Do Real Madrid lose the momentum whenever Eden Hazard plays?

 

After facing all the tough challenges, one would expect the Los Blancos to end the year with a commendable victory against a lower-ranked side like Elche, but sadly, they followed the path of their arch-rivals – Barcelona.

Real Madrid's five-game winning streak in La Liga came grinding to a halt in a 1-1 draw with Elche.

Cadiz, Valencia, and Elche – Real Madrid should’ve beaten these three teams this season. In those three games, Los Blancos lacked the intensity and focus to compete and ended up losing 8 of 9 of those available points. The weaker the opposition, the more the mediocrity tends to dominate among the Royal Whites.

Playing against the weaker oppositions means bagging enough goals and points - so that the situation does not become chaotic when lean-patches intervene in such long seasons.

Toni Kroos headed narrowly wide from 10 yards in the third minute as Madrid started brightly but it was not long before Thibaut Courtois – making his 100th appearance for the club – had to get down smartly parrying Emiliano Rigoni's fierce drive away from the corner of his net.

Play swung from end to end and Marcelo shook the crossbar with a rasping half-volley from the edge of the Elche box in the 13th minute.

Luka Modric gave Madrid the lead by sending a header into the top-right corner after Edgar Badia palmed Marco Asensio's shot onto the crossbar.

Madrid were awarded a penalty only for VAR to show that the ball hit Ivan Marcone's leg and not his hand, and six minutes into the second half Elche won a spot-kick of their own when Carvajal pulled down Barragan.

Fidel equalized!

10 minutes later Lucas Boye grazed the outside of the post with a low shot from the edge of the Madrid box. Boye fired high and wide after blazing through the Real Madrid defenders and then Carvajal missed a chance to compensate for his mistakes when Badia saved his close-range effort on the counter.

Eden Hazard missed the only opening that came his way and Carvajal conceded a stoppage-time free-kick from which Gonzalo Verdu drew a fine save from Courtois – ensured no horrible outcomes.

 Hazard seems to hamper the momentum of the team whenever he features and when he is absent Real Madrid play very well and fight it out. Since he came to Real Madrid, he has delivered nothing but so far proved to be a headache for the side. His well-wishers are focused to save him, but the hero of Stamford Bridge has been a total waste in Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid is not Chelsea and day after day, the best club of the century cannot afford to carry the burden of such an unproductive player from Belgium.  

Lucas Vazquez was playing very well on the right, but Zidane substituted him for Hazard – who had to be played on the left and Vinicius Junior was brought on the right to add more intensity by replacing Asensio – seriously, does Vinicius fit well on the right? Just for Hazard, is it necessary to tilt the balance?

One cannot deny, Real were sloppy at the back and needed intensity to overcome the well-organized defence of Elche, but Hazard dented the intensity coming in with twelve minutes remaining when Vazquez was pushing further.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 31/12/2020  Do Real Madrid lose the momentum whenever Eden Hazard play?

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

 

Brenner: The next target of Real Madrid?

 

January will be the key in the race for the title of the Brazilian Championship – six of the ten remaining rounds take place in the first month of 2021- Flamengo, Gremio, Palmeiras, and Vasco have one game less.

The decision-making character increases because Conmebol Libertadores and the Copa do Brasil, in which Palmeiras, Santos, Sao Paulo, and Gremio still participate, also reach their peaks next month, which can interfere in the squads in rounds of the main national dispute.

According to the projection of FiveThirtyEight, a website that specializes in calculations and statistics partner of ESPN, Sao Paulo, with 56 points, has a 61% chance of achievement.

Flamengo, currently third, has one game less, 49 points, and 28% chance of the cup. And Atletico-MG, the second place, has 49 points and a 5% chance of conquest.

2020 has been a rough year for Sao Paulo for most of the part – In the Copa Libertadores they were out in the knockout stages. To make things worse, the club proceeded to bomb out of the second-tier Sudamericana after losing a thrilling tie to Lanus on away goals, having drawn 6-6 over the two legs.

But under the smart coach Fernando Diniz, the Tricolor regrouped after the continental disappointments and focused on the domestic titles, where they are well poised to beat the big guns for the Serie A title and they are also just two steps away from success in the prestigious Copa do Brasil.

Diniz has a boy named Brenner, who has become a sensation back in Brazil.

Brenner is a graduate of Sao Paulo’s academy.

The boy enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2017. In addition to making his senior Sao Paulo debut, he starred for Brazil at the under-17 World Cup in 2017, scoring three times to help his country reach the semifinals, where they were defeated by eventual winners England.

Dorival Junior was the man who integrated Brenner in the Sao Paulo side and since then he continued to show a good eye for goal, scoring in back-to-back games against Corinthians and Madureira with a couple of first-time finishes following a dart to the far post.

Brenner was sent out on loan to Fluminense, for whom he failed to find the net in six outings.

That stint in Rio de Janeiro did little to derail his progress, though, as he netted in just his second game back at Sao Paulo, nodding in a point-blank equalizer against Novorizontino.

Brenner bagged another three goals before embarking on a hugely impressive purple patch in August.

Brenner is not the most glamorous Brazilian striker, but he is more of a natural goal-scorer, someone who has, despite his age, developed a useful knack for popping up in the right place at the right time – he is like Paolo Rossi rather than Ronaldo O Fenomeno.

Several of Brenner’s goals have included a deflection or a ricochet that has brought the ball to his feet, allowing him to quickly finish before defenders have time to react – now that is chicky based on superlative instinct.

Not only has Brenner become renowned for picking up great positions in the box, but he has also proven deadly when given a sniff of the goal. He often operates within the width of the goalposts, which increases his chances of scoring with his favoured left foot, or his head.

As usual, he is under the radar of the top European clubs.  

Even though there is a lot of fuss about his link-up with Arsenal, in the Kick-off Met podcast Valentjin Driessen, from the newspaper De Telegraaf, journalist Mike Verweij gives details of the possible negotiation between Sao Paulo and Ajax.

“He [Benner] was offered to Ajax,” Verweij said.

“It should cost 12 million euros plus bonuses. If Ajax want to, they can bring him in.”

The Sports Gazette reported that in addition to Ajax, clubs from England and Spain are also keeping an eye on the young player, but that so far they have only probed the situation and have not signaled with proposals.

 Calciomercato.it says the 20-year-old forward is on the radar of Arsenal, along with Juventus, AC Milan, and PSG. And, Arsenal chief Edu has joined the big guns in the race to sign Brenner.

Goal reported, Brenner is more interested to join Barcelona.

“Out of all the different clubs, Barcelona are one which I would like to play for due to all they represent in the world of football,” he told Sport back in 2018.

“Not just in football terms, but rather as a philosophy and in their playing structure.”

“Right now, my goal is to consolidate my career to help give back to my family after all the sacrifices they have made for me these years. Then the time will come to dream bigger.”

“And who knows... maybe play at Barcelona.”

Like most of the youngsters in Brazil, Brenner dreams of playing in Spain – but given the current state of Barcelona, and the way they mistreated the Brazilian players, Brenner should rethink if Barcelona offer him. Rather, teams like Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus or Arsenal would be a much better choice than Barca.

Note: This article has been posted in Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 30/12/2020 Brenner: The next target of Real Madrid?

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

 

Mohammad Rizwan is the leader Pakistan need

 

“It was a typical Pakistani cameo with which the followers of Pakistan cricket team since the 90s are well accustomed – they crop up, entertain and end up winning the hearts. But in the end, the gems, who produce such heroics are never nurtured properly – this has been the problem of Pakistan for almost three decades”

Just four-and-a-half overs were left and Pakistan’s last-wicket pair was trying to earn an astonishing draw. During the days of Imran Khan, Pakistan survived 129 overs in Trinidad against that all-conquering West Indies and stunned the world. The chance of another Imran-Khan-Pakistan-like bravery was around the corner, but sadly, the Pakistani ship could not reach the shores safely – New Zealand celebrated leaving the Pakistani tail-enders in the sea of sadness.

The final day transformed into an enthralling spectacle when Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan dished out an inspiring partnership for the fifth wicket.

Since that attritional hundred at Galle back in 2009, Fawad Alam scored a second, and spent 380 balls in the company of Mohammad Rizwan, to bring Pakistan to within sight of a draw, against all odds. It was the eighth-longest fourth-innings partnership of all time, in all Test matches according to the available data.  

