Of Russia and Bulgaria

This is one of the most amazing football stories I have read recently. There's corruption all over the globe in football, but something about this happening between clubs in Bulgaria and Russia and the mention of the Russian secret service, gives this a Hollywood feel:

http://www.worldsoccer.com/features/mystery_surrounds_the_bogus_transfer_of_four_levski_sofia_players_writes_rumen_paytashev_features_292051.html

After Transfer Talk

The beginning of February means different things to different people ranging from the beginning of the end of winter to the season of ‘Love’. To me it signals the end of the transfer window and though the moment came after some delay this year, it is something I look forward to as assessing madness is a uniquely fascinating exercise. So after the poor weather and confusion over Arshavin has subsided, I sit to take stock of what I said and what they did.

It was a cliché filled window with the now predictable crazy money bid, a superstar caught between staying and leaving, players dropping hints, managers using the press, the press using managers, small clubs suffering and other well known lots and sub-plots developing to their frenzied conclusions come February and I must say that I enjoyed it. There has been talk of the winter transfer window being shelved but I’ll confess that I am a slave to the entertainment and if any alternative is not equally gripping then spare me the change.

Arsenal

Players I wanted in:

• Holding midfielder: Sergei Semak or Marcos Senna
• Versatile forward: Andrei Arshavin
• Left Back: John Arne Riise

Players I wanted out:

• None

Actual Players in:

• Versatile forward: Andrei Arshavin

Actual Players Out:

• Number of reserves sent out on loan

Honestly, I only named Arshavin when I made my wish list because he was already heavily linked and I think he will add real value to Arsenal. But he would have been lowest on my priority list and ergo, I am not Wenger. The www is filled with Gooners voicing their dissatisfaction over the entire package and one can empathize. However, if for a moment we wore the Prof’s football-philosophy hat, we would be forced to raise it to a man who insists he can build a team of only creative players and prefers skills over steel. Trouble is, if his brand does not bring the expected results, he may end up being remembered more as Portnoy than Professor – prioritizing hard-ons over hard facts.

Manchester United

Players I wanted in:

• Goalkeeper: Igor Akinfeev

Players I wanted out:

• None

Actual Players in:

• Attacking Midfielder: Adem Ljajić (joining Jan ’10, Age 17)
• Left Winger: Zoran Tošić
• Versatile Defender: Ritchie de Laet

Actual Players Out:

• Number of reserves sent out on loan

First some dung on my face for suggesting that Van der Saar could be bettered. As it stands he is still in the middle of a record battering run of clean sheets and the thought of another number one for United is laughable for some time at least.

Now to the new comers. First look at them and it is obvious that Sir Alex agrees with my assessment that his current squad needs no bettering but that’s no plus points to me…the world and their uncles all can see that. Three youngsters aged 17, 21 and 20 of Serbian and Belgian descent are in and while they may not all turn out to be Ronaldo, they very well could. While only time will tell whether this winter move will be as course defining as the non-descript captures of Evra and Vidic a few winters ago, something tells me that we may get to know these boys very well in the next few years.

Chelsea

Players I wanted in:

• Right Midfielder: Schweinsteiger, Kaziim Richards or Valencia
• Left Back: Fabio Gross
• Left Forward: Podolski

Players I wanted out:

• Paulo Ferreira and Florent Malouda

Actual Players in:

• Attacking Midfielder: Gökhan Töre
• Left Winger: Ricardo Quaresma

Actual Players Out:

• Wayne Bridge and Carlo Cudicini
• Number of reserves sent out on loan or sold

For beleaguered Chelsea, I think this has been a winter of mediocrity in management, in attack, in defense and in transfers. Gökhan Töre is a seventeen year youngster and obviously a Frank Arnesen capture, but given the black-hole that Chelsea has been for bright teenaged talent, I will not be as optimistic for him as I was for the Serbians at Manchester United.

The real gamble is Ric Q. Someone who has proven abilities of playing explosive football could not bring out his best in the company of a very accomplished motivator and I find it strange that Chelsea picked someone to give them that much needed width, who is being certified as mentally not up-to-it by Jose himself. Add to that the increased lack of cover at left back and goal and the win-machine now look more lop-sided than at the beginning of January.

Of course, at the moment it seems that any player could start looking ordinary in a Blues jersey and with bigger issues to address, the transfer period would have been a distraction rather than an opportunity for Chelsea.

