The last time Sunderland beat Manchester City, the Blues were relegated later that year.The Black Cats’ most recent triumph over City at Eastlands was in the second tier of English football in 1998, meaning Steve Bruce’s side face a hard task if they are to knock over the now talent-laden side that is Manchester City when the two sides clash in the English Premier League on Sunday.
Sunderland are still in contention for a European spot, which says more for their earlier season form than it does for their last five games – as they have taken just one point from a possible 15 – yet are only two points behind the coveted seventh place (Bolton) which guarantees European football next season.
Bruce’s side is last on the Premier League’s ‘form guide’ table, but will take some solace from their late draw against City at the Stadium of Light in the reverse fixture in August.
City are pushing to sew up their spot in the league’s top four to earn their ticket to the Champions League next campaign.
With a fresh and revitalised Carlos Tevez a likely starter after a two-week hiatus from the field due to injury and the international break, City could romp to a commanding victory at home.
The City skipper has not scored in the Premier League since his hat-trick against West Bromwich Albion in early February, but is just two goals behind Golden Boot leader Dimitar Berbatov, and expect the Argentine to be keen to arrest that deficit sooner rather than later.
Sunderland memorably scored three at Eastlands last season but took no points in a 4-3 loss, but it is hard seeing them repeat their scoring heroics, despite the exciting pairing of Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan up front.
City will be without injured goalkeeper Shay Given and suspended Kolo Toure, while Sunderland are missing Craig Gordon, David Meyler and Michael Turner, but John Mensah will be available after the red card he received against Liverpool was rescinded.
Last summer’s World Cup in South Africa exposed some of the developing football nations to the grandest stage in the sport with some exciting results. Chile qualified for the tournament impressively under Argentinian coach, Marcelo Bielsa, and produced some of the most offensive displays of any team in South Africa. Fellow South Americans, Paraguay, also exceeded expectations by reaching the quarter-finals where they were knocked out narrowly by eventual winners Spain. But one emerging football nation, located a lot closer to home, are in the process of building a national squad perhaps capable of competing with the best at the next World Cup in Brazil three years from now.
Even though they failed to qualify for the past two World Cups and have featured only once in the European Championship since 1984 (and that was in 2000 when they qualified as co-hosts), Belgium currently retains the most promising collection of 16 to 23 year-olds anywhere on the planet. Perhaps the most impressive feature of this exciting crop of talent is the squad’s range and versatility. A first XI could already be picked from the technically gifted pool of players as each area of the pitch has been addressed in Belgium’s development process.
Steven Defour is 22 and propelled Standard Liege in to the Champions League twelve months ago alongside team-mate Axel Witsel, also 22, who is proficient in any area of the midfield. Marouane Fellaini transformed the Everton midfield in his first two seasons in England, and Eden Hazard, who at 20 is already one of the most coveted young players in Europe, provides the creative stimulus and is often employed as a forward.
In defence, Thomas Vermaelen provides the steel, and proved his quality by adapting to the Premier League within minutes of his arrival at Arsenal two years ago. He is accompanied by Vincent Kompany, who has arguably been Manchester City’s stand-out player this campaign, and Jan Vertonghen (23), the left-footed giant who controls the Ajax back-line.
Up front they have Moussa Dembele, who made his name in the AZ Alkmaar side who won the Dutch Eredivisie in 2009 before a £5million move to Craven Cottage last summer, and has performed exceptionally in the absence of Bobby Zamora in an otherwise struggling Fulham side. The country’s most exciting talent of all is Romelu Lukaku who is interesting Tottenham and Man City amongst others (click here to find out where he will be playing next season) and made his debut for the senior national side at the age of 16 and has already scored 27 goals in 64 appearances for Anderlecht before the age of 18.
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Lukaku is widely compared to Chelsea’s Didier Drogba based on his size (6ft 4inches), athleticism and pace, but there is one significant distinction between the two. Drogba only became universally recognised at the age of 25 whilst playing for Marseille, whereas Lukaku, along with his young Belgium team-mates, are already acknowledged as considerable talents playing for esteemed football clubs.
Lukaku has regularly started for Anderlecht since he was 16, Fellaini, Defour and Hazard have been starting for respected, recognizable sides since the age of 17, Dembélé and Witsel since they were 18, and Vertonghen long before his twentieth birthday. The experience they have each been acquiring from such a young age will surely serve their development as a team in the long run.
