Since it's that time of year, I thought I'd compile a list of some memorable football moments over the past 12 months. This is a totally subjective list, so bear that in mind before leaving angry comments about the exclusion of so-and-so. I don't doubt that I've left out some footballing nuggets, but these are what came to mind in the 10 minutes I spent thinking about the year gone by. I'll try and include relevant Youtube clips where possible, because that's the kind of guy I am. And also, the list has no order. So without further adieu...
Fabregas v Milan
It was the second leg of the first Champions League knockout round. Milan had gotten a slightly fortuitous 0-0 draw at the Emirates, where Adebayor somehow managed to miss a header roughly 7 inches from the goal line. Most people thought Arsenal had blown their chance. The old dogs of Milan were said to be too wily to let this youthful Arsenal side get the result they needed on Italian soil. Cesc Fabregas and co. proved most people very wrong.
It was a team effort of course, with even Philip Senderos playing well for a change. But it was the little Spaniard that ran the show from beginning to end. His tackling was tenacious, his workrate second to none, and everything we've come to expect from Fabregas -- his impeccable decision making, his precise passing, his ability to control the tempo of a game -- was on song. He had been quite laboured in the weeks that led up to this game, and quite laboured afterwards as well, but in these 90 minutes he was the complete midfielder, showing the once imperious Pirlo how it's now done.
Discovering Football Weekly
I can't quite remember when exactly I discovered Football Weekly, but I know it was some time in 2008, so that's good enough for it to make the list. I've championed this podcast on the blog already, but I have no problem doing so again.
To put it plainly, my football experience is not complete until I hear the opinions of "the pod" on Monday afternoon and Thursday evening. For anyone who says that football is their favourite sport, Football Weekly is practically required listening. If you haven't yet discovered the joy of it, then do so as soon as possible. There will be a new podcast up on Monday the 29th. I strongly encourage you to listen to it.
Arsenal v Liverpool
Another Arsenal related moment. This time the Gunners were faced with a tricky tie against Liverpool at Anfield (Liverpool in the Champions League and all that jazz) after coming out of the first leg at the Emirates with an unjust 1-1 draw (it should really have been 2-1, with Bendtner blocking a goal bound effort from Fabregas, and the referee denying Hleb a stone wall penalty after the Belarusian had danced his way into the box with his patented nimble footwork). Arsenal had to score at Anfield, and boy did they do just that and then some.
They completely dominated for 30 minutes, playing some of the best football of the season. The goal came from a neatly worked move, and at that point it almost looked like it was just a question of how many Arsenal would score. But then the Senderos factor kicked in. Having completley lost one of the most dangerous aerial threats of the last 10 years in the form of Sami Hyypia at a corner, Senderos then went on to give about 3 yards of space in the box to one of the most potent finishers in the Premier League, and Torres accepted the gift by guiding the ball into the top corner.
The game seemed to just drift away from Arsenal, until Theo Walcott produced a moment of unbelievable brilliance. Never did I think him capable of such things, but he proved me and a host of other people very wrong. It was just incredible to watch, and a moment worthy of winning any tie. Unfortunately for Walcott and Arsenal, it wasn't sufficient to win this tie. In keeping with their season, Arsenal managed to overshadow their attacking prowess by switching off mentality, and allowing Liverpool to go straight back up the field and win a (soft) penalty. A fourth Liverpool goal followed, and Arsenal's Champions League dream was shattered.
Still though, this was easily the game of the season for me, and one that will live long in the memory. If I did have an order to this list, this game would probably be at the top.
Terry Penalty
England's lion heart. England's war hero. Chelsea's rock, their heartbeat, their captain fantastic. John Terry has received all sorts of praise over the years, but in my opinion he has been vastly overrated. He is a good defender, but he's not even the best at his own club. That honour goes to Ricardo Carvalho, and it seems that it is the Portuguese defender's absence which is alerting people to this fact ironically enough.
