Ole, OIe Ole Oleee...

Loyal servant, classy striker, game-rescuer, versatile in attack, a gentleman of the game. Legend.

How often do you get a player who is some, let alone all, of these? All big clubs need a player that doesn't always play but give immense contribution more than proportionate to their playing time. Ole was such a player for Man Utd. This week, he decided that because of his knee injury it was right to call time on a glorious playing career that had won him fans from friend and foe.

Solskjaer's party piece was coming off the bench as a sub and scoring to either spark a comeback, secure a draw, clinch a win or cement one. According to Fergie, he had a knack for reading the game and understanding it while on the bench; this enabled him to devise some kind of plan to make an immediate impact on the game.

Ole came to Manchester United for a mere £1.5million. Despite all of his qualities, throughout his career at Man Utd, he only ever had a few seasons where he started regularly, but never complained about being on the bench. Ironically, because of his ability to change the game, Fergie considered him a better player as a substitute than as a starter, which might have done harm to his playing time.

Ole set the story of his career with his first game at Blackburn in the 96-97 season; scoring within 6 minutes of his introduction as a substitute to secure a draw. In the years to come, he would gain a reputation as one of the most feared finishers in the Premiership. Not for nothing was he nicknamed "The Baby-Faced Assassin", a title he professed to dislike; in Man Utd's Treble season, he scored a late winners against Liverpool in the FA Cup and Bayern Munich in the European Cup Final. Subsequently he would become more of a regular starter in the 2001-2003 yrs, helping United wrest back the Premier League crown in 02-03 after Arsenal had broken their hold a year before.

Happier times

In 2003, Ole would suffer a serious knee injury; its effect and recurrences kept him out for almost 3 years, until the 06/07 season. During this period of time, fans sang his name in the stands and a "20Legend" banner would often be seen flying high as fans showed their loyalty and support for one of the club's favorite sons. Their patience was rewarded in United's second league game of the 06-07 season where he scored in the 89th minute in an away game against Charlton.

They did not have to wait much longer for his first goal at Old Trafford since April 2003 against Liverpool. In true Ole fashion, Man Utd were tied 2-2 in a Champions League tie at Old Trafford. Who else but Solskjaer was on hand to bang in a Saha pass in the 91st minute to win the game.

Next was his first Premiership goal at home since the injury where he was in the right place to tuck in a Ronaldo belter that had rebounded off the post against Newcastle.

Who put the ball in the Scouser's net? - After coming on as a substitute (surprise, surprise) in Man Utd's 3rd round clash with Liverpool in the 98/99 season, Ole slots neatly into David James's near post in the 92nd (surprise, surprise) minute to send Old Trafford into bedlam

Ole was a complete forward who had a bit of everything, though most fans will immediately respond "finishing" when asked to name his greatest trait. Near post, far post, left foot, right foot, low sidefoots and close-range blasts, decent heading, long range curling efforts, and immaculate volleying from all sorts of wierd angles and contorted body shapes. Throw in a couple of bicycle kicks for good measure. Perhaps his most favored finish was the grasscutter which he would knock into the far post from acute angles with either foot, or those that he would slot low beside the keeper's foot or under him; the kind that makes you confused about whether to save with your feet while standing up, or fall backwards and save with your hands, and which you'll end up doing neither or attempting both but conceding because of the decision making time involved. His excellent control and first touch often got him past the last man, creating one-on-one situations for himself. On other occassions, he fooled defenders with his fakes and shimmys to set himself up for a shot.

Besides his skill in finishing, Ole had excellent movement and thus fit into United's attacking system perfectly. One of the reasons Fergie felt confident about selling Beckham was Solskjaer's versatility as a right winger. Ole had a great cross in him and offered different options from Beckham with his mobility. A great example would be his assist to Rooney in the Roma away Champions League match last season.

"Beckham... into Sheringham... and Solskjær has won it!"

Ole wheels away in celebration after scoring one of the most famous goals in Manchester United history -

a second injury-time goal to snatch victory from defeat against Bayern Munich in the European Cup Final of 1999

As a Utd fan, there are countless special memories in my heart, and Ole is involved in many of them; that unforgettable night in Barcelona; the four goals after coming on as a sub against Forest after Cole and Yorke had notched 2 apiece. Countless other important goals, most scored during injury time, that changed the result of the match. I remember choking abit when he celebrated with a simple bow and one-handed salute to the away fans after scoring against Charlton, and also with the winner against Celtic shortly after, this time with a more expressive celebration. The look on his face as he put 2 years of injury nightmare behind him said, "I've waited and bided my time. Now I'm back."