Liverpool

Players I wanted in:

• Right Midfielder: David Silva
• Striker: Vucinic or Guiza or Tuncay or Nihat or Michael Owen (if Keane is sold)
• Striker: Christiano Lucarelli (if Keane is not sold)

Players I wanted out:

• Robbie Keane (as per above conditions)

Actual Players in:

• Midfielder: Viktor Pálsson (17 year old for the future)

Actual Players Out:

• Robbie Keane
• Number of reserves sent out on loan or sold

Pool provided as much comic relief as any other contender this January and the departure of Robbie Keane happened at the very end. That he went back to Spurs at a much discounted price leaves one wondering how everyone has kept their jobs but the impact on the team itself is bound to be significant. It was wishful to think that Rafa would hunt for someone who could eject Kuyt out of the line-up but by having chosen to let Robbie Keane go without getting a replacement, he has opened himself upto just the kind of predicament he now finds himself in – who gets the goals if Torres or Gerrard are not fit?

Accuse me of being dramatic, but this could yet turn out to be the deal that took the photo out of the finish!

Barcelona

Players I wanted in:

• None

Players I wanted out:

• None

Actual Players in:

• None

Actual Players Out:

• None

I told you so!

Real Madrid

Players I wanted in:

• Versatile left-sided: Yuri Zhirkov

Players I wanted out:

• None

Actual Players in:

• Striker: Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
• Midfielder: Lassana Diarra
• Versatile Right-sided: Julien Faubert (loan)
  

Actual Players Out:

• None

Hey they had done these two transfers before I made my wish list and they did nothing after that so I am not so far off here. Juande’s good start should help them cement their second place in the Liga but the question is if they can come close to winning the Champion’s League, a trophy which the Hunter is not allowed to play for. Yet, I think they could be serious contenders under Ramos, as long as Barcelona are in the mood to let anyone else win anything this season.

Manchester City

Players I wanted in:

• Central Defence: Daniel Agger or Dennis Kolodin
• Midfielder: Engelaar or Diego or Altintop
• Striker: Michael Owen

Players I wanted out:

• None

Actual Players in:

• Midfielder: Nigel de Jong
• Striker: Craig Bellamy
• Left Back: Wayne Bridge
• Goalkeeper: Shay Given

Actual Players Out:

• Tal Ben Haim and Jo
• Number of reserves sent out on loan or sold

The names may differ from my pick, but I think City have come out with the most improved squad this winter, significantly better than the champion churners Tottenham. Bellamy is the only player where I think they could have gotten someone better, though maybe not as good as Kaka. Having said that, Mark Hughes now has a very competitive team and though Dunne and the central defense is still not the most convincing this season, Mark Hughes will have little excuses if City can’t make a European push in the coming months.

Defending the Dive!

I don't generally enjoy just posting links of stories with nothing to add to it, but this defence of diving and other such things and the Italian's expertize at it is hilarious. Notice how well the difference between 'cheating' and 'guile' is described.

http://www.footballitaliano.co.uk/article.aspx?id=113

Transfer Talk

Mad money is being offered by Man City for Kaka as I write this and yet another transfer season has brought the same old set of gazillion rumors with occasional true activity. Since I am desperate to add my two bits to the transfer season I think I will try and see the players I would have bought in and/or shipped out if I were the manager (of Director Football…as and where applicable) at these clubs. Will restrict myself to clubs I have seen a bit.

Arsenal

The Gunners’ injury list and lack of depth have become repeated stories these past few years and it feels like déjà vu this January. And then there is the whole philosophy of getting them young, keeping them versatile and making them play fluid etc. which often means that a number of players sought after by other clubs do not fit the Arsenal profile.

Arsenal’s search is for some players who are required to beef up the first team and then a few to provide cover (and very decent cover) to some of the other positions where the regular getting crocked leaves a gaping hole.

For the first team, the first player I would look for is a strong holding player who can not only mould to the passing game but provide the perfect foil for Fabregas and a lot of steel. Now you can look for a very good young midfielder to do it or look for someone with a lot of experience while one of the current crop (Diaby/Denilson) gets more time to grow into the role. My pick – Go with a veteran and a man of unquestionable experience. Without a scouting network (and this is a problem I will have throughout the post and hence the last time I am mentioning it), my pick is one of Sergei Semak (captain of Russia, currently with Rubin Kazan) or Marcos Senna (Spain international, captain of Villareal).

