Reuters Soccer Blog

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.

Toothless Liverpool losing touch already

Liverpool’s current plight was laid bare on Monday when they were humbled 3-0 by Manchester City — a result which left Roy Hodgson’s side fourth bottom of the Premier League.

After just two games it would be churlish to suggest Liverpool will spend too long down in the bottom half of the table, but the feeling that the 18-times English champions are in danger of losing touch with the top four was inescapable.

A quick glance at the table shows Chelsea top, followed by Arsenal and Manchester United and then City — bookies would be offering short odds on that quartet still there in May.

Liverpool now have the admirable Hodgson in the hotseat at Anfield but the wily Englishman faces a tough task if his side are to challenge for one of the Champions League places.

Certainly the title looks well beyond them.

While City’s unlimited spending power means players are falling over themselves to go to Eastlands, Liverpool face a struggle to hold on to one of their best players.

Midfield engine Javier Mascherano was left out against City after Hodgson admitted the Argentine’s head had been turned by an offer to take him to Barcelona.

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.

Could you just talk us through the goal, Bob….

After little more than four hours’ sleep, plenty of driving and the inevitable drop in adrenalin following a big game such as Saturday’s U.S. v England match, there were a few weary souls among the reporters following the United States when we headed to team HQ at Irene Farm on Sunday morning for a press conference with coach Bob Bradley and defender Steve Cherundolo.

There was no sign of jadedness from Bradley, though, who when touching upon Steven Gerrard’s fourth minute opener for England, described it in the following terms:

“When the ball came into Lampard, Michael stepped up to close him down, Rooney came into the hole, now Gooch has to decide how tight he is going to go. Michael put enough pressure on that the initial pass that Lampard made was intended for Rooney but it skipped by him and went to Heskey, so in that moment, that space, with Gooch out of there, between Jay and Carlos and now Ricardo is caught in a tough spot because he has to decide if he can recover and track Gerrard. So all it takes in these kind of games is a couple of seconds where the reactions aren’t as good as they need to be and you’ve left a hole and you pay. This is what happens when the games are up there at the highest level.”

A bit more than “the boy done well” or “lapse in concentration”, that, isn’t it?

In the light of that remarkably detailed description, I asked Bradley if, like some NFL coaches, he spends the night after a game watching the video of the match at his hotel?

“I am pretty fortunate that I have a good recollection. Immediately after the game, the way you test it is that you watch and see if what you think you saw is what happened. By the time we rolled in here last night, I had watched that goal a few times.”

And I bet he watched it again over breakfast, don’t you?

20 long years for Liverpool faithful

Madrid-based correspondent Martin Roberts writes:

One anniversary Liverpool fans will not be celebrating this summer will be the 20 years since their side last won a league title, a long wait that not only frustrates supporters but must dent any team’s claim to be more than also-rans.

It must be humiliating for those supporters who can remember when Liverpool had the League trophy ready and waiting if a home win sealed the title – all they had to do was fetch it down from the trophy room and give it a quick polish.

Until last season, Liverpool fans could always proudly remind rivals that they still held the record of 18 league titles, but as the years passed without success, it was only a matter of time before that would be matched or even overhauled by Manchester United.

Rafael Benitez’s line has been that Liverpool are simply having an off season, that they are nearly there, that the last step is always the hardest and it just need perseverance.

But the fact remains that a whole generation of supporters have now grown up on Merseyside without knowing what it is like to join in the chant of “champions!” at the end of a season.

For the formidable team led by Alan Hansen in the 1980s, a trophyless season was a brief aberration. If success somehow eluded Liverpool, with Ian Rush, John Barnes, Peter Beardsley, Ronnie Whelan and Bruce Grobelaar in the side, to name only a few, supporters could always put down taunts by replying: “Wait till next season!”

Liverpool have a lot to be concerned about

Last November Spurs beat Liverpool 2-1 at White Hart Lane just after Harry Redknapp took over a side that had slumped to the bottom of the table. Redknapp admitted after that game that Spurs had been lucky to win after being battered by Liverpool, who squandered an early lead and then hit the woodwork three times before losing.

Spurs beat Liverpool 2-1 at White Hart Lane again on Sunday and this time there was no doubting that Spurs deserved their victory.

On the evidence of Sunday’s match a lot has changed at the two clubs since last November.

Spurs have clearly improved but fans have witnessed so many false dawns in the last 10 years or so that no one will get carried away by an opening day win — even over last season’s runners-up.

Likewise, Liverpool will not descend into doom and gloom at one opening day defeat but what is undeniable — and this began to be obvious in their pre-season matches — is that Liverpool are badly missing their gifted Spanish midfielder Xabi Alonso, sold for 30 million pounds to Real Madrid.

Liverpool failed to get the ball to Steven Gerrard as often as often as they used to when Alonso was distributing the ball, after putting his foot on it and finding the perfect pass.

Up front Fernando Torres looked jaded – he has hardly had a break after playing for Spain in the Confederations Cup — and Liverpool rarely threatened Spurs with a decisive attack.

Evergreen Giggs wins PFA award

Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs was voted Player of the Year for the first time by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) on Sunday.

Giggs has only made 12 Premier League starts this season, scoring a single goal, so I guess we really have to look at this award as recognition for his long years of service at United, for whom he’s made just shy of 800 appearances.

United players dominated the shortlist for the award and there will be no complaints from Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Cristiano Ronaldo or Edwin van der Sar. Perhaps Steven Gerrard has reason to be disappointed but in a season without the sort of candidate you just can’t argue with, perhaps a touch of sentimentality in the award is no bad thing…

And it will look good on the mantlepiece next to the 11th league championship medal that seems a certainty after Saturday’s thrilling win over Spurs.

PHOTO: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo (L) positions the ball before taking a shot in front of his teammate Ryan Giggs during their Champions League soccer match against Inter Milan at San Siro stadium in Milan February 24, 2009. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi

Gerrard boost for Liverpool, but can they shrug off ‘FIFA virus’?

In Spain, the sports papers refer to the exodus of players during international weeks as the ‘FIFA virus’ and it will be interesting to see if Spanish Liverpool can cope with its effects this weekend.

To recap, Liverpool were in spectacular form before the latest interruption to the domestic season, banging in 13 goals in three games against Real Madrid in the Champions League and Manchester United and Aston Villa in the Premier League.

The international break could not have come at a worse time for coach Rafa Benitez. Sure, there was more good news on Friday as the club announced captain Steven Gerrard had signed a contract extension that will tie him to the club until 2013 but the euphoric mood will be punctured if they do not win away at Fulham on Saturday.

Victory in that game would put them top for at last one night as United, who hold a one-point lead with a game in hand, are not in action until they host Villa on Sunday.

Alex Ferguson might have been more grateful for the break, and a chance to regroup after successive defeats by Liverpool and Fulham.

PHOTO: Steven Gerrard leaves Liverpool Crown court after appearing charged with affray, Liverpool, northern England April 3, 2009. REUTERS/Nigel Roddis

Liverpool hopes rest entirely on Torres

We all have those items that we simply cannot afford to lose, your wallet, phone, house keys, mp3 player etc, but for Rafa Benitez he will have to find space in his thoughts, if not on the bedside table, for his priceless Spanish striker Fernando Torres.

Bentitez’s willingness to allow Robbie Keane to return to Tottenham after only a few dismal months rather than stick with the Irishman, a proven goalscorer in the Premier league, leaves Liverpool desperately short of striking options, should Torres lose form or fitness in the title run in.

Dirk Kuyt has plugged the gap on the right wing well, but the man who started his career as a striker looked woeful when recast in the old fashioned number nine role during the 0-0 away draw with struggling Stoke.

Ryan Babel has not impressed much lately and youngsters David Ngog and Nabil El Zhar seem some way short of what is required to win a Premier League or Champions League title.

The loss of Steven Gerrard to injury early during the FA Cup replay at Goodison Park (how costly will that prove?) would have been the perfect opportunity to play Keane in his favoured second striker role, but instead we saw Yossi Benayoun come on.

Perhaps Rafa has seen how well arch rivals Everton have been doing recently (one defeat in 11 matches) playing a 4-6-0 formation following injuries to their gaggle of attackers.

So, Liverpool fans… Are you starting to believe?

Liverpool seem to have got through their sticky patch and continued failures from Chelsea and Arsenal have limited the damage.

After convincing wins over Bolton and Newcastle Liverpool are clear at the top of the table and will stay there going into 2009.

So is it going to be a happy new year for Liverpool fans? I blogged  the other day about (what seems to me) Liverpool’s need for another forward or midfielder with the wow factor but Steven Gerrard seems to be playing that role to perfection just at the moment. Can he carry on in this form until the end of the season?

Liverpool’s biggest problem, of course, is the prospect of Manchester United continuing their ominous rise up the table. United have three games in hand and if they win all three they’ll be within a point of the top.

But still, optimism is creeping in. Here’s how Kai at the Liverpool Offside put it after the Newcastle win:

“And so with Chel$ki held to a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage, we are 3 points clear heading into 2009!! I’m strangely starting to believe we might just nick it this year.”

redfloyd at Have You Ever Been to Liverpool? sounds more cautious in his report on the game: