See you soon.

There are sometimes I feel bad for the older supporters of football. OK, calling them ‘older’ is a general thing, I’m only 32 years old, so there’s a lot of supporters out there who are older than me. There was a time when you would only get one game a week, and only the highlights of other matches. And you only saw the teams from the other countries during the adventures of a European Cup campaign. Nowadays, you can sit at home and watch every game. It almost makes Match of the Day null and void, but not really.

It was probably unfathomable to say in the ’90s that America would have three football only television stations, and that we could get other matches on local television. Oh how far the game has come. Also, the American game has had it’s third generation of following. So the sport is in its height, well if you take out the corruption, and famous players dying off, but this is a positive football blog, not negative. Afterall, we’re not an FC Energy Drink blog.

The growth of the game, if you can call it that, has been spurned on by the television money, and that’s nothing new to say. But where I’m going with this, is the non-traditional markets and areas in the world are seeing growth. Here’s what I’m saying, obviously I’m an American, and obviously the sport is big here. The thing about America though, is it’s a very large continent, and there are areas that aren’t hotbeds of the sport.

When I started really watching the sport I was living in small town USA, in Lawrence Kansas. Yeah, not really quite Portland. I’d liken it to Sunderland or Stoke. But there were fans there (there’s a MLS side in Kansas City, but that’s forty minutes away). But we could get the top teams at the time (this is late ’90s/early 2000s), so we were only getting Manchester United and Arsenal. However, we could get the ‘lesser’ leagues like the SPL, Belguim, and the Mexican league.

The great thing, and the joy of football, is getting to follow other teams in other countries than your main team. I can count on two hands how many clubs I will watch, or at least look in on during the week to see how they are doing. And it’s a funny thing about football, I’ll watch almost anything, unless it’s a lower division  team (though I did watch a Forrest Green match a while back).

American viewers get to almost pick on a daily basis what they want to watch. I can during the week, go from watching El Clásico, to AC Milan, to a Brazilian match, and that can be in the span of an afternoon on the couch. This is what is growing the game, and anyone who looks at America as just full of front running fans who’s home league is for retired players is wrong.

Photo credit: early adopter (via flickr)

This is not an easy piece to write. The complexities of the case, the fact that the report detailing the committee’s finding has not yet been published and the tribal reaction on both sides of the argument means that, no matter your opinion, you are bound to offend someone.

For the sake of transparency, I feel I should make a few things clear before I begin. I am a Liverpool fan. Naturally then, my bias is tinted red, though I like to think that I am as objective about my club as it is possible to be. I don’t think Kenny Dalglish is the messiah who can do no wrong (though he is the right man for the job), and I don’t buy into the idea that to criticise anything about the club one supports is tantamount to treason. I’m not sure whether it is simply because I follow the club that I notice it more, but Liverpool fans certainly seem to have plenty amongst them who follow that messianic mantra.

The most difficult aspect of discussing this case, however, is that none of us actually know for sure what was and wasn’t said, and until the report on the decision is released, we have no way of being certain. Did Suárez say “negro” or “negrito”? Was it in reply to a word uttered by Evra, supposedly “Sudaca”? Until the report is published, there have been rumours that it won’t be until mid-January, then everything uttered is simply speculation, and the absolutists on both sides (though admittedly they are hugely more vocal in defence of Suárez and criticism of Evra) are doing nobody any favours.

The main crux of the matter for me, however, lies not in what may or may not have been said, but in whether cultural differences should be taken into account in such a decision. For the purposes of this article I am going to assume two things, the two that are the most commonly held beliefs on what was said. That, firstly, Evra referred to Suárez as a “Sudaca” and that Suárez referred to Evra as “negrito”.

Now I am no scholar of Spanish, on a recent trip to Madrid I just about managed to figure out how to order a beer and ask for the bill. But I am told by all and sundry that in Uruguay, and across much of South America, the term “negrito” does not bear racial connotations. It is, apparently, a common word and within that cultural context, in no way offensive. Not having intimate knowledge of the culture myself, I can only take the word of those who do.