Alam and Rizwan, who came together in the second over of Day 5, were still together and 25.2 overs were remaining for the day. They had seen off 22.4 overs of the second new ball, on a pitch that had almost nothing to offer the fast bowlers when the ball was old.

New Zealand needed six wickets in those 25.2 overs while Pakistan just needed to see-off the day rather than trying to get motivated by the so-called positive thinkers, who emphasize in going for a win and play shots, but, in turn, forgets that in Test cricket, earning a hard-fought draw is equivalent to positive intent when the going gets tough.

Pakistan fought, won the accolades, made Test cricket beautiful, but they are one down in the series.

Pakistan had been without their poster-boy and skipper, Babar Azam in this series, and in the absence of him, Rizwan was given the task to lead.

If any positives Pakistan can take from the first Test then that is the courage and leadership skills of Rizwan.

Born in the year, when Imran Khan became the undisputed champion of world cricket, playing for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in 2014–15, Rizwan scored 224 to help Sui Northern to a 301-run first-innings lead and their second title. He kept wicket for Pakistan A in the five limited-overs matches against Kenya in December 2014.

In April 2018, he was named the vice-captain of Punjab's squad for the 2018 Pakistan Cup, and one month later, he scored his highest total in List A cricket, with 140 off 123 balls against Federal Areas. In 2019, he was named as the captain of the Federal Areas squad for the 2019 Pakistan Cup.

In September 2019, Rizwan was named as the captain of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He was retained by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the 2020–21 domestic season, both as player and captain of the team.

Rizwan has experienced the topsy-turvy world of international cricket and in test cricket, he discovered how tough is it to survive here until and unless a cricketer works hard on his technique and displays tough character.

In the course of time, Rizwan polished himself. A section of Pakistani fans continued to make fun of Rizwan on social media, but guess what; they need to eat their humble pie because after the kind of character Rizwan showed in the best format of the game, they should call themselves lucky to have such a player in the team.

Four or five months back, Rizwan was very impressive against England in England – On the second day of the second Test,  resuming from 126 for 5, Pakistan lost overnight batsman Babar early as he was caught behind the stumps by Jos Buttler off Stuart Broad. Pakistan kept losing wickets at regular intervals but Rizwan played cautiously and took his side to a respectable total before the close of play.

“When we had Babar with me, I was being compact,” Rizwan said. “But when he got out and the tail came in, I knew I would have to go searching for the runs. In this format, you have these phases. At times, you have to stay calm and work hard to preserve your wicket. It would be silly to throw your wicket away when you have Babar alongside you, but the situation changed when he got out. When the tail came in, I attacked, and that worked out very nicely.”

“This was a new experience for me. When I play domestic cricket, I bat in the top five, so here, batting with the tail was a learning process for me. When we were coming on and off [due to rain and bad light], I spoke to Misbah[-ul-Haq] and Younis [Khan], and they gave me plenty of advice on how to play. But to negotiate the situation batting with the tail, and how to build up the innings for myself and the team, is very much a learning process and this was a good start.”

It was the partnership with Mohammad Abbas that actually describes the ability of Rizwan to soak-up the pressure and steer the ship through choppy waters.

After Pakistan crumbled to 176 for 8, Shaheen Afridi falling to some characteristically tailender running, even 200 seemed a distant prospect. Rizwan started farming the strike, and as England spread the field, he found the stifling pressure lift - a fighting knock dished out!

“We have fought back and our position is decent,” Rizwan said. “If we add 30-40 runs, we have lots of chances. Even if we don't, and get them out within our own score, the match is on. You look at our bowlers, and they did the job for us in Manchester. England had the fortune on that final day, but our bowlers did a very good job. We expect them to repeat that here, given the ball seamed all the time for England. They had a bit of good fortune in that when we kept coming off, they got a bit of rest between their spells, allowing them to bowl longer spells. But our bowlers are young and capable, and we expect to contain them to within our total.”

“This Mohd Rizwan can bat! He can drive well off the front foot & at the same time play the pull & the cut superbly. This makes him an ‘all-weather’ batsman. No wonder his top 3 scores in Tests so far have come in Aus and Eng,” Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted.

Back in Sky Sports, the competent television experts praised the lad highly.

On Day 3 of the first test against New Zealand, Rizwan was found at his very best again under pressure.

Wickets kept on tumbling and Rizwan had to play the captain’s knock and prove his worth.

When Faheem Ashraf joined Rizwan, Pakistan had hit just four boundaries and Ashraf decided to put the red-hot New Zealand attack on the back foot.

Ashraf rocked back and smacked Wagner in front of square for four and then he hit Jamieson, who had gone for nine in 17 overs, for eight runs in two balls.

New Zealand quick realized he'd have to change things up, and he fed Rizwan one that was short and wide, but that was splashed for four.

Pakistan doubled their 60-over score in 20 overs, and Rizwan and Ashraf both brought up half-centuries.

It was a typical Pakistani cameo with which the followers of the Pakistan cricket team since the 90s are well accustomed – they crop up, entertain and end up winning hearts. But in the end, the gems, who produce such heroics are never nurtured properly – this has been the problem of Pakistan for almost three decades.   

Rizwan was solid on Day 5 and yet again, proved, he is an all-weather batsman and one of the best in the business when the going gets tougher.

Again, one cannot deny his captaincy abilities – even when the Kiwis were pestering the Pakistani attack on Day 1 and 2, Rizwan was never seen to drop shoulders, but kept on motivating his boys and changed the fields to make things happen. The intent to fetch wicket was always noticed, but the New Zealand batters were world-class, while the Pakistani bowlers lacked the skill to outweigh them.

Even in defeat he is humble and raring to go for the next battle.

After the match, he said, “Not too disappointed. This is the beauty of Test cricket. As a human being, I believe Almighty Allah gives us rewards for hard work. New Zealand worked harder than us, and that's why the result was with their team. After the toss, our decision was good, but fielding well is most important when you want to take early wickets. We collapsed in the field and gave away a few too many catches, but Williamson played really well. (On whether they were going for the victory) Yes, the declaration was a good one, but they took early wickets. Again today we wanted to go for the target, but they took early wickets. They have done really well [lately] in Test cricket. I must give special credit to Neil Wagner, for bowling with a fractured toe. We lost this match, but we are still in the series. We played very well in this match, and we need some improvement in our bowling.”

Rizwan can be the tough nut which Pakistan is search for, but it is up to the mysterious world of Pakistan cricket how they manage such a brilliant cricketer.

Note: This article has been posted in Cricketsoccer  Mohammad Rizwan is the leader Pakistan need

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

 

 

Eibar halt Barcelona

 

It was the first match after the Christmas Holidays and the opposition was Eibar against whom Barcelona find the going easier. But his time around, the Catalans were halted and dropped two points. The frustrating result did not satisfy the superstar Lionel Messi, who was watching the match from the stands – he left by shaking his head. It was sad to watch.

Surely, there is nothing to celebrate after losing points against a side Barcelona had won 11 of their previous 12 previous top-flight games against.

The start was good by Barcelona – neat passing and overlapping of the full-backs dominated the proceedings.

The Blaugrana had a big chance just seven minutes in when Ronald Araujo was brought down in the box, but Martin Braithwaite missed the penalty. Braithwaite seemingly redeemed himself 20 minutes later after finishing an excellent cross from Junior Firpo, but the goal was called off after VAR spotted an offside by Braithwaite.

Antoine Griezmann then struck wide from outside the penalty area as Barca went in at the interval having had just a solitary shot on target.

Ronald Koeman made a bold substitution at halftime as Ousmane Dembélé replaced Sergiño Dest on the right side of the formation, and the Frenchman was on fire to start the second half, bring his speed and creativity and wreaking havoc on the left with shots, smart runs, and dangerous crosses.

Dembele and Miralem Pjanic flashed wide after the break before the former was denied by Marko Dmitrovic after being played clean through.

 Kike picked Araujo's pocket inside the Barca half and coolly slotted past Marc-Andre ter Stegen for his fifth goal of the campaign.

Dembele belatedly got the better of Dmitrovic in the 67th minute, firing home at the back post after Junior's cross flashed across the face of goal – it restored parity but nothing more.

Koeman made two more changes with Philippe Coutinho and Francisco Trincao coming on, and the two immediately created a beautiful move down the left that found Firpo all alone and the full-back’s cross gave Dembele a tap-in and Barça were back in business with 25 minutes to go.

