A Football Report

The Final Countdown - AFR Voice. Ep 19 The pod wraps up all of...

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:26:46 -0400

The Final Countdown - AFR Voice. Ep 19

The pod wraps up all of the last day action of the Premier League with a focus on the North London scrabble for a Champions League place and we wave off Sir Alex Ferguson, Jamie Carragher, Paul Scholes and Michael Owen to name a few. We even highlight the chance to own Sir Alex’s final piece of gum chewed as the Manchester United manager.

With the final day in the English top tier proving relatively sedate, we headed to Europe for some end of season drama: AC Milan and Schalke stealing a last gasp Champions League spots, Atletico Madrid grabbing the Copa del Rey, and a tearful farwell in Paris to one man; one beautiful, moisturised man. Across the pond meanwhile, there’s all the breaking developments with NYC FC, and AFR chief Eric Beard’s not so subtle ways of potentially recruiting players for the new franchise.

The European love-in continued at great pace courtesy of pod member and Chelsea fan Alex who regaled his experience of watching the Europa League final live in the Amsterdam Arena. Armed with the trusty AFR dictaphone, he provided an entertaining and pulsating account of another glorious night on the continent for The Blues. Whilst the match was a memorable one (no matter how much Benfica fans will want to forget it), the final is no match for the big daddy of them all – the Champions League final at Wembley this Saturday. As if you needed any further encouragement, we whet your appetite for the colossal clash with a match preview and prediction.

Keep an ear out for our show next Tuesday, our final podcast of the season, when we’ll give a full debrief of the Munich-Dortmund game and pour out some champagne as we fondly (and hazily) look back on another sensational season of football.

As always, you can get in touch with the team by tweeting @AFRvoice, or emailing afrvoice@gmail.com

Javier Zanetti marches on in Inter’s darkest hour By Gary...

Mon, 20 May 2013 03:32:49 -0400

Javier Zanetti marches on in Inter’s darkest hour

By Gary Armstrong

The legends are leaving in droves. Owen. Scholes. Van Bommel. Metzelder. Carragher. Beckham. But at the age of 39, the career of Javier Zanetti goes on, despite a ruptured achilles tendon.

Vastly under-appreciated on British shores, Javier Zanetti is rightly acclaimed for his contribution to Inter and Italian football since his arrival from Argentina in 1995. Underlining the full back’s unquestionable spirit and love for the game, Zanetti – Inter’s record appearance holder having played in 847 matches – has vowed to pull on the famous black and blue jersey once more at the age of 40 and to return from an injury that is likely to see him spend 6 months on the sidelines at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.

Inter, embroiled in what is arguably their greatest crisis of the last 20 years, need their talismanic full-back now more so than ever before. An abominable record has seen the Nerazzuri slump to a lowly 9th place finish, which is their lowest in Serie A since the their ill-fated season of 1993/94. It’s also the first time that they have not qualified for European competition since 92/93. Meanwhile, old adversaries Milan, and in particular Juventus, appear to be going from strength to strength, leading the Italian game while Internazionale trail in their wake, several positions beneath them.

All eyes will be on club president Massimo Moratti in the coming weeks, in anticipation of the removal of manager Andrea Stramaccioni. Such a move would represent the fifth occasion that Moratti has wielded the axe on his managerial team in the post-Mourinho era. Moratti has moved to fend off speculation about the future of his coach in recent weeks, stating his preference to settle such matters at the close of the season. Given Moratti’s recent trigger-happy attitude to firing previous incumbents in the Giuseppe Meazza dugout, coupled with the abysmal league form that Inter have shown in the second half of the season, it would be no surprise to see Stramaccioni, who at 37 years old is 2 years younger than Zanetti, shuffled out of the Internazionale exit door. Resultantly, Zanetti, aided by a few experienced colleagues, will be left to pick up the pieces from another dramatic episode at the San Siro and attempt to rebuild the club once more.

Buenos Aires born and bred, Javier Zanetti began his footballing career in his homeland, making his debut with lower league side Talleres aged 19. Twenty years later, having spent the majority of his career in Italy, Zanetti can boast a personal trophy cabinet which includes winners medals for 5 Serie A titles, 4 Coppa Italias, 1 Champions League, 1 UEFA Cup and 1 World Club Cup.

On the international front, Zanetti has appeared for his national team on 145 separate occasions, the last of which came in 2011, including appearances in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. Controversially, Zanetti was excluded from the Argentine World Cup squads of 2006 and 2010 by managers Jose Peckerman and Diego Maradona respectively. In spite of these arguably inexplicable omissions, Zanetti is Argentina’s record cap holder, having played 30 games more than nearest challenger to the throne Roberto Ayala and is also 14th on the list of all-time highest international cap earners in World football. It is easy to hypothesize about what could have been for Zanetti and his nation had both Peckerman and Maradona not overlooked his seemingly obvious talent.

Zanetti’s inclusion in Pelé’s ‘Fifa 100’ list of the game’s greatest living footballers is yet another testament to the Argentine’s incredible career. How those at Independiente must now wince at their decision to disregard a 15 year old Zanetti on their belief that the youngster was far too small to make the grade in the professional game.

What the 5 foot 10 inch Zanetti may lack in physical stature, he has certainly made up for in terms of spirit, determination and stamina, qualities that earned him the nickname “El Tractor” in Argentina on account of his trademark lung-bursting runs up and down the right wing. In Italy, Zanetti has not only gained plaudits and the admiration of the Internazionale faithful for his energy and longevity at the heart of the Neazzuri defence, but also for his dependability and leadership qualities which have transcended across an incredible 15 different managerial teams in the Inter dugout and hundreds of team-mates including former World Player of the Year winners Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Fabio Cannavaro.

Zanetti in fact represents the bridge between countless Inter generations, the one constant within the walls of the Giueseppe Meazza who has seen it all, in the process witnessing so many exasperating Milan derby defeats and yet so many moments of euphoria and elation upon getting one over their neighbours and fierce city rivals. In many regards, Javier Zanetti is Mr Internazionale.

However, Zanetti is far more than just the representation of his rusty dressing room peg and his worn out black and blue shirt. At the age of 39, on the training ground, on the pitch and on the ball, Zanetti still oozes quality and the technical proficiency that forced the Inter Directors of 1995 to pluck the youngster from relative obscurity in South America. Like his British-based peer Ryan Giggs, Zanetti may have lost a yard or two of pace in recent years, but he certainly hasn’t lost the natural ability that makes team-mates 20 years his junior stand back and look on in awe. As the old footballing cliché alludes to, class is very much permanent and no more so than in the case of Javier Zanetti.

Many admiring and heart-felt quotes on the career and contributions of Javier Zanetti have circulated around the footballing globe in the past decade, yet for Inter fans perhaps the most poignant words are the ones spoken by the man they refer to as “Il Capitano” prior to his 600^th Serie A appearance in March of this year:

“I am proud to be part of this great family that is Inter.”

The thousands of Inter fans who have watched Javier Zanetti from the steep stands of the San Siro throughout the past three decades will be praying that an integral member of the Inter family makes a full and speedy recovery and that once more they can witness their favourite adopted son burst up the right flank in the black and blue of Internazionale. The club will certainly need a leader going forward.

This post was written by Gary Armstrong. Comments below please.

One final farewell to Beckham From the sponsorships to the movie...

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:09:23 -0400

One final farewell to Beckham

From the sponsorships to the movie star lifestyle, David Beckham always seemed on the cusp of his career as a professional athlete being less important than his life on talk shows or in photoshoots. But looking back on his career that spans over two decades, the man had it (mostly) figured out. There were certainly highs and lows, but ultimately no one conquered football, and the world of sports at large, quite like David. As he walked off the pitch one last time, it’s clear how much he loved the game. [GIFs by Dale con Comba]

David Beckham, conquerer of nations, retires By Anthony...

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:34:00 -0400

David Beckham, conquerer of nations, retires

By Anthony Lopopolo

For once, David Beckham had nowhere to go. There was nothing left to conquer. Winning in four different countries, this 38-year-old, though still capable, got the chance to depart the game as a winner, on his own terms.