Terry's missed penalty has of course nothing to do with his defensive capabilities, but you can forgive me for taking a certain amount of pleasure from seeing him completely fluff the chance to win Chelsea that much coveted Champions League trophy. Why he was the designated fifth penalty taker I do not know. The nasty part of me thinks that he just wanted the chance to be a hero, and selfishly decided to step up to the plate rather than letting someone with actual penalty taking abilities to the job. But then maybe no one else wanted the pressure, so JT took it upon himself when all else cowered at the chance.
Either way, he missed, and at that point you just knew who was going to go on and lift the trophy. The only disappointment was that had he scored the penalty, then Ronaldo would have been to blame for United's loss, and on a schadenfreude measuring device, I don't think anything could top that.
Messi v Ronaldo
When Man United and Barcelona were pitted against each other in the semi final of the Champions League, football fans' collective mouth began to water. The games themselves didn't quite work out as people thought they might. They were supposed to be end-to-end affairs, feasts of attacking football, but instead they were slightly cagey, with Barcelona having most of the ball and United defending superbly.
However, the subplot in this tie was equally intriguing. This was billed as 'Ronaldo vs Messi', the battle to see who really is the best player in the world. Of course all of this was sheer hype, and the best player in the world was never going to be decided during the course of two games. But that didn't stop people from getting worked up, with many probably seeing this as the chance for Ronaldo to show that he is the superior footballing specimen.
Well, he did nothing of the sort. If this was indeed Ronaldo vs Messi, then there was only one clear winner, and it wasn't the player who plucks his eye brows. Messi had been out for a month or so before the two games, but he was a constant thorn in United's side over both legs, producing some vintage 'Messi' moments along the way, some of which you can see here. There was a priceless piece of play in the first leg when Messi faced Ronaldo with the ball, waited for the pristinely groomed playboy to make a tackle, and just jinked by him in the blink of an eye. It served as a microcosm of the duo's battle.
The good news is that finally, after many, many months of hearing about Ronaldo's status as best in the world, people have woken up to the fact that the Camp Nou is the home of the world's best football player. The irony is that this realization was only cemented in popular belief around the time Ronaldo picked up the Ballon D'Or. That must really hurt the winker's ego..No wonder he's lashing out at everyone in sight.
Spain
It's very rare these days that the team who play the best football win a major trophy at international level. Since France's victory at Euro 2000, there hasn't really been a team worthy to be considered the best in the world/Europe. In 2002, Brazil won what was a distinctly average World Cup, 2004 saw a resolute but technically limited Greece side lift the European Cup, and the same can be said about the victorious Italian side of 2006, who were excellent in defense but quite laboured in the final third of the pitch. In each of these tournaments the quality was subpar, and only the Argentine team of '06 sticks out as being truly world class.
Euro 2008 broke the curse of dodgy international football, and it saw Spain break their long lived curse of being supreme under achievers. In truth, I think Spain have been vastly overrated in previous tournaments. Players like Etxeberria, Albelda, Baraja, Luque and Joaquin were getting games in 2004, but they were not really good enough to ever win anything. Compare them with Xavi, Iniesta, Senna, Villa and Fabregas and it is clear that the Spain team of 2008 really was a much better team than those of previous years. This was a team with genuine talent, a team that could have been justifiably branded as having under achieved by getting knocked out in the quarter finals.
However, this was to be their year, and never has a team so richly deserved to lift a trophy. They played the best football in a tournament full of good football, and I don't think there is any football fan who would begrudge them their victory. The defining moment of their tournament has to be the win over Italy in the quarter finals. This would usually have been the point for Spain to exit stage left, and having outplayed the Italian's for 120 minutes it seemed all set up for Italy to snatch victory courtesy of a penalty shootout. However, Fabregas was given the chance to exorcise a host of demons, and the former Barcelona prodigy made no mistake, cooly slotting the ball past one of the best goalkeepers ever to grace the sport.
This monumental win lifted the heavy burden off of Spanish shoulders, and they went on to dispatch Russia by playing their best football of the tournament, and ended proceedings by completely outclassing Germany in the final.
Euro 2008 was not only a victory for Spain though - it serves as a victory for football in general. The Spanish team didn't contain any immense physical specimens like Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo. This was a victory for brain over braun. A victory for intelligence over physicality. Spain showed that playing football the way it should be played, the way that makes it the beautiful game, is the best way to win things. They have set the bar when it comes to international football, and given the relative youth of the side, it could be a while before they are knocked off their perch.
