scot for Qatar, a Cameroonian playing for San Marino or a Nigerian for China? Even worse, what value will it have when half or more than half of the starting eleven are foreign born? Will Sepp Blatter and FIFA then impose an international 6+5 rule?

This is the direction we appear to be heading for with international football as players who fail to make it beyond the U-23, U-21 or U-17 levels will look for new and greener pastures even in the twilights of their careers. And if FIFA continue this trend of reversing itself, we may very well see a day when a player who has played for the full national team be allowed to switch to another full national team. At that rate the World Cup is destined to be a once-in-a-four year version of the Champions’ League. But perhaps that’s what FIFA is gunning for.

Some will accuse me of being nationalist, xenophobic, politically incorrect and the whole lot, but if we ask ourselves this question without fear of being branded as such, I believe that many will reach the same conclusion that I have.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Since Manchester United’s memorable 1998-99 season, no club has since laid claim to the proper “treble” in subsequent outings (“treble” being defined as the rightful champions of the UEFA Champions’ League, domestic league title and domestic cup competition).

While Liverpool fans had reason to celebrate three titles two seasons later, references to this accomplishment as a “treble” is noted with a disclaimer that said treble is really a “cup” treble (the UEFA Cup, League Cup and FA Cup).

For much of this season, a lot of discussion has been generated as to whether Manchester United could top their 98-99 feat with a “quintuple” of honors.

The last I counted of potential silverware for Manchester United was seven, but I understand that the Community Shield may not qualify to name itself as an honor in this illustrious series (perhaps with some justification as the match is played more as a curtain raiser for the Premiership season with players worrying more about sustaining season ending injuries).

The next possible trophy was then the European Super Cup but a more determined Zenit St. Petersburg side won the night and that possibility was out of the picture (but again, I am left wondering had Sir Alex Ferguson’s men lifted that trophy in Monaco whether this would count to the overall tally seeing how the match is the “curtain raiser” for the European club competitions).

Well earned victories in the FIFA World Club Championship and the League Cup were the first two recognized scalps in this quest for a glorious five titles. That bid shortly came to an end this past weekend after Everton scraped by on penalties in the FA Cup semi-final and, mathematically, the quest dwindles down to winning four.

You get the sense that with such an emphasis on this word “quintuple” over the past season that anything short was going to an abject failure for United. Yet the fact that Manchester United could end this season potentially with one more trophy than they had in the 98-99 season has been strangely received in an anti-climactic way.

While the focus has been on this “quintuple” holy grail, I almost forgot that over in the “blaugrana”quarters of Barcelona (i.e. the vast majority of the city minus the enclave that entertains Espanyol fans), there is a growing sense that a “treble” might be in the cards for FC Barcelona. Yet there doesn’t exist this open discussion amongst Barcelona fans about prospects of finishing the season as European champions, Spanish champions and Copa del Rey champions.

I’m not sure if it’s superstition or a sense of humility that has forced its way into Barcelona fans in light of the last two seasons ending with less silver in the Camp Nou museum trophy cabinets than the two coins in my pocket, but there appear to be more announcements coming from Chelsea about their title prospects under the current Hiddink regime than any talk of a potential treble from los blaugranas players or management.

Perhaps when the football on the pitch speaks for itself, there is little need to make announcements but one also does get the feeling that any discussion pertaining to trophies beyond the sphere of the present is somewhat taboo at the Camp Nou.

Any sense of complacency in Barça might have been addressed in that patchy streak Barça suffered toward the end of February and early March. Another 4-0 mauling of yet another opponent, Sevilla in the league last night, provide indications that Barça might be back to their old ways. Yet with the upcoming Champions’ League semi-final against Chelsea, I was quickly reminded of the last time a “treble” loomed in Barcelona’s horizons.

In the 1999-2000 season, a season after Manchester United’s treble season and when this word “treble” became a fashionable part of football diction, Barcelona had narrowly dispensed with, guess who, a pre-Abramovich Chelsea side at the Camp Nou in dramatic fashion. A 3-0 lead at Stamford Bridge was dented by a Luis Figo goal that required Barça to win 2-0 at Camp Nou. The choreography prior to the match had the fans hold up cards that spelled out “2-0” in the pre-game formalities. At the end of 90 minutes the score was 3-1 and extra-time produced two more goals for Barcelona ending the match at 5-1 and utter euphoria.

And slowly, despite mounting a multiple front campaign first in the league against a revived Deportivo La Coruña side, hell bent on avenging their concession of the league some six seasons before in the league, in the Copa del Rey and in the Champions League, the talk of ‘treble’ became more and more widespread. After all, if Manchester United could come to the Camp Nou a year before and place the crowning third jewel on their treble crown, then this team with Luis Figo, Rivaldo, Patrick Kluivert, Josep Guardiola and co would be able to do the same.

But ultimately, it was a season that ended with absolutely nothing. Depor managed to avenge that tragic 1994 season that gifted Barça their fourth consecutive league win and claimed their first and currently solitary league title. Valencia did away with Barcelona in the semi-finals of the Champions’ League. In the Copa del Rey, a FIFA international break stripped Barcelona of their international players and forced them to take the pitch against eventual runners-up Atletico Madrid with less than the required number of players to dress. Barça forfeited the match and surrendered any chance of a single trophy with this move (ironically led by now manager Josep Guardiola).

Having this sense of history in perspective, it may be all well that Barcelona simply concentrate on handling a very improved and always difficult Chelsea (post-Abramovich) side in the semi-finals this coming week. While that victory against Sevilla restored Barcelona’s six point cushion at the top of the table, the crucial league deciding fixture will be Barcelona’s visit to Real Madrid on May 3, 2009. Ten days later at Valencia’s Mestalla, Barcelona are scheduled to play Cup-specialist Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey.

Mind you in this context of “quintuple” or “treble”we appear to cast judgment on a club’s achievements in an “all or nothing” approach. Logically if Barcelona win the Champions’ League, then Manchester United’s season goes from the “quintuple” to (what appears as of April 23, 2009) a “treble” with an asterisk (to distinguish from the 98-99 treble and also so Liverpool fans aren’t aggrieved at my perceived slight to their 2000-01 season). Likewise if Chelsea prevail over two legs against Barça, and if Barça still manages to fend off Real Madrid’s surge for the league and Athletic Bilbao in the cup final, Barça will achieve a feat it hasn’t done since the 1997-98 season: the Spanish double.

Yet in our world of “trebles” and now the inflated “quintuple” or “septuplet” (if you counted my tally of the Community Shield and the European Super Cup), we live in an age where a two or three trophy season can still be viewed as a “failed” season. Imagine that.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

In a week dominated by headlines with the visit of United States President Barack Obama and his administration’s hopes of repairing somewhat strained relations with his host, Türkiye, any feelings of conciliation and mutual understanding that were fostered during this trip had absolutely no bearing on the world of sport.

And while President Obama, addressing the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, made one sporting reference to two Turkish basketball players plying their trade in America’s NBA, Mehmet Okur and Hidayet Türkoğlu, one got the feeling that even if the President were an avid football fan (there is no conclusive evidence that he is or isn’t), he would have made no attempt to foray into any  light humored discussion of the colossal derby match between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe that was scheduled to be played merely days after his visit.

So divisive is this match that even if White House advisors had told the President that football is a great way to start a conversation with an average Turk, all of the President’s efforts in reaching grounds for mutual understand and respect would have been unraveled should any Turkish journalist have had the opportunity to ask the President who he would support on Sunday.

Without a doubt the Galatasaray-Fenerbahçe (GS-FB as it is commonly referred to in short script) derby holds grip of the country as well as ex-pat Turks living around the world. While I will note that the renown World Soccer magazine recently placed it as the number three derby (after Boca-River and Barcelona-Real Madrid) in the world, others have done a far better job at explaining the history behind this derby and I will defer to their expertise. Yet this week’s derby held monumental ramifications for both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe aside from the usual obligations of either club to defeat its biggest rival.

The season has proved to be a huge disappointment for both Istanbul giants and in light of their position in the table with both clubs anchored at third (Fener) and fourth (Galatasaray) for a good portion of 2009, both clubs were trying to reassert their relevancy to a title race that is more and more being contested by rank outsiders Sivasspor (who have never won a title) and Istanbul’s “other” giant, Beşiktaş.

Given the fact that since 1995, with the exception of Beşiktaş’ league win in 2003, the title has been claimed by either Galatasaray or Fenerbahçe, supporters were growing impatient with a season that has been spent by both clubs on the sidelines watching a championship race. Needless to say that along with the usual baggage and burdens borne by both clubs coming into a derby, this match at Galatasaray’s Ali Sami Yen Stadium was crucial to either club’s championship hopes. Both clubs sat on equal points separated by goal difference but as the match kicked off, Sivasspor had extended their lead to 9 points and Beşiktaş to 8 points. In terms that can be best understood by neutrals, imagine a scenario where Chelsea and Manchester United were set to square off with the league being led by, say, Fulham. Such was the scenario.

In a dour match that ended 0-0, the highlight was an all out brawl in the dying minutes of injury time. It is a testament to the animosity felt by both clubs against the other as well as to the frustrations felt by both clubs in light of what a 0-0 draw would effectively mean to their championship aspirations. Ironically there were reports and numerous interviews in the days leading up to the derby by players from both clubs who reaffirmed that they could reconcile their friendships outside of football with a passion to see their club win.