There are no other obvious first team spots available, though many may talk of a right sided midfielder and a creative midfielder and a centre back. But if and when Walcott, Fabregas and Gallas+Toure are available, they are strong contenders for the first team. The question is about shipping Gallas out and getting a replacement. I think there are enough other holes to fill and it would be better to see if Gallas wishes to continue after the end of the season rather than now. The Fabregas hole can be filled (though not adequately of course) by Denilson, though after his cameo in the last game against Bolton, I would think Nasri would probably be the best choice to replace Fab, which in turn would leave a gap on the left.

Arshavin, being pursued so actively, does present a versatile option but that could been displacing one of the current squad. I think he could do really well in the Fabregas (centre-creative), Nasri (left-attacking) or Van Persie (behind the striker) role, but it is to be seen if he can adapt well enough in England to be able to displace any of these players when they are fit and available. If Arshavin can also play right midfield then I think, he may pip Walcott to the position, because good though Walcott is, I think he is still at least one season (if not two) away from being a really class player.

The full back positions need cover (and better cover than the Hoytes and others around). For the right, I would suggest letting Eboue develop and evolve. He is not such a bad player but he has not had any position for himself these last two seasons and while he may not be an immediate threat to Sagna, I think a stable position will make him a more consistent performer when he gets the chances. For the left, again I would look at a senior citizen who wouldn’t mind being on the bench for periods but who could be relied upon when called on an emergency. Silvestre does meet the requirements but since he is also a cover for the central positions, I would be looking out for players like John Arne Riise.

That leaves the Arsenal attack and with Eduardo coming back, it is one of the areas of least concerns for Arsenal. However, an injury to Adebayor or Van Persie could be critical. However, the Arshavin signing will provide a new dimension here as well and Vela and Bendtner are evolving back-ups and with so many other priorities, there is not much need to tinker around here.

Manchester United

Very very difficult to improve this team. Maybe, you could think of getting in a cover for Evra, a youngster, though John O Shea is not too bad a cover. And maybe you could think of a better central defensive cover than Johnny Evans (very good for someone with his experience though a little inconsistent). In terms of a squad, even Barcelona are nowhere as good.

The one position where they probably do not have a current best-of-line is in the goal. Van der Saar is probably still amongst the best in the game, but since we are speaking about Manchester United and ‘probably still among the best’ is sometimes not good enough for them, step forward the goalkeeper number two of last year (Casillas obviously number one) – Igor Akinfeev (Russia and CSKA Moskva).

Chlesea

Clearly Frank Arnesen who was supposed to bring in players to the youth team who should have been breaking into the first team by now, has not done a great job. Of course there’s the young defender who was out on loan to a championship team and who made it to Capello’s England squad, but there’s some saying about exceptions telling you what the rule is and that applies in this case.

Of course Chelsea’s problems of the moment are not down to the players they have but more to what these players are doing. Yet, it cannot be denied that the balance is quite lacking in the squad and with Wayne Bridge’s departure, the fullback positions look not so well covered if Ashley Cole breaks a leg or so. Balletti as cover to Bosingwa may not be the greatest, but right back is still not such a problem.

The most glaring weakness is out wide and though Joe Cole is a more than decent pick for the left, he is not the player who provides true width. Then there is the right flank, where Kalou is really the only real option at the moment and the best thing you can say about him is that he can be dangerous on his day.

So here’s my Chelsea prescription: One of Schweinsteiger (German International, Bayern Munich), Kazim Richards (Turkey, Fenerbahce) or Antonio Valencia (Ecuador, Wigan) for the right flank. Kazim Richards is a little iffy but he has premier league experience and if you can get the performance out of him which we saw at the last Euros, he will be a much celebrated player in a line-up like Chelsea.

Then of course is the cover at left back and if no youngster is in sight, how about Fabio Grosso (Italy, Lyon)? Only problem with Grosso maybe that he’s 31 and Italian defenders want to be in the first team till they are 92, so he may not like being second choice, but if the money can be shown, then Chelsea could end up with a kick-ass defender who could match any of their other stars move for move.

