Reuters Soccer Blog

Five moments of Spanish glory captured in paint

Pressed to name the five key goals in the history of the Spanish national team, most soccer fans would easily be able to pick the two most recent.

The deft chip on the run with which Fernando Torres beat Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann to seal Spain’s 1-0 victory in the final of Euro 2008 gave the success-starved Iberian nation their first major trophy in 44 years.

The best was yet to come of course, Andres Iniesta’s dramatic stoppage-time winner in Johannesburg last year securing a first World Cup triumph.

Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) president Angel Maria Villar commissioned an artist to capture those two landmark goals and three others and the five paintings were presented at a gala ceremony on Thursday at the RFEF’s training facility outside Madrid, with Torres, Iniesta and their team mates present.

Also immortalised on canvas in striking detail were Telmo Zarra’s effort against England at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, which put Spain through to the last four; Marcelino’s header which won the 1964 European Championship final against the Soviet Union and Kiko Narvaez’s winner against Poland to give Spain gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The paintings, by Andres Sanchez, will go on display at the federation’s museum at Las Rozas outside the Spanish capital.

“In the football world past events are sometimes forgotten,” Villar, who is also a vice president of FIFA and UEFA, told the audience.

Soccer Break Friday

The first day of the fourth month means April fools day, so we would really love to hear from you if there are any dubious stories doing the rounds.

Here are some. Frank Lampard’s ‘goal that never was’ at the World Cup is to be finally given. Ronaldo will start playing for Spain. And here is a list of five other classics from the past.

How about Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho for Manchester United? Or do you agree that West Ham United would have been in the hunt for Europe bar refereeing decisions?

Back to this weekend, and the title races in Spain and Italy are really hotting up as our previews will tell you. In Germany, Borussia Dortmund are still well clear but need to steady the ship.

Breaking news on Friday was the joint announcement by FIFA and UEFA that Bosnia were being suspended from international competition. Stay tuned for more including a chat with the Bosnia coach.

Finally the latest on Chad Ochocinco as the debate rages on…can athletes successfully transfer their skills in one sport to another?

Kevin Fylan adds: All betting fans, please also check out the latest edition of our sports spreads show on Insider: Click here for our lightning look at the Premier League programme and the cricket World Cup final.

Soccer Break Thursday

As the weekend approaches we can all start getting excited about domestic football again and the increase in stories and transfer speculation.

Read here for Arsenal and Real Madrid transfer news, and Tottenham Hotspur fans beware, Niko Kranjcar appears unsettled. It would be a shame to lose such a talent.

We have a Premier League and a Ligue 1 preview for you, and an analysis of the mountain of statistics that come with football reporting. Do you have any amazing stats up your sleeve?

A very topical issue at this time of the year is player burnout. With all to play for managers must exercise caution when choosing their teams but also risk the wrath of the fans if they do not pick their ‘best’ side. Do you pick your strongest 11 regardless?

A player who may well burn himself out without even setting foot on the pitch is Mario Balotelli. The gifted yet volatile Italian is yet again in trouble, this time apparently for throwing darts out of a window at Manchester City’s youth team.

A word on Euro 2012, where England manager Fabio Capello believes his team’s young players will flourish just like Germany did at the 2010 World Cup. Excited at the prospect? Then buy your tickets now.

Staying with the international game, and click here for a good read on the switching allegiances debate.

4-2-3-1…4-5-1…4-4-2…that’ll be four midfielders and two forwards then?

So Fabio Capello’s masterstroke in revitalising Wayne Rooney and turning England from World Cup no-hopers to instant Euro 2012 favourites was….to tell the Manchester United striker to hang back a bit.

That sage advice, if most of the English press is to be believed, transformed England’s formation from a prehistoric 4-4-2 to the liquid 4-5-1 that all the modern young bucks were using in South Africa.

Of course, like most theories spouted about soccer formations, it is so much hot air and falls apart at the slightest investigation.

The fact that Rooney, at times, sat a little deeper and then ran at the Bulgarian defence to team up fruitfully with three-goal front man Jermain Defoe does not mark a significant change of approach, least of all the abandonment of 4-4-2 — the basic formation usually preferred by most Brazilian coaches during their none-too shabby World Cup campaigns over the years.

The only teams playing a rigid 4-4-2 are the reds and the blues glued to a silver pole who do battle in table football matches around the world — everything else has a measure of fluidity that seems beyond the comprehension of many journalists who base their assumptions solely on the “tactical lineup” team sheets they are often handed before matches.

Forward pairings almost always operate at staggered levels on the pitch, working with each other with flick-ons, one-twos, lay-offs etc that carve a way though a usually outnumbering defence.

Klose closes in on a record he already shares

A glance at the stats shows Miroslav Klose has one more chance to equal or better the all-time record for World Cup goals when Germany play the third-place game against Uruguay but the truth is he has a strong claim to be joint top-scorer already.

According to FIFA, the record holder, out on his own, is the Brazilian striker Ronaldo, with 15 goals.

That, I’m afraid, is open to considerable doubt. A close look at the video of one of the goals he “scored” against Costa Rica in 2002 makes a persuasive case for it being an own-goal from Luis Marin.