As I noted in the days leading up to Türkiye’s World Cup qualifier against Spain, the Turkish national team is comprised of players mostly from Galatasaray and Fener whose club affiliations take a back seat to the national cause under the guidance of manager Fatih Terim. You would think that the relations fostered on the national team by stars, like Arda Turan of Galatasaray and Semih Şentürk of Fenerbahçe, might diffuse any tensions felt by the supporters. That wishful thinking was quickly dispensed as Roberto Carlos lined up one last free kick attempt. Veteran national team and Galatasaray defender Emre Aşık was felled in his own area and lashed out at Fener’s Diego Lugano. The standard camaraderie actions by teammates to protect one another quickly led to a tussle between Arda and Semih and when Semih went to the ground after an apparent punch by Arda, Galatasaray’s goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis and fellow Turkish international Hakan Balta, lifted Semih off the ground by his shirt like a father picking up a three year old child.

The tension was also visible with the two club presidents, who sat side by side throughout the match but were seen nowhere together as the fight ensued. Galatasaray coach Bülent Korkmaz came onto the pitch to diffuse the situation amongst his players but was joined by a fan wearing an Arda kit running from one end of the pitch to the other, and like many of the clowns that engage in this behavior, never making it anywhere near the target as he was taken out by security.

More alarming was the growing discontent in the stands where UltrAslan and the other Galatasaray supporters began to rain down whatever they could throw onto the pitch. While the melee hovered around Galatasaray’s goal, in the center of the pitch stood Galatsaray’s Cassio Lincoln arm in arm with Fener’s Roberto Carlos. Both watched in amusement and seemed to enjoy whatever they might have been animatedly discussing. Perhaps the scene in front of them hit a nostalgic chord of memories from their playing days in Brazil where scenes like this are not so foreign. Whatever it was, the image of two Brazilians from either side casually conversing juxtaposed next to images of the match officials being whisked away by Turkish police holding up shields amidst raining plastic seats was one to take in.

Far less comedic is the harsh reality that both Galatasaray and Fener wake up to as they now sit 8 points behind Sivasspor with only seven matches left in the league.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Watch live World Cup qualifiers here.

With the conclusion of FIFA World Cup 2010 qualifiers yesterday we move one step closer to determining which thirty-one other countries will be joining host South Africa to contest for the globe’s biggest sporting honor. A slew of matches across the world at all time zones really reinforces that no sport can dare rival football for supremacy in popularity but also, unfortunately, in tragedy.

That point was underscored by the tragic deaths of 22 fans in Cote D’Ivoire as a result of a stampede. Their memories were honored in midweek qualifiers where a minute of silence was taken before kick-off. Organizers from South Africa had to reassure fans and FIFA that no such repeat would happen at the World Cup Finals. While there was a measure of somber from this news, there was plenty of interesting takes on the matches over the past five days.

CONMEBOL: Argentina crash out to Bolivia, and Ecuador’s new hero

With the score being flashed on television as Bolivia 6 Argentina 1, you couldn’t blame a fan for thinking the television networks, be it Sky Sports or ESPN, reversed the order of names as an April Fool’s joke. But since the match was played in La Paz, or what some neighboring countries in South America equate as to playing in heaven’s basement, the score seemed to make some sense.

So much for the vociferous support by Diego Maradona for Bolivia’s right to play matches in the high altitudes of La Paz in the face of FIFA’s suggestion against having matches played in high altitude venues. Even “el Pibe” must have been biting his tongue as he dramatically declared each of the goals scored against Argentina in their 6-1 humbling at the hands of Bolivia and Joaquin Botero (who had three) was “a stab in the heart.” For Argentines the memories of that 5-0 loss back in 1993 against Colombia must have flooded back. The honeymoon period with Diego Maradona is officially over. Argentina remain fourth on 19 points, a precarious position as they sit only two points ahead of their nearest rivals, Uruguay, and two points ahead of automatic qualification.

Another highlight this round of qualifiers was Cristian Noboa of Ecuador, a “super sub” of sorts as he came on to salvage a point by scoring the equalizer against Brasil on Sunday and repeated the feat against leaders Paraguay. At this rate, Ecuador may want to contemplate starting the man as they, along with Colombia, sit only 3 points off fifth place Uruguay.

UEFA: Surprise Package Northern Ireland and Undefeated Spain

When the draw for Group Three was made, Northern Ireland supporters must have concluded that the “luck of the Irish” might have applied only to the Republic of Ireland. Drawn with Euro 2008 participants Poland and the Czech Republic, the chances were even more marginalized (at least on paper) by the presence of Slovenia and Slovakia. Well, seven matches later, Nigel Worthington’s men sit atop of the group after some brave performances along with a little luck, courtesy of an Artur Boruc howler. Granted that second place Slovakia have two matches in hand whilst Poland and the Czech Republic each have one match in hand, Northern Ireland’s chances of returning to the World Cup after a 24 year absence are vastly improved.

