After years of waiting for a promising young player to develop, Wales have perhaps discovered that young players, just like buses, often come all at once. Their 3-0 victory over Scotland was ample demonstration of the burgeoning potential of players coming through for the Welsh, and while there is a long way to go, as with any journey, the hope must be that Saturday can be a starting point for something special.

An average of 22, a team full of players who should have their best years in front of them, and a stand out performance from perhaps the best young British central midfielder, this was the sort of performance which will have excited a footballing fraternity starved of success, arguably since the halcyon days of Mark Hughes’ management.

The star of the show was Aaron Ramsey, who few would now doubt is perhaps the finest player Wales have produced since Ryan Giggs. While their styles may differ vastly, the promise is perhaps just as considerable, just ask Giggs’ current team-mate Darren Fletcher.

For it was he who was brushed off was relative ease as Ramsey marched through to score Wales’ second. Yet the goal itself simply rounded off a performance which moved Gary Speed, himself a Welsh midfield stalwart of many campaigns, to declare him “a fantastic footballer.” While his team-mate David Edwards said: “Aaron is not 19 until Christmas, so he’s going to be a great player. He’s going to be one of the best in Europe when he gets into his prime.”

It merely confirmed what many Welsh fans have known, that Wales’ future will very much be built around their precocious midfielder. Just earlier on that very day Ryan Giggs had said: “He is an exciting talent and I hope Wales can build their side around him, he is that sort of central midfield player and is a future Wales captain.”

For all Ramsey’s qualities, he is by no means the only promising young talent the Welsh are developing even if he is the standout one.

As Wales’ results have declined, it has been a testing time for John Toshack, a manager not unused to challenges having worked under the mad-cap Jesus Gil at Atletico Madrid. Yet he deserves credit for persevering with his strategy of blooding young players despite the pressure of results.

Calls for him to resign have been frequent, yet Toshack has always kept to the partyline that playing the young players will be best for the future. In truth you can sympathise with Toshack for sticking with such a strategy.

It is to forget that when he took over the Welsh team he inherited had peaked under Mark Hughes, yet with key protagonists such as Ryan Giggs, Gary Speed, Paul Jones and John Hartson all retiring, Toshack realised early that there would be a short-fall. While the bitter row with Robbie Savage did little to enhance his image or popularity, it spelt out the message he was trying to send.

Now, while the young players have slowly but surely emerged, Toshack must hope that the results must follow. The issues with inconsistency of performance, commonplace among young players is something which Toshack himself has admitted is “frustrating”, the belief in what he is trying to do has grown. Even his arch-nemesis Savage said recently “He’s taking Welsh football in the right direction with the kids and I can see that now.”

These “kids” as Savage calls them, are a bright bunch-not all of whom featured against Scotland. Wayne Hennessey’s performances with Wolves show that he can look forward to a long career as a Premier League goalkeeper, Gareth Bale, despite his problems at Spurs both remain young enough to return the better, while Joe Ledley continues to be one of the best players in Britain currently plying his trade outside the top flight. Plus the likes of Joe Allen and Simon Church are two of the brighter prospects currently being schooled in the rigorous domain of the Championship.

When you consider that the Welsh were missing Jack Collison, whose decision to opt for Wales over England will cause some English fans some regret should he continue his rapid development, along with James Collins, Craig Bellamy, Simon Davies and Chris Gunter-all players with Premier League experience, it points to a pool of talents which is growing fast.

Add in the potential defensive solidity of Ryan Shawcross, the English under 21 player who the Welsh are attempting to entice with the promise of regular international football, and you have a potent mix of Premier League experience and exciting young talent.

Certainly all signs point to a brighter future for the Welsh, which is more than could be said of Scotland on Saturday. Yet it is only 11 years since Scotland last qualified for an international tournament, while for Wales it has been a long 51 years since that 1958 World Cup quarter-final defeat against a Pele-inspired Brazil.

After 51 long years Welsh fans will hope that more days like Saturday are on the horizon.

19-year-old Norwegian starlet Jo Inge Berget is contracted to Udinese Calcio, but would rather be anywhere else than in Udine.

