Football is cruel.

Italy, winners of a penalty shoot-out in the World Cup Finals in 2006, were dumped out of Euro 2008 after losing on penalties to Spain. Defeat, on penalties especially, is not easy to take. However, to proceed and to ensure Italy successfully defend their World Cup title, they would need to analyze what went wrong so as to better prepare for the future.

To that end, let’s begin with Italy’s defense. Apart from the 3-0 defeat against the Netherlands and Zambrotta’s howler, Italy’s defence, for most parts, played alright. Against Spain, they handled pretty much everything that was thrown at them. Furthermore, we knew Italy were going to have defensive problems after the loss of their influential captain Cannavaro. Luckily, the Chiellini and Panucci partnership went pretty well. In fact, it is not hyperbole to say that Chiellini was perhaps one of the Italy’s brightest star in the campaign. And since Chiellini is only 24 this year, Azzurris worldwide would be happy to know that he would continue to feature in the national side for many years to come.

Having said that, Italy’s backline is a rather old one and that could be worrying. Come 2010, Grosso would be 32, Zambrotta 33 and Panucci would almost surely have retired. Italy would need to find replacements. Fast. Happily, Italy have in Barzagli, Gamberini, Criscito and De Silverstri, a group of talented young defenders waiting to takeover.

In midfield, the line-up was practically identical to the one in the World Cup. All key members, Gattuso, Pirlo, Perrotta and Camoranesi kept their places. Sadly however, their performances this time were much poorer. This could be due to age and form, Gattuso especially, it seems, has lost much of his energy and wasn’t he usual terrier-like self, while Pirlo, with the exception of the game against France, was playing no where near the standard he did two years ago. In fact, his form for Milan this season has been remarkably poor.

Thankfully, Italy can look forward to a new generation of midfielders. De Rossi’s performance has been encouraging and Aquilani, I’m sure, will one day establish himself as a regular. The Azzurris can also look forward to exciting youngsters such as Cigarini, Dossena and Nocerino, just to name a few.

Offense was where Italy was poorest. Toni was exceptionally wasteful and unlike his usual reliable self. It is completely and utterly baffling for a man who has been banging it left, right and centre for Bayern in all competitions last season to end Euro 2008 goalless. The only logical explanation I could figure is that his misses in the game against the Netherlands affected him badly. Still, I would like to think that Toni is made of sterner stuff. To compound matters and in light of Toni’s form, it is puzzling why Donadoni chose not to, at some point, bring on Borriello.

And unfortunately, the future of Italy’s attack cannot be as rosy as their midfield. While it is true that Italy have some bright attacking talents in Montolivo, Giovinco and Rossi, they are lacking a big strong centre-forward that is so sought after in today’s game. At present, it would seem that Borriello is the only player that Italy have in the Toni mould, but despite a stellar last season with Genoa, his abilities are still suspect and only time would tell if he is really international football material.

Between the posts, Buffon cannot be faulted. If it wasn’t for him, Italy might not even have had the chance to play in the quarter-finals. But beyond him, Italy have no reliable stand-in, Amelia and De Sanctis, worryingly, have less than 10 caps between them. If there’s any consolation, Buffon at 30, should, baring any major injuries, have at least 8 good years ahead of him, giving Italy ample time to find a replacement.

Last, but not the least, the coach, Donadoni. Right from the get-go, this was never going to an easy job for the ex-Milan midfielder. He is inexperienced and new, but worse of all, he took over the squad right after their World Cup victory. Even without the World Cup victory, expectations for the Italy national team was always going to be high.

All things considered, Donadoni, can be said to have had a pretty decent campaign. I am convinced that he did the best he could and was perhaps only undone by lady luck. The controversial goal against the Netherlands and another goal disallowed against Romania could have been important turning points had things gone his way, but it was not to be.

In my opinion, his most glaring mistake would be the way he chose to stuck with Toni upfront, instead of taking a chance and bringing on Borriello. Yes, Toni might have been crucial in the game against France, by winning the penalty and getting Abidal sent off, but how many chances has he missed? On a positive note, Donadoni’s decision to drastically alter the backline after their insipid display against Netherlands was inspired and much needed.