Belgium’s precocious squad bear striking similarities to the young German side who performed so exceptionally at the World Cup in 2010, in that they embody a multicultural and multinational bent. Lukaku’s heritage traces back to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dembele’s ancestors hail from Mali and Fellaini, who has roots in Morocco, won the Ebony Shoe in 2008 whilst playing for Standard Liege, an award given to the best player of African descent.
The youth development and coaching infrastructure in Belgium is largely influenced by their German, French and Dutch neighbours and the country boasts facilities of a decent standard compared with the rest of Europe. It remains unclear why so many young stars have emerged at once, providing a glimpse at the promising future of Belgian football, but their potential is extraordinary.
This glut of talent represents a diverse range of attributes and impressive versatility from defence up to attack without even citing the talented young Sunderland goalkeeper, Simon Mignolet, 22, who recently kept a clean sheet on his international debut, winger Nacer Chadli, who at the age of 21 scored against Azerbaijan in his third appearance for Belgium and Kevin de Bruyne, the 19 year-old Racing Genk forward currently making waves in the Jupiler League.
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The nation face a struggle to reach the play-offs for Euro 2012, and the tournament in Poland and Ukraine may just have come too soon, but it is not inconceivable to imagine approaching the 2014 Brazilian World Cup considering Belgium as serious contenders, with their stars having gained experience with any number of Europe’s big boys.
Follow me on Twitter if you think Belgium have a chance in 2014
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Listen to the first episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and Toploader’s Dan Hipgrave makes a special appearance!
Continuing our look into the foreign wags that put the Premier League ones to shame…
Francesco Totti is a Serie A legend, one of the greatest Italian footballers of modern times. A player of his calibre certainly needs a WAG of equally high quality and that’s exactly what Totti has got in the shape of Ilary Blasi. Ilary Blasi, aka Mrs Francesco Totti, used to be a model and showgirl before settling down to the life as a wife of a professional footballer and World Cup winner.
She has caught the attention of the Italian press and public, having featured in Italy Offside three times in their regular WAG feature. But just in case you’ve not had the pleasure of seeing Ilary Blasi before then here she is and make sure you look out for her on TV when you’re next in Italy on your holidays!
Click on Miss Blasi below to see her in all her glory
The Metro is reporting that Italian giant Juventus is looking to move ahead of various English teams to sign highly rated duo Connor Wickham and Phil Jones. Premier League outfits such as Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea have been monitoring both Blackburn defender Phil Jones and Ipswich Town striker Connor Wickham. However, it now looks like Juventus will be the team to make the first move.
Italian sources suggest that Juve sent a crack spy team including general manager Beppe Marotta and technical director Fabio Guild on an intensive scouting mission of England and they reported back with glowing references on the star duo.
Now the fallen Serie A giants are debating putting their faith in the highly rated Englishmen for next season – as they attempt to revive their flagging squad, who are struggling to qualify for Europe. However, any move with be a significant leap of faith by Juventus and Italian clubs in general – because Italian clubs rarely dip into the British talent pool for players.
The impact of Jones and Wickham has caused the Italian side to take notice and now Juventus are considering a life changing double offer for the U21 internationals.
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At some time around 5:15pm, on Saturday 14th May 2011, Carlos Tevez, captain of Manchester City Football Club, climbed the Wembley steps, shook a few hands, and held the FA Cup aloft. The blue moon had finally risen. City had won their first trophy since 1976. After 30 years of supporting my team, I had witnessed a City player lifting a trophy. It barely seemed real.
The last time City won a cup, I had just spoken my first words, and just learnt to walk. On 28th February 1976, the Four Seasons topped the charts with December ’63. Abba’s Mamma Mia had recently lost its place at the top. It was the days of terraces, rag and bone men, the Football Pink, the hottest summer ever and the first commercial Concorde flight. Margaret Thatcher had taken over the Tory party, but was 3 years away from becoming Prime Minister (remember her?). Elvis Presley was still alive too.
A lot has happened in those 12,858 days. In the period since then, Heath Ledger was born, and died. Computers took over our lives, we got something called global warming and Britain fought over the future of the Falklands, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I still haven’t swum with dolphins.
Thirty five years and we’re still here? One hundred and five domestic trophies were handed out to top-division sides in that time. A few European trophies too. I always console myself with the thought that if City had had the success of United, by now I’d be bankrupt and in the Betty Ford clinic. Small mercies and all that.