After a loan spell at his home club in Norway, the striker was expected by Norwegian media to get a call-up to the senior national team in November, alongside players such as Aston Villas John Carew and Le Mans Club’s Thorstein Helstad.

In contrast, at Udinese he plays for the Under 20s team. Is he an example of a curious collection of talented footballers to fall victim to a Serie A cultural barrier? The nature of the reception committee in Italian clubs requires another look.

Sometimes talented footballers do not fit in a particular footballing culture. Level of talent, personal motivation or outside factors can determine if a player manages to break through at a foreign club. Norwegian players do not have significant track records in Italy.

Apart from Per Bredesen, at Lazio, Milan and Bari, and Ragnar Larsen, at Lazio and Genoa, both in the 1950s, only two of the ten Norwegians ever to play in the Serie A lasted as much as two seasons. 19-year old Jo Inge Berget at Udinese is facing a similar situation – but it could be avoided.

Signed for about EUR 700 000 as a 17-year-old from FC Lyn Oslo in summer 2008, Berget was meant to quickly go the grades through the U20s team into first team training. Although the youth coaches at Udinese have been happy with his efforts in training, the progress did not go as planned.

Berget was often second choice for the Udinese U20s behind Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo, who was also signed from Lyn. He quickly became disillusioned with the situation. Already in April the next year Berget was allowed to return to his home club on a 5-month loan deal.

The young striker, who has been described by skysports.com as ‘one to watch’, showed great maturity to earn a regular spot in the top division team in Norway. Europa League-qualified Molde FK attempted to buy him from Udinese, but upon failing his medical he was due back in Udine. Berget refused to go back, publicly stating he had no intention to do so. He was allowed a loan extension in Norway until the end of the season. With the end-of-season break beginning in November for the Norwegian professionals, Berget’s situation is still not in the clear.

There is no doubt about the reasons for his strong desire not to return to Udinese at this stage in his career – language barrier, homesickness, feeling of social exclusion, and promises of his footballing chances not being fulfilled. Berget has made this clear to Norwegian media. However, Udinese insist he comes back.

In this situation no one is happy – not Berget, Lyn or Udinese. It can be questioned whether anyone is at fault for creating this situation, and Berget’s situation indicates that someone is. Berget’s situation is just like that of hundreds of other talented youngsters who go abroad to try to make it in a bigger league. In Berget’s case, the situation could be solved with such ease. When the club is happy with his progress, at 19 he could be in line to make the Zebrette’s first team soon.

What Berget seems to need is someone who is present in his everyday life, helping him link up with the club community and the local culture. In the world of football, perhaps a man is expected to hold the traditional machismo stereotype of not needing help – but for young boys who travel abroad to play football a little help is sometimes all it takes. Football author Simon Kuper writes in Why England Lose that such ‘relocation agents’ make a huge difference in the experience of new players when they are used.

Jo Inge Berget has admitted that in his first month in Italy he only ate food with chicken, because the word for chicken, ‘pollo’, was the only word he knew. He felt excluded from the banter of the dressing room of the youth team, because no one helped him get included in the social life. His own social life consists of some contact with Swedish fellow youth player Gustav Hellman, and his mother who visits him every three weeks.

Even though Berget is happy with the football education he is getting, and Udinese strongly want him back, there is no wonder he is dreading a return to such a limited life.

If Udinese had used a relocation agent, someone connected to the club who eased Berget’s transition to life in a foreign country and at a big club, it would probably have been easier for Berget to justify the 700 000 EUR price tag, and to progress quickly into the first team as he was expected to.

Life as a talented footballer has a very strong psychological side to it. Evidence for that is provided every year – from Adriano refusing to travel back to Inter, now scoring for fun in the Brazilian championship, through Martin Bengtsson, the Swedish youngster at Inter who attempted suicide in Inter’s youth team residence in 2004, to the failures of Florent Sinama Pongolle and Anthony Le Tallec at Liverpool, now both successful players.

Pressure is especially hard on players who have not yet had their breakthrough and live in uncertainty in a foreign country. The reflections of Jo Inge Berget to Norwegian press over that lacking component is perhaps a lesson for all top Italian clubs who want to convert foreign talent into Serie A-class players.