Spain has justified their number one status in FIFA’s controversial ranking system with an emphatic away win over Türkiye at the Ali Sami Yen stadium. Despite the hype surrounding the deadly strike force duo of Fernando Torres and David Villa, it was Spain’s more unsung heroes that carried the day; Gerard Pique’s goal in Madrid and Alberto Riera snatching the winner late in Istanbul. Riera’s performances, for both Spain and Liverpool of late, are raising his stock and he certainly made his intentions clear by nearly scoring a rifling shot early in yesterday’s match. For two countries whose football are dominated by two clubs, (FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Spain, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe for Türkiye), Villareal managed to have a sizeable representation on the pitch with Marcos Senna, Santi Cazorla, Fernando Llorente, Joan Capdevila and Türkiye’s Nihat Kahveci. That may be somewhat reassuring for fans of the “Yellow Submarine” when they take on Arsenal in a week’s time.

More troubling for Türkiye has been the ascendancy of Bosnia-Hercegovina, who quietly dispensed with Belgium in both matches and sit second on 12 points, four ahead of Türkiye. Fatih Terim has his work cut out for him as four matches remain. Spain have still yet to lose and are undefeated in their last 31 international matches. More and more Spain are demonstrating again how they were duly crowned Euro 2008 champions.

AFC: Australia move closer and tensions between North and South Korea

Australia’s inclusion into the Asian Football Confederation in 2006 has paid off dividends nicely as they sit in a comfortable position to qualify for their second consecutive World Cup appearance. While they and Japan will ultimately duel as to who will end up first or second in Group A, everything else appears to be decided as Bahrain can only hope to qualify via the back door. The same cannot be said of Group B where first to third position is separated by a mere one point.

The political climate on the Korean peninsula has been dodged by speculation as to whether North Korea is preparing to test an ICBM or simply launching a satellite and recent tensions never fail to affect any meeting between South and North Korea in sporting matters. The two countries met in Seoul on Wednesday and despite the presence of Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung and veteran left-back Lee Young Pyo, South Korea could manage only to score off a Kim Chi Woo free-kick that weaved past numerous North Korean defenders and into the net. The fireworks came after when North Korean coach, Kim Jong Hoon, fired his own ICBM at a post-match press conference blaming intentional food poisoning by the South having taken its toll on talisman Jong Tae-se and his keeper.

One wouldn’t have guessed seeing how Jong nearly scored the opening goal off a header that was scooped out by a sprawling and somewhat overweight South Korean keeper, Lee Woon Jae. South Korea sit atop of Group B on 11 points with a match in hand, North Korea lie in second place on 10 points and a rejuvenated Saudi Arabia on 10 points but third on goal difference.

The other story was Saudi Arabia’s late win over Iran in Tehran on the weekend that ended in the dismissal of Iran’s coach, Ali Daei. Iran are looking to making themselves relevant again in this group but face an uphill road to qualification.

CONCACAF: Mexico loses again and Sven on the cutting board; US recovers

Prior to Mexico’s match against Costa Rica on the weekend, the buzz in Mexico was Shaktar Donetsk’s Nery Castillo’s tirade against the Mexican media in what must have been a very tense press conference. Perhaps feeling the pressures of having lost to the United States in Columbus, Ohio and still searching for virgin points, Castillo gave the Mexican media a piece of his mind.

A 2-0 win over los ticos in the Azteca Stadium along with the fans’ chanting “Nery” gave former England coach Sven Göran Erikson some breathing room and Mexico its first three points. On that same night, leaders United States were in San Salvador to take on a team that had not scored against the Americans since 1997: El Salvador. Before the Americans could recompose themselves in the midst of a raucous stadium, former DC United player Eliseo Quintanilla had ended la selecta’s drought by scoring and a second was added by promising youngster Cristian Castillo. Unfortunately for El Salvador, who have not appeared in a World Cup since 1982, three points dwindled down to a solitary point as Jozy Alitodore and Franky Hejduk salvaged a point and some pride after the Americans had looked somewhat lost during a good portion of the match.

The real United States showed up to dispense with Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday, but the bigger story was Mexico’s self destruction against Honduras and the continuation of Mexico’s woes in their qualification bid. Carlos Costly’s two goals may be the proverbial needle that breaks the back of the Mexican FA and their relationship with Sven Göran Erikson. With only three matches played, there is still a long way to go for CONCACAF until the dust settles and when it does only the top three advance with the fourth place team having to take on CONMEBOL’s fifth place team. Mexico currently occupies that fourth position on three points with El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago on two points each. With the prospect of having to face potentially a dangerous Uruguay side (that did away with Paraguay on Saturday), or with the way fortunes are turning out, Argentina, Mexico has all the incentive to find their winning ways.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

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Football this weekend turns from its domestic league scene to the international stage as countries again vie for coveted and limited spots in next year’s World Cup. Perhaps for clubs like Manchester United, without a point in their last two Premiership matches, the international break is like a godsend. And while all of England can refocus on the “Three Lions” and their quest to redeem their uncharacteristic absence from Euro 2008 and to name themselves among the 32 teams in South Africa, one other match in this week’s qualifiers is worthy of our attention.

Although the final at Euro 2008 was contested between Spain and Germany, many will remember how close Türkiye was from the final during their memorable semi-final against Germany. Injuries and suspensions placed a heavy toll on a depleted Turkish side and even gave us glance into Fatih Terim’s sense of humor when he said he would play third string keeper Tolga Zengin as an outfield player in that semi-final.

The rash of injuries turned the Turkish camp into their own mini hospital and their elimination deprived fans of perhaps a final of countering football philosophies: Spanish technical perfection and execution versus a Turkish fighting mentality to win in the face of insurmountable odds.

We never saw it in Euro 2008, and perhaps with the number of injuries nursed by the Turkish team, it was better we were made to wait until this Saturday when Türkiye visit the cavernous Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid to take on Spain in their Group Five World Cup qualifier. Interestingly enough and by way of the scheduling methods at FIFA when the group draws were made, the return leg is played some four days after in Istanbul giving us a convenient home-and-away fixture minus the complications of aggregate goals and the away-goal rule.

Since Euro 2008 the football relationship between Spain and Türkiye has taken on an interesting twist. Former coach and the man who led Spain to their Euro 2008 crown, Luis Aragones, was signed by Fenerbahçe whilst the man who replaced him, Vincente Del Bosque, was once coach of BeÅŸiktaÅŸ (needless to say that this is not the highlight of Del Bosque’s illustrious managerial career). Fernando Torres’ understudy at Euro 2008, David Güiza, also followed his international manager to Fenerbahçe while Türkiye’s naturalized Brazilian, Mehmet Aurelio, flew in the opposite direction to join Real Betis. He joined fellow Turks Nihat Kahveci and Ibrahim KaÅŸ who both ply their football trade in Spain for Villareal and Getafe, respectively.

Spain sit atop of Group Five with four wins out of four matches. Türkiye follow suit in second position with two wins and two draws. However, more troubling for Fatih Terim and his squad will be finding a way to score in Madrid as Spain have yet to concede a goal at home in the course of these qualifiers. With Belgium only a point behind and Bosnia-Herzegovina trailing by two points, and both countries playing their own home-and-away this week, the pressure is certainly on Türkiye to milk as many points as possible in these two crucial matches.

Making sense of the squad

The inclusion of a number of footballers from Türkiye’s lesser known clubs (but not “lesser” in stature) demonstrates the raw talent that Fatih Terim has at his disposal for selection. The call up of Sivasspor’s Sedat Bayrak is surprising if only because of the way Sivasspor has been playing of late and the fact that they still lead the Turkcell Super Lig (Türkiye’s domestic league); one might expect Fatih Terim to include more of Sedat’s teammates, such as Mehmet Yıldiz.

Another player to take a glance at is Bursaspor’s Sercan Yıldirim, demonstrated no less by his performance in Bursa’s 2-1 win over Fenerbahçe this past week when he almost scored a Lionel Messi-like goal. It was that kind of a weekend for the big clubs in Türkiye as Galatasaray continued their midweek misery in being dumped out of the UEFA Cup by Hamburg SV and culminating in a 1-0 defeat by EskiÅŸehirspor in the Ali Sami Yen Stadium. No wonder Fatih Terim has called up Eski’s Batahun Karadeniz for these important qualifiers.

Perhaps troubling for the Turkish national team is the form of its two major contributing clubs, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe. Having engaged in a tug of war for the title last season in the months leading up to Euro 2008, both clubs find themselves trying to reassert their relevance to this season’s title chase. With Fener lying in fourth position and Galatasaray in fifth (both on same points but separated by goal difference), players from both clubs account for 10 of the 25 man provisional squad. Yet out of the three clubs that sit one, two and three in the league (Sivasspor, BeÅŸitkaÅŸ and Trabzonspor), Fatih Terim has selected only four players.

I am not one who believes that a club’s position in the table is indicative of the ability of individual players, but when Fatih Terim seems to rely on the usual suspects like Sabri SarioÄŸlu and Hakan Kadir Balta, both part of a very suspect Galatasaray defense that has gone AWOL in the last two matches, one has to wonder at their inclusions in light of who Türkiye face on Saturday.

The same applies to English born Kazim-Kazim. All are competent players on their good days, but with the rut experienced by both Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, there should be more questions asked of Fatih Terim’s selection process considering the burdens that will be placed on the defense. Which goalkeeper should start? Fenerbahçe’s Volkan Demirel or BeÅŸiktaÅŸ’experienced (some might say too experienced) RüÅŸtü Reçber?

And while we’re on the subject of goalkeepers, the third string keeper this time around is Ufuk Ceylan selected from Vestel Manisaspor, a club in the second division. Fatih seems to operate on two extremes: the well known and usual suspects or the complete opposite in selecting someone so obscure and out of place. Hopefully Türkiye do not find themselves in a position where they have to contemplate using a third string keeper, either in goal or as Fatih joked, as an outfield player.

Et tu, Turan?

