Joga Bonito Football

Football Club United of Manchester

2008-10-25T10:41:00.001+05:30

http://www.fc-utd.co.uk/manifesto.php

FC United of Manchester is a new football club founded by disaffected and disenfranchised Manchester United supporters. Our aim is to create a sustainable club for the long term which is owned and democratically run by its members, which is accessible to all the communities of Manchester and one in which they can participate fully.

Although driven by very different circumstances, FC United of Manchester takes as its inspiration a number of supporters' groups who have gone down this route, including AFC Wimbledon, who have offered unstinting support.

FC United of Manchester is intended to create a football club which addresses the concerns which many Manchester United fans have had over the last decade or more with how the club and football have developed, culminating in the club's takeover by Malcolm Glazer. We will follow the best traditions of Manchester United's past by developing policies which encourage youth participation in terms of both playing and supporting.

FC United of Manchester will be formed as a member-owned, democratic, and non-profit making entity on the Industrial and Provident Society company model. The EGM will focus on the election of a board of directors by the members, and the direction of the club over the coming season.

We have ambitious and long term plans. Above all we want to be seen as a good example of how a club can be run in the interests of its members and be of benefit to its local communities. However, we are a new club and will require patience in order to reach our goals. With the help of all our members and supporters we are confident we can achieve them.

Seven core principles of how the club will operate are set out below, and once agreed by the membership, will be protected by all elected Board members:

1. The Board will be democratically elected by its members.
2. Decisions taken by the membership will be decided on a one member, one vote basis.
3. The club will develop strong links with the local community and strive to be accessible to all, discriminating against none.
4. The club will endeavour to make admission prices as affordable as possible, to as wide a constituency as possible.
5. The club will encourage young, local participation - playing and supporting - whenever possible.
6. The Board will strive wherever possible to avoid outright commercialism.
7. The club will remain a non-profit organisation.

Shame

2008-08-08T22:01:00.001+05:30

Before the inception of the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics were the most important stage for international football. Football has been played at all Olympics since 1900 except 1932 LA Olympics. One of the many aims of the Olympics is to promote ‘a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity’. At the same time, another one of its aims is to prevent ‘the political abuse of sport and athletes’. Yet, sport is very frequently used for political purposes. Mohun Bagan defeating East Yorkshire Regiment in 1911 was seen as a victory by the Indians over the British. Hitler’s 1936 Berlin Olympics was his grand attempt to highlight the superiority of the Aryan race though Jesse Owens and Dhyan Chand and his men foiled the great Aryan victory.

Sport has rarely been forced by the organisers and world leaders upon the people of the world who have been unwilling to witness a sporting event. The 2008 Beijing Olympics was seen as a focal point by pro-Tibetan supporters across the globe to highlight the human rights violations by the Chinese government (one of the organisers of the 2008 Summer Olympics) and its forceful occupation of Tibet. Protests against the 2008 Olympics were fierce at most venues through which the Olympic torch passed except where the authorities created a super-secure environment to force the torch through their terrains so as to allow the event to go through. The 2008 Olympics have been a forceful clampdown on the voices of many. The idea of a sporting event where competitors from all across the world can meet to participate in a game and also preserve one of the basic foundations of sport, ie, a mutual respect for each other and compete in an ethical environment is frequently violated in the world of corruption, illegal doping and bribery. Yet, rarely has sport been a mere formality forced by the authorities rather than a free-environment for competitors to participate in than in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This edition of the Summer Olympics presents one of the lowliest moments in sporting history.

Germany v Greece (Monty Python)

2007-06-08T08:41:00.000+05:30

Putting The 'Street' Back Into Street Football

2006-09-26T00:26:00.000+05:30

from http://www.football365.com/

Putting The 'Street' Back Into Street Football
Posted 25/09/06 11:38
Tristan Holme

In the words of the late Bill Hicks, anyone can become a bum - all it takes is the right girl, the right bar and the right friends.

The problem is, once that line is crossed and you end up living on the street it's very difficult to turn your life around. Think of your own attitude towards most homeless people and I'm sure you'll find that there's a mental process that immediately shoves them to one side that is systematically ignored.

