The Weekly Take, Issue 8: A Fallen Giant’s Last Chance

During the recent round of international friendlies, one of the most highly-anticipated matches was the clash between Germany and Spain at Esprit Arena, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Thomas Müller and Rodrigo found the back of the net for Die Mannschaft and La Furia Roja respectively.

This was an encouraging result for Spain, because unlike Germany, they are not considered to be among the favourites to win the 2018 World Cup. What is notable, however, is the average age of the Spain starting eleven against Germany: over 28 years old. Four of their starters – aging legends Sergio Ramos, Gerard Piqué, Andrés Iniesta, and David Silva – are over the age of 30.

Hence, for many members of the Spain team, this will be their last chance to win a major international honour.

At the moment, Spain are a long way off from the legendary team that won two European Championships and a World Cup between 2008 and 2012. In their last two international tournaments, they were knocked in the first round of the 2014 World Cup and in the last 16 of the 2016 European Championships. It must be noted that in 2016, the European Championships expanded to 24 teams, so in any other year, Spain would have registered consecutive first-round exits after winning three straight tournaments.

But there appears to be a glimmer of hope, both for now and the future.

Players such as Lucas Vázquez, Dani Parejo, and Iago Aspas have emerged as solid contributors, despite only blossoming into international-level players at relatively later stages of their respective careers. They will serve as capable backups to Spain’s core of the likes of the four legends mentioned earlier, as well as players such as Diego Costa, Jordi Alba, and David de Gea.

These players’ recent improvements will deepen the Spain team, and this is important because bench depth is vital for any team contending for the World Cup.

However, even if, as is expected, Spain do not win the World Cup, they nevertheless have an exciting young core to build around for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Spain finished as runners-up in the 2017 European Under-21 Championship, and some of the players in that squad, such as Saúl Ñiguez, Héctor Bellerín, Iñaki Williams, Álvaro Odriozola, and Marco Asensio, look as if they may go on to have excellent careers, both for club and country.

However, there is one key question that has not been answered yet: will any of these promising youngsters go beyond being a solid, contributing player and reach superstar, or even all-time great status?

Unfortunately for Spain, even though these players appear to have productive careers ahead of them, it does not currently appear that any of them have a ceiling that high.

Historically speaking, a team needs at least one, and usually more, all-time superstars to win the World Cup. If none of Spain’s future core goes on to become a bona fide superstar, it will be next to impossible for them to win the 2022 World Cup.

As for the current core, as many know, it is full of some of the greatest players of the last decade, such as Iniesta, Ramos, Cesc Fàbregas, and Sergio Busquets, just to name a few.

However, all these players who played vital roles in Spain’s three tournament victories are now approaching the end of their fantastic careers. Hence, the coming World Cup will be their chance to elevate themselves to football immortality, in what will be the last international tournament for most, if not all of them.

The team will certainly want to send off these greats who have given so much to the national team in the best possible way – with a World Cup victory in July.

Having said all of this, how do I rate Spain’s chances in Russia this summer?

While I do think it is unlikely that they will go on to lift the World Cup, I cannot completely write them off. This Spain team has achieved too much to be completely ignored.

Though they may not have the depth of Germany, the young talent of France, or the cohesion of Brazil, because of the history their players have, Spain can never be overlooked in major tournaments.

The Weekly Take, Issue 7: Bulls on Parade

RB Leipzig have put the brakes on Bayern Munich’s march to yet another Bundesliga title by beating them 2-1. Rising stars Naby Keïta and Timo Werner were on the scoresheet for the Saxony-based club, who have taken a major step in the log-jammed race for second place in the Bundesliga, which currently sees five clubs, including Leipzig, separated by just six points.

However, despite Bayern’s dominance over many years, this result will not be received warmly by many a Bundesliga fan. RB Leipzig have arguably received more vitriol and hate from opposing fans than any other team in the Bundesliga.

It’s a shame that this is the case, because it has been a remarkable few years for Leipzig.

In 2016-17, the season after they were promoted from the 2. Liga, they stunned the football world by finishing second to Bayern in the Bundesliga. They have proceeded to prove that this result was no fluke by again competing for a Champions League spot this season.

However, many fans, especially those of other Bundesliga teams, hate Leipzig and all they stand for because they feel that the presence of a team with such obvious corporate ties is “corrupting” the Bundesliga, and football in general.

While I would say that measures do need to be taken by the authorities to curb the fact that clubs with more money currently have a disproportionate advantage, I also believe the disdain for Leipzig is both unwarranted and hypocritical.

Look at a club like Bayern. Their stadium is named after Allianz, and Allianz is also their jersey sponsor. Bayern Munich also only sell their shares to certain people selected by club authorities in order to benefit their brand, and thus maximise their profits. Are they also not a representation of the commercialisation and corporatisation of football?

In the Bundesliga, there are teams whose stadiums are named after the likes of Opel, Commerzbank, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, while some of the league’s teams’ jersey sponsors include SAP, Gazprom, and Emirates.

The only difference is that Leipzig are being far more open about their commercial side than any other club. Besides that, there is absolutely no difference between what Leipzig are doing and what other clubs are doing.

Hence, it is utterly hypocritical for the fans of other Bundesliga clubs to criticise Leipzig when their own club is likely doing much of the same.

It’s also not as if Leipzig have followed in the footsteps of the likes of PSG or Manchester City and bought star after star with the new-found money they have.

Their best players are Liverpool-bound Keïta, Werner, Kevin Kampl, and Emil Forsberg – not exactly a list of names which will strike fear into the hearts of opposing teams.

Yet, it is this unlikely group which has surprised many by leading Leipzig to the heights they have reached.

Although they may be owned by a large commercial enterprise, on the pitch, Leipzig bear none of the hallmarks of such a team. Indeed, they are more like the “model team” many fans dream about – a carefully-built, egoless, well-balanced squad that have achieved much success over a short period of time.

Furthermore, unlike PSG and Manchester City, Leipzig will never attract superstars anyway.

Leipzig is a small-market team. The city of Leipzig is an unglamorous, rather average city of under 600,000. Contrast this with the vibrant metropolis that is Paris, or, in spite of its small population, the happening, somewhat hipsterish atmosphere in Manchester.

Almost no footballers in the prime of their careers would want to come to Leipzig, even if Leipzig were able to offer a large salary. This is because they would not want to live in Leipzig.

Football fans, and, indeed, sports fans as a whole the world over were collectively in sheer awe and admiration when Leicester City won the Premier League title in 2016.

Yet, despite their gaudy, commercialised exterior, RB Leipzig have also achieved a great deal in much the same way, but have attracted almost-universal criticism and condemnation, especially from fans of other Bundesliga teams.

It’s time to drop the hate and embrace Leipzig. They may not seem like it on the surface, but when it comes right down to it, they are many of the things that their haters actually want to see in a football club.

The Weekly Take, Issue 6: The Great Wall of Turin

Juventus have advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals after beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-3 on aggregate. The Bianconeri won the second leg at Wembley by a score of 2-1.

Naturally, as the scorer of the winning goal, Paulo Dybala will receive the majority of the attention and command the most headlines.

However, he was not the Juventus player most responsible for their victory.

Juve defender Giorgio Chiellini had an absolute masterpiece of a game to lead the Italian club to victory.

In an utterly dominant defensive performance, he had four successful tackles, three blocks, and 13 clearances, and also won all four of his aerial duels.

His man-marking and positional play was on point all night long, and his outstanding defensive play almost completely shut down the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, and Dele Alli.

On top of that, even though last week I railed against intentional fouling, in the context of the current rules, even his yellow card was a positive play, as Alli was about to launch a dangerous counter-attack before he was ruthlessly chopped down by Chiellini.

In his 13 years at Juventus, it is unlikely that Chiellini has produced a better individual performance.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that his performance against Tottenham was one of the best individual displays in a football match that I have ever seen, whether offensive or defensive.

This is why it’s such a shame that, because of his defensive role, his immense contributions will largely be overshadowed.

Defenders will often receive much criticism if their team concedes many goals, and rightly so.

However, if the team wins, the defenders almost never get the praise they deserve – that often goes to the “glamour” positions: attacking midfielders, wingers, and, of course, centre-forwards.

Unfortunately for clubs like Juventus, who pride themselves on being a defensive powerhouse, this works against them in the eyes of the public, as their defense-first approach does not predispose them to public acclaim, regardless of the tremendous skill displayed in their defensive play.

Many people will criticise defensive-minded teams for playing “ugly football”, but this is an unfair categorisation.

Why shouldn’t a defensive approach be held in the same regard as an offensive one?

Great defense can be equally as exciting to watch as great offense.

Think of a last-ditch goal-line clearance, a fingertip save from a difficult position, or a ferocious, clattering tackle.

Are those not entertaining to watch?

Furthermore, some of the greatest football teams of all time favoured a defensive approach.

Think of teams like Italy’s 1982 World Cup-winning team, the AC Milan team that won three Champions Leagues between 1989 and 1994, and, of course, the godfather of defensive-minded teams: Helenio Herrera’s legendary Grande Inter team of the 1960s, which won two European crowns by pioneering the iconic playstyle that came to be known as “catenaccio”.

But more important than that, defense is half the game. It’s not as if it takes more skill to excel in attacking play than defensive play.

No team in their right mind would say that attack is more important than defense.

Yet, that’s how the vast majority of fans act.

The more fans heap credit upon goalscorers while at the same time ignoring defenders, the more this situation will be perpetuated.

FIFA is guilty of this too.

Not since Fabio Cannavaro in 2006 has a defender been named the world’s best player.

However, dominant defensive performances like Chiellini’s against Tottenham deserve to be lauded just as much as an outstanding offensive performance.

Chiellini set the tone for a dogged, determined Juventus team as they ground down a talented but tactically-lacking Tottenham.

His play clearly got into the heads of the Tottenham players, with players such as Harry Kane missing chances they normally would have had no problems converting.

Ultimately, that’s what great defenders do. It’s not about directly preventing opposing strikers from scoring, as much as it is about sowing the seeds of doubt in their minds every time they touch the ball.

That is exactly what Giorgio Chiellini did.

It’s time to rethink what is considered “entertaining”, “beautiful”, or even the cliché of “good football”.

An approach that prioritises defense can easily be all those things and then some, as Giorgio Chiellini and Juventus have demonstrated.

It’s time for the unsung heroes of football to start getting their due.

The Weekly Take, Issue 5: Letter of the Law

It is always a major occasion in the world of football when the first- and second-placed teams in a major league play against each other. This past weekend, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid did just that, with Barcelona coming out on top courtesy of a Lionel Messi free kick.

However, this may not have been the case if two Barcelona players had received the punishment they deserved to get instead of what they actually got.

Two matches before the Barça-Atlético clash, Barcelona played against Girona, and heading into the match against Girona, Luis Suárez and Jordi Alba were both one yellow card away from receiving a one-match suspension.

However, both tried to get themselves booked so that they would miss the subsequent match against Las Palmas, thus ensuring that they would be able to play against Atlético. Alba was booked and thus suspended; Suárez was not.

While it is true that neither Suárez nor Alba were at their best against Atlético, had they been suspended for the Atlético match instead of the Las Palmas one, Barça would’ve been missing two of their starters, including their second-best player. That alone would have changed the way both teams would have approached the game.

While the yellow-card accumulation rules exist for a reason, this sort of exploitation of the rules calls for a minor change to the rules.

My proposal is as follows: the league authorities should be given the power to select which match the offending player will be suspended for in cases in which the authorities consider the player to have gone out of his way to receive a yellow card.

This does not apply to intentional fouls to stop a possible goal, because that would not be considered “going out of one’s way”, as the player who committed the foul would’ve done so anyway.

The rules on yellow cards and suspensions are not the only football rules which I believe need modification.

At present, the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO) is a red-card offense, but it only results in a free kick for the team who had the player fouled.

Thus, there are situations where it may be more advantageous for the defending team to sacrifice a player to prevent a possible goal.

If it is late in the game and the attacking team has a clear run at goal, it is often the smart play for the defending team to have someone bring the attacking player down before he reaches the penalty area.

This would prevent a possible goal or a penalty, and the defending team only has to play a few more minutes with the numerical disadvantage.

Clearly, when the rule on DOGSO was first formulated, this was not what was had in mind.

The rule on DOGSO should be changed so that regardless of where on the pitch the offense takes place, it will always result in a penalty for the attacking team.

Similar to the rules on yellow cards, in no situation should committing this offense cause the offender to benefit. Yet, that is what can happen.

One other rule which I believe needs to be changed is that on diving.

Diving should not be a bookable offense during a match.

I’m not saying that diving to try to earn a free kick or penalty should not be punished. However, it’s the toughest call for a referee to make, and often, a combination of the incident itself, the scoreline at the time, and the reputation of the players involved contribute to the decision made.

The key words are “during a match”.

To me, all decisions and punishment meted out for diving should be retrospective.

After the official review of a match, should there be any player that has found to have dived, he should receive a retrospective yellow card. If the player was also booked once during the same match, he would then receive the same punishments that apply to players who receive an ordinary red card.

While football, like any other human endeavour, will be subject to erroneous judgments made by people, as well as the possibility of loopholes being exploited, the authorities should do all they can to minimise these judgments and loopholes from damaging the game, thus making a football match a better experience for players, fans, coaches, and even referees.