“I don’t know because they almost bought and created a new team. So now you have to fix it together – the team itself. It’s not a question anymore about the quality of the players, or are they good enough. But to make a mixture of good players is very difficult.”
On United’s transfer policy:
“There should be a logic always, but the big problem is to manage all these players. It’s the same thing with Barcelona. They now have Suárez, Messi, Neymar – how do you play them together? If you see them individually then they are great players. It’s the same at Manchester United. Individually they are great but they have to play like a team.
Then you get another problem. They are all famous. They earn a lot of money both on and off the field. How can you create a team and bring all these egos together? The main goal for Manchester United is for them to play well – and not have a player saying, ‘I play well, I scored two goals’. Because if I score two goals but three goals go into our net then we lose. They provide [Van Gaal] with a lot of good players but he has to turn them into a team. And you can’t arrange the chemistry of the team in two weeks. It needs time.”
On whether it will take United a full season to regain their preeminent position:
“No, no. That’s too long. But it doesn’t mean they will win the league. But you can see a better performance every week and you can aim for a better fit as a team in the details. And [Van Gaal] is a person of details. So it could be possible that things work. But, once again, can these people develop their own game for the sake of the team? It’s not easy.”
On their respective soccer philosophies:
“No. Not much. We’re both Dutch and that is always a [shared] basis. But I always think of being in charge of the speed and of the ball. Maybe he knows more than me but I always want control of the ball. When I don’t have control of the ball what do I do? I press to get it back. It’s a way of defending. But more important is that I like to have the ball.
Van Gaal has a good vision of football but it is not mine. He wants to gel winning teams and has a militaristic way of working with his tactics. I want individuals to think for themselves.…I’ve always been an individual who likes to create something himself within a team performance. I am happy if my players start thinking. [Pep] Guardiola is a good example. As a player he was tactically perfect but he can’t defend. That’s what he said. I said: ‘I agree – in a limited way. You’re a bad defender if you have to cover this whole area. But if you have to defend this one small area then I think you’re the best. Take care that there are people there to help you cover the other areas. As long as you do that you can be a very good defender.’ And he did become very good.
That’s why I believe in individual coaching sessions to prepare players properly. You have to take care of the individual for the benefit of the team – as our work with Guardiola showed.”
Tangentially:
“Football is now all about money. There are problems with the values within the game. And this is sad because football is the most beautiful game. We can play it in the street. We can play it everywhere. Everyone can play it but those values are being lost. We have to bring them back.
In the Premier League the money is a problem but I don’t really know how to control it. If you look at England or even Spain you see the problems. How many England players are in the first four teams in the Premier League? How many Spanish forwards are playing for Barcelona or Real Madrid?”
On Pep Guardiola, whom Cryuff considers his natural successor (not Van Gaal):
“Yes, he’s got it. Normally I would say that the most important thing for a coach is that he [overcame] difficulties when he was young. Look at Guardiola and myself. Like me he was very thin and he had to take care of his technique. You see it with Iniesta and Messi too. They must do something quick otherwise they will never get there. It means that they are aware of all the details. You have to think quicker and see more things. And if you see more things you can help more people.”
What he really meant:
“It’s a slow reaction—a slow burn if you’d like to term it so. It takes time for the team to reach ignition.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Two Weeks Notice—that’s all coaches and players need.”
In 2014, it was a group of 23 German footballers who lay siege to Brazil over a period of a month, finally seizing victory and the World Cup dismissing all opposition especially the two Latin American colossi, Brazil and Argentina.
At last, reunified Germany had its hands on the coveted trophy and the celebrations continue.
Mario Gotze scored the winning goal against Argentina in the 113th minute in spectacular fashion. It was but fitting that the goal that sealed the final was a classic beauty. The exhilarating goal-fest of a tourney ended in stellar style.
The best team triumphed. Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in the world, was disconsolate despite the Golden Ball award.
Messi could not carry his early form into the knockout rounds and his strike partners were much too wayward.
Jubilation for Germany and its fans; a tragedy for Brazil and Argentina.
The world awaits the next edition of the World Cup in Russia.
Its the 6th day in July; the semi-final line-up for the FIFA World Cup’s finalised and Petra Kvitova reigns supreme at Wimbledon once more.
In Brazil, it’s Brazil versus Germany and Holland versus Argentina.
Will it be an all South American final or an all European one?
Or is it to be a fifty-fifty split? Only the soccer gods know for sure.
Neymar’s horrendous ouster from the World Cup—kneed from behind by his Colombian opponent Juan Camilo Zúñiga—left a sour taste in the mouth.
Is this the end of Brazil’s World Cup?
Earlier in the week, Indian trolls had a field day hurling online invectives at Maria Sharapova for her insouciant response, “I don’t know who Tendulkar is.”
Does it really matter? Did Sharapova need to know who the demi-god of India cricket is to win her five slams?
For that matter, does Tendulkar need to be aware of tennis heroes and heroines to score on the cricket field?
Or do you and I need to know who the President of India is to do our jobs? Not unless your job needs you to know this trivia. But I digress.