Indeed, the sight of the Homeless World Cup banner at the top of the F365 page probably brought out images of drunken/drugged old fogies stumbling around after a football, weaving after it as if it was bouncing like a rugby ball. But of course what the Homeless World Cup is really all about is getting rid of this stigma attached to the less fortunate and developing a sense of pride within them that is otherwise hard to instigate. For once they can be heroes that 'rich' people salute, because these players may be 'poor' but damn can they play.

As a regular reader of the F365 mailbox I can't help but agree with the disenfranchised supporters of the Premiership who write in complaining about the state of the game. Everyone knows who will win the league this year - essentially it is sold to the highest bidder. So to watch this tournament in Cape Town is to enjoy the truest form of grassroots football. England's homeless team may have been trained at Carrington but the glory of Old Trafford and its American dollars could not be further away from players taking part on a pitch that stands on an outdoor parking lot, even if it is the site of Nelson Mandela's historic release.

The game is played with three outfielders and a goalie (rolling substitions allowed), and is street football to its very core - it's a small pitch with a barrier around it so the ball goes from end to end at lightning speed. No dumpsters are allowed on the pitch but apart from that it's as tough and furious as you'd expect a street game to be, and is therefore exciting to watch and creates a real festive atmosphere. The key to the game is being able to beat your man in close quarters or showing lots of movement in order to best use the small space. Using the barriers around the pitch is also advised, and team Poland exhibited this to good effect as they ripped apart Argentina on day one.

Perhaps the most inspiring part of the first day came from a real blooper by the organisers. As Rwanda lined up to face Finland, the tanoy began to blare the African nation's national anthem. After a few tones the Rwandan players turned around and starting waving their fingers to show that this was not the right tune. It turned out it was Rwanda's old national anthem which had been changed in an effort to dissociate the country from its violent past - a serious faux pas by whoever compiled the anthems.

The team was made up of a bunch of teenagers, many of them orphans from the atrocious civil war of the mid-nineties, and comprised of several girls as well. With the organisers at loggerheads as to what to do next, one of the young girls simply asked for a microphone and went about singing the new anthem all on her own in front of the 20,000 spectators. Soon everyone was clapping along in support, and already this parentless child had gone from zero to hero in many eyes.

Generally the more developed nations are made up of stringy old fellows and no youngsters while the less developed countries are the complete opposite - tells you something about the social dynamics going on in the different countries. The scourge of AIDS is plain to see in the make-up of young African sides, while a lot of the European teams are made up of recovering drug addicts and alcoholics as opposed to people without homes as such. Team England look far from bedraggled and exhibit the type of pompousness which you usually only find in Rio Ferdinand. Having gone behind early in their opening game due to a mistake by skipper Paul Smith, they rallied to thrash Hong Kong 8-1 on Sunday.

Scotland were not so good and went down to a decent Czech Republic side, but Ireland look very solid and easily beat Norway 5-1. Ranked fifth in the world, the Irish look set to make an extended run at the tournament and I had a chat with their enthusiastic goalkeeper, who assured me that had it not been for a bad refereeing decision at last year's World Cup they would certainly have come into this year's event as world champions.

Speaking to him made me realise how the tournament really does have a positive impact, especially when he told me how desperate he had been to make it to this year's tournament having been stuck on the fringes last year. I soon realised that this desire gives people who struggle in life some focus, and more importantly, purpose. Having a reason for being is what makes you get up in the morning and leads to personal improvement - through hard work and discipline they have earned the opportunity to travel to a place they would never have imagined.

So for the footballing sceptics out there, there is good news. Football may be filthy at the top end of the scale, with agents and players rolling in cash, clubs being turned into franchises and managers taking bungs, but the heart of the sport lives on. The game still has the power to really change lives - the truest testament to the beautiful game, and a reminder of why we all love it so much.

And the award goes to…

2006-07-14T21:52:00.000+05:30

Best long-range volley: Joe Cole against Sweden

Best step-over: No, Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t feature over here. It’s the Brazilian Ronaldo’s goal against Ghana

Biggest flops: It is a tie between Ronaldinho and Frankie Lampard

Best I-shall-not-pass-the-ball player: Close finish between Arjen Robben and Cristiano Ronaldo. Robben however keeps the prize to himself.

