The Sun-Herald

Saturday, May 30, 2009

After Barcelona, Is Australia One Big Let Down?

Let's face it - the so-called "Beautiful Game" can be pretty ugly a lot of the time.

This was no more in evidence than in Barcelona's emphatic UEFA Champions League Final win in the early hours of Thursday morning, Australian time.

Pep Guardiola's team dismantled Manchester United so conclusively that no sane observer would, or should, debate the result or Barcelona's worthiness to be called Champions.

I won't gush about the Catalan team's performance too much - there's been enough high-praise elsewhere - but that itself is worthy of exploration.

Why the love affair with Barcelona - or at least its way of play under Guardiola, who remember is a rookie coach in just his first year at the helm of an elite team?

It's simple. Barcelona played the way we all crave but rarely witness.

This was partly why Chelsea's claims to have been dealt injustice in the semi-final were swatted away by pretty much everyone except the Premier League team's fans.

Yes, Barcelona rode their luck and Chelsea had valid claims for penalties. But, really? Would you rather watch Barcelona in full flight or Chelsea, pragmatically negative under Guus Hiddink, be rewarded for smothering tactics?

Although last week's game occurred on the other side of the world and featured no Australian players (although Korean Park Ji-Sung put in a shift for United, staking a serious claim to be the Asian Football Confederations best player) Barcelona's football lesson does have implications for Australia's national team.

One is aesthetic. There's been much said of Pim Verbeek's pragmatic approach to games, winning ugly if it achieves a positive outcome on paper.

The other is somewhat spiritual. Barcelona's win has been lauded because of their approach - damning pragmatism for risk, adventure, and entertainment. It looks good. It feels good. It is good.

It is a style, or at least a spirit, that Australians undeniably want from their own national team.

So, it was amid the rushed international calendar of the past week - Newcastle United's deserved relegation, the Champions League love-in, and this weekend's FA Cup Final - that Verbeek announced his squad for June's World Cup qualifiers.

Talking points were quickly skipped over. Guess what? Mark Viduka still doesn't know whether he wants to play. But, more intriguingly, Verbeek chose two defenders who play in England and Italy's third divisions over a Newcastle Jet, under the age of 30, who is impressing in the Asian Champions League.

Making those decisions, of course, are Verbeek's bread and butter and why he gets paid the big bucks but the issues cuts a little deeper.

This same player who missed the call up - Ljubo Milicevic - told me recently he attended Australia's last World Cup qualifier in Sydney against Uzbekistan as a fan. He left at half-time, claiming to have never seen Australia play so boring.

Milicevic, one of few Australians to have played in the Champions League, was not alone - media and fans expressed similar opinions.

Football Federation Australia is billing the up-coming month as (another) "Super June" and this time next week the Socceroos could have qualified for next year's World Cup if they can secure a draw against Qatar in Doha.

Hooray, cue fireworks, etc.

It's a great achievement on paper and one that Verbeek should be proud of, having fulfilled his brief way ahead of the curve. But for the aesthetes, it has definitely not occurred with style.

But does that matter? After the excitement of 2006 and being spoilt by the spectacle of Barcelona, are the expectations of Australian fans now too high?

Do we want to see Australia as care-free Barcelona, flame-killer Chelsea, or just turn up and do the job?

(PS I'll tell you one thing I'd love to see - an Australian striker with the ruthless ability of Samuel Ett'o in front of goal).

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• by Matthew Hall at 12:36 AM
• Comments (5)

Friday, May 22, 2009

Barcelona, Manchester United, Beauty

Will this week's UEFA Champions League Final be the greatest game ever?

Liverpool and Milan (and still-disgruntled Chelsea) fans may be justified in disagreement but on paper, or even on computer screen, if the prospect of these teams, currently the best in the world playing the most attractive football in the world, meeting in a do-or-die final does not excite then it's time to click over to www.lawnbowls.com (yes, it exists).

Seventy-six teams entered this tournament that began last July with Anorthosis of Cyprus beating Pyunik Yerevan of Armenia 3-0 over two legs.

