Here's Hoping...

Words cannot express how much I hope the following will come to fruition.

One of a Kind

As some readers may know, I have a penchant for liking players who are slow, lazy, flimsy, mentally weak, but technically sublime. No player incorporates such a list of characteristics better than Juan Roman Riquelme. As another blogger pointed out, you either love him or you hate him - very rare that there is an in between. And in case you haven't guessed already, I fall into the former camp.

I first heard the name Riquelme through the medium of computer games - more specifically, through Championship Manager - the game that eats away the time of those who love football, but are too lazy to do anything about it. He was one name on a long list of 'must-buys' from South America which cropped up in each incarnation, up there with the likes of Saviola, Klimowicz, Aimar, Palermo and Diego.

However, it wasn't until quite a few years later that I got to see him play in the flesh. I had heard about his good form for Villarreal (he had won an award for 'Most Creative Player' in a league that consisted of Zidane and Ronaldinho), so I was excited to see him pitted against the 'golden generation' of English football, which might I add is one of the biggest myths to have surfaced throughout my life time.

Anyway, I watched the game with intrigue, and Riquelme most certainly didn't disappoint. He put on one of the best displays I've ever seen from a player, with grace and finesse just emenating from every touch of the ball he took. Ledley King remarked after the game that he couldn't get near Riquelme, despite the fact that Juan Roman has the pace of, well, something very very slow.

If you didn't see the game, then watch the highlights of Riquelme's performance here (there's a couple of clips before you get to the England game), and just remember that this is only a snippet of what actually happened that day. Yes it was a friendly by name, but it certainly wasn't a friendly by nature, which is hardly surprising given the two teams in question. However, in a hotly contested affair, Riquelme played the game at his own pace, dictating everything from wherever he decided to roam. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, and I fell immediately in love with this "lazy genius".

There were highs and lows in the career of Riquelme after this game - the highest high being taking his team to the Champions League semi-final with series of stunning performances, none moreso than against Inter Milan in the quarter final; the lowest low being that famous 'spaghetti western' style missed penalty against Arsenal.

Then came the World Cup. Many argue that he was disappointing, but I would say that many are wrong. He set up both goals against the Ivory Coast, he ran the show against Serbia in what was the team performance of the tournament, admittedly he was below par against Mexico yet he still created two very good chances, and against Germany he assisted the goal, with his substitution being cited as a major factor for Argentina's demise. That's not a disappointing World Cup, is it? Not in my books anyway.

Fast forward to today. Having resorted to playing club football in his home country, I very rarely get to see him play anymore, but I did get to see him tog out for Argentina last weekend, and on a bobbly pitch he put in a first half performance that made me fall in love with him all over again. He set up Messi's goal wonderfully, and barely once did he give the ball away.

With Riquelme, it's the little things that matter. You can look at his videos on Youtube, but they never tell the full story. There are little flicks and shimmys and passes that escape the highlights reel, but are as sublime as they are subtle. Tim Vickery is certainly right - he is one of a dying breed. There are few playing the game today who have the mental capacity, awareness, and execution skills of Juan Roman, which is a great shame.

There is hope on the horizon however. Extinction may be prevented. For amidst the wave of immense physical specimens such as Drogba and Ronaldo, emerged a team of midgets in the form of the Spanish national side. They proved and continue to prove that cunning and guile go a long way in the world of football. They proved that the game is indeed beautiful, and lets hope that many follow in their footsteps.

A Dull Game in the Sun

I was going to get up at 5am to watch the Olympic Football Final. I didn't, and I'm very glad of that. Instead, I decided to record it. That way I could skip over the uninteresting bits. You know - the goal kicks, the throw-ins, the injuries, the times Mascherano is on the ball. Unfortunately in this case, the uninteresting bits took up most of the 90 minutes. Not because Mascherano continuously had possession, but because it was just not a good game, for a variety of reasons.

For one, it kicked off at 12 in the afternoon under a blistering sun. Just about the worst time to play a football match. Also, the pitch was bobbley, and really, really slow. To give you an idea of just how slow, if the pitch were a football player, it would be Darren Fletcher (and in the words of J.D., oh he's slow). And when a pitch is bumpy and slow, it's just not possible for players like Riquelme and Messi to strut their stuff. Especially Riquelme. He's motionally challenged already so having a slow pitch to boot just makes him hugely ineffective. His little passes were just getting held up on the turf, and without those he hasn't got much else to offer.

Messi made some obligatory nice runs, but again he lost the ball more often than not. He was of course a threat and an occasional joy to watch, but his performance certainly wasn't up to the standard of that against Man Utd last season (that move on 3:05 is just magic. Scholes didn't even have time to put one of this trademark 'tackles' in).

One player I was quite impressed with was Angel Di Maria (pictured above), who clocks in at Benfica when he's not donning an Argentine shirt. He scored a beautiful chipped goal to settle the tie and light up an otherwise dim affair, and looked reasonably impressive throughout this match, and even the tournament (Yes, I watched other games in this tournament. Woe is me).

Nigeria were stereotypically African, as you might expect from, well, an African team. They were quick, strong, mobile, good in build-up play, and then absolutley horrible within a 30 yard radius of the goal. One time a player of theirs shot from almost the endline, and as you'd expect from that position, the ball just sailed high and wide into the stands. How long will African teams continue to show such naievity in front of goal? Because if they ever become clinical, then Pele's prediction of an African team winning the World Cup by the year 2000 will no doubt come true. Wait - what year are we in now?

Overall, it was a bad final, which is just typical of finals in football tournaments. Except in other tournaments like the World Cup and the Champions League, the outcome actually matters, making the game bearable (although only just in the case of Liverpool-Milan in '07). I mean does anyone outside of Argentina really care that they won an Olympic gold medal? Were the 88,000 people in the stadium there to see the football, or were they there to see large women throw heavy things across some grass a little later on? Given the quality of the final, I think I'd actually have preferred to watch the latter.

Not to worry though. There's plenty more football on show today, with a toss up between Boro v Liverpool and Spurs v Sunderland in the afternoon, followed by Arsenal v Fulham in the evening. But to kick all of that off, there's Football Focus - the show where grown men sit on couches in the most suggestive of manners. I swear one of these days they'll cut to Lee Dixon and Mark Lawrenson on the couch, and the two of them will just be lying on top of each other making out. A disgusting image I know, but don't say I didn't warn you.