Chelsea: What would be the future of tried and tested customers?

Frank Lampard and the think tank of Chelsea seem to be investing in a long-term plan. He is more focused on trying and testing with young guns and so far, it has been productive. Someone like Billy Gilmour has impressed everyone with his courage and grit. But will this strategy of Lampard and Chelsea hamper the future of thirty-plus performers?

Pedro, Olivier Giroud and Willian all played a crucial role in the victories over Liverpool and Everton, in the FA Cup and Premier League, respectively. But still, there is no guarantee that these experienced and committed players would feature at Staford Bridge next season.

Various news outlets say, the representatives of the above-mentioned names are all working away in the background, speaking with not only Chelsea but also other parties interested in signing their clients on a free transfer.

 Willian told ESPN Brasil, "We really like London, I have said it many times. It is a city where my family and I love to live... but the contract situation really isn't easy. Chelsea offered me two years, I asked for three years and everything stopped there.”

Even Lampard himself experienced such things. He had a similar issue with the club towards the end of his playing days at Stamford Bridge and eventually ended up departing for New York City FC, via a loan spell at Manchester City.

Giroud told Infofoot, “Even I saw myself elsewhere, to be honest. I went through six complicated months”.

“That's why I tried to leave in January. I did everything [to leave]. In the end, with the circumstances, Chelsea did not want to let me go. The crucial condition for my departure was to have a replacement.

“The most interesting club for me was Inter. The problem is that it dragged on. In the end, and even if Lazio were there towards the end and Tottenham too, it was no longer a question of where I was going to leave but could I leave. There was nothing to do. I was stuck”.

“I knew that any way I shouldn't start going on strike or wreak havoc in the locker room. First of all, because it is not me and also because I knew there was a good chance that I would stay at Chelsea. That’s why I stayed flawless and professional until the end”.

“There were two reactions: either I mope around or I fight for my place. That's what I did. And the coach who promised me more opportunities to play kept his word and I took my chance.”

Giroud has brought a different dimension in Chelsea with no Tammy Abraham around. But according to Goal, “Giroud would undoubtedly be happy if Inter come back in for him at the end of the season, given he had already agreed a contract with the Serie A side in January”.

Pedro is still a part and parcel of the Blues. He had a difficult season, but gradually became an important member for the Blues in the course of time, he has become sharper than before and right now a real goal-threat. But still, there lies a possibility of his move to somewhere else.

If this is the scenario then the coach and think tank of the Blues should not let them go, but let the young guns flourish under these tried-and-tested customers.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 14/03/2020 Chelsea: What would be the future of tried and tested customers? 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

Neymar: Love in the time of Coronavirus

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Neymar comes big when it mattered the most……

There is is a reason to love Neymar despite his whimsical behaviour. It is always hard to dislike a genius who is flawed, but still sits in your heart permanently and always gives you hope. You continue to hope, if any player can do it on the big stage in a crucial match like Cristiano Ronaldo then it is none other than Neymar.

Frustrations regarding those strings of injuries, absence due to sister’s birthday, antics on the field, getting mocked due to self-destructive behaviours and continuous rumours regarding the leave from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to Barcelona other than the footballing activities, just don’t stop your love for Neymar because the love for a genius never vanishes, but it continues to grow each day.

The reason behind the most expensive transfer of all-time was about signing a Brazilian genius who would give Paris Saint-Germain the x-factor, which they have been lacking in the crucial stages of the Champions League. At one point, the signing seemed to be proving a total joke, but after last night’s encounter, one cannot end up thinking such. The Brazilian spread his wings and all fell in love with him, yet again – love during the time of Coronavirus.

The clash against Borussia Dortmund was contested behind closed doors to prevent Coronavirus. Like Mestalla, plenty of fans waited outside the stadium to back PSG. They were trailing by 2-1 and required a top-class show to outweigh a brilliant Dortmund side, who have gained a new dimension after the joining of Erling Haaland.

PSG have are not known to make comebacks in the second leg of a Champions League match when they are trailing. Even they bottled it many times. As a matter of fact, the expectations were low. Neymar, who entered the stadium in a care-free mood, felt no pressure at all but seemed confident of turning things around. He did it before and at Paris, he can do it. He would make Paris fall in love with him.

