SoccerBlog.com

Wenger gets Ballacked

2010-02-09T11:34:18Z

Michael Ballack says stuff which is hard to dispute.

I think it behooves Wenger to be a bit more respectful of teams who have made beating Arsenal a regular feature. Yes, he was complimentary of Chelsea but what sticks is the "we didn't get a demonstration of football". The media is never going to put a fine point on that. For that matter, no one should.

Reliance denies interest in Liverpool buyout

2010-02-09T11:17:40Z

Mukesh Ambani is sticking to cricket, thank you very much.

The rumours were Reliance and Sahara India were interested in buying out 51% of the stake in Liverpool which would take the heat of the unpopular Tom Hicks and George Gilett, the present owners.

What the world needs - an environmentally friendly soccer ball

2010-02-09T10:25:47Z

Check out the sOccket.It is a soccer ball that generates and stores electricity while being kicked,dribbled,thrown and subjected to the other indignities that soccer balls are usually subjected to.Incredible.

Paul Robinson will have a laugh at this one..

2010-02-09T10:18:17Z

This Paul Robinsonesque goal took place when Swedish team Elfsborgplayed against CSKA Moscow in a recent friendly.Robinson will surely have a laugh.At least he didn't fall down after kicking the grass.Come to think of it the keeper Joakim Wulff even missed the grass.

Update: A soccer ball that generates electricity

2010-02-09T08:14:14Z

95% of the population in Africa live without any access to electricity or use polluting kerosene lamps. One of the most pressing needs in developing countries is to come up with cheap, clean sources of electricity that are readily available.

Four enterprising Harvard University graduates get together to come up with sOccket.

sOccket is an energy source in the form of a soccer ball that stores and generates ready to use electricity. Every time the ball gets kicked, dribbled or thrown, the energy of the impact is stored in the ball and it can then be used to power light sources or charge a cell phone. The best part is that it uses the energy of millions of children who love soccer. Talk about an activity that builds community and self sufficiency.

In fact, organizations which are trying to turn Somalian children towards soccer as a way of stopping the warlords from recruiting them as soldiers in their internecine conflicts might consider using sOccket as a way of making their cause even more feasible. Add building peace to sOccket's attractive resume.

The sOccket team's partners in this worthy cause are WhizzKids United, a SA based NGO whose mission is "to deliver effective HIV prevention, care, education, and support to youth worldwide trough the medium of football."

sOccket is in the prototype stage with constant improvements made to the weight, feel, and movement of the ball. They just finished a pilot program in the Durban area and are now exploring Nairobi.

Video: Zaragoza 2 Sevilla 1

2010-02-09T06:35:30Z

Sevilla and Alvaro Negredo had a match to forget as they lost to Zaragoza. They fall out of the top four.

Video: Barcelona 2 Getafe 1

2010-02-09T05:59:48Z

Leo Messi shows why he is a better player than Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and their composite.

Messi's first goal was a classic example of the Magnus effect wickedly bending the ball around a thicket of players. The astounding part was he did it in a split second without vision of the goal. The second goal scored by Xavi was actually all Messi using his left foot exclusively to control the ball as both raced down the field. The symphony of breath taking movements unleashed by Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, and Keita was a pleasure to watch..They remain 5 points ahead of Real in the Liga race..

Video: Real Madrid 3 Espanyol 0

2010-02-09T05:28:17Z

The Merengues took to the air to overcome Espanyol. Gonzalo Higuain showed a sublime touch scoring the last goal. Sergio Ramos got things rolling with a superbly timed header and then Kaka broke his scoring slump by notching Real's second goal off a rebound.

Video: Robinho's backheel lifts Santos

2010-02-08T15:08:24Z

Nifty backheel but it should have been ruled offside.

Efficiency need not be a dirty word

2010-02-08T05:43:44Z

"You have to congratulate Chelsea. We didn't get a demonstration of football but they were efficient and, at the end of the day, that is what has made the difference."

In Wenger's world efficiency has a dirty connotation. It seems to equate not playing football. But anybody with half a brain could tell you that was Arsenal needed. A bit of efficiency after all that possession. This is not a mythical gold standard. You can be Barcelona who play beautifully and are every bit efficient.

Teams counterattack, win through set pieces, play physical- these are different hallmarks of the game. If they add up to a successful system then that system has to be respected. Chelsea played their strengths and we played ours. In the end they got what they wanted. That is still football, like it or not.

"They have fantastic defenders and I believe many times they were out of position and managed to get back, especially one situation with Nasri in the second half and another with Bendtner."

I remember Nasri managing to steal the ball away with Arsenal in great position to launch a counterattack. Strangely and yet predictably, it devolved into a lateral passing game as no one raced forward giving enough time to Chelsea to fall back in numbers to defend. The moment was lost. With Arshavin a distant dot on the horizon, Walcott in decline, Eduardo injured, Clichy missing a step - that demonstration of glorious counterattacking against Liverpool last season is a distant memory. This was one occasion amongst many in the match when we made their defense look "fantastic." .

Drogba's dozen

2010-02-08T03:20:03Z

Drogba made it an incredible 12 goals in 12 games against Arsenal.

Arsenal loss: Drogba again proves too hot to handle

2010-02-07T18:06:42Z

What has Hull City got that Arsenal does not?

It took just two strikes by you know who - Didier Drogba to sink Arsenal early in the match. And as was their wont the Arsenal defense went to sleep on both occasions. Song failing to box out Drogba for the first goal after Terry headed the ball down from a Malouda corner.

