| Carney slams home Socceroos winner A lightning strike from David Carney gives the Socceroos a 1-0 victory over Paraguay at Sydney Football Stadium. foxsports.com.au |
Is being there just reward for minnows? Should Malta, Luxembourg and the other derided Euro 2012 hopefuls be denied their right to try to qualify?Being beaten and ridiculed is a fact of life for some teams. Take Europe's tiddlers: San Marino, Andorra, Malta, Luxembourg, Faroe Islands and Azerbaijan. They were the bottom seeds for the draw for Euro 2012 qualification and will likely remain bottom of their respective groups throughout the entire qualifying campaign. And while they are being thrashed they will also have to endure folks berating them just for being there. How often have you heard people grumble that such countries are mere nuisances? That some of them exist solely to give Uefa more votes in Fifa elections and that matches against them serve no purpose? That they should be forced to play among themselves before one of them perhaps earns the right to compete against a proper team?"I have heard these complaints for years but what about the principle of solidarity?" protests Louis Micallef, the deputy general secretary of the Malta Football Association. "Maybe the big boys should simply play each other and we just sit down and watch?" he quips. "And maybe only Premier League teams should be allowed into the FA Cup? And maybe the Premier League should consist of only four teams? Look, we know we will probably always be wooden-spoonists but there must be giantkillers — the prospect of springing a surprise is what motivates the players."Malta did not score a single goal in their 10 qualifiers for the last World Cup – would the players not be more motivated by playing in a competition that they could actually win, such as a preliminary tournament against fellow minnows? "Logistically that makes sense," acknowledges Micallef. "And it is true that in some ways the team might enjoy playing against sides of the same calibre. But attractiveness is one of the criteria too – players and supporters get much more excited about playing against the teams and players that they normally only see on television. If you take that away, you take away some of the magic of the game.""We deserve to play against the big countries," says the Luxembourg midfielder Fons Leweck, who delegated the running of his clothes shop so he could take on Belarus and France. "Our guys work at their jobs all day and then go training at night, it's really tough and we make a lot of sacrifices. We consider matches against the big teams as a reward for all that."Leweck insists, however, that such ties are not simply a tourist treat. Playing against top teams genuinely does develop the game in small countries. "Firstly as a player, playing at a high level always brings you something," says the Etzella Ettelbruck winger. "You have to really get yourself into excellent physical and mental condition before competing against guys who make their living from the sport."Tactically you have to get a strong head on too, and you are also stimulated to try to compete with your opponents' technically." If raising their game to meet elite adversaries is an exciting boon, sustainable development can be impeded by the inevitably ensuing bust."It's actually very difficult to go back to the local Luxembourg league after playing for the national team," says Leweck. "It's a completely different type of football at a totally different tempo."The Maltese authorities have tried to come up with a solution to their players' post-international come down. "We looked at the possibility of entering a Maltese national team into the Italian league," says Micallef. "You know, we are not like Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, who have strong links with British clubs so all their players can go play there. So for our players to regularly play against high-level teams we thought about joining the Italian league."But we don't control our players and our clubs here are opposed to it, understandably. But it is important for the development of our national team that we get more players playing abroad. That is another way that international competition helps. Being in the shop window is the players' other great motivator when we play big teams and naturally many dream of emulating Michael Mifsud." Back in 2001 Mifsud earned himself a move to Kaiserslautern in the Bundesliga after complementing his fine goal-scoring form for Sliema Wanderers by striking for his country against, er, Iceland.One former minnow nation that is now making serious waves is Cyprus. Their rise in recent years owes a lot to an influx of money into their domestic game, which propelled Anorthosis Famagusta and Apoel Nicosia into the group stages of the Champions League. The 5-2 destruction of the Republic of Ireland in 2006 and last month's 4-4 draw in Portugal testify that they are now a force. "Ioannis Okkas earns his 100th cap against Norway tonight and I asked him this week what has changed, besides the money in the local game," says Leo Leonidou, the sports editor of Cyprus Mail, before Friday's defeat by Norway. "He gave a lot of praise to the tactical sophistication of the coach [Angelos Anastasiadis, who has been in charge since 2004]. He also mentioned how the psychology is different now. They no longer expect to lose – and there is even a growing feeling that we will get out of our group for the first time."The current minnows do not expect to get out of their groups. "Nor do I expect a big foreign club to make me an offer at my age," says the 28-year-old Leweck. "But we strive to honour our country even if it's small, and to give hope to our younger generation of footballers."Leweck has inspired that generation more than most: they drew 0-0 with Belarus on Friday but three years ago this week he scored the goal that gave Luxembourg a 1-0 win over the former Soviet republic. That was his country's first competitive win in 12 years. Luxembourg then produced one of the shocks of the last World Cup qualifying campaign, a 2-1 away win over Switzerland."And that was the Swiss team that went on to beat Spain at the World Cup," says Leweck, who scored the winner that night too. "It was an extraordinary success and it has really motivated young players in Luxembourg. We point to that and say: 'See, with strong morale and good team-work you really can achieve something in football. Nothing is impossible.'"Euro 2012MaltaLuxembourgSan MarinoPaul Doyleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Bolton, Wigan share points Striker Johan Elmander helps Bolton Wanderers grab a 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic in their Barclays Premier League clash. foxsports.com.au |
Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend | Barney Ronay Peter Crouch appears to have been found out, Chelsea can live without Frank Lampard and Liverpool: the bald facts1) The Premier League can deal with Peter CrouchCrouch had a peculiar game against Everton on Saturday. Aggressively double marked at set pieces, with one defender in front and one behind, he was repeatedly buffeted to the ground as the ball was delivered, losing out not by foul play but by his own inability to compete at the jostling and ground-standing aspects of what is still a contact sport. By the end Crouch appeared to have spent most of the game either flat on his back or appealing to the referee for a (non-existent) foul. He did set up Rafael van der Vaart's tap-in with a deflection off his thigh. He also never stopped trying. But the increasing impression is that Crouch may be a busted flush at this level.Here are the headline stats: in the past three seasons Crouch has scored 19 goals in 84 Premier League matches. In other competitions, against teams less familiar with his strength and weaknesses, he has scored 22 goals in 37 games. This is an astonishing disparity in strike rates, particularly given that most "other" games are either internationals or European matches. It suggests that Premier League teams know how to cope with Crouch; that as a player he has failed to develop new strings and tricks; and that perhaps he is now finding it difficult physically. We don't have much insight into the effects of age on the Crouch-style physique, mainly because the Crouch-style physique is pretty much confined to one man: Crouch. But at 29 the lack of pace looks to be becoming chronic. He seems less flexible too. Perhaps we should simply be praising Crouch's ability to extract a fine career against the odds. But the facts are plain: over the past three years Crouch has been the scourge of strangers while among friends he fails to make a mark.2) Manchester City have pluckCity were hard done by yesterday, a 3-0 defeat by Arsenal not really a fair reflection of the game. What is undoubted however, is that while City may be a "project", an ersatz construction of scattergun expenditure, they do have a great team spirit and commitment to the cause. It is part of the beauty of football, its capacity to retain something honest and indivisible even in the most corporate climate, that teams hurled together along the billionaire's-plaything template often do have this spirit. Expensive players are expensive players for a reason, and the best will bring with them qualities beyond the ability to juggle a ball.At Blackburn the Premier League-winning team that Jack Walker bought was notable for its spirit above all. Similarly Chelsea's success of the early Roman Abramovich years was notable for the closeness within the camp. It seems new-build teams such as these need a rallying point player, a leader who sets the tone. Blackburn had Colin Hendry, Chelsea have John Terry. For City this player seems to be Carlos Tevez, a leader from the front. City will be encouraged by their performance with 10 men. We know they have fine players. But this is also a team with pluck and one that looks well-suited to lasting the course.3) A post-Lampard Chelsea may be closer than we thinkChelsea are a wonderfully potent force at Stamford Bridge: after the 2-0 defeat of Wolves, the past 38 Premier League goals there have all been scored by the home team (John Carew, back in March, if you're asking). On Saturday the most interesting goal was the second one scored by Salomon Kalou, a beautifully worked move through midfield involving Mikel John Obi and Michael Essien. It was the kind of goal in previous seasons you might have expected Frank Lampard to be involved in, but Chelsea seem to be learning to play without their leading midfielder of the past six years.Of 16 home league goals this season, Lampard has scored one. Since his injury in August Chelsea have lost to Manchester City and drawn with Aston Villa, but they have looked strong in central areas where Essien has been able to express his wonderfully muscular talents further forward. And maybe it is time to contemplate the idea of a post-Lampard Chelsea. In a newspaper interview recently he spoke openly about the sacrifices he has made since childhood to overcome an innate lack of athleticism, speed and even – surprisingly – stamina. Lampard has trained with zeal and given everything in (get this) 680 career first-team matches. He is also 32 years old. The Chelsea team place great emphasis on attacking down the flanks and the interplay of the front three. Lampard will no doubt slot straight back in, but they no longer rely on him quite so much.4) Joey Barton might be the new Jimmy BullardThe most notable aspect of Newcastle's victory at Upton Park appeared to be the limpness of the home team in the second half. But credit should be given to the victors who pressed high up the pitch and unnerved West Ham with their organisation. Plus, they had Joey Barton, who ran the game in the second half, bantered confidently with the crowd, set up the winning goal, and looked at times oddly reminiscent of the Jimmy Bullard of a few seasons ago, a player capable of leading his team to safety though a combination of ability and infectious bravado. Bullard, of course, has great charm, a quality Barton has never quite seemed to master. He has behaved terribly in the past. But there is something commendable in his refusal to fade away and his performance at Upton Park will be a significant personal high water mark. An unlikely cult of popularity – the Bullard-style shampoo adverts – might take a little longer. But football is a strange game and there was something oddly captivating about his presence on Saturday.5) Liverpool: the bald factsRoy Hodgson has seen the future: and the future is bald. This is surely the baldest Liverpool team in living memory. A bald spine runs through it, from Pepe Reina, through Paul Konchesky, Raul Meireles, and the career-bald tyro Jonjo Shelvey. Against Blackburn there was something compelling about all this baldness, the furious waves of bald counterattack, the joyously bald post-goal pile-ons. Liverpool teams seem more susceptible than most to the idea of a folically defined sense of era. The great teams of the late 1970s and early 1980s seemed to express their air of pan-European glamour through the preening modernism of the bubble perm. The foppishness of aspects of the Roy Evans era came out in their tendency towards the floppy-on-top public school 'do. This is a time of rebuilding, hard work and retrenchment. Somehow the baldness of the current squad seems oddly fitting, indicating an absence of frippery and a sleeves-rolled-up readiness that was there against Blackburn. Hodgson will be encouraged. Not just by the score, but also by the bald refusal to buckle in chasing a winner.Premier LeagueBarney Ronayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
New GM is right under Toronto FC's nose Earl Cochrane is the antithesis of Mo Johnston, and that's why he should be Toronto FC's next general manager. cbc.ca |