Barça continued to put on the pressure but as time went on the creativity became desperation and it was hard to find clear-cut chances against a well-organized Eibar defence.

Trincao clipped narrowly wide of Dmitrovic's right-hand post in stoppage time as Barca missed the opportunity to make up ground on Atleti ahead of the leaders' clash with Getafe.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 30/12/2020 Eibar halt Barcelona

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

Sri Lanka need to fix the fitness issues

The historic series win over the Proteas just a few years back still fresh in the minds of everyone and Sri Lanka started the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka on Boxing Day with a lot of promise. The South African bowlers had the Lankan top-order on the rope, but Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjay de Silva arrested a collapse with enough intent.

But the smooth-sailing of the Sri Lankans experienced a telling blow when De Silva was seen struggling. The medical team came for help and ultimately had to retire hurt.

De Silva's 106-ball 79 had helped Sri Lanka recover from 54 for 3, and his fluent innings had taken them to 185 with no further loss when he completed a single off debutant Lutho Sipamla.

He has been ruled out of the remainder of the South Africa tour with a grade two tear in his left thigh. De Silva had retired hurt on 79 on the opening day of the Test series against South Africa on Saturday and had to be taken off the field in a buggy. He underwent an MRI scan after the close of play, which confirmed a tear of about 20% or 30% according to team manager Ashantha de Mel.

Chandimal kept the momentum going while Niroshan Dickwella and Dasun Shanaka supported well and put up a competitive fighting total.

But the fitness issues showed up again when Kasun Rajitha crumbled after delivering just thirteen balls. With De Silva’s effective offspin already unavailable, the absence of Rajitha was another blow. The workload was heavy for the others.

“Kasun Rajitha's injury is really going to affect us - we all know how well he bowled on the last tour here," Shanaka said at the end of day two at Centurion. Rajitha bagged nine scalps at 23.22 on Sri Lanka's last tour in South Africa. “Dhananjaya de Silva also comes in and bowls when they are batting well, and he dries up the runs for us. He does that job. I think we will feel their absence,” Shanaka said.

South Africa cashed in and scored in a care-free manner as if they were batting against a bunch of schoolboys.

In between the run-fest of the Proteas, Kumara walked off the field a ball into his 22nd over with a hand on his groin, although he took relatively easy strides to the dressing-room staircase. Sri Lanka's captain, Dimuth Karunaratne, finished his over.

Six overs later, Hasaranga, who had just taken his second wicket of the match, slid to the field on the cover boundary and appeared to land on the ball. He got up and attempted to walk off the pain but found he could not stand for too long and soon sat down for relief. He was helped into the emergency buggy and driven out of the ground. Kusal Mendis had to take over bowling from Hasaranga's end.

That left Sri Lanka with only Vishwa Fernando and Dasun Shanaka, who has only taken up as much bowling as he has in this match because of the absence of Rajitha and de Silva, and part-timers to bowl at South Africa.

The outcome was devastating – an innings defeat.

Now, the fitness issues are nothing new for Sri Lanka. There has not been any series, where a player did not break down in the crucial phase of the series.  

Again, just ten days before the start of the tough tour, Sri Lanka were engaged with their own T20 League, and one cannot deny the fact, it inflicted a devastating effect on the team – neither could they prepared well nor received enough rest for the tour.

Moreover, it is well known, how fragile the Sri Lankans have been physically over the years.

After the disastrous tour in England in 2016, Angelo Mathews blamed the poor fitness of the players. In 2017, the Sri Lankan government today warned the national cricket team to get fit in three months or get booted out.

The ultimatum came after the squad was found to be unfit for the series against Zimbabwe which starts Friday.

“No one has a satisfactory level of fitness, but I have made an exception this time,” sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said.

Back in April 2020, Sri Lanka have been ordered onto customized home training regimes during the lockdown due to the COVID-19 Pandemic by coach Mickey Arthur following frequent accusations of poor fitness.

“I have been sending out exercises to each player,” said Arthur, adding that the strengths and weaknesses of each man were being discussed.

“We are using this time to reflect on the first three months of our tenure and recalibrate our individual and team plans going forward to the very important series that we have coming up later in the year.”

“The players all have individual fitness plans to keep them up to speed with their levels of fitness.”

“These plans are tailored to the facilities that each player has at his disposal at home to maintain the expected fitness levels.”

On June 1, 2020, Sri Lanka trained for the first time in more than two-and-a-half months to sharpen their skills and fitness ahead of a potential restart of the international game.

The efforts were definitely there, but in the end, it was the same old story.

The fitness issue requires further evaluation and this would be the first step towards improvement.

Obviously, sanity should prevail among the Sri Lankan think tank regarding such T20 Leagues which ultimately gives birth to problems.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 29/12/2020 Sri Lanka need to fix the fitness issues

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

After darkness comes the sunshine

 

“India took the lead riding on Rahane’s courage and this time around, Australia failed to essay something spectacular – their batting, still, seems to be trapped in the bubble of Big Bash League. After the darkness came the sunshine in the Indian dressing room”

“I felt [I learned] backing your instinct, remaining calm under pressure, backing your own strengths and methods, which I really focus on. I really learned a lot during that Test.”

“We have got to back our basics, back our plans. We just had one bad hour so it is all about staying positive, backing your own ability, and batting in partnerships. As a batting unit, that matters a lot: communication and batting in partnerships. We are focusing on that.”

That is what Ajinkya Rahane said before the start of the Boxing Day Test. A few days back, it was a nightmare in Broad Day Light at Adelaide. To the astonishment of their fans and neutrals, the Indian team folded for just 36 runs, and Australia, who were on the back foot from the start, took the lead.

That defeat was a disgrace and until and unless the team shows the character in Melbourne, would be tough to stay alive in the series. Moreover, the absence of Virat Kohli would test the temperament of the team and the stand-in captain Rahane more.

But team India kept their basics right and the basic is playing Test cricket the way it should be.

On Day 1, the Indian bowlers shot-out Australia under 200 runs once again – minus Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma. And, guess what, the leader of the pack turned out to be Ravichandran Ashwin – the man, who is more often criticized for his dismal record away from the subcontinent.  

Rahane introduced him in the first hour - only the second time he is being used as an attacking option before the third seamer in a Test outside Asia and the West Indies. The intention was to exploit the moisture on the surface and extract turn against the batters – especially against the southpaws. By now, Ashwin has mastered the art of not only extracting turn from the deck but exploit the bounce like Lyon on Australian decks.

Wade was done and dusted for not trusting his defence and footwork – danced down the deck to dominate and succumbed under pressure. When the right-handers started to settle on the wicket, the field changed to 6-3 and a leg trap with two short-legs and midwicket –when required, two men were placed in the midwicket position.

Ashwin trusted on the straighter lines, changed his pace, trajectory, and seam position consistently, but one important could be said, Ashwin’s variation and discipline are well known to Steve Smith, who should have spent enough time on the wicket rather than falling to the middle-and-leg stump line.

Marnus Labuschagne was another interesting case, who was undone by a delivery that held its line and then changed direction to square-up Marnus. Whereas the kind of caliber Marnus possesses, he could have played it forward and cover the length – he played it back and closed his bat.

With Smith and Marnus leaving cheaply – the rest of the Australian batters fell quickly.

Nevertheless, Ashwin should be credited for his guile and fighting spirit.

He is an improved customer and of course, had he taken the T20 Leagues too seriously, he would never have been the bowler that he is now.

It was time for the Indian batters to bury the ghost of Adelaide and it was time for the captain to dish out an absolute master class down under, which would be talked in years to come.

Rahane should have flourished more than the present batsman he is.

But in the last couple of years, his grit and determination had determined the fate of India in test cricket – from that gritty 48 runs at the Wanderers to that knock in Trent Bridge and Adelaide in 2018 – Rahane’s impact can never be undermined – still, he is not right up there.

Here come another testing days of cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with the Australian bowlers breathing fire to claw back into the game.

Rahane shunned the hangover at Adelaide and trusted his defence and footwork.

He backed the basics of cricket – occupy the crease, use the feet, more faith in back-foot stroke-play, and keep the back lift straight in line with the wicketkeeper rather than facing it to the slip or gully.

Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara exhausted the pacers, but yet again, another collapse was around the corner and Rahane entered the scene to arrest that.  

Rahane dropped the anchors and started to occupy the crease. Until and unless, you don’t spend time at the crease, you would not be able to gain control over the likes of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon.