Best fans: Trinidad and Tobago supporters for keeping on celebrating in the same manner before and after the matches which they failed to win. They are just happy to be at the World Cup and so it should be considering their population.

Best celebration: Ivan Kaviedes’ Spiderman celebration after the game against Costa Rica. (P.S. Where does Peter Parker pull out his mask from?)

Weirdest referee: There were a lot of unnecessary cards and there were a lot of occasions when cards weren’t shown for blatant diving and fouling but the award goes to English referee Graham Poll for showing three yellow cards to the same player (at least he had the common sense to retire from international matches after this blooper)

Weirdest manager: The Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari. Against France, he started singing the Portuguese national anthem along with the players.

Loudest fan: Diego Maradona

Funniest moment: Cafu shaking hands with the referee after he had been shown a yellow-card

Most heartening sight: Franz Beckenbauer turning up for almost every match. Now, that is what an organiser should be like.

A Few Good Men

2006-07-14T10:46:00.000+05:30

My 23 man squad from this edition of the World Cup:

Goalkeeper:
Jens Lehmann (GER): Hasn’t been brilliant for the two goals that he conceded in the opening fixture weren’t too tough to block. However, he was good in the penalty shoot-out against Argentina.

Ricardo (POR): Has been very good in all the matches and Zidane’s penalty that he failed to save in the semi-final was unstoppable.

Shaka Hislop (T&T): Amongst the goalies who had a very bad defence in front of them, he was the best. Petr Cech had arguably a better defence in front of him and so he fails to make this wild-card entry. Hislop though prevented Trinidad and Tobago from emulating Saudi Arabia in 2002. His performance against Sweden was outstanding.

Right Wing Back:
Miguel (POR): Teamed up well with Figo and was extremely aggressive.

Gianluca Zambrotta (ITA): Was not much of an attacking winger but considering the fact that he plays for Italy, one wouldn’t expect too much attack either. So he was one of the best defenders, one might say.

Sergio Ramos (SPA): Spain, along with Germany, was the most attacking team in the World Cup. All the Spaniards played extremely attacking football and Ramos was no exception.

Centre Backs:
Fabio Cannavaro (ITA): The 5’9” defender from Juve finished runner-up to Zizou in FIFA’s Golden Ball competition. He was the characteristic Italian rock-solid defender.

Lilian Thuram (FRA): Cannavaro’s 34 year old partner from Turin was equally brilliant. Considering his age, Thuram’s performance is even more laudable.

Rio Ferdinand (ENG): Played better than his much spoken about partner John Terry. Was undoubtedly one of the best CBs in the tournament and helped the team’s progression through the rounds especially when the team wasn’t putting many into the opposite net.

Left Wing Back:
Philip Lahm (GER): The find of the tournament, I would say. Teaming up with Schweinsteiger ahead of him, he provided some of the best wing-play of the tournament.

Right-Midfielder:
Luis Figo (POR): Like several other big names, this was his last international outing. He lived up to his reputation and was the reason behind much of Portugal’s success considering they had Cristiano Ronaldo in the other wing.

Bernd Schneider (GER): The German RWB Friedrich was poor. Thus, the German right-wing wasn’t as effective as the left-wing but Schneider was one of the main creators in the German team.

Central-Midfielders:
Zinedine Zidane (FRA): The Materazzi incident doesn’t take the sheen off his performance. Allez Zizou!

Patrick Vieira (FRA): He was part of the French spine down the centre.

Claude Makelele (FRA): As usual, he was the best CDM of the tournament.

Andrea Pirlo (ITA): The main Italian play-maker. Though Italy didn’t threaten to score many, still, Pirlo was behind most of those opportunities.

Steven Appiah (GHA): The best African player in this World Cup. Was the principal play-maker and the Ghanaians certainly played attractive football in this World Cup.

Ze Roberto (BRA): Mid-fielders and defenders played better in this WC than forwards and strikers. So, it should not be a surprise if there are more of them in the 23 man squad. Ze Roberto and not Ronaldinho was the main mid-field man for Brazil. Anyway, Ronaldinho was never a mid-field man. He doesn’t play there for Barca and he shouldn’t play there for Brazil either.

Left-midfielder:
Bastian Schweinsteiger (GER): The 21 year old German winger was fast, strong, aggressive and scored two thunderous volleys.

Joe Cole (ENG): In a tournament where England struggled to find goals, he was looking the most likely to put something in the back of the net. Did put one though and what a goal it was.

Forward:
Fernando Torres (SPA): Looked lively and was very impressive.

Striker:
Miroslav Klose (GER): Looked lethal. This wasn’t a tournament for strikers. He was the only exception. If one had to put a ball in the box, one would hope Klose would be at the end of it to put it in the back of the net. He was unselfish and allowed Podolski into the game. Otherwise, he might have scored more than 5 goals.

Ronaldo (BRA): He might be fat but he was definitely not bad. He wasted a lot of chances but so did most of the other strikers in the tournament. He was the least worst amongst the other strikers.

I would either go with a 4-4-2 with the two strikers up front or with a 4-4-1-1 with Torres and Klose.

Argentina in the 2006 World Cup

2006-07-01T08:48:00.000+05:30

Argentina has bowed out of the World Cup. They succumbed to Germany, the team playing the most fluent and slick football in this edition of the World Cup. The Argentines put in an overpowering display of the short-pass system through their demolition of Serbia and Montenegro in a 6-0 rout. Argentina’s game is laid-back. Their play-maker, Juan Roman Riquelme is noted for his lack of pace. Yet he turns that to his advantage by slowing down the pace of the game. Argentina’s game is different from Arsenal’s short-pass system. Whereas Arsenal plays quick, one-touch football, the Argentines play possession football. They would rather keep possession and pass the ball back to their defenders and re-start their build-up to the goal than put it into the box quickly.

Argentina had to struggle hard for its win against Ivory Coast (or the Cote d’Ivoire, as they like to call themselves). Considering the fact that Cote d’Ivoire (and not Ghana) was the top-ranked African team before the finals began, it is not too much of a surprise. The African nations have generally played good football in recent years. The Cameroonians and the Nigerians (conspicuous by their absence this time round) were not there just to make up the numbers. They generally play fast and physical football thereby always giving them a chance of getting a winner. They hardly ever play negative football or technical football. The finesse of European football has sometimes degraded from technical to negative football. The 2003 Champions League final between AC Milan and Juventus is an example of my argument. The Africans, however, generally play positive football. Some might attribute it to their lack of expertise.

The Argentines (along with the Brazilians) have always been contrasted with the Europeans in their style of football. Yet both these nations have failed to produce anything other than technical football in this World Cup. The Argentines have already paid the penalty (no puns intended). They tried to stifle Germany’s free-flowing football and were successful at it. In the end, it came down to penalties which means that neither of them deserved to lose. However, judging by their earlier matches in the tournament, it has been the superior team which has progressed to the semis. Argentina had it easy with Serbia and Montenegro, a team that refused to challenge and win the ball. Against the Dutch, they put in one of the most boring performances. It was technical football which had degraded to negative football. Since the result of the match was not crucial to their survival in the tournament, both the teams played mock-football. The Mexicans took an early lead against Argentina but they levelled it soon after. Thereafter, used all their technical guile and played defensively. Both were too afraid to lose and were not willing to take chances to open up the play and go for the winner. Both were afraid that they might concede and played safe. As the game went on, both played even more defensively for with little time left, it would effectively be a golden goal. Maxi Rodriguez’s wonder-strike saved them from going through a penalty-shootout in the previous round.

This time round there was no wonder-strike. It went down to penalties. If a match goes down to penalties, then it might very well be said that there was no clear winner. It is not as if Germany played better than Argentina in the match yet the Germans played better throughout the tournament.

