Weekend Matches: August 31-September 3

Interesting matches this week. AC Milan plays twice this weekend, first in the Super Cup today (which would be a great match) and Monday against my favorite team, Fiorentina. Hopefully Milan is a little tired by Monday. Regardless, all of the eyes of the football world will be in Manchester on Saturday, to see the combustible Roy Keane face off against his former team. May not be much of a game, but we shall se.


Friday

2:30pm AC Milan vs Sevilla FSC (UEFA Super Cup)


Saturday

10:00am Fulham vs. Tottenham FSC

10:00am Liverpool vs Derby County Setanta Sports

12:00pm Manchester United vs Sunderland FSC

2:30pm Empoli vs Inter Milan FSC


Sunday

8:30am Arsenal vs Portsmouth Setanta Sports

9:00am AS Roma vs Siena FSC

11:00am Aston Villa vs Chelsea FSC

11:00am Hamburg vs Bayern Munich GolTv


Monday

12:00pm AC Milan vs Fiorentina FSC

Restoring Hope

I’ve written before about the many, many problems that are apparent in Italy’s Series A, including the corruption and the violence. I’ve also written that the most common complaint about the league is that the games are “boring,” a criticism almost always made by yammering nabobs who never actually watch any Italian football. Well, if any more proof is needed that the football itself in Italy is fine, I encourage you to tune into a replay of the AC Milan v. Siena match that was played yesterday. (It is being re-run on Monday at 2pm, EST, on GolTV.) It is one of the best games I have ever seen.

I went into the game with mixed emotions; I pull for Siena but my favorite player, Yoann Gourcuff, plays for AC Milan. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen Siena get the win and maybe Gourcuff get a goal or assist. Instead, I got a thriller.

Milan went ahead early on a sweet header by Ronaldo. Sienna tied within two minutes on a nice shot by Simone Vergassola. At the thirty minute mark, Ricardo Oliveira scored off of a great assist by Ronaldo, who was promptly taken out by a Siena defender. But the big guy got back up. Remarkably, Massimo Maccarone leveled for Siena almost instantly, and we went into the break tied at 2-2.

Things took a while to heat up in the second half, but in the 81 minute Ronaldo scored again off a fantastic assist by Kaka. Ronaldo now had two goals and assist in the game; meanwhile, Real played yet another grim 0-0 game where they could have used some scoring.

But the drama wasn’t over. Maccarone was somehow left alone in the Milan box and leveled again, giving him a brace on the day. Perhaps Middlesboro could use a guy like him, no?

As the cameras showed the Milan president dramatically storming off the field, I settled in as it looked like Siena had earned itself another of its patented draws; they lead the league in getting one point from matches. But it wasn’t to be. Deep into injury time my man Gourcuff (who came on as a substitute) curled a nice ball into Massimo Ambrosini, who scored; seconds later the ref blew the whistle. I was exhausted, elated and disappointed all at the same time. I was sorry Siena lost, but elated at the game and the drama that unfolded in front of me; this one is going to stay on my DVR for a long, long time, to refute any of those Italian critics who tell me the game is too boring.

Everything’s coming up Football!

As a football fan, it is easy to have a lousy weekend. Your favorite club can drop its third game in a row; your team’s striker can be on a cold streak so pronounced he should move to Antarctica; or perhaps your team’s coach acts like an escapee from a mental institution. Hey, it happens.

However, every once in a while, everything comes up roses for the football fan. This weekend was one of those weekends for me. I follow a bunch of teams, allowing for lots and lots of bad things to happen, but everything came out aces. Here’s what transpired:

Real Madrid v. Real Sociedad (2pm, Saturday)

I started the day with my Spanish team, Real, perhaps because I am a glutton for punishment. Rumor was Real coach Fabio Cappello was a goner if the Whites dropped another game in a row. Amazingly, Cappello backtracked last week and announced he would not only play, but start David Beckham after banishing him in January when he signed his big contract with the Galaxy. Real went down 1-nil, but Beckham brought them back even in storybook fashion on a nice free kick. Good for Becks. Rudd van Nistleroy headed in the winner after the break, and the team closed out the game as if it were a collection of actual professional soccer players. Good start to the weekend.

Sheffield United v. Tottenham Hotspur (late night Saturday)

After a very fine Saturday evening spent with family and friends, I returned home to watch my favorite English club, Sheffield United, take on the Spurs and the jowls of their coach, Martin Jol, who looks, at this point, like he swallowed a whole pumpkin. Sheffield predictably goes down 1-nil on a sloppy throw-in after five minutes, and I settle in for an uncomfortable 85 minute stomach-ache while I contemplate relegation. However, and slightly more unpredictably, the Blades score two going away, the first off a Rob Hulse header and the second from a Phil Jagielka penalty kick. The later also has the benefit of justifying my decision to keep Jagielka on my fantasy team. Anyway, the Spurs play the second half like a team that is already contemplating where they are going to go golfing during the summer break. My boys aren’t free and clear yet, but they’re not in the relegation zone either. Also, I’m two for two this weekend.

