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.