Paris is the last stop of his playing career, after all the success along a trail no Englishman has ever traipsed before. He played for the biggest clubs – Manchester United, Real Madrid, AC Milan – and won the biggest of trophies. Not many players from England like to leave the island behind, and when they do they invariably come back. Not Beckham. He was different. He’ll always be English, and fiercely so. But the moment he left United in 2003, he left as a man of the world, a global citizen, an icon of countries and continents and a brand of companies.

When he arrived in Madrid that same year, he was one of several stars signed by the city’s top club. He joined Zinedine Zidane, Luis Figo, even the Brazilian Ronaldo on a Real Madrid team that should’ve won more than it did. But something else came with Beckham: his marketability. If he could sell enough jerseys, he’d be a success – regardless of how much effort he gave to the cause of actually winning.

Madrid didn’t pretend to be anything they weren’t. They were glitzy, outrageous, cotton candy to the eyes. Image was everything to them, but expectations came and went unfulfilled. After all, these guys were paid to play, and they didn’t even make a dent in their first season together, finishing fourth in La Liga and losing in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Four years with Madrid yielded a single trophy for Beckham. He scored crucial goals in that single campaign in which they claimed the league title from rival Barcelona, but in the years leading up to the silver moment, the team made over US$500-million – partly off his appeal. Knowing the size of Beckham’s following in Asia, the club toured China during one pre-season trip. He was a good player, but the ingredients of his fame had stewed all too nicely.

The start of his family’s US$306-million fortune began. He married his wife, Victoria, in 1999, and even before that ceremony they had a son, Brooklyn, whose godfather is Elton John. The movies came out, too, starting with Bend it Like Beckham in 2002. By the time he reached Madrid, he was better served as a celebrity than a footballer. Sure, the good looks caught the attention of women otherwise uninterested in the sport – just as his advertisements in underwear later would – but something else, something within him really coaxed this outwardly side of him.

As a teenager, he dreamt of fame. Not the way a rapper in the projects dreams of it. Money would not be thrown in the air. Beckham understood at an early point in his career the values of power and the greater good that he could achieve. It’s not unordinary to see players participate in charitable events, but he took incredible pride in those things – no matter how big the arrangement. Undoubtedly, he loved the attention, but he loved even more what he could do with it, elevating issues like malaria, HIV and aids to a level no athlete ever before could reach.

Dimitar Berbatov, a former United player in his own right, felt the effect. “If David Beckham says something about HIV,” Berbatov said, “then people will remember it.” All of this didn’t necessarily serve to fulfill some scheme of his. Beckham didn’t take on a life of charity to impress shareholders and agencies. He did benefit from tax breaks, and he didn’t have to worry about his next meal. But Beckham was acting upon this imagined idea of living he had for years: to help, to travel, to bring joy to others and work against the ills of the world. He was born with an active soul, and he had the financial freedom to let it soar.

Some time ago, he even forfeited the right to play with England in an international match. He had made several trips across the globe, and the manager, then Fabio Capello, excluded him from the squad. That’s nothing to take lightly. Playing for his country was the highlight of his career. He made more appearances than any other outfield player for a reason. He always wanted to be there. But he often put his commitment to charities before his football.

Visiting a township near Cape Town, South Africa, Beckham absorbed a new way of life. The people beamed when they saw him, and he shared the same joy. It was easy to connect with the impoverished. Lines of race and wealth and class didn’t appear to him. “When the kids play football,” he told the Times of London after the trip in 2009, “it’s like watching my boys play.”

So if Beckham was an all-star, a huge celebrity, he earned everything. Humility powered his brand. He wasn’t a snob. He wasn’t born out of riches. His mother was a hairdresser and his father was a kitchen fitter. He was a self-made man, full of ambition and endeavour. He was a fighter – the man would not take insults lightly, and he has on more than one occasion challenged fans that cursed at him and demeaned his wife – but Beckham never was an outlaw.

Many resented him because of the celebrity, because of the persona, because of the things we thought we knew about him – especially when he moved to Los Angeles to play with the Galaxy in the summer of 2007. He didn’t leave Madrid for US$250-million, the highly inaccurate figure reported to be the absolute highest possible sum of his initial five-year contract in Major League Soccer. He didn’t leave Europe to be a movie star. He didn’t leave to rest on his laurels in America and slide silently into retirement.

As a 32-year-old, Beckham brought with him to the United States a desire to popularize an unpopular sport in the country. No challenge was big enough for him. This was a leader, a pioneer. Given the chance to be a president or a coach, he would take the former. Beckham was never short of self-belief, and maybe even a little bit of conceit. After all, neither Napoleon nor Hannibal conquered anything without them.

If Beckham thought he could walk the streets of Los Angeles and New York carefree, he was wrong. Photographers followed him everywhere. Hype kept rising, like a space shuttle in the sky, never reaching a crescendo. He did seek all the attention, but it was hard, at times, for him to cope with.

“I think over the years,” he told former teammate Gary Neville in an interview on Sky Sports News, “people have looked at other things. Sometimes that’s overshadowed what I’ve done on the pitch.” There’s truth to that. Most of the time, he was a prop, something to show off, shiny and cool and real. Beckham only had to jog along the sideline to rouse the shrieking masses, to bring thousands in the stadium to their feet. The world’s leaders wish they could inspire with so little effort the imagination and energy of so many.

In his first match with the Galaxy, a summer friendly in 2007 against Chelsea, he hobbled into the Home Depot Center with an ankle injury. Playing wasn’t an option. It was an obligation. He had to. He couldn’t disappoint all the fans. So he put on his cleats, wobbled about, and floundered on the field after taking a tackle to the leg that almost made the whole thing worse. Everyone but him left the field happy, and that was all that mattered.

A millionaire’s happiness likely means nothing to the lot of us, but the man kept his promises and met his responsibilities as a figurehead, a cash cow, a player.

He was always worried about what other people – his teammates, his fans, his employer – thought of him, once holding up an entire team bus to sign autographs for every fan waiting outside. Beckham didn’t want to leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth. And the rare time that he did, he took the initiative to sweeten the sour.

When he left the Galaxy temporarily in 2009 to play with Milan in a bid to get in shape for the 2010 World Cup, Beckham faced the wrath of his teammates. Landon Donovan, captain of the Galaxy, said Beckham wasn’t a leader. Later, several others didn’t think he was showing enough effort. At one point, Beckham had played more games for Milan and England than he did for the Galaxy.

But then Beckham got injured, missed the World Cup, and proceeded to prove the doubters wrong. This man’s found nothing but motivation in the spotlight. He won his first title with the Galaxy in 2011, and he could’ve left a champion. That first trophy “quieted a few people,” he told ESPN, “which is always nice.” But he decided to stay, at a place where he was adulated and crucified, martyred and defiant. And he won again last year. He won over the Galaxy, he resurrected his image, he left the league as a winner – as he always has.

Things just had to be perfect for him: his passes, his reputation, even the stuff in his fridge. He can’t have too many drinks in one spot. Everything’s got to be in pairs. “I’ll go into a hotel room,” he told ITV in 2006, “and before I can relax, I have to move all the leaflets and all the books and put them in a drawer. Everything has to be perfect.” Victoria calls her husband a weirdo, but he’s a victim of obsessive-compulsive disorder, and his friends sometimes make his life a living hell because of it.

He’s spent his whole life rearranging and matching, placing and scheduling. Once, in Manchester, with Sir Alex Ferguson watching, he stayed on the field long after his teammates left, kicking balls long into the night, one after the other, waiting to hit the sweet spot. Without his obsessions – to be the best, to work hard when talent doesn’t – Beckham wouldn’t have ever scored against Greece; Beckham wouldn’t have ever scored from the centre of the field; Beckham wouldn’t have ever shared such a perfect relationship with the ball. The hair was just right, the looks clean and faultless, the football memorable and decisive.