Barcelona v Athletico
There is no doubt as to which is the best club team at this moment in time, despite what the Fifa Club World Cup (or whatever it is called) might tell you. Barcelona have won 13 of 16 league games, scoring 48 goals and conceding only 10. If they were in the Premier League, they'd be third, 4 points behind Liverpool and 1 behind Chelsea, with four games in hand. As it is, they are first in La Liga, a massive 10 points clear of their nearest 'rivals' - hardly surprising given that they are averaging 3 goals a game, and have just beaten four of the best teams in Spain by an aggregate score of 11-1.
I've watched a lot of their games, but the one that stands out is the tie against Athletico Madrid. While Athletico were missing a few players, what Barcelona did to them was just catastrophic. The Catalan giants were 3-0 up after seven -- yes, seven -- minutes, and 5-1 up after twenty eight. It finished 6-1 in the end, but only because Barcelona didn't want to embarrass their opponents.
At the beginning of the season when Barcelona had lost and drawn their opening two fixtures, the ever excellent Sid Lowe (who will be in the pod today on Football Weekly) said that it's only a matter of time before Barcelona start clicking and beat someone 24-0. Well, they haven't quite managed 24, but they have won 6-1 (x2), 6-0, 5-0, 4-0, 4-1, and have generally looked unplayable.
While people are saying that Barcelona pose the biggest threat to another Champions League of Anglo domination, it seems more correct to say that the English teams pose the biggest threat to Barca domination. A slightly shakey defense still leaves a large question mark looming over their Champions League-winning credentials, but if they continue on this form in the new year and get past Lyon in the last 16 of the CL, then they will be the team that nobody (not even Liverpool) wants to draw.
Abu Dhabi Group
The comical tales of Messi and Kaka going to City aside, this takeover could well be the start of something very serious in world football. While Manchester City hover in and out of the relegation zone, the events of August 31 await their fulfillment in the January transfer window, and in the summer ahead. Nobody quite knows what's going to happen. Who will move to the Eastlands? Will players such as David Villa want to go? Or will City just end up buying the Shevchenko's of this world - former great players who are looking for a hefty retirement package?
There is talk of players like Bellamy, Defoe, and Parker moving to City, but if the Abu Dhabi group and Manchester City are serious about getting into the Champions League then they must overlook such third tier players. They need to look outside the Premier League for the players that they need, starting with Diego of Werder Bremen. A striker will most definitely be sought after, but Defoe and Bellamy don't represent good options. City should be looking to play a 4-2-3-1 formation (all the cool kids are using it these days), and I don't think such a formation will suit Defoe, and if Bellamy wasn't good enough for a bad Liverpool team then he shouldn't be good enough for a side looking to eventually break into the top 4. He's a mid-table player, nothing less and nothing more.
By signing Robinho, City have set the standard pretty high. I had my doubts about him -- some of which remain -- but you can't deny that he is a first or second tier player; his wonder goal against Arsenal and his last minute strike against Blackburn prove as much. But he needs good company (no pun attended). Will the Abu Dhabi group be able purchase the required personnel? We await with baited breath.
Ireland's goal v Hull
While Robinho has been quite the success story for City this season, he has actually been eclipsed by a 22 year old Irishman in the form of Steven Ireland. The former Cobh Ramblers youngster has been nothing short of excellent so far this season, and if the award for player of the season was given out now, he might well be the favourite to pick it up.
He has had many great moments in a City shirt so far, a personal favourite of mine being his performace against Hull on Boxing Day when he scored one and assisted three, giving me 38 points in Fantasy Football since I had him as captain.
However, the moment that encapsulates his season so far is his second goal against Hull back in November. He controlled the ball outside the box, and as it landed to the ground he just guided it into the bottom corner on the half-volley. It was a Robinho-esque piece of magic, and yet it was produced by someone who can play for the Irish national team. Speaking of which, if Steven Ireland isn't in the next Irish squad then Trapattoni needs his large head examined. At the moment he's the best Irish player I've seen since Roy Keane, and if we are to acheive anything then Steven Ireland must be reinstated, no matter how many grannies he's killed off.
Fabregas v Milan
It was the second leg of the first Champions League knockout round. Milan had gotten a slightly fortuitous 0-0 draw at the Emirates, where Adebayor somehow managed to miss a header roughly 7 inches from the goal line. Most people thought Arsenal had blown their chance. The old dogs of Milan were said to be too wily to let this youthful Arsenal side get the result they needed on Italian soil. Cesc Fabregas and co. proved most people very wrong.
It was a team effort of course, with even Philip Senderos playing well for a change. But it was the little Spaniard that ran the show from beginning to end. His tackling was tenacious, his workrate second to none, and everything we've come to expect from Fabregas -- his impeccable decision making, his precise passing, his ability to control the tempo of a game -- was on song. He had been quite laboured in the weeks that led up to this game, and quite laboured afterwards as well, but in these 90 minutes he was the complete midfielder, showing the once imperious Pirlo how it's now done.
Discovering Football Weekly
I can't quite remember when exactly I discovered Football Weekly, but I know it was some time in 2008, so that's good enough for it to make the list. I've championed this podcast on the blog already, but I have no problem doing so again.
To put it plainly, my football experience is not complete until I hear the opinions of "the pod" on Monday afternoon and Thursday evening. For anyone who says that football is their favourite sport, Football Weekly is practically required listening. If you haven't yet discovered the joy of it, then do so as soon as possible. There will be a new podcast up on Monday the 29th. I strongly encourage you to listen to it.
Arsenal v Liverpool
Another Arsenal related moment. This time the Gunners were faced with a tricky tie against Liverpool at Anfield (Liverpool in the Champions League and all that jazz) after coming out of the first leg at the Emirates with an unjust 1-1 draw (it should really have been 2-1, with Bendtner blocking a goal bound effort from Fabregas, and the referee denying Hleb a stone wall penalty after the Belarusian had danced his way into the box with his patented nimble footwork). Arsenal had to score at Anfield, and boy did they do just that and then some.
They completely dominated for 30 minutes, playing some of the best football of the season. The goal came from a neatly worked move, and at that point it almost looked like it was just a question of how many Arsenal would score. But then the Senderos factor kicked in. Having completley lost one of the most dangerous aerial threats of the last 10 years in the form of Sami Hyypia at a corner, Senderos then went on to give about 3 yards of space in the box to one of the most potent finishers in the Premier League, and Torres accepted the gift by guiding the ball into the top corner.
The game seemed to just drift away from Arsenal, until Theo Walcott produced a moment of unbelievable brilliance. Never did I think him capable of such things, but he proved me and a host of other people very wrong. It was just incredible to watch, and a moment worthy of winning any tie. Unfortunately for Walcott and Arsenal, it wasn't sufficient to win this tie. In keeping with their season, Arsenal managed to overshadow their attacking prowess by switching off mentality, and allowing Liverpool to go straight back up the field and win a (soft) penalty. A fourth Liverpool goal followed, and Arsenal's Champions League dream was shattered.
Still though, this was easily the game of the season for me, and one that will live long in the memory. If I did have an order to this list, this game would probably be at the top.
Terry Penalty
England's lion heart. England's war hero. Chelsea's rock, their heartbeat, their captain fantastic. John Terry has received all sorts of praise over the years, but in my opinion he has been vastly overrated. He is a good defender, but he's not even the best at his own club. That honour goes to Ricardo Carvalho, and it seems that it is the Portuguese defender's absence which is alerting people to this fact ironically enough.
Terry's missed penalty has of course nothing to do with his defensive capabilities, but you can forgive me for taking a certain amount of pleasure from seeing him completely fluff the chance to win Chelsea that much coveted Champions League trophy. Why he was the designated fifth penalty taker I do not know. The nasty part of me thinks that he just wanted the chance to be a hero, and selfishly decided to step up to the plate rather than letting someone with actual penalty taking abilities to the job. But then maybe no one else wanted the pressure, so JT took it upon himself when all else cowered at the chance.
Either way, he missed, and at that point you just knew who was going to go on and lift the trophy. The only disappointment was that had he scored the penalty, then Ronaldo would have been to blame for United's loss, and on a schadenfreude measuring device, I don't think anything could top that.
Messi v Ronaldo
When Man United and Barcelona were pitted against each other in the semi final of the Champions League, football fans' collective mouth began to water. The games themselves didn't quite work out as people thought they might. They were supposed to be end-to-end affairs, feasts of attacking football, but instead they were slightly cagey, with Barcelona having most of the ball and United defending superbly.
However, the subplot in this tie was equally intriguing. This was billed as 'Ronaldo vs Messi', the battle to see who really is the best player in the world. Of course all of this was sheer hype, and the best player in the world was never going to be decided during the course of two games. But that didn't stop people from getting worked up, with many probably seeing this as the chance for Ronaldo to show that he is the superior footballing specimen.
Well, he did nothing of the sort. If this was indeed Ronaldo vs Messi, then there was only one clear winner, and it wasn't the player who plucks his eye brows. Messi had been out for a month or so before the two games, but he was a constant thorn in United's side over both legs, producing some vintage 'Messi' moments along the way, some of which you can see here. There was a priceless piece of play in the first leg when Messi faced Ronaldo with the ball, waited for the pristinely groomed playboy to make a tackle, and just jinked by him in the blink of an eye. It served as a microcosm of the duo's battle.
The good news is that finally, after many, many months of hearing about Ronaldo's status as best in the world, people have woken up to the fact that the Camp Nou is the home of the world's best football player. The irony is that this realization was only cemented in popular belief around the time Ronaldo picked up the Ballon D'Or. That must really hurt the winker's ego..No wonder he's lashing out at everyone in sight.
Spain
It's very rare these days that the team who play the best football win a major trophy at international level. Since France's victory at Euro 2000, there hasn't really been a team worthy to be considered the best in the world/Europe. In 2002, Brazil won what was a distinctly average World Cup, 2004 saw a resolute but technically limited Greece side lift the European Cup, and the same can be said about the victorious Italian side of 2006, who were excellent in defense but quite laboured in the final third of the pitch. In each of these tournaments the quality was subpar, and only the Argentine team of '06 sticks out as being truly world class.
Euro 2008 broke the curse of dodgy international football, and it saw Spain break their long lived curse of being supreme under achievers. In truth, I think Spain have been vastly overrated in previous tournaments. Players like Etxeberria, Albelda, Baraja, Luque and Joaquin were getting games in 2004, but they were not really good enough to ever win anything. Compare them with Xavi, Iniesta, Senna, Villa and Fabregas and it is clear that the Spain team of 2008 really was a much better team than those of previous years. This was a team with genuine talent, a team that could have been justifiably branded as having under achieved by getting knocked out in the quarter finals.
However, this was to be their year, and never has a team so richly deserved to lift a trophy. They played the best football in a tournament full of good football, and I don't think there is any football fan who would begrudge them their victory. The defining moment of their tournament has to be the win over Italy in the quarter finals. This would usually have been the point for Spain to exit stage left, and having outplayed the Italian's for 120 minutes it seemed all set up for Italy to snatch victory courtesy of a penalty shootout. However, Fabregas was given the chance to exorcise a host of demons, and the former Barcelona prodigy made no mistake, cooly slotting the ball past one of the best goalkeepers ever to grace the sport.
This monumental win lifted the heavy burden off of Spanish shoulders, and they went on to dispatch Russia by playing their best football of the tournament, and ended proceedings by completely outclassing Germany in the final.
Euro 2008 was not only a victory for Spain though - it serves as a victory for football in general. The Spanish team didn't contain any immense physical specimens like Drogba or Cristiano Ronaldo. This was a victory for brain over braun. A victory for intelligence over physicality. Spain showed that playing football the way it should be played, the way that makes it the beautiful game, is the best way to win things. They have set the bar when it comes to international football, and given the relative youth of the side, it could be a while before they are knocked off their perch.
Barcelona v Athletico
There is no doubt as to which is the best club team at this moment in time, despite what the Fifa Club World Cup (or whatever it is called) might tell you. Barcelona have won 13 of 16 league games, scoring 48 goals and conceding only 10. If they were in the Premier League, they'd be third, 4 points behind Liverpool and 1 behind Chelsea, with four games in hand. As it is, they are first in La Liga, a massive 10 points clear of their nearest 'rivals' - hardly surprising given that they are averaging 3 goals a game, and have just beaten four of the best teams in Spain by an aggregate score of 11-1.
I've watched a lot of their games, but the one that stands out is the tie against Athletico Madrid. While Athletico were missing a few players, what Barcelona did to them was just catastrophic. The Catalan giants were 3-0 up after seven -- yes, seven -- minutes, and 5-1 up after twenty eight. It finished 6-1 in the end, but only because Barcelona didn't want to embarrass their opponents.
At the beginning of the season when Barcelona had lost and drawn their opening two fixtures, the ever excellent Sid Lowe (who will be in the pod today on Football Weekly) said that it's only a matter of time before Barcelona start clicking and beat someone 24-0. Well, they haven't quite managed 24, but they have won 6-1 (x2), 6-0, 5-0, 4-0, 4-1, and have generally looked unplayable.
While people are saying that Barcelona pose the biggest threat to another Champions League of Anglo domination, it seems more correct to say that the English teams pose the biggest threat to Barca domination. A slightly shakey defense still leaves a large question mark looming over their Champions League-winning credentials, but if they continue on this form in the new year and get past Lyon in the last 16 of the CL, then they will be the team that nobody (not even Liverpool) wants to draw.
Abu Dhabi Group
The comical tales of Messi and Kaka going to City aside, this takeover could well be the start of something very serious in world football. While Manchester City hover in and out of the relegation zone, the events of August 31 await their fulfillment in the January transfer window, and in the summer ahead. Nobody quite knows what's going to happen. Who will move to the Eastlands? Will players such as David Villa want to go? Or will City just end up buying the Shevchenko's of this world - former great players who are looking for a hefty retirement package?
There is talk of players like Bellamy, Defoe, and Parker moving to City, but if the Abu Dhabi group and Manchester City are serious about getting into the Champions League then they must overlook such third tier players. They need to look outside the Premier League for the players that they need, starting with Diego of Werder Bremen. A striker will most definitely be sought after, but Defoe and Bellamy don't represent good options. City should be looking to play a 4-2-3-1 formation (all the cool kids are using it these days), and I don't think such a formation will suit Defoe, and if Bellamy wasn't good enough for a bad Liverpool team then he shouldn't be good enough for a side looking to eventually break into the top 4. He's a mid-table player, nothing less and nothing more.
By signing Robinho, City have set the standard pretty high. I had my doubts about him -- some of which remain -- but you can't deny that he is a first or second tier player; his wonder goal against Arsenal and his last minute strike against Blackburn prove as much. But he needs good company (no pun attended). Will the Abu Dhabi group be able purchase the required personnel? We await with baited breath.
Ireland's goal v Hull
While Robinho has been quite the success story for City this season, he has actually been eclipsed by a 22 year old Irishman in the form of Steven Ireland. The former Cobh Ramblers youngster has been nothing short of excellent so far this season, and if the award for player of the season was given out now, he might well be the favourite to pick it up.
He has had many great moments in a City shirt so far, a personal favourite of mine being his performace against Hull on Boxing Day when he scored one and assisted three, giving me 38 points in Fantasy Football since I had him as captain.
However, the moment that encapsulates his season so far is his second goal against Hull back in November. He controlled the ball outside the box, and as it landed to the ground he just guided it into the bottom corner on the half-volley. It was a Robinho-esque piece of magic, and yet it was produced by someone who can play for the Irish national team. Speaking of which, if Steven Ireland isn't in the next Irish squad then Trapattoni needs his large head examined. At the moment he's the best Irish player I've seen since Roy Keane, and if we are to acheive anything then Steven Ireland must be reinstated, no matter how many grannies he's killed off.
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