The defense was then caught in a footrace as Lampard booted the ball downfield which Drogba latched onto muscling his way through Diaby and Clichy and with a clinical finish secured his second goal. It came just as the Gunners were enjoying a fair bit of possession with Arsenal coming close to equalizing through Arshavin.

Drogba has scored 12 goals in 10 matches against the Gunners. It was game, set, and match.

Arsenal are now 9 points behind with 13 games to go. They meet a resurgent Liverpool this Wednesday in a match that might decide the also rans. Winning the Premiership just got beyond reach. And if the Champions League loss to Man Utd is what affected our performance last weekend then there is every reason to presume that in reciprocal fashion, these losses will have a detrimental bearing on our European pretensions too.

Lest I become the nattering nabob of complete negativity, the Gunners did not throw in the towel to their credit. In the second half there was a spell of about 25 minutes where the ball did not leave the Chelsea half as an increasingly assertive Arsenal moved the ball with ease. And the defense stood up to the task of stopping any counterattacks. Critics might interject and say that all that possession led to no result. However when a club goes through a crisis in scoring such as Arsenal in these last four games, it is good to focus on what they did right as a sort of psychological salve.

Unlike against Man Utd, Arsenal looked assured in possession and created a number of chances. At some point it looked like a rope a dope with Chelsea soaking up the pressure and relying on Cech to make some good saves. It was quite enjoyable watching the Chelsea defense looking wobbly but their experience and Arsenal's prediliction of walking the ball into goal made their task easier.

This being Arsenal it seemed no one wanted to take the responsibility of pulling the trigger. Arshavin had the clearest chance after Fabregas floated a beautiful ball but with only Cech to beat the little Russian shot it straight at the Chelsea goalkeeper. It might have been a different story with that equalizer. Diaby and Nasri also came close but their touch and moments of hesitation cost them.

In a tactical move, Wenger decided to start Theo Walcott to back up Sagna in neutralizing Ashley Cole and Florent Malouda. His defensive duties came at the cost of his attacking instincts which meant that the right flank looked inert. Nicklas Bendtner replaced Walcott bringing a bit more variety. He was brought down by Ricardo Carvalho a few feet from the box. Fabregas free kick through a crowd was denied by Petr Cech at the very last moment. Wenger trotted out Emmanuel Eboue and Tomas Rosicky as the final throw of the dice but it amounted to little.

It was left to the woodwork to deny Drogba his hattrick.

The match was also an occasion for the Stamford Bridge faithful to thumb their nose at Fabio Capello's decision to strip John Terry of England's captaincy. Signs proclaiming their support for him were everywhere. For his part, Terry conducted himself as a leader showing no signs of distraction. A big cheer went up when Terry hobbled with a second half injury and with his thigh heavily strapped went about his job manfully. Somehow all this contrived to make Capello look peevish.

As for Wenger, these matches are hopefully telling him something is wrong. We as fans can berate and tantrum all we want. Some of it is throw the baby out with the bathwater stuff which is counter productive but surely by now there must be some sort of self realization.

Messi scores another fabulous goal for Barcelona..

2010-02-07T12:31:52Z

Against Getafe...

Barcelona won 2 -1 ,the second goal was scored by Xavi again with a little bit of help from Messi.

Arsenal's first priority: Limiting damage

2010-02-07T10:25:26Z

Manuel Almunia is a giant bundle of nerves. Loss of confidence is contagious. Especially when it comes to an opportunistic club like Chelsea with its veterans who can smell the reek of low self esteem and see muscles turned to jelly a mile away. Wenger has indicated that Fabianski is not yet ready. Not that this really matters since both keepers don't really inspire confidence. Arsenal has to be every bit as vigilant and not give up cheap and easy goals.

1. Limit damage: Get behind the ball, protect the goalkeeper. Give up little space, tackle hard, cut off the passing lanes, disrupt the flow, and deal with set pieces and free kicks by sticking to defensive assignments. That goes for every Arsenal player on every inch of the field.

2. Do without the adventure: A fast and powerful counterattacking team like Chelsea exploits giveaways. The last thing Gallas and Co. want to do is to chase a Didier Drogba who has killed the Gunners. Cut out the attacking junkets addicting every Arsenal defender at present. Leave that to Fabregas and Arshavin.

3. Beware the crosses: Last time around it was Ashley Cole with his devastating crosses that panicked the Arsenal defence. Sagna and Song have to be physical in their marking and disrupt the overlapping Cole and Malouda on Chelsea's active left flank.

4. A 4-4-1-1: I think Wenger needs to give Bendtner a start. He may not be fully fit but if you are to loft long balls and crosses a 6'2" striker has a better chance of getting to them than Andriy Arshavin who should be moved to the slot. Denilson was awful against Man Utd. Time to give Aaron Ramsey a start.

5. Open field shots: Lets not walk the ball into goal. The Chelsea defenders expect it and they will just clog up the middle. Cech has been susceptible to the sudden long range bomb. It might be a good idea to test him.

6. Winning the Premiership: Forget the third place finish happy talk. Wenger might have said other things too in his interview but these are the headlines. Very few go beyond it. He promised in the beginning of the season that Arsenal would win a big trophy. The Premiership is as big as they come. Play the lights out.

Euro 2012: Ireland vs France rematch?

2010-02-07T10:12:29Z

In rehearsal at least. The countries await the final verdict on the Euro qualifiers. But Michel Platini thinks that it will be fantastic if it does happen and France decides to play football.