He could probably still play the game. Paris Saint-Germain offered him the chance to continue. But he’s just celebrated a championship with them, the Parisians, the team that gave him one last chance at the highest level. Beckham didn’t take the risk. Instead, he leaves the game without a blemish.

Anthony Lopopolo is an Italian-Canadian freelance sportswriter and a Senior Writer for AFR. He has written for the National Post and the National, and has also made appearances on national radio in Canada and the UK to talk footy. You can follow him on Twitter or send him an email. Comments below please.

Beckham’s boots for his final game David Beckham plays in the...

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:27:00 -0400

Beckham’s boots for his final game

David Beckham plays in the final match of his career today. As he heads into retirement, he carries the pride of Great Britain on his feet with adidas Predator LZs. Typical Becks.

Can Católica go full circle? By Joel Sked Small moments can...

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:19:00 -0400

Can Católica go full circle?

By Joel Sked

Small moments can have significant consequences. Like one 90 minute game of football – good or bad. The 2011 Chilean Primera División Apertura play-off final second-leg was one of those games; contested between great rivals Universidad de Chile and Universidad Católica.

UC had finished the regular season – 17 games – on top of the league table, where they had finished in 2010 when the league was a single championship of 34 games due to the World Cup in South Africa, and they led 2-0 from the first-leg. But what was about to transpire would see the fortunes of two of Chile’s tres grandes diverge in quite spectacular fashion.

La U, managed by Jorge Sampaoli, would emerge victorious in a dramatic and tempestuous 90 minutes. They took the lead, Católica equalised, La U took the lead again through an own goal, UC went down to 10 men, La U scored again and again, UC had another man sent off, then another before La U went down to ten men.

Los azules had overturned the two goal deficit to win the first of what would be three consecutive Chilean championships under Sampaoli plus the Copa Sudamericana, critical acclaim and the hearts and minds of football fans the world over.

As La U rose to the heights of arguably the best team in South America, los Cruzados slumped with each passing championship. Under the new stewardship of Mario Lepe – taking over from Juan Antonio Pizzi – they fell at the semi-final stage of the 2011 Clausura play-offs to Universidad de Chile. And then came defeat in the quarter-final stage of the 2012 Apertura play-offs to Unión Española.

They had won the 2011 Copa Chile over Primera B side Magallanes to secure qualification to the 2012 Copa Sudamericana, but Lepe would not be in charge to lead them into South America’s Europa League equivalent – minus the league part.

In came former Real Sociedad manager Martín Lasarte. Look at the Primera División now and UC are riding high at the summit of the Torneo 2013 – a one-off 17 game league with no play-offs. But it has taken quite a journey to get here. A journey that Lasarte did not look likely to complete at times throughout the latter part of 2012. A journey that comes full circle on Sunday when Universidad Católica and Universidad de Chile prepare to do battle as the Primera División reaches its penultimate weekend with Católica level on points with Unión Espanola at the summit of the league with La U two points further behind in fourth – little more than a week after los azules triumphed over UC in the Copa Chile final.

Lasarte did not have much of an adaption period with little time between the end of the 2012 Apertura and start of the Clausura. Ex-Ipswich Town man Sixto Peralta, Alvaro Ramós, Fernando Cordero, Tomás Costa and Fernando Meneses were added to a squad which had a number of promising talents coming through from their fabled youth system.

He was in charge of a bulging squad, which in itself would take plenty of managing but with UC taking part in the Clausura, Copa Chile and Copa Sudamericana the quantity of players should have acted as a blessing to tackle all three tournaments. Instead it impinged on the side’s progress.

The Clausura did not get off to a great start when Católica fell to Palestino. However, it looked like the game simply acted as an acclimatisation period as UC were defeated only once in the next 11 games and progressed in the Copa Sudamericana. Yet six defeats in seven games, the concluding game of the run being a 2-0 defeat to Colo Colo, had fans questioning not only the management but the leadership at Católica. Criticism was coming in for the way Católica played, often labelled as rigid, uninspiring and most disconcertingly for fans defensive.

Strangely for a team labelled as defensive, defensive problems were endemic most notably from Enzo Andía, while Peralta was coming in for a lot of flak for poor performances in midfield. Simply put Lasarte did not know his best eleven with players like Meneses a shadow of what fans had come to expect.

They had only just hung in the Copa Sudamericana, going through on away goals against Deportes Tolima. Using hindsight Costa’s goal against the Colombian’s would prove extremely decisive in Lasarte’s reign. They progressed to the quarter-finals, again through away goals. But the fact he was still in charge of the team when they visited Atlético GO for the second-leg highlighted the club’s confidence in him as on October 12 Lasarte’s time in charge hit its nadir.

At half-time of the Copa Chile group match at the Estadio Santa Laura against Unión Española los Cruzados were losing 6-0. Despite ‘winning’ 1-0 in the second half Lasarte was at his lowest ebb. He sat in the dressing room disconsolate; the silence was louder than any words, phrases or team talks. He sat until the words came to him.

As he made his way across the Santa Laura car park he was confronted by an irate Católica hincha demanding an explanation as to what went wrong. “¡Esta es la UC y no se puede perder así!” the fan shouted. “This is UC and it is not possible to lose this way!”

If it wasn’t for the presence of José María Buljubasich and a trio of security guards Lasarte would have done something which there would have been no coming back from in terms of his job in Las Condes. Unsurprisingly Lasarte’s advisor, José Miguel Muñoz, later said: “2012 in Chile was certainly the most difficult year of his career.”

Yet, he could have ended it by picking up the club’s first ever continental trophy. As they continued to squeeze through each round of the Copa Sudamericana confidence grew. In the quarter-finals UC travelled to Argentine giants Independiente and drew 2-2 with Nicolás Castillo and the team putting in a wonderful performance.

Lasarte had finally stumbled onto a system, a formation and way of playing, while keeping the same spine of the team. In the Sudamericana they were reactive; ceding position with two banks of four before breaking with pace and directness. Castillo was the ideal striker to occupy the opposition centre-backs as a deeper forward acted as a link between him and the rest of the team.

A 2-1 home win over the Argentine’s saw UC move stealthily into the semi-final and set up a tie with Universidad de Chile conquerors São Paulo. The Brazilians had taken advantage of La U’s naivety winning 7-0 on aggregate. Little chance was given to UC, but what wasn’t taken into account was the methodical way they had been playing. They would not allow for space in behind defence, with a solid midfield five adding an extra layer of protection. Over 180 minutes they matched São Paulo and their glittering array of stars, drawing both games. But in a cruel twist of irony it was UC who would fall to the away goals rule.

The run in the Sudamericana resulted in a distinct upturn in their domestic form, but too many draws would see Católica miss out on a place in the end of season play-offs on the final week of the season for the first time since the 2004 Apertura. Lasarte admitted that his team were simply not strong enough to cope with the two tournaments and also confessed to making mistakes, but the run to the semi-finals, especially the last four games, plus an emotional embrace with Michael Ríos had convinced him this is the team he wants to manage.

As part of his vacation, before pre-season started, Lasarte took in 11 games in 12 days in Spain – a measure of the passion for football that runs hot in his veins. A period of rest followed in Montevideo and then it was time to get to work. Under coach Pablo Balbi the team were whipped into shape to prepare them for playing a more attacking and proactive game.

Lasarte concentrated on two aspects: team shape and personnel. The team needed shredding with too many players. A number were freed, sent on loan or in terms of Paraguayan striker Roberto Ovelar – signed on a reasonable contract - told there would be no place for them in the squad.

There were overtures to defenders but what Lasarte wanted more than most was two strikers. And to put many teams to shame both Ismael Sosa and Carlos Bueno were recruited promptly to leave Lasarte contemplating whether to switch to a back three or continue with the back four UC used in 2012. With the squad he had at his disposal tactical flexibility was possible.

Lasarte was given the added bonus of Católica hero, and former captain, Milovan Mirosevic returning to the San Carlos after a drawn out transfer saga, before even more impressively former Blackburn Rovers player and Chilean internationalist Carlos Villanueva appeared.

However, before they could even be integrated, and as Colo Colo and Universidad de Chile, got off to solid and then spectacular start. A tight 1-0 win and disappointing 1-1 home draw were followed by 11 goals in three games as the team clicked with the new 3-4-1-2 system.

Players like Andía, Meneses Costa and Peralta were rejuvenated, while Toselli continues to prove why there is more to Primera División goalkeepers than the ones that take penalties and attract controversy.

Despite poor home form, which has threatened to derail their title push, there is a real menace about Católica. Hans Martínez is arguably the best central defender in the country when fit, while the two strikers have formed a partnership which has proved difficult for the highly-rated striking Castillo to break having returned from the Sub20 South American Championships in which he starred. One of the goals of the season saw the duo link up to devastating effect against Cobreloa – between them they have plundered 12 league goals.

While once there was speculation linking others to the UC job, in recent months it has involved linking Lasarte with a move back to Spain. In February he rejected the offer of taking over at Xerez in the Spanish Segunda División and he has also seen his name mentioned in relation to the management job at both Villarreal and Deportivo La Coruña.

“I rejected the offer because I am confident in the project that I lead at Universidad Católica. I’m happy here, I don’t want to go. We have worked very hard to be able to reach this level. I am happy because the players understand our message,” said Lasarte who has a contract until June 2014.

But the demanding nature of managing one of the tres grandes is highlighted by the fact that he is expected to win the league to continue on a contract which last until June 2014.

Ninety minutes in the Clásico Universitario on Sunday will go along way to determining whether UC have come full circle or will have to reshape once again at the tournament end.

This piece was written by Joel Sked, an expert in Chilean football. You can follow Joel on Twitter at @Sked21. Comments below please.

Thanks for the memories, Becks We could rattle off a list of all...

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:02:00 -0400

Thanks for the memories, Becks

We could rattle off a list of all the achievements that David Beckham has won throughout the course of his career, but the truth is, you already know. From the free kicks to the H&M advertisements, David Beckham quickly became an ever-present, unrelenting force in sports and style, one of the first footballers to be embraced and recognized on such a global scale. And while some may maintain a cynical perspective on the trajectory Beckham’s career took, we here at AFR HQ will always remember his ability to transform a monotonous, insignificant match, into a spectacle.

As Becks hangs up his boots, here are some thoughts from the people who knew him best, his peers.

“David was different - he was a crosser of the ball, a passer of the ball, he was a joy to play with… He has probably been the most influential player out of England in transforming football. The impact he has had is enormous.” - Gary Neville

“On the pitch, Beckham sees everything before everyone else.” - Carlo Ancelotti

“A phenomenon … the image he has is totally different to what he is really like as a player and a person.” - Luis Figo

“David is such a great competitor and he was questioning his move to the United States and we were fortunately able to turn it around, and all I’ll say is that it is a tribute to David’s presence on and off the field. My four years working with him is one of the great honors of my life. I found him to be a player with incredible skills on the field as we all know, one of the greatest passers that the game has ever seen. Just a great personality and incredible competitor, who did wonderful things for our club and our game.” - Bruce Arena

“I remember watching him when he was 18 playing for Manchester United and you knew then that he had something special. He made the game look simple and he had a different style about him to anybody else.” - Glenn Hoddle

“He is a nice guy, has a beautiful wife, has won so many trophies in his career and perhaps this penalises him as a player although I believe he has the feet and the determination.” - Daniele De Rossi

“Beckham is a player I like very much both for his technique and the way he thinks. He is a man who always wants to win.” - Fabio Cannavaro

“The image of him celebrating with his sons on the pitch [after Madrid won the title in 2007] stays with me. He had such a massive desire to win something with Real Madrid. It was one of his most difficult years with him being left out of the England team but he demonstrated in the last three months of the season what a great player he is.” - Raul

“I don’t know how he manages to be so at ease outwardly on the pitch. He is almost a pop star. I couldn’t do that. It is incredible, especially given that he is as timid as me….When he came to Real, he was worried about what the team thought of him. In his integration, he worried about everything that was said about him in the media, and that it would constitute a problem for his performances. But on the pitch, he has great technique and shows the combativeness typical of English players.” - Zinedine Zidane

“I was in the England squad when he made his debut against Moldova in 1996 and while his work-rate is phenomenal, I can safely say he’s the best at set-pieces that I’ve seen by a mile. In that 6-3 game, he scored a superb free-kick bent into the top corner even though we had a man on the post. I just thought, “Oh my God”…” - Matthew Le Tissier

Compiled by Maxi.

Benfica hopes to fly away from the Gutmann curse By Dominic...

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:16:00 -0400

Benfica hopes to fly away from the Gutmann curse

By Dominic Vieira

There’s a curse in Lisbon known as the ‘Guttman Curse’, named after the Hungarian manager who led Benfica to back-to-back European titles in the early 60s. That was 51 years ago in Amsterdam, where the legendary quadruple consisting of Aguas, Coluna, Eusebio and Simoes, sunk Real Madrid 5-3, to place Benfica as one of the leaders of world football. And following Bela Guttman’s second trophy, he left the club.

Benfica went on to become one of the clubs that has lost the most European finals, 5 to be precise. But their last presence in a final was the 1990 European Cup Final, losing 1-0 to Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan - which was arguably viewed as the best team in the world at that time. Despite qualifying for their eighth European final, it was evident that Benfica were not at the level or quality that won them greatness in the 60s.

23 years later and the club is back on a stage that they used to visit much more often. Much has changed since their last visit; a new stadium, Porto rising and dominating the domestic football, overcoming their financial troubles and having a much larger South American presence amongst their squad.

But one thing never changed: Benfica’s desire to win, which is strongly advocated through manager Jorge Jesus, who’s becoming quite an entertaining character. He’s moulded Benfica into a hungry team, one that’s always eager to attack, but conservative and organised at the back. A team that plays with no fear and true to their style. But the most impressive work by Jesus is that he’s made Benfica into a collective unit; there’s no star player and there’s not one evident weak link. Jesus has managed to balance flair, aggression, speed and fluidity.

The biggest question on fans’ lips is how will Benfica bounce back following their last minute defeat to Porto? Their first domestic loss of the season last Saturday night was a pounding blow, one that knocked them out of first place and now minimised their chances to win the much desired league title as one game remains.

But what happened on the weekend is the past to Jesus and he calls this match “the most important in his career”, his first European final. And not just on a personal level, but for the club. He continued, ”Benfica created a name for itself in the 60s and has been recovering it’s lost prestige over these past years - we’ve regained our international prestige and that is what the club is working on: giving Benfuca a better and bigger reputation in Europe”

Tonight could be a night where Benfica and Portuguese football once again flies high, in the past years we’ve seen Porto carry this flag and its now time for Benfica to continue this tradition. And so, 51 years later, they return to Amsterdam.

Boa Sorte.

Amsterdam awaits x AFR Giveaway The location. The two giant...

Tue, 14 May 2013 22:36:00 -0400

Amsterdam awaits x AFR Giveaway

The location. The two giant clubs clashing. The Europa League final promises to be a night to remember. Benfica have to pick themselves up after possibly conceding the Liga Sagres title in the 92nd minute in their 2-1 loss to Porto. Chelsea will have one eye on a new Champions League charge next season. It’s not the Champions League, but these two sides have produced some of the most entertaining football the world has seen this season.

And we have another reason to tune-in. As part of their post-season tour, Chelsea are traveling to another city with Dutch roots, playing against Man City at Yankee Stadium after the Champions League on Saturday, May 25th. Before the friendly, Yankee Stadium will host a viewing party, showing the Champions League on their 59 foot high screen. We’ve been given a few tickets for the match. So, we’re going to give them away. If you’re not in NYC, you probably know someone who is. Be a good friend.

Right, contest details. Plenty of eyes are on David Luiz for tonight’s final, so tell us if you think he will a) Score b) Earn a yellow card c) Both d) Neither/Other (we reward creativity). Tweet @afootballreport or comment on this article to enter. And enjoy the match. Boa sorte, Benfiquistas and Blues! [More information on the friendly here. GIF by Dale con Comba.. Art by Luke Barclay. Send questions to Eric]

Indecisive? Pick the middle “The goalkeeper picks a side...

