THE ROUND UP (12 July 2012)

I must begin by offering my insincere apologies for the lack of topical football based literature released on this blog over the past fortnight. The excuse being that I have been indulging in my other great passion (no, no!); music! The concoction of having to splurge a briefcase full of cash on grossly overpriced drinks, stand on tip-toes until my calf muscles spontaneously combust, and having to snorkel through the mud/overflowing sewage cocktail, takes some time to oust from the system. For those of you who are interested, or feigning interest (the group in which the Portuguese national football side provide their life lessons), my latest escapade took me to the undisputed home of music to scream along with seminal indie outfit The Stone Roses.     

(hoggers!)

During the aforementioned realisation of my dream, Spain were busy realising their own; namely lifting the The Henri Delaunay Trophy aloft for the second consecutive time. The one sided final eventually culminating in a 4-0 defeat for the scandal tarnished Italians... for the record, there were no peculiar own goals, no sliced penalty kicks, and no suspicious sending off’s (in minutes ending in ‘6’ or otherwise) as was envisaged in my “Group C” blog of June 17.

    

What was foreseen however was much of the reminder of the tournament - the Spanish victory itself; England captivating their audience for the obligatory 2 out of the 4 weeks; the Dutch implosion; Balotelli’s numerous childlike tantrums; the French bowing out ungracefully; the UEFA endorsed camera-persons (probably men) filming virile female fans rather than the football; and sadly, the unsavoury scenes off the pitch. Europe, in hindsight, could have saved itself a great deal of fortune, and the majority of us, avoided much heartache. Still, it did give us Europeans something to focus on other than finances; and on a personal level, I didn’t have to watch the insufferable ‘deal or no deal’ for an entire month.

The ease at which Spain brushed aside Italy and once again proved to be Europe’s premier football team was breathtaking. Their unparalleled pool of talent perhaps most evident when you scrutinized the absentees from their European Championship final starting XI – most notably, Chelski duo Juan Mata and Fernando Torres; Athletic’s Manchester United tormentors, Fernando Llorente, Iker Muniain and Javi Martinez; and Barcelona’s injured twosome of Carles Puyol and David Villa.

This further triumph by Spain, begs the question, “are they the best national team ever?”. As exponents of pass and move (tiki-taka) football they are surely unrivalled, but defensively, and in terms of cutting edge, they have occasionally been questioned. Consider then the following entities as possible alternatives: -

• World Cup 1970 winning Brazil – Pele, Carlos Alberto, Jairzinho, Tostao, Gerson, & Rivelino; need I say more! (see below)

• Rinus Michels ‘Totaalvoetball’ Netherlands team of 1974  - despite losing the World Cup final to rivals Deutschland; Cruyff, Haan, Rep, van Hanegam & co, changed the landscape of football forever (Spain are mere copy-cats).

(Great football team, but most importantly; a quite fabulous kit)

• France 1998 to 2000 – blessed with talent such as Zizou, Terry Henry, and the eternal Thuram; and benefactors of Monsieur Barthez's lucky slaphead; the French were bound to capture the World Cup in ’98 and the European Championships of ’00.

• Berti Vogts’ Scotland of 2002 – 2004. Herr Vogts’ Scotland began with a solid 5 nil defeat at the hands of France, and went on to achieve numerous other credible results; the most memorable were as follows: - South Korea (1  – 4), Faroe Islands (2 – 2), Holland (0 -6), Wales (0 -4), Hungary (0 – 3), Moldova (1 – 1), and home defeat to Norway.

(Andy Selva - scorer of THE winning
San Marino goal - canonized in '02)

• That special San Marino side of 28 April 2004 that scored a genuine, real-life, actual, valid, undeniable, goal against Liechtenstein... and went onto claim their only ever victory!

• 11 April 2001 ‘Socceroos’ – this VB/XXXX powered Aussie outfit pipped American Somoa 31 – 0 during 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualification.

TRANSFER PORTION

As well as evidencing the quality of certain national teams, Euro 2012 also drew the eyes of the world onto certain talented players – most the everyday fan were aware of beforehand, but a few rose to prominence during the tournament. The same principle must have applied to those loitering characters that operate in the shadows, only occasionally surfacing to tell their gaffer that they’ve spied some bona fide talent (that the You Tube generation identified a decade previous); scouts!

Following the various scouts reports to hierarchy, a number of transfers have ensued. Former ‘Super’ (I understand he was relinquished of this title by Balotelli’s 2^nd against Germany) Mario Mandzukic’s transfer to FC Bayern in a deal worth circa £8 million, the highlight of the post Euro ‘scramblies’ so far.

Fellow Croatian Modric also looks likely to move following a sound Euro 2012; having caught the eye of Real Madrid’s scouts. Modric is expected to announce his intention to swap the sodden city of London, for the ever so slightly brighter Madrid, to new boss AVB within the next few days. This transfer will bring estranged partners Mr Mourinho and his protégée AVB back into contact - for the sake of the kids I hope the transfer doesn’t push them further apart. On the field, Luka Modric will add further invention to Real’s already crafty midfield of Alonso, Kaka, Ozil and Granero.

(Look-a-likes - Mourinho (left) & AVB (right))

Mr Mourinho’s philosophy of flooding the side with creative players, then playing defense first football, seems to be shared by Mr Di Matteo at Chelsea. Having wrapped up the signatures of Marin and Hazard, to add to the serving Mata and Lampard, Chelsea have now seen numerous bids for like minded players rejected – the latest flirtation being with another young German, Andre Schurrle. Looking at recent history, the fee, though undisclosed, is likely to be in the region of £400bn + costs.

Meanwhile, Manchester United have been busy distancing themselves from the cynical accusations that Kagawa’s signing is merely as the token merchandise salesmen for the ever growing Asian market; by immediately going ahead with the sale of their other Asian asset, floppy haired, work-aholic, Park Ji-Sung. The South Korean legend joins Mark Hughes’ tepid revolution at Queens Park Rangers.

And finally, the worryingly gangly midfield shooting ace Sigurdsson, has made his loan move to Swansea permanent... wait, sorry, he nearly did; but he’s actually decided to follow his previous boss Brendan Rogers to the home of the Beatles and car robbery; Liverpool. Oh, I’m hearing he hasn’t done that either... it’ll be Tottenham Hotspur for Sigurdsson next season! Unless a newer, more fashionable, model comes along before August 31...  

BC

@BobbyCowsill

FB GROUP - 'if that had gone in it would have been a goal'