The Beautiful Game

‘If you understand football, you do substitutions during a match. If you don’t, you talk about it after that.’ The Substitute. It is a position no footballer ever wants to be in. Benched, dropped or left out – these are phrases no footballer ever wants to be associated with his name. The feeling of being Good but not ‘Good Enough’ starts to sink in. Take the case of Vikas Dhorasoo as an example, considered by his peers as a ‘French Football Intellectual’. Dhorasoo was part of France’s squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany and played every game in the qualifying rounds but when the tournament started he was used marginally. Trying hard to be happy as a part of that special squad, he couldn’t get used to life on the bench. "I'm getting fed up here in Germany. I wonder what I came here for, except for a film, because my World Cup went wrong," he said highlighting his growing pessimism. "Three days ago against Spain, I felt like crying. I'm not a supporter, I...

For the world’s youth who live in refugee encampments, each new day is yet another trial of confronting a life marginalized by violence, crime, and conflict. Since their families and communities have very limited resources, these youth typically lack access to the educational programs and social experiences they need to thrive as individuals and as members of an organized society. Among the many obstacles they face in acclimating to their new communities are language barriers, protocol differences, and knowledge gaps in the skills needed to obtain stable employment. To help some of these youth, there are many soccer foundations who organize football programs , programs which use the global language of football to help youth living as refugees learn how to discuss and resolve the challenges each participant individually confront each day. It teaches them alternative approaches for establishing and nurturing cross-cultural dialogues. It also helps them understand human rights in gener...

"Three at the back" formation is often construed as an attacking minded formation which reduces one player from the traditional 4 man defence. Well, its not quite as simple as that. The 3 man defence is way more complex and serves way more purpose than allowing a team to flock bodies up front. We have seen the Italian national team and its Serie A clubs such as Juventus and Napoli employ this 3 man defence stratergy. For both Italy and Juventus, We have Giorgio Chiellini at Left Centre Back, Leonardo Bonnucci as the Sweeper, right on top of the keeper (Gianluigi Buffon) and Andrea Barzagli as the Right Centre Back. Andrea Barzagli(left), Leonardo Bonucci(centre) and Giorgio Chielini(right) Lets analyse the merits of the 3 man defence formation: 1. Full Backs freedom to attack: This formation used by Juventus, Allows players such as Stephan Lichtsteiner and Mauricio Isla (down the right) and Kwadwo Asamoah (down th left) freedom to concentrate not only on their ...

            “I'd also like to remind you that when we had bad times here, the club stood by me, all my staff stood by me, the players stood by me. Your job now is to stand by our new manager. That is important..”             After 27 incredible years of chewing gum in the United dugout, Sir Alex Ferguson left behind these words for the Old Trafford faithful to cling onto, as their last reminiscence of a glorious era gone by. An era marked by success of a nature and consistency unheard of, a landscape dotted with the rise of club legend after legend, two and a half decades of knocking Liverpool and pretty much every other English club off their perch, to quite firmly entrench it as their own, a time brimming over with an unparalleled desire to win, and most of all, a never-ending series of ups and downs, the oft dour English game transformed into one rife with nervou...

Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan, are the most successful club in world football in terms of international trophies along with Boca Juniors, with 18 officially recognized UEFA and FIFA titles. They’ve won the UEFA European Cup/Champions League title 7 times and the Serie A 18 times, making them one of the most successful clubs in Europe. Looking at this long list of accomplishments, one would be led to assume that Milan should be dominating at the domestic and European level, but that hasn’t been the case in recent years. The Milan side of the 2006-07 season was absolutely breathtaking. One remembers quite clearly how Kaka ripped Manchester United apart in both legs of the UEFA Champions League Semifinal that season. Alongside the Brazilian no. 22, who was at his peak back then, the side also included the likes of Andrea Pirlo, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, Clarence Seedorf, Gennaro Gattuso and Filippo Inzaghi, all of whom were ins...

GROUP A Manchester United Vs. Bayer Leverkusen Half Time Score : 1-0 ( 22' Rooney ) Full Time Score : 4-2( 54' Rolfes, 59' Van Persie, 70' Rooney, 79' Valencia ) Review : It was an evenly matched first half even though Manchester United took the lead through Wayne Rooney in the 22' from Evra's cross. Bayer began playing a high pressure game the 2nd half and equalised through Simon Rolfes (54'). 5 minutes later Van Persie restored the lead and at this point the game pretty much got away from Leverkusen as United put the game to bed with two more goals through Rooney and Valencia. The game ended 4 - 2. 3 points to United. Highlights: http://www.tvgolo.com/match-showfull-1379448503---50 Real Sociedad Vs. Shakhtar Donetsk Half Time Score : 0-0 Full Time Score : 0-2( 65',87' Alex Teixeira )   Review : The home side started pretty well with every opportunity and attempt at goal falling to their feet. It took Shakhtar right ...

Some religions dictate their followers to worship on certain specific days of the week, like Christianity, which accords special status to Sundays, while some, spoilt for choice, mark every single day of the week as holy, such as Hinduism. However the world’s most fanatically observed religion, far from requiring days of worship, merely arrests all attention for ninety minutes, and within that, arouses divine fervour among people from every possible walk of life. Football is the world’s most popular sport by a considerable distance, that may well be in light years. The magic of this game that captivates rapturous fans all over the world ceaselessly, lies in the deceptive simplicity of the game, that hides beneath it layers of excitement. It seems hard to believe that something which draws such a massive global audience is merely twenty two individuals kicking a ball around on grass. This immense global following has made football endorsement haven, as well as increasing the stakes,...

Watching "The group of death" in the Champions League every season is something every footy fan looks forward to, whilst hoping thier beloved clubs do not end up as participants in this concoction of excitement. The 4 teams finding themselves caught in the clutches of this group are the English side Arsenal , the Germans Borussia Dortmund , S.S.C. Napoli from Italy and finally from France, Olympique de Marseille . The reason this is called the group of death is because any two of the teams could progress to the further stages. There are no outright favourites. Some might see this as some sort of deja vu. Yes. This was the exact same group back in the 2010-11 Champions League season with Napoli replacing the Greek side Olympiacos. Lets take a look at how the teams stand as we're about to enter first week of Champions League Group stage ties. ARSENAL League Position : 1st Latest Result : Sunderland 1 - 3 Arsenal Top Scorer : Olivier Giroud (4 Goals) Man In Form...

A joke that goes around in the footballing world is that Barcelona players are so scared to allow the opponent to come up against their shaky defence that they keep major share of possession & keep passing the ball around. Though this theory may be laughed off as a joke,it isn’t rocket science to tell that the Blaugranas are in desperate need of a quality centre-back. Though dominant in the league last season with record 100 points, Barcelona’s season was marked by their 7-0 aggregate defeat to Bayern in the Champions league semifinal. As dust settled on the match that many say will mark the End of the Barcelona era, there was an instant call by fans to sign a new CB to strengthen the back line and address the issues of aerial challenges & lack of pace at back. In the summer transfer window, Barca were linked to hordes of defenders with the likes of David Luiz,Daniel Agger,Thiago Silva & Marquinhos being the prominent ones.The hefty price tags combined with the inabili...

When Gareth Bale was unveiled with great pomp and gaiety at the Santiago Bernabeu by Florentino Perez earlier this month, twenty five thousand were present to witness the momentous arrival of the world's most expensive player. That of course is not considering the contributing effects of inflation, both monetary and Galactico -related. However, when one comes to the realization that the capacity of the Bernabeu is a quite astonishing 85,454 precisely, it provides food for thought.   Barely one thirds of the historic stadium was filled to welcome someone who came with the humongous price tag of 86 million pounds sterling, or roughly 100 million euros.   And what exactly were the Real Madrid faithful who happened to be present doing? They were proclaiming their disapproval at the impending transfer of Madrid playmaker Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, ostensibly for a record fee of 42.4 million pounds sterling for the London club.   Probably the first thing that comes to min...