Do you think Tendulkar cares that the ruling diva of women’s tennis does not recognise him or his name or his lauded achievements? He will probably breathe a sigh of relief that there’s one less bothersome fan in the world.
Is Sharapova to blame for her ignorance? Does it not have to do with the insular sports coverage of Western media specifically in Russia and the US? But why blame these states? How many Test-playing countries are there? Barely a handful.
Should Maria worry? Only if she’s seeking to package, market and sell Sugarpova in India, right?
English: Joseph Blatter announcing 2014 World Cup will be held in Brazil. 한국어: FIFA 회장인 제프 블래터가 2014년 FIFA 월드컵이 브라질에서 개최됨을 표시하고 있다. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
State Flag of Costa Rica (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Messi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Ten days into the soccer (or as the world prefers to term it, football) World Cup 2014 and it’s been a tale of upsets and surprises galore.
The Group of Death has witnessed sudden death for England; Costa Rica wielding the surgeon’s knife without actually playing their victims yet.
The defending champions, Spain, have done anything but defend; their citadel torn to shreds by the Dutch and the Chileans.
(I have not caught up with the games live; the interesting games are played early in the morning by Indian Standard Time (IST) but then there’s always the highlights capsule on Sony Six. A time-saver indeed and less onerous on my beauty sleep and my health.)
What else?
France appear ominous and are the current favorites by anyone’s reckoning; the Dutch struggled against the Aussies. The socceroos were plain unlucky not to have a draw on their hands. They faded out of the tournaments gloriously indeed.
Costa Rica are the surprise of the tournament; can we anoint them ‘neo’ dark horses ahead of Belgium?
Argentina and Brazil have been less than impressive; Argentina faring slightly better with Messi performing the star turn on both occasions. Neymar is no Pele yet, is he?
That’s about all for now. Enjoy your World Cup! See you again, next week, maybe!
The 2014 FIFA World Cup logo is announced in Johannesburg during a ceremony with with CBF president Ricardo Texeira, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and FIFA president Joseph Blatter. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
“The World Cup was theirs by right. When they came here with Beckham, Prince William and Prime Minister Cameron, they were certain of winning.They got two votes. Since then, they have looked for every means to justify their defeat.”
Beleaguered FIFA boss, Joseph Blatter, launches a tirade at the English Football Association for their opposition to his continued presence at the helm of international soccer.
England lost out to Russia in its bid for the 2018 World Cup.
The 75-year-old is fighting corruption charges and was recently in the center of a racism row with his seemingly flippant remark that such on-field incidents could be settled with a handshake.
Transparency International dealt another blow to FIFA’s pretensions of corruption reform severing ties with the soccer body for ignoring two of its recommendations.
Mark Pieth, a Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology at the University of Basel,asked to oversee reforms, disclosed that he would be accepting payment from FIFA. Additionally, he would not be investigating old hoary scandals.
In an interview to Matin Dimanche, a French Swiss daily, Blatter denounced the English body claiming that they are more interested in hosting the World Cup than the Olympics.
In the 60s and 70s, the great sporting federations were in the main British. It’s no longer the case.The English have lost power and, most recently, the 2018 World Cup.They were very keen, more than for the Olympics. They thought that football should have come home.
What he really meant:
“The English are sore losers—according to me.”
What he definitely didn’t:
“Why don’t HRH The Duke Of Cambridge and I settle our differences with (what else) a handshake?”
Is this the best goal of all time?(newstalk.ie)
Zlatan Ibrahimović: Steven Gerrard should leave Liverpool for a big club(thesportreview.com)
A comprehensive list of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s greatest ever goals(101greatgoals.com)
Is Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s overhead kick 4th goal against England, the greatest goal EVER?(101greatgoals.com)
Hart, Ronaldo & more: Twitter reacts to Ibrahimovic’s wonder-goal(thesportreview.com)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic in quotes(standard.co.uk)
Zlatan, Zlatan, Zlatan, Zlatan! Sweden 4 – England 0(101greatgoals.com)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic nets improbable ‘bicycle’ goal in Sweden’s win over England(tracking.si.com)
There Will Never Be Another Zlatan Ibrahimovic(bleacherreport.com)
Video: Cristiano Ronaldo talks about Lionel Messi(sportskeeda.com)
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Sadness : A Powder Keg To Explode At Real Madrid?(thehardtackle.com)
Cristiano Ronaldo is a goal away from another record(sportskeeda.com)
This is just weird! Cristiano Ronaldo acts as a family therapist on an Italian TV show(101greatgoals.com)
Ronaldo & Messi 869 days riddle(sfluxe.com)
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo share bizarre birthday link(thesportreview.com)
Cristiano Ronaldo: Cocky Superstar Deserves to Win FIFA Ballon D’Or(bleacherreport.com)
Cristiano Ronaldo: “I respect Messi but we’re not personal friends”(ronaldo7.net)
Cristiano Ronaldo on Living Soccer’s Dream(drndark.com)
Sports, Health and Exercise
Make Time For Sports. 