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:11:41 -0400

Indecisive? Pick the middle

“The goalkeeper picks a side and dives 93.7 percent of the time and just stands in the middle only 6.3 percent of the time. There was a clear bias toward action.”

The Journal of Economic Psychology recently looked at the link between decision making and penalty kicks, and found, somewhat surprisingly, that goalkeepers might be better off doing nothing at all.

Analyzing close to 300 penalty kick situations, the study considered goalkeeper’s decisions in regards to which direction to move towards, the area to which the ball was actually kicked, and most importantly, whether the penalty was actually blocked.

The conclusion? Goalkeepers dive right or left 93.7% of the time, and choose to remain in the center in only 6.3% of penalty kick situations.

The problem comes from the fact that the direction of penalty kicks were distributed much more evenly, with almost 30% of penalty kicks sent towards the center of the goal.

But if goalkeepers could “almost double their save percentage by doing nothing,” why do they almost always choose to dive?

The researchers point towards something called action bias. Essentially, there’s an accepted norm that goalkeepers dive when attempting to block penalty kicks. If they fail to block a penalty kick when diving, they are considered to have made an effort; if they stay in the center when a penalty tucks into a corner, they’re lazy, indecisive, and made no attempt to block the ball. Goalkeepers favor action because of social expectations.

Obviously, there’s not much time to consider the psychological implications of penalties when you’re standing between the posts during a cup final, but maybe doing nothing is worth a shot. [Posted by Maxi]

An early exit after 27 years: Sir Alex steps down in his own...

Mon, 13 May 2013 01:36:00 -0400

An early exit after 27 years: Sir Alex steps down in his own style

By Anthony Lopopolo

The numbers pop out of his resume like eyes out of a cartoon character: he won 27 major trophies with United over the same number of years; he outlasted 116 managers on seven major European clubs; and he’s won 75% of his home games at Old Trafford. Nothing satisfied his hunger for success, and his diet never consisted of anything but winning. He’s always the first man at Carrington, the team’s training facility in Greater Manchester, there before staff and players as early as 5 a.m. He’s said over and over that he has trouble envisioning life without football. Retirement was something he wasn’t exactly ready for. “Nobody’s getting rid of me,” Sir Alex Ferguson told The Guardian in March.

Nobody – not the media, not the club, not his body – but himself did.

He decided now is the best time to retire; now, at 71 years of age, is the right time “to leave,” as he said in a brief statement on Wednesday, “the organization in the strongest possible shape.” Indeed, he has left the club with its 20th league title, successfully wrangled from the hands of its noisy neighbour, Manchester City.

This time, surely, he wanted to get it right. His initial decision to retire, in 2002, was, in Ferguson’s own words, an “absolute disaster.” His wife, for one, wouldn’t let him. He was sure Cathy would be “fed up” with him around the house. Since then, he’s won 12 more trophies. But this time is different. Yes, he is due for hip surgery this year, and there is a pacemaker to worry about. Sometimes he said his health would be the thing that tells him when to put the game aside; other times, he made sure we understood that “it won’t be a doctor that tells me to quit.”

Sir Alex Ferguson even wrote in a recent match programme that he didn’t have plans “to walk away from what I believe will be something special.” He may be on to something, but he won’t be part of it. Deliberately, he led us astray, all of us following the scent into a trap of deceit. If information is power, then he’s had it. He’s always contradicted himself for effect. If the Italians were the inventors of the smokescreen – “when an Italian tells me it’s pasta on the plate,” Ferguson once said, “I check under the sauce to make sure” – then he is by far their best pupil.

The smokescreen worked. The players have no idea why he’s chosen to retire. Neither do we. “I’ve not got a clue. No one knew about this. It’s a day that no Manchester United fan wanted to come,” former defender Phil Neville told reporters. The media couldn’t tell the difference between truth and fiction, either. To Ferguson, they were supposed to be lemmings, and when they didn’t agree with the message, they got a swift ass-kicking.

Ferguson is a bully. He’s held journalists up against walls, and he’s threatened them. He’s banned them and thrown them out of the club. “We all had numerous bans for writing stories that might be perfectly true, perfectly fair,” Matt Dickinson, chief sports correspondent of the Times, said on the newspaper’s website, “but because they don’t fit Ferguson’s wishes, you’re banished from the club.”

The more power he’s gotten, the more he’s wielded it, abused it, harnessed it. But he worked hard to reach this stage of dominance. He is a winner, but he wasn’t necessarily born one. Not everything was natural. Early in life, he followed his father to work in the shipyards of Scotland, and he drove all over the place. He served an apprenticeship as a tool maker and he played football part-time. Once, he got the chance as an amateur to play against Rangers – his beloved club as a kid – but shied away from the opportunity until his father and manager gave him a whipping. In the game he scored a hat-trick, and a kid who was so defeatist found some strength.

Ferguson did not, however, win any big prize as a player. “But I had this great desire to win,” he said in an old documentary on Scotsport as manager of Aberdeen in 1985. “I think that it’s carried me right into management.” You could say he’s made up for lost time as a manager, winning the things he could not as a player. And there was not, apparently, much time to spare. He made up his mind early to become a manager. “When I got married,” he said in the documentary, “I didn’t go on my honeymoon. I went to coaching school to get my badge.”

There is something else, though, that’s driven him far from defeat: the idea of losing. Gordon Strachan, the current manager of Scotland, called Ferguson the “world’s worst loser.” Oh, he was a bad one. He could throw fits if his team lost. He could also throw parties if they won. The man had swings in emotion that could frighten. And all of his players, from Aberdeen to Manchester, loved him for it. All of them understood that he knew the game better than most managers, but Ferguson worked best as a motivator, a man of action. He could be ruthless – to players and press alike – but many had colossal admiration for him.

He’s always laboured to earn the respect of his players. He never walked into any joint with a sense of entitlement. Before the fame, he served apprenticeships as a manager with East Stirlingshire and St. Mirren. He paid his dues. “He’s a man that wants to learn all the time – no matter where he goes,” Strachan once said.

As a young manager, Ferguson especially found it hard. Some players were older than him. But he kept on going. He achieved something remarkable in 1980: For the first time in 15 years, a team other than Celtic or Rangers had won the Scottish title, and he was there, at 39 years of age, managing that side. “That was the achievement which united us,” he said in The Boss: The Many Sides of Sir Alex Ferguson. “I finally had the players believing in me.”

Of Aberdeen, he thought of the world. Before he was offered a chance to manage Manchester United in 1986, Ferguson had already dismissed a few opportunities to coach abroad – from Wolves, Arsenal and Tottenham – and he did so rather easily. “I didn’t think they were above Aberdeen,” he said. “I didn’t ever think they could match what was here.” It was there, at Aberdeen, where he learned his values as a manager. There, not at Manchester United, did he find the identity of his managerial style. Like a certain Mourinho today, he pitted the media’s words against his team and used them to motivate his players. Ferguson was the mastermind of the siege mentality – a certain inventor of it, really.

We first got to know Ferguson as the ruthless winner. That’s all he allowed us to see. But the roles of nurturer and leader came easiest to him, and he performed them like an actor fit for the job. The Scot had this ability to put you at ease one minute and on the edge of your seat the next. He could be a father figure and a disciplinarian. He had the gift of kindness but also the wrath of an angry judge. The lengths of his personality went far and wide, but he got his toughest test when Eric Cantona, who played brilliantly but sometimes flouted the rules, came to town.

Cantona would arrive late to practice, something otherwise punishable under Ferguson, and leave the day without a word of warning. He kicked a fan, and he wasn’t all that pleasant to deal with. But Cantona was different. He wasn’t normal. One French journalist, Erik Bielderman, said in Cantona: The Rebel Who Would Be King that “Eric can only work with a coach who’ll be a substitute for a father, who will stand by him in public as he would stand by his son, regardless of what he does.”

