The
Ballon d’Or for 2011 goes to...
By Bereng
Molapo
 |
| The "Mess-Machine"... So says Bereng Molapo |
For Cristiano
it’s about matching up to Messi, for Xavi it’s about joining the lists of
greats while for Messi it’s about making and equaling history.
Messi is on
the verge of becoming the first man to win the Ballon d’Or three years in a row
and in the process, go into a club of the elite with three titles. Only
Zinedine Zidane and of course the legendary Ronaldo have achieved this feat.
For Xavi he
just wants the title, having been in this business for more than a decade, it
would nice for him to win it... but it doesn’t always work that way, the likes
of Ryan Giggs, Stoichkov, Hagi and David Beckham have never won this title and
they are some of the best of all time.
Cristiano, who
won the title in 2008, wants to checkmate the “Mess Machine” in their battle
that has raged on for three years. However, most pundits say that Cristiano
cannot match Messi’s big match temperament, especially when it comes to the
Grand Clasico, so the most expensive player might have to wait another year.
Each
player has a legitimate reason to be nominated for this award; most pundits say
that Messi is nothing without Xavi who provides him with the goods – week in,
week out. Xavi is a master tactician on the field, he is a leader, a visionary
and his honesty deserves recognition. And if Xavi was to retire now, Messi
would no longer be the MessMachine –
the great player that Messi is, Xavi is the cog.
Messi did win Barcelona
Cristiano won
Real Madrid the Copa Del Rey and also scored 53, that included 40 in the
league, but he underperforms when it comes to facing Barca so Messi always has
an edge.
In the end I
believe that Messi should win it for 2011, but in 2012 if Messi wins it I’ll
stop watching football.
Past Winners
1991: Lothar
Matthaus
1992: Marco
Van Basten
1993: Roberto
Baggio
1994: Romario
1995: George
Weah
1996: Ronaldo
1997: Ronaldo
1998: Zinedine
Zidane
1999: Rivaldo
2000: Zinedine
Zidane
2001: Luis
Figo
2002: Ronaldo
2003: Zinedine
Zidane
2004:
Ronaldinho
2005:
Ronaldinho
2006: Fabio
Cannavaro
2007: Kaka
2008:
Cristiano Ronaldo
2009: Lionel
Messi
2010: Lionel
Messi
(Written: Monday, 26 December 2011)
(Written: Monday, 26 December 2011)
The
Legend of Sir Alex
By Matela
Lechesa
 |
| The Legend... Sir Alex Ferguson |
Since taking
over in 1986 as manager of Manchester United, Ferguson
has outworked and dominated the football landscape in the United Kingdom and Europe
like no one in the history of the game.
Football is a
funny old game. Often the gods of football turn back to laugh and mock mortals
who value their ideologies more than they are worth, and this is exactly what
happened this past season.
Going back to the
start of the 2010/2011 season, Manchester United were considered an average
team by majority of experts and pundits. Many felt the squad was not deep
enough and lacked cutting edge quality especially as the club had still not
invested to fill the gaping hole left by the concurrent departures of Cristiano
Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez at the beginning of the previous season.
The pundits’
logic was simple – United’s senior players had not had a good 2010 World Cup in
South Africa England Serbia
while Patrice Evra was at the middle of the whirlwind debacle of France
What the
experts forgot to factor in though is ‘The Legend of Fergie.’
Though the Red
Devils had never really gone on a real shopping spree since the departure of
the 60 goal a season duo of Tevez and Ronaldo, one thing remained intact; Sir
Alex Ferguson was still at the helm, and while that is still the case
Manchester United has to be the favourites at the beginning of any season. This
is a right United have earned under the tutorship of the canny Scotsman.
Sir
Alex Ferguson has Manchester United at his heart and his ability to strive on
for success when the odds are visibly against him is something that has been
woven into his club’s fabric. It seems when the naysayers are at their loudest
that’s when Sir Alex is most able to rally his troops around a common mission.
When United
kept grinding out results when their rivals could not the pundits began to
change their tune but only to say, ‘the team is winning but lacks the flair and
charm of Manchester United teams of past.’ Needless to say Fergie used such
statement to fuel his troops with further fire. The end result was a league
title which was won quite comfortably in the end and a loss in the final
of the Uefa Champions League to Barcelona
No doubt
before Ferguson United was already one of the elite teams in the United Kingdom and to a lesser extent Europe – the Red Devils had already won seven league
titles, six FA cups and one continental title – but the hiring of the Scot
would catapult the club into the pantheon of legends over the next quarter
century. Twelve league titles later, along with two more European titles,
Manchester United has become the most successful club in the history of
professional football in the United
Kingdom
Now, you may
ask what makes Sir Alex Ferguson so special. Is it his ability to motivate? His
unparalleled record? His loyalty towards to one club, or perhaps his
understanding of the game? No. Though all of the above are commendable and have
made Sir Alex a legend of our time, what strikes me the most about this man is
his ability to carry on. Many have come and gone but Fergie has remained at the
summit at the highest level, year after year.