Neymar played in both legs of the Round of 16 for the first time ever and his impact was enormous as PSG defeated Borussia Dortmund to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016. Neymar netted in the first leg in Dortmund but stepped up to score another a home.

The Brazilian set the tempo in just 28 minutes.

PSG earned a corner. Angel Di Maria curled one so sharply that it fell in the range of an unmarked Neymar who moved forward with a diving header from a point-blank range. PSG tied the score and then Juan Bernat doubled the tally.

The Brazilian talisman played a crucial role in the second goal. Neymar up the ball with his back to goal turned quickly in a tight space and picked out Angel Di Maria just outside the area, who played the ball out wide before Bernat's slight touch beat Burki.

It was just the second time that Neymar scored from a header in a Champions League match. The last time he did such was against PSG while playing for Barcelona in 2015. It was his 35th goal in Champions League.   Neymar has been directly involved in 38 goals in 28 home Champions League appearances (20 for Barcelona, 8 for PSG), scoring 26 goals and assisting 12.

PSG were without Kylian Mbappe, who was down with an illness, Thomas Tuchel relied on Neymar to deliver one of the best performances since he arrived in Paris. And Neymar did not let his coach and the team down. Injuries might have cut short the pace, but his dribbling skill and clever movements helped a lot to clear the ball and ease the pressure and his role as a center forward and dropping back in the midfield when required aided PSG to win back the possession.

Not only his skillful display was on the show, but he provoked Dortmund by mocking the celebration of Haaland and then antagonizing Emre Can to receive a red card with time running out.

It was the night of Neymar. He owned Paris and outclassed Dortmund with skill and smartness. It was the Neymar, which all wish to watch and enjoy.

The love for Neymar is a never-ending one!  

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer on 12/03/20 Neymar: Love in the time of Coronavirus  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

Atletico Madrid conquer Anfield, brilliant Liverpool are out

The stage was set at Anfield. Passionate and noisy fans gathered to back their team. For a brief period, the panic regarding Coronavirus would take a back seat. The goal-aggregate was not as big as last season’s semifinal clash against Barcelona. Thus, the Liverpool fans were confident that the boys of Jurgen Klopp would not only come back stronger at Anfield but would go a long way like last season.

But Diego Simeone’s men are a hard nut to crack, and with no Cristiano Ronaldo around, there was none out there in the Liverpool camp to dash the spirit of Atletico Madrid. Atleti are a freak and until the final whistle blew they made it sure that they are not just a bunch of freak people, but they are most freakish people around, which you never, ever dare to write-off even when few seconds are left to play.

Liverpool’s start was electrifying.  They were much better than Atleti and Simeone's men were faced with attacks coming from the right, left and center – 11 shots were made with 4 on target. Passing accuracy was 83% while ball possession had been 67%. There 15 open play crosses from the Reds. 7 corners. Trent Alexander Arnold was involved in 5 crosses and corners.

All these happened in just 45 minutes.

But Atleti back was well drilled in Jan Oblak they have a goalkeeper who is just hard to overcome. He made 9 saves against Liverpool last evening, the most by any goalkeeper in a Champions League knockout game so far this season. In the first 55 minutes, Oblak made 6 saves. Simply astonishing.

But still, Liverpool sneaked through.

A  Georginio Wijnaldum header with two minutes before half-time leveled things up.

 In the second-half Liverpool looked even better, but Simeone stuck to the plan of sitting deep and keep the midfield compact as much as possible.

They never took the feet out of the gas until the final whistle.

In 120 minutes, Liverpool attempted 62 crosses, the most in a single game since the 2016/17season at least. Trent Alexander-Arnold attempted 25, the most by a player in a single game since the 2016/17 season at least.

But the majority of them were shut down by Atleti!

It seemed that his backline was protected by an invisible membrane. The people protecting the back were hyper-alert and super-skilled to weather each and every dangerous cross and block the attempts whereas Oblak transformed into a superman.

At the center of the park, Saul Niguez and Thomas Partey kept things tight as much as possible: Saul had most touches and interceptions and won most of the aerial battles. While Thomas blocked most of the attempts, made most of the tackles and recovered the ball from the opposition.