By his own admission, Cantona needed someone who could empathize with him, someone who could understand the misunderstood. He craved direction. He always wanted to know where he was going, when he was going, why he was going. “I have to be persuaded that a certain path is the right one,” Cantona said in the biography. Directions weren’t his to give. Cantona looked for them, and Ferguson would always be there, ready to give them. As a manager of men, Ferguson did not see the egomaniac portrayed in the press. He did not see the violent lunatic others had interpreted Cantona to be. He saw lots of anguish in Cantona’s eyes. Like a dog, Cantona just wanted to follow someone’s lead. Otherwise, he could go mad, and Ferguson made sure, on a human level, that this Frenchman never lost his leash.

Almost 20 years later, Ferguson still leads the way – with certain pride and loyalty. He knows Manchester United, the team he’s come to love and live and father and coach, inside out. “You know how good you are,” he told the players in a speech after his final game at Old Trafford. “You know the jersey you are wearing and you know what it means. Don’t ever let yourselves down.” He’s called the shots: about the timing of his retirement, the manager succeeding him, and the way forward. David Moyes, the 50-year-old whose time with Everton has been praiseworthy, will take charge of United solely on the recommendation of Ferguson.

But the elder Scotsman will not be too far away. As an ambassador for the club, Ferguson will still be watching over the team he’s cultivated and architected. He will not lose his entire grip on the game that’s come to define his life.

This piece was written by Anthony Lopopolo, a Senior Writer for AFR. You can follow him on twitter @sportscaddy. Comments below please.

The best fans in the world Found in Buenos Aires. End of...

Fri, 10 May 2013 23:48:00 -0400

The best fans in the world

Found in Buenos Aires. End of discussion.

Okay, fine. Here’s some context: The KICKTV crew flew down to Buenos Aires for Boca-River, learned about why it’s the craziest rivalry in the world, and our friends from the Buenos Aires Fútbol Amigos even set up a mini-Superclásico the morning of the real match. While the match was captured in all its glory (see first link), they also caught up with some of the best journalists and personalities in Argentina, including our friend and resident Hand of Pod superstar Joel Richards, to learn about the history of Argentine fútbol and the story behind the rivalry. You can watch that video here. And you better believe that AFR will be heading back to Buenos Aires for a Superclásico sometime soon. Those dogs better still be there. [Posted by Eric]

Tomhet, Idel Tomhet: Remembering Ivan Turina We tend to have a...

Thu, 09 May 2013 15:16:27 -0400

Tomhet, Idel Tomhet: Remembering Ivan Turina

We tend to have a habit of talking about a ‘football family;’ a sort of community of fans, journalists, players and coaches who all interact to make our small corner of the world possible. Though we may bicker over rivalries, and obsess over insignificant rumors, we are all nevertheless interconnected. Our successes and moments of joy are shared, just as those moments of pain. This past week, the football family suffered a great loss with the sudden death of AIK goalkeeper, Ivan Turina. Here’s Özgür Kurtoglu, remembering Ivan.

The first time I met him was outside a modest but popular bar called L’Angolo in the posher part of Stockholm. My best friend was DJ-ing that night, probably a mix of mild house and odd techno tunes, and the bar was in the same building, just a few floors down from the Croatian Embassy. Outside the embassy, in a corner of the bar, sat Goran Ljubojević and Ivan Turina, new signings to a team on the brink of implosion and relegation on the heels of a treble-winning season. Six months later, Goran left, tearing up his contract in mutual consent, saying “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with more goals, but I can help by not taking your money when I leave.” And Ivan, well, Ivan stayed. I haphazardly thanked them both that night for coming to our rescue with an embarrassed laugh. They laughed in return, thanked me for the support, and Ivan went back to drinking his wine (as Croatians do) and smoking his cigar.

The dots representing events in my life are connected by football matches, concerts and records. These subjects, the type of stories that I know I shouldn’t write about, but feel the need to write, are not meant to be written or told or even reiterated by someone like me. I am but a music journalist, a hopeless romantic, savvy of the way things are, but in love with how they were in a pre-digital age; a devotee easily swayed by my ever-welling emotions and unwavering naïveté. I am too much of a fan to write about football; I learned and was taught that fact the hard way as early as the somewhat innocent age of 17. Every now and then I try, as soberly as I can, to peek inside my private and forgivingly small part within this circus that a woman I once loved called my second great love (her, supposedly, being the first), before I shy away cautiously so I don’t end up too deep.

I write about music. I’ve known music and played music for the better part of the last 18 years, and while my relationship with the arts and crafts is just as irrational as my feelings for football, my view of music can at times be far more pragmatic; I can distance myself from it, I can shut it out and shut it off, and despite it being my job, I can still escape from it. Football lives too far under my skin. The teams I support, that I’ve supported for the better part of my soon to be 24 years on this weird little watery rock, are pins and needles in my veins and in my bloodstream. So I let them fill out my calendar with their matches while I “toil” at shows and clubs where I spin records, or record stores where I may roam, and every now and then try to assemble a proper picture of what my life actually is;

Our last championship was preceded by a week of listening to the new Girl Talk record and followed by the second-to-last ISIS show I saw before the band broke up. I fell in love outside of Råsunda, my second home for 15 years, right before a game that started off that horrendous 2010 season that eventually brought us Ivan Turina, and spent the week after it at Stockholm University studying film music and popular culture. I was updated via Twitter on how that very man pulled off what is basically, after this decent effort from our Assistant Manager in the Champions League eons ago, the best performance ever to be put on display in an AIK shirt. After CSKA buried us easily at Råsunda in the first leg, I chose to see the fantastic Soundtrack Of Our Lives for the very last time at one end of Stockholm and then trudged my way, somewhat reluctantly, to see the pop disaster that is Coldplay at the other end, because just like everyone else, I knew this draw to be over. Ivan Turina thought and believed otherwise, and made sure every AIK player knew what he was trying to do. And he succeeded.

Ivan Turina is 32 years old. And he will always be 32 years old. On April 28th, when AIK finally managed to break our scoring deadlock at our new and somewhat unwanted stadium, and managed to turn an absolutely ridiculous game-winning goal into another draw, I ended up stuck in a stairwell for 15 minutes because of a malfunctioning emergency exit before making my way back up to the second tier to find a way out. That was the last time I saw Ivan Turina, out of the game because of a back injury and carrying his two daughters while dressed handsomely, impeccably, in a gray suit.

I saw him for 15 seconds at most, too busy being frustrated and annoyed to greet this behemoth of a man and his beautiful family, and immediately regretted it as soon as I got out of the stadium. Not because I had any inclination of what was about to happen, but because of basic courtesy; a football club is a family, at the best of times, but more so in the worst of times. This Thursday, on my way to pick up this month’s issue of the music magazine I work for to have it distributed around Stockholm, I received a text message. Then some Facebook notifications that were immediately followed by tweets and phone calls, all telling me something I still fail to grasp. Something that my mind still doesn’t quite comprehend, that it still tricks me into believing that I’m imagining it all. But it was all there in the newspaper.

I could quote poets and laureates, lyricists and authors of the utmost and heartfelt vociferations ever put on paper by pen, to attempt to do the memory of Ivan Turina justice, but to what end? He became part of our family by being the commanding leader that he so naturally was, steadfast and intimidating, stationed at the very back of a football pitch guarding the keep of ten men dressed in black. I write for a living, but I know when my words and my tools fail me; I know when other actions and other expressions ring truer and louder than my words ever could. Ivan Turina was one of us, is one of us, and he became the beloved man he is on the green fields. His homage was sent out into the skies from our new home yesterday. It is only right that you see it as I experienced and took part in it; that you see it as we hope Ivan saw it.

So what more could I possibly say? As insanely hateful as it might sound, and I mean this wholeheartedly, I don’t want you to rest in peace, Ivan, because I want you to keep attempting insane volleys in the 93rd minute in an attempt to score against IFK Göteborg; I want you to look up to the flares and the inferno enveloping Norra Stå with an almost juvenile glee smeared across your face while the referee ushers in the rest of the players back into the tunnel, and you’re just nonchalantly walking out into the smoke to jog and enjoy the chaos we’ve created, that you’ve grown up inside at Maksimir.

