Scene One: A hotel room in Barcelona, 17 August, 01:45: A man lies in bed, his shadow cast against the closed curtains of the main window that overlooks a dreary car park – in situ, a coach bound for Madrid. The phone rings and the man picks up the receiver.
“Hello, this is The Special One. Who is this?”
So to the ‘winding down’ phase of the league. Well, winding down is perhaps the wrong term, ‘winding up’ is possibly more appropriate as tempers flare, pressure rises and the winners and losers contemplate next year’s financial and league statuses.
Forgive the brevity of this weekend’s review. This writer has been out of action for the last few weeks and it’s a case of having to get back into the swing of things.
The playmaker. Yeah, that guy. He’s the one who operates in behind the forwards or striker/s, pulling the strings and using an almost ethereal view of the football field in order to make himself available for a pass and in return, he then feeds the attack. Does it sound easy? Well, it isn’t. In fact this is the position that is so difficult to fill lots of teams don’t even bother to have a playmaker.
You can have attacking midfielders, you can have central midfielders, you can have defensive midfielders, you can have wide midfielders – which is different from a winger, wing-forward and a chicken wing thrown on the pitch by an aggrieved fan – but a playmaker is a genius, and a genius is hard to find.
A wave of black and blue. A counter-current of white. Yet more surge forward, demanding the heads of their foes, screaming and snarling and appearing as wild and as fast as a hoard of Vikings that smell blood. The scary thing is, they’re not animals, barbarians or those with a lust for the kill and they know what they’re doing. They’re working together, they’re plotting, planning and executing with a distinct, dispassionate ethic. In return those on enemy soil do not back down or falter but they roar back and lunge in hope to upset the seemingly predestined loss at the hands of their oppressors.
Internazionale continued to show that Leonardo’s artistry in man-management translates into wonderful pictures on the pitch. A comprehensive 3-0 win away to Bari, which saw the return of play-maker Wesley Sneijder and the transfer-fresh form of January signing Giampaolo Pazzini, kept alive Massimo Moratti’s hopes of climbing the table and retaining the Scudetto for a startling sixth season in a row. The home loss has kept Bari at the bottom of the table with just 14 points and relegation is looking more and more likely.
This transfer window has seen some big changes in English football. Edin Dzeko to Manchester City, Fernando Torres to Chelsea, Andy Carroll and Luiz Suarez to Liverpool are amongst the headline grabbing switches, but what stands out away from the high-rolling money spending lunacy of the Barclay’s Premier League is what has happened in Italy, or to be more specific, what has happened at AC Milan.
I was born early in the morning on the 9th July 1982, the morning after the epic 3-3 semi final between France and West Germany, which saw the infamous Harald Schumacher ‘attack’ on Patrick Battiston after a glorious Michel Platini pass. I always credit this match as one of the reasons as to why football runs through my veins, considering I was born a few hours after the final whistle. However, looking at the whole 1982 tournament, Platini nor France nor West Germany were the stars of the show.
On the 5th July 1982, Brazil lost 3-2 to Italy in the quarter final of the World Cup. This Brazilian side is often credited as the greatest football side not to lift the World Cup (probably along with the 1974 Dutch side), which is no doubt a massive compliment to Paulo Rossi’s Italy – led by legendary manager Enzo Bearzot.
Former World Footballer of the year Ronaldinho has been called upto the Brazilian national team after an eighteenth month absence. Brazil’s new coach, Mano Menezes, has decided the time is right to recall one of the most gifted players of the past twenty five years. The AC Milan forward has failed to find the back of the net in seven Serie A games so far this season, but has three assists to his name so far.
The Fiorentina and Italian play maker Riccardo Montolivo believes he is the ideal replacement for Andrea Pirlo, who will miss the early stages of the tournament through injury. The AC Milan deep lying play maker is set to miss the Italy’s opening two group games against Paraguay and New Zealand after injuring his calf muscle in a recent friendly against Mexico. Italy are the defending World Champions and will be aiming on July 11th to reach a joint record five World Cup titles – currently held by Brazil.
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