 17 runs off 59 balls did not satisfy those, who barks like a street dog about strike rates in Test cricket, but such ignorant classes forget, this resolve is the basic to graft an innings in Test cricket.

After the resolve, came the next phase – display of high-quality technique and fluency along with it.

Rahane dominated Lyon by exhibiting astute footwork – he played the ball forward and defended when Lyon pitched the ball in that length to extract bounce and cut him into halves – but Rahane covered the length with his front foot and bat, while Lyon pulled back his length to outweigh Rahane’s resolve, he was quick to shift balance on the back foot and play the ball late.

In that afternoon session, he rotated the strike and did not hit a boundary. The five false shots which Rahane did give up to Lyon all came to good length deliveries – he became more and more assured of himself.

Now, this was Test batting at its very best – the sort of thing, which we watched before T20 emerged as the demon and destroy the fun.

Against the red-hot Australian pacers, he was equally authoritative.

As Cricviz says, “Yet after lunch, Tim Paine either instructed his bowlers to get straighter, or they simply lost their lines. 24% of the seamers’ deliveries in the afternoon session were in line with the stumps, a figure which before lunch had been only 12%, the majority of their bowling happily in the channel. Rahane obliged, tucking readily into the feast off his hip, 22 of his half-century runs coming square on the legside.”

“Then the second new ball arrived, and everything changed – and at first, it was for worse. Rahane threw his bat at a wide ball from Starc, and the edge flew up to Steve Smith at slip, who duly let the ball through his hands. Then, things changed for the better. The second over with that new ball got the treatment, first over of second new ball; second over, got stuck into driving Cummins. A full-blooded four in the V drew a beaming smile from Rahane, the sense of relief visibly washing over him. Most of the work had been done; now it was time for some fun.”

“His scoring areas became straighter, moving from squarer earlier in the day, those drives moving from a rarity to a once, twice an over event. His attacking shot percentage went from 18% to a massive 39%, and his last 33 deliveries (those against the second new ball) brought 31 runs. There were hard, flashing cuts through point, exaggerated flourishing flicks; an air of ostentatious flair coming through after all the hard yards, and in truth, the pressure had subsided.”

A marvelous hundred was scripted and one also can’t deny how well he was supported by Ravindra Jadeja at the other end – who provided the perfect foil o Rahane’s grit and composure.

India took the lead riding on Rahane’s courage and this time around, Australia failed to essay something spectacular – their batting, still, seems to be trapped in the bubble of Big Bash League.

After the darkness came the sunshine in the Indian dressing room.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 29/12/20 After darkness comes the sunshine

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

 

 

Zidane was right

 

Rewind to the days when Zinedine Zidane was frequently questioned about the inclusion of Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez. More often, the critics of Real Madrid used to say that Zidane is not doing justice with the abovementioned players but Dani Ceballos as well. In the end, they left Real Madrid and joined the English Premier League.

Now come back to the present time and judge the state of the players who were portrayed as the victims of Zidane’s ignorance – what do you see? You cannot but come to the conclusion that they were never up to the mark to play for Real Madrid and for which, Zidane never considered them – he invested faith in those who prove worthy enough in the long run.

Marca stated about the players’ current situation in their report:

Ceballos: Benched at Arsenal

The young midfielder has excellent technical qualities and Mikel Arteta wanted him to dictate the tempo of his Arsenal team, however, the Gunners are enduring a rocky start to the season and the 24-year-old Spaniard has been unable to steer them to safety.

Curiously, Arsenal's reaction came on Saturday in a 3-1 win over Chelsea, with Ceballos an unused substitute.

If Arteta sticks to his newfound winning formula then Ceballos could have his work cut out to get back in his plans, which won't help him work his way into Zidane's thoughts for next season either.

Los Blancos have an eye on Ceballos' progress as he will return from his loan in the summer, but with Luka Modric's renewal and the possibility of other signings things aren't looking good for the former Real Betis man.

James: From heaven to hell

James Rodriguez introduced himself to the Premier League in spectacular fashion. He could have wished for no better figure than Carlo Ancelotti to take him under his wing and give him his confidence back and the Colombian responded with goals and assists that had Everton flying high in the early part of the campaign.

In recent weeks, however, James has seen a dip in form, coinciding with poor results with his national team, and has been struggling with injuries he can't quite get over.

The criticism now coming his way in England and the question marks over his consistency highlight why Zidane chose to show the Colombian the door!

Bale: Still injury prone

The Welshman arrived at Spurs injured and that already caused doubts to emerge, concerns which proved to be well-founded as Bale hasn't been able to make himself a regular in Jose Mourinho's side, which will have frustrated both of them.

Bale has scored in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup, and the Europa League, but only once in each competition, and his performances have been below the level expected of him when he arrived.

The 31-year-old picked up another injury in the Europa League and it is not yet known when he will return.

Further uncertainty lies in his Real Madrid future, with his value having dropped even lower during this loan spell in North London.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 28/12/2020 Zidane was right

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Faisal Caesar  

 

Victory for the Gunners

 

Arsenal 3 Chelsea 1 – the score-sheet says that the Gunners painted North London Red last night and bagged three points, but the victory last night was not about points, but more than that – all of a sudden the prophets of doom and gloom seemed to escape allowing a ray of hope to enter in the dressing room and in the hearts and minds of the frustrated fans of the Gunners.

Even though the Gunners are in 14th and just six points off the relegation zone in the Premier League, but they can now approach games against Brighton and West Brom next with much more positive intent – the victory earned last night should work as a tonic for the boys of Mikel Arteta.

Yes, Mikel Arteta – what a time he was going through before the Christmas break – torrid! His job was on the line and everyone lost faith in him.

Arsenal had been able to score four goals in their previous 10 Premier League matches – a sequence that had brought them five points.

It had the club mired in their worst start to a season since 1974-75.  

One of the big pre-match questions concerned whether Arsenal were in a relegation battle.

Arteta trusted on the academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe his first start in more than a year in a frontline which also contained 19-year-olds Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli alongside Alexandre Lacazette. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was fit again after injury, but the club captain was left on the bench – that was quite brave from the under-fire coach.

The game began and Smith Rowe, Saka, and Martinelli provided Arsenal with the type of attacking intent Arteta’s side have been missing all season.

Arsenal missed Martinelli. His agility and Brazilian skills lifted the spirits of the Gunners and instilled the confidence to pressurize the Chelsea markers and defenders. He was the X-factor on the pitch and one could always left thinking, how badly the Gunners missed this talented Brazilian.

But now he is back and should prove clinical for Arteta in the coming days.

Saka and Martinelli were supreme down both flanks, while Smith Rowe created two chances, including the assist for Arsenal's third goal, in a free role off Lacazette.

Arteta insists both Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe "deserve" their starts as Arsenal aim to arrest their slide against Chelsea.

“They play because they deserve to play,” said the Arsenal boss.

“Emile has been training really well. The games that he’s played in the Europa League and the other day when he came on, he looked really sharp.”

“He gives us something different. He’s got different qualities to any other midfielder and the same with Gabi.”

“He had to come off the other day with a bad kick but he’s feeling good and we need him.”

Chelsea seemed to have asserted authority when Mason Mount's free-kick clipped the post, yet Arsenal were ahead in the 34th minute, as Lacazette sent Mendy the wrong way from the spot after Reece James was adjudged to have fouled Kieran Tierney.

While Lacazette became Arsenal's leading scorer, the Gunners' second came from an unlikely source – Xhaka curling in a sublime 25-yard free-kick on the stroke of half-time.

What a strange player Xhaka has been for Arsenal!

You just never know, what he might come up with and he always gives the impression of a player, who never exploited his talents to the full extent – almost like an unprogrammed robot –going nowhere, but when he starts to click – he delivers amazing things – the free-kick last night says it all.

With his superb effort, Xhaka became the first Arsenal player to score a direct free-kick versus Chelsea in the Premier League since Thierry Henry in December 2004.

Arsenal have also scored 13 Premier League goals from outside the box against Chelsea – against no side have they netted more in the competition (also 13 v Southampton).

As for Xhaka, no Arsenal player had more pass attempts (44), completed passes (34), passes in the Chelsea half (26), or touches (55) than him.

Lampard introduced Callum Hudson-Odoi and Jorginho at half-time, but it was Arsenal who struck again 11 minutes after the restart.

Having cut into the area, Saka spotted Mendy off his line and floated in an audacious – perhaps accidental – effort in off the left-hand upright.