I found this comment on Guardian Unlimited's article on Solskjaer's retirement and I just had to put it in:

"If you were leading Man U 1-0 at your place with 20 minutes to go, Solskjaer's track suit would come off his number held up and there was a grim inevitability about what would happen next...... You knew it, your centre backs knew it, your goal keeper knew it, your manager knew it, what was worse the away fans in knew it. "

- Marwelldezueew
August 28, 2007 3:07 PM

***
Football 365's article:

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8742_2691204,00.html

Guardian Unlimited Blog's article:
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/08/28/the_joy_of_six_solskjaer_momen.html

Puerta

Antonio Puerta passed away at age 22, following his collapse in the Sevilla - Getafe game. It is tragic indeed when football takes lives, it doesn't matter whether the person is a star or a squad player or a fan. According to reports, he is succeeded by his girlfriend who is expecting their son next month. I guess the only consolation is that, having experienced heart attacks before this during games, he knew that the risk was there, and he died playing the game he loved. Real Betis, being the cross town local derby death-rivals of Sevilla, have never been their best pals, but it was touching to hear that Betis Chairman Manuel Ruiz de Lopera was one of the first to offer his condolences. Football is perhaps not more important than life or death, but they are inextricably linked.

News Link:

Serie A short Summary

Aquilani Goal against Palermo:

http://www.d1g.com/video/show/?id=1289012

Alessandro Rosina (Lazio vs Torino)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KsavuMo18Sc

The Juventus jersey, is, in my humble opinion, very ugly.

The Big Fuss about Form

**This is a post as a Man Utd supporter***

Its a funny old game isn't it? Two draws and a loss didn't worry me at all, but a 1-0 win over Spurs did.

Unlike the Man City game where Micah Richards and Richard Dunne were Men of the Match and Kasper Schmeichel led a charmed life in goal (mind you, he's Peter's son so I'll always be rooting for him on some level), Man Utd's chance creation rate looked a few shades poorer and, while again having much possession, created only a few real opportunities. With a central midfield of Scholes, Carrick and Hargreaves, it got cramped occassionally and with only Tevez up front, United lacked penetration. While Nani showed occassional brilliance and a willingness to make tackles, he still looks like he needs to toughen up abit before he really gets into the rough-and-tumble mode that is the Premiership. Giggsy seems to be lacking that extra bit of pace to beat the top defenders and the space that Tevez found again and again at the Eastlands was missing at Old Trafford. If Fergie is to continue this 3-part midfield, I think Carrick needs to get a more advanced role around the edge of the area. Although he's more famed for his long passes, his short passes are sweet too and he possesses enough awareness to start a few attacks of his own; this will help against teams that hold back.


Hargreaves's performance impressed me again as it did at Eastlands and I can't wait to see him in a combative role against teams like Chelsea. I think we all miss the old Keane-Vieira battles and its great that we have a Keane-type player to start a new era of classic clashes; think Hargreaves-Gerrard, Hargreaves-Mikel or whatever.

The solitary goal of the game, a Nani piledriver, was decent enough, but my money was on Paul Robinson to save it were it not for Tevez's shoulder giving it a slight deflection. Even luck, perhaps, for the deflection on Geovanni's shot. Hopefully, Saha can return soon to provide more firepower upfront.

Berbatov didn't get his name on the scoresheet, but showed his class with a control-drag that befuddled Ferdinand and another defender who I couldnt see clearly(blame Sopcast) and followed it up with a curling effort inches wide of the top corner. This was preceded by a relaxed backheel to set up Robbie Keane who hit the crossbar in the first half with his own curling shot. Its always entertaining to watch certain players and I'm sure both Berbatov and Keane fall into that category.

******

Elsewhere, Juventus return comfortably to Serie A with a 5-1 win over Livorno. Looks like its back to business for them. Any bets on whether Juve need a season to recover, or will they bounce right back into it? Worthy recruits include Jorge Andrade and Vincenzo Iaquinta. No more runaway lead for Inter this season...

