Reuters Soccer Blog

Another Angola collapse and crowds could plummet

African Nations Cup organisers will be bundle of nerves over the next 24 hours, contemplating the fate of host nation in the tournament.

Angola blew a phenomenal four goal lead in Sunday’s opening match against Mali and now look vulnerable to the prospect of early elimination if they fail to beat Malawi on Thursday (1830 GMT).

The 50,000 spectators at the new November 11 Stadium were stunned by the capitulation of their team, seemingly coasting home to the most positive of starts with just over 10 minutes to go before collapsing like a deck of cards and handing Mali an improbable point in a 4-4 draw.

Classic watching for the neutrals but heartbreak for the locals, and real concern for the organisers.

Angola are not given much chance of winning this Nations Cup but it was hoped that they would certainly be competitive, thereby energising a real fervour around the event.

Poor host teams seem plentiful these days. Little is expected of South Africa in six months’ time at the World Cup and both Austria and Switzerland departed Euro 2008 early.

Should Rooney seek his fortune abroad?

Manchester United fans will doubtless be pleased by Wayne Rooney’s latest comments pouring cold, or at least lukewarm water on the idea that he might move to Barcelona, or anywhere else for that matter.

Good news for United it may be, but I’m not so sure it’s in England’s interests for so few of the country’s leading players to try their luck abroad.

Whenever this subject comes up, I can’t help but look to the great strides made by Spain at international level, progress that must have been aided by the far more adventurous attitude taken by some of their players in recent times.

Spain used to have a similar reputation to England in this regard, with virtually everyone happy to stay at home and enjoy the riches available from clubs swimming in cash from huge TV rights deals. Heading into the 1998 World Cup, every member of the Spain squad played for a Spanish club, while four years later Gaizka Mendieta was the only export (and he was about to come home, after confirming a lot of prejudices in a nightmare season with Lazio).

Fast forward to Euro 2008, where a Spanish squad featuring Pepe Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa, Xabi Alonso, Fernando Torres (all Liverpool) and Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal) swept all before them.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but I suspect not. In the past, tensions always seemed to rise in the Spanish camp as long tournaments wore on (I covered them at Euro 2000, the 2002 World Cup and at Euro 2004) but last year there was a new confidence about them.

Wouldn’t it be beneficial for England if their better players spent some time abroad, learning new languages, experiencing different cultures and absorbing new ideas?

from Left field:

Spain’s sporting state of grace

Pau Gasol's triumph with the LA Lakers has prompted more articles in the Spanish media celebrating the country's incredible run of sporting success.

Gasol was a vital cog in the Lakers machine this season and joins a long list of Spanish champions in individual and team sports.

Spain's soccer team, after winning Euro 2008, has cemented its hold on the number one ranking by extending its unbeaten run to 33 matches, Barcelona strolled to the Champions League title last month with a humbling of holders Manchester United, Rafael Nadal is the top-ranked men's tennis player and Spain Davis Cup champions, Jorge Lorenzo is joint leader in the MotoGP world championships and Carlos Sastre won the 2008 Tour de France, the third Spanish victory in a row.

"Another success for Spanish sport," Nadal wrote of Gasol on his website on Tuesday. "It's hard to take in everything that we are achieving," he added. "We should be very proud."

"Gasol has passed a new milestone for Spanish sport, even if there are not that many goals left to achieve," said sports minister Jaime Lissavetzky.

Writing in Marca newspaper on Tuesday, columnist Santiago Segurola said the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 were a turning point for the country, changing the way people outside Spain viewed the nation and laying the foundations for today's sporting achievements.

While Spain might not be the strongest sporting nation overall, it was among those that produced the widest variety of champions, almost all in sports with huge media impact, he added.

Did Spain’s Euro 2008 win jinx the clubs?

Spain overcame 44 years of underachievement on the international stage when they were crowned European champions at Euro 2008. Not only did they win the tournament, but their players, their style and their attacking ambition were hailed around the world.

However, that success appears to have had a detrimental effect on their domestic teams, who have traditionally been some of the strongest performers in Europe’s club competitions.

Last week’s Champions League and UEFA Cup results are some of the worst in recent seasons.

Nine-times European Cup winners Real Madrid were beaten 1-0 at home by Liverpool in their last 16 first leg, while both Villarreal and Atletico Madrid were held to score draws at home by Panathinaikos and Porto respectively.

Only Barcelona achieved what could be considered a positive result, coming from behind to draw 1-1 away to Olympique Lyon and it was hardly an impressive performance.

In the UEFA Cup they fared even worse.

The 2004 winners Valencia drew at home to Dynamo Kiev to go out on the away goals rule 3-3 on aggregate, while Deportivo Coruna were humbled 6-1 on aggregate by AaB Aalborg. The 2006 and 2007 winners Sevilla failed to make it out of the group stages along with Racing Santander.

Time to revamp player awards

This week we had the nominations for FIFA world player of the year, discovered the winner of the FIFPro world player of the year and mulled the contenders for the Ballon d’Or.

Exactly how many gongs do we need? In the recent past the situation was a bit clearer.

The Ballon d’Or was originally just for Europeans (hence the foreign language-challenged English calling it the European player of the year). In 1995 magazine France Football, which runs the award, decided any player playing in Europe could win it and since 2007 any footballer in the world is eligible (although it will surely be rare for a player not playing with a European side to win). (more…)

Xavi’s understated brilliance deserves recognition

The shortlist for the Ballon d’Or got shorter this year, but there was still room for seven members of the Spain squad that restored a bit of faith in football at Euro 2008.

A lot of news reports focused on the big-named absentees, including Thierry Henry, Fabio Cannavaro and Ronaldinho, but I don’t suppose too many people would argue for their inclusion after disappointing seasons.

No, the real surprise, and shame, is the absence of Andres Iniesta, to my mind the most skilful of Spain’s little men in midfield. If he wasn’t quite at his best at Euro 2008 he was still better than most and he deserves a place in the top 30.

One thing to consider about the award is the weight given to performances over a season against form shown over a few weeks in the summer.

For many Premier League watchers, it will be hard to see past Cristiano Ronaldo but when Portugal needed him he was outshone by Bastian Schweinsteiger. Again. Where does that leave us?

Xavi won the player of the tournament award at Euro 2008 for pulling the strings in that beguiling Spanish midfield and despite the fact that Barcelona won nothing last season, he would be my choice. It would at least recognise that brilliance can be understated as well as flash.

Kuranyi’s disappearing act given mixed reception

The great and the good of German soccer have been quick to condemn Kevin Kuranyi after the Schalke 04 striker walked away from the national team at the weekend.

Former Germany coach Franz Beckenbauer said Kuranyi’s behaviour was “ridiculous” and had overshadowed the good impression Germany made in their 2-1 win over Russia.

“He not only let the coach down but also his teammates,” the Kaiser wrote in his column for Bild newspaper on Monday.

“I can’t imagine he’ll ever play again for Germany,” he added. “He’d have to go down on his knees to (coach) Jogi Loew.”

But not all reactions were negative. (more…)

UEFA running big risk with Euro expansion

Franz Beckenbauer’s announcement that the European Championship finals will feature 24 teams instead of 16 from 2016 must have been welcomed by fans of countries that have found it difficult to qualify for recent major tournaments.

But as my colleague Mike Collett argued during Euro 2008, UEFA is running a big risk by trying to fix something that is not broken.

Mike wrote:

As we all know, the competition format (as it stands) is simple and logical and because just the top two advance (from each group) teams have to come and attack.

Add another four or eight teams and we get into the complicated nonsense we had to endure in the 24-team World Cups from 1982 to 1994 because it’s not easy to reduce 24 teams to a 16-team knockout stage.

Defensive, cagey football, from teams who shouldn’t be in the finals in the first place will damage the event.

Euro 2008 was a great tournament and you have to wonder if this expansion is just going to dilute the experience. It’s hard to imagine it actually improving things.

More underdogs might produce more surprises and make it that much more difficult for the likes of Spain and Germany to reach the final as they did rather predictably in Euro 2008. On the other hand, very few people, if any, want to see an additional eight teams just make up the numbers.

What do you think? Is UEFA about to ruin the world’s best football tournament? Give us your thoughts in the comments.

Lippi’s back but same Italian frailties remain

Watching a rudderless Italy at Euro 2008 was like having my teeth pulled out.

Wednesday’s 2-2 friendly draw against Austria in Marcello Lippi’s first game back in charge since winning the World Cup was less painful, but serious problems persist.

Gone are the days of a rock solid Italian defence. Sure Fabio Cannavaro is still injured having missed the stuttering run to the Euro quarter-finals, but even he is not the player he was.

Fellow centre back Giorgio Chiellini, Italy’s sole success story from June, is crocked for their opening World Cup qualifiers against Cyprus and Georgia next month. That leaves Andrea Barzagli, who now plays in Germany with Wolfsburg, as an almost certain starter despite being at fault for both Austria’s goals.

At the other end things are still not right either. Former coach Roberto Donadoni was obsessed with a three-pronged attack in the run-up to the Euros but as soon as the Azzurri lost to Netherlands in the opening match he ditched it.

Lippi reinstated the trident on Wednesday but Alessandro Del Piero is still not suited to the left hand side. Both Italy strikes were own goals, even if the first was charitably credited to hit-and-miss forward Alberto Gilardino.

The midfield was average to say the least.  

Which Euro 2008 players are on the move?

As the dust settles on Euro 2008 and attention turns to transfer market, it will be interesting to see how many of the top performers from the tournament will be on the move in the coming weeks.

If Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at Manchester United generated endless speculation at the start of the Euros, the finals ended with other names enjoying newly-acquired prominence. 

Andrei Arshavin’s form for Russia has already prompted a paper mountain of speculation about his future, with Barcelona the dream destination of the Zenit St Petersburg forward. Euro 2008 top scorer David Villa is also expected to be leaving Valencia – even if his four goals for champions Spain will have inflated the Mestalla club’s asking price considerably.  

Another name to consider from UEFA’s 23-man team of the tournament is Spartak Moscow striker Roman Pavyluchenko – scorer of three goals for Russia – who according to one British newspaper on Tuesday is now on the radar of Manchester United. 

England may not have been present in Austria and Switzerland but the Premier League boasted six players in the team of the tournament and more may be headed to Europe’s most lucrative league before the start of the season.

At almost 32, Spain’s fine holding midfielder Marcos Senna may be tempted away from Villarreal for a potential last big pay day, while it would have been negligent of scouts to ignore the players that took Turkey to the last four – Galatasaray wide man Arda Turan, in particular.    

In some cases, players already had their transfers tied up before stepping into the Euro shop window. The 16.6m pound deal Tottenham sealed for Dinamo Zagreb’s playmaker Luka Modric certainly made sense when seeing him perform so impressively for Croatia.