And sadly for him, it seems that the Italian media is waiting for him to slip up so that a certain Marcello Lippi can return to helm the team.

Will Donadoni keep his job or will the still unemployed Lippi return? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure, expect Italy to come back for World Cup 2010 stronger, spirited and with the desire to triumph.

The author Kenny maintains a personal blog called ‘The Meditation Chamber‘.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

With the football season almost at its end, there is no doubt that the most outstanding player this year has been the Portuguese wing-wonder, Cristiano Ronaldo. With almost 40 goals in all competitions, few would argue that he is the player of the moment.Naturally, this has led some fans to wax lyrical about him.

Some say he is “the greatest player ever”; I have also heard others saying that he is better than Zidane, some have gone as far as to say he is superior to Pele and Maradona. I’m not going to debate on the validity of those statements. Everyone is entitled to their views and opinions, and this here is mine:

There is no doubt that Ronaldo has ability, but to call him “the greatest player ever” is pre-mature at best and absolutely absurd at worst. Surely I do not need to remind you that a player is judged by his career, not his performance in a single season. Pele, Maradona, Zidane, Maldini, Cantona, Baresi and Baggio, just to name a few, did not become great players because they had ONE great season. If that were the case, we would have to add players like Kevin Phillips and Javi Moreno to the list.

For Ronaldo to be truly great, he would have to perform like this at the highest level for at least the next few years, and along the way, win a few trophies. Although he has won all there is at the domestic level with Manchester United, he has yet to win the Champions League. He would also need to win trophies at the international level, something he has failed to do thus far. Therefore, tonight’s crunch tie against Barcelona, and the upcoming European Championships is absolutely important for him.

He also needs to cut down on his showboating. Entertaining football is one thing, senseless showboating is the another, let’s not confuse the two. Those who have watched the quarter-final match between United and Roma, and seen the incident between Pizarro and Ronaldo will know what I mean. Fast forward to the recent clash between United and Arsenal and again Ronaldo decides to show his stuff. This time, it was Hoyte who decides enough is enough and brings him down with a sharp jab to the feet.

Ferguson has claimed time and time again that Ronaldo is, and I quote, “courageous”. Rubbish. Anyone with any common sense knows he is a show-off, and there is no such thing as a “courageous” show-off or a “shy” or “timid’ show-off. A show-off is a show-off. Ever seen a guy behind the wheels of a Gallardo Spyder with the top down desperately trying to hide his face?

That is not to say it is wrong to be a show-off, but to show-off and whine and request protection from the referee is ridiculous and screams to me, “Mummy’s Little Boy”. But more importantly, I’m more miffed about the fact that he chooses to show-off his tricks at the wrong time. There is nothing wrong about pirouetting your way past five defenders or nutmegging John Terry three times consecutively before blasting the ball past Cech. I’m perfectly fine with that. What I am not fine with is when you run to the corner and show off your fancy tricks with only the intent to run down the clock. It is needless.

However, I am sure Ronaldo is not without respect or humility, Steve’s post about Ronaldo and his refusal to celebrate a goal he scored against his former club Sporting Lisbon shows that. Also, I have not forgotten that the way we play football is an expression of our “self”, but the way he goes about it rubs some people, like myself, the wrong way and I won’t be surprised if some day some psycho of a defender decides he’s had it and exacts terrible revenge on him.

That said, I’m sure Ronaldo will one day be regarded as a true great of the game, as of now, there is still some way to go and there are still some things for him to work on. In the meantime, I wish him the best of luck. Boa Sorte!

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Previously, I had mentioned that AC Milan have chosen Singapore to set up a youth football base. Now, according to Channel News Asia (CNA), training camps could begin as soon as this year.

Milan have plans for 5 day football camps for children aged 6 to 16, and these camps could begin later this year. Aide Iskandar, former captain of the Singapore national team, will be the technical director. He will be aided by coaches flown in especially from Italy.

Milan’s global ambassador, Daniele Massaro, said that Milan want to reach out to fans in this part of the world, and at the same time, also give the English Premier League, a run for its money.

There are also plans for Milan Park, which is, and I quote, “a soccer-themed entertainment park with interactive games”.

CNA also noted that a replica of the Champions League trophy that Milan won last season is on display at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. It will be on display for the next two days.

