Category Archives: Football
Looking forward to another Clasico
When people ask me-the son of a Scot father and a Spanish mother who was born in Madrid-why I am a cule, I tell them because I became one in the mid 1970’s thank to Johan Cruyff and have remained one ever since because I love watching beautiful football and I count many Catalans among my Spanish friends. I will be looking forward to this Saturday’s Clasico with the hope that the Barca that Luis Enrique is crafting will demonstrate that it has recovered some of the poetry in …
World Cup 2014: when Messi was not Diego
While writing Hand of God, my biography of Maradona , I recall Carlos Bilardo , telling me about the World Cup in Mexico 1986: “There was Diego, and then there was the rest of the team.” Bilardo considered Maradona an exceptional creative talent that required a completely different and indeed very privileged handling to any other member of the squad. Bilardo’s indulgence included allowing Maradona to stay up later than others, be surrounded by his own clan of friends , hangers on, and relatives and deal with his own personal …
A World Cup lacking a World Leader
I didn’t take long for commentators to conclude that Spain’s early exit from this World Cup marked not just a disastrous premature end in a group stage but the end of an era for a national team that had retained their European and World Cup crown over a period of six years. I argued that while a tragedy to see Spain humiliated in such a way,their early exit did not signify the end of an era, and nothing I have seen so far in this World Cup has altered …
Luis Suarez y el Barca
Cualquiera que sea el resultado de la debacle de Luis Suárez, una cosa es cierta. Es muy poco probable que quiera quedarse en Inglaterra y, de hecho los ingleses no le quieren . También es mas que probable que su valor comercial puede haber disminuido en los últimos días ya que los propietarios estadounidenses de Liverpool y sus patrocinadores corren a esconderse. Así que deja la pregunta, ¿qué futuro para Suarez? En el supuesto de que no va a montarse en un avión a las Cataratas del Iguazú para lanzarse …
Suarez and FC Barcelona
Whatever might be the outcome of the Luis Suarez debacle, one thing is certain. He is very unlikely to want to stay in England and indeed he is less than wanted there now anyway.One can also presume that his asset value may have declined in recent days as the US owners of Liverpool and his sponsors run for cover making him a target for non-English clubs. So that leaves the question , what next for Suarez? On the assumption that he will not next catch a plane to the Iguazu …
Messi y la memoria de Dallas
Hace diez años la carrera internacional de Maradona terminó de repente y de manera espectacular en la Copa Mundial de EE.UU. cuando dio positivo a una prueba de drogas en un partido del grupo inicial jugando Argentina contra Nigeria. Hoya Messi saltara al campo en Port Alegre con Argentina para jugar contra el mismo país, un jugador decidido a demostrar en esta Copa del Mundo del gran rival Brasil que él no solamente es el mejor, pero es mejor que Maradona. Brasil ha sido invadido por los hinchas argentinos que …
Can Messi banish the ghost of Dallas ?
Twenty years ago, Maradona’s international ended suddenly and dramatically in the World Cup USA when he tested positive to a drugs test in an early group match played by Argentina against Nigeria. Later today Messi will lead out Argentina to play against the same country, a player determined to prove in this World Cup in the great rival Brazil that he is not the only best, but better than Maradona. Brazil has been invaded by Argentine fans dreaming of a World Cup held up by Messi. It was Pep …
La Roja en Brasil: Una historia anunciada?
Nada quizá resumió con más intensidad la tragedia de la salida de España de los Mundiales en Brasil que la instantánea de David Villa y Xavi Hernández, juzgados por Del Bosque excedentes a sus requisitos , en el banco de suplentes. Villa ha marcado más goles en la Selección de España que cualquier otro jugador en la historia, mientras que Xavi Hernández ha sido la columna vertebral de y de hecho ha definido un estilo de fluido juego de ataque basado en la posesión y pases rápidos que pocos equipos …
La Roja in Brazil: A story foretold ?
Nothing perhaps summed up more acutely the tragedy of Spain’s exit from the World Cup in Brazil than the snapshot of David Villa and Xavi Hernandez , judged by their manager surplus to requirements, on the substitutes bench. Villa has scored more goals for Spain’s national team than any other in history, while Xavi Hernandez has been the backbone and indeed defined a style of fluid attacking play based on possession and quick passing which few teams have managed to emulate with such success, either club or national …
Spain’s La Roja needs to get back in touch with its best
Watching Brazil’s last two games, helped me focus in thinking what a tragedy it would be were Vicente del Bosque’s team to be knocked out in the early stages of this World Cup. For all the media hype surrounding the host nation in the run up to the tournament, this Brazil team has yet to convince me that they are worthy pretenders to the crown. My scepticism is provoked in large measure by Neymar, whose reputation has been fuelled less by any enduring evidence of his exceptionality than by …