Argentinean and Uruguayan players adjust more easily to Italian life, but there is a steady stream of Swedish and other Northern European youngsters who travel to Italy and fail. Perhaps an analysis of the psychological side of youth transfers is necessary for Italian clubs, who are often dominated by ageing players.

This seems to be one aspect Italian top clubs can improve to help bring the Serie A forward again to be the most attractive league for talented footballers. Along with new stadiums and widened audience appeal, there are some steps Italian football can take to improve. Focusing on the psychological barriers in youngsters’ daily life can be a huge asset to the players and to the clubs in the future.

The former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o promised his fellow countrymen that he will buy each of his teammates a £30,000 watch should they qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Last weekend after their 2-0 win over Morocco, Eto’o made good on his promise and gifted the same watch to all of his teammates.

Considering the striker’s history of giving things away to other Cameroon players; four years ago he gave out a £60,000 offer, promising that he will pay £2,000 each should they beat Ivory Coast in the upcoming match.

That’s not it! Tales of his charity were told in the Football Italia:

Eto’o is not shy of making a bet, as long as the proceeds go to charity. Three years ago, he did a deal with Ford whereby they would send an ambulance to Cameroon for every goal he scored above a certain quota.

He is now in the process of recycling Europe’s unwanted shoes, installing special bins in Spanish department store El Corte Ingles where people can donate them to charity.

Source

Although football today is a multi-billion dollar globalised industry which has spread its commercial influence to all corners of the planet, sometimes it pays to look back into the game’s annals and revisit the humble origins of what has now become the most popular sport in the world.

In this article I look at the ten oldest football clubs still in existence today and try and put the magnitude of their impact upon the game into some sort of historical perspective.

Sheffield F.C. (1857)

http://www.sheffieldfc.com/

The first football club to have ever become a formalised and independent organisation, the 152-year history of Sheffield FC has been inextricably linked with the progression of the game in Britain and the growth of football into the globalised entertainment industry it is today.

Established during the height of the industrial revolution in Britain’s most prolific steel-producing centre, Sheffield FC quickly became an integral force during the gradual installation of football as a more organised and systematic athletic discipline in the UK.

After the club’s foundation in 1857 the committee began to methodically analyse the various loosely regulated codes of mob football that dominated the British game at the time, eventually arriving at a standardised set of rules which were adopted by the Sheffield Football Association, football’s first formal governing body, at its establishment in 1857.

In 1863, just six years after the formation of the Sheffield FA, the club became a founder member of the Football Association, the first national bureaucracy designed solely for the purpose of administrating the game of football and a hugely significant development in the game’s journey towards professionalism.

Despite now playing their football in the semi-professional Northern Premier League, Sheffield FC’s impact on the game should not be underestimated. Indeed, the club should be lauded as a revolutionary influence and controlling presence on the early history of association football.

Hallam F.C. (1860)

http://www.hallamfc.co.uk/

Originally set up as a cricket club in 1804, Hallam FC was established just three years after their more famous Sheffield neighbours and further enhanced the “Steel City’s” credentials as the crucible of football’s modern era.

Perhaps the club’s most significant achievement was, in 1867, to triumph in the Youdan Cup, thought to be football’s first ever organised tournament. The competition was played using the Sheffield rules of the time, a code which had been initiated by the fledgling Sheffield Football Association in the late 1850s.

Although Hallam may narrowly miss out on the title of the world’s oldest club, the team does boast – according to the Guinness Book of Records – the most venerable ground on the planet. The Countrymen, as they are more commonly known, have played at their Sandygate ground for the entirety of their history and, although the arena now plays host to Northern Counties East League football, don’t look like vacating their historic premises anytime soon.

Cray Wanderers F.C. (1860)

http://www.craywands.co.uk/

Founded in the London suburb of Bromley by the workers on the London to Kent railway, Cray Wanderers were the first club to be instituted from the South of England, an important development

Despite a successful start to the club’s life in the early years of the twentieth century as part of the Kent League, Cray lost their way in the 1930s and dropped into the various amateur leagues of the region. Just under twenty years later the club regained its semi-professional status and achieved a degree of success in the London League with three league titles towards the end of the 1950s.

Today, in their 150th year, the club conduct their business and Isthmian League, the seventh tier of the English football ladder and, despite not perhaps having had the level of impression on the game of the likes of Sheffield FC, Cray Wanderers are a traditional workers team and can be proud of their role in kick-starting the professional era away from the industrial towns further north.

Wanderers F.C. (1860)

http://www.fcwanderers.com/

Along with Cray Wanderers, Wanderers F.C. – or Forest F.C. as they were originally known – was the first major footballing force to come out of the south of England, enjoying their most notable period of success throughout the 1870s.

Founded in the London borough of Battersea, Wanderers was originally composed of ex-pupils of the prestigious Harrow school and had a profound impact on the ideological direction of the Football Association in its early days.

Although the club enjoyed a significant role in the development of football as an increasingly organised and regulated mass sport in Britain, Wanderers is perhaps best known for its serial successes in the first decade of competition in the FA Cup. Not only did the club win the inaugural competition in 1872, Wanderers also won a further four times (1873, 1876, 1877 & 1878) in the same decade to emerge as English football’s first dominant force and a conspicuous influence on the years of football which followed both in the UK and on the European continent.

Worksop Town F.C. (1861)

http://www.worksoptownfc.co.uk/

Founded in the industrial heartland of north-east Nottinghamshire in 1861, Worksop Town Football Club was another of the game’s important early formally structured organisations and represented another significant area of growth in the spread of quasi-professionalised football throughout the United Kingdom.

Despite being one of Britain’s earliest clubs, Worksop Town have struggled to ever extricate itself from non-league football, a legacy perhaps not fitting with The Tigers’ wider influence on the game. The team currently play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, the sixth tier of English football, and have recently undergone a series of complex ownership and ground issues which threatened to place the future of the 148 year-old club in jeopardy. The club have found a temporary home for the meantime and currently lie 11th in their division, continuing to be standard bearers for the compelling historical sporting legacy of which they are a central part.

Notts County F.C. (1862)

http://www.nottscountyfc.co.uk/page/Home/

The oldest professional football club in the world, Notts County were founded in 1862 and have been trailblazers for the game ever since their genesis 147 years ago.

The oldest club in Nottingham by a mere three years – a small but important distinction for The Magpies’ fans – County were one of the twelve founder members of the Football League at its establishment in 1888 and have been a part of it ever since.

The club’s finest hour came in 1894 when County beat Bolton 4-1 to win the FA Cup and, with substantial recent investment in the club from Middle Eastern backers and the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson as director of football, Magpies fans will be hoping that they won’t have to wait another 115 years for their club’s next major silverware.

It’s a new era for Notts County, and there’s every possibility that we will see the club climbing the Football League ladder at a rate of knots in the seasons to come.

Bradford Park Avenue A.F.C. (1863)

http://www.bpafc.com/content/pages/index.asp

Not to be confused with the more illustrious Bradford City AFC, a side which has graced the Premier League as recently as 2001; the original Bradford Park Avenue AFC was founded in 1863 and was, for more than sixty years, a member of the Football League.

In its first guise, Bradford Park Avenue was inducted into the League in 1908 and, up until the outbreak of The Great War, enjoyed modest success in the top flight of English football. After the First World War, amidst the massive social upheavals it caused, The Avenue’s early progress was lost and the club plummeted down the leagues, a fall which culminated in their ejection from the Football League in 1970.

The early 1970s proved to be a dark time for the club, financial difficulties dragging The Avenue into turmoil and, ultimately, liquidation. However, the club was not allowed to die a humiliating death, instead being reborn as an amateur team which eventually made a return to semi-professionalism in 1988.

Over the last twenty years the club has moved up the semi-pro ladder and has reached the Northern Premier League, a veritable haven for some of the most historically gilded football clubs in Britain. With plans for a new stadium in the pipeline it would seem that Bradford Park Avenue can look forward to the future with a great degree of confidence.

Stoke City F.C. (1863)

http://www.stokecityfc.com/page/Home/

Another of the twelve founder members of the Football League and the oldest club currently playing in the Premier League, Stoke City has enjoyed something of a recent renaissance and has become the modern standard bearers for the origins of British football.

