Nadal won again against Federer in the Australian Open semi-final this morning. The comparison between the psychological advantage Nadal has over Federer with how the Blaugrana consistently defeat the Merengue is an intriguing one.

In his past clubs Mourinho always had the solution to win the psychological game. Think about how he brilliantly did that while at Chelsea and even more at Inter. Now compare the quality of players he has at Madrid with those he had at Inter. Clearly in favor of Real right? However, Mourinho has lost it ever since the memorable 5 – 0 defeat in Camp Nou over a year ago. Mourinho, for the first time ever is not leading the tactics, it’s Guardiola who imposes his vision and style on the clasicos. Just like Nadal does with Federer since some years now. Mourinho is constantly trying to adapt, change, combine tactics in reaction to Barça’s game. He did that with much more vista in yesterday’s game but the final verdict was yet again a Barça qualification. Many commentators actually thought Real could have won in yesterday’s beautiful clasico but I don’t agree. Real had to gather tons of efforts to dominate the game while you could tell Barça’s offensive potential just needed sparks to take off. Look at Barça’s first goal for proof.

I think Mourinho, like Federer, should stop living in denial and should accept their inferiority more publicly and start thinking of a new approach to their game. Easier to do for Mourinho than for Federer who has most of his career past him and who also has to deal with another “Barça”, namely Djokovic!

Maracanazos like to make comparisons.

When the institution it represents is stronger than the players, the coaches, the management. Look at Mourinho’s current problems with Real Madrid. I don’t know if this is a grand scheme by the Great One to purposefully have Marca and As criticize him so as to win the support from the fans? One thing I am certain of is that the Real Madrid will not allow any coach to dictate what its DNA should be.

Latest: Barça 2 – Real 0 at half time with an incredible shot and goal by Dani Alves!!

Maracanazos know how to recognize truly great clubs.

Photo Credit: dullhunk

No comment! Great players never die!

I like how Beckham looks genuinely happy about this incredible come back (see second 39)!

Maracanazos love living statues!

After Platini, Messi is the only other player to win the Ballon d’Or 3 times in a row. This is fully deserved because:

• Messi is both a fuoriclasse dribbler and plays for his teammates.
• Messi is decisive in the games that count.
• A unique style made of robustness, speed, technique. It’s called sheer talent.
• Not only that, Messi has incredible stats during the whole season. His professionalism shows at all times.
• Loyalty wins. How many players stay in the same club for over 10 years these days?
• Attitude on the pitch. All kids should watch and learn how a real star behaves.

Maracanazos are all fleas today!

Photo Credit: Dluogs

FIFA’s Club World Cup is again taking football down the wrong alley. FIFA is looking at the financial gains in organizing this competition instead of prioritizing the 3 key points that matter most:

• Stay close to the fans of the competing clubs
• Bring back the passion of a 2 leg competition in the home stadiums of the 2 finalists
• Limit this to a European vs South American champion final (until other continents reach the same level of football excellence)

Instead of that, the current edition is played in the neutral grounds of Japan or UAE for so-called football promotion efforts and some degree of sponsorship pressure (thanks Toyota…). I wonder how many Santos fans could pay for a stay in costly Tokyo?

Come on, let’s go back to the incredible Intercontinental Cup and to some of the most memorable matches like the famous Celtic –  Racing final of 1967!

Maracanazos will always privilege passion above $€£

Learning from other sports is often a good exercise. I recently discussed how football could use a golf type handicap system to make the UEFA’s Financial Fair Play easier to apply for some of Europe’s most debt driven clubs. Football could also learn from tennis. I had already referred to this sport when debating on the current World Cup 1st round group stage which is contrary to the spirit of any cup type competition. The same applies to the Champions and Europa Leagues. If you are not backed up financially to double most positions on the pitch, your chances of winning these Cups is close to nil. The last time a less “prestigious” club won the Champions League was Porto back in 2003/04 and before that Dortmund in 1996/97. The first round group stage acts like a powerful filter to eliminate the less wealthy smaller teams. Luckily there are exceptions to this rule such as Apoel Nicosia this year.

With a knockout stage from the start like in tennis tournaments, the excitement of the potential elimination of a star club by an underdog is introduced back into the competition just as it was when it was called the European Champions Clubs’ Cup. I’m also in favor of just having one representative per country for the Champions League. Sounds logical for a Cup with that name right? The damn tv rights have pushed for up to 4 clubs from the most powerful championships participating in the Champions League thus paving the way to the group stage. However, the dismal quality of most of these first round games has started to erode the audiences of some of the leading European tv channels! I am ready to bet that this trend will continue as long as the UEFA doesn’t revert back to the original knockout system.

Maracanazos like to think that anything is possible!

Dear Michel,

You do allow me to call you Michel I hope? I have seen you play at least a dozen times when I was a kid in the Parc des Princes and your unforgettable goals against Bulgaria, Yougoslavia, and Spain to list just a few. I consider you as my favorite player of all times.

I am all for your Financial fair play concept. I think it’s the right way to fix the major problem football has been running into since some years.  You recently re-stated at the “Il Bello del Calcio” Gazzetta dello Sport Award the simple business concept that so many club owners have forgotten or don’t care about; don’t spend more than you earn! I would propose another option to your model that currently forbids any club in participating in the Champions League and Europa League if they don’t reach break-even by 2017 (and with maximum losses capped at different levels until then). The current financial fair play concept, if applied strictly, could well mean that clubs like Barça, Man United or Man City would risk not being able to participate in upcoming Champions or Europa Leagues. If you carry it through strictly, the level of participation could damage the overall quality of these tournaments which would then penalize the healthy clubs by generating less television and sponsorship revenues for them.

The Golf handicap model

Clubs with losses would still be able to participate but would start with a handicap in terms of negative points in the play-off round groups. The number of points below 0 would depend on the size of the loss. For example, a club with an annual loss of between €0 to €10 million would start the play-offs with -1 point, between €10 million and €50 million, -2 points, and so on. These numbers would need to be refined, it’s just the concept I am trying to explain here. In this scenario, you are not barring the entry to some of the prestigious loss making clubs but their chances of qualifying to the second round become much more difficult to attain. I feel this idea would bring the best of both worlds to the financial fair play concept but would still strongly encourage club owners to strive for financial health in the next coming years.

Maracanazos like to borrow from other sports.

Photo Credit:  danperry.com

Lugano is about to sign with the Paris Saint-Germain. It’s certain to happen in the next day or so. I predict that’s a decisive move for the PSG to win the championship this year. Diego Lugano will bring the garra that can overcome any obstacle. Well done Leonardo!

Maracanazos wish a warm welcome to Diego Lugano!

Photo Credit: a_sorense

The U-20 Seleção won the World Cup yesterday beating Portugal 3-2 during the overtime with a stellar performance by Oscar. The players of U-20 teams don’t always carry through with the promises that they show at this stage but who knows if some of these will be future World Cup stars. In any case, this young Brazilian team is full of hope and sets the new trend. New trend? Isn’t that the literal definition of Bossa Nova? I couldn’t resist the comparison so please enjoy a must-have moment of Bossa Nova with Elis Regina and Tom Jobim.

Maracanazos are always auriverde somewhere in their hearts.

Best news of the day! Scheduled for the next friendly game of the Auriverdes against Ghana in London on September 5. Ronaldinho was for a while the top scorer in the Brazilian league this year and can still be decisive against any team. Let’s see if Ronaldinho can make his dream come true of participating in the next World Cup. I wish him all the best!

Maracanazos are fans of comebacks!