That leaves one more player to get and that for me would be Lucas Podolski (Germany, Bayern Munich). It’s true that he seems set to go to his childhood club Koln, but I think he is just the player Chelsea need. A striker who can also play on the left. That means you have intense competition with Joe Cole for that left midfield position and someone who can easily step into the shoes if Drogba and/or Anelka is not available.

Unlike Arsenal, Chelsea are in a position to offload some players and Paulo Fereirra and Florent Malouda have to be top of that list (especially if someone like Podolski comes in). There are talks about letting Drogba go, but I think that would be stupid as when he is the mood, he is easily one of the best in the world. Keeping him in the mood is a managerial challenge and what’s a manager who doesn’t like some challenge!

Liverpool

Another very settled team with few glaring weaknesses when their first eleven is fit. Yet, it would be farfetched to compare them to Manchester United who I feel are clearly superior.
The most invisible players in the Liverpool team are the fullbacks and while I wouldn’t rate Arbeloa and Aurelio as amongst the best in the world, I think it’s unfair to say that they are not good. Benitez uses his fullbacks quite like Mourinho did in England, and if you tell your fullbacks to be very restrained all the time, they can look very average. E.g. Ashley Cole who seemed half the player he was at Arsenal until Scolari came in at Chelsea. So I wouldn’t hurry to get new fullbacks for Liverpool (though second choice left back Dossena seems not so up to it on first evidence).

The position I would be looking to ring in a change is the wide right player. Yes, Kuyt is a work horse and he does chip in with the occasional useful goal, but seriously, if you want to win the title, you need a player with a better touch than a ping-pong table and more creativity than an excel sheet. Of course, the set of options present for Chelsea are also available for Pool (Valencia/Shweinsteiger/Kazim Richards) but given the Spanish factor, I think David Silva could be someone who could fit right in.

The other hole in the shape of a misfiring Robbie Keane and a virginal Bruno Ngog is the replacement striker. I would think that in Ryan Babel, there is someone who can be called as backup for both Riera on the left and Torres up front (if all trust has been lost in Keane).
But in case you want to be more covered, how about one of two options? One – sell Keane for what you can get and get an A-plus in his prime striker like Vucinic (Montenegro, Roma) or Guiza (Spain, Fenerbahce) or Tuncay (Turkey, Middlesborough) or Nihat (Turkey, Villareal) or indeed Michael Owen (England, Newcastle). Two – keep Keane but also get a supporting veteran like Christiano Lucarelli (Italy, Parma) now 33. Parma is currently in the second div in Italy and Lucarelli is still as prolific as ever and should not come for too much money.

Who not to get? Emil Heskey. Not another strong hard working player who can’t score goals.

Barcelona

If they get any better, it will be unfair on everyone else. Yes, they may have some chinks in defense and al that, but hey let the playing field be level. Also, for the players they have, there is no cover. Who can be a replacement for Messi? Thing is their backups might not be as good but even then are some of the best in the world. Henry backing up Eto is any manager’s dream. And if your bench can be Iniesta, Bojan, Gudjhonsen, Busquet, Marquez, Keita etc., you really need to save on agents' commission for the year.

Real Madrid

I thought Madrid sucked as the Schuster era ended and Juando Ramos, the Tottenham failure has come in and started well enough to make observers believe that the squad itself is not inadequate. The Hunter and Diarra have come in for valuable roles and the only positions you could really think of improving personnel wise are left back and the wide left player in the 4-2-3-1. Heinze (not bad but not Real Madrid standard anymore) and Drenthe are good but lacking and a player in the name of Yuri Zhirkov (Russia, CSKA Moskva) could easily improve either of those positions. And that’s where I think Madrid’s January exercise should end.

Manchester City

They may spend a 100 million on Kaka now, but that won’t help them too much this season. Man City are many players short of being title contenders which is undoubtedly what the objective is. Bringing on 7 players in the winter might not be a great idea because if they fail to bed in quickly enough, given their current position, a relegation struggle might be a distinct possibility.

So my objective for this season would be to remove glaring weaknesses for the remaining half of the season and try and climb up the table before going in for complete overhaul and celebrity shopping in the summer.

Clearly the central defenders are a problem and clearly Man United won’t sell Ferdinand or Evra. My pick would be Daniel Agger (Denmark, Liverpool), especially as he is looking unsettled and has proven English experience and quality. Denis Kolodin (Russia, Dynamo Moscow) may be a good option who could chip in with frequent goals as well.

