Reuters Soccer Blog

Soccer Break Monday – Champions League last eight week special

With all the hype surrounding this week’s Champions League quarter-finals, the events of the weekend seem like a distant memory. Here’s a recap of a fascinating set of results around Europe the past few days.

Before we move on, your thoughts please. Does Wayne Rooney deserve to be punished for his outburst on camera against West Ham? And Fulham fans, did you take a picture with Michael Jackson on Sunday?

So we start with Real Madrid against Tottenham Hotspur at the Bernabeu on Tuesday. Predictions? Spurs have looked far better in Europe than in the Premier League this season, and their 0-0 against Wigan on Saturday could be a good omen.

That said, Jose Mourinho’s astonishing nine-year unbeaten home record as coach ended on the same day. Will Real’s backlash hit the Londoners?

Also in action on Tuesday are holders Inter Milan against Schalke 04. Worried for the Germans after Inter’s crushing 3-0 defeat by city rivals AC Milan on Saturday got them angry?

Wednesday, and it’s Chelsea against Manchester United. Ok, so there won’t be penalties like in Moscow so John Terry won’t be stepping anywhere near the spot.

Favourites Barcelona will play another high-speed, easy on the eye, slick passing team in Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk in what should be a cracking tie. We are all very excited.

Does anybody actually care who captains England?

Last week, when Chelsea held a news conference to preview their Champions League match against FC Copenhagen, manager Carlo Ancelotti spent the first 20 minutes fielding questions about John Terry’s re-instatement as England captain.

The Chelsea press officer finally stepped in in an attempt to steer the subject back to club football by asking if there were any questions about the forthcoming match or for fellow guest, defender Branislav Ivanovic.

“Yes,” came the first reply. “Branislav, what do you think of John Terry as a captain?”

The feeding frenzy continued through the weekend and into England’s preparations for Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Wales. Rio Ferdinand was “understood” to be furious. “Sources” said he had considered retiring from international football. Capello was widely attacked, ironically, for releasing the news through the media and then for not acting quickly enough to “clarify” the situation when that self-same media cut loose on the matter.

Finally, on Tuesday, Terry was wheeled out by England to face the press.

The defender duly said all the right things. He was “very delighted” of course and yes, Rio had been in contact to say congratulations, proving “what a great man” he was.

Terry decided that the players saying nothing when Capello asked them if they had any questions on the issue was proof that they were all behind him, though he did admit that he was probably “not everybody’s cup of tea”.

Soccer Break Tuesday

The pain for Arsenal fans just rolls on it would seem, as a trip to my office’s kitchen confirmed on Monday when I heard two voices grumbling about “Van Persie” and “not enough shots”.

The North London club’s woes of the last two weeks or so have been much publicised, but perhaps at last there is some news to cheer Gunners fans up in the return of former keeper Jens Lehmann? Who would you prefer in goal? Lehmann, or Arsenal’s only currently available goalie Manuel Almunia, in good form in the last two matches against Barcelona and Manchester United?

Keep a close eye out as the signing could be confirmed on Tuesday after Arsenal moved to sign the German late on Monday.

Some very recent news on the earthquake repercussions is that Japan’s J. League has been postponed indefinitely, while news on the international friendlies is due on Wednesday.

Now onto Tuesday’s Champions League matches, including four former winners. Do you agree with these predictions?

Inter Milan must become only the second team in Champions League knockout phase history to overturn a first-leg home defeat with a second leg away win. Some task.

Worth a bet given Bayern’s turbulent last week in which coach Louis van Gaal said he would leave at the end of the season? Bear in mind however that Van Gaal, while at Ajax Amsterdam in the 1995/96 season, was the only coach to achieve this feat according to UEFA statistics.

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.

Capello faces tough task to change England’s “mentality problem”

Watching a repeat on Saturday of a TV comedy show first shown early in 2010 offered a stark reminder of how quickly and deeply Fabio Capello’s stock has fallen in the eyes of the average England fan.

As Alistair McGowan gurned his best Capello impression, the Italian-accented words were all about England’s success in qualifying and how they were looking forward to the World Cup with such high hopes.

How odd that sounded when hours later Sunday newspapers quoted Capello as saying he knew England’s South African campaign was doomed because his players were physically and mentally exhausted.

“We knew the situation before the World Cup. I spoke with my staff but I could not come out and say this because psychologically it is not good for the players,” said the Italian. “We tried to do everything. I spoke with the doctors and physios to improve the situation but South Africa was a mentality problem.”    Capello apologised to the fans who travelled to South Africa and said he would have understood if the FA had wanted to sack him.

That is the backdrop to Wednesday’s Wembley friendly against Hungary – a game nobody seems to want just three days before the start of the Premier League and when Capello and some players have said they expect to be booed.     Capello’s squad for Wednesday’s game – his only chance to experiment before 2012 European qualification begins – featured only 10 of the 23 from South Africa.    Much of the dead wood has been cut away but the core of his first-choice World Cup XI remains as the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Gareth Barry, Ashley Cole and John Terry look set to retain their places.

It would have been a shock if they hadn’t as they remain players of the highest quality who no doubt will soon be back to their best once back in the comfortable colours of their clubs.    Uncapped Arsenal youngsters Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs and Fulham forward Bobby Zamora were the eye-catching additions but Wilshere is deemed still not good enough for a place in Arsenal’s first team while Gibbs has not played since November through injury and it would be a big ask to throw them into England’s Euro qualifying campaign.

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.

A revolutionary (and slightly wacky) idea to spot handballs

I have come up with an idea that will revolutionise football. And I was sober at the time.   It would solve immediately the problem of knowing when players handle the ball and help referees and linesmen give the right decision every time and cut out attempts by players pleading they never handled the ball when they have — especially in the penalty area.   I admit its still a work in progress … but I reckon someone could invent an electro-magnetic liquid which players have to dip their arms in before kickoff. This solution, invisible, weightless, and undetectable would then dry to create a “second skin” from the points of the arm and hands the laws state constitute the areas of handball.   An electro-magnetic chip would then be placed in a ball, or the ball would be dipped in the same electro-magnetic fluid — and every time the two made contact … ball and arm/hand — a buzzer would sound from special loudspeakers in the stadium. The system would also be read through long-sleeved shirts and gloves.   Immediatly the buzzer goes off, everyone among the players, officials and fans, would know the player has handled — no argument. Naturally, goalkeepers would be exempt and the system would only be activated when the ball was in play, meaning players could still take throw-ins and pick up the ball when a whistle has been blown.    The beauty of this system is that the referee can still decide whether it is accidental handball or not, or ball to hand.   The idea occurred to me after being at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea v Bolton last week and Spurs v Chelsea on Saturday.

After the game at Stamford Bridge, Bolton manager Owen Coyle claimed his team were denied two definite penalties after handballs by Didier Drogba and John Terry were missed by the officials. Watching the replays afterwards, he was right. They were both definite handballs.

Then at White Hart Lane on Saturday a penalty decision went against Terry when he appeared to possibly use his shoulder, although replays seemed to suggest he headed it.   There’s a long way to go — and Sepp Blatter won’t like it. But something needs to be done.

PHOTO: Chelsea’s John Terry removes his captain’s armband after being sent off during their English Premier League soccer match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in London April 17, 2010. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Europeans baffled by fuss over Terry’s private life

Michel Platini’s Gallic shrug said it all. “I’m not bothered. What do you want me to say?” he said.

The UEFA President and former France captain had just been asked for the third time in a few minutes on England coach Fabio Capello’s decision to strip John Terry of the captaincy because of something which happened off the field.

Platini was speaking in Warsaw at a news conference and was supposed to be talking about the qualifying draw for Euro 2012, an event which involved all 53 of UEFA’s associations.

Instead, he found himself fielding questions on the internal problems of one single member.

“We have 52 other associations in UEFA. Everybody has their own way of doing things…Poland, Ukraine, Austria, Norway, Malta, Cyprus. The problem of the English is not the problem of Italy, of France.

“You have some funny problems in England, but fortunately you have an Italian to sort them out.”

John Terry stripped of England captaincy – your views

John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy following revelations about his private life.

Here is England coach Fabio Capello’s statement:

“After much thought, I have made the decision that it will be best for me to take the captaincy away from John Terry.

“As a captain with the team, John Terry has displayed extremely positive behaviour. However, I have to take into account other considerations and what is best for all of the England squad. What is best for all of the England team has inspired my choice.

“John Terry was notified first. When I chose John Terry as captain, I also selected a vice-captain and also named a third choice. There is no reason to change this decision.”

That implies Rio Ferdinand now becomes captain.

John Terry playing a dangerous game

Has John Terry got a bit big for his boots by questioning whether Chelsea’s ambition matches his own?

The defender and club captain said that was the reason for the delay in him nailing his colours to the Chelsea mast in the wake of Manchester City’s reported 200,000 pounds per week offer to take him away from Stamford Bridge.

Nothing to do with money. Nothing to do either with the fact that he has peaked as a player and with injuries niggling away at his joints, the England skipper is likely to find it more and more difficult to excel at the highest levels of the game.

Fans of the club will take some convincing that Terry still has his heart fully at the club despite his words to the contrary.

They might also argue that losing Mr Chelsea for an enormous fee to a club not even in the Champions League would have been a good piece of business and not the disaster some predicted.

Terry is still a world class defender but is certainly replaceable. He is no Cristiano Ronaldo after all. He will be one of the first names on Carlo Ancelotti’s team sheet as the new season kicks off but City are unlikely to have been totally put off the scent.