Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Soccer Break Wednesday
Happy middle of the week to you all, and if like me you are in London where the sun is out and there is very little football to write about, you are forgiven for thinking the season is over and the grasscourt tennis season is about to kick in.
Don’t look so worried, David (right). While the weather will probably change before I’ve finished writing this blog, the good news is it’s only March and there is plenty more football left. It’s just this week it’s the international break.
One of the most intriguing matches is Friday’s qualifier between Serbia and Northern Ireland. Why? There will be no supporters in the ground after Serbia’s clash with Italy in October was abandoned following crowd trouble and the 2006 World Cup winners were handed a 3-0 win.
Also in action on Friday are Italy, France and the 2010 World Cup finalists Spain and the Netherlands, while on Saturday Wales host England in a British Isles derby and Norway host Denmark in a Scandinavian battle. Germany and Russia are two other big names playing.
Chelsea fans fond of Guus Hiddink should also keep a close eye on next Tuesday’s Turkey v Austria match. Blues supporters, should Carlo Ancelotti go if Chelsea fail to win any silverware this year?
Back to European football, and read here for a very dedicated look at the major European leagues including an analysis of AC Milan’s loss in form that has made the Serie A title much more open.
Some good news for Barcelona fans on Tuesday was fullback Dani Alves renewing his contract until 2015.
Reports of Chelsea’s decline are greatly exaggerated
Former Chelsea midfielder Tony Cascarino must be in the running for an award for biggest over-reaction by a football pundit.
Cascarino told Sky Sports that Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is now fighting to hang on to his job, after the Blues lost two out of their last three games, including a particularly humiliating 3-0 defeat by Sunderland at the weekend.
“Carlo Ancelotti is not safe,” opined the former Republic of Ireland international. “Jose Mourinho lost his job after achieving amazing feats at Chelsea and he lost it very early on in the season.”
He added: “Chelsea have become a bit like Real Madrid and they’ll be a serious overhaul of the squad if they don’t win (the Premier League). If he (owner Roman Abramovic) fails, he will look at tearing the club apart.”
Ignoring the comparisons with Mourinho, which are misplaced, suggestions that Ancelotti should now be fearing the sack are as ludicrous as the idea that Chelsea are in need of a radical squad overhaul.
Perspective is often cast aside when discussing football managers and their teams, while knee-jerk reactions seem de rigeur when a side hits a bumpy patch of poor form.
Every team has a bad day, and the context of Chelsea’s defeat to Sunderland has been spectacularly ignored in the aftermath.
They might stutteringly win the title again this term but only because United lack a bit of previous quality and City are not yet ready. Arsenal could be their biggest rivals though now they have diverse options upfront
Settled Anelka making the difference for Chelsea
Nicolas Anelka’s arrival at Chelsea in January last year hardly had the fans buzzing amid all the big-money signings since Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich transformed the fortunes of the west London club.
The peripatetic France striker seemed like a stop-gap and few expected him to be part of Chelsea’s long-term future.
He had just spent 18 months at Bolton Wanderers after spells at Fenerbahce, Manchester City, Liverpool, Paris St Germain and, following the best piece of business in Arsenal’s history, Real Madrid who he joined for 23 million pounds.
At none of those clubs, however, did he really settle and deliver the regular match-winning performances that made him such a deadly proposition under Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
His first half-season at Chelsea produced just two goals and, although he was far more prolific last term with 25 and some excellent displays, there was always the feeling he was second fiddle to Didier Drogba.
This season, however, Anelka seems to have stepped up a gear and gives the impression that not only is he enjoying his football, a rarity for a man nicknamed ‘the incredible sulk’, but he is increasingly the focal point of Chelsea’s attack.
Terry’s pretty optimistic about the future by how this sounds. http://www.topleague.co.uk/chelsea/terry -much-more-to-come-from-blues/
First round of the title battle: United v Arsenal, Aug 29
The new Premier League season kicks off on August 15 and the first real eye-catching fixture is at Old Trafford a fortnight later when Arsenal visit champions Manchester United for the first twist in the title race.
United manager Alex Ferguson will clash with new Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti at Stamford Bridge on November 7, two weeks after visiting rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
After the all-important Christmas period, the pick of the reverse fixtures see United visiting Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium on January 30 and then hosting last season’s Premier League runners-up Liverpool on March 20.