It was just icing on the cake – a sublime finish from the youngster.

Three key saves from Eduard Mendy denied Arsenal a fourth before Mohamed Elneny struck the bar.

Chelsea made their fortune count when Tammy Abraham chested in Hudson-Odoi's cross, and Arsenal’s nerves were fraught when Pablo Mari felled Mount in the box.

Yet Jorginho, who has now missed two of his last four penalties, failed to script a memorable finish or propel a great come back – Leno diving to his left to hold onto a weak shot.

After the final whistle, there was joy among the players and Arteta seemed a relived man – he and his team needed this victory badly to rediscover their lost mojo.

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 27/12/2020 Victory for the Gunners 

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Faisal Caesar

 

The defence of Manchester United undermines them

 

It was a game where Brendan Rogers’ side failed to create clear cut opportunities – they struggled and surely, Manchester United of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should have bagged full pints and start the Boxing Day Football in style. But in the end, they discovered, lying behind the Foxes.

Marcus Rashford was guilty of a glaring miss after just 71 seconds, inexplicably heading over from six yards following the lofted cross of Bruno Fernandes.

But Rashford made amends in the 23rd minute, though, coolly slotting home his 50th Premier League goal from 12 yards after Fernandes had diverted Daniel James' pass into his path.

Leicester restored parity eight minutes later, Barnes lashing past David de Gea from outside the penalty area after Fernandes had given possession away cheaply.

Kasper Schmeichel denied a dangerous-looking Rashford shortly before the hour mark, while Anthony Martial saw an effort disallowed for offside as United looked most likely to score again after the restart.

Ole brought on his super sub – Edinson Cavani, who did not take time to deliver by assisting Fernandes, who slid past Schmeichel and take the lead.

Fernandes doffed his imaginary hat celebration – thinking he had won it for the Red Devils, but the backline of United let down all the efforts.

 Jamie Vardy had the final say, however, bundling home via Tuanzebe after he had been picked out in the area by Ayoze Perez.

At first Fernandes and Scott McTominay shared the blame for Harvey Barnes' long-range equalizer in the first half and later it was Eric Bailly who failed to stick with Vardy inside the penalty area with just five minutes left.

Before this fixture at the Kings Power Stadium, Manchester United had conceded the most goals of any side in the top-half of the Premier League with 21 goals, despite having played a game fewer than the majority of their rivals.

Liverpool digested 19 and they lost Virgil van Dijk as well as regular partner Joe Gomez to long-term injuries. Manchester United have pretty much played with a first-choice central defence all season, even if Solskjaer opted for Bailly to act as Harry Maguire's partner here, with Victor Lindelof shunted out to right-back.

The defensive fragilities have cost Manchester United this season a lot. In the Champions League it was evident, while in the Premier League, the backline is letting them down again.

They need solidity at the back, but during these tough times, doing business has become tougher.  

Note: This article has been posted in Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 26/12/2020 The defence of Manchester United undermine them

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Faisal Caesar 

Rise and shine Lucas Vazquez

 

He was just 16 years old when he arrived in the Youth System of Real Madrid in 2007. Three years later, in the 2010-11 season - he made his senior debut for the C team. In the Segunda Division B 2011-12 campaign - he scored four goals in 23 games to help the reserves return to the second division after a five-year absence.

He scored his first professional goal in October 2012, netting the winner against UD Las Palmas. Then in 2014, he was loaned to RCD Espanyol and one year later, Real Madrid exercised their buyback clause and he returned to the club.

Since then, the Curtis-born lad has been playing wearing the white shirt and the journey in Santiago Bernabeu for Lucas Vazquez has never been a rosy one.

In Real Madrid, it is never easy to stamp your authority until and unless you prove yourself the best to reach the top level. It is the club for the champions and the opportunities you would get are little and within that limited opportunity, you have to deliver – otherwise, either you have to warm the bench or search for other clubs.

Vazquez replaced Karim Benzema for the final 15 minutes during the league fixture against Real Sociedad and scored – Real won the match.

He contributed with seven appearances in the season's UEFA Champions League, as the tournament ended in a win; in the final against Atletico Madrid, he again came on for Benzema late into the second half of a 1–1 draw and converted his attempt in the penalty shootout triumph.

Vazquez started the 2016 UEFA Super Cup against fellow Spaniards Sevilla FC, providing an assist to Sergio Ramos in injury time to take the game to extra time, where Real Madrid eventually won.

 Vazquez appeared 33 times during 2016–17 and scored twice.

He added ten matches in the campaign's Champions League, scoring once in the group stage as his team also conquered the latter tournament.

In the season that Zidane said goodbye in 2017-18, Vazquez played a part in 53 games of which he started 27 but still didn't have the continuity that he has at present. The best row of games he played was a chain of four, nevertheless, the youngster proved to be a vital part of the team.

The 2018-19 season was not up to the mark for him – Santiago Solari started Vazquez 13 times on the trot before dropping him against Barcelona so that he would be fresh for the Champions League tie with Ajax. On that dark night against Ajax, Vazquez was invisible.

Neither the campaign in 2019-20 was smooth.

 There were speculations that Vazquez would leave Real Madrid because he has not enough to offer for the club.

But opportunities did arrive in front of him.

Injuries and COVID-19 ravaged the players of Royal Whites and when Dani Carvajal suffered a serious injury, it opened the door for Vazquez to fill the gap and in the course of time, Vazquez became the go-to-man of Zinedine Zidane on the right flank.

Zidane used him as a right-winger upfront and as the right-back as well – at the start, while switching positions hampered the rhythm of Vazquez but later on, Vazquez fit so well that right now he has become an integral part of the team.

Zidane invested faith in Vazquez and the lad never let his coach down.

Despite not being a defender, Zidane had faith in the Spaniard. He could have gone for the more natural replacements such as Nacho, Alvaro Odriozola, or Eder Militao but opted against it to unlock the full potentials of Vazquez.

This season, in La Liga he has played 859 minutes and taken 0.6 shots outside the box either as a full-back or right-winger. His passing accuracy has been 86%, 0.8 shots per game, 0.3 aerials won per game, assisted, and scored once.

Out 540 minutes in the Champions League, Vazquez has featured in 450 minutes where his passing accuracy has been 90%, 1.6 shots per game, and assisted once.

Vazquez has created 4.03 shots in 2020-2021 thus far across all competitions and has made 8 of his 13 starts this season at right-back.

Vazquez has offered a lot of pressings higher up the pitch, he has allowed a lot of movement on the pitch with the ball at his feet and without the ball, and his movements helped Real to retain possessions. Defensively, he looked very sound – quickly returning to his full-back position during the transitions where Real suffered very much this season.  

Zinedine Zidane says Lucas Vazquez “has Real Madrid in his heart” and deserves to be offered a new contract by the club.

“He always gives everything for us. I have always valued him and what he gives to us on the pitch,” told Zidane

“Now he is having the opportunity to show us what he is all about. He was a youth player for us and has Madrid in his heart. I'm happy for him and the team.”

“He is an important player and the club knows it. I think it will happen that he will renew.”

Vazquez has proved, he can deliver even better if given more opportunities, and thus, Real Madrid should stick to him.

Note: This article has ben posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 25/12/2020 Rise and shine Lucas Vazquez

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Faisal Caesar 

When Football stopped War on Christmas Day

 

 “The boys left their families in July thinking of returning quickly, but it never happened. WWI left a huge impact throughout the world.  But football stopped the war on December 25, 1914 – only for a day!”

On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb Yugoslav nationalist, assassinated the Austro-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, leading to the July Crisis.

In response, Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia on July 23.

Serbia's reply failed to satisfy the Austrians, and the two moved to a war footing. A network of interlocking alliances enlarged the crisis from a bilateral issue in the Balkans to one involving most of Europe. By July 1914, the great powers of Europe were divided into two coalitions: the

Triple Entente, consisting of France, Russia, and Britain; and the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

The Triple Alliance was only defensive in nature, allowing Italy to stay out of the war until April 1915, when it joined the Allied Powers after its relations with Austria-Hungary deteriorated.

Russia felt it necessary to back Serbia and approved partial mobilization after Austria-Hungary shelled the Serbian capital of Belgrade, which was a few miles from the border, on 28 July.

The First World War broke out.

Only five months into the War, an unofficial ceasefire occurred on the Western Front on the eve of Christmas.

Hostilities had lulled as leadership on both sides reconsidered their strategies following the stalemate of the Race to the Sea and the indecisive result of the First Battle of Ypres.

ESPN stated, “The German high command, hoping to boost morale, sent thousands of little Christmas trees to the trenches. The aim was to keep the soldiers' hearts in the battle. Instead, it had the opposite effect. Christmas highlighted similarities between Christian nations in opposite trenches. When German soldiers at La Chapelle d'Armentieres in France sang the carol, "Stille Nacht" (the original of the English "Silent Night", with the same tune), a British regiment shouted for more. Near the French village Fleurbaix, British soldiers in their trenches saw Christmas trees hung with lights advancing into No Man's Land. The Germans were making a seasonal gesture. The Brits responded.”

“As well as sharing Christmas, the soldiers had gotten to know the enemy. In some spots, the trenches were barely 50 meters apart. You could see enemy soldiers shaving in the morning. Often there were informal truces while stretcher-bearers went around No Man's Land collecting the dead. Few French or Belgian regiments participated in the Christmas truce. They had more reason than the Brits to hate the Germans, who had invaded their countries. But for hundreds of miles along the British-German lines, there was fraternization.”

“It began spontaneously and slightly differently - in each sector, and yet a coherent story emerges. Germans would raise sheets with texts scrawled on them like, "You no shoot, we no shoot." A head would pop up above the parapet. Suddenly German soldiers would be walking in No Man's Land. Britons left their trenches to meet them.”

“Everywhere enemies shook hands, wished each other Merry Christmas, and arranged not to shoot the next day. Together they fantasized about the war dissolving in a burst of brotherhood. In the surviving photographs - one of which appeared in several British newspapers on January 8, 1915 -- they still stand huddled together in No Man's Land. They all wear mustaches, thick coats, and scarves. Smoke rises from the German cigars they are sharing.”

“They also shared Christmas dinners, promised to meet again after the war, and wondered why they were fighting. Britons donned German helmets. Germans sang "God Save the King." Some Germans told stories of working as waiters, barbers or taxi drivers in prewar Britain. "Good morning, sir," a German said to a British lance corporal. "I live at Alexander Road, Hornsey. And I would see Woolwich Arsenal play Tottenham tomorrow."

The best way to express friendship was through sports – football!  

But, whether the football-match took place or not, the historians have shared their doubts, meanwhile, there is also a group of historians, who have given evidence that the football match did take place.

ESPN stated, “Many people, including some veterans of the war, have doubted that these games were ever played. The story seems too good to be true.

Indeed, Geoff Dyer in his 1994 book "The Missing of the Somme" dismisses it as a myth. Some historians believe the truth is somewhere in between. Others contend that the impact of the games has been overstated as we witness the Premier League and FA, among other organizations, commemorates the moment.”

On the other hand, Historian Taff Gillingham thinks otherwise!  

Taff has been studying British military history for more than 25 years. He was an adviser to Sainsbury’s in the making of their 2014 Christmas advert, which focused on the 1914 Christmas truce.

According to Taff, there was a football match on December 25, 1914.

“You can count on one hand the number of accurate accounts about football during the truce. There are plenty of hearsay accounts, and a few fantasists account too – for example, an officer named Peter Jackson claimed to have played, but in 1968 was rumbled and admitted he had made the whole thing up – and there are a number of hearsay reports, of people having heard about a match, but there are only four pieces of evidence from soldiers who either played or witnessed the match. After researching the Christmas truce for 15 years, I can usually spot the real accounts from the fakes.”

“Until this year, I, like Mark, believed there was not enough concrete evidence to say that any football took place. And we need to be clear: what did happen can certainly not be called a ‘match’. However, several months before I started working with Sainsbury’s I got in touch with an old friend who is a historian of the Norfolk regiment, who sent me some papers he thought could be of use.”

“Two were accounts by men who said there was no football, the third – after 15 years of looking – was an account by a Norfolk corporal who said he played.”

“Sure enough, in that pile were three very important sheets of paper – a letter written by Corporal Albert Wyatt of the Norfolk regiment, published in a newspaper in 1915, who said he had played a match in Wulverghem, Belgium. This was a breakthrough, as it corroborated a letter sent by Sergeant Frank Naden from the 1/6th Cheshires, telling home that he had played a Christmas Day match.”

“Naden’s letter is widely known but, until now, there had been no corroboration for it. Here’s the thing – the two regiments units served together in the winter of 1914: the Cheshires, who were part of the Territorial Force, had just arrived on the front line, and were mixed with the Norfolks for trench training.”

“So here we suddenly have two people in the same place saying they had played a game of football. That is corroborated evidence. I can now say, hand on heart, that there was a kickabout. I don’t even think it was on the scale that the Sainsbury’s advert suggests – the fact we don’t see lots of soldiers talking in letters and diaries about having seen the match indicates it was on a small scale – but there was a kick about.”

 “Indeed, the fact the kick about was small is unsurprising, because many British soldiers were more interested in fraternizing with the Germans: they just wanted to see them – to talk to them, to swap photos and food. Some even cut one another’s hair. Remember, many of the German troops would have worked in bars and restaurants back home, so would have a decent grasp of English. So there were lots of conversations [on Christmas Day].”

“A few months ago German historian Rob Schaefer uncovered a postcard sent home by another soldier of IR133 who claimed to have played. The card corroborates a well-known account by Lt Johannes Niemann of the same Regiment. Again - two men, same place, same time. The kick about at Wulverghem and Frelinghien are the only two places where kick about are corroborated, although in both cases there is no corroboration from the opposing side.”

“In spite of this, I think it is a great tragedy that football is hijacking the Christmas truce – in reality, football played an insignificant role in the truce. It really was more about fraternization, which is why in the end Sainsbury’s toned down the emphasis on the football and instead highlighted the sharing aspect.”

 In 1999 Rudolf, son of a German Lieutenant in WWI, Kurt Zehmisch, found his dad's diary in the attic.

In the diary, he wrote, “A couple of Britons brought a ball along from their trenches, and a lively game began. How fantastically wonderful and strange! The English officers experienced it like that too- that thanks to soccer and Christmas, the feast of love, deadly enemies briefly came together as friends.”

A 19-year old Private in the 6th Battalion Cheshire Regiment named Ernie Williams stationed near Ypres, Belgium, depicted how football brought the two sides together in Peter Hart’s book, Fire and Movement: The British Expeditionary Force and the Campaign of 1914.

Williams also recounted his story with minor variations in a recorded 1983 interview.

“The ball appeared from somewhere, I don’t know where, but it was from their side – it wasn’t from our side where the ball came. It was a proper football. They took their coats off some of them and put them down as goalposts. One fellow went in goal and then it was just a general kick about. I should think there would be at least a couple of hundred taking part. I had a go at it – I was pretty good then at 19. Everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. There was no sort of ill-will.”

“There were some of the Germans who could speak English. I don’t think many on our side could speak German! No referee, we didn’t need a referee for that kind of game. It was like playing as a kid in the streets, kicking the ball about and the referee being the policeman and chasing you off. There was no score, no tally at all – it was simply a melee. Nothing like the football you see on television. The boots we wore were a menace – those great big boots we had on – and in those days the balls were made of leather and they soon got very soggy.”

Lieutenant Charles Brockbank, also a member of the 6th Battalion Cheshire Regiment penned an entry detailing the day’s football match in his journal, “The most extraordinary incident … the Germans started shouting to us to ‘come out’ and ‘have a drink’ and also climbing about in the trenches. One of them came out in front without a rifle or arms, as one of ours went out, too. A huge crowd formed. We had found a little rubber ball so, of course, a football-match came off and we exchanged various things.”

The same book shares an account from the German perspective as Lieutenant Johannes Niemann of the Saxon 133rd Regiment told of a football match between the Germans and the Argyll and Sutherlands Highlanders deployed in the BEF:

“A Scottish soldier appeared with a football which seemed to come from nowhere and a few minutes later a real football match got underway. The Scots marked their goal mouth with their strange caps and we did the same with ours. It was far from easy to play on the frozen ground, but we continued, keeping rigorously to the rules, despite the fact that it only lasted an hour and we had no referee.”

“A great many of the passes went wide, but all the amateur footballers, although they have been very tired, played with huge enthusiasm … but after an hour’s play when our commanding officer heard about it, he sent an order that we must put a stop to it. A little later we drifted back to our trenches and the fraternization ended. The game finished with a score of three goals to two in favour of ‘Fritz’ against ‘Tommy’.”