 Meanwhile, Joao Felix added a bit of spice with his mobility. As the numbers suggest: He had 100% shot accuracy, 39 touches on the ball, created 2 chances, 2 shots on goal and 1 crucial assist.

Roberto Firmino broke the deadlock during extra-time. Roberto Firmino put Liverpool ahead in the tie for the first time with a goal in the 94th minute. Liverpool were ahead and what Klopp required was to minimize the errors as much as possible and keep things tight.

But Adrian was found wanting.

Before that blunder, he was quite good, but Adrian was not Alisson and how badly Liverpool missed Alisson last evening, Klopp knows very well.

Out of nowhere Adrián played a horrible defensive clearance straight to Felix’s feet, who played a lovely no-look pass that left Marcos Llorente – brought on in the second-half - in space in front of goal – he made a low-shot and into the corner. The noisy Anfield became quiet.

Adrian’s mistake proved costly as Llorente sent the ball out of his reach, and jinked inside Jordan Henderson to curl home from 20 yards for his second. Then, Alvaro Morata applied gloss to the scoreline at the fag end of extra-time.

A delirious Simeone sprinted down the pitch in front of a stunned Anfield crowd.

The way Liverpool played last evening, surely, they should have won. In fact, they deserved to advance. But can you undermine the fightback of Atleti? No way, you cannot do that. They deserved to advance as well. If a visiting team tames the magic at Anfield and becomes the scriptwriter, then, what can you say? Sit back and defend, is dull; but it works and has worked many times in the past. Such bloody-minded and gritty approaches kill the confidence of the fluent opposition and helps to deliver the sucker-punch in the counter.

Simeone and his boys are devilish, rock-solid and bloody-minded.

At the end of the day, they win – they are the conquerors of Anfield.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 12/03/20 Atletico Madrid conquer Anfield, brilliant Liverpool are out 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

Atalanta make Italy smile under adversity

The state of Italy is not good. The whole nation is somewhat under an unofficial quarantine due to the Coronavirus attack. The Serie A matches and all other sporting activities have been suspended until further official notice. The number of affected patients by the virus is increasing each day as the whole of Italy is gripped by fear and anxiety.

They needed something to cheer.

Atalanta gifted them.  

Adversity motivated them.

The stands at Mestalla were empty due to precautions against Coronavirus. The statute of Valencia superfan Vicente Navvaro had been the lone spectator. Outside the stadium, the fans gathered to cheer for the home team, but alas, their beloved Valencia failed to halt Atalanta and crashed out of the Champions League in another classic encounter. Most importantly, the fans failed to witness a classic at Mestalla.

Atalanta advance to the quarterfinals for the first time in their history. Their Champions League campaign is turning out to be a fairytale. Gian Piero Gasperini's men traveled to Valencia on the back of a comprehensive 4-1 win at San Siro and that coupled with the efforts of the exceptional Josip Ilicic.

The Italian side had the upper hand over the home team from the word go  - Ilicic showed a sign of things to come after just 3 minutes as he lured Mouctar Diakhaby into a clumsy challenge with a clever turn after a brilliant solo run. The referee awarded a penalty and Ilicic scored. Gameiro got Valencia back, but Atalanta were in front again just before half-time as Ilicic scored from the penalty again.

While the pace in the first-half was normal, but it took a great tempo. Football was breathtaking as both teams exhibited the intent to win.

Valencia were fortunate not to digest a goal again, as Remo Freuler's long-range shot struck the crossbar, but the hosts equalized less than a minute later – Gameiro heading in Ferran's delivery. Ferran then got himself on the scoresheet with a clever finish.

But the Slovenian was clinical enough to dent Valencia – He beat Dani Parejo on the edge of the box, before completing the scoring by caressing a first-time shot into the top-left corner with eight minutes remaining. It was his fourth goal and he completed his hat-trick by drilling a shot from 20 yards on the break.

It was the night of Ilicic. No one on the pitch came close to his skill and elegance. The Valencia defence was at bay due to the brilliance of this Slovenian. He had been always a threat coming in off the right, while his left-foot delivered the goods when it was required.

Josip Ilicic wrote himself into the record books by scoring four goals for Atalanta against Valencia to break Zlatan Ibrahimovic's record and become the oldest player to score an away hat-trick in the Champions League. He is the first Slovenian to score a hat-trick in the Champions League, has now struck 14 goals in all competitions in 2020, more than any other player from Europe’s top five leagues. It brings his tally for the season to 21 in 29 appearances in all competitions.