The 20th century gave us three historic moments of jaw-dropping poor predictions – Neville Chamberlain declaring peace in our time, the man who said computers would never catch on, and Peter Swales, sat in his seat in the early days of his chairmanship of Manchester City saying “this is easy”.
Easy it was not. One of my first memories was relegation – a fitting way to start my lifelong relationship, my only one. David Pleat skipped across the Maine Road turf, and a generation of disappointment had begun. We went down, we came back up, we went down and further down, we came up and further up, we contested a Full Members Cup Final the day after a Manchester Derby, we had a few days in the sun, but many more in the rain, and we never sat at the top table, and we never won a trophy. This was the team that managed to get relegated on my birthday. Twice.
Continued on Page TWO
The stats for the last three decades make for grim reading. It can come as little surprise that City are the best supported team never to have played in the Champions League. And the list of teams that had played in a cup final since City last did was the ultimate stark reminder of their prolonged failure. The list of teams that had reached a semi-final since City last did (special shout out to Chesterfield) was almost too depressing to read.
I always used to think it was hope that kept a football fan going. The good times that may be just around the corner. But it is the hope that got ultimately destroyed time and time again, until harbouring hope seemed pointless.
As John Cleese’s character Brian Stimpson said in the film Clockwise: “It’s not the despair Laura. I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand.”
And it’s even harder to stand when the team down the road are hoovering up every trophy in sight.
Hope was a dangerous thing to have as a City fan, as it was always dashed. A quarter final at home to West Ham springs to mind, when our name was “on the cup” before defeat left us in familiar territory.
You don’t support a team to win trophies, unless you are a glory hunter, but if I had known in 1982 that I wouldn’t see my team win a trophy for the next 30 years, I’d have probably changed my allegiance there and then. I have never regretted my choice though. No trophies perhaps, but so many good memories, and so many good friends made in the unique family that is a football club, any football club.
I spent Saturday with many of those friends, from 5am to 4am the following day. Many cried at full time. A couple welled up just from listening to Abide With Me. The pressure of being favourites weighed heavily on many, the pressure to break the barren spell was greater. The release of that pressure at full time, the release of three decades of tension, broken promises, false hopes and near-constant dejection was immense.
When you wait so long for success, when 18 managers have passed through the door, it is inevitable that not everyone made it. Friends and family have passed away before they had the chance to see a City captain lifting up a piece of silver. They never experienced the feeling I had on Saturday afternoon. I wish I could believe they are looking down on us celebrating too, but I can’t. To absent friends, to those that missed this moment, to those that never saw their football team win a trophy, it was undoubtedly for you.
A lot of blues spoke before and afterwards of those that are no longer with us. How they would have loved the game, how they would have spent the day together, how much one game of football meant to them, how they would have loved one more day together to experience what we did at the weekend.
Because days like Saturday are the epitome of what football means to people. Football is not just about the results on the pitch, it is way, way more than that. It is a family, a lifelong affiliation. Saturday showed that. Soppy perhaps, but so very true. That is why Tony Pulis wanted to win the game for his mother who passed away last year. That is why so many wanted their team to win, for parents who no longer stood by their side.
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This is how it devours peoples’ lives, affects their every mood, shapes who they are. Loyalties are passed from father to son (though not in my case, my father being a United fan!), from generation to generation, memories are passed on too. Football is used as pointers for your life. This stupid game of 22 men kicking a pig’s bladder (sorry, synthetic substitute) around a piece of grass has so much to answer for, but so much to give. It is because football fans invest so much time, effort and emotion into their clubs that sometimes it almost matters too much. You are a hostage to your club’s fortunes. All you can do is prey and hope. Even atheists like me have preyed a thousand times in a football ground.
And credit to Stoke fans for staying at the end to support their team, to savour the day for every moment it offered to them, despite the result. I’m not sure I could have done the same. They were a pleasure to spend the day with, unlike the previous round. And credit to Tony Pulis for taking a second Wembley defeat to Manchester City with grace and dignity. They have a European adventure ahead of them, and they will love every minute of it.
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Many in the press wrote about how City’s day would be overshadowed by United winning the league. Their ignorance is laughable. No one spoke of United, and no one cared. Everything rested on our result, everything.