Euro 2008 sensation Arda Turan has looked somewhat sluggish and overweight in his appearances for Galatasaray, despite orchestrating a brilliant goal scored by Milan Baros against Hamburg that showed us the vast potential Arda possesses in truly becoming world class. An injury to Bayern München’s Hamit Altintop, the real engine in my mind behind the midfield for Türkiye, certainly puts the national team at a disadvantage if he is unable to be deemed match fit in time for Saturday. And the “lifeguard” Semih Åžentürk, has been rather hot or cold for Fenerbahçe depending on which matches we talk about (scoring twice against basement dwellers Haccetepe in a 7-0 obliteration or virtually non-existent in that 2-1 loss to Bursaspor last week).

Fatih Terim may have to look to Semih’s predecessor at Fener, Tuncay Åžanlı, as the man to link up with Villareal’s Nihat Kahveci, but fortunately for Fatih Terim goal scoring is not an art lost on their strikers. Much will be asked of Türkiye’s forwards to penetrate what appears to be an invincible Spanish defense and much more will be asked of Türkiye’s defense. But I cannot help but be skeptical when the anchor of Türkiye’s defense rests on the shoulders of veteran Emre Aşık due to the absence of stalwart defenders BeÅŸiktaÅŸ’ Gökhan Zan and Galatasaray’s Servet Çetin. Hopefully for Fatih Terim and 70 million of his compatriots in Türkiye, club form will not dictate the form of his players in both qualifiers.

Fatih Terim has announced that should the national team lose both matches, “it would not be the end of the world.” Perhaps, but it could be the end of their campaign to build on what they masterfully did at Euro 2008. Only if Belgium draw both matches against Bosnia-Hercegovina would two losses against Spain be sustainable for Türkiye’s qualification for South Africa. But the one question many have is which Turkish side will come out to play? Let’s hope for football sake it is a side that plays with the same resilience and hunger against a very, very good Spanish side.

Türkiye Squad

Goalkeepers: Volkan Demirel (Fenerbahçe); RüÅŸtü Reçber (BeÅŸiktaÅŸ); Ufuk Ceylan (Manisaspor)

Defenders: Gökhan Gönül (Fenerbahçe); Sabri Sabri SarioÄŸlu (Galatasaray); Emre Aşık (Galatasaray); Sedat Bayrak (Sivasspor); Ibrahim KaÅŸ (Getafe CF); Eren Güngör (Kayserispor); Hakan Kadir Balta (Galatasaray); Ibrahim Ãœzülmez (BeÅŸiktaÅŸ)

Midfielders: Hamit Altintop* (Bayern München); Kazim-Kazim (Fenerbahçe); Ayhan Akman (Galatasaray); Mehmet Aurelio (Real Betis); Emre BelözoÄŸlu (Fenerbahçe); Nuri Åžahin (Borussia Dortmund); Melvut Erdinç (FC Sochaux); Tuncay Sanlı (Middlesbrough); Arda Turan (Galatasaray)

Forwards: Nihat Kahveci (Villareal); Batuhan Karadeniz (EskiÅŸehirspor); Semih Åžentürk (Fenerbahçe); Gökhan Ãœnal (Trabzonspor); Sercan Yıldirim (Bursaspor)

*Hamit’s inclusion depending on his injury

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

On the nights that testimonials are played for AC Milan’s Paolo Maldini and Real Madrid’s Raúl Gonzalez, those sitting and the stands and watching on television will be seeing the final curtain coming down on a phenomenon that appears to be on the verge of extinction: the one-club footballer (if such a term even exists).

The day in which a footballer could devote his entire career to one club is surely passing. Weeks ago, FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi declared that his allegiances would remain with los blaugranas for the duration of his playing days.

Those were bold words issued by the 22 year old Argentine who appears to have another ten plus years ahead of him (twenty years if he lasts as long as Maldini) and who will no doubt court the attention of Europe’s highest bidders for his prized services.

Granted, when you are a player of Messi’s capabilities and hold the status as the fulcrum of one of Europe’s top clubs, you can say with some measure of confidence that you will end your career at Barcelona.

However that sentiment, as much as it now endears Messi to the Barça socios and cules, might not be reciprocated when Messi is nearing the twilight of his career.

The one club kings

Being a part of this exclusive club of players boasting to have donned the shirt of one club in their career depends on many factors, often outside the control of the footballer himself. Years back when Raúl was a precocious 17 year old striker for Real Madrid in the 1994-95 season, I remember an incident that potentially could have ended his career with Madrid as fast as it started.

Then manager Jorge Valdano had substituted Raúl off during a league match which led to a brief spat between the two. Stories of Raúl slapping Valdano emerged although I am not certain of its veracity. Yet at the least, heated words were exchanged.

Imagine Manchester United’s Jonny Evans trotting to the sidelines to be substituted screaming a litany of sailor like language in Sir Alex Ferguson’s direction. The lad would not even be allowed to carry on as a ball boy under Ferguson’s watch.

