Reuters Soccer Blog
World Soccer views and news
Bosnian diamond Dzeko could turn City’s fortunes
If Edin Dzeko can adapt seamlessly to the Premier League’s high-tempo game, the blue half of Manchester may at long last get the trophy they have craved since 1968, when City won their last top-flight title.
With Carlos Tevez having a punishing workload up front for Roberto Mancini’s side as the lone striker in a 4-3-2-1 formation, Dzeko appears to be just what City need to start firing on all cylinders.
Dubbed as the “Bosnian diamond” by media in the Balkan country for his lethal finishing, excellent close control and the ability to hold and head the ball, the striker impressed in each of his three and a half seasons at Wolfsburg, where he won the Bundesliga title in 2009.
His record of 85 goals in 138 appearances for the German side in all competitions and 17 in 31 caps for Bosnia suggests that he will be a handful for any defence in the Premier League and a perfect strike partner for Tevez.
Should he hit the ground running straight away, Dzeko could easily force Mancini to adopt a more adventurous 4-4-2 formation in search of the extra goals which Manchester City need if they are to cross the finish line first.
Although their defending has been shaky at times, it has been the lack of firepower that has often let down the new-look City against top teams.
They failed to score in two league outings against Arsenal this season after they were held to a goalless draw by Tottenham on the opening day.
Premature move for Swiss prodigy Ben Khalifa?
The Swiss Super League is certainly not the strongest in the world but it’s a fairly safe bet to say that it beats the German fourth division. So why has 18-year-old Nassim Ben Khalifa, one of Switzerland’s most exciting prospects, swapped the former for the latter?
Last year, Ben Khalifa hit the headlines when he led the attack in the Swiss team which surprised everyone by winning the world under-17 championship in Nigeria.
He was runner-up in the vote for the best player of the tournament and also scored four goals. Back home, he was a regular first-team player in his debut professional season for Grasshoppers, scoring eight goals as he helped them finish third in the table.
In the midst of all this, German Bundesliga outfit VfL Wolfsburg stepped him and snapped him up for the 2010-2011 season. Yet they appear to have little intention of fielding him any time soon. Ben Khalifa told Swiss media this week that he is fifth or sixth in the strikers’ pecking order and would have to fight for his place with Edin Dzeko and Grafite, the two players who have topped the Bundesliga scoring charts in the last two seasons.
For the time being, this means that Ben Khalifa is turning out for the reserve team VfL Wolfsburg II, who play in Regional League North, the fourth tier of German professional football. This has also had a knock-on effect with his Switzerland career — having made his full international debut against Austria in August, Ben Khalifa will be with the under-21 team this weekend rather than travelling with the seniors for the Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro.
Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld says he made the decision due to Ben Khalifa’s lack of match practice.
It hardly seems like a move forward. Yet the story is typical of many promising young players from Latin America, Africa and the smaller European nations. They move abroad to a bigger league in their late teens, get shunted into the reserves and are barely heard of again.
Lesser lights may yet shine at this World Cup
Depending on the results of the second legs of the UEFA World Cup playoffs on Wednesday, next year’s tournament in South Africa could contain rather too many of football’s lesser lights for some fans out there.
Portugal, France and Russia, could all perish and the tournament, which is supposed to be the pinnacle of the game, could have a cast list including Honduras, New Zealand, North Korea, Slovakia, Bosnia and Slovenia.
Some fear the absence of world stars like Portugal’s Real Madrid playmaker Cristiano Ronaldo, Russia’s magician Andrei Arshavin and France’s mercurial Frank Ribery would de-value the tournament.
But would it be such a bad thing?
Some would suggest that Europe’s top nations should be guaranteed entry into the World Cup finals with a few token places for the also-rans.
But where would that leave the likes of Bosnia? Who could deny them their place on the biggest stage for the first time if they overturn a 1-0 deficit against Portugal in Zenica.
While that would leave Ronaldo kicking his heels on some beach next year, it would open the way for new names. Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko may not have much of a profile yet outside his home country and the Bundesliga where he plays, but after scoring 10 times in qualifying few would begrudge him his chance.
Incidentally, we are live blogging the play-offs at http://live.reuters.com/Event/World_Cup_ decision_day
@158: Yes, same here. I wish Dzeko a prolific season and City a runners-up finish.