Siena v. Cagliari (9am, Sunday)

I’ve been a big fan of Siena since I visited the gorgeous town with my wife this fall. I even purchased a Sienna club shirt which I wear on occasion. Anyway, good game here: Siena has had SERIOUS trouble scoring goals this season but scores two in this one to draw with Cagliari and keep them mid-table. Corvia’s first goal was particularly sweet. When watching the game, I was only able to see a few thousand spectators in the crowd; I assumed Cagliari’s stadium was one that was subject to the spectator ban. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. The fans just didn’t give a shit. This has got to be worrying for Series A. I, however, will gladly take a draw, and thus consider myself three for three.

Fiorentina v. Udinese (midday Sunday)

Fiorentina is my favorite team in Italy, so I was bummed I didn’t get to see them this week. I checked the score on the ‘net around noon, and saw that we won. Sweet. I was four for four. Having no other games to watch for a while, I accompanied my lovely wife to Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island for a little lunch. Federal Hill, for those who don’t know, is sort of the “little Italy” of Providence. Anyway, we walk into an Italian grocery store, and what’s on the TV above the meat counter, but the Fiorentina game! Apparently they get the RAI channel in Rhode Island, while I don’t. Regardless, I watched transfixed while the wife buys food. This really is my weekend.

AC Milan v. Livorno (Sunday evening)

I’m not necessarily a big fan of AC Milan, but I watch all their games because my favorite player, Yoann Gourcuff, wears the red and black. Unfortunately, he didn’t play Sunday, so I can’t really consider myself five for five. However, Ronaldo was substituted in at about the sixty minute mark, and so I gladly took in that. Ronaldo looks surprisingly thin to me. I mean, Barcelona thin. I think he could end up doing some damage this year, as long as he keeps this weight down. On the other hand, I have heard that Northern Italy has some pretty good cuisine….

All-in-all, however, it was a great weekend. May football fans everywhere occasionally experience one just like it.

A Tale of Two Transfers

This morning, as has been expected over the past few days, it was announced that Ronaldo has been transferred from Real Madrid to AC Milan. While one can question if this transfer will have great effect (Big Ronnie hasn’t played much lately) there is no doubt that Ronaldo will be the biggest name to transfer this month.

Personally, I am on record as saying I like Ronaldo, and I hope he does well. The sport as a whole is more fun when larger-than-life superstars like him are doing well and scoring goals. Hopefully this move will shine a little much-deserved light on Series A and perhaps give Milan the nudge they need to start winning a few more games.

All that being said, I am a little surprised at how things played out for Real Madrid this transfer season. If you had asked me a few months ago what would have happened to Real’s last few Galacticos, I probably would have said that at least one of them would be gone. But I would not have predicted where.

I honestly believed that David Beckham would have stayed in Europe. Believe what you will about Beckham, but he has always been a fierce competitor, and at 31 I thought he was too young to give it all up to come to America. I thought there was a decent chance Beckham would re-sign with Real (and they eventually did offer him everything in the world except playing time) and if not I believed he would sign in Italy; perhaps with one of the Milan clubs or Juve. Instead, Beckham signed with the LA Galaxy. He said it was to open up the sport of soccer to the big time here in America. Others believed he was seduced by the fame and relatively stress-free lifestyle the MLS would promise. I guess time will tell.

On the other hand, if you remember, there were a number of credible rumors that the New York Red Bulls, the Big Apple’s MLS franchise, was going to make a play for Ronaldo. That, to me, made sense. Ronaldo had the reputation as a fun-loving party guy who had become too fat for football but not too big for the ladies. He still loved soccer, but he could play it on the weekends in front of undemanding fans and have fun the rest of the time. On top of all that, it was a much shorter flight to Rio!

But Ronaldo proved me wrong. Aside from the fact that New York probably couldn’t match Milan’s fee, it was obvious that Ronaldo still had something to prove at a big club; for better or worse he still sees himself as a top player, and that is something that is to be admired. While Beckham has taken what could be argued is the easier path, Ronaldo has chosen to test himself again against the world’s best. We will see how it goes in the long run, but I will find myself again rooting for Big Ron.

Transfer News

Just a couple of quick thoughts about the transfer market today…

• It seems that it’s becoming a certainty that Ronaldo will be transferred to AC Milan in the next day or so. Good for big Ronnie, who as I’ve said before deserves to be on a big stage, and good for Milan for not overpaying. The numbers being reported right now are still sketchy, but it looks as if Milan will pay about 8 million dollars for the transfer, a number that is staggeringly smaller than the 28 million they offered for the player this past fall. One could argue that the new price is a testament to Milan’s negotiating savvy, but it must also be acknowledged that Madrid has acted like armatures the entire time. It seems, in retrospect, that Capello never wanted Ronaldo as a player, which is fine. But to turn down a 30 million dollar offer, only to put the player on the bench and see his value decline dramatically, is absurd and reeks of inexperience. Madrid President Calderon’s insistence on getting midfielder Kaká in the original deal was not only stupid (since it was never going to happen) but also very hurtful to his own club in the long run. In a just world he would probably fire himself form his job; somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen.