The games played were not highly competitive, but it was more about relishing the moment. The Goalposts were either a couple of pieces of wood, or caps or helmets, and even though the corpses had been cleared from the battlefield earlier that day, shell holes and the huge boots of the soldiers made close control impossible. Players who fell in the mud were pulled out by the enemy, to cheers from spectators, who gathered to watch the tough boys of war enjoying and spreading the message of love through football.

The boys left their families in July thinking of returning quickly, but it never happened.

WWI left a huge impact throughout the world. 

But football stopped the war on December 25, 1914 – only for a day!

Note: Information gathered from Wikipedia, ESPN FC, These Football Times and History

Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer on 25/12/2020 When Football stopped War on Christmas Day

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Faisal Caesar 

 

 

Theo Hernandez: A blessing for AC Milan

 

The Rossoneri had no intention to spoil the mood during Christmas like Juventus and thus, maintained their unbeaten record in the Italian Serie A with a dramatic late-winner against a very good Lazio side.

AC Milan wasted little time in getting onto the front foot - racing into a two-goal lead inside 17 minutes courtesy of Ante Rebic's header and Hakan Calhanoglu's penalty.

Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile – who had a spot-kick saved prior to the Spaniard's goal – restored parity by finding the net on either side of the interval, but Hernandez powered home from a corner in the 92nd minute to dramatically seal the three points for the Rossoneri.

They were pushed all the way by a tough Lazio outfit, but Milan prevailed to register a 10th win in 14 Serie A games this season and reclaim their place at the summit from Inter.

Another two-goal haul, meanwhile, made them only the second team in the history of the top five European leagues to score more than once in 16 consecutive games in a single calendar year, with Barcelona managing 18 in 1948.

It was a nail-biter at the San Siro and after the match, Milan Coach Stefano Pioli and the layers celebrated wildly and the smile at the San Siro is back after a long time. The Rossoneri are coming back to the top level of European Football and it means a lot for the fans in Milan and outside Italy.

When Hernandez flew in the air like a Fighter Jet and headed home Calhanoglu's corner to spark delirium on the Milan bench; one thought arose in the minds of the critics and which is, the Frenchman is not the most unwanted player anymore, but he has established himself one of the pillars of AC Milan’s current purple patch.

 Born in Marseille, Hernandez joined Atletico Madrid's academy in 2007, aged nine.

After progressing through the youth categories, he was promoted to the reserves in Tercera Division in the summer of 2015.

In 2016, Hernandez renewed his contract.

Two days later, he was called up to the first team for a La Liga match against Eibar due to injuries but remained an unused substitute in the 3–1 home win.

Hernandez extended his contract until 2021 on August 16, 2016, but was immediately loaned to fellow league club Deportivo Alaves for one year.

A regular starter during the Basque team's run in the Copa del Rey, Hernandez helped them reach the final for the first time in their 91-year history. During the match, he scored the equalizer through a direct free kick in an eventual 1–3 loss against Barcelona.

On July 5, 2017, Hernandez signed a six-year deal with Real Madrid after they met his release clause of €24 million.

He made his competitive debut in August, replacing Marco Asensio in a 2–0 home win against Barcelona for that year's Supercopa de Espana.

Hernandez made three appearances during the 2017–18 edition of the UEFA Champions League, but in Real Madrid, it was tough for him to achieve enough playing time because Marcelo was still in his prime and was linking-up extremely well with Cristiano Ronaldo to bore fruits.

He was loaned to Real Sociedad the following season.

The former France U-20 international had only appeared in 23 matches across all competitions when Real Madrid decided to accept a loss on their initial investment,

Needing to raise capital to fund Zinedine Zidane's overhaul of an aging side, Hernandez was sold to Milan for €20million.

The transfer was approved and carried out by Paolo Maldini, who met with him informally in Ibiza to persuade him to join.

 In an interview with Onda Cero, he spoke of his time at Real Madrid and his expectations for the future.

“I don’t know if they regret my departure in Madrid. I couldn’t do my best for Real Madrid, as I didn’t have the minutes. Without the minutes, you don’t have confidence. I arrived at a very young age, I have grown up now”, Theo explained.

He was asked if he would ever return to Real Madrid. “Would I go back to Real Madrid? I don’t see myself as ever going back, if it’s my hands, I would stay at Milan forever. I am in the best moment of my career and I am very happy in Milan,” Theo concluded.

When Hernandez joined Milan, they were a team lying at the bottom, but again, it was the club, which provided Hernandez the best of freedoms – his attacking instincts flourished more and more.

The technical director wanted a strong player in one-on-one situations to be included in a system and Hernandez fulfills the criteria very strong against his man, both in the offensive and defensive phases, and now also improved in the back four.

Sometimes he gets caught in a positional sense but he has the speed to make up for it, and now he has become a symbol of Milan’s resurgence.

On average, Hernandez takes 2.78 touches in the opposition penalty area (per 90) – so it's little surprise he's a persistent threat. A prolific dribbler, Hernandez attempts 3.92 take-ons per 90 and, of his Rossoneri team-mates, only midfielder Ismael Bennacer attempts more.

He's blessed with pace and plenty of physicalities to outweigh the opponents. Again, he does have a penchant for the nutmeg, frequently nipping the ball through an opponent's legs to leave them red-faced.

Once in full flight, Hernandez is tough to stop. His powerful gallop means he can cover ground quickly, getting Milan up the field and into dangerous areas.

And, most importantly, he can score those goals like Sergio Ramos, which are valuable for the team.

Hernandez is a blessing for Milan and it seems the best is yet to come.

Note: This article has been posted in Cricketsoccer as CSesk on 24/12/2020 Theo Hernandez: A blessing for AC Milan

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Faisal Caesar 

 

 

On the European Super League

 

“Football is the game of the people and unites the world and the officials of this game are sane brains and one can say that they would not come up with any destructive ideas, which disturb the quality, balance and rhythm in world football like the officials in cricket did”

In the annual meeting of the greatest cub in the history of football, Real Madrid, President Florentino Perez spoke out in favour of the European Super League. The idea is to develop a league similar to the model seen in the United States with the NBA with the ambition of increasing the income of the elite and lightening the load on players.

Perez pointed to the COVID-19 Pandemic and the massive impact it has had on the landscape of European football as providing the impetus to push through this change.

“Nothing will ever be the same again,” Perez said.

“The pandemic has changed everything; It has made us all more vulnerable and also football. Football needs formulas that make it more competitive and exciting.

“[Madrid] has participated in all the innovations and has protected these innovations in our sport. The club was the sole founder of Fifa in 1904 along with seven country federations, and in 1955 collaborated with L’Equipe to promote the creation of the European Cup, a revolutionary moment that changed the history of football.”

“Without all these changes, football could not have been what it is today, but we need a new change. Football has to face this new era and that’s what Madrid will do, to defend the fans.”

Josep Maria Bartomeu also admitted in his final press conference as Barcelona President that he had signed the club up for the European Super League.

The comments of Perez have relived the concept of European Super League, which has around the corner for more than three decades.

In the early 1990s, a group led by Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister, media mogul and one-time owner of AC Milan, considered a breakaway European competition

In 1998, the Italian company, Media Partners investigated the matters.

The plan experienced a premature death when UEFA planned to expand the Champions League and abolish the Cup Winners Cup in order to better accommodate clubs that were considering defecting in order to join the proposed Super League.

In 2009, Perez endorsed the idea again! In the same year, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger predicted a super league would become reality within 10-year time due to revenue pressure on the continent's elite teams.

In 2012, legendary Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf also predicted the inception of the competition and gave it his backing.

A year later, Scotland manager Gordon Strachan said that he believes the Old Firm clubs of Celtic and Rangers would join a future new 38-club two-division European Super League.

In 2016, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United, were seen leaving a meeting with Stephen M. Ross' representatives that discussed the proposition of a European Super League.

The same year, UEFA again discussed the possibility of creating a closed league containing the 16 best teams in European football from the highest-ranked national leagues. These 16 teams would have been divided into 2 groups, with 8 teams in each group.

After 56 games in each group under the round-robin system, the teams that finished in places 1-4 would qualify for the quarter-finals.

That plan was finally rejected and UEFA, in order to avoid the creation of a Super League, made changes to the structure of the UEFA Champions League.

In 2018, Football Leaks claimed that there had been undercover talks about the creation of new continental club competition, the European Super League, from 2021.