Milan Park, you say? Now I’m really beginning to doubt the authenticity of this, maybe I should head down to the Grand Copthorne and see if the trophy is really there.

Background Info: For those not familiar with Singapore, building a new entertainment/theme park here is a very big deal. If there are really plans for this, it should easily make frontpage news on our local newspapers, and yet, it hasn’t.

The author Kenny maintains a personal blog called ‘The Meditation Chamber‘.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Once the world’s most feared attacker, injuries and a drastic loss of form have Ronaldinho a shadow of his former self.

For a long time, Ronaldinho has been widely rumoured to be on the way out of the Nou Camp and today, numerous reports [Goal, Soccernet, International Herald Tribune] have emerged claiming that the former FIFA World Player of the Year has already agreed to a deal with Italian Giants AC Milan.

Ronaldinho is said to have to have agreed to a 4 year contract worth €8 million a year and all that is left for the deal to be set in stone is to work out a fee with Barcelona.

More as this develops.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Amidst a week of hectic Champions League and UEFA Cup matches, this piece of news almost slipped past me.

According to TODAY newspaper, Milan have plans to set up a football school in Singapore. The camp, set to be called AC Milan Junior Camp, will provide training for youngsters between the ages of 6 and 18. TODAY also reported that officials from Milan could be in Singapore as early as next week to meet local officials and discuss plans for the camp.

Milan are obviously trying to extend their sphere of influence (Editor: Milan already have a youth talent initiative in North America) and this can only be good news for Singapore Rossoneri fans and local football. I’m eagerly waiting for developments on this.

Kenny maintains a personal blog called ‘The Meditation Chamber‘.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

This year’s Barclay’s Premier League is perhaps one of the most exciting in recent memory. Three teams, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, are vying for the right to be crowned Champions, with only 6 points separating them and 6 games to go. To spice things up even more, these three teams will meet one another at some point in the near future – Arsenal vs. Manchester United on April 13th and Chelsea vs. Manchester United on April 26th. Also consider this, all three teams are still in contention for the Champions League trophy.

Football fans can therefore be assured of an exciting run-in and this post will attempt to evaluate these three teams chances at success and glory. We shall start with current league leaders, Manchester United.

Manchester United

When talking about the giants from Manchester, one cannot not talk about wing wonder Cristiano Ronaldo. What a season he is having! Not only is he the top scorer in the Premiership with 26 goals, he is also the joint top scorer in the Champions League with 6 goals. All this is even more amazing when you consider that he is not even an out-and-out striker.

Some have said that he is single-handedly carrying the team to the Premiership trophy, but I beg to differ. It is true that he is the difference but more importantly, his team-mates have not let him down as well. Rio and Vidic have formed a formidable partnership at centre of United’s defence and when called upon, Scholes, Anderson and Carrick have all played their part, as have Rooney, Tevez and Giggs. The 4-0 whipping of Aston Villa is proof of that.

Speaking of Aston Villa, I was surprised that Ferguson decided to field his strongest available team. With the Champions League fixture against Roma midweek, I expected Ferguson to rest at least Ronaldo. However, I can see where Ferguson is coming from. Mathematically speaking, the Premiership trophy is one that they are most likely to win. The Champions League, on the other hand, is more of a gamble since they are still only in the quarter-finals. Therefore, resting key players in the Villa match and risking their 5 point cushion is a gamble that Ferguson is not willing to take and rightly so.

In the Premiership, the two matches that everyone will have their eyes on are the ones against Chelsea and Arsenal. If there is anywhere that United are likely to lose points, it will be against the two London rivals. The more worrying of the two will undoubtedly be at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, where the Londoners have an impressive home record – they have not lost at home in over 75 games.

Arsenal are no pushovers of course, and they have showed their grit and determination when it matters. However, with that match set to take place at The Theatre of Dreams, surely United must be favourites.

If United manages to win these two matches, then the title surely must be theirs, but if they fail…….. Then the title race will be all the more interesting won’t it?

Chelsea

While Manchester United made short work of Aston Villa, Chelsea huffed and puffed to a 1-0 win against a resolute and unlucky Middlesborough side. An early goal from defender Ricardo Carvalho proved decisive, but Boro never gave up and put Chelsea under much pressure, especially in the second half. In fact, Boro could have quite easily won if not for substitute Alfonso Alves and defender David Wheater hitting the crossbar. Chelsea were poor and even manager Avram Grant agreed that they were lucky.

