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Soccer Break Tuesday – Champions League week special
Enjoy. That we will. Cristiano Ronaldo is back for Real Madrid and Gareth Bale for Tottenham Hotspur as four teams prepare for their biggest games this season in the Champions League quarter-final first legs on Tuesday.
Spurs forward Rafael van der Vaart is returning to the Bernabeu and would clearly love to make an impact on his old side.
Also in action is Spaniard Raul, pictured, with Schalke 04 at holders Inter Milan. The Italians will be out for revenge following their UEFA Cup final loss in 1997.
Back to domestic football, and Wayne Rooney’s possible two-match ban for swearing on camera is all over the internet and the papers. Manchester United have until later on Tuesday to respond. Can you see the striker being let off?
Euro Football Zone takes a look at that infamous match for two reasons. One, how far Nani has come this season and two, are West Ham United too good to be relegated from the Premier League?
On a more cheerful note, read here for a look at the progress being made in Poland as they strive to be ready to host Euro 2012.
Finally, check out this video of a 16-year-old Scottish girl whose skills are wowing the football world.
Where’s the new Gary McAllister when Liverpool need him?
Liverpool’s run of four straight defeats has generated a lot of discussion about what has gone wrong, but precious little about how to put it right, aside from the suggestion that it might be nice to see Kenny Dalglish back in the dugout.
So let’s leave aside for a moment Rafa’s handling of big players and whether he should have kept hold of Sami Hyypia and Xabi Alonso, and consider what the club’s next moves should be.
As many have noted, without Fernando Torres they look impossibly ordinary in attack, and when Andriy Voronin was brought on with a few minutes to go against Lyon it seemed to many fans an indictment of the Spanish coach’s transfer dealings.
Certainly Liverpool could do with another top class forward but with money short the chances of them landing David Villa or someone similar in the transfer window are remote. And in any case, I’m not sure pitching in a player like Villa at the halfway stage of the season would provide the answer.
What Liverpool really need is a player with a touch of gravitas, the sort of performer who can command respect from team mates and opponents alike, can put his foot on the ball, weigh up the options and give players around him a lift.
Arguably the best signing Gerard Houllier made, apart from Hyppia, was Gary McAllister. The Scot was 35 when he moved to Anfield yet he still had a profound effect on the team, playing an instrumental role in the run to the Cup treble of 2000-01 and, more importantly, the club’s first qualification for the Champions League.
How Benitez could do with a player cut from the same cloth. But where should he turn?
No doubt Liverpool is in a heap of problems created by Rafa himself, there’s no excuses after 6 years. Money can not be a problem anymore, it’s not like the manager wasn’t given any money, it’s the players he bought who failed to live up to their price tags. The main problem might be that Liverpool really needs some strengthening in all departments in case of injuries cause for now, it really looks as if Liverpool is a two-man team. And look at it this way, 4 losses out of 9 games? As said by Angel, it’s still such as early stage, but does that mean it isn’t something to be worried about? When will the dismal performance end? Even if Liverpool beats ManU 10-0 next, will they be able to be consistent enough all year? The Premiership isn’t about winning 4-0 this week and losing 1-0 the next, it’s about consistency and something Liverpool is lacking in. There’s no use getting hyped up beating ManU twice and saying that “It’s our year” but at the end of the day they’re getting the last laugh because they are able to keep winning other games. Gosh.. time to wake up.
Note to Real Madrid — let’s speed things up on Ronaldo, please
It’s come to something when even the good people at Marca are getting fed up of the whole Cristiano Ronaldo saga.
The Spanish sports paper devoted an editorial and a couple of articles yesterday urging Real Madrid to get on with the job and sign the Portuguese forward asap. Today, they have vox pops from fans saying much the same sort of thing and it looks like their campaign to get things moving is going to continue.
Presumably Marca are seeing a dip in sales as a result of Nothing Much Happening day after day. After all, if there really is no movement you soon run out of ways to spin the story.
Real don’t have to worry about selling newspapers (at least not directly) and they may well feel they can afford to wait. The player himself is currently injured, meaning it matters little if he only makes it on transfer deadline day.
But are they right to sit tight and hope that Manchester United eventually give in and accept whatever offer (reportedly 90 million euros) is on the table?
Only time will tell, but Real may find they have painted themselves into a corner.
This is a good Real Madrid team but not yet a great one. They won the league title last season comfortably but they look some way away from being good enough to win the Champions League. They need some kind of reinforcement, whether that’s in the form of Ronaldo or someone else.
Ronaldo has a good thing going playing with Rooney and United. He is part of a scheme that tries to get him the ball early and often. If its not broke don’t fix it. Why would Ronaldo leave if not only for money.