The other priority positions are a good midfield partner for Stephen Ireland and a striker who is an improvement over the likes of Darius Vassell and Jo. Orlando Engelaar (Holland, Schalke) could be a great option as well as someone like Altintop (Turkey, Bayern Munich). If they want to spend really big, they should go for Diego (Brazil, Werder Bremen).

Of course Kaka is an option which they are pursuing and is preferable over the others, but without the defenders and other players around him, don’t expect him to change Man City into a consistent winning unit just yet. Which would mean that by summer the media could well be on Kaka’s throat and prompt a panic sell-off in these days of opinion-forming in ninety minutes. And what an unfortunate dent on Kaka’s reputation that would be!

As for a striker, well they have the money to of course try and get anyone from Torres to Drogba to Eto himself, but it is highly unlikely that a Champion League playing striker would want to come here mid-season. My choice be Michael Owen (England, Newcastle) who is itching for yet another big money deal at a high profile club.

And then leave it at that till the summer, when they can build the latest Galactico collection on the planet and go after the likes of Ribery, Kaka and others from that planet.

Year End Thoughts

England
I’m not a Reds supporter and have never really liked the team. But this season I wouldn’t mind them winning the league. There are two reasons for this.

For one, I had mentioned to friends last season that if someone like Rafa is given 10 seasons in charge, he will definitely win the league at least once (was building a case for giving managers lots of time in the job). So I would be very pleased if the one title was over and done with and I can do some told-you-sos (it’s another matter that no one may remember I told them...).

Secondly, it is obvious that Steven Gerrard wants to win the league more than any other player. While Gerrard is a great midfielder with a couple of world beating skills, there are and have been many better midfielders. But no one else carries a team like Gerrard. And every time he wins a game all by himself, I think well it’s just one game. Now it’s been one game many times over and that has regularly included cup finals. But can he win a league all by himself? We’ll know the answer in a few months but if Liverpool have to be Champions, Gerrard will have to come up with magic moments again and again and again. Will this be the season to separate the Gerrard from the Lampard?

Spain
It sucks that La Liga games played so late in the night. Have seen so little of the good stuff that it feels like I’ve never known any football other than the English. Barcelona in their current form must be framed and stored for eternity. The pessimist says that one day this form and flow will be gone and even champions will be made of half the stuff that this Barca team is made of. The optimist believes that for years and years to come, Pep and his pipers will play on. Messi for sure will. I asked my then boss to get me a Messi jersey from Barcelona in the beginning of 2006. Everyone else wanted Ronaldinho. But I felt then that he would be the greatest and he is. And whatever anyone says, I’m in no mood to listen and try and justify his greatness.

Italy
Not all my friends agree with me on the importance of the manager on team performance in a game. My answer is Mourinho who seems to be playing the game on PlayStation. Every team just like the other doing just enough to win. Having said that, the Champion’s League will be the real show of strength time. If Inter can eliminate Man U then it will boost the self-obsessed one’s ego no end and will be quite a remarkable feat. Rational thinking though, heavily favors the English to win all three of the CL matches against the Italians. It won’t be as easy as the rational English press have made it to be, but it does seem the most obvious outcome. Unless you have actually seen Juventus play – on their day they can hammer anyone. Beware Chelsea!

FC NGV
Today we were taught a lesson in football in a 4 a-side game. The other team treated us like dirt and I felt that I was in a non-league team playing in the premiership. Sobering thought for 2009!

Christmas Round Up

With most leagues around the world at the half way stage, thought I would just find out the who’s who from some major ones and the I-League. Of course, in some countries the season has ended and Champions have been crowned and some of these are being mentioned as well.

India I-League

The I-League is 10 games old, though four teams have played nine games each with a couple of games having to be postponed owing to the great terror tragedy in Mumbai. Sporting Club de Goa lead the table with 22 points from ten games, four points clear of Fed Cup Champions Mohun Bagan. Churchill and Air India are third and fourth.

Churchill not surprisingly are the most prolific in the goal-scoring department with 17 goals. 11 of these have been scored by the Nigerian Odafe Onyeka Okolie. Wikipedia stats tell me that the 23 year old has as of now scored 99 goals in 88 appearances for Churchill over three seasons! World Player of the Decade for Odafe?

England Premier League

Liverpool, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Arsenal are the top 5 going into Boxing Day in England and it is a 1 point gap at the top after 18 games. (Man U are 7 beind Pool but with 2 games in hand and so Man U supporters in Bangalore have been heard to say…we are just 1 off…haha).

Chelsea have scored 36 goals in their 18 games and have conceded just seven, emerging as the most prolific offensive and most miserly defensive team. In fact their seven goals conceded at this stage is the best across all major leagues in Europe. Anelka has scored 14 and is comfortably on top of the scorers chart.

Hull presents an interesting case with a ranking of six, with 27 goals scored and 31 conceded, thereby being one of the highest ranked teams with a negative goal difference anywhere on the planet.

Germany Bundesliga

A Christmas fairytale for TSG Hoffenheim, sitting on top with 35 points after 17 games. Its all very close though and only 3 points separate the top 5 and it will be interesting to see if Ralf Rangnick’s boys can hold on till the end of the season.

Hoffenheim have not just taken the points, they have done it well as clearly proven by their 42 goals. Bosnian Vedad Ibišević heads the scoring charts with 18 goals and Hoffenheim’s ability to keep hold of him in the winter and keep him fit till the summer may be crucial to their title challenge.

French Ligue 1

It’s all predictable in France with Lyon (38 points) at the top albeit with only a three point lead over Bordeaux. Stade Rennais and PSG are third and fourth.

Marseille are the top goal scorers with 33 in 19 games and you can see that this season Ligue 1 is a little subdued.

Toulouse are seventh and have scored 19 goals as a team but 12 of them have been scored by Frenchman André-Pierre Gignac, which will certainly make him hot property in January as well. FYI, Karim Benzema is on 10 goals and justifying all the hype that surrounds him.

Spain La Liga

If there is one team in Europe that stands head and shoulders above all others, it is Barcelona. 41 points in 16 games, ten points clear at the top, 48 goals scored and 10 conceded. That’s how you dominate! They also have the Liga lead scorer in Samuel Eto (15 goals) and then there is Messi with 10 and Henry with 8 and you have to just go wow! What a Pep!!!

Sevilla, Atletico, Valencia and Real come in next but they are all way behind the leaders. Among the other noticeable scorers in the Liga you have David Villa (12 goals) and Kun Aguero with nine.

Mention must also be made of Sporting de Gijon, who have the worst defensive record in the league having conceded 35 goals but are ranked 11th which is a rarity as in most other leagues, the teams with the worst defence are struggling in the relegation zone.

Italy Serie A

Its Jose’s Inter playing almost like Chelsea did under JM who lead the table by 6 points, with 42 points secured in 17 games. Juventus, Milan and Fiorentina follow but true to reputation, Serie A leading scorers are not so leading when compared across Europe.

Inter have 31 goals for and 11 against while Juve have 30 for and 13 against, thereby illustrating Mourniho’s ability to get his team to do just enough (and nothing more than that), consistently. Chievo meanwhile are ranked last and with only 9 goals scored are the least prolific team across Europe’s big 5 leagues.

Gilardino (Fiorentina), Marco d Vaio (Bologna) and Diego Milito (Genoa) have scored 12 each. Inter’s Ibrahimovic who is having greatness thrust upon him by his manager is at 10 goals and Juve’s Brazilian-Italian Amauri is at 11.

Turkey Super Liga

Sivasspor and Trabzonspor may not be household names, but they are the top 2 clubs at this stage in Turkey. The usual suspects Galatasaray and Fenerbahce come in next and it is all very exciting with 2 points between the top 4. (The leaders have 34 points from 16 games).

Galatsaray have scored 38 which is the best for the league. Interestingly the Super Liga has teams which match the best defensive and worst offensive performance across Europe. Kayserispor have conceded only seven goals (like Chelsea) and are ranked 7th and Hacettepespor have scored only nine goals (like Chievo) and are in a troubled 17th (out of 18) position.

Away from England, Milan Baros is showing his worth leading the scoring with 14 goals for Galatasaray.

Holland Eredivisie

Its AZ, Ajax, Steve McLaren’s Twente and PSV in that order in Holland. AZ have 38 points from 16 games and are 3 clear at the top.

Ajax have 38 goals, 2 more than AZ. What Ajax don’t have is Mounir El Hamdaoui, the Dutch-Moroccan star of AZ who has scored 14 times this season. Also Huntelaar, soon to be of Real Madrid has got only 6 goals for Ajax this season, and on current form he may or may not be the answer to Madrid’s problems for the season.

