Lesotho Premier League: Standings

Vodacom Premier League

		P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Lioli	11	7	2	2	15	5	10	23
2	Bantu	10	7	1	2	20	11	9	22
3	LCS	10	6	1	3	12	9	3	19
4	LDF	10	4	4	2	14	8	6	16
5	LMPS	11	5	1	5	9	8	1	16
6	Linare	10	3	3	4	10	9	-1	12
7	Likhopo	11	4	0	7	8	11	-3	12
8	Joy	10	3	3	4	15	19	-4	12
9	Mpharane Celtic	11	3	3	5	17	26	-9	12
10	Qoaling Highlanders	11	3	2	6	8	14	-6	11
11	Matlama	9	3	1	5	11	12	-2	10
12	Nyenye Rovers	11	1	5	6	8	16	-8	8

Ruthless Barca

We might not get the same romantic Barcelona, but we will get a more ruthless one. Those were my sentiments at the beginning of the season and that’s what we are seeing now. 55 points at the halfway stage is a La Liga record and in all probability the championship will be wrapped up in record time.

As things stand, Barca are 10 points ahead of second-placed Atletico Madrid and 18 better off than reigning champions and eternal rivals Real Madrid.

So have Barcelona improved under Tito Vilanova? Statistics would certainly seem to support this point of view.

Leading the way...
Lionel Messi

On the whole, the core philosophy remains the same; possession is king. This season Barca have averaged 69% possession in the league, similar numbers to the three previous seasons under Pep Guardiola (69.7 last season, 72.1 in 2010/11 and 68.1 in 2009/10). Opponents are starved of the ball, passed into submission and then ruthlessly disposed of.

It is in the side’s essence where subtle differences are noticeable – a change in mentality.

Under Guardiola Barcelona were the romantic’s dream. Guardiola’s religious advocating of pass-and-move football became both a wonder and a reference.

Vilanova’s Barca is not the same. It’s not the dreamy Barca we’ve seen in the past, but rather a more machine-like outfit, one primarily driven to win.

It’s probably a reflection of Barcelona’s frame of mind since June – a need to prove themselves. Given their success in recent years, it may sound ludicrous to suggest Barca had any need to prove themselves. However, after Real Madrid’s rise and accolades last season, beating Barca at the Nou Camp and breaking records along the way, there were whispers of a changing reality, perhaps a new-world order.

When Guardiola left there was uncertainty, with some even going as far as to question Barcelona’s might.

Vilanova, therefore, has had has plenty to prove since taking over from Guardiola, wanting to show he’s a top-class coach in his own right. The players too are hungry after a relatively disappointing season (by Barca’s recent standards) in which they only won the Copa del Rey, and back-alley questions over their longevity and productivity.

The upshot has been Barca making the best start ever to a La Liga season.

One thing Vilanova has done well is not to tinker with the team. He has found his best line-up, something that wasn’t always clear with Guardiola during his final season.

In his final season Guardiola was perhaps guilty of experimenting a bit too much, regularly varying his systems, including a gung-ho 3-4-3 formation. This season there’s a more settled feel. There’s a clear formation and a preferred first eleven: Victor Valdes in goals; Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Dani Alves and Jordi Alba in defence; Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Cesc Fabregas in midfield; and Andres Iniesta, Pedro and Lionel Messi upfront.

That’s the line-up Vilanova will pick more often than not. As a result the Barcelona team is more settled and that’s what makes them stronger as a unit.

Vilanova, of course, has the luxury of having the finest player of his generation at his disposal. The star of Messi has shone through – 28 goals in 19 games is an insane number. Messi has, again, been by far and away the finest player in the world this season.

However, it is the form of other players that has Barca cruising to a fourth title in five years. The contributions of Adriano and Alba to the goals tally, for example, have given the Catalans a new outlet.

It has also given them options. By regularly playing such players as Adriano, thus giving them confidence, Vilanova has given himself viable alternatives. Adriano is more than adequate cover on either flank and, on current form, may be Barca’s best option at right-back. Martin Montoya has also done well when called upon, a young player who’s excellent defensively and offensively.

All for one, one for all...
Barcelona celebrate another goal

Fabregas, in his second season, has finally become an important member of the team and his contribution has given Barca a new dimension. Whereas Fabregas was used sparingly and in various positions last season, he’s playing regularly in his preferred attacking midfield role. Barcelona’s increased team speed and “direct” approach favours his style and enables Fabregas to provide a genuine box-to-box threat.

This increased depth is maybe the major improvement from last season under Guardiola.

Other areas also point to a greater ruthlessness. Only 9.7% of passes have been in Barcelona’s own defensive third this season, compared to 13% last season. Barca have also scored 12 goals from long range this season, doubling their effectiveness from 7.1% accuracy under Guardiola to 12.5% under Vilanova. Their efficiency record of 24.7% in front of goal, the best in Europe’s top five leagues, is also another pointer to their cutting edge.