In October 2020, Sky Sports claimed that FIFA was proposing a replacement for the UEFA Champions League called the European Premier League involving up to 18 teams in a round-robin system and post league playoff-style knockout tournament with no relegation similar to major league sports competitions in the United States such as the NFL, NBA and MLS.

English Premier League clubs, as well as clubs from Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, have been invited. Barcelona has accepted the proposal for it to join the Super League the day before President Josep Maria Bartomeu resigned.

 Last year, UEFA and the ECA proposed reforms which envisaged a promotion and relegation system, with the top 24 teams in the Champions League gaining automatic qualification for the following year’s competition.

Those plans were shelved because of protests from smaller clubs, national leagues and fans.

Mr. Agnelli maintains that changes to the Uefa competitions are needed to retain enthusiasm among younger audiences. “It’s not about today or next cycle,” he says.

“It’s about 15-20 years from now . . . what I would like is that football remains, if not increases, it’s premium position as the best sport in the world.”

The debate and further meetings about this reformation had been paused courtesy of the COVID-19 Pandemic and thus, the Super League is trying to fill the vacuum.

The idea gaining the most traction is to replace the opening Champions League group stage — in which groups of four teams play each other home and away — with a so-called “Swiss model” based on chess competitions.

Each team would play 10 matches against 10 different opponents. Those with the best records would qualify for the knockout rounds.

This Swiss model is generating excitement because “for the first time in history, these Champions League teams would be ranked together on the same tables.”

Then there is the possibility of replacing home and away legs with one-off ties — a format instituted last season due to the pandemic.

The smaller clubs and leagues worry that altering the status quo cuts them further adrift from the game’s financial giants.

Lars-Christer Olsson, chair of European Leagues, the body which represents national competitions, insists there are “red lines” in any format changes. This includes maintaining the link between performances in domestic leagues in order to qualify for European contests.

“We don’t want anything to be established to make the Champions League closer to a private league at the top of the European pyramid,” says Mr Olsson.

 Marca stated, “Leaders of the elite clubs believe that the Champions League's format has passed its best by date and that 15 games aren't enough.”

“They are of the belief that a 30 game season could be reached with 16 teams forming the Super League, but he knows that a closed league isn't the most convenient, meaning the format is still under development and alternative options are still being considered with the hopes of attracting the widest possible market to tap into.”

“A lot of clubs also feel that the distribution of television rights in a number of countries is unfair, so there's a desire to join another competition that can see things spread in a way they're happier with.”

“There has been a lot of talk of money, but those behind the project are confident that the prize fund for the winners will be much more than the 120 million euros that winning the Champions League delivers.”

“In the case of Spain, the COVID-19 crisis highlighted and worsened the problematic distribution of finances. Clubs that have the biggest attendances are the most hit, leading to those upstairs trying to find ways to keep money flowing.”

“Their positions are clear. There's an understanding that there's a need to change, and to evolve.”

“Clubs intend to go ahead with their domestic leagues, rather than going to war with them, but they understand that the Super League will become the priority, leading to them boasting larger squads. Most of the big clubs are in favour of the top leagues shrinking in size in order to reduce the number of games they'd have to play.”

“Without a 100 percent defined format, the idea is to fill the gap left by the Champions League, a competition that UEFA are already planning to give a facelift to in 2024. Clubs aren't willing to give UEFA too much room to maneuver though, and they're adamant that change is necessary. The idea is to listen to UEFA, but to put the clubs' demands first.”

How much FIFA would be involved in this concept remains a moot question, but in reality, this concept is totally out of their jurisdiction. But it has been learned, “FIFA accept and support the idea of a Super League. There could also be another change to come in the international football calendar.”

The idea of the Super League has not been received well by many as the German and Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos stated, “The gap between the big clubs and small will expand even more. Everything does not always have to be faster, with more and more money.”

AC Milan chief executive Ivan Gazidis has downplayed the threat a potential European Super League poses to world football. La Liga Chief Javier Tebas saying it is a “weak and imaginary competition!” Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he hopes it will “never happen,” Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola believes it would lead to the death of domestic football.

The Manchester United executive vice-chairman, Ed Woodward, has signaled the club would not take part in any mooted European breakaway league, saying that competition changes after 2024 must be “complementary to thriving domestic leagues.”

Gazidis said, “This conversation about the European Super League has been going on for probably more than 20 years,” he told BBC Sport. “The reality is there are many different ways that European football could develop over the next 5-10 years.”

“I don't think there's a big likelihood that we see a Super League in the way that people talk about it.”

“Do I think that there could be developments in the way that the Champions League develops? Absolutely I do. That's a conversation we should have and have it with an open mind.”  

Paolo Dal Pino, Serie A’s president, rejects the idea, saying: “There is absolutely no way we accept clauses like this.” The other option for the private equity groups, according to people close to their deliberations, is to invest in the super league itself.

BBC created a poll about the concept where the outcome suggests, the majority in London welcomed the idea.

In a Savanta ComRes poll of 2,100 football fans, almost half of younger fans (48%) said they would be happy about the prospect of a European Super League, while 18% said they would be unhappy.

In contrast, just 10% of fans aged 55 and over were happy about the idea, with close to two-thirds (63%) unhappy.

The poll also shows:

Across all ages, 30% of fans were happy about the idea of a European Super League, with 40% unhappy.

More than a third (35%) of fans aged 55 and over said they felt a breakaway league would be 'very bad' for football overall. Among fans aged 18-34, that figure was just 10%.

A fifth (20%) of younger fans thought the European Super League would be a 'very good' idea for football overall, compared to just 6% of older fans.

Close to half of male fans (48%) are unhappy at the idea of a European Super League, as opposed to just under a quarter (23%) of female football fans.

More than a third (35%) of female football fans are happy about the idea.

The Serbian-American economist, author of the book ‘Global Inequality’ and a visiting professor at the City University of New York, is a fervent soccer fan and admits, “The world has become very commercialized. We go where the money is. There is no reason why soccer wouldn’t do that. In the last 30 years or so, soccer has become much more commercialized and globalized.”

“The Premiership was important,” says Milanovic.

“The Bosman ruling was a turning point, which enabled movement of labor within Europe for soccer players. The players market is probably the most globalized market in the world in terms of one type of skill. You don’t have doctors who can move so easily from Mali to France, England, or Spain. You don't have any other profession - writers, software engineers. Nobody! “

“They all have limits in the ability to move across borders, but soccer players don’t and that is interesting because it gives us an inside how a totally open global labor market would work. I think that we would get a concentration of quality - because it is driven by money. There were several elements to soccer’s high commercialization: The Bosman ruling, the growth in England, the technological ability to project yourself.”

“The European Super League is inevitable,” says Milanovic. “All the commercial factors are in favor and Europe is a small area. Success between clubs is essentially driven by inequality in money. Manchester City is a recent example, a good club that was not at the top level. Once they had the money, they became a European top club, like PSG. There is very clearly a movement towards a Super League. It is totally feasible, and it would bring an enormous amount of money. Would Coronavirus make a difference? I doubt that. It is an intermission.”

According to Forbes, “Milanovic doesn’t believe the American sports model can provide a solution for European soccer. Franchises go against the grain of European soccer clubs, which often have socio-political foundations.”

“Even though the game is teetering on the edge, Milanovic still sees a bright future for soccer. He considers national teams and the inclusive format of the World Cup a positive, and an outlier. At the international level, the game hasn’t been commercialized entirely yet. Major international stars still play for their nationals teams, even if there is a little financial incentive.”

“I had a debate with Nate Silver,” explains Milanovic. “He was saying: Well, how about having the World Cup always on beautiful fields in Germany or the U.S. with the 12 best national teams? That would totally destroy the objective of soccer. There is actually no real money for Neymar to play well for Brazil. It leaves the de facto less commercialized part alive. If we were to do destroy that as well, we could really destroy the soul of soccer entirely.”

There are a lot of ifs and buts about this concept, but whether it is a demon or not, none can claim that directly on the basis of guesses. The whole project is still under construction yet to become reality. And for which, the doomsday scenario is not yet imminent in world football.

Football is the game of the people and unites the world and the officials of this game are sane brains and one can say that they would not come up with any destructive ideas, which disturb the quality, balance and rhythm in world football like the officials in cricket did.

Note: This article has been posted in Cricketsoccer on 22/12/2020 European Super League: It is too early to panic

Thank You

Faisal Caesar