The Potters’ most famous son, Sir Stanley Matthews, burst onto the scene in the 1930s and guided his hometown side to the Division Two championship and established the club as one of the finest, most attractive in Britain. By the time Matthews left for Blackpool in 1947 Stoke were a major force in the top flight, but his departure signalled a decline in the club’s fortunes, relegation following some years later in 1953.

For much of the period between the 1950s and the early 2000s Stoke were becalmed, a sleeping giant in the lower leagues before promotion back to the second tier in 2001/02 completely reinvigorated the club. The 2007/008 season saw The Potters promoted to the Premier League for the first time under the stewardship of the shrewd Tony Pulis. Since their promotion, Stoke has exceeded all expectations to establish itself as one of the top flight’s most efficient and close-knit sides, comfortably avoiding relegation last season and starting the 2009/10 season in fine form. This might just prove to be the most exciting period in the club’s extensive and fascinating history.

Nottingham Forest F.C. (1865)

http://www.nottinghamforest.co.uk/page/Home/

Of all the teams represented on this list Nottingham Forest has been by far and away the most consistently successful over the last 146 years of the Football Association.

Founded in 1865, Forest enjoyed regional success during the early years of the club’s existence, eventually being inducted into the FA in 1892. Six years later Forest claimed their first major honour, winning the 1898 FA Cup with an emphatic 3-1 victory over bitter rivals Derby County.

Forest’s turn of the century success was followed sixty years later with another spell of glory when the club returned to the First Division and won the FA Cup for a second time in the late 1950s. That period laid the early foundations for the most successful spell in the club’s history when, under Brian Clough, Forest were twice crowned champions of Europe.

Clough’s arrival in 1975 saw a huge upturn in the club’s fortunes, Forest winning promotion back to the First Division in 1977 and winning the league title in their first season back in the top flight. Over the eighteen years Clough was in charge at The County Ground Forest won 1 League title, 2 European Cups, 4 League Cups, 1 European Super Cup, 1 Charity Shield and 1 Full Member’s Cup as the club from the banks of the River Trent underwent a transformation from a small provincial team to one of the best clubs in Europe.

Although The Reds haven’t reached the dizzy heights of the Clough era in recent years, the club is currently enjoying a sustained run of form and sits just beneath the play-off places in The Championship. If current manager Billy Davies can continue to improve the fortunes of this historic club then there’s every chance Nottingham Forest fans could see their club rise back to the top tier of English football in the near future.

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. (1867)

http://www.swfc.co.uk/page/Home/

Originally formed as a cricket club which played its matches on a Wednesday, Sheffield Wednesday football club was eventually conceived in 1867 and joined the Football League, albeit not as a founder member, in 1892.

One of English football’s more successful sides, Wednesday have won four First Division titles in their history to go with three FA Cups and one League Cup triumph which came in 1991. Indeed, of the club’s 107 years as a member of the Football League 66 have been spent in the top flight, an impressive record and one which has ensured Wednesday’s status as one of the most prestigious teams in British football.

Although The Owls have not graced the top flight since the 1999/2000 season, Wednesday’s fortunes have picked up of late as the club have recovered from a brief spell in the third tier. Wednesday are now looking to re-establish themselves as a force in The Championship and, ultimately, the Premier League.

Also See:

Football Clubs – by League
Football’s Greatest Clubs
The Greatest Football Teams Of All Time
The Worst Football Teams Of All Time

36 year old Alexandre da Silva Mariano, a.k.a. Amaral, is not one player that you would expect to be the (unofficially) most polite footballer.

Previously playing in footballing danger zones such as Italy (Parma; AC Fiorentina) and Turkey (Besiktas), representing Brazil 31 times, and winning an Olympic Bronze medal (Atlanta 1996), nobody anticipated that the former grave digger would have written a thank you note to his most recent club, Perth Glory.

The Glory’s fan favourite only played 8 matches in his first stint, mostly off the bench, with most of it ruled out due to a hamstring injury. After being released by Perth on the 2^nd May 2009, he brought back his wealth of experience to Perth, signing onto a 9 match guest stint, despite only playing 3 matches. Amaral, understandably thanked the club for the second chance, but then, did something quite out of the ordinary. The fan favourite then turned to popular Australian sporting magazine ALPHA, and sent his fans and all A-League followers a message.

Just looking at this message, it really does seem sincere. How many former Brazilian international players take time out of their busy schedule to write a letter praising the growing A-League and Australian football scene? None, if I can remember, but we are all hoping that Carlos Hernandez will do the same. Amaral, from me, thank YOU, for showing me that football players are actually real people, and thank you also for your praise. Yes, you have contributed, not in some way, but a lot to the development to Australian football, and I hope that you will continue to play your best at your future clubs.

From me, at Soccerlens, Thank You Amaral, and as ALPHA put it, you’re all class!

Firstly I would like to explain the title, whilst this is a little inflammatory I am not here to discuss the merits of the Mike Newell School of sexual equality within the beautiful game but rather the unresolved conflict between two great loves of my life – women and football.

Firstly for some reason I feel I must clarify what you already know, the role of football for millions of men’s lives begins at an early age. I can remember that I have loved football long before spending time with the opposite sex became more desirable than contracting the bubonic plague.

Despite a lack of discernible talent I like countless others grew up playing, talking or watching football at every opportunity. From the schoolyard, park or back garden everywhere had the potential to be a football pitch, I read all the books (this was before the interweb) and Saturday afternoons were subservient to BBC Radio 5 live, train schedules and kick off times.

This continued as I reached puberty and beyond and despite one or two close encounters my head was never turned for a long enough period of time to loosen the grip football had on my life.

It must be remembered that as a boy grows up and bubonic fears are replaced with the desire to impress, neigh court a fair maiden the equilibrium is put in danger.

If successful in pursuit of a lady companion and a relationship between a man and a woman reaches a certain stage weird and confusing activities are suggested for Saturday afternoons insted of football. Such activities include (but are not limited to) decorating, Ikea, going shopping and other suitably stereotypical ideas that will doubtless endear me to a generation of feminists.

As the relationship grows Football is no longer guaranteed to be centre stage it can become subject to negotiation and argument as man is torn between his love for football and his love for the lady in his life.

So I have been debating recently how involved your significant other should be with your relationship with the beautiful game.

Some would argue that this is not as much of an issue as it used to be over recent years the demographics of English football stadia have shifted dramatically and it is now culturally acceptable to enter a football stadium with your other half in tow.

Technically this development presents a new potential middle ground between the two, introducing your girlfriend to the beautiful game could be a perfect formula( depending on your significant other of course). Gone are the stereotypes of condiment offside trap diagrams, ignorant questions and a new era featuring more and more women of all ages playing and revelling in the beautiful game.

With this in mind  I have recently took the decision to finally take the big step and reluctantly decide that after 4 years finally take my girlfriend to watch my team play live for the first time.

My girlfriend has known since about the second month of our relationship that she would always be competing with football for my free time and spare cash, to her credit she has taken steps to try and gain a rudimentary understanding of the game and learnt that my mood on an evening may be determined by the actions of 22 men on a football pitch often hundreds of miles from our present location.

Taking a woman to a football match may not sound like a big deal however for the last 4 years I have kept the two competing sections of my life separate. Juggling my weekends to ensure enough time was spent in the company of my lovely lady to ensure I was not shown the door, whilst still allowing sufficient time to travel to games or at the very least keep track of the action on television.

It was not that I didn’t want her to like football in fact the exact opposite I want her to understand my passion to not roll her eyes when I get excited about the cup draw or that Eric Von Winkle from FC Sponge has signed a new contract.

However I am not so sure that I want her to share the passion, I like that I can disappear for a few hours on a Saturday into my own world oblivious to all things that are truly important in life. For 90 minutes I can shout at the top of my voice, voice displeasure at random strangers and take out my frustrations with life.

Please do not misinterpret my ramblings though, I welcome the arrival of women onto the terraces it shows that many of the negative aspects of the game have been eroded and the game has entered the main stream. Also with my Mum, Sister and Grandmother (Nan) season ticket holders at one of two English clubs I am in no position to argue that women do not have a place on the terraces of England. 

After much internal debate I bought the tickets and took the plunge a 5pm game so that we could take in a few activities that were more to her taste and not just throw her in at the deep end. Arriving in plenty of time for the match (10 minutes before kick off rather than the usual 2) she seemed impressed by the sheer size, noise and theatre of the stadium.

Throughout the game you could slowly see her starting to realise what all the fuss was about, the banter, the singing the random swearing/shouting for no apparent reason, the excitement the passion.

The game was a great success she had a great time and was able to see OUR team romp to victory, although I am not sure what I will say when she asks when am I next taking her along.

I do not regret taking the plunge and introducing the most important person in my life to my sporting obsession, but i guess I wanted to see if my misgivings were normal?

How long would you wait to take a girl you like to a football match, is it now first date material or something special to be savoured.

Do you see football as separate from your romantic life or am I just out of date/touch with the modern world for dragging my feet for so long?

The lady at the top? Letizia Filippi.

Carlo Cudicini the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper has suffered ‘potentially life-changing injuries’ as the result of crashing his motorbike early this morning.

The crash occurred at 10:30am GMT on Forest Road in Walthamstow – East London. The collision involved a Ford Fiesta containing a female driver and a child, both of whom walked away from the incident and did not require hospital treatment.

The incident adds to an already tragic week in the world of football when considered alongside the untimely death of German and Hanover 96 keeper Robert Enke earlier this week.

The precise extent of the injuries sustained by Cudicni are as yet unsubstantiated, however it underlines the fragile nature of a professional sportspersons existence. To a mitigated extent, on field injuries and those sustained during training are considered part of the game and a occupational hazard. Career threatening injuries as a result of an everyday activity is something that must be much harder to swallow.

Cudicini (36) rose to fame after a number of solid performances for Chelsea during almost 10 years at the west London club, until being displaced following the arrival of Petr Čech. He previously enjoyed spells at AC Milan and Lazio. Cudicini completed a Bosman free transfer move to Spurs in January of this year and has made eight appearances under manager Harry Redknapp standing in for the injured Heurelho Gomes. His father Fabio was AC Milan’s goalkeeper in the 1960s.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “A 36-year-old male suffered injuries described by the London Ambulance Service as possibly life-changing and was taken to an east London hospital for further assessment and treatment. No arrests have been made.”

A statement on Tottenham’s website said: “Carlo Cudicini has fractured his wrists and injured his pelvis after being involved in a road accident this morning. The 36-year-old Italian goalkeeper has been admitted to hospital and undergone scans under the supervision of club medical staff.”

When I heard the news, although sympathising with Cudicini’s situation, I am forced to ask myself why he was riding a motorbike anyway. It is no coincidence the other parties involved in the crash walked away unscathed…because they were in a car. Cristiano Ronaldo famously planted his brand new Ferrari into the wall of a tunnel on his way to training with Manchester United on the 8^thof January this year. He and a team mate got out of the car and then got a lift with Edwin van der Sar to Carrington and played a full part in training later that morning. The car was a mess, its inhabitants were fine.

There is lesson to be learned here, in particular if you are an athlete and your livelihood depends on the elite use of your extremities. It’s called risk management, or common sense, or the more wheels the better. Most professionals in Cudicini’s position have clauses in their contracts forbidding them to participate in potentially dangerous activities. There is good reason for this and perhaps the use of motorbikes as a method of transportation should be added to the list of don’ts. Harsh but True.

February 7th 2009, and “moneybags” Manchester City play a televised match against Gareth Southgates Middlesborough. City needed to bounce back after a 1-0 loss to stoke, and they very nearly lost it had it not been for one of Mark Hughes’ shrewdest of signings.

Irish international Shay Given was making his first appearance for the Blues. It was a crisp, light, winter’s day which the former Newcastle United man might have been enjoying until half an hour in where he made an exquisite save from Brazilian Alfonso Alves. Two more followed and City played out a nervy one goal win.

Then he was wearing number 37, now he wears the number 1 for City with pride. Considering some of the astronomical amount of money spent on some players joining Hughes’ new look City side, 6 million for arguably their most important and influential player seems ridiculous, not even thinkable for any football fan who has seen the Lifford born shot stopper.