Another assumption, and it can be only that until the report is released, though it is one upon which most seem to agree, is that Suárez admitted his use of the word, though disputed its intent to offend. Many Liverpool fans have been wondering how and why a man could be convicted when it was simply his word against that of another, but at best that is a misinterpretation of what seems to be the case, and at worst is wilful misrepresentation. If Suárez has indeed admitted using the aforementioned word, then it is not a matter of one man’s word against another, but of judging the manner in which it was said and, as stated before, whether cultural ignorance is a defence.

Indeed, both Liverpool as a club and a large proportion (or at least a vocal one) of their fans have done little in the eyes of many to help themselves in the aftermath of the decision. The club’s statement in response, while admirably strong in defence of a player they truly feel has been wrongly treated, veered towards parody with passages citing Suárez’s own ethnic background and that he has played alongside black players. It began at times to sound like the classic “some of his best mates are black” defence.

For me, the case rests entirely on whether the cultural differences apparent should be taken into consideration when a judgement is made. Whether a conversation between two nationals of differing continents, speaking in Spanish, should be judged hard and fast by the morals of our own society. In truth, I’m not sure I have the answer. My gut feeling is that to do so to the degree that has been laid upon Suárez is harsh, but is that my head or my heart talking? Perhaps a smaller or suspended ban, along with a warning that such language cannot be tolerated would have sufficed.

The FA clearly felt that such considerations should not come into the matter. A precedent was set in 2003 when John Mackie, then of Reading, was suspended for eight games after being found guilty of racially abusing Sheffield United’s Carl Asaba. The difference in that case was that Mackie pleaded guilty, and as such five games of the ban were suspended.

There are further discussions to be had about whether the FA should be judge, jury and executioner in such matters, or whether an independent sporting court may be a more apt setting for such decisions to be made, but they are for a future time.

What I know for certain is that this is not the, if you’ll excuse the pun, black and white issue it has been made out as. Neither those praising Suárez as a saint, circling the wagons and frothing at the mouth in support, nor those lambasting him as the scum of the earth are helping matters. This case may well go on to define a fair part of how racism in football is treated in this country, and to turn it into a tribal mud fight is about the worst thing that could happen.

Photo credit: cap_gundamgirl (via flickr)

A- Ángel Di Maria from Real Madrid goes into the winter break with the most assists in Europe, 13 assists in 14 games.

B- Barcelona’s average possession this season so far is 70.6%, the highest in La Liga.

C- Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 36% of Real Madrid’s 56 goals so far in La Liga with 20.

D- Dribbles, Lionel Messi has completed the most so far this season, 87 in total, an average of 5.4 per game.

E- Eleven players have scored own goals this season. Those players being Botia, Lora, Alvaro Gonzalez, Abidal, Gabi, Javi Venta, Miranda, Dorado, Torrejon, Demichelis and Roberto Soldado.

F- Atlético Madrid has conceded the most amount of fouls, 44 in total.

G- 424 goals have already been scored so far this season.

H- Gonzalo Higuaín has scored more than a goal per game this season, 12 goals in 8 appearances.

I- Iñigo Martinez has the worst discipline record so far, 4 yellows and 2 reds. To make up though, he’s also scored 2 goals from his own half this season.

J- Joan Verdú (Espanyol) has completed the most key passes on average per game, 2.9.

K- Keepers, Victor Valdes (Barcelona) has conceded the least amount of goals, 8. Roberto Gago (Real Zaragoza) has conceded the most, 31.

L- Levante started the season unbeaten in their opening 9 games, 2 draws 7 wins.

M- Lionel Messi.

N- No team have managed to stay unbeaten so far in the league. Barcelona have lost the least amount of games (1) Zaragoza have lost the most amount of games (10)

O- Helder Postiga has been caught offside more times than any other players per game. An average of 2.1 times per game, 32 times in total.

P- Thiago Alcantara has the best average pass completion rate in the league with 890 passes completed out of 948, giving a success rate of 93.9%

Q- In the first Clásico of the season, we saw the quickest goal scored by Benzema. It took the Frenchman 22 seconds to find the back of the net.

R- There have been 52 red cards shown so far this season, Sevilla have been shown the most (5), Barcelona with the least (0)

S- Santander have completed the least amount of short passes per game in the league. 247 on average

T- Tackles. Sporting Gijon have made the most tackles per game with an average of 26.3.

U- Unable (Okay I’ve cheated at bit) to choose between them Ronaldo and Messi both have been superb, 37 goals and 13 assists between them, two best players in the world? (You couldn’t have thought of something for Unai Emery? – Ed)

V- Rayo Vallecano have completed the most amount of interceptions per game with an average of 39.5, a total of 632 interceptions.

W- The winter Cláscio seems to be the important one as, in each of the last seven seasons, whichever team has won it has gone on to win the league. Barcelona will be happy to hear that fact.

X- Xavi Hernández. You’ll be surprised to hear has completed the most passes per game, he averages around 105 passes per match.

Y- There has been 892 yellow cards shown so far this season in La Liga, Getafe have received the most (62) Malaga the least (24).

Z- Zaragoza have managed to score the least amount of goals from set pieces, just the 1 so far. Stoke, they are not.

Photo credit: masterahmed (via flickr)

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The Bundesliga has enjoyed a lot of very positive attention in recent times. One of the reasons for this is the football being played and in particular the likes of Borussia Dortmund showing the world that German football isn’t as methodical and negative as some stereotypes might have you believe. Another reason is the resurgence of the German national team, which has been boosted by the emergence of one of the most exciting crops of young talent in recent times. However, perhaps the biggest reason for it’s appeal to non-German fans is how open the league is compared to other “big” European leagues.

Over the course of the past fourteen years the Bundelsiga has crowned six different champions, Bayern Munich the one constant throughout, with eight titles. For the most part the teams competing for the title and those who have won it have been clubs with history of league success, Werder Bremen winning their fourth title in 2004, Kaiserslautern their fourth in 1998, VFB Stuttgart their fifth in 2007 and Borussia Dortmund their seventh in 2011. The one side that had no history of success in the Bundesliga and very little history in the Bundesliga full stop, this week’s One Hit Wonder, was VFL Wolfsburg.

Wolfsburg, from the Lower Saxony region of North Germany, spent most of their early life floating around the lower tiers of German football and it wasn’t until 1997 that they eventually gained promotion to the 1.Bundesliga and, despite many tipping them for relegation, managed to cement a place in Germany’s top tier. A series of “ok” results and some European football meant that Wolfsburg were usually considered just another Bundesliga team, sometimes awkward, but never worth all that much attention or worry. Two relegation battles, in 2006 and 2007, might have signalled the beginning of the end if it wasn’t for something of a coup signing in the transfer market, but it wasn’t on the pitch, it was in the dugout.

Felix Magath is the kind of manager that players either love or despise. Nicknames such as “Saddam”, after Saddam Hussein, and “Qualix”, a mixture of his name and the German word for torture “qualen”, tell you all you need to know about his take on football management. He enjoys a notorious reputation as a hard taskmaster, whose training focuses on discipline, fitness and conditioning, but he also enjoys a high level of respect throughout Germany, thanks to an incredibly successful career both on and off the pitch.

An attacking midfielder, he started his career with FC Saarbrücken before moving to Hamburger SV where he won three league titles, a European Cup Winners Cup and scored the winning goal in a European Cup final. A full German international, he also boasts a European Championship winners medal. His management career started slowly, but eventually gathered momentum when he signed with VFB Stuttgart in 2001, good performances and excellent results saw him offered the biggest job in German club football when Bayern Munich came calling in 2004. Two domestic doubles in his first two seasons saw his stock sky rocket, but third season woes and the prospect of a 4th place finish for such an illustrious club meant that he parted company with the Bavarians in January 2007, before signing with Wolfsburg later that summer, they finished the season together in 5th place, Wolfsburg’s highest ever league placing.

Starting from the back and moving forward, young Swiss international Diego Benaglio was the man that Magath had chosen to provide the last line of defence. Benaglio had previous experience of German football after a short and unsuccessful spell with VFB Stuttgart, a more successful stint between the sticks at Nacional de Madeira, in Portugal, had earned him a starting place in the Swiss national side and in January 2008 he joined Die Wölfe.

At left back was former 1860 Munich youth graduate Marcel Schäfer who had joined the club the previous season and looked set for a future on the fringes of the German national team, thanks in no small part to Philipp Lahm. On the opposite side of the defence was Sascha Riether, a former German under 21 international who had emerged through the ranks at SC Freiburg before joining Wolfsburg in 2007. At the heart of the defence was the shock signing of the Germany season, Andrea Barzagli. The Italian international had been expected to leave Palermo and join Fiorentina during the summer of 2008, but a lucrative contract offer from Wolfsburg was too good to turn down and a €12.75 million fee was agreed. His partner changed throughout the season, Magath alternating between the towering presence of Alexander Madlung and the youthful exuberance of Jan Šimůnek.

In the centre of the park was a man used to winning, Brazil’s diminutive defensive midfielder Josué. During his three years with São Paulo he had won an impressive five trophies, including two Brazilian titles and the Copa Libertadores, not to mention a Copa America winners medal with Brazil in 2007, his experience would prove invaluable to Wolfsburg throughout the season. Zvjezdan Misimovic was tasked with providing the creative flair that Josué lacked, a product of the famous Bayern Munich youth academy 14 goals in 37 appearances for FC Nuremberg was enough to convince Magath of his worth and he was another player playing his debut season with Die Wölfe. Christian Gentner initially joined Wolfsburg on loan, in 2007, but a series of good displays throughout the 07/08 campaign saw the loan become a permanent deal in August 2008. The forth midfield berth was shared throughout the season between a variety of squad players, ranging from the Japanese youngster Makoto Hasebe to Argentinean journeyman Jonathan Santana.

Up front was an unusual pairing of two big men, one Brazilian and one Bosnian, one offered experience and guile, the other out to make a name for himself in one of Europe’s top leagues. Both men had signed for Wolfsburg the previous season, Magath bringing them in to lead the line, but neither had set the Bundesliga alight, only managing to muster 19 goals between them in a season that saw Wolfsburg finish fifth. However, nobody could have predicted the season that lay ahead for both Grafite and Edin Džeko.

The 2008/09 season was a season of two halves for VFL Wolfsburg, disappointment before the winter break and elation afterwards. Magath’s side struggled for form over the first half of the season, the opening seventeen rounds producing seven wins, five draws and five losses. As winter settled in and the players took their much needed break Die Wölfe found themselves languishing in 9th place, just one place higher than Magath’s predecessor, Klaus Augenthaler, had led the club to before he was sacked the previous season. Bayern Munich, of course, were challenging at the top and pushing surprise package, Hoffenheim, all the way in what looked like a very open campaign with just three points separating 1st and 5th. With Wolfsburg nine points off the pace nobody in their right mind would have considered them in with a chance of making a play for the title and many considered their excellent showing in the Uefa Cup Magath’s saving grace.

The first game back after the winter break was a nothing draw away to Köln and it seemed as though the season was going to progress as it had done before the break. Elsewhere there was a shock in store for Bayern Munich, a loss at HSV saw them drop to fourth, three points behind leaders Hoffenheim. All three clubs would experience a quite spectacular change of form over the following sixteen games.

Let’s start with Hoffenheim, who at this stage were enjoying the full effect of Dietmar Hopp’s financial support. Over the course of the first seventeen games they had notched an impressive 11 wins, 2 draws and 4 losses, they were unbeaten at home and matching Bayern Munich in terms of points. Of course, nobody ever expected a team like Hoffenheim to maintain that kind of form over a full campaign and after their 2-0 victory over Energie on returning from the winter break it looked like they might prove their detractors wrong. That win would be their last until May and sixteen games later, with a record of won 4, drawn 8 and lost 5, Hoffenheim had dropped from joint top to 7th, a quite spectacular fall.

The team that everyone expected to push on and claim the title ahead of Hoffenheim were Bayern Munich. The most successful team in Germany, they had proven time and again that a slow start wasn’t enough to derail their title ambitions and with Hoffenheim floundering the Bundelsiga title looked to be theirs for the taking. However, just like Hoffenheim, they suffered from post winter blues too and four games in to the second half of the season they had already suffered a further four losses and occupied 5th spot. The humiliation of such a lowly position seemed to spur Bayern on and they went on a run of impressive victories, including a 12-0 aggregate win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League, but the run would be brought to a dramatic end by the team that would win the title and it was a season defining moment.

Following the draw with Köln, Wolfsburg notched ten straight victories, 30 points from a possible 30, equalling the Bundesliga record for consecutive wins in the process. It wasn’t just the form and the victories that was impressive though, it was the manner of the victories, 26 goals were scored in those 12 games and big wins over the likes of Hamburg and Schalke signalled Wolfsburg’s intent, but no victory would signal the arrival of a new challenger better than a victory over Germany’s biggest side. April 4th 2009 was the day that Felix Magath came up against his old side, his new side sitting in top spot thanks to a wonderful run of games, the form was with Wolfsburg, but still people doubted. Not so 90 minutes and a 5-1 victory later.

We can only speculate as to the reaction behind the scenes in Munich after such an emphatic loss at the hands of a manager they had dumped unceremoniously a season earlier and against a team that had never before challenged for the title, but at least they would have the chance to pass it off as a loss to the champions when Wolfsburg claimed the title 8 games later. Wolfsburg’s form stuttered with two losses, but otherwise they maintained their winning streak and finished the second half of the season with 13 wins in 16 games. Bayern bounced back from their 5-1 humiliation and clawed back the points with a great run of wins, but a loss to Schalke sealed their fate and despite doing their part by beating Stuttgart in the final game of the season Wolfsburg were crowned champions by just two points, the win confirmed with a yet another emphatic 5-1 victory, this time over Werder Bremen.

2008/09 was a typically open Bundesliga season and as the curtain fell there were just six points between first and fifth, but with Wolfsburg scoring almost 2.4 goals per game there was no doubting who deserved the title, Dzeko and Grafite scoring 54 goals between them. The win for Magath was seen by many as his crowning moment, even more impressive than consecutive doubles with Bayern Munich and having achieved all he felt he could with Wolfsburg he moved to Schalke. Things didn’t exactly go to plan in Gelsenkirchen and despite an excellent first season in charge a disastrous second was enough to see the pair part company. However, things didn’t go swimmingly for Wolfsburg either and a 9th place finish under Armin Veh was followed by the high profile appointment of Englishman Steve McLaren and a season battling relegation.

Magath’s departure from Schalke and Wolfsburg’s plight saw the two join forces once more, in early 2011, they currently occupy 12th in the Bundesliga, not safe, but not overly worried either. The prospect of another late season push for the title seems unlikely, but a return to past glories isn’t beyond Magath or Die Wölfe’s capabilities, until that happens they will remain Germany’s most recent example of a One Hit Wonder.

Photo credits: italiafan (via flickr), FIFA TV UnO (via flickr)

Being of a certain age (if you’ve been reading my articles you can guess my age), there was a phenomena that occurred something called the Very Special Episode on television, where you learn something you don’t need to know. I know that doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas and football, but this is a very special episode of my article. Giving out Gifts to Football clubs/writers/players. First up, the

Clubs:

• New York Cosmos – a Stadium. – Call it, well Pele Field – put it in Manhattan. I’d design it like Energy Drink FC’s but have more to do with the trophies.
• Chelsea FC – a run of form to get André Villas-Boas off of the hotseat.
• Barcelona – Neymar. We all know he’s coming.
• Manchester City – any player they are looking to transfer in, who isn’t in Liverpool’s list.
• Liverpool – FA cup and Carling Cup trophies for 2012, because we need cups again.
• Paris Saint-Germain – Rafa Benítez, Carlos Tévez, and any other top player who can only play for the money.
• Philadelphia Union – A left back, and a spot for Freddy Adu to fulfill his potential
• NY Red Bull – David Beckham.
• Manchester United – another Paul Scholes.
• Everton – Money
• Celtic – Rangers to be knocked down to third.
• Arsenal – Health, and an FA Cup (do they have to share this with Liverpool? – Ed)

Players:

• Carlos Tévez – that move away from England.
• Wayne Rooney – your form back.
• Brek Shea – transfer to English Premier League club.

Writers/Bloggers/Personalities:

• Grant Wahl – FIFA Presidency
• Paul Tompkins – a blog post/tweet/day without being called a Rafa Benítez lover.
• Natterfootball – International ranking/blog awards (sidenote I write for them too)
• Simon here at LLF – a job at the Guardian
• Kirsten Schlewitz (SB nation blogger on Italy and Aston Villa) – a lifetime supply of coffee and goals in Serie A
• Cesar Diaz – own radio show, and Cosmos games to cover instead of scandals
• Eric Nash – a spot on Philly Union Broadcasts
• Alexis Lalas – Retirement, and Twitter love.

Photo credit: www.metaphoricalplatypus.com (via flickr)

Let’s face it, we’ve known it pretty much all season. There was a brief flirtation with the idea that Chelsea might be able to put themselves in the mix, but realistically, the 2011-12 Premier League title has always been Manchester bound. This weekend’s results merely confirmed that in the minds of many. While Chelsea contrived to drop points from a winning position against Wigan, United controlled their game against Queen’s Park Rangers, and should have won by far more than the eventual 2-0 scoreline. Though some thought that an Arsenal win at the Etihad Stadium might fire them back to the fringes of the title race, it was City who came away from an open encounter with the 1-0 win. Manchester, for now, sits as the dominant city in English football.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the seeming superiority that the two clubs have in the league is that they have been operating, over the past few years, at fairly differing ends of the financial landscape. Though Man United spent at a solid level this summer, bringing in the likes of David De Gea, Phil Jones and Ashley Young for big fees, they were still operating in a world where the large part of their expenditure was covered by the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009.

Despite their continued, Arsenal-like insistence that the money is there to be spent, United have yet to plough the entirety of that fee back into the side. According to figures on transfermarkt.co.uk , United are still £17.5M in transfer profit since Ronaldo’s sale to Real Madrid. When one includes the previous season in their figures, taking them back to the point at which City were flooded with cash, they drop to an overall expenditure of £15.76M, still hardly a huge amount for a club who have won two of the three league titles in that time.

CIty, on the other hand, have spent whenever the opportunity has arisen. Having already thrown around a bit of cash under previous owner Thaksin Shinawatra, a time during which they look like paupers in comparison, they have since blown away nearly all spending records that exist in the game. In just three and a half years they have spent a net total of £402.12M and assembled a squad that is as strong in depth as any in the game. On their bench against Arsenal on Sunday sat over £100M worth of footballing talent, and such is their strength that they can afford to banish the talents of Carlos Tévez from their squad and barely miss a step.

City’s squad of superstars, an assemblage to rival the spending and quality of the best that Real Madrid have managed in their Galacticos eras, at their best are a sight to behold. Their array of attacking talents, David Silva, Sergio Agüero, Mario Balotelli, Samir Nasri et al, have ensured that they are capable of bludgeoning teams to death throughout the league this season. From their most famous 6-1 thrashing of United, to the five they have put past Tottenham, Norwich and Wolves, they have almost been scoring at will, dropping only seven points and scoring a frankly ridiculous fifty goals in their sixteen games so far.

United, on the other hand, have relied on their clichéd yet seemingly unstoppable will to win, and despite various setbacks, including the aforementioned humiliating derby defeat, sit just two points behind their city rivals. In their last six Premier League games, United have come out 1-0 winners on three occasions, and that would almost certainly have been four had Newcastle not been awarded a penalty for a perfectly timed Rio Ferdinand tackle. They may go about getting their results in a different manner, but still there is little to separate them. Both sides have lost just once, United having picked up that solitary home draw against Newcastle the only thing that currently splits them.

The fact that between them they have picked up an average of 2.5 points per game has left any potential challengers struggling to cling on. Tottenham may have had an initial hiccup in the first weeks of the season, but they are currently making the best fist of it, sitting five points behind United with a game in hand. Harry Redknapp’s men have played some scintillating football this season, but there remains a fear that they don’t have the depth in crucial positions to sustain a challenge. They look nailed on for a top four finish and a return to the Champions League, and such should be considered a successful season. Talk of a title challenge may be a flight of fancy too far just yet though.

Chelsea, the side that most would have tipped to make the strongest challenge to the Manchester dominance, are in a season of transition. With a new manager and a change of philosophy, things are taking their time to settle down at Stamford Bridge, and their battle is to retain their place in the top four, not to regain their title crown. Arsenal, likewise, though they have recovered in incredible fashion from a devastatingly poor start, are not in a position to mount a threat. Their battle, like Chelsea’s, is to ensure that their record of Champions League qualification is not broken, and will slug it out with their two London rivals and Liverpool for the two remaining places at Europe’s top table. There are good sides in the Premier League, but none who yet look ready or able to do anything about Manchester’s duopoly in 2012.

So the question that remains is to which side of the Manchester divide will the title fall? Logic perhaps dictates that City’s superior squad will carry them to victory, but one would be foolish to entirely write off United and their knowledge of how to manage a title challenge. It is yet another cliché, but only because it has come to be true so often, that United are the masters at making the most of what they have. On paper their squad looks a long way from being able to live with the likes of City, yet as we approach the halfway mark they are with them step for step. Should they still be there come the famed ‘squeaky bum time’ then it may just be that their experience sees them over the line. In all truth if I were putting money on it, I would be backing City, but the one thing that is certain is that the Premier League trophy will be spending another year in Manchester, and unless those behind get themselves in order, it could be there for a long time to come.

Photo credit: Catalan Bola Photo Gallery (via flickr)

Some would sneer a little at the word ‘Genius’ being used to describe a footballer. In English football the word is attributed to players such as Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne; players who can barely string a sentence together, players who look and play like fans in shirts and players who probably wouldn’t survive in any non-football related profession. Those who sneer at the word being used for that exceptional, rare player are completely missing the point, though. While the word ‘Genius’ is typically associated with those in academic spheres (the Einsteins and Newtons of this world) the word has also been attributed to those who have excelled in non-academic spheres (the Beethovens and Picassos of this world). The essence of genius is in its rarity; a person who is exceptionally intelligent or creative.

If we go by that definition, then, there are a rare group of footballers who are can be categorised as geniuses on the field, notwithstanding their academic intelligence. Michael Laudrup portrayed a level of vision which was on par with the greatest artists. Zinedine Zidane was A 21st Century Portrait, possessing the grimace of a serial killer and a tricoloured bald-patch, his big-game performances a series of undeniable masterpieces. Ronaldinho, at his peak, was a flowing salsa-dance of triple sombreros, able to place shots which were able to ride an onrushing blue wave in his vicinity where gaps were limited.

And then there was Dejan Savićević.

Il Genio, they called him. The Genius – that’s exactly what Dejan Savićević was on the football pitch. Savićević wasn’t a number 10 in the conventional sense. While many of the best players commonly see passes on the pitch which do not appear to exist – the aspect of ‘vision’ – and that’s often what makes them stand out. Savićević, meanwhile, was able to unlock defences which appeared to be impregnable through a mixture of doggedness and elegant dribbling that owed much to his instant control. His bouncy, slugged running-style was that of a balletic grace – he simply floated over the surface, his dexterous footwork and ability to change direction at pace marked him out as one of the most gifted players of his generation. At times he almost appeared to overdone the dribbling, as if the ball was his lover and he didn’t want to part with it, cornered in a footballing alleyway only to escape the thugs that were so keen to remove the ball from his left foot. Indeed, like all the best players, he was a level ahead of his opponents and he often left them mesmerised.

Savićević’s at times languid manipulation of the ball was synonymous with his reluctance to related to training. As Patrick Vieira wrote in his autobiography (having brushed left feet with Savićević at AC Milan): “He was the one with the most talent but actually he trained very rarely. For a Sunday game, he’d only really show up from the Friday onwards. I never saw him do a full week’s training…because he was amazingly talented, though, [the coach] Fabio Capello let him do his own thing.”

BOOM! We’re talking about AC Milan in the mid 1990s here, an era where they reached two Champions League finals. This was an era where Fabio Capello – a well-known disciplinarian – was at the helm. This was an era where there was no room for any egos, you would imagine. And yet he let Savićević stay at home and enjoy a cup of cappuccino while someone, presumably, massaged his left foot.

Signed from Red Star Belgrade, where he was integral in their European Cup final triumph over Olympique Marseilles, he was integral again in the same tournament in 1994. In a 4-0 Milan win, he scored the brilliant third, a dipping lob from the right flank that flew through the Athens sky, his left foot striking a spell over the ball, weighting it perfectly that it drifted over the stranded Spanish keeper Zubizarreta.

Ultimately, the greatest examples of vision are those ideally executed on the biggest or latter stages of the beautiful game against high-quality sides. On this basis, then, Savićević’s performance for Red Star Belgrade against Bayern Munich in the 1991 European Cup semi-final 2nd leg must rank as one of the greatest individual performances in modern times.

In a counter-attacking Red Star Belgrade side, the onus was almost solely on Savićević (and Robert Prosinečki) to produce the moments of vision and creativity. His first few touches of the match showed he was in the mood as he drifted to the right-touchline and exchanging passes with Prosinečki. In the 23rd minute, receiving the ball on the right touchline, evading a despairing challenge of Steffen Effenberg, his diagonal run was halted by a challenge by the second man. Siniša Mihajlović scored from the resulting free-kick. A few minutes later, Savićević was on the left touchline, slaloming his way through the Bayern defence, evading two tackles, leaving a series of defenders on their backsides before shooting over the bar. Effenberg, a brilliant, dynamic midfielder, was embarrassed again, Savićević switching the ball from his right foot to his left foot and then nutmegging him. Although only one of these three actions resulted in a goal, they led to something important in the context game: it gave Red Star belief that they, the underdogs, and not Bayern, were the favourites to reach the final.

Inconsistency, injuries, a restriction on foreigners in the starting XI and the fact that he was viewed as a luxury player in a team – where the focus was largely on the defensive side – means his career at AC Milan was largely frustrating. Sadly, when discussing Savićević it will always be a case of what-might-have-been. And history can be cruel on what-might-have-beens.

Photo credit: sportvideohu (via flickr)

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