Chelsea have so far found it difficult to put down a good run of results and this could prove to be the difference. After whipping West Ham and Olympiacos 4-0 and 3-0 respectively, the Blues inexplicably lost 1-0 to Barnsley in the FA Cup. And despite leading 3-1 at one point at White Hart Lane against Tottenham, the Blues yet again baffled fans by succumbing to a 4-4 draw. Chelsea then rebounded with an amazing 2-1 comeback against Arsenal. The question therefore is this: Which Chelsea will turn up during the title run-in?

However, football is not without its controversies and there is one in Chelsea’s run-in – a sudden change in match fixtures. Chelsea have been told that, to suit television schedules, they must play Wigan at home on April 14th and then travel to Goodison Park to play Everton on the 17th, effectively playing 2 matches in 72 hours. Everton, chasing a Champions League play-off spot will be no pushovers and this match will be crucial.

Arsenal

After their fantastic 2-0 win at San Siro against Milan, Arsenal have been in the slumps. Before winning against Bolton, they drew 4 times and lost once, grabbing only 4 points from a possible 15, which is dreadful.

However, the win against Bolton would have given the Gunners a much needed boost. 2-0 down and with only 10 men, Arsenal incredibly managed the most unlikely of comebacks, scoring thrice in the second half and winning the match 3-2. This is an escape that even the late Houdini would have been proud of. Had they lost, then surely, it is all over.

While the win against Bolton would have no doubt lifted the Gunners spirits, it would have left them exhausted as well. Furthermore, their next 4 fixtures are not exactly “walks in the park”. Before their showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford on April the 13th, Arsenal must first lock horns with Liverpool thrice in 7 days. This will certainly drain their energies and might even cause a few injury concerns, leaving them severely weakened for the crunch tie against United. With Sagna still out nursing an ankle injury, the squad can ill afford to suffer any more injuries.

Evaluation

As it stands now, United are, without a shadow of a doubt, favourites. 5 points ahead and with the team playing so well at the moment, you would be a fool to bet against them. However, Chelsea and Arsenal are still in the chase and with United having to play them both, anything is possible.

From a neutral’s perspective, the title run-in couldn’t be more exciting. The best case scenario would of course be United losing to both Chelsea and Arsenal thereby blowing the title-race really really wide open. In any case, just sit back and enjoy the ride.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

After Milan’s disastrous showing in the Champions League against Arsenal, many are predicting major signings to be made in summer and names have been thrown around. Drogba, Benzema, Frey, and Thiago are all said to be potential signings, but the one that shocked me the most was Shevchenko.

Yes, Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukrainian Ballon D’or winner who sensationally and acrimoniously left Milan for Chelsea in the summer of 2006 for £30 million. The decision to move, he insisted, was due to his family.

The move didn’t turn out good. Since his debut in the FA Community Shield in which he scored Chelsea’s only goal in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool, he has been used only sparingly by Chelsea managers Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant. And now with Nicolas Anelka joining the Chelsea stable of stars, Sheva must think that his chances of first-team football are now extremely bleak. As such, it is no surprise he is looking for a way out.

On the other hand, it must be said that Milan have struggled to cope with his departure. Kaka’ is their most prolific goal-scorer and he isn’t even an out-and-out striker. Pato is still very young, while Ronaldo, who Milan have brought in to replace Sheva, is often injured and Gilardino, once upon a time one of Italy’s most gifted youngsters, has failed to impress since his move to Milan from Parma.

So this seems like a marriage of convenience. Milan need goals and who better to get them than Sheva, who was once the darling of San Siro and is now unwanted at Chelsea. And as much affection as I have for Sheva, I don’t want him back.

In the same way that I would never take my girlfriend back if she leaves me for someone else, I wouldn’t want Sheva back at Milan.

More importantly however, his performances at Chelsea indicate that he is no longer the player he used be. He might be down on morale and confidence, but even so, at 31, his best years are surely behind him. Besides, isn’t it time Milan start looking at younger players?!