Yet Raúl’s status with the club remained intact, perhaps because his talent was so obvious for everyone to see, including Valdano. Or perhaps because on the heels of four consecutive Spanish league titles monopolized by their eternal rivals from Catalunya, Real Madrid could not afford to lose a player of Raúl’s promise.

Just to give a story a proper ending Real Madrid pried away the league title from Barcelona in Raúl’s debut season. That he has remained a Merengue even in the lean years when Real Madrid failed to win titles is a testament to both his ability to play football, score goals (we should not overlook the fact that his 312 goals makes him Real Madrid’s all time leading scorer) and his devotion to the club.

That’s strange for a man who started off in cross-town rival Atletico Madrid’s youth system only to find his new club when the academy was scrapped by then president Jesús Gil (in hindsight this was as wise as Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for a mere bowl of porridge).

The future of Messi

Seeing how it worked for Raúl, and given the fact that Messi has come up into Barça’s first team through the ranks of the cantera (Barça’s youth system), why is Messi’s prognostication of finishing his career at Camp Nou less possible?

If I were a betting man, I would applaud Messi for verbalizing his love and devotion to the club but my money would be on a bet that Messi ends his career wearing the shirt of another club. That’s not what I personally wish, to set the record clear. Certainly even if Messi were to leave, what Barça fan would dare express any type of disdain (save if he followed Luis Figo’s footsteps)?

Remembering the rest

However, the history of FC Barcelona makes it abundantly clear that the club is never one that dwells on past glories contributed by any footballer and this in itself contributes drastically to the dwindling possibility of “one club for life.”

Case in point: Ronaldihno. One would be hard pressed to remember a time when he was the World Player of the Year, the linchpin of Barça’s attack and the engine that helped them win consecutive league titles after a barren and fallow spell given the way he was shown the back door to AC Milan last summer. And certainly there was a time when another Brazilian whose name also started with the letter “R” was the talk of Spain when Barça had won consecutive league titles back in 1997-98 and 1998-99.

Yet Rivaldo’s name has all but disappeared from the subconscious of Barça fans and even trying to remember breath taking goals, like the one he scored against Valencia while riding the proverbial “bicycle” outside the penalty area, takes a lot of effort. Even a homegrown talent like current Barça manager, Josep “Pep” Guardiola, the midfield genius that he was, ended his career in the equivalent of a football wilderness: Brescia (no offense intended but surely felt if you’re a Brescia fan).

Hristo Stoichkov? Winner of the 1992 European Cup and those legendary four consecutive league titles in addition to other honors at his time with Barça: his was a two-part departure where he first found himself in the yellow strip of Parma only to return to Barça and then leave to embark a journeyman’s end to an illustrious career at Camp Nou.

Even the legendary Johann Cruijff (or Cruyff, whichever way you prefer), with everything he had done at the club as a player and manager, found out that his employment as manager was terminated after reading one of the Barcelona dailies near the end of the 1995-96 season. Jimmy Burns, in his authoritative history of the club, “Barca: A People’s Passion,” described Cruyff’s firing poetically: as if he had been a janitor discovered sleeping while cleaning the latrines.

Just more examples that players who arrive at the Camp Nou, by way of the sensational signing by a newly elected president, or up through the ranks of the cantera, can be discarded when their expiration dates have passed. In fact, only one player comes to mind who can be considered as a player who played his entire career with Barcelona: Carles Rexach (ironically the man who was responsible for bringing Messi to the cantera). Yet his career spanned a time when multi-million dollar (or multi-billion peseta) transfers were non-existent and the notion of playing for one club your entire career was not as foreign or rare.

Should I stay or should I go?

The list of Barça’s hall of fame, other than Rexach, surely puts to the sword any hope that Messi has in remaining true to his declaration in this day and age. Part of the reason is the internal politics that is part and parcel of FC Barcelona.

With the leadership and direction of the club subjected to “democratic” elections, a new president brings in a new agenda along with a list of scapegoats for past failures. Hence with current president Joan Laporta’s election in 2003, the purging of players brought in under the horribly failed Gaspart presidency and the heralding of the new savior, Ronaldinho.

Distant memories now that can be all too contemporary when the cycle makes a full turn in Messi’s eleventh hour. Much of the engine that drives the politics of the club is attributed to the somewhat fickleness of Barça fans (self included). Today’s hero goes to zero tomorrow on the turn of a missed penalty, an unmerited red card or one off form match. The fact is that the turnstiles at FC Barcelona revolve much quicker for the sake of titles and silverware.

The same can be said of Real Madrid and those who disagree with me (hopefully respectfully) will point to Raúl’s ability to survive numerous regime changes in Madrid as well as remaining an influential figure despite the ups and downs of the club over the years.

Perhaps Raúl’s declaration that he would never play for another team in Spain won enough hearts, not only among the fans but with the board as well. Whether Messi was aiming to do the same with his statement is one left for speculation. However, if there is a player who has the credentials to break this vicious cycle employed by FC Barcelona of discarding players near their expiration date, surely it can be Lionel Messi.