Now, almost a year later, even with Anorthosis embarking on a European adventure and somehow earning a 3-3 draw with Italian giants Inter in later rounds, the final pits the two champions from the two best leagues in the world up against each other.

Who would have guessed?

Beyond the almost impossible idea of Anorthosis (or Pyunik Yerevan, for that matter) making the final, Barcelona versus Manchester United is a game of dreams, especially for a neutral (and, yes, that means you, too, Chelsea fans).

The ingredients make for, potentially, a spikier cocktail than any Long Island Iced Tea.

Two teams that pass and attack.

Barcelona's Leo Messi, perhaps the best player in the world, versus Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo, also perhaps the best player in the world (but no matter what you may hear elsewhere, this match will not decide who can claim that title).

The wise old master, Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson, with a house full of trophies, versus Barcelona's Josep "Pep" Guardiola, a first-season rookie who has won everything on offer in Spain this season and who has been an intrinsic thread of the Catalan club since his days as a youth player.

Barcelona's seemingly free-rein attack of Messi, Sammy Ett'o, Thierry Henry, and Andres Iniesta versus Ferguson's choice of will-score-eventually attackers in Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, and Dimitar Berbatov.

But if defence is the best form of attack, then, ironically (or not) this could be where the game is won or lost on Wednesday night in Rome.

Chelsea coach Guus Hiddink had had his team park a virtual bus in front of its goal against Barcelona in their controversial semi-final. That tie didn't attract ire just because of the referee's shaky performance at Stamford Bridge but also because Hiddink's almost effective but ultimately ugly stifling tactics nearly paid off.

In Rome, it will the attacking nature of each team's defenders, plus the absence of Barcelona's wide players, that could tip the scale.

United will go into Wednesday night's showdown with Rio Ferdinand fighting fitness but jinking Patrice Evra having to balance his desire to attack with the responsibility of containing Leo Messi.

At the other end of the pitch, Barcelona will be without Eric Abidal, cruelly sent off in that semi-final against Chelsea, as well as the often influential Dani Alves, also suspended.

Anyone who can predict a result is kidding themselves and, with these two teams, that also means with five minutes to go, regardless of the scoreline at the time.

Torn between two lovers? I might suggest a 5-5 draw after extra-time and then 34-33 after an epic penalty shoot-out.

Or maybe even the greatest 0-0 draw of all-time.

That's the beauty of it.

• by Matthew Hall at 11:08 PM
• Comments (3)

Saturday, May 16, 2009

The Complicated Case for Mark Viduka

Should he play or should he go?

Mark Viduka - apparently - still has it and still confounds fans and critics.

That's the good news Australian football fans can take from his man-of-the-match performance for Newcastle United against former club Middlesbrough last week.

This was a rare treat performance by Viduka, who has started just four matches for Newcastle this season, and a display that may see the club that promises so much but delivers so little, avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Viduka is a complicated case. Late last year, one of the more influential characters in Australian football made a comment to me about Viduka that now has echoes of Nostradamus.

"Just wait and see," I was told. "Viduka may have rarely played for Newcastle over the past two years but I guarantee you that he will be fine at the end of the season and will put in a handful of brilliant performances to guarantee a new contract or at least interest other top clubs to sign him."

What do you know? With two games left this season, and with his current contract up for grabs on June 30, Viduka seems to be the only man likely to save Newcastle from an inglorious drop.

His coach, Alan Shearer, Newcastle's latest messiah, certainly thinks so.

"People will have their thoughts on him but he's a very good footballer if we can get him out on that pitch," Shearer said.

"He shown a great appetite to get us out of trouble which is what I' m looking for. Everyone knows he's got ability.

"He's shown a great attitude and pushed himself hard. He's been in early every morning and does extra work every afternoon. It's a fine balance of trying to get him fit without pushing him too hard.

Viduka joined the late season love-in.

"I'd love to spend more time at this club," he said. "I have been here for two years and we've had five managers. I would say to whoever is in charge, keep Alan [Shearer] for as long as he needs."

"When Alan came in, the first thing he said to me was 'Are you up for a fight?' and I am always up for a fight. I said 'Definitely'.

"I'm a massive fan of Alan's. I admired him as a player, we play the same position, and when someone with his personality and what he has done in the game comes and says 'I need you', it lifts you."

This was exactly the tactic employed by Guus Hiddink when the Dutchman took Australia to the World Cup. Viduka needed to be cuddled and coerced to put in his best performances for the national team. Hiddink's solution was to make Viduka captain (this has been confirmed to me by several of Viduka's teammates).

But Viduka, now faces another crossroads: the Socceroos and the World Cup.

Pim Verbeek is desperate to have a player who can fulfill his no-striker-OK-maybe-just-one tactical master plan. Viduka, even aged 33, fits the one-man role perfectly.

Viduka's last appearances for the national team were during the disastrous Asian Cup campaign in 2007. He had to be convinced by then-coach Graham Arnold that he should even play at that tournament.

Since then, injury and perhaps apathy have seen him miss the hard slog of this World Cup campaign. But, like his club career, Viduka seems set to arrive at Pim Verbeek's back post at the final minute.

"I always said that Mark is always on the list when he's fit and when he's playing," Verbeek said last week. "So we will take care of (him), it will be one of the last decisions we make."

So, while Viduka still has something to give, the question is whether he still has something to give for Australia.

Verbeek, ever the pragmatist, will be hoping he has.

Viduka is a fan of both bands Duran Duran and Metallica. He has told me this himself. Go figure. But it explains a lot. He should also dig out a few albums by The Clash and have a listen to their classic Should I Stay or Should I Go.

But like Verbeek, Viduka is a pragmatist rather than undecided.

There's no need to consult Nostradamus.

We will, no doubt, still be having this will-he-won't-he? discussion this time next year ahead of the World Cup.

• by Matthew Hall at 01:02 AM
• Comments (4)

Friday, May 8, 2009

Doing a Didier

Petulant. Arrogant. Disgraceful. Chelsea needs to be spanked.

I'm certainly no corporal punishment advocate but in the case of Chelsea Football Club, maybe it's time to make an exception.

So Chelsea, the bitterest of blues, lost a football match.

Boo-hoo.

So the referee had a poor game and decisions did not go the way of the entitled London club.

That's unfortunate and I'm sort of sorry for your loss but life's like that.

Just ask regular people suffering around the world from the effects of the current - and more important - global financial crisis. Those people that, rather than game, lost jobs and houses.

Boo-hoo for them. Real genuine boo-hoo.

But the performance of Chelsea's players on Wednesday night in London was a disgrace (and I'm not talking about the inability of their millionaire superstars to score against a 10-man team who themselves had a teammate sent off incorrectly).

Didier Drogba's sulk at being substituted was just the beginning. Although maybe we can grant him a stay of execution on that issue considering coach Guus Hiddink replaced his leading striker with a defensive midfielder, 1-0 up, one man up, with 15 minutes to go.

Watching, I sulked too at Hiddink's Verbeek-like conservatism.

Andrés Iniesta's late, late, goal for Barcelona fuelled a surge of hot blood that pumped through Chelsea's team.

Michael Ballack's pursuit of referee Tom Henning Ovrebo after his desperate appeal for a last-second penalty was declined was embarrassing but what transpired at the final whistle was despicable.

Chelsea players swarmed Ovrebo. Didier Drogba ran from the sideline to the referee and then on to a television camera where he told the world "It is a $%^&*@!# disgrace!".

Several times.

This was kindergarten gone wild.

Players continued to vent after the match.

"We should have succeeded but because of unbelievable decisions from the referee and, of course, Iniesta's beautiful goal, we have been knocked out," said Petr Cech, probably not realising how confessional that comment was.

"When you have 11 grown men battling to get to the final and at least three penalty decisions don't go your way, you can't expect men to walk off quietly," whined Chelsea captain(!) John Terry, who is also skipper of England's national team.

