50 Greatest African Players: Introduction

I’d like to announce a new venture I’ll be collaborating on with a few friends: Sandals For Goalposts. I will still strive to post on this – A Water Carrier, my personal football blog – as much as possible, still, but it’ll be the more self-indulgent stuff. For this new site the focus will be, initially, on the African Cup of Nations, so you can find all my posts related to that on there, but we’ll have a mixture of serious shizzle and light-hearted jizz-jazz. Also, we’ll be compiling the 50 Greatest African Players of all-time. Here is the introduction that I did for it, to read the rest you’ll have to navigate onto the site:

Africa is a continent of great diversity but, despite this diversity, the countries part of it share much in common – not only their colonial origins, but the similarities in the obstacles they face. Football, at times, is one of the few solutions to the problems. For days leading up to a match in volatile regions, people have been known to stop the bloodshed all in the name of the beautiful game. Bloodshed doesn’t grind to a halt in African only – when Hamas and Fatah fought each other for control of Gaza in 2007, the only day the guns fell silent was when Al Ahly took on Zamalek in the Cairo derby.

Fear can hold you prisoner, hope can set you free. Football provides hope. African boys and men only have to look at the African players plying their trade in Europe to hope of what-could-be. In 1965, one of the first rags-to-riches story was of the Malian Salif Keita, uncle of Barcelona’s Seydou Keita, who escaped in secret to France after hearing Malian officials were likely to stop him from moving to France. In the twenty-first century, several players playing for major clubs in the world are African or have parents who are. Certainly, on the monetary side of the game, football clubs, particularly in Europe, scramble for African talent in a way that is reminiscent of how the west scrambled for the continent’s resources.

You can read the rest of this article at Sandals For Goalposts.

The Magnificent Seven: Might-have-been teams of the 2000s

History can be cruel on what-might-have-beens so this list looks at some of the teams which we may forget in around 50 years because they didn’t win anything. There is a thin tightrope between winning and losing and these teams bottled it, falling off that tightrope because they either faced teams with too much quality or choked, or maybe did both. Here, I take a look at seven teams from the 2000s.

Bayer Leverkusen 2001-2002

Led by the touchline-smoking, nonchalant Klaus Topmoller, Bayer were anything but carefree. Funded by a German pharmaceutical company Bayer AG, Bayer Leverkusen were, and still are, a relatively small club with no German league titles next to their name. In Musa Okwongwa’s A Cultured Left Foot he describes this Bayer Leverkusen team as having ‘A dance quality[modest grace without apparent effort]…it’s hard to escape the feeling that they’d have received a more lasting appreciation if they were a Dutch or Spanish team.’

And if they had won a major trophy.

They are the most ‘tragic’ team on this list, losing three finals in come the end of the season – Real Madrid in the Champions League Final, losing the Bundesliga on the final matchday of the season by a point and losing the German Cup Final to Schalke.

Bayer were a team which characterised the much-revered and equally detested German ethos of mental steel and ruthless efficiency, minus the getting the job done. In the 2001-2002 season they would knock out Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United in successive rounds – an incredible feat for a side that were relatively unknown on the continent.

The much-revered and equally dested characteristics previously stated were applicable to their best player – Michael Ballack. He was what Sir Alex Ferguson would call a ‘typical German’ , his upright stance one of a gymnastic grace, his balance and power making it near impossible to play against as his imposing frame streamrolled through the midfield, arguably the finest box-to-box midfielder of the 2000s, scoring 17 goals in 29 games in the Bundesliga that season.

Filth of the Year

Everyone is posting awards and what not but A Water Carrier isn’t everyone so we’re going to revel in the pure filth of this Alexandre Pato goal against Napoli. It’s the most underrated goal of the year. Why? Let’s go through ‘Is that a great goal?” checklist, inquisitor. Atmosphere? Check. Commentary? Check. Unsaveability (I made that word up)? Check. Quality opposition? Check.

The adolescent, sudden outburst of pace as the balls floats through the Milanese air, a sign of a boy who isn’t quite a man yet. He slows down as he assesses the options, the Napoli lads reckon they’ve contained him but they’re retreating. His wand of right foot then casts a spell on the ball, expertly placing it in the top corner like a…shot putter.

Then there’s Morgan de Sanctis, Napoli’s goalkeeper, who just lets it roll into his hands. He doesn’t scream at the defenders. He doesn’t unleash any fury by kicking the ball into the net again. It’s the demeanour of a man who knows he’s been well and truly beaten by a special strike.

Happy New Year from all the staff at AWC,

Salim.

Dejan Savićević: Lovely Left Footers

Some would sneer a little at the word ‘Genius’ being used to describe a footballer. In English football the word is attributed to players such as Wayne Rooney and Paul Gascoigne; players who can barely string a sentence together, players who look and play like fans in shirts and players who probably wouldn’t survive in any non-football related profession. Those who sneer at the word being used for that exceptional, rare player are completely missing the point, though. While the word ‘Genius’ is typically associated with those in academic spheres (the Einsteins and Newtons of this world) the word has also been attributed to those who have excelled in non-academic spheres (the Beethovens and Picassos of this world). The essence of genius is in its rarity; a person who is exceptionally intelligent or creative.

If we go by that definition, then, there are a rare group of footballers who are can be categorised as geniuses on the field, notwithstanding their academic intelligence. Michael Laudrup portrayed a level of vision which was on par with the greatest artists. Zinedine Zidane was A 21st Century Portrait, possessing the grimace of a serial killer and a tricoloured bald-patch, his big-game performances a series of undeniable masterpieces. Ronaldinho, at his peak, was a flowing salsa-dance of triple sombreros, able to place shots which were able to ride an onrushing blue wave in his vicinity where gaps were limited.

And then there was Dejan Savićević.

You can read the rest of this piece at Lovely Left Foot.

A Brief Introduction to Universidad de Chile

Universidad de Chile. It translates to the University of Chile in English, for those who aren’t cultured, and if their brand of football could be classified into a degree then it’d be first-class. You could be excused for not knowing who they are. Not only are they located outside Europe but Chile is a mountainous country, so it is possible peoples’ vision has been blocked. Not being seen doesn’t stop something from existing, however. Universidad de Chile have been strutting their stuff not only domestically but all over South America in devastating fashion, reaching the final of the Copa Sudamericana (South America’s equivalent of the Europa League).

It’s 31 games since they last tasted defeat, a Chilean record broken for consecutive wins (9 in a row), a Chilean record broken for consecutive minutes without conceding and a 4-0 thrashing of a Flamengo side with Ronaldinho and Thiago Neves on their own turf.

La U's best XI

Bielsa’s Basque Transformation

Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival at Athletic Bilbao this summer was probably the most interesting managerial appointment during the off-season. A combination of the length of time he had been out of club management (thirteen years), his disastrous stint as manager of Espanyol (despite his methods being popular with players), the perception of him as an idealist and his choice of club caused raised eyebrows and the haters to start hatin’, for Athletic is not an ordinary club; they have a policy of only recruiting players with Basque heritage. Bielsa is a deep-thinking man, though, and he had weighed-up his options, refusing the likes of River Plate and Inter Milan. His decision was soon justified with the departure of another perceived idealist – Gian Piero Gasperini from Inter- so early on in the season. The problem was apparent – imposing a style of play on an established set of players who possess the ego that comes with success, at a club which expects success, is almost an impossible task.

Athletic's recent line up, Martinez is a midfielder but has been experimented at centre-back.

Mircea Lucescu, the Shakhtar Donesk manager, believes younger players are more suited to the high-pressing, high-tempo, high-risk game he favours, claiming that older players tend to have doubts for it. There’s a core group of young players at Athletic – Iker Muniain, Javi Martinez, Ander Herrera, Oscar De Marcos and Markel Susaeta –which makes it an ideal club for Bielsa to exercise his high-pressing, high-risk game. These group of young players were also more likely suitable for a drastic change in their style of football. Or at least a lot more likely than at Inter, for they don’t have the egos that come with success.

The Magnificent Seven: Traits of Sir Alex Ferguson

On his 25th anniversary as manager of Manchester United, I look at some the traits which have made Sir Alex Ferguson very successful.

1. Instilling fear/responsibility into players

There are those who say a manager cannot do anything once the players cross the white line, tell that any Man Utd player or any other player who has played under SAF.  Tell that to Gary Neville:

I’ve heard it said that a manager can’t do anything once the players have crossed the white line. And it’s bollocks. Anyone who says that has never had a good manager. Our boss has a massive effect on the team whenever a match is on. You can feel him in your head. At the back of your mind – sometimes at the front, too – you’ll be thinking, ‘Christ, I’ve got to go and face him at half-time. I’d better start playing better or he might rip my skull out.’

Chelsea’s Width Woes

Width has been a perennial issue at Chelsea since the days of Jose Mourinho’s all-conquering, disciplined teams. In Mourinho’s all conquering teams he instructed the full-backs not to cross the halfway line. His predecessor Avram Grant carried on Mourinho’s legacy, choosing not to make any drastic changes. In contrast, Luiz Felipe Scolari’s reign was characterised with marauding full-backs, akin to wingers in the sense they provided the width very high up the pitch, but this came at the cost of defensive cohesion and his dismissal. Critics claimed Scolari was out of touch with the league and had to adapt.

Under Ancelotti’s tenure, there was a return to the days of Mourinho with the full-backs primarily focusing on their defensive duties as the more robust Branislav Ivanovic was preferred at right-back ahead of the attack-minded Jose Bosingwa. Width was regularly provided by Ashley Cole who, whilst primarily focusing on his defensive duties, chose his runs forward very carefully, finishing the season with 4 goals and 4 assists. Chelsea simply destroyed teams scoring 103 goals on the road to a historic domestic double. This aura of destruction disappeared in Ancelotti’s second and final season in charge with Chelsea lacking fluidity, movement and originality through the middle, sparking the issue of width to arise once again in the final months of Ancelott’s spell.

Iker Muniain: The Basque Bee

On Monday 17th October 2011 I saw an incredible performance. “Fair enough,” I hear you say. “Tune into enough games and you’ll witness an incredible performance by a certain player.” And it’s true, many have made it a ritual to tune into Barca games and see flawless performance after flawless performance by Lionel Messi. But this was different; this was incredible performance was by an 18 year old. I had seen Muniain before in Spain U-21 European Championship winning team last summer but he hadn’t impressed me to this extent.

There was a standing ovation at San Mames when Iker Muniain was taken off after 75 minutes. I was watching the game on my own in my room and when I saw him being taken off I had to stand up and applaud with them. I had to appreciate what I had just witnessed. I had watched the game to research how Athletic Bilbao were progressing under Marcelo Bielsa. Sure, I expected something resembling fluid football, intense pressing in all areas of the pitch and some ultramega crazy formations, but I wasn’t prepared for an incredible individual performance.

Siniša Mihajlović: Lovely Left Footers

Here is a piece I did for Lovely Left Foot drooling on the left foot of Sinisa Mihajlovic.