But alas he week in week out puts in performances and saves that have gifted him 100 caps for his national side. One excellent save from a high curler by Matt Jarvis in city’s first home game of the season brought yet more acclaim for Given who it is joked is keeping Manchester City out of the relegation zone. While this may be a slight exaggeration, Given’s penalty save at Birmingham showed yet again why Mark Hughes brought the 33 year old to Eastlands.

Here are arguably his five best saves of the season:

1. Matt Jarvis-Wolves- after a succession of City chances, Wolves attack towards the north stand and Matt Jarvis comes in from the left onto his favoured right foot, charges away from Richard Dunne and curls a perfectly placed shot towards the top right hand corner.

For all the world it looked like it would go in but for a flying left hand from City’s number one, diverting the ball around the post, earning him a huge round of applause from the City faithful.

2. Freddie Sears-Crystal Palace- a potential banana skin tie for City after two embarrassing cup exits the season before to Brighton and Nottingham Forest. Not this year with a point blank save by given after on loan striker Freddie Sears was put through on goal.

Not a fashionable save from a tight angle, with the ball ballooning off his chest, but another valuable stop preventing another lower league team boasting about beating the world’s richest club. City went on to win  2-0 with Given making a few more excellent saves just for good measure.

3. Ryan Giggs-Manchester United- with United on a high after just going ahead 2-1 from a Darren Fletcher header City were stretched and unorganised. Wayne Rooney found himself holding the ball up on the edge of the penalty area, he fed it to the evergreen Welshman who’s shot was saved by the legs of given. It is possible that City would have been taken to the sword had it not been for Given’s heroics that day.

4. Dimitar Berbatov-Manchester United- after a close range save from the Bulgarian a few minutes before, Given had to be on his toes again the former Tottenham man placed a header towards goal. Given dived across and not only kept the ball from going over the line but also pushed it away from goal, Just like he’ll have been taught as a youngster.

5. James Mcfadden-Birmingham city- a lacklustre performance from City probably deserved a defeat, especially with Birmingham showing real promise and desire in an overcast Sunday kick-off at St Andrews.

A handball from Dutchmen Nigel De Jong gave the Scotsman a golden opportunity. Perhaps the penalty wasn’t as good as it could have been but Given went the right way and won his team a point.

Brazilian journalist Fernando Duarte (a future guest on the Soccerlens Podcast, once we can track him down) interviewed Brazil and Real Madrid star Kaka in Doha this week, ahead of Brazil’s friendly against England.

The full interview can be read on the Guardian – here are a few excerpts:

Kaka on…England:

I don’t think anybody expected them to go through [qualification] so strongly, especially with the two emphatic defeats of Croatia. It’s not to say England weren’t a dangerous team before, but there is something different now. They look much sharper collectively, like Mr Capello’s sides are known to be.”

“England have always had individually strong players … but what seems to have changed is the arrival of a better collective awareness. The players look much more aware with regards to movements and positioning. The attitude is also stronger. They are definitely one of the teams to consider for the trophy in South Africa.”

Kaka on…comparisons between the 2006 and 2010 Brazil teams:

“People have to understand generations come and go. A whole era ended in 2006 but I don’t really think the lads were unaware of what was at stake in Germany. But I agree that a lot of players in the current squad have more reason to be hungry for World Cup success.”

Kaka on … Real Madrid:

“The media and public created the idealisation that you would immediately reap the benefits of all the signings, mine and Cristiano’s included, while the people who live football know that it takes time to get things going. Expectations will always be high and obviously it is not normal for Real to be hammered by a lower league team.

“But to expect us to win all games 4-0 or start talking about a crisis and sacking the manager [Manuel Pellegrini] when we are only one point behind Barcelona in La Liga and joint top with Milan in our Champions League group is a bit ludicrous.”

Kaka on … Cristiano Ronaldo:

“We hit it off from the start. Cristiano and I speak the same language so it was quite natural that I looked for him and other Portuguese speakers to settle in. People see him as this big kid, but the lad is quite mature for his age. As different as our lifestyles are, we often have dinner and talk about things.”

The full interview can be read on the Guardian.