However, my bet is that when we witness the testimonials for Maldini and Raúl, this rarity of “one club for life” will come to an end, with perhaps the exception of Steven Gerrard for Liverpool. Mind you, despite the dirty laundry in Barcelona’s closets, a player of Messi’s talent will be honored with a testimonial at Camp Nou.

The question is what other shirt will he be donning in the first half before he puts back on Barça’s shirt for one last time in the second half?

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

A league tie between FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid is often a fiesta of goals and carries a degree of unpredictability as to which side will emerge the winner.

This past weekend’s encounter at the Estadio Vincente Calderon in Madrid certainly did not fail to live up to the usual expectations of an Atleti-Barça match. Indeed the 4-3 final score in favor of Atletico Madrid was in line with the two types of results these matches produce, either a one goal difference game or a blowout (if you’re curious Atletico won 4-2 at home last season but lost 6-0 two seasons back).

It almost seems that the first meeting between the two clubs at Camp Nou in Barcelona, where los blaugranas registered a resounding 6-1 thrashing, was a distant memory considering the recent lackluster form of Barça. And while some were dubbing this the second chapter of Messi vs. Agüero (winner Agüero this time), there were more urgent matters that emerged with the 4-3 loss sustained by Barcelona.

In its last three league matches, Barcelona have failed to register more than one point despite coming off an impressive unbeaten streak stretching back to their second league match that has now come to a dizzying crash at an untimely point in the season. A twelve point advantage over a crisis-hit Real Madrid in the winter has been shaved to a mere four points and despite Real Madrid’s midweek hiccup against Liverpool in the Champion’s League, los merengues look poised and ready to go for Barça’s jugular. That opportunity could come in the first weekend of May when Barça make their second visit to Madrid. But at the rate that the wheels are coming off, the classico at Estadio Bernabeu might entertain a more and more likely scenario where Barça are playing catch-up rather than vice-versa.

The spectacular slide and the current danger Barça find themselves in surrendering a league title that appeared all but won at Christmas is cause of great concern to a club trying to re-emerge not only from Real Madrid’s past two consecutive league titles, but also as a club that brands itself with fluid and attacking football. Perhaps Barcelona should pay close attention to football history beyond the Iberian peninsula. Certainly there are those in football today who pay little attention to what has happened in the past.

An example was Chelsea’s new manager Gus Hiddink announcing with some measured confidence that the Blues could overtake Manchester United and win the league this campaign despite the Blues sitting in third place. One has to wonder whether Hiddink’s statement was made more as a rallying call for his demoralized men or if he truly believes that Manchester United will actually drop points in the remaining league matches. Nothing in Manchester United’s form would suggest that a massive slip up is looming, especially after the Red Devils picked up their second major silverware on Sunday with a Carling Cup win at Wembley.

Moreover, if any club can point to history, it certainly is Manchester United. Many will remember how Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle United, with an almost unassailable and commanding 12 point advantage fell woefully apart to a resurging Manchester United back in the 1995-96 season. Pep Guardiola would do well to read into a bit of English history and analyze exactly what to avoid in following the same pitfalls that befell Newcastle in their inglorious fall from grace. While the two clubs are ill fit to be compared because each has a unique background and club history, the numeric advantage in the point table is not the only similarity shared.

Barça may be falling victim to their own legendary status as a team that must attack and score a plethora of goals in style just as Keegan’s Newcastle United were reputed for their exciting and attacking football. Certainly for a good part of November and December in this campaign, it was never a question if Barça would win, rather if it would be a five or four goal flogging.

Perhaps Barcelona have hit the top gear too early and are suffering a burn out. And it may be just my own sensitivities raised when I witness Barça losing 4-3 away to Atletico and recall that match played all those years ago in that 1995-96 season at Anfield where Newcastle United succumbed to a late Stan Collymore strike that gave Liverpool an unforgettable victory by the score of, you guessed it, 4-3. Coincidence perhaps, but should Barcelona’s title aspirations continue to slip beyond their grasp, one has to wonder if this past weekend’s loss at the Vicente Calderon was the landmark match where it all started to crumble and fall apart.

And while the loss to Liverpool at Anfield in that epic seven goal thriller, with Keegan hiding behind the ad board in grief and agony when it was all done, wasn’t the game that tilted the title in Manchester United’s favor, it certainly had a role in Newcastle’s abdication of their first league title since the 1926-27 season. Certainly for Barça fans the next few months will be riddled with anxiety. Pep Guardiola should recall his playing days when Barcelona had twice plucked the league title out of Real Madrid’s hands on the last match day, on both occasions Real Madrid surrendered the title to losses at Tenerife in the 1990-91 and 1991-92 season.

There is no reason why he or any one at Barça should feel that they are impervious to the same fortunes. Luckily for now, Barça still control their destiny albeit with only a four point cushion (as opposed to Hiddink’s unenviable position in simply crossing your fingers and hoping for the worst to happen to Manchester United).

From Soccerlens.com - Football News