Of course the inevitable recriminations about City buying success have continued, and I am not about to revisit the tedious arguments over how to do things the right way. The fans are now labelled as arrogant, but they are the same friends that were travelling to Lincoln and watching Bury beat us at home just 12 or 13 years ago. Our current owners have run our club with as much class, dignity and thought for the fans as any other owner in my lifetime. Next year my season ticket will cost £460, and tickets for domestic cup ties will be capped at £15 until the quarter-finals. I have never been prouder of my club, its players or its owners. And irrelevant of the money, Roberto Mancini and Yaya Toure will be club legends forever. They have earnt it.
So the monkey is off City’s back. A new and exciting journey begins, and it seems City didn’t kill football after all. Fancy that.
Yokohama F Marinos struck four times in the first half on their way to a 4-0 thrashing of Ventforet Kofu in the J-League on Saturday.Striker Masashi Oguro struck a brace after midfielder Hiroyuki Taniguchi and forward Kazuma Watanabe had opened up a two-goal buffer as Marinos romped to a comfortable win.
Taniguchi had given his side an 11th-minute lead before Watanabe doubled the advantage six minutes later.
When Oguro provided two more, the second coming five minutes before the interval, the result was sealed and left Ventforet in 12th, just a point clear of the relegation zone.
Jubilo Iwata were similarly impressive early as they waltzed to a 4-1 win over the struggle Avispa Fukuoka.
Ryohei Yamazaki, Ryoichi Maeda and Shuto Yamamoto all struck in the first 35 minutes.
Maeda completed his brace four minutes into the second half to set up a 4-0 lead, although Hideya Okamoto scored a late consolation goal for Avispa Fukuoka, who are without a point and languishing at the bottom of the table.
Urawa Reds came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw against Kashima Antlers.
The Reds are winless in their last five outings but it could have been worse if not for two quick goals in the space of three second-half minutes.
Shunki Takahashi and Mazola pulled two goals back in the 67th and 69th minutes respectively after Daigo Nishi and Chikashi Masuda had given Antlers a 2-0 lead.
Elsewhere, Nagoya Grampus held first-placed Kashiwa Reysol to a 0-0 draw, Gamba Osaka had a brace from Brazilian striker Adriano to thank for their 2-1 win over Albirex Niigata and Vissel Kobe enjoyed a 1-0 win over Sanfrecce Hiroshima.
Bayern Munich have shored up their defence with the double signing of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and right-back Rafinha.Germany number one Neuer, 25, joins from Schalke on a five-year deal, bringing to an end drawn-out negotiations between Bayern and their Bundesliga rivals.
Bayern had targeted a quality shot-stopper after 37-year-old Hans-Jorg Butt and 22-year-old Toni Kraft had shared the duties in the 2010/11 campaign, in which the defending champions finished a disappointing third.
“FC Bayern Munich and FC Schalke 04 agreed to terms of the transfer of Manuel Neuer. Consequently, Neuer will join the German record champions on July 1, 2011,” Bayern said through a statement on their website on Wednesday.
Neuer’s star had risen during Schalke’s run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, and he told of his delight at sealing a switch to the Bavarian club.
“I’m really looking forward to a great and exciting challenge at Bayern,” he said. “Many colleagues from the national team are now my team-mates in Munich. So I will not enter an unknown territory and should settle in quickly.”
Another familiar face for Neuer in Munich will be Brazilian Rafinha, who joins Bayern from Serie A outfit Genoa.
The 25-year-old is no stranger to the Bundesliga, having been a team-mate of Neuer’s at Schalke from 2005 to 2010.
Rafinha has signed for Bayern until the end of the 2013/14 season.
In the grand scheme of things, Tom Huddlestone will probably be disappointed with how things went for him last season. He may well have captained his side against Inter at the San Siro, but injuries kept him out of facing further and arguably more important Champions League opponents. His being sidelined also must have had an effect on Tottenham ’s Premier League campaign, with him hardly featuring as a goalscorer on http://www.footballscores.com. Had he been more available Spurs may have been able to carry the fight for longer and may well have secured a Champions League slot for next season.
Tom Huddlestone adds something to Tottenham that the likes of Luka Modric , Jermaine Jenas and Rafael Van der Vaart just can’t offer. At an impressively stocky 6’3, Huddlestone’s sheer physicality, strength and competitive nature makes him a wonderful addition to the Spurs midfield. Of course, it’s important not to underplay the other aspects of Thudd’s game. He is also a passer of great vision and ability and, as we all know, he has a real firecracker of a shot.