He is just the fourth player to score at least four goals in a Champions League knockout game after Lionel Messi, Mario Gomez, and Robert Lewandowski, though he is the first player to do so away from home.

And after hitting the back of the net in their 4-1 first-leg victory, Ilicic joined Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to score five or more goals over two legs of a Champions League knockout match.

At the final whistle, all the players held up a shirt to the cameras which had the message: “Bergamo, this is for you. Never give up!”

Indeed, Gasperini’s men have proved to be the fighters who play with a lively spirit and enjoy great unity. The team is aiming higher as Gasperini said after the match,  We are very happy about what this result represents for a territory that is suffering so much. We know that many people followed us at home, who cannot go out to celebrate. But we will have time to do it in June at the end of the championship. We will have a big party for everything, also for this danger that we will defeat”.

Atalanta have made Italy proud and smile.

It’s time for Napoli and Juventus to step up.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 11/02/2020 Atalanta make Italy smile under adversity  

Rise and shine RB leipzig

As the final whistle blew, Lucas Moura was seen crying. Jose Mourinho, the manager of Tottenham Hotspur came forward to control Moura’s emotion. Last season, Moura’s fairytale display helped the Spurs to feature in the finals of the Champions League. Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs, alongside Ajax, won the hearts of everyone. From there, it was thought, the Spurs would continue to rise and shine, but that killer instinct and never-say-die attitude faded this season. The Spurs are a ship without a radar.

Mourinho’s team was outplayed, outclassed and outcoached by a team, who neither has a superstar coach nor players, but it is a team, which has a soul – they play for the sake of fans and passion.

A tough beginning

Red Bull GmbH – the Austrian Energy Drink Company is rich and believes in productive investment. Led by co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, searched three and a half years for a suitable location for investment in German football, before Leipzig. The company also considered a location in West Germany and explored cities such as Hamburg, Munich, and Düsseldorf.

On the advice of Franz Beckenbauer, a personal friend of Dietrich Mateschitz, the company decided to invest in Leipzig. The local football club FC Sachsen Leipzig, the successor to the former East German champions BSG Chemie Leipzig, had for years been in a financial crisis. Red Bull GmbH planned to invest 50 million Euros.

By 2006, FC Sachsen Leipzig played in the Oberliga – the fourth-tier League in Germany. Playing in the fourth tier, the club had to undergo the German Football Association (DFB) licensing procedure. Red Bull GmbH and the club were close to a deal, but the plans were vetoed by the DFB, who rejected the proposed new club name "FC Red Bull Sachsen Leipzig" – DFB was too cautious about the over-influence of Red Bull. The fans protested which turned violent and let Red Bull step back.  They did try for investments in West German-based clubs like Fortuna Düsseldorf, FC St. Pauli, TSV 1860 Munich, but they did not go well.

Back to the East

Red Bull turned back to East Germany.

They considered Leipzig as one of the most profitable places for investment. Leipzig boasts a great history in football before the Berlin wall broke. It had been the meeting place for the founding of the DFB and home of the first German national football champions, VfB Leipzig.  

During the GDR, local teams such as FC Lokomotive Leipzig and their arch-rivals, BSG Chemie Leipzig, played at the highest level of the East German football league system, even on the international level. But the current scenario was quite pathetic - no teams from the city featured in the Bundesliga since 1994 and none had played in a professional league since 1998. The two best teams would soon play in the Oberliga, and local football was plagued by fan violence.

Leipzig had a population of around 500,000 inhabitants. The city thus had a considerable economic strength and at the same time, there were no Bundesliga clubs within a wide area from the city, which further strengthened the possibility to attract sponsors and fans. The city had a large airport, motorway connections and most importantly: a large modern football stadium.

The Zentralstadion was a former 2006 FIFA World Cup venue and the second-largest football stadium in the east of Germany, after the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

The possibilities were available for Red Bull to cash in and most importantly, the passion for football among the people in Leipzig was huge.

The start of a new journey

Red Bull noticed it and wished to give the fans something to cheer for and feel proud.