Inter Jerseys

Zlatan in Inter's new home jersey, complete with retro-style collar!









Yep, the away kit looks more like an England kit with its St. George's Cross. I think it looks great by itself, but somehow that effect isn't brought over to the pitch. Check out ol' Marco gek-king the say.

Anyhow, the reason for this unusual design is that it's Inter's Centennial Season, and the cross is actually from the crest of the city of Milan. The same one in AC Milan's and Alfa Romeo's crest.

Milan Crest

Reng-dom Ramblings

After some foruming-surfing, the general consensus is that Nani, unlike the 03/04 Cristiano Ronaldo, doesn't really require any beefing up....

I don't think I've seen a shutout in quite some time, and thanks to Van der Sar, I was marvelling at the beauty of it. I just hope the Charity Shield jinx doesnt strike Utd. As Charity Shields go, I thought it was a pretty exciting match (though I half suspect its the seasonal relative-lack-of-football-so-any-football-looks-good football). Utd had dozens of decent chances to score, but dogged defending + Cech' saves kept Chelsea in the game.

I've said it once and I'll say it again; Cech is a superhuman. He has everything it takes to be the best keeper in the world, assuming he isn't recognised as that already. He reminds me of a young Peter Schmeichel, albeit less wide, and less vocal. Less vocal not necessarily being a bad thing, because Schmeichel used to piss off the likes of Jaap Stam, Roy Keane and other defenders/centre-backs off with his own version of the Fergie Hairdryer. Both possessed incredible reflexes and world-class agility, despite having lanky frames(or in Schmeichel's case, gigantic). In fact, you could add Van der Sar to the list, then isolate Cech, because I think VDS and Schmeichel both had/have excellent distribution, whereas I've never seen Cech make an assist or anything. But one thing Cech has over them, is his concentration. Seriously, just think of the last time u saw Cech make a gaff. Can't remember? That's probably because you haven't seen him make one. The man is like a robot. I'm sure you can remember Schmeichel making howlers; last season VDS had a couple of clangers as well. But despite searching my memory I can't seem to recall Cech making one. In an interview Cech once said that he used to do pretty well at school because he had good concentration, and well, I seriously don't think he has any reason to lie.

Back to the match; considering Rooney played upfront, it was an excellent attacking performance, although Chelsea came out to attack as well and didn't adopt any suffocating defending. It's too early for me to rate any of their purchases, but Malouda, having gotten himself on the scoresheet with an excellent one-on-one finish, stands out. He actually outmuscled Rio Ferdinand while chasing a long ball(though Gum will laugh and say anyone in the Premier League, no make that Division 1, could do it as well) to get himself into a scoring position.

*Man Utd supporters, look out for Darron Gibson, another promising young talent from the youth ranks. He's a left footed central midfielder who can supposedly both defend and attack. Supporters who have watched him live claim that his attributes are his physique and passing. Having once captained the Republic of Ireland U-21 side, he's also been picked before by Steve Staunton for 1 or 2 of the first team's Euro qualifiers. Though with the current depth in midfield, it might be some time before we get to see him. Here's his goal against Doncaster Rovers.


Inter's new main jersey is out and looks retro! I love it, the classic collar is back. I'll post a pic up soon. Inter are back to their old ways, signing yet another left footed free kick taker to fill one of their position - Chivu. I would be interested to see him fight it out with Maxwell, Burdisso or Zanetti for left-back though, I recall that he was a very mobile player while at Roma. Though I would expect Mancio to partner him with Materazzi who's had an outstanding season.

Quick Peek

Roy Keane proves his undying loyalty to Man Utd by rescuing them from Kieran Richardson's clutches, haha. It will be tinged with some disappointment, for we will never again see the combined power of the affectionately-nicknamed "Bermuda Triangle" (invented by Shenyong and co.), consisting of none other than squad numbers 22, 23, and 24: O'Shea, Richardson, and Fletcher.

One of his more decent performances last season:

KR scores with a deft left-footed chip against Watford, after being
put through by a neat Smith through ball.

No surprises there, really, as Richardson had some decent performances when given the run-out against weaker teams, but never really put in the kind of world-beating performance expected of a Man Utd 1st 11 player. Plus the fact that his 'pace' turned out to be highly-overrated...But well, I hope he does well for Sunderland anyway; if not for his own sake, then for Keano's. It's true he did very well at West Brom 2 seasons ago, earning the respect of fans. Perhaps he is an unrecognised genius whom the team needs to play around, like how Riquelme transformed Villareal. Skeptical? Wait and see..


Giuli moves to Roma for €3.2 million (£2.2m), which seems like a sound move considering Henry's arrival will probably limit his chances. At first glance it seems Giuly will fit right into Spalleti's wild position-switching attack. Even if he doesn't start, he will provide valuable cover for Perotta, Taddei and Mancini...

Parma bids again for Rossi. I honestly think its going to be very difficult for Rossi to get playing time this season, especially if the Tevez deal is successful. Not only is Saha ahead of him on the bench, Smudge hasn't left either, and anyway I think the best substitute around is still ol' Ole. With his diminutive frame but highly technical game, Italy seems like the best option for him at the moment. He will most importantly have the support of the Parma fans, having already saved them a la Tevez from relegation last season, though Italian fans are admittedly notorious for their willingness to turn against their supported players after poor performances.

Brazil win Copa America 2007

I am happy to say I cleverly avoided listing Argentina as my favorites in my previous post. Not because they weren't the overwhelming favorites to win for me, but rather to make sure I had no hand in the possible "commentator's curse" effect that had surely been gathering strength in newspaper columns and random opinions of celebrities all over the world.

C'mon, admit it. With Argentina's overwhelming attack on display and the talent at their disposal, a mini-steamrolling of Brazil must have whispered on the lips of thousands of neutrals, yours included. Brazil have really struggled at times in this tournament to impose their game on their opponents; perhaps because this time round their game is more tactically sound as compared to the usual attacking onslaught, though the samba soccer has resurfaced now and then. I suppose its abit like George Graham's Arsenal playing 3-4-3; you know that something's not quite right.

The lack of recognisable names on the Brazil squad sheet had also enforced my prejudice of them as an inferior Brazil side; Doni, prone to the occasional flap, can hardly compare to Inter's Julio Cesar; no Inter-preference there, Romanista Seng loves to condemn Doni as well. Juan? decent but not spectacular. Same goes for Gilberto, but he brings badly-needed experience to the side considering most of them aren't regular internationals. Besides Robinho, I did expect great things from Daniel Alves and Maicon, considering the seasons they have just had for Sevilla and Inter.

Well, Alves didn't disappoint as you would probably have known by now. Perhaps in a battle of 2 very technically gifted sides who are capable of playing all-out attacking football, the one who injects a healthier dose of conservatism and "practical" but boring football will gain a slight edge. Baptista took the lead for Brazil with a well placed high shot and Ayala scored an own goal that on closer inspection looked like a miskick. Daniel Alves rounded it off with an outstanding finish into the bottom corner, the type more often associated with strikers than right-backs.

Anyway, the scoreline 3-0 suggested a Brazil-dominated game, which wasn't entirely true since Riquelme hit the post once and forced Doni into a spectacular save(whatever his faults, his shot-stopping is occasionally brilliant it must be said).

Alves kissing his tattoo after scoring

If you check out Alves's goal, it seems to be a 2 on 3 counter... I'm not sure but the one closest to Alves seemed to be Riquelme, Vagner Love made a through pass on his blind side while he was facing Alves. Anyone care to venture your opinion on how Riquelme should have covered Alves? Or should it have been the central defender's responsibility?

Link to the goal here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylYAItHsf5U

Argentina.. and..Check out the Uncles

I was talking to Domi and Zhiwei about Argentina's attack the other day.

It is truly disgusting.. Crespo(now hamstrung), Tevez and Messi as forwards.. the unlikely "All-Centre-Midfielders" midfield of Riquelme, Mascherano, Cambiasso and Veron...

Not enough firepower? Bring on Milito and Aimar...more backup in the form of Gago in midfield.

And that defense.. Heinze, Ayala, Milito and Zanetti!!! Abbondanzieri is ok I suppose though I always liked Leo Franco more.

Hopefully their final later against Brazil won't be as bad as the 2005 final, where a late equaliser by Adriano sparked a furious reaction from the Argentina bench after a bad-tempered match, before Brazil claimed the trophy on penalties.



Anyway, was looking at some old photos on the Inter website, Inter.it... Check out who made it to Mihajlovic's testimonial match. on 28 May.. surprises included...



Ol' Mancini, showing he's still got the goods...







The legendary free kick taker Mihajlovic himself..(for those longtime watchers of footie, the person attempting to block him is Attilio Lombardo)

Fausto Salsano(technical assistant and trainer at Inter)

And for you basketball fans...a familiar face turned up...

Vlade Divac!! For those of you who don't know, Mihajlovic is an avid basketball fan (which might explain the basketball-jersey-length shorts that he wears), and he's a good friend of the ex-Laker and ex-Kings centre, who like Mihajlovic hails from Serbia. I suppose a goalkeeper role is fitting. In case you were wondering, its not Mancini who's short; Divac is 7'1". That's about 2.2 metres. That makes him 24cm taller than Petr Cech and Francesco Toldo, keepers for Chelsea and Inter; and 18cm taller than Peter Crouch.

Some New Kits for 07/08

Here are some previews... ripped some of these off Soccerpulse forums so credit to them..

AC Milan Home: thinner and more stripes than last season's.

Milan Away

Inter Training Kits: I confess I have a weakness for blue and white, so I must say I absolutely love these.

Real Madrid Home

Real Madrid Away: Looks abit dull if you ask me.

Man Utd Home: I was quite disappointed with this kit. Its just plain red in front, and while the stripe looks interesting, it would look weird if the shirt didn't have a printed name and number cos there'd be a gaping hole. I guess minimalists who like it simple would love it. Anyway, I don't think much of the Premier League's new font either. The number looks okay I think. Hopefully the kit will grow on me..

Blue keeper jersey!! Think ol' VDS looks quite snappy in it, its quite a classy colour and in fact its the first time I've ever seen a keeper kit in this colour. VDS said himself in an interview that it makes a nice change from wearing green all the time, even though it has a special place in his heart. I suppose he'll have to wear something flourescent against Chelsea and Everton though.

Speaking of Everton...

And their Friendly Neighbours...

Liverpool's new Away kit; I'm not too sure about the authenticity of this one but it does look like one of Adidas's templates for this season. Snazzy in my opinion.

Newcastle Home: this jersey is here to stay, but as for the player, who knows?
The Newcastle keeper kit is the one in grey. Interesting..

Bolton Home

Fulham Home and Away

Honorable Mention: I'm no Scotland fan but I think this is cool...

And now for this season's dubious kits...

Macclesfield Town's new jersey looks confusing enough to be worn by Jorge Campos...

Chelsea 3rd: No worries about halftime floodlight failures at Stamford Bridge, they'll be able to spot each other with ease with their radiated Glow-In-The-Dark Kit!!!

Special Mention: Though not of this season, who can forget Athletic Bilbao's adventurous Red/White camouflage pattern Uefa jersey of times past. Not one to forget in a hurry.

Da Big Fuss Over Tevez

Premier League Rule U18 states that:

"No club shall enter into a contract which enables any other party to that contract to acquire the ability materially to influence its policies or the performance of its teams in league matches or in any (other)competitions."

The rule was put into place to prevent third parties from having a role in possible transfers which were not in the best interests of the club that the player played for. One example is if the third party desired to sell the player to a rival club to which it had links; it could 'ask' the player to drop his performances, hence paving the way, after an unsuccessful season, for the player to exit the club with a drop in valuation. Another possible case could be that a club entertaining multiple bids for the player would prefer not to sell the player to a title contender; however, if this particular club offered the highest, it would surely be in the interests of the third party to push towards such a deal.

West Ham looked to have breached that rule when the club signed Tevez and Mascherano, who were part-owned by Media Sports Investment, the company formerly run by Iranian-born businessman Kia Joorabchian. For example, their contract contained a clause that the companies had the right to terminate the players' contracts upon payment to West Ham of £2m (in Tevez's case) or £150,000 (for Mascherano) in any transfer window. Mascherano was sent on loan to Liverpool, but Tevez stayed on at West Ham to play an important role in their struggle against relegation. West Ham were ordered to end their third-party agreements with MSI. The London club voluntarily surrendered documents detailing the agreements to the Premier League when they were warned of a possible investigation.