Which brings me to the players that Milan should really try to sign. Many names have been thrown around and here is my contribution to that ever-growing list. First and foremost, a new goalkeeper is absolutely crucial. Dida, ever since he was struck by the flare during the Milan – Inter Champions League match, has never been the player he once was. And although Kalac has performed admirably, the goal Fabregas scored showed that he is prone to lapses in concentration and isn’t really world-class material. In light of this, Milan should make it their top priority to sign a young and promising goalkeeper. Frey, at the moment, seems to be a prudent choice.

Milan desperately needs new blood in defence as well. Zambrotta seems to be destined for a summer move to the San Siro and that should be good news. He might be a tad old, but when he gets in his stride, he remains still, one of the leading fullbacks in the world. We could also do with a young centre-back like Zapata or Mexes.

The midfield department is tricky. Ambrosini and Gattuso might not be young, but I don’t think they are so old that they have nothing left to give. I think their recent lackluster performances is due more to tiredness than anything else. If anything, Milan should look to sign one of the Roma duo – De Rossi and Aquilani – who impressed tremendously during their Champions League encounter with Real Madrid. However, let’s not forget that Milan also have a talented youngster in Gourcuff and perhaps it’ll be wise to hold on to him by giving him more playing time.

That said, Milan do need new strikers. With Ronaldo out with a potentially career-ending injury, Inzaghi turning 35, and Gilardino’s future at Milan becoming increasingly uncertain, Pato, Kaka’ and Paloschi are Milan’s only striking options. This won’t do. Milan is widely rumored to be looking to sign Drogba, but I believe that Amauri would be a more sensible purchase. Amauri is younger and having played in Serie A for a number years, shouldn’t have much problems settling in at Milan.

Of course, we could say all we want but these will remain what they are, speculations. No one knows what will happen and all I can say is this: I don’t want Sheva back at Milan.

The author Kenny maintains a personal blog called ‘The Meditation Chamber‘.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Milan have threw away all the good work done at the Emirates Stadium. 0-0 at Emirates, they had the upper hand going into the second leg, but then, they threw it all away.

Both sides started the match nervously, and both sides had periods of domination but halfway through the first half something inexplicable happened. Milan suddenly lost it. It seemed as if the devil himself had descended upon San Siro and sapped the Milan players of their will to win. From then on, it was one-way traffic all the way.

As a Milanista, their performance was annoying, torturous and painful to watch. Save for Nesta and Maldini, the rest of the Milan team failed to show up. Kaka, World Player of the Year, was a ghost; Pato, deprived of service, didn’t know how to fall back deep to receive the ball; Ambrosini, vice-captain, was uninspired at best. But worst of all was the man who Milan rely so heavily on for stringing moves together, Pirlo. I have never seen Pirlo played so badly before, every time he got the ball, he lost it, and worse, made no real attempt to win it back.

Milan were simply woeful. In my 15 odd years of supporting the club, this is by far the worst I have ever seen them play. Also, they seemed disinterested, which is puzzling because the Champions League is all that is left for the club to play for, and you won’t be able to tell that looking at their performance last night. It seemed as if they were playing in a charity match with an overeager, psychotic Arsenal side.

For the past few seasons, people have been saying that Milan are far too old, yet time and time again, Milan have proved them wrong. But as sure as the sun is in its journey across the sky, so too must all good things come to an end, and I think this time, it finally has.

Not only did Milan not have an answer to Arsenal’s dogged running and youthful exuberance, but after winning everything there is, you can’t help but wonder if the hunger is still in them. Having enjoyed so much success, do they even want to win? Do they care if they lose?

If they didn’t, Arsenal sure did. Wenger’s youngsters, who haven’t tasted success to the degree Milan had, were desperate. You could tell. Not since South Korea in the 2002 World Cup have I seen a side that pressed and harried so relentlessly. And not since, my last kick about at a street soccer court have I seen a side like Milan, so clueless in coming up with a response.

The fairy tale has well and truly ended, I feel. Milan now have to face music and with only 4th place in the Serie A to play for, must undertake drastic steps to correct themselves and rebuild for the next season. I have been saying this many times, but this time, I want to see it happen!

Admittedly, Kaka hasn’t been at his best, with injuries and whatnot, but having signed on until 2013, Milan must now match Kaka’s loyalty to club by making some serious signings, thereby signaling their serious intentions to go back to winning ways.

Also, I would like to see a new man at the helm. Ancelotti has been great of course, without good old Carlo, Milan surely would not enjoyed so much success, but I think its finally time Milan bring in someone new to breath some life into the club. My wish is that they bring in Marcello Lippi, whom I have very great respect for, despite the fact that he had in the past, managed both Juventus and Internazionale.

So finally the time has come, for us to close a chapter of Milan’s history. It’s been one hell of ride, but now, we must look to the future and await the new dawn. Forza Milan!

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

The Champions League will restart next week and one of the more tantalizing second round ties has got to be Italian giants AC Milan against English powerhouse Arsenal.

It is the kind of match up we like to see – the young dogs up against the old guard. Energy and youthful exuberance against experience and class.

Interestingly, Milan and Arsenal have only met once before and that was 14 years ago in the European Super Cup competition (now UEFA Super Cup). The match ended 2-0 on aggregate, in Milan’s favor.

However, what is more interesting is the fact that Maldini played in that match 14 years ago! This gives you an idea how old the Milan squad is. Of the eleven Milan first team regulars, only two are below 30 years of age – Kaka’ and Pirlo. On the other hand, the situation in Arsenal is entirely reversed. They have only two players 30 and above – Gallas and Almunia.

This underlies the tremendous age differences in the two teams and there are two schools of thought stemming from this. One is that Arsenal’s youth and exuberance will triumph over Milan. They are young and will be too quick and too fit for Milan to handle. The other school of thought, however, believes that Milan’s class and experience will see them through. Compared to the youngsters of Arsenal, this is a situation they have been through countless of times and they will know how to cope with the pressure.

The 1st leg of this match will be held at the Emirates Stadium on February 20th and the second leg will take place on March 4th at the San Siro. This means that Milan will have the luxury of playing the second game at home and therefore, it will not surprise me if they played the first leg safe and then go all guns blazing in the second. This advantage, albeit a slight one, could prove crucial.

Even so, as a Rossoneri, I feel that this match is too close to call. However, it must be noted that Milan’s match up with Arsenal, closely resembles that of last season’s semi-final match up with Manchester United. Then, many believed that the pace of Manchester duo Ronaldo and Rooney will be too much for the aging Milan defence to handle, but Milan prevailed in the end. And not only did they prevail, but in the process, also handed Manchester United one of their biggest and most complete defeats in recent times with a resounding 3-0 victory at the San Siro.

Will we see history repeat itself? We shall see.

The author Kenny maintains a personal blog called ‘The Meditation Chamber‘.

If you’re planning on heading to Milan for the second leg on 4 March, click here to help make your planning a lot easier.

Go back to the full 16-team 2007/2008 UEFA Champions League 2nd Round Preview on Soccerlens.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

For the last few years, football gamers who wanted an authentic football experience on their consoles had only one name to turn to, and that was Winning Eleven. There was hardly any debate in the matter. Winning Eleven have been widely regarded by critics and gamers alike to be the superior of the two.

Gamers loyal to the FIFA series might disagree. And to be fair, FIFA have been making significant improvements to their series, but still, they have always fell short.

The problem with FIFA is that despite being aesthetically more pleasing, they have always been let down by poor gameplay. The laws of physics doesn’t seem to apply in FIFA. EA completely ignored Newton’s Law and scripted the movement of the ball as they saw fit. The result was a ball that bounced as if it had a mind of its own.

The players also seemed to be clueless as to how football is supposed to be played. The goalkeepers, especially, were terrible. They were worse than David James on corners and seemed completely incapable of judging the flight of the ball. It was as if EA made them play blindfolded.

Winning Eleven, on the other hand, had no such issues. Gameplay was fluid and tactile, the ball moved realistically and most of all, the goalkeepers could see and react to a ball coming at them.

So now, what about this year then? FIFA 08 and Winning Eleven 2008. Which is the better of the two? Have FIFA finally caught up? Well, this review serves to answer those questions. And to do it, the games will be judged on their visual and aural presentation and most importantly, gameplay.
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Visual/Aural Presentation

No surprises here. FIFA trumps Winning Eleven here by a huge margin.