They took over a fifth division club, situated from a village thirteen kilometers west of Leipzig, SSV Markranstadt. Its chairman Holger Nussbaum wanted to secure the club's long term finances and designed a plan to engage Red Bull GmbH. Holger Nussbaum presented his plan to Michael Kölmel, who saw his chance and decided to join.

Assisted by Michael Kölmel, Red Bull began negotiations with SSV Markranstädt.  Only five weeks after the first contact, SSV Markranstädt had agreed to sell its playing right for the Oberliga to Red Bull.

Time passed by…..

After a lot of planning and negotiations, on May 19, 2009, RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. was founded. All seven founding members were either employees or agents of Red Bull GmbH.

Andreas Sadlo was elected chairman, and Joachim Krug was hired as a sporting director. Andreas Sadlo was a well-known football player agent.  In order to avoid future objections from the German Football Association (DFB), he resigned as a player agent, before taking the position as chairman.

RB Leipzig became the fifth football commitment in the Red Bull sporting portfolio, following FC Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, the New York Red Bulls in the United States, Red Bull Brasil in Brazil and Red Bull Ghana in Ghana.

It’s time to rise and shine

The journey began and after a decade, it seems, Red Bull’s idea to invest for a long term result paying rich dividends. They were promoted to Bundesliga in 2015 and became the first Bundesliga debutant, since the German reunification, to qualify for a European tournament, following a 4–0 win against SC Freiburg on 15 April 2017. They also became the first team from the area of former East Germany to qualify for a European tournament, since 1. FC Union Berlin qualified for the 2001–02 UEFA Cup.

Subsequently, Leipzig managed to qualify for the 2017–18 Champions League after beating Hertha BSC 4–1 at the Olympiastadion on 6 May 2017, two days before the anniversary of the club's promotion to Bundesliga.

Red Bull never considered buying big names for the club despite having the ability to do such they could have been like a Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester City or Chelsea, but they did not wish to kill the soul of a system, but offer competitiveness and charm through players and staffs who could delight the followers not only at home but away from Bundesliga as well.

They decided to invest on building a state-of-art academy and training centers, where the strategy was to build a style of football, which focuses on developing a style of football at all age groups, appointing the most promising youth coaches, developing sharp and smart scouts, who would help to recruit little known talents and would turn into stars in future. As for example Naby Keita of Liverpool, who was an unknown figure early on, but developed at Leipzig and then was sold to Liverpool at a high price.  

The current squad, which impresses each and everyone at Bundesliga and Champions League boasts with players like Yussuf Polsen the Danish striker, signed in 2013 at the age of 19 when Leipzig was still in the third division, right-back Lukas Klostermann was discovered by the scouts in Bochum at the age of 18 in 2014, the Austrian midfielder Marcel Sabitzer joined in 2014 at the age of 20, Swedish playmaker Emil Forsberg stunned everyone in his country upon leaving champions Malmo for the second division club in January 2015 despite having much-better offers and left-back Marcel Halstenberg, relieved by Borussia Dortmund’s reserves, and joined in 2015 in order to help Leipzig on their way to a historic promotion to the Bundesliga.

These names are not big but are producing results for their team. These players have suited very well to the system, which Leipzig has tried to build for a decade – energetic football and impressive to watch. They are fast in transition, extremely aggressive on the attack and love pressing high up the pitch.

On June 21, 2019, Leipzig signed Julian Nagelsmann as the coach – a young, but an unknown figure in a world where big names are respected and highlighted enough. But Nagelsmann believed in working silently – studying each and every team closely, working on the weaknesses of his players and shaping them up skillfully and temperamentally to fight against the big boys of world football. A year later, all know who Nagelsmann is – without a doubt, he is the best young coach in the world right now.

Smart, sharp, studious, strategist and hardworking – that is what Naglesmann is all about.

He has made Leipzig better who are expected to be best in the coming days.   

Leipzig’s long term plans have started to bloom flowers.

Mourinho and the fans of Spurs watched how their team was made to look like a bunch of schoolboys by the young guns of Leipzig. They dominated the center of the park. Their fast passing and full control over the ball aided by a solid backline left the Spurs thinking, their wheel has completed its circle and it is the time for the forces to rise and shine.

RB Leipzig are the joy of people right now.   

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer on 11/03/2020 Rise and shine RB Leipzig  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar