Author: therightliberal

Overlooked

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When I am asked who I think the footballer is, I always respond that the questioner must specify the position. For someone who has never played football it might be hard to understand, but the positions out on the soccer field are very different.

By far the most secluded player on any team is the goalkeeper. They have special rules for them , they wear a different jersey and they see a different game. When I say they see a different game I mean that they are able to see everything that goes on during a soccer game, watching from the back.

They have an incredibly hard job; telling people where to be and trying to organize a defence. They also face wickedly hard shots, diving to punch the ball away, slamming into the ground, sacrificing themselves.

As the saying goes, being a goalkeeper means long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

My mind is on this subject because today Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar announced he will be retiring at the end of this season. This is not a huge surprise given that he is 40, yet reading the headline I am filled with sadness.

Van der Sar came to United late in his career, after playing at Fulham and Juventus for many years as well as for the Netherlands. He gave United a real force at the back, giving the whole team confidence that even if there was a shot on goal, if it was a shot that could be saved, Van der Sar would save it.

He has been a leader and an inspiration to a position that is to often overlooked. It is the most stressful position on a football pitch and he controlled it gracefully. He has shown talent far above players half his age.

Despite family issues he gave everything he had for United, his most famous save coming against Nicholas Anelka in the Champions League final in 2008.

He will be remembered by United fans and I wish his the best of luck in whatever he does next.

Transfer Time

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As it is January the EPL transfer season is open. Most deals are either completed right at the begining or in teh final hours. This years has not seen many big name transfers in or out of the EPL, mostly inpart due to the economy.

Patrice Evra

Sir Alex Ferguson decided against any big transfers. The players supported him in this choice with Rio Ferdinand saying, “I look around the changing room and I’m happy with the players we’ve got”. This lack of trading comes as no surprise as Man U are top of the league and have a fairly deep roster.

A story that has not received very much attention up to this point is the intrest in 17-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He currently plays for Southhampton but is interested in training with Arsenal. This is very similar to the path that Theo Walcott took, going from Southhampton to Arsenal at a young age.

From the scouting reports, Chamberlin has quite a bit of talent and potential. Arsenal is a very good team for developing youth and Chamberlin would be well suited to go there. Arsenal has a tendency to do a great job developing young players and then selling them. They look to break that cycle, keeping players like Samir Nasri.

Back to Normal

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This week saw a return to the “normal” Premier League scores, at least so far. Man City went “top” after beating a feisty Wolves teams 4-3. I put top in parenthesis because Manchester United has three games in hand and are only one point back.

Carlos Tevez

Arsenal grabbed a 3-0 win over bottom of the table West Ham. This came as no surprise as a competent Arsenal team passed West Ham off the field, showing their superiority. In my opinion Arsenal are the prettiest team to watch in the EPL right now, they pass and move, creating beautiful chances, many of which they finish.

Robin Van Persie

Chelsea managed to get a 2-0 win over Blackburn despite their mediocre play. Drogba does not look like he has the power and ability that he did before getting malaria and I hope to see him get that back. Blackburn showed why English soccer has gotten a reputation as playing ugly soccer, lumping the ball up the field for their strikers to run on to. Although this technique can prove to be effective at times, they would have had a better chance at beating Chelsea if they utilized their midfield more.

Branislav Ivanovic

I am very excited for tomorrow as Liverpool takes on Everton and Manchester United battle Tottenham. The Liverpool game will be Reds Hero Kenney Dalglish’s first return back to Anfield, trying to stop Liverpool from losing any more precious points. United looks to remain undefeated and regain their top spot in the standings. Tottenham must do something they have not been able to do in a decade, beat Sir Alex Ferguson.

To follow tomorrow’s United vs. Tottenham game go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast?id=293065&cc=5901

An Ode to Ryan Giggs

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Ryan Giggs is a legend. Not only is he 37, but he is still able to play at the highest level in the EPL.

Today he signed a contract extension that will last through next season. Next year will be his 22nd season at Manchester United. Those 22 seasons have been full of awards on a personal and team level. At age 35, Giggs still managed to capture Player of the Year for the EPL.

He has been a leader for United, playing hard, physical and intelligent football. Giggs has taught players like David Beckham, the Neville brothers, Michael Carrick and many others.

I feel that Ryan Giggs is one of the most transformational players football has seen. He plays a style of soccer that involves much running, hard tackles while still playing an attacking game.

He is a Welsh hero and will be known as one of the greatest United players ever. I will not pretend that he is on the downhill slope, but he is still able to play football better than many players half his age.

Hopefully Giggs will follow Roy Keane and go into coaching, expanding his career in football that is already legendary. Ryan Giggs has inspired my football career and I am sure I am not alone. Thank you Giggsy for what you have done and what you continue to do.

Eredivisie

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Dutch football does not receive enough credit. After the trade rumors about Ryan Babel and Luis Suarez I decided that this blog needed to discuss the Dutch Eredivisie (the professional football league in the Netherlands).

The Eredivisie has never been competitive with leagues like the EPL or La Liga in the actual competition between teams. However, Eredivisie is by far the best league for the development of football players.

The Dutch style of training and development is true genius. Youth players do not play 11v11 until they are at least 15 years old. This means that youth get many more touches than if they were playing larger sided games like they do in most countries. The youth learn how to control a game, passing and moving and then are able to better translate that to a game with more players.

Dutch development also focuses on the football psychology of players more than any other country. They work to develop a strong understanding of all the variables in football, an understanding of the cause and effect relationships on the field. This allows for the players to be best suited for intelligent play and use their skills most effectively.

There is a reason that talented Brazilians, Portuguese, Spaniards and players from all around the world go to the Netherlands to develop their football skills. It is the Mecca of football development. Dutch football should get more credit for the great teaching they bring to football.

Why I Love United

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Over the holidays Manchester United showed exactly why I love them. If one was to watch a Man U game without any knowledge of their current league position, they would easily think they were a mid-table team. But Manchester United, full of potential talent, always does just enough to get by.

Nani celeb Manchester United v Stoke

Now many people might wonder why I would appreciate this in a soccer team, for it sounds quite outlandish. Here is why: Manchester United keeps soccer interesting. They are that team in the Premier League that at any point can do something amazing. But at the same time they are right on the brink of total failure. There are games where their midfield has no control, their defence is full of holes and their strikers don’t even look interested in scoring. And then out of nowhere that all changes, they become a team that cannot be stopped.

To many fans this would come off as being inconsistent and lacking true talent. I will not deny that their play is inconsistent but the fact that fans never know what to expect is what makes it fun.

I love to watch Barcelona play because they almost always are making spectacular passes and moving the ball around in unfathomable ways. But the reason I love Man U is that I never know what to expect when I turn on my TV, every game is a new experience, there is no “been there, done that” type of soccer.

Michael Carrick gets treatment as Steven Gerrard prepares to see red

As inconsistent as the play may have been, Man U sits atop the Premier League. At this point it is theirs to lose. but whats great about that is they very well may lose it
(I cringe to imagine it) , and that is what keeps us watching.

To read about all of the latest Manchester United news go to: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/team/_/id/360/manchester-united?cc=5901

College Cup

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I rarely talk about American football (soccer) but tomorrow is a big day and not may people know about it. In the States, college sports are a big deal. But college soccer (just so there is no misunderstanding) does not get the press it deserves. There is a lot of talent in the collegiate level in soccer.

The NCAA has had a very good competition going for the last 20 years. My father played  college soccer at UCSB and we often go to games together. The atmosphere is great, with fans throwing tortillas on the field to support their Gauchos. The level of play is very high, in both the men’s and women’s levels.

This Sunday the NCAA National Soccer Championship takes place at UCSB. I am fortunate enough to have a ticket and I look forward to seeing a great game between Akron and Louisville.

I hope that many people get a chance to watch the game which will be shown on ESPN. There will be much talent on the field. It will be a hard-fought game by two great teams. Hopefully college soccer will start to get more fans because it is a truly great competition.

Keys to a Soccer Team

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Although there are some great Champions League games on today, I want to talk about something else. Football (or soccer to some of you) is a great sport. It is fun and enjoyable for me and may others to play. It teaches teamwork, perseverance and many other skills. But to have a good soccer team there are somethings that a team needs.

1. Coach-Although there are good teams with bad coaches, a coach/manager can make a team great. They control who plays and who doesn’t. they control how the team is run and how the team trains. In most teams they are the head and they control everything under them. A bad coach can ruin a team. They can ruin moral, ruin chemistry and not play the right people at the right time. they may not even run practices correctly which can also damage a team. The first step to building a great team is having a great coach.

2. Players-Although having players with motivation and character is important, what a team really needs is players with talent. You cannot compete with a team that has 10 times the amount of talent you have, trust me I have tried. A team with no talent is not a team, it is a group of people looking to have fun. To be competitive you must have players who are invested in winning, can take advice and build with it, and strive to win. Without that a soccer team will fail.

3. Support-This can come from many places but every team needs it. At a school it would come from students and faculty with help from the athletic department. At a professional team it would come from having a large fan base with support from the people with the check book. In today’s world of soccer, you have to invest a lot of time and money if you want to be succesful. If you are not interested in that, get of the field.

Qatar and Russia Beat out US and England to Host WC

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Today, 22 FIFA members voted to put the World Cup in Russia and Qatar in 2018 and 2022. This comes as a bit of a surprise when there were countries like the US and Australia bidding against Qatar. Russia receiving the 2018 bid was not a huge shock after allegations surfaced that England FIFA members had possibly participated in unethical business practices (To put it nicely).

Sepp Blatter hands over the world Cup to Russian minister of Sports Vitaly Mutko

So some stats on Qatar. First for all of you who have never even heard of it, it is in the Middle East, a peninsula sticking off of Saudi Arabia. The population is just over 1.5 million with 4, 416 square miles of land, making it the smallest country in land and population to ever host a World Cup. Qatar has the second highest GDP per capita in the world, with wealth coming from its large amount of oil and gas reserves. The country is an absolute monarchy, being ruled by the al-Thani family since the mid-19th century.

Qatar

Obviously Qatar has the resources to build stadiums and other necessary infrastructure for the World Cup but there are some potential problems. First Qatar is a strict Muslim country, and soccer hooligans have a tendency to make religious people upset.

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Blazing Berba

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The Red Devils are at it again, proving that they are the best team in the world. Ok so that is an overstatement but a 7-1 victory is impressive.

Dimitar Berbatov

This Saturday, Manchester United faced an admittedly less than decent Blackburn Rovers side. United proceeded to score 7 goals, allowing only a late consolation goal by Blackburn.

Even more impressive was Dimitar Berbatov’s 5 goal scoring binge. he joins only 3 other players who have managed to score 5 in a game. I admit that up until this season, I had not been at all impressed by the Bulgarian. But his effort and his performances so far during this campaign make me proud to have him.

Dimitar Berbatov

This might seem like a statement based on one performance but it is far from the contrary. I have seen a large increase in effort and he has developed more awareness to the players around him. I feel that it is another example of the potential Sir Alex is able to release in so many players. he makes good players great.