Portuguese Liga

Its Benfica, Porto, Leixoes Matosinhos and Sporting Lisbon in that order after 12 games in Portugal.

Brazil Serie A

Sao Paulo won their sixth Championship after amassing 75 points from their 38 games in Brazil. Scolari’s old team Gremio came in second, three points behind, followed by Cruzeiro and Palmeiras. Washington (of Fluminense) was joint top-scorer with Keirrison (Coritiba) with 21 goals.

Argentina Primera Division

The Apertura leg of the complicated Primera Division in Argentina (they have another leg called Clausura and I’m not entirely sure of the structure) ended in a three way tie with Boca Juniors emerging champions after a three-way playoff. The stunning news from Argentina is that River Plate finished 20th and last. Jose Sand from 4th placed Lanus scored 15 goals to emerge top scorer from the Torneo where each team plays 19 games. BTW, San Lorenzo and Tigre were the other two teams in the three-way playoff.

Russia Premier League

Rubin Kazan, my favorite sounding team from the entire world won the Russian Premier League with some weeks to spare a few months ago. They finished with 60 points from 30 games, 4 ahead of CSKA Moskva. Dinamo Moskva and Amkar Perm followed. UEFA cup holders Zenit St. Petersburgh finished 5th, though they do have the satisfaction of scoring more goals than any other team (59).

Vagner Love, the Brazilian at CSKA Moskva scored 20 times to lead the tally in Russia.

Homeless World Champions Head Home to Afghanistan

Lately I have often wondered about how the sports industry can give people a reason to play. Well: here’s an example. The Homeless World Cup that just concluded its sixth edition in Melbourne gives people a better life through playing and is an outstanding effort in the field of changing lives.

World Cup 2008

Fifty-six countries (including India) participated in Melbourne and the team from war-torn Afghanistan emerged as the Men’s Champions thereby emerging as the first non-European champions. The Women’s Championship, instituted for the first time was won by Zambia.
More than 500 players and coaches attended the event and as they return to their native lands (but not their homes), many will hopefully see better lives and better opportunities for having been world cup participants.

Who are the World cuppers?

This is quoted from the tournament’s website and lists the eligibility criteria for participants of this year’s event:

• Are male or female and at least 16 years old (must have turned 16 before 01.12.2008) and
• Are or have been homeless at some point after 1.12.2007, in accordance with the national definition of homelessness or
• Make their main living income as street paper vendor or
• Are asylum seekers currently without positive asylum status or who were previously asylum seekers but obtained residency status after 1st December 2007 or
• Are currently in drug or alcohol rehabilitation and have been homeless at some point in the past two years (post 01.12.2006)
• Have not taken part in previous Homeless World Cup tournaments.

The Story Behind the World Cup

The story of the Homeless World Cup is the story of Mel Young and Harald Schmied. The following excerpt is taken from Mel Young’s profile on www.changemakers.net. (http://www.changemakers.net/en-us/user/9124/view)

Mel Young, 53, is recognised as one of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.

In 1993 he co-founded The Big Issue in Scotland, with Tricia Hughes. The weekly magazine is sold by homeless people in the streets of Scotland and now has a circulation of 40,000. With the success of The Big Issue in Scotland, he helped set up the International Network of Street Papers, a global network of over sixty street papers sold in every continent, of which he is Honorary President. The combined annual circulation of these papers is over 30 million helping 100,000 homeless or long-term unemployed people throughout the world every year.

It was in Cape Town, at the end of the 2001 INSP conference, that Mel and Austrian born Harald Schmied attempted to invent an international language to enable homeless people to communicate with each other around the world. When they realised one already existed – football – the Homeless World Cup was born. The first tournament was held in Austria in 2003 with 18 teams attending from around the world. This was followed by Sweden 2004, Edinburgh 2005, Cape Town 2006 and was staged in Copenhagen in July 2007 with 48 teams taking part.

The Impact

According to stats collected by the people behind the show, 77% of all participants see a positive change in their lives. According to a write-up on FIFA.com:

Post event research, done six months after the Edinburgh tournament, showed that, of 217 homeless competitors, 38% were in regular employment, 40% had improved their housing situation, and only 18% were still selling street papers. And a whopping 94% declared that they had 'a new motivation for life.'