The independent commission proceeded to fine West Ham a record £5.5 million, but, seeing that West Ham "tore up" the third party agreements, deemed it legal for Tevez to continue to play for the club, and did not deduct points from the club. It is unclear whether Kia Joorabchian ever gave his consent to the termination, but it was suffice for the Premier League, since the third party does not fall under their jurisdiction. However, some of the seven reasons cited by the committee not to dock points from West Ham were cause for debate, especially one where considered to be weak. One reason given was that the League considered the position of the West Ham players and fans, who had nothing to do with the incident, and decided that they should not be made to suffer. As the judgement came on the eve before the final match, another factor was that any points deduction would consign West Ham to certain relegation, and thus deemed inappropriate.

These points were hotly contested by the other relegation-threatened clubs such as Wigan and Sheffield United, in particular Sheffield United as West Ham survived at their expense. In my opinion, they don't make sense; never mind the West Ham players and fans, what about those of Sheffield United's? Furthermore, the league had known of the situation early in the year, but the hearing had dragged until the end of the season, so they could only blame themselves for the timing. In fact, a subsequent arbitration panel deemed the initial rulings to be wrong, and stated that they would have, in all probability, decided to dock points from West Ham. However, they were in no postition to overturn the original ruling, and so it is that Sheffield United are left out of the top flight next season - at the expense of £50 million. Sheffield United are now considering taking the case against the Premier League and West Ham to High Court.

The Premier League has stated that they will block the Tevez transfer unless the full transfer fee goes to West Ham. It is likely, though that West Ham will agree some kind of compensation to MSI for the terminated deals. Manchester United themselves will be expected, in light of all the controversy surrounding the player, to ensure all dealings are transparent and in accordance with the rules.

Utd agree Tevez deal

Tevez appears to have agreed a deal with Man Utd, and the details are expected to be completed next week. According to rumours the initial deal will be for a loan; to complete the transfer United have to fork out £30-£40 million. The transfer is the latest in a series of deals involving Utd that remained low-profile till the final stages, and for United fans, a welcome change from the Peter Kenyon era where selling clubs made use of the very public bids to raise the prices of outgoing players.

Though he wasn't my first choice as "THE Striker for Man Utd", Tevez is definitely welcome in the eyes of many fans. The Argentinian carries a formidable reputation with him on the back of last season where he performed heroics to keep struggling West Ham afloat. Despite a largely anonymous start to the season, he scored 7 goals, weighed in with 5 assists and created countless more in the latter half of the season. He underlined his importance to the team by scoring the only goal in the penultimate game with Manchester United, the 3 points enough to keep West Ham from being relegated.

Tevez possesses the work rate and determination that seem to be two of Fergie's most highly prioritised attributes. With his strength, speed and strong finishing he is capable of playing right up front, but guile, technique and his lack of height suggest that he be more suited for the secondary striker role. His pace also allows him to be a wing forward. In fact, he shares almost the same physical traits with Rooney. With that in mind, it will be interesting how Ferguson decides the starting formation next season. If both Tevez and Rooney were to start, the natural combination would be Tevez upfront with Rooney behind; Man Utd's formation allows them to switch positions with each other or to the flanks anyway.

One thing that is certain, Tevez may well be the solution to Man Utd's lack of a world class free kick taker. The next closest, Ronaldo, isn't even close to what I or many other fans would deem a specialist free kick taker. But Tevez has scored some beauties in the previous season, with his effort against Spurs of note. Perhaps Ronaldo would still have a crack from distances of 30m and above, though, since he does have the power to hit them.

Where does this leave Saha? The Frenchman annoyed Fergie with his unwillingness to play through pain at crucial points of last season. Still, I admire Saha greatly as, mobility aside, he gives United a chance to pose some kind of aerial threat against opposition, which would be more or less non-existent if Tevez and Rooney were to start. Not that Ronaldo was ever the best crosser of the ball anyway, but the added dimension would offer something extra. If you looked at this season's Inter Milan or the Treble-winning Utd side of 98/99, the goals seemed to pop up from just about everywhere, long shots, headers from crosses, finishes resulting from clever build up play on the ground. So it certainly helps that a team retains as many options of attack as possible to eliminate any weaknesses. But I digress; with Fergie's known intolerance of attitude he deems to be unsatisfactory, it seems to be only a matter of time before Saha trods down the path made by Ruud and Becks.