• Another piece of transfer news that I found surprising was Ashley Young’s ₤8 million sale from Watford to Aston Villa, a number that could rise up to £10 million with incentives. Young, who was a backup at Watford, and who is definitely a “prospect,” hopes to have a steady starting job under Martin O’Neil. The outrageous sum Villa paid, in my mind, is related to the effect that Andriy Shevchenko has had on English football. Shevchenko, who last year at this time was still considered one of the best strikers in the world, has been a qualified failure at Chelsea, in spite of his two goals in a cup match the other night. This seems to have crystallized the fear in many English manager that foreigners simply cannot adapt to the ‘English’ game, or at least not adapt fast enough for the manager not to get fired. Thus they are over-paying for home-grown English talent, even when that talent is of the very mediocre variety. I suspect that this will not help the English game in the long run, and will eventually reward those still willing to take a gamble on a player born outside the merry realm.

Series A.....ggravating

I’m a big fan of Italian Series A football. I really am. I love the passion of the fans and the knowledge and dedication of everyone you meet in Italy for their favorite clubs. I am personally a huge fan of Fiorentina and I also like Siena very much. Luca Toni, the great Fiorentina striker, is one of my favorite players in the world, and I also always go out of my way to watch Yoann Gourcuff, who is quickly becoming one of favorites.

I also don’t have much patience for the standard complaints about Series A. The people who call it “boring” or “defensive” or “too low scoring” typically are revealing nothing more than the fact that they don’t watch Italian football and don’t know what they are talking about. This season Series A continues to be one of the highest-scoring leagues in the world, and the passing and attacking football couldn’t be any more attractive.

However, Italian football has to get its act together, or soon it will lose even its most dedicated followers. This week the President of Inter and the Vice-president of Milan were called into questioning for cooking the books; remarkably, this comes on the heels of the most damaging football corruption case in the history of the sport, which happened just this summer. It’s as if no one learned anything.

Here in the United States, our sports scandals typically involve steroids or something. There is no doubt that steroids are bad news, but in Italy, over the past year, we’ve seen clear and convincing evidence that certain favored teams were essentially bribing refs to have games decided in their favor. This, of course, shakes the sport to the very core and rightfully leads fans to ask why they should pay for a product if the game is going to be decided in advance. In the US, if such a sports scandal happened, it would surely be the biggest and most talked-about sports problem in the history of the country. In Italy, it seems as if it was nothing more than business as usual.

The punishments handed out in this summer’s scandal were scandals in themselves; it’s the one area where I have trouble defending Italian football. The fact that everyone got off so lightly almost ensures that people will do it again. If the Italian authorities have any sense at all, they will throw the book at Inter and Milan if they are guilty of cooking the books. Otherwise, people like me might just start agreeing with our friends that there is just something wrong with Italian football.





One other quick note today: Real was bounced, a little while ago, from the Kings Cup. Good job, everyone. Perhaps if the team president wasn’t publicly embarrassing the players, followed by the president immediately apologizing to the players, following the team coach giving rude and obscene gestures to the home fans, the team would be a little more stable. At least as a Real fan I can take with me that Robinho and Gago played well. Still, the team was terrible today in dead-ball situations. It’s too bad the team doesn’t have anyone who is good at the dead ball. You know, someone who is world-renowned for scoring from free kicks. Like maybe even someone who was sitting in the stands watching the game? Ah, well.

MLS and Ronaldo

Two quick things for today. First, the news is now heating up that another star is leaving Real Madrid, only this time it is the enigmatic but truly great striker Ronaldo. As the rumors now stand, Ronaldo will go to AC Milan. Madrid Coach Fabio Capello has announced that Ronaldo will not play for the remainder of the season, and thus Milan has wisely said they will take the striker off their hands, but only at no cost. This, of course, is a bold move, as reports have circulated that Milan actually offered more than $28 million dollars for Ronaldo just last August. (Real rejected the deal because they also wanted Kaka; yes, it was a nutty request.) It would be astounding if Milan now was able to get Ronaldo for free after offering so much money just a short time ago.

There are also persistent (but probably just hopeful) rumors that Ronaldo is going to go to the New York Red Bulls. I don’t really think the Red Bulls would pay a large transfer fee either, and reports are that Ronaldo wants to go to Milan because he still thinks he has something left in the tank. While I would love to see big Ronnie in New York, it just seems like a player of that stature should be playing his football at a big club like Milan.

On the never-ending Beckham front, Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated has a great article on the anatomy of the Beckham deal, demonstrating how it was actually a years-long process. The article can be found here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/grant_wahl/01/17/beckham.qa/index.html