Moreover, the Homeless World Cup has led to grassroots football programmes in over sixty countries with over 30,000 homeless people involved.

The Indian Chapter

Prof. Vijay Barse from Nagpur has driven slum football in India and got his inspiration watching some slum dwellers kick a bucket as a football one rainy afternoon. As founder of the Krida Vikas Manch he began by organizing slum football tournaments for Nagpur dwellers. The scale of his efforts grew significantly over the years and now Vijay is responsible for the Indian team’s presence in the World Cup. For the record, India is ranked 45th out of 48 countries in the Homeless Football World Rankings.

Closing Thoughts

The success and growth of the Homeless World Cup is a salute to the individuals who go beyond the thought of seeing a change and take it upon themselves to make the change. Individuals like Prof. Vijay Barse and Mel Young succeed because they do not give up on an idea in a weak moment and carry it through to its conclusion.

But to give kudos only to them will be to leave the real ‘stars’ out. Some of the real stars are:

• Sayeed Reza, who has been begging on the streets of Kabul for five years and scored 3 of his team’s 5 goals in the final
• Patrick Mbeu - former national team player for Rwanda, Mbeu lived in a shelter for political refugees in France before playing in the 2007 Homeless World Cup in Copenhagen, Denmark. This year, Mbeu is coaching the French team and earning his training certificate with the soccer club Paris Saint-Germain.
• 20-year-old Dehkontee Sayon from Liberia. Sayon is unemployed and technically homeless -- she lives with a friend in Liberia’s capital, Monrovia -- having previously studied accounting at the United Methodist University. "I stopped because of a lack of financial support," she told IPS.
• David Duke: Personal problems led to alcoholism which led to homelessness. Now this Scot is getting his life back on track after playing the homeless world cup and finding a reason for pride.

Also Check

• Street Soccer Zimbabwe: A documentary film, which follows Tawanda Karasa, Manager of the Zimbabwe team through his efforts in using football to empower homeless and marginalised people in his home country, as well as the logistics of organising passports and travel arrangements for the players in the squad
• Goal: The Story of the Homeless World Cup is a book authored by Mel Young
• www.slumsoccer.org
• www.streetfootballworld.org
• www.homelessworldcup.org
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeless_World_Cup
• http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/03/sports/hwcup.php
• http://www.worldcupblog.org/world-football/homeless-world-cup-kicks-off-in-melbourne.html
• http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=44980
• http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/worldwideprograms/news/newsid=706376.html

Football Museum in São Paulo

50 years after Brazil were crowned Champions of the World for the first time, Museo de Futebol has been inaugurated in São Paulo by Pele. Located in the Corinthian stadium stalls the first theme exhibition is dedicated to...who else but Pele! This link also has some pictures of the Museum.

This of course is not the first football museum on the planet. The Telegraph article points to the existence of the National Football Museum in Preston, England since 2001. Scotland has its own Scottish Football Museum at Hampden park in Glasgow which has amongst its exhibits, what is claimed to be the oldest football related letter ever written.

Then there is the Japan Football Museum in Tokyo dedicated to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The Nou Camp Football Museum inaugurated in 1984 at FC Barcelona's home and dedicated to the club is a concept that I would not be surprised to find repeated across other clubs with history.

Guess where else I found a football museum....Oslo! Fotballmuseet displays the belongings of Norwegian greats and is located at the Ullevaal Stadium. If you ever happen to travel there, don't forget to have a pizza meal at a place called Dolly Dimple's next door :-) In case you are interested, Norwegian football's premier league is known as Tippeligaen and Lyn, Rosenborg and Lillestrom are some of the better known clubs. There are also the more interestingly named clubs like Ham-Kam. Tore Andre Flo, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and more lately John Carew are some of the well known players. But they do have history. The most capped (104) Norwegian international is Thorbjorn Svensson who played for the country between 1947 and '62 and the leading international goal scorer is Jorgen Juve (1928-37) who scored 33 times in 45 appearances. Deserving of a museum indeed!

Down, down, down....

And I read about some Spurs' fans complaining that they can't stand following the team anymore after they lost to Villa on Monday. Think of the fans of Santa Cruz - the club that gave Rivaldo to the world.

Three straight relegations...1st to 4th division before a teenage kid got time to outgrow his football cleats....To the fans of Santa Cruz...May God give you the strength.

Read this to find out more.