Unfortunately for Alan Smith, this may well spell the end of his United career; with the burgeoning Rossi waiting in the wings as Sir Alex looks to youth, it is almost inevitable that Smith be shown the exit at the Theatre of Dreams. No matter how great the determination of the lad from across the Pennines, Smith finally seems to have been jostled out of a berth in the squad. Bad luck with injuries and lack of form contrived to deny him any significant playing spell in the striker's position, except, perhaps, for the bright start to his United career.

Last season, the Blues may have had the last laugh, winning the FA Cup; but for all intents and purposes, it is United who seemed to have made the brighter start, even before the season has commenced.

Becks's Double Vindication

I wasn't worried, if you can call it that, when Real Madrid went down to Mallorca goal in the early stages of their title decider. The closing stages of the season saw an incredible effort on the part of Madrid, producing multiple last-gasp efforts to procure additional points typified by Roberto Carlos's (of all people) 90th minute winner against "bogey" team Recreativo. This was precluded by Gonzalo Higuain's 89th minute goal which completed a comeback from 2 goals down to defeat a Pandiani-inspired Espanyol. The culmination was the almost-simultaneous salvaging of a point by Madrid against Zaragoza, with yet another last-minute goal this time by RVN.

Its probably no secret that I'm not Real Madrid's biggest fan; however I do hold a soft spot for Becks and RVN, the Devils that they were, and it does seem rather cruel for Becks to be leaving the Bernabeu empty-handed; I'm sure many other fans hold that view. Add to that the ignominy of being dropped by Capello once his LA Galaxy deal was confirmed, and you just wanted him to answer the Coach in the best way possible, with his performances on the field. If ol' Funky Specs had watched Man Utd during the '99~ish seasons, he would have known that sub-100%performances just simply weren't a part of Becks's game; no matter how hard the going, he always gave it his all (though in mitigation, Capello later publicly acknowledged and apologised for his oversight).

So it was that Ruud, top scorer for Real this season, found himself limping off with a done hamstring, with Real 1-0 down. The stage was simply set for Becks to complete his personal triumph with a goal on the night, which he almost did if the post and crossbar had not conspired to keep his acute-angle freekick out. Perhaps the Footballing Gods had decided there was a limit to their sensationalisation of this season.

True to the plot, however, substitute Reyes equalised with a well-worked goal, but Real still needed to find the winner. It came via the head of the much maligned Diarra, albeit the back of his head, and it forced a wonderful save out of keeper Miguel Moya; however the ball flew into the bum of the defender unfortunately guarding the post. Reyes, to borrow a timeless football cliché, put the icing on the cake with an excellent sidefooted effort from distance that flew past Moya's desparing dive. And so it was that Real ended a season where many doomed them to fail; indeed I suspect the players themselves weren't really expecting anything to come out of it, not in a season when your bad spells are marked by a 3-0 home defeat to Recreativo Huelva. But I got that tiny spark I had been looking for when I saw Ruud and Becks celebrating together.

In the close-season, Samuel Eto'o finds himself the subject of much transfer speculation, though he can give himself a pat on the back for it. The Cameroonian international has been doing his best impression of a serial flirter, enticing first Arsenal, Liverpool, then Man Utd with a series of "XXX club has a great footballing tradition.. I would dearly love to play there if given a chance" type of comments.

FootieReng

Introduction/disclaimer:

As you can guess, the title of this blog suggests that this blog shall contain all things Footie of my life. I shall alternate between writing formal-ish articles abt professional football on the world stage, matches in my life, and random musings on the Beautiful Game in general. The question of whether to write in proper English or slang is a dilemma that has furrowed my brows for some time; but I decided that I shall just take to whatever holds my fancy at that point in time. As this blog shall be somewhat public, I hope that you, my friend, will not take offense in the event that you suffer a scathing criticism of your performance, from me, of whichever match we were involved in together, haha. I guess my only regret is not having started on this blog earlier, and thus not being able to capture some of the earlier experiences in my life which I found throughly enjoyable.