United’s last match against one of the other members of the leading quartet comes when Chelsea visit Old Trafford* on April 3.
Other dates for the diary:
Oct. 3/May 1: Chelsea v Liverpool
Dec. 12/Feb. 9: Liverpool v Arsenal
How many time are Manchester going to play in Stamfordbridge in a year,,. the article has some error that need to be edited..
Do Juventus or Milan have the next Guardiola?
There is nothing new about putting expensively assembled football teams into the hands of former players with glorious on-field pasts and little coaching experience. But I think it’s fair to say that Pep Guardiola’s remarkable success in his maiden season in the Barcelona dugout contributed to AC Milan and Juventus recently appointing novice managers Leonardo and Ciro Ferrara.
Juve’s Italy defender Nicola Legrottaglie said he sees Ferrara as “the Italian response to Guardiola”. Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani, meanwhile, preferred to compare Leonardo to the precedent they set with Fabio Capello, who like the Brazilian was a club director before his 1991-96 stint in charge that produced four Serie A titles and a Champions League.
Leonardo’s apparent weakness is that he is absolutely new to coaching. Guardiola had been successful with Barcelona B before he got the first-team job at the Camp Nou. Ferrara can count on his experience at the helm of Juve’s youth team and at Marcello Lippi’s side in the Italy coaching staff, as well as the two matches he won in Serie A to clinch automatic Champions League qualification after Claudio Ranieri was sacked.
Ferrara’s challenge may be how to stamp his authority in the locker room. He now finds himself in charge of the team’s so-called senators, such as Alessandro Del Piero, Mauro Camoranesi and David Trezeguet, after playing alongside them before retiring in 2005. This could complicate matters if he wants to drop one of his old team mates. But if he is seen to favour them it could create rifts.
It might be easier for Leonardo to be the tough guy when necessary as, although he is younger than Ferrara, his playing days are further behind him.
Lippi, however, is confident Ferrara has what it takes to overcome these hurdles: “He has the charisma, personality, intelligence, wisdom and charm to establish a relationship with top level professionals and construct something important with them.”
Ferrara and Leonardo are both young and have little experience of coaching at the highest level. Ferrara might have the advantage as he has played with these players in the team. Del Piero will surely be the mainstay of the team. Ferrara’s success would be how he builds the team around Diego. Diego would be the lynchpin of Juve’s midfield nest season. If Geatano D’Agostino comes to Juve it would be similar to the Kaka-Pirlo partnership at AC Milan. THe loss of Kaka means that Ronaldinho would have to come to the fore. Leonardo needs to make Ronnie and Kaka click in midfield. That would be the game-plan. A a quality defensive midfielder to that midfield; Sissoko in the case of Juve and Gattuso for Milan and you have got a midfield trio of Iniesta,Xavi and Toure-mainstay’s of Barca’s sensational treble-winning season
Is Ancelotti the right man for Chelsea?
As impressive as two Champions League triumphs are, Chelsea’s appointment of former AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti will not leave their Premier League title rivals quaking in their boots.
Ancelotti ended his reign at Milan on Sunday after eight years, following top flight stints at Parma and Juventus, all of which amounted to just one Serie A scudetto.
Some may say the Champions League is harder to win than a league, so two is a phenomenal achievement. He also won two domestic cups, two UEFA Super Cups and a World Club Cup, but Chelsea will be expected to challenge for the Premier League next season.
Outgoing temporary boss Guus Hiddink succeeded where his predecessor, Luiz Felipe Scolari could not, in giving a hint of the current Chelsea squad’s potential this season with a third place league finish, a Champions League semi-final and the FA Cup*.
The key to going a few steps further next season will be two or three key signings, including a striker.
In an attempt to put a disappointing fifth-placed finish in Serie A behind him, Ancelotti spent last summer signing the likes of Andriy Shevchenko and Ronaldinho, neither of whom made much of an impact.
John Terry apparently wants Chelsea to sign Franck Ribery and David Silva. Getting players of that quality would certainly make Ancelotti’s job easier. If Chelsea are not prepared to make that type of investment in the playing staff, it’s going to be hard for the new man to make his mark.
chelsea really need youth player like aguero, and hope ancelotti could acquire him and other young player to replace old player. don’t be silly to think that you could could win with a player like now, need new face, that the fact that all the chelsea fan need to know. don’t be too stingy,ok?
