The Cookblog by Brian Cook

Today John Bonetti Turns 26

Happy Birthday John, you magnificent bastard.

John Mayer – Kid A (Radiohead cover)

John Hartford – Indian War Whoop

Paul McCartney – Dance Tonight

England vs. Russia Euro 2008 Qualifier

In the past few days, no topic has been receiving as much attention as this the England vs Russia Euro 2008 qualifying match on Football365, my soccer news source of choice. Everyone has been writing into the site’s famous mailbox with their two cents on England’s likely tactics, best team selection and chances of winning.

Much of tactical and selection talk has been informed and considered, though there’s always plenty to disagree with. My own view is that England should play a more ambitious, open game to try and put their opponents on the back foot. The match is at Wembley, after all, and the Three Lions are far more effective when given license to attack, not to mention far more pleasing on the eye. The attacking talents of Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Philips would be better served if unleashed instead of marginalized by a cautious, cagey approach.

As for the Starting XI, I’m an advocate of form dictating the team slightly more than class. Over a week-in-week-out league season, class certainly tells. In the periodic schedule of qualifying, however, the form and confidence of players doing well count for far more than the superior technique of a player in a rut. This is especially true of England, where the best balm for the crippling expectations of the press is the confidence of on-form players. Unfortunately, English pundits and fans alike treat international caps as a holy grail, only to be bestowed on players who perform at a consistently high level for years at a top-tier club. My pick for 11 starters and 7 substitutes is:

• GK: David James
• RB: Micah Richards
• CB: John Terry
• CB: Rio Ferdinand
• LB: Ashley Cole
• RM: Shaun Wright-Philips
• CM: Steven Gerrard
• CM: Gareth Barry
• LM: Joe Cole
• CF: Michael Owen
• CF: Emile Heskey

• SB: Paul Robinson
• SB: Michael Kightly
• SB: Matt Derbyshire
• SB: Phil Neville
• SB: Gabriel Agbonlahor
• SB: Sol Campbell
• SB: Jolean Lescott

Exactly the side England will probably put out (besides substitutes and except for the goalkeeper), but the league is too young for form players to truly emerge, and most of them played well against Israel a few days ago.

Unfortunately for England, no team they put out will beat Russia on Wednesday. Despite all of the bluster from F365 readers (“Can anybody actually name any Russian players? Thought not… Expect a straight forward if not expansive 2 or 3 nil victory and everyone is happy again.“), Russia are quite good and brilliantly managed. Only one of those descriptions fits England. Guus Hiddink, who took Holland to the brink of the World Cup final in 1998, South Korea to the World Cup semifinal in 2002, PSV to the Champions League semifinal, and Australia to the second round of the World Cup in 2006 where they were cruelly eliminated by dint of a bad penalty given against them.

Hiddink’s two World Cup semifinals is two more than England have reached since 1966, one with a talented but temperamental Holland side and one with a hard-working but limited South Korea side. More important that that history is the verve and assurance with which they dispatched Macedonia last Saturday. Simon Gay would surely point to the weakness of the opposition, though he might remember that England could only draw 0-0 against Macedonia last October… in England.

The English team looked decent against Israel, and were good value for their 3-0 win. But Russia shone in their match against comparable opponents, playing some excellent football and winning comfortably despite having their goalkeeper sent off with 20 minutes to play. Russia, with their “no-name” players, were tactically aware, positive and unselfish. Simon Gay may well remember a few of their names after they beat England tomorrow.

Russia 2 : 1 England

Premier League Predictions 2007 – 2008

With the English Premier League set to kick off this upcoming weekend, the pundits have been weighing in with their predictions for the new season. Despite the large number of columns devoted to the topic, almost everyone agrees on a few things:

1. Manchester United and Chelsea will be the top two teams.
2. Liverpool will finish 3rd.
3. Rivals Arsenal and Tottenham will battle for 4th.
4. Wigan, Fulham and the three promoted clubs will be fighting relegation.

Do I agree with the opinions of ESPNSoccerNet’s Jon Carter, and Square Football’s Cody Strunk? Not quite.

Here is the final league table as I envision it, with the key player for each team in parenthesis:

1. Manchester United (Cristiano Ronaldo)
2. Chelsea (Didier Drogba)
3. Arsenal (Robin Van Persie)
4. Tottenham (Dimitar Berbatov)
5. Liverpool (Fernando Torres)
6. Newcastle (Cacapa)
7. Blackburn (Morten Gamst Pederson)
8. Everton (Mikel Arteta)
9. Manchester City (Valeri Bojinov)
10. Reading (Stephen Hunt)
11. Portsmouth (Sulley Muntari)
12. West Ham (Scott Parker)
13. Aston Villa (Gabriel Agbonlahor)
14. Bolton (Nicolas Anelka)
15. Sunderland (Anthony Stokes)
16. Wigan (Jason Koumas)
17. Derby County (Giles Barnes)
18. Middlesbrough (Yakubu)
19. Birmingham City (Garry O’Connor)
20. Fulham (Brian McBride)

It takes a brave man to put Wigan two places above relagation, especially since they signed Titus Bramble. That kind of defensive anchor can sink your ship. But I think they’ll hold on. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, won’t make it, while Birmingham haven’t got the quality and Fulham are as good as relegated after signing the entire Northern Irish national team (currently ranked #28 in the world). Agree? Disagree? Comment it up.