When a man
becomes so dominant in one field whereby it becomes impossible to find
comparisons within the sport it always leads to comparisons with others in
other sports. For me Sir Alex is the equivalent of a Vince Lombardi in the NFL
or a Phil Jackson in the NBA. But, having said that, football is a global sport
unlike these two American sports and perhaps even this comparison does him a
disservice.
At 69 years
Sir Alex Ferguson still looks fresher than ever and he should go on for at
least five more years. In football this is a long time and you would be foolish
to bet against Fergie breaking all the managerial records he is yet to.
When it is all
said and done Ferguson
(Saturday, 6 August 2011)
(Saturday, 6 August 2011)
The
Inter Milan Diagnosis
By Thomas Mofolo
Not so long ago Inter Milan
were the Treble winners and acclaimed as the best team in Europe .
However, the Italian giants have fallen on some hard times over the past 12
months made even worse by the rebirth of their arch-enemies AC Milan. But with
Samuel Eto’o still around there is always hope and die-hard Inter aficionado Thomas Mofolo gives his ‘two cents
worth’ on the Nerrazurri’s prospects this coming season.
 |
| The good 'ol days... Inter, 2010 Champions League winners |
Unlike last
season though Inter have painfully learned from their mistake of participating
poorly in the transfer window after their 2010 heroics and have bolstered their
squad with new signings in order to better compete with their red and black
next-door neighbours who did the opposite of Inter last year and brought
in a host of household names to the San Siro such as Robinho, former Inter star
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Antonio Cassano!
Thus far
Inter’s new acquisitions include: Brazilian rightback Jonathan Moreira from Santos
Known as a
generally “old club” because of the predominantly plus-30 year-old players in
the squad, these new signings are just the healthy dose of youth Inter need to
rejuvenate their 2010 form.
With the
exception of Carlos Tevez, whom Inter are yet to sign, all the new players are
generally unknown in the greater football world but have shown immense
potential to do well during the current pre-season campaign: both Castaignos
and Alvarez have scored in almost all their matches thus far and have been
praised by the manager and spoken well of by their veteran teammates!
Currently in
Ireland for the Dublin Super Cup, Inter beat Celtic 2-0 today (Saturday) with
both their new strikers Luc Castaignos and January signing Giampaolo Pazzini
finding the back of the net. Their big test against Man
City on Sunday will show whether the
squad have gelled enough to take on Europe 's
stronger sides, but regardless of the result, there is no reason why Inter
should not win the Serie A this season and hopefully even the Champions League
should they land Tevez.
The new
manager’s 3-4-3 formation has been a cause for concern among many critics but
the system has proved highly effective and attractive thus far. Inter are
playing a hybrid form of football with the appeal of the fast-paced passing of
Arsenal and the collective composure of a consistent Man United side which is
very different to anything Inter used in the past under Mancini, Mourinho,
Benitez or Leonardo. This should therefore work in Inter’s favour and give
them an advantage over teams presuming they’ve got the Nerazzuri’s number based
on previous seasons.
Wesley
Sneijder will play deeper in the midfield area than in a traditional 4-4-2
formation but he will still maintain the same trequartista role from where he
will set up plays for the three strikers; Eto’o (left), Milito (centre) and
Pandev (right) who themslves will be reinforced by Castaignos and Pazzini on
the bench. Next to Sneijder will be Thiago Motta on the left, new signing
Alvarez on the right and Esteban Cambiasso behind all three as the defensive
shield.
Christian
Chivu and Davide Santon will compete for the leftback position, while Walter
Samuel, Lucio and Yuto Nagamoto will most likely battle it out for the
centreback position. Lastly, the best rightback in the world, Douglas Maicon,
will gradually groom Jonathan Moreira to fill in his position as he begins to
fade into the twilight years of his career at Inter.
Although the
new manager has no silverware to his name yet he will do a far better job than
Benitez or Leonardo because of his familiarity with the Seria A. Gasperini
did a wonderful job last year in making a lacklustre Genoa side play
attractive football similar to the way in which Redknapp rejuvenated Tottenham,
and that is why Inter have hired him.
Inter’s most
fierce competition domestically will come from Roma and Milan
while in Europe Barca and Madrid Chelsea
Other disappointments
that have been offloaded by Inter include Honduran striker David Suazo,
Brazilian attacking midfielder Mancini and French winger Jonathan Biabany. The
remaining ones that still have to be let go include Colombian rightback Nelson
Rivas and Ghanaian defensive mid Sulley Muntari.
Inter’s
technical director Marco Branca is preparing the team strategically in line
with Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules to be enforced in two years
time which state that clubs have to spend within their means. Carlos
Tevez will therefore have to be the Nerrazurri’s last risky major signing.
Unless the club turns over substantial revenue in the near future they just
won’t be able to bring in any more costly superstars to the Giuseppe Meazza,
but for now Inter look strong for the coming season.
(Monday, 1 August 2011)
(Monday, 1 August 2011)