Battle Royale

2006-06-26T17:04:00.000+05:30

Scolari,when asked about Figo's headbutt on Mark Van Bommel,had this to say,

"Jesus had said that we should turn the other cheek,unfortunately Figo is not Jesus Christ"

Wing play-Back with a bang

2006-06-25T22:39:00.000+05:30

When Phillip Lahm's sweetly struck right footer,sent the teamgeist,straight to the top right-hand corner of the goal,it announced the rebirth of wing-play in the world stage.For the last few seasons or so,we've generally seen the domination of central attacking midfielders in football matches all over the globe.With most teams using the trusted 4-4-2,which it's creator Sir Alf Ramsey had dubbed the "Wingless Wonders",creative work in the attacking third of the pitch was seen mainly through the middle.Thus defence splitting through balls were the order of the day,coinciding with the emergence of stars like Cesc Fabregas,Iniesta or Riquelme.Though as always we've also had exceptions too.In the EPL,we've seen Chelsea use the wings very effectively,with Robben,Duff and Cole in their ranks.Apart from Chelsea,Riijkard's Barcelona too have used the much more attacking 4-3-3 with much success,with Ronaldinho drifting left and the young Lionel Messi marauding down the right flank.
But wing play isn't only about midfielders drifting wide and using the flanks.It's much more effective and great to watch when the side backs,go on the overlap supporting the midfielders.Manchester United had owed much of their success in the 90s to the Beckham-Neville and Giggs-Irwin combination down the flanks.This brings us to the next point:What kind of a winger do you want in your team?Is someone like David Beckham,who simply puts in accurate crosses into the box for the strikers,more effective or would you prefer a tricky,skillful albeit much more individualistic Robben or Ronaldo or Joe Cole?In the former case,a quick first time ball from the winger to the striker can result in a headed goal,a tap-in or a one-to-one with the goalie,but with the Robbens and Ronaldos you tend to see a lot of brilliance,but the chances are that by the time they dribble past 2 defenders and crosses the ball into the box,there's gonna be a defender or two already marking the striker.There are pros and cons for both systems,for example if it's someone like Beckham,who's playing down the wings,he has to spot the run of the striker very very quickly,for his cross to be effective.Thus the understanding should be very good between the winger and the forward.While on the other hand,if a team uses a fast,skillfull winger like Ronaldo or Lennon,chances are that they are gonna run at the defenders,cut in and have a crack at goal themselves or lay it off for someone else to shoot,which thus opens up a new avenue of scoring.
In this World Cup we've seen both sorts of wingers,the success of Robben,Cole,Joaquin aswell as Beckham,Pernia,Schneider's crossing abilities are a testament that both systems can work equally effectively.Thus apart from long rangers,crafty,skillful goals through the middle,expect a lot of goals created through the wings.

Team effort – Brazil 1970 and Argentina 2006

2006-06-17T21:18:00.000+05:30

Argentina’s second goal against Serbia and Montenegro which was finished by Esteban Cambiasso is being compared to Brazil’s goal against Italy in the finishing stages of the 1970 World Cup final. Cambiasso’s goal came after twenty-four successive passes amongst the Argentines. Eight outfield players had been involved in the move. Carlos Alberto’s goal capped off a move also involving eight players.

However, there are a significant number of differences in the two goals. Brazil’s goal came in the closing stages of the match. They were already leading 3-1. The Italians were already mentally defeated. There was no real urge to go and win the ball. The Argentine goal was however in the thirty-first minute. Albeit that the team from the former Yugoslavia was down 1-0, they had everything to play for in the match.

Yet the losing Italians showed more passion in trying to win to the ball than the Serbia and Montenegro players. They did not go in for any defensive tackles. The 2006 game was marked by the easy casual passing amongst the Argentines. The Serbia and Montenegro players were not trying to close down the Argentine attack. It was a curious spectacle. They just let the Argentines play on. Argentina’s free-flowing play can be attributed to the poor defensive tactics of the opposition. Regular viewers of the English Premier League would be shocked by the tactics of Serbia and Montenegro. The English game is characterised by hard tackles (including the two-footed one, which FIFA is trying to clamp down upon) yet it takes nothing away from the fast pace of the game. It would be unthinkable for a team to put together a string of twenty-four passes in the EPL.

To decide which goal is better is something that should be left to football fans to discuss when they are not watching a match. Both were a testament to the beauty of the quick short-pass system. A goal which results due to a ball being played down the wings and into the box is as much a testament to team effort as the short-pass system is. Yet these two goals were scored on the biggest stage of them all and thus shall remain engrained in football history.