2006-2007 European XI

This past season in Europe has seen some great football. My beloved Manchester United recaptured the Premier League title from Chelski, Spain’s La Liga went right down to the wire, and the Italian league was basically a joke after Juventus were demoted with several other clubs docked points. With all of the foreign investors looking to buy into the game, refereeing gaffes grabbing headlines and shady transfers cropping up everywhere, it’s easy to lose focus on the main event: the players. Here is a European XI that have made this past season worth watching.

Cech: The best goalkeeper in the game by a country mile. When he went down injured, the Chelsea players clearly had no faith in Hilario. His return coincided with a fresh run at Manchester United that ultimately came up just short.

Maldini: He’ll turn 40 in 4 days, but he’s still indispensible for the European champions, AC Milan. His experience was crucial in Milan’s run to the title, and along with Ryan Giggs, he must be one of the most loyal players in the modern game. He’s never played for another club since he broke into the Milan side in 1984. A true great.

Nesta: Another Milan player who was vital in the Italian club’s successful season, Nesta has long been considered one of the top central defenders in the game. More subtle and aware than a John Terry, he makes defending look easy, and last-ditch tackles are rarely needed due to his excellent positional sense.

Alves: Dani Alves has been striking terror into every left-sided player in Spain this season. His marauding runs up the flank make him more of a winger than a defender, but his effectiveness as part of the offense often makes his defensive capabilities moot. It would seem that Chelsea have picked a bad summer to stop their outrageous spending, because the addition of Alves would more than adequately fill their only problem position.

Beckham: While David Beckham has his detractors, I’ve always been a fan. Managers who criticize his high-profile lifestyle can’t seem to understand that Beckham very clearly separates his football from his fashion. Only an outstanding professional would be able to win back his place in Fabio Capello’s side, win back his place in the England side, and inspire both to victory. And that at the age of 32, when most players become jaded and complacent. Europe will be losing a great player, but what he does for the game in America will be fascinating to watch.

C. Ronaldo: Harshly criticized as a showpony in past seasons, Ronaldo has risen above the ill-will poured in his direction and produced a string of match-winning performances. The addition of an end-product to his game has given him all of the tools needed to become one of the all-time great players. Youth is on his side as well, and he should only add more to his already diverse bag of tricks.

Kaka: Just edging Ronaldo out of the “best player in the world” slot is the Brazilian maestro, Kaka. Like Zidane, Kaka’s smooth movement and effortless quality belie the effectiveness of his play. Usually situated just behind the front line, Kaka does everything. He scores, he creates, he defends, and he dictates. And he does it all better than anyone else at the moment.

Messi: I’m a huge Messi fan, and it’s been a delight to watch him this season. While every Argentinian has crumbled under the weight of being dubbed “the new Maradona,” Messi has gone out and scored carbon-copies of the two most famous goals in soccer history. Against Getafe, he ran through the entire team before finishing sublimely, and against Espanyol, he scored a “hand of God” goal that so nearly won Barcelona the title. It’s safe to say that are more great things to come from Lionel Messi.

Milito: Not a household name before the season began, Milito has scored a boatload for a very average Real Zaragoza side, propelling them to sixth place in La Liga. Not surprisingly, he has been the subject a much transfer talk already in the close season, with Liverpool mooted as his most likely destination.

Drogba: While his temperament wins him few admirers, his goals deserve a grudging respect. Strong and fast with a good eye for goal, Drogba is the brass knuckles on the dull fist of Chelsea. While his game is based mostly on power, he also has the skill to bring players around him into the game. Unfortunately, overshadows his play with the kind of theatrics that make average fans loathe Chelsea in general and him in particular.

Villa: If Drogba is a set of brass knuckles, David Villa is a samurai sword. He can score goals in any number of ways, but his all-around quality is what truly sets him apart. He can operate alone up top and is as good at setting up his teammates as he is at scoring himself. That is the role of the modern centre forward, and the reason every major club in Europe has been linked with him.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my selections for the European XI. Feel free to tell me how I’m wrong.

2007 Champions League Final

This was the first Champions League final in a while where I haven’t had the opportunity to watch it live. Fortunately, ESPN Classic had the game on at 7 PM (an instant classic?), so I even had time to grab some India Pale Ale to enjoy as I watched.

Since Liverpool are a bunch of long-ball merchants, and AC Milan are the very epitome of negativity, I was braced for a poor match. However, the Scousers started with some real intent, taking the game to Milan and unsettling their normally-unflappable defense. Pennant had the beating of Jankulovski on the right, and Mascherano was keeping Kaka quiet down the middle. Of course, Zenden was a complete waste of space on the left.

However, a soft foul on Kaka led to a deflected free-kick goal for Milan on the stroke of halftime, and Liverpool were forced to chase the game. Whether due to their fast tempo in the first half or the long season catching up with them, they grew tired and could no longer dictate the game. Some baffling decisions by Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez didn’t help, with the team’s top-scorer in Europe, the gigantic Peter Crouch, only brought on for the last 15 minutes. Benitez also took off Mascherano, and after Kaka set up a second Milan goal and Kuyt pulled one back, he brought on a defender for the finale. Very mysterious indeed. Maybe he thought the game was tied?

My last qualm goes to the referee. Despite a minimum of three minutes for added time shown, he ended the game after 2 minutes and 40 seconds. And this, despite an injury, a lengthy substitution and general timewasting by the Italians. I’m a firm believer in the game lasting 90 minutes, with time spent treating players’ “injuries” and all other manner of gamesmanship tacked on at the end. I’d rather see 6 minutes of added time as the standard, instead of the usual 2 or 3. It was a good game, and I was sorry to see it end like that.