At the moment Barcelona show no signs of letting up. There’s a hunger best transmitted by Vilanova himself: “We’re coming off of four successful years and it’s a good thing that (the players) know the concepts of the system. Besides, the players are eager to continue winning. We are not invincible. Everything we’ve achieved up until now is thanks to the effort we’ve put in and our eagerness to win. The day we don’t play at a high level is the day we lose.”

Barcelona’s improvement is not good news for rivals. That hallowed treble is a very real possibility.

Written before Barcelona’s 3-2 loss to Real Sociedad

Bafana’s Afcon date with destiny

Africa Cup of Nations 2013
Let the Games begin

After months of anticipation the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in earnest this evening at Soccer City when hosts South Africa face Cape Verde.

It’s a game of significance.

For Bafana Bafana the encounter represents the first real test for newly-appointed coach Gordon Igesund, as well as a gauge of how the tournament will unfold for the hosts. Whereas as in 1996 a sense of excitement engulfed the country this time around there’s a sense of foreboding, an unsure public and even indifference in certain quarters.

The group draw and Bafana’s recent underachievement have contributed to this state of affairs.

The general feeling since October’s draw has been South Africa has an easy group. That, though, couldn’t be further from the truth; Cape Verde, Morocco and Angola represent a stern test for a Bafana team trying to avoid crashing out in the first round of two consecutive tournaments, as hosts.

South Africa, meanwhile, go into the tournament ranked 84th in the world and under their seventh coach since 2006.

In the opposite corner the hosts face an opponent primed to cause an upset.

Indeed, in many ways Cape Verde are as tricky an opening opponent Bafana could have had. The small West Africa island nation has been one of the continent’s recent success stories, rising more than 40 places (111th to 70th) in Fifa’s world rankings over a four-year period.

Calling Cape Verde minnows would be to disregard the progress they’ve made over the past five years and the talent the Blue Sharks have assembled in that time, spearheaded by 21-year-old striker Djaniny Semedo and 23 year-old Ryan Mendes who plays for Lille in France. Underestimating Cape Verde would be to forget their 7-1 hammering of Madagascar and 3-2 aggregate victory over four-time champions Cameroon to get here.

Bafana’s next opponents, Morocco, aren’t any easier. The Atlas Lions have benefitted greatly from Fifa’s revised naturalisation laws and boast a squad brim-full with Europe-groomed players.

They have a talented, albeit volatile, team and were one of the most enterprising teams at the last year’s Afcon. As it was Morocco were unable to turn their play into wins, nevertheless the conditions in South Africa are certainly going to be more conducive to their style.

Angola’s defensive approach probably makes them the most manageable opponent in the group for South Africa. However, a Bafana team chasing a result could easily get burned by a Palancas side efficient on the counterattack and led by Valladolid hotshot striker Manucho.

It’s imperative, therefore, that Bafana get off a good start this evening against Cape Verde. Recent form under Igesund offers some of hope. A narrow loss to Brazil in August marked the start of Igesund’s tenure and Bafana showed the doggedness his teams have been famous for.

The hosts will need spades of that tenacity because this will be a tough group, one South Africa will do well to get out of.

This, in all, is the most open Nations Cup in some time. African football has in itself become less predictable and more of an open field over the years, but the fact this tournament is in South Africa makes it even more unpredictable.

Favourites?
Yaya Toure leads the Ivory Coast charge

This is because of the conditions and facilities teams will enjoy in South Africa. Usually one is able to count out certain nations because the tournament is held in a certain region. 

If it’s in North Africa, for instance, you can generally count out West African teams – and vice versa – as history has indeed proved. However, conditions in South Africa are most similar to Europe where the majority of the top players at this Nations Cup ply their trade. Good pitches, fair conditions and great facilities, that’s South Africa.

Looking back at the 1996 Afcon (in South Africa) Zambia, Tunisia, Ghana and South Africa were the semi-finalists, countries from different regions of the continent. Compare and contrast to last year’s Afcon in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon where three of the last four were from West Africa, with Zambia the surprise outsider.

We are likely to see an Afcon tournament that will reward technique and possession-based football more than most, and this could stand the hosts in good stead. Ball-playing sides such as Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria will benefit as well.

That said, the South Africa’s all-embracing conditions make the tournament open to any type of well-executed plan. Physical ability, as always at the Afcon, will also be rewarded. So in this sense Nigeria, for example, also has good possibilities. This will be a very quick Nigeria team, exceptionally physical and athletic – a seemingly deliberate throwback to Stephen Keshi’s time as a player.

This is why when running the rule over this year’s contenders it’s difficult to really pick a clear favourite.  Ghana are coming off a good series of preparatory games including a convincing win over Egypt and, as shown at the 2010 World Cup, they’ll enjoy local conditions. Similar can be said of Ivory Coast who collapsed physically in defeats to Egypt and Algeria in Ghana (2008) and Angola (2010).

Defending champions Zambia will be thereabouts as well with their fluid football and champions’ confidence.

All said, this should be one of the best Nations Cups because there are few excuses for the participants, wonderful weather, fantastic facilities – super conditions. Let the Games begin.