So 11 grown men, idols and role models to millions, can't act like 11 grown men?

"This referee was bought," claimed Jose Boswinga, crazily catching the bug. "I do not know if he is a referee or a thief."

Chelsea players forgot that a week earlier, during the first-leg in Barcelona, the hosts were themselves entitled to a clear-cut penalty when tempestuous Michael Ballack fouled Thierry Henry and should have been sent off.

He wasn't. Oh, well. But had that event not gone Chelsea's way the complexion of the second leg would have changed entirely.

It got worse. Ovrebo received death threats after the match and police had to assist him in secretly moving London hotels.

That almost mirrored the fate of another referee Anders Fisk, whose career came to an early end after he retired when he and his family received death threats.

The 2005 match Fisk controlled that sparked such bile?

Chelsea versus Barcelona, in a UEFA Champions League match.

The incident that enflamed those threats? Chelsea's Didier Drogba receiving a red card.

Millions watched Chelsea's combustion and heard Drogba's down camera expletive-driven outburst. Many of those watching were kids.

This weekend those same kids will play in parks or on dirt lots anywhere and everywhere around the world.

If any of them complain about losing, act out, or throw a tantrum because things didn't go their way, we now know why.

Thanks Chelsea FC's superstar spoilt-brat millionaire stars.

Your club and its culture of complaint owes everyone an apology.

• by Matthew Hall at 11:16 PM
• Comments (34)

Saturday, May 2, 2009

An Asian Political Football

Australia is about to find itself embroiled in a nasty little war.

This Friday, members of the Asian Football Confederation meet in Kuala Lumpur to shake hands with FIFA President Sepp Blatter and hear from South African World Cup official Danny Jordaan about progress for next year's finals.

The real action, however, will be the last-minute maneuvering as Sheik Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Football Association, attempts to oust AFC President Mohamed Bin Hamman from his seat on FIFA's all-powerful Executive Committee.

Who cares, you may ask? Well, a lot of people.

The implications and consequences may significantly affect Australia's role in the region, if only for the political powerplay that is unrolling.

Football Federation Australia has thrown its support behind Bin Hamman with CEO Ben Buckley telling me: "Asian football has come a long way in the last decade. We have seen substantial improvements for the Asian Champions League and substantial improvements for the Asian Cup. They have become professional tournaments."

"We have seen the growth of football through the projects like Vision Asia," he added. "There have been very strong grounds made in the last decade and in the last few years. We do not see a need to change the leadership that has brought about those changes."

That's all very well but Australia, of course, could support no one other than Bin Hamman considering the Qatari's strong relationship with FFA Chairman Frank Lowy.

The unique personal bond between Hamman and Lowy was key to Australia gaining membership to the AFC in 2005.

But Hamman faces a very real chance of losing his FIFA position to Sheik Salman. If that happens, he has said he will quit the AFC presidency allowing the opportunity for Salman to step up.

The Sheik's team has been quietly lobbying FFA for its vote. Buckley will not publicly engage on that topic nor discuss what happens if the result goes against Bin Hamman.

"A change is speculation and all theoretical," he said. "Our desire is that stability is achieved quickly."

But telephones and email inboxes have been buzzing and beeping over the past week.

I won't bore you with the chatter - most of it is "he said-she-said", mixed with legalese and about who is eligible to vote or not - but Sheik Salman apparently has heavy hitters on his side, including Japan and South Korea.

What happens if Sheik Salman wins and Australia's support of Bin Hamman ruptures that fledgling relationship? Will Australia be turfed out of Asia no sooner than it has become a member?

Not according to the contender.

"I think this is just another rumour that has been spread by the other party," Sheik Salman told ESPN Soccernet. "Who brought Australia to Asia? It was the Asian nations. It wasn't Bin Hamman. No one can take that away. Australia is part of Asia now."

This time next week, there will be losers. Australia must not be one of them.

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• by Matthew Hall at 03:39 AM
• Comments (3)