FIFA’s game menus look more polished and its in-game graphics are superior. The stadiums in FIFA are a joy to behold and the player models, though awkward looking, are still done well enough that stars like Ronaldinho, Beckham and Rooney are instantly recognizable. What is most amazing, however, are the pitches. You can almost see the individual blades of grass and there is a real sense of texture to them.

On the other hand, Winning Eleven looks dull. The menus look uninspired and its stadiums are no where near the standards set by FIFA. And although the player models look somewhat better, it is not perfect. The way they sprint, with the ball at their feet, is unnatural, cartoonish and nothing short of being comical. It makes you wonder if they really used motion capture technology for these things and if so, who on Earth runs like that?!

Aurally, the story is the same. While FIFA’s in-game music is hip and trippy and consists of artistes like Travis and Junkie XL, Winning Eleven’s is mostly made up relative unknowns and is mostly not pleasing to the ear. Of course, music is a matter of taste and I’ll leave it to readers to decide.

What is undisputable however, is the commentary. For FIFA, I can only think of words like ‘amazing’, ‘excellent’, ‘superb’ and ‘delicious’. Once again, EA have got Martin Tyler and Andy Gray to do the commentary and the end result is nothing short of spectacular. They exchange banter casually and would occasionally even offer interesting trivial about the teams and stadiums the match is played in. The commentary is ridiculously good and almost comparable to that of a live broadcast. This is what next-generation gaming is all about.

Commentary in Winning Eleven, however, can be described with words such as ‘woeful’, ‘awful’, ‘terrible’ and ‘appalling’. Winning Eleven’s duo of Jon Champion and Mark Lawrenson does a really horrible job here and offers commentary that not only feels detached, but also often inaccurate. An appallingly poor effort from Konami, they might as well not bother at all.

So no surprises as FIFA keeps up with tradition and trounces Winning Eleven in the presentation department.
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Gameplay

Traditionally, this is where Winning Eleven fights back. In the past, FIFA games were no match for Winning Eleven when gameplay is concerned, but they have been making significant improvements, so how does this year’s offering measure against the competition?

First, let’s talk about Winning Eleven. Winning Eleven have opted to heed the old saying that ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it’. As such, fans of the series like myself will be glad to see they have not tamper much with the winning formula. However, Konami have strangely decided to make this year’s Winning Eleven faster than previous years’ and the end result is a little bit on the arcade-ish side. Don’t be alarmed though, it is still the same Winning Eleven that fans have come to love only that it is quicker than previous editions. Think of it as a turbo-boosted Winning Eleven.

EA have taken great pains to tweak, adjust and ultimately improve FIFA’s gameplay and they have done admirably. FIFA 08 is by far the best playing games in the series. In fact, FIFA 08 is the closest and perhaps one of the best representation of the beautiful game I have ever seen. I dare say it is on par and maybe even better than Winning Eleven!

Have I gone mad? No. I really do. I prefer FIFA because the pace of game is a better representative of real football. It is slower and hence forces player to be more tactical. Unlike Winning Eleven, where it is possible to slalom through the entire opposition defence using a player with good ball control like Cristiano Ronaldo, doing the same in FIFA is simply close to impossible, especially on higher difficulty levels.

Despite that, FIFA is still plagued by goalkeeping problems. The goalkeepers are still erratic and are still prone to conceding goals from long range, though not to the same extent of past FIFA games.
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Conclusion

Both games are equally competent, although FIFA nudges slightly ahead because of its superior presentation. But in the end, it is really a matter of taste. I disliked the quick pace of game in Winning Eleven and I find FIFA’s interpretation to be better because of its slow pace, which makes it more tactical and realistic. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have pretty graphics and excellent commentary.

But before I end, it must be said that the signs are looking ominous for Konami and Winning Eleven. FIFA have made huge strides in recent years and have improved their gameplay so significantly then both titles are now almost on par. Winning Eleven on the other hand, have somewhat stagnated. They have done little to improve on gameplay and their presentation is still as bad as ever, if not worse.

And if this continues, it would be long until the day FIFA is the undisputable numero uno of football games.

The author Kenny maintains a personal blog called ‘The Meditation Chamber‘.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News