The prospect of Huddlestone playing alongside Luka Modric next season may well have fans salivating. The mixture of grit, determination and vision is sure to strike a chord in the centre of Tottenham’s midfield and may well propel them to success of one sort or another. But that raises another question. Would a fully fit Tom Huddlestone earn a starting birth in this Spurs side? What’s more, surely he’s too good to be a mere squad player?
The problem for Tottenham is that Sandro has made it nigh on impossible for Harry to drop him, given a number of impressive displays against top opponents. Sandro is another Tottenham player who seems to have it all: he’s strong in defence and attack and this versatility only increases his worth. Then there’s Luka Modric, who after last season simply won’t be bumped out of the centre of Tottenham’s midfield. Such was the form of Modric and Sandro that ex-Real Madrid man Rafael van der Vaart found himself pushed out onto the wings, despite an impressive showing of his own last season. If Van der Vaart is struggling to get game time in his favoured position it’s pretty likely that Huddlestone will suffer in the same regard. The crowded nature of Tottenham’s midfield makes Spurs’ reported interest in Scott Parker even more bemusing. Whilst it’s always useful to have squad players that are talented and capable, having too much competition for places can often breed malcontent and lead to players not receiving a fair amount of game time. For this reason I hope that Harry Redknapp doesn’t sign Scott Parker. He may be a good player, but I rate Tom Huddlestone higher and want to see him receive his fair share of games next season.
Read more of Harry Cloke’s articles at This is Futbol
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Wayne Rooney claims that the Premier League will see the best of him next season, after drawing inspiration from watching Lionel Messi in action. The Manchester United striker is handful for most defences already, therefore this added impetus to his game could well cause a few sleepless nights for defenders.
Elsewhere in the news Arsenal have been given the green light to move for Mata; Joey Barton vows to give his all for Newcastle United, while David Beckham rules out a Premier League return.
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Bin Hammam slams ‘false’ allegations – Guardian
Rooney aims to copy Messi – Daily Telegraph
Manchester United offer Park new deal – FFC
Tevez talks to Inter official on holiday – Guardian
Arsenal cleared to move for Mata – Daily Telegraph
Villas-Boas slams media ‘obsession’ with Torres – FFC
No Premier League comeback for Beckham – FFC
De Gea to start as number one, says Ferguson – FFC
You’re kidding! £25m Adebayor trains with Manchester City’s youth team – Daily Mail
Barton vows to give it his all – Sun
Newcastle set to resurrect £7m deal – FFC
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Tottenham look to Roma for an attacking Plan B – FFC
Arsenal’s £10m Jagielka bid dismissed – Guardian
West Brom on brink of Foster swoop as Hodgson confirms interest in stopper – Daily Mail
Newcastle United have lost patience with Joey Barton, placing the controversial midfielder on the transfer list on Monday.Barton has been outspoken in his criticism of the way owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias were running the club and hinted at widespread dressing room unrest on Twitter.
The 28-year-old played a leading role in Newcastle’s successful return to the English Premier League last season, but Alan Pardew will have to do without him this campaign after the club confirmed Barton was no longer a required player.
“Newcastle United can confirm that Joey Barton has been placed on the transfer list today (Monday),” the club said in a statement on its official website.
“The player has been advised that he can leave the club on a free transfer.”
Late last week, Barton made his displeasure with the club’s direction clear in a series on Twitter posts, and supported full-back Jose Enrique in the Spaniard’s criticism of Ashley and Llambias.
“If only we as players could tell the fans exactly how it is, without them above fining us lots of money,” Barton tweeted.
“If it wouldn’t effect team morale and cause unrest within the dressing room, am certain Jose’s comments would be the tip of the iceberg….. And again it would be left to those magnificent fans to pick up the remnants of their once-great football club.”
“If I wanted to leave, I’d just come out and say “I want to leave.” Things need addressing as am not prepared to go through a relegation again.”
Barton has made 79 appearances for Newcastle since joining from Manchester City in 2007.
Controversy has followed the midfielder throughout his career, from his fight with then-City team-mate Ousmane Dabo in May 2007 and his 77-day stint in prison for an assault committed later that year.