One can only speculate as to why Ronaldo, at the time the most marketable footballer on the planet, would have been credited with a goal that helped him overtake Gerd Mueller, the West German striker who scored 14.

Klose’s four goals at this tournament so far have brought him level with Mueller — and with Ronaldo, if only FIFA would reconsider.

“I can tell you there is no chance of FIFA changing the way a goal was credited eight years ago,” FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said at a media briefing on Thursday.

Klose could make it a moot point on Saturday if he bags a couple of goals against Uruguay, or returns in four years’ time to re-open his account, but even if he fails to score it would be hard to argue with him if he described himself as the World Cup’s joint top marksman already.

Community blog: Life without ’2010′

2010 is almost over – the 2010 Soccer World Cup, that is. In South Africa, we simply referred to the greatest sporting event to hit our shores as 2010. For years since it was first announced that South Africa would organise the 2010 Soccer World Cup, the country has been collectively, and sometimes not, looking forward to the day when the world would see what the rainbow nation is about.

The task ahead was difficult because South Africa had to build from scratch and also improve existing structures. The threat of the “Plan B” was often bandied about at will when it seemed as though we were not living up to our promises.

In Parliament the debates raged on about the wisdom of hosting a World Cup in a country that has enormous economic disparities. One school of thought felt the money could be used to build more schools, houses, hospitals and be invested in closing down the gap between the rich and the poor. Another school of thought believed the country needed a moral booster and unifier in a space where the racial tensions and the divisions in society were growing wider by the day.

The day finally came and we opened our arms to the world. This World Cup was not without its challenges, but there was plenty of good that also came with it.

It will be all over on Sunday night. When we wake up on Monday, July 12, 2010 will be over. The hangover from the last month will still be fresh on our national psyche, the visitors will be leaving our shores, and it will be all over. No more 2010. How are we to cope? How do we begin to live without 2010?

Did the punishment fit the Suarez crime?

When Uruguay’s Luis Suarez handled the ball in the final seconds of extra-time in the World Cup quarter-final against Ghana, the ball was heading across the line for a dramatic winning goal.

The officials did well to spot the offence in a crowded area at the end of what must have been a tiring encounter to be in charge of. But did the punishment of a penalty and a red card for Suarez really fit the crime?

Of course, if, instead of ballooning the spot kick high, Asamoah Gyan had tucked away the penalty and Ghana had gone through, we probably wouldn’t be debating this.

But it is hard not to be left with the feeling that Suarez and Uruguay have benefited from foul play.

Suarez cannot be blamed for what was an instinctive action — within the current rules. Had the ball crossed the line his team were out and by handling the ball, he gave his goalkeeper a chance to save the situation. Ghana gained no advantage at all. Instead of a certain goal — they got a shot at the keeper from 11 metres.

England defence crumble in German masterclass

England coach Fabio Capello would do well to take a transcript copy of Germany coach Joachim Loew’s post-match press conference – because in it he would find all the simple reasons why his side were trounced 4-1 and sent packing from the World Cup on Sunday.

In it, Loew rather clinically explained to the international press sat before him that his side were instructed to target John Terry, pull him out of position and pretty much walk into the huge gaps created in England’s snail-paced central rearguard.

It worked. England will forever talk about the Frank Lampard ‘goal’ that, quite incredibly, was not given despite bouncing a full yard over the German goal line with the score balanced at 2-1, but even if they had equalised, the final result would not have waivered.

Germany were breathtaking at times, able to break at will with electrifying pace and switch the play seamlessly from left to right to leave the England defenders in a state of dizziness and goalkeeper David James no chance between the sticks.

Thomas Mueller, Man of the Match and a real find at Bayern Munich, was superb. Playing on the German right wing he decided to cleverly leave England left back Ashley Cole to his own devices and instead cut into the huge space between England’s midfield and defence time and again.

That, combined with Podolski providing width down the left and Klose running England defenders Terry and Matthew Upson ragged, proved all too much for the Three Lions side.

Where do awful Italy go from here?

If you thought Italy were awful at this World Cup it could get even worse in future tournaments.

The slow, unimaginative holders were embarrassed 3-2 by Slovakia on Thursday to crash out in the group stage and retiring captain Fabio Cannavaro reckons the country is just not producing top players anymore.

I asked in a blog before the tournament whether Marcello Lippi’s Italy were the worst ever world champions and now I’m predicting what the team might look like under new coach Cesare Prandelli for Euro 2012, if struggling Italy qualify of course.

A lot of the current team are over 30 and may have had their day so younger players will come in (although young in Italian soccer means 27…). You might not have heard of many of them, and that is exactly the point Cannavaro was making, but Prandelli may want to make radical changes.

Here’s my Italy XI for 2012.

Goalkeeper: Federico Marchetti – Gianluigi Buffon is very injury-prone and there are doubts how much his body can take even if he is having back surgery soon. Marchetti did not do anything wrong in South Africa but doesn’t inspire huge confidence with his constant punching

World Cup podcast – day 14

Listen!

Kevin Fylan, Paul Radford, Andy Cawthorne and Felix Bate discuss a few of the forthcoming second round matches at the World Cup, including the classic Germany v England.