I can’t sit there game after game wondering why you’re not out on the pitch warming up before remembering that you can’t, you won’t, ever again. I want you to stop because we all know that the fact that a Swedish journalist, who is both a football lover and a dear acquaintance, pointed out that its underlying sentiment does nothing but hurt all of us now: you were born to play for us, to keep our goal, to command the defense, to be loved by us for longer than we were allowed to be blessed by your immense friendship.

I want you to play until your knees give in and your back hinders you from lunging towards the ball, Ivan. I want you to die an old man. I want you here, because you were one of us long before you even knew we, AIK, existed. I want you here, because you were supposed to walk among us for longer than this.

Footnote: The Ivan Turina Charity Game, promoted by footballing friends (Daniel Majstorovic (AIK), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ognjen Vukojevic (Spartak Moskva), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Dejan Lovren (Olympique Lyonnais), Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moskva), Eduardo Da Silva (Shakhtar Donetsk), Mario Mandzukic (Bayern München), of Ivan Turina, will be played between AIK and Dinamo Zagreb, Ivan’s first professional club, at Friends Arena in Stockholm on May 13th 18:30 GMT+1. All proceeds will go the surviving family of Ivan Turina. Click here more information.

Business Time - AFR Voice, Ep 18. It’s early May, which in...

Wed, 08 May 2013 02:22:57 -0400

Business Time - AFR Voice, Ep 18.

It’s early May, which in footballing terms generally means one thing: it’s business time. And AFR Voice is punching in for this week’s audio shift with plenty to talk about. Whether it be a 33-man match in Norway, horror challenges on reporters in Denmark, or the hottest thing out of the Madrid branch of IKEA since someone burnt the meatballs, we’ve got it covered.

The Premier League title may be all wrapped up and tucked away safely in Manchester, but there’s still plenty to play for. We’ll be taking a look at the cross-London melee for the final Champions League places, whilst at the other end, any team not in the top half of the table will be nervously looking over their shoulders as Wigan make their customary late push for survival (if they’re not too busy winning the FA Cup).

Then we hop down into the lower leagues where there was a crazy final day in the Championship, and Paddy waxes lyrical about the play-offs as the league pyramid continues to shuffle itself for a couple more weeks yet. We’ll then be popping off overseas where Juventus celebrate winning the title (and having a dressing room the size of an aircraft hanger), Dortmund fans tell Mario Goetze what they really think of his big-money move to Bayern, and what happened behind closed doors at Milan’s training ground when Andrea Pirlo was in town. Oh, and we may also give a slight mention to those German teams who seemed to do rather well in the Champions League semi-finals against some half-decent Spanish opposition, and what we can expect from the final later this month. Sehr gut.

Contact us as always on afrvoice@gmail.com, or @AFRvoice on twitter. You can also subscribe to AFR Voice on iTunes and find us on Soundcloud.

Where Is Football? Supporting its local and women’s game...

Tue, 07 May 2013 23:42:00 -0400

Where Is Football? Supporting its local and women’s game in Chicago

Editor’s note: Our friend Nik Hak (aka The Footy Queen) is one of the biggest supporters of the beautiful game (not to mention AFR) around. She’s embraced our #WhereIsFootball project, and has done an incredible job showcasing the game as it lives in her surroundings. Based in Chicago, she’s now helping support a sustainable women’s soccer league (see her message below). The AFR Team is global, so if you’re in the Chicago area, think about supporting this and getting our extended team to set you up with a new, footy-loving group.

I recently took a part-time job in addition to my full-time one to work for a soccer organization in Chicago called Kick It Social. I’d been playing in Kick It Social leagues for the last year, and I’d really been enjoying my time with them. I appreciated the owner’s passion for the game (every time he steps on the field, his eyes light up with happiness), the relationship he built with teams & players in the league, and the level of play that the leagues had to offer (from beginners to competitive).

I was especially thankful for the risks he took in starting up women’s leagues through Kick It Social. Even though Chicago is a massive city - since I started playing adult leagues in the city in 2006, it seems that there has never been a lasting women’s league no matter how many organizations have tried to get one up and running. As a female player, I’m hopeful that a great women’s league can last and continue to grow in years to come - Chicago is certainly not short on female players.

I’ve always been an advocate of adult soccer in Chicago especially women’s adult soccer, so I’m happy to have the opportunity to help the game grow in a different setting now - other than just spreading the word individually, through friends, teammates, etc.

If you’re in Chicago and looking to join a league, hop on a team, or play a little pick-up - please feel free to reach out, as I’d be more than happy to help you find a league, team, or pick-up session that suits you best.

Happy to be helping grow the game.

Footy love, nikhak

[Photos: Top Left: My coed team - Team Decent FC. Other two photos: Saturday afternoon pick-up.]

Remember to share your surroundings in the ever-expanding #WhereIsFootball project. And don’t hesitate to get involved with the AFR team.

Take two takes the Montréal Impact closer to its identity By...

Mon, 06 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Take two takes the Montréal Impact closer to its identity

By Matthieu Labaudinière, a French Bostonian based in Montréal. Quotes collected by Eric Beard.

“This is a cosmopolitan city, a much more European city than most North American cities… we are playing in a way that’s more similar to what people would like to have, looking more like Europe. I think [Impact] Montréal is reflecting a lot about what Montréal is. The team is reflected also because we are [composed of] Americans, Canadians, Europeans. Hopefully we can continue to represent Montréal very well.” - Patrice Bernier, a Québécois midfielder for the Montréal Impact.

The streets here have never felt like North America. The signs are written in French. Here, a car could fit in a bike lane. Just outside downtown, there’s housing. Lots and lots of housing. Probably ten units for everyone one business. Most American cities have a bustling feel of “live to work.” Citizens of Montréal work to live. Montréal is a collaborative art piece. The classic style of apartment is a 3 story house: one door on the ground floor for the lower apartment and an outdoor staircase leading to the 2^nd and 3^rd story apartment doors. This stays constant. However, each unit has a different color palette. As you walk down a block, one may be white doors with green borders, and then the next one blue borders around brown doors. The resulting landscape is colorful and natural. The Québécois feel they are different. And well… they are.

“The culture is different. Our fans didn’t accept that we brought in so many American players. They wanted to see European and South American players. When we talk about the philosophies not being the same, that’s what it was.” – Joey Saputo

When the Impact joined MLS last season, they hired Jesse Marsch, an American coach with previous MLS experience. They adjusted to fit in and be just another MLS team, but fitting in has never been Montréal’s strong suit. After spending a year playing along with a rigid style of play, the fans voiced their discontent. Although the results weren’t terrible by any means, the supporters didn’t know how to identify themselves. This football team did not represent their footballing ideals.

Joey Saputo administered an overhaul this season, starting with the dismissal of Marsch, to bring in a more fluid footballing system. Some were offended by Montréal’s attempt to un-Americanize the American league. It was seen as disrespectful to the very league that gave a spot to Montréal. It was as if MLS had this obsession with preserving the American style of soccer, and the Impact were jeopardizing that. But people don’t enjoy following a monotone league.

Teams have personality, and even though Arsenal doesn’t play the “English game,” we appreciate the beauty. We enjoy the tactical complexity of leagues with diverse clubs. MLS needs to understand the distinction between club and international football. For example, in Europe’s top leagues, national anthems aren’t played at club games because not every club player is of that nationality. Clubs should be associated with people and fans, not nations. When we refer to the English style of play, we speak of the national team, not necessarily all of the teams in the leagues. Here in MLS, Montréal is starting the same phenomenon. Likewise, Chivas USA is adopting a style not far from its Mexican counterpart. Having diverse teams will create a more dynamic, more exciting, more personal league.

When you look at the Impact team roster right now, less than half the players are from North America. The other fifteen hail from Italy, France, Brazil, Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Gambia, and Scotland. When you see how Montréal plays, this stat doesn’t surprise you. There’s flair, fluidity, and vision. The defense has Italian concentration, South American fluidity brings the team forward, and the midfield is completed by hard-working, athletic North Americans. And then there are four former academy stars.

When Karl Ouimette started his first Impact game against the New York Red Bulls in March, AFR was there to observe his performance. Coming in, we talked about the necessity of a strong academy. Acquiring veteran players from Europe and South America is not a sustainable system. If only a few quality players come out of the Academy, that can free up funds for other players, turning the Impact from a consistent mid-table team to a title challenger year after year. In the locker room after that game on March 23rd, AFR spoke with one of the academy players, Wandrille Lefèvre, about the Impact, the academy and youth, and soccer around Montréal. His described hope and new possibilities for the game in Québec.

“[The first team] is a huge transition [for me]. But the fact that Karl [Ouimette] signed last year gave us a lot of hope. Now both Max, Tissot and Crépeau signed, I signed, that’s 4 with Karl, in a couple of months. So that’s a good thing for soccer in Québec… It’s a lot of hope for younger players in Montréal because they see that with the academy, it’s something possible.” - Wandrille Lefèvre

Since Wandrille said these words, a lot has changed. Karl went on to start two more games. Max Tissot got a few minutes too. And last Saturday, I was able to witness Wandrille getting his first 36 minutes against the Chicago Fire (the game ended 2-0, a good start). After the match, Wandrille talked about learning from Nesta, how honored he was to replace Nesta during the game, his assist, and most importantly, his concentration on helping the team. Four days later, the Impact called again on defenders Tissot and Lefèvre in for a full 90 minutes. They responded by keeping a clean sheet as Montréal beat Toronto 6-0 to progress in the Canadian Cup.

“When you can be on a daily basis with guys like Nesta, Di Vaio, and many more, that’s huge. The first time I went into the locker room and I saw that ‘okay, I am in the same locker room as a guy I was watching in the World Cup, the Champions League, a couple of years ago’ that was huge. But then, you have to get used to it. You have to think that he is a guy in your team. Even if he has a different status in the world of soccer, you are still a teammate to that guy. You have to play with him, you have to play for him, he has to play for you.” - Wandrille Lefèvre

That’s the mentality of the Impact, and the mentality of the citizens of Montréal. The city is a collective work, and the Impact get that. They have developed a club that is a collaborative project, just like the city they represent. There don’t seem to be large egos in the dressing room, and the young players get time on the field. The Impact retired the number 12 jersey in honor of the 12^th man, the fans. And when you see the fans, especially the Ultras Montréal, you understand why. It’s not a coincidence that Montréal is undefeated at home this year and topping eastern conference with the least amount of games played.

“They are our number 1 supporter. They are the soul of the club. With them at the stadium, they keep the atmosphere alive and busy and buzzing. It’s great to have that in Montréal, not every team has that.” –Patrice Bernier

The Ultras are a force. The Impact worked with them to create a successful supporter section in Stade Saputo, which has no seats, just benches. When you spend the game there, you realize why. No one sits down. Everyone is up on their feet. The Ultras lead the chants all game long, the leaders barely get to watch the game. There are flares and streamers and drums. Scarves and flags. But most of all, there are Montréalers, fans of the Impact, individuals who are doing their integral part of the whole, their civic duty to the Impact.

“They are a huge support for us. When I was young and I saw them when we were playing at Claude-Robillard, and I look at now, the way it is, how huge they are, the support that they brought this game, all the games before, it’s huge. When you are warming up and you hear them, that’s huge.” – Wandrille Lefèvre

The Montréal Impact is becoming huge. The club is becoming huge because each individual involved feels a part of what looks to be an increasingly sustainable system, one that represents the character of a whole, remarkably multifaceted and multicultural city.

NB: All Bernier/Lefèvre quotes acquired by AFR on 3/23/13

This post was written by Matthieu Labaudinière, a French Bostonian based in Montréal. Comments below please.

There’s nothing like the Superclásico This afternoon in...

Sun, 05 May 2013 11:28:00 -0400

There’s nothing like the Superclásico

This afternoon in Buenos Aires, Boca Juniors play River Plate at the infamous La Bombonera. Argentina stops and drapes itself in blue and yellow or red and white. Buenos Aires beats to the drum of the two powerhouses. Our friends Luke Barclay and Dale con Comba teamed up with KICKTV to create a series of graphics that capture the craziest rivalry in the world, which has also featured some of the best players the world has ever seen.

For more on the Superclásico, check out KICKTV’s preview, the 18 Reasons why Boca-River is the craziest rivalry in the world, and Joel Richards’ eBook on the history of the rivalry. [Posted by Eric]

AFR Voice Special - Graeme Le Saux & Faye White The...

Thu, 02 May 2013 10:38:22 -0400

AFR Voice Special - Graeme Le Saux & Faye White

The Champions League trophy has landed in London and AFR Voice can proudly say it had a hand in the journey after UEFA kindly invited us to see the famous big-eared trophy travel through the capital. The curvaceous silverware was transported via tube, taxi and London bus on it’s way to the home of English football for the glamour final.

You can watch the rather unusual journey here.

Happily, we hopped on the bus to speak to the cup’s security guard for the day, Chelsea, Blackburn and England legend Graeme Le Saux. He told us about his Champions League experiences, what he makes of Jose Mourinho’s mooted return to Chelsea, and his take on the controversially late kick off for the FA Cup final.

In this interview special pod, we also spoke to ex-England women’s captain Faye White who was marshalling the women’s trophy through the sea of star-struck and slightly bemused commuters. We chatted about the health of the women’s game, the pros and cons of wearing a protective mask in the biggest game of your life and whether Arsene Wenger should get the boot.

You’ll hear all of us next Tuesday in our full guise when we give you a comprehensive debrief on the Champions League semi-finals, round-up the final weeks of the European leagues and discover whether Branislav Ivanovic has turned into a zombie with a hint of Uruguayan DNA.

If you want to get in touch, remember to email us on afrvoice@gmail.com, or tweet us @AFRvoice. You can also subscribe to AFR Voice on iTunes and find us on Soundcloud.

The Real Theater of Dreams When talking about soccer, we all...

Wed, 01 May 2013 23:07:00 -0400

The Real Theater of Dreams

When talking about soccer, we all have a tendency to get a bit overwhelmed by transfer budgets, sponsorship contracts and wage allowances. The modern game is one dominated by a never-ending news cycle that’s difficult to avoid; one in which is cynicism has a certain inevitability. But while FIFA officials and fascist fans conspire to drag us down, soccer remains a children’s game; a fact that was made clear in Portland this afternoon.

Teaming up with the Make-A-Wish foundation, the Portland Timbers gave 8-year old Atticus Lane-Dupre, who was diagnosed with Cancer last fall, a moment in the spotlight. Alongside teammates from his local youth soccer side, the Green Machine, Atticus was invited to Jeld-Wen Field for a scrimmage in front of more than 3,000 fans against a group of select players from the Timbers starting eleven.

Backed by flares, signs and a variety of G-rated chants, the Green Machine took down the Timbers 9-8, with four goals coming by way of Atticus himself. Don’t let the television coverage or blogs fool you: the heart of soccer emanated from the Pacific Northwest today.

Check out the photos above (video here) and let me know whether it’s just me, or if AFR headquarters are especially dusty this afternoon. [Posted by Maxi]

Through Ryu’s Lens: Madrid a moment away from...

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:51:57 -0400

Through Ryu’s Lens: Madrid a moment away from history

While there was only one club that looked fit for a Champions League final after 90 minutes in Dortmund, Real Madrid strung together an amazing final 10 minutes in their 180 minute battle with the German giant. The chances were there for the taking. Kaka and Benzema changed the game. Ronaldo faded, but ultimately Los Galacticos left their supporters knowing that every ounce of energy was left on the pitch. Ryu was at the Bernabéu to see Jurgen Klopp’s squad hold on until the dying seconds despite the surge of spirit that came from the Spaniards. [You can interact with Ryu on twitter @Toksuede and check his Flickr. Posted by Eric]