June is with us, and that can only mean one thing for us football fans. EURO 2020. Or 2021, if you prefer it.
The summer that we have all been awaiting but that the Covid-19 pandemic decided to steal away from us last year. After overcoming a lot of obstacles, our summer of football finally arrived. Unfortunately though, for some who were actually going to play for it, they still have to miss out, and we have to miss out on seeing their exceptional talent. So this week, I'm going to give a shoutout to the great players that will not be shining during this month, but are surely great names to the world of football. Virgil Van Dijk
He can arguably be described as one of the best centre-backs in the world, but unfortunately an ACL tear injury at the beginning of the season, saw him not only miss out on all domestic football with Liverpool, but also on this summer's Euros.
On October 17th, the Dutchman tore his ACL during a challenge against Everton and England goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford, during the Merseyside derby. The 29-year old had told Liverpool's website that he is preparing to be ready to get back to the field for pre-season and that means that he will miss out on representing the Netherlands. Van Dijk said, "With everything that is going on, I feel physically it is the right decision that I've decided not to go to the Euros and to go into my last phase of rehab during the off-season. So, the full focus will be on pre-season with the club and that's a realistic goal, so I am looking forward to that. "Obviously I am very gutted to miss the Euros, to miss the European Championship and leading out my own country there, but things have been like they have and I have to accept it - we all have to accept it. I think the decision to not go is the right decision in the grand scheme of things. It's tough, but I'm at peace with it." Devastating to not see one of the most exciting players in European football this summer, but hopefully the Netherlands will make it to the World Cup next year, and we'll see him shine in Qatar. Erling Haaland & Martin Odegaard
Two of the greatest upcoming talents in European football will be missing from the Euros after Norway failed to qualify. Having had to face Serbia in the European Qualifying play-off, the Norwegians suffered a 2-1 loss and saw themselves out of the European tournament.
Erling Haaland needs no introduction. The wonderkid who is making headlines in Germany with Borussia Dortmund. It's a shame that there is no possibility of seeing him compete against the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo, maybe he could have also ended up being top goalscorer. It would have surely been possible with the help of Martin Odegaard in the midfield. The 22-year old midfielder reached the headlines of the January 2021 transfer window, after he joined London club Arsenal on loan from Spanish giants Real Madrid. The midfielder has great potential and can easily become one of the best midfielders in Europe, but we are yet to witness his brilliance on an international level. Nicolo Zaniolo
One of the most devastating stories in football for a player who is only 21 years old and has such great potential. For those who watch Italian football, they surely have been impressed by Roma's young prospect Zaniolo who has been compared to the likes of Andrea Pirlo. And I agree, having seen such player play live for Roma against Juventus during the 2018/19 season, he is such an admirable player, who you surely won't get tired of watching.
During the 2019/20 season, during Roma's Serie A fixture against Juventus, as he managed to pass five Juventus players, he got beaten down and tore his right ACL, which saw him miss out on the rest of the season. Luckily, thanks to the fact that he is still very young and fit, he found it easier than most to get back to the pitch and during the September international break, he returned to Mancini's bench to represent Italy against The Netherlands in a Nations League clash. During that match, Zaniolo was seen limping out of the pitch, when later came the news that he had torn his left ACL this time and so not only went to miss out on another season with Roma but also to miss out on the Euros. Now Zaniolo is preparing himself to play for Roma once again next season, and we all hope to see such a great midfielder compete in Serie A and for Italy again, as it would be a huge shame if such a player is not given his chance to shine on the big stage. Moise Kean
Such a great striker but it seems that he just cannot find his feet in the footballing world yet. Having been dropped by Juventus and sold to Everton, Kean's career has gone downhill since joining the Premier League.
He had potential to become one of the best Italian strikers with Juventus, but it looks like the Italian giants had plans of their own which didn't include him despite the fact that fans still hold hope that the 21-year old will return to Torino. During the 2019/20 season, he managed 33 appearances with the Merseyside club, netting in only two goals and registering only two assists. A season later, Everton could not find much use to the striker who had only made two Premier League goalless appearances. The only two goals came in the EFL Cup against Salford and Fleetwood. Carlo Ancelotti could not see him fit in the Everton squad, and so in October, Kean made the loan move to Paris to join French giants Paris-Saint Germain with whom he recorded one of his best seasons. He managed 41 appearances in all competitions in which he scored 17 goals and recorded a single assist. Now, after announcing their 26-man squad for the Euros, Roberto Mancini confirmed that Moise Kean will be left out of the travelling party for Italy. Kean can only hope that during the summer he will find a club that will take him on and show his full potential, as he is on his way to return to Everton from his loan move. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic & Dusan Vlahovic
Another two exceptional talents that compete in Serie A and will not be competing in this year's Euros. Serbia were beaten 5-3 on penalties by Scotland and so they too will be missing from this summer's tournament.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is one of the best midfielders that you will find in the Italian game and arguably also in Europe. He has been linked with clubs such as Juventus, Liverpool and Real Madrid for a while now, but whether the rumors are true or not, the 26-year old decided to stay loyal to Lazio so far. He would have surely complimented the striker who is on everyone's mind in Italy right now, Dusan Vlahovic. The 21-year old striker who scored 21 goals for Fiorentina during his breakout season in Serie A will not have an opportunity to shine this summer. He will probably spend the next few months going over transfer offers which are reported to be coming from Liverpool, Juventus and AC Milan. Jan Oblak & Josip Ilicic
At the time, Jan Oblak can be described as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but unfortunately him and Slovenia did not managed to qualify for the Euros. They were really close to go on to compete in the play-off stages of qualifying, after they finished fourth in Group G with 14 points. North Macedonia finished with the same amount of points, but had a better goal average which saw them finish third and qualify to the play-offs through the Nations League.
Together with Oblak, we will also be missing out on the brilliance of Josip Ilicic and if Slovenia fail to qualify for the World Cup 2022, then we might never see Ilicic compete on such a level. The 33-year old is one of the best strikers in Italy and was named the 2019 Slovenian Footballer of the Year. At least, we are lucky enough to see him compete in Champions League football next season, after Atalanta managed to finish off the Serie A season in second. Kostas Manolas
Manolas is another great defender that we will be missing out on during the Euros. Greece were only four points away from achieving second place in Group J. Unfortunately, the Nations League did not play out in their favour either and so they did not manage to qualify for the play-offs.
Manolas used to play for Italy's capital, AS Roma from 2014 till 2019, before moving to Napoli. You might remember him for the 82nd minute goal he scored in the 3-0 win over Barcelona, in the 2018 Champions League Quarter Finals. Manolas is a great player who is a warrior on the pitch. He is determined to regain possession, is a great team player that always helps his teammates out and it's a shame that we will not be witnessing his defensive skills this summer.
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We do not hear much often from Australia when it comes to the football world. Rugby and cricket are amongst the Australians' favourites, but recently female footballer who plays for Chelsea in the midfield, Sam Kerr, has been leaving her mark in Australian and European football. She became the first Australian footballer to play in a Champions League final in 18 years, and that is why she is not only taking women's football forward but overall football too, especially in Australia.
So, who is Sam Kerr?
Style of Play
Kerr is lethal when it comes to one on one challenges, that is why goalkeepers should be very afraid of her. She can play as a forward but she also likes to drop deep in the midfield. She is clever on creating space for the rest of her teammates and create more scoring opportunities. Thanks to the situations that she creates, her opponents fall out of position, enabling her and her teammates to take more control of the game and that is why Kerr is such an important figure in Chelsea's and Australia's first eleven.
This season, she helped Chelsea reach their fourth Women's Super League title thanks to her impact on the pitch and also her 21 goals, which saw her win the Golden Boot. She also led her team to the UEFA Women's Champions League Final, and made Chelsea the first club to have both men and women sides to play in this competition's final.
Strikers such as Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe dominated the media throughout this season, especially the Norwegian forward. Many speculation about where Haaland may start the 2021/22 season, whether it'll be at Borussia Dortmund or far from Germany has ruled the headlines.
Meanwhile in Italy, the fans' eyes are all on Dusan Vlahovic, the exciting 21-year old Serbian striker who lies in fourth in the Capocannoniere list in Serie A, after scoring 21 goals for Fiorentina. Who is Dusan Vlahovic?
Style of Play
Vlahovic is a classic number nine which is suitable for the Italian game. He is a highly offensive player who succeeds in brining the play forward, leaving his partner upfront to be a bit more retired at the back, and help in the work through the midfield and wings.
His strength makes him a threat in aerial challenges and also enables him to be more dangerous from distant shots which surprise the opposition. Something that can work out against Fiorentina is that Vlahovic is a very possessive player and likes to play individually at times, so the team has to sometimes adapt to his way of play. What are people saying about him?
Ex-teammate at Partizan Belgrade and former Fiorentina striker Valeri Bojinov said, "He said he was the new Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I told Corvino to sign Vlahovic when he was 15 or 16. Vlahovic was crazy, really crazy. He used to tell me, 'I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Belgrade, I will play for the strongest clubs.' I liked his arrogance. I thought he would become a strong player, while Milenkovic was calmer."
Ex Fiorentina Manager Cesare Prandelli praised him after the hat-trick scored against Benevento, "He's certainly motivated, I practically have to push him off the pitch, as he would like to stay there for hours. I think it's the kind of pleasure he can deal with." Serbia Boss Dragan Stojkovic said, "He is only 21 years old and he behaves as if he were 30, which is very positive, it opens the way for him to have a phenomenal career, of which I am convinced and which will be very important in the game of our national team."
Already three weeks since the European Super League (ESL) has been announced and withdrawn.
Several protests mostly in England are still being held such as the one held by Manchester United fans against the Glazer owners. The Red Devils fans held a pitch invasion prior to the clash against Liverpool which caused the match to be postponed. This league has given rise to many controversy mostly in England about how the ownership of the clubs is handled. Most fans are in favour of applying the regulation of the 50+1 footballing body, which had been created by the German Football League (DFL) back in 1998. In this blog, we will take a look about what exactly this rule offers to football and how it has affected German football throughout the years, as it is blamed for holding German football back from developing as much other clubs in Europe. So What is the 50+1 Rule?
In order for a club to play in the Bundesliga, the majority of the ownership must be in the club's fan members' hands, with the investors only being limited to owning 49 per cent.
This was aimed at preventing investors of taking financial advantage of the financial gain of the club, which would help to maintain financial stability and it has also helped fans to be more engaged with the club as reasonable ticket prices helped more supporters to attend the stadium. This regulation was implemented back in 1998, when all club were run as non-profit organisations. It was feared that eventually clubs would be able to become private or public limited companies, due to the big amounts which were becoming involved in the sport. This prevents clubs such as Bayern Munich from competing in a competition such as the European Super League, as a fan element helps to keep a certain sort of Corinthian spirit to the club and not treat it only as a business. Excemptions?
Red Bull
The DFL does not want companies taking over clubs and turning them into another franchise, and that is why they are trying to put as much pressure as they can on Red Bull's take over of the fifth-tier team SSV Markanstadt. When Red Bull took over back in 2009, the fans held several protests, violent and non-violent, in fear of having their team taken away from them by an energy drink company which has established a great name in the field of sports.
The DFL prohibited the company from using Red Bull in their club's renaming, but it is easy to associate this club with Red Bull for reasons such as:
2019 vs 2021
Following last week's havoc regarding the European Super League (ESL), this week I take a look at UEFA's and FIFA's role in how the clubs came to create such a league and how the actions which they threatened the clubs with could have affected European football.
Although for now the European Super League is on hold, one needs to understand how big of a threat it is to European football, hence why I'm writing such blogs. Protests are still ongoing, such as that of Friday's at the Emirates during the Arsenal vs Everton Premier League clash. These protests are not to stop the ESL, but they're against the owners of these clubs who put money over everything that the team stands for. UEFA's source of income
We are all aware about how UEFA distributes money to the clubs who are competing in a competition such as the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and many more. But from where does UEFA make money?
If we take a look at the UEFA Champions League, UEFA already secures a billion pounds in TV rights with BT Sports, and also a reported amount of $250 million a year with Bein Sports. Meanwhile this competition is strongly funded by sponsors, having eight big sponsors which secure a good pool of money. These include:
From this little summary, we can conclude that UEFA makes well over £2 billion when we consider: the £1 billion already made from BT Sports, £360 million from these eight sponsors if the deals cost in the ratio of £45 million at least, £180 million from the Bein Sports partnership and income from TV rights and sponsors of other competitions such as the UEFA Europa League, the UEFA Women's Champions League, the UEFA Nations League and so on. How much do the ESL clubs earn from European competitions
Part of the money that UEFA earns, is shared between the clubs that participate in its competitions. Most of it, is given out as prize money, according to their success in the UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League. Below, you can find how much clubs would hypothetically earn this season from European competition. The amounts were calculated using the figures from the 2019/20 season. No amount could be found for how much more a club would earn if they win the Champions League Group. The amounts should be taken as millions.
When looking at UEFA's financial reports for 2018/19, one can see UEFA's distribution of money by country. During that year, England was given the highest amount of money through club competitions and national competitions with the amount of €16.067 thousand.
Meanwhile the other four highest paid countries were as follows:
So what am I concluding from this?
Comparing how much UEFA earns from such competitions to how much the clubs earn from such competitions, it is understandable how these clubs would opt for a European Super League.
So what should UEFA and FIFA do? If they are not going to increase the share of money these clubs should earn. In my opinion, football needs to become a levelled field. FIFA had implemented the Financial Fair Play rule in order to try and control clubs and their spending. But that still didn't work. So instead, they should put a limit on all transfers which would start to help with the flow of money. €200 million transfers has become too much in football. It has become an industry with billions involved in it, and you cannot blame these clubs to invest their billions in order to record prudent financial accounts. Meanwhile, how can UEFA invest the money better and how can clubs helps? UEFA can also implement regulations regarding the huge amount of income that clubs have and set a ratio which would be the budget to their pool of money. That way big clubs can help to invest money in other areas of the pyramid of football of their countries, creating a more levelled field. Meanwhile, UEFA can also invest more of its money in other countries. Some sort of ratio should be calculated in order to help lower nations and clubs to earn more than bigger clubs. Reason being that rich clubs are just getting richer while small clubs are not earning enough money to build and develop their side. This way, it can help small teams to start reaching better levels of football, eventually creating more exciting football. Imagine if all teams could actually be competitive, making it even more unpredictable, and giving more chance to the teams around Europe to compete. Investing in countries such as Estonia, can also help the country's and the clubs' economy, especially after the impact of Covid-19. If you have a team such as Real Madrid travelling to face an Estonian team such as Paide, it'll attract more people to the stadium once fans can start attending again, because such a big side full of football stars like Real Madrid, is facing their team, and also enable Spanish fans to travel to Estonia, generating more tourism and more gate money for both teams. I'm not saying that as soon as UEFA start helping smaller footballing countries, teams from Estonia and Malta will start making it to the Champions and Europa League. But it will start making it possible for them, it will help to start building a better European structure.
This week, us football fans have all been preoccupied by the disgraceful news that 12 teams agreed to break away to a new private league which would have seen them earning about £3.5 billion, which would have been funded by private bank JP Morgan.
Today's blog will give you a round up of the events, let you know who were the people involved behind this greedy scheme and I will also personally express everything that is wrong with this league and how I feel that my club has betrayed and cannot bring myself to show my full support or any at all to Juventus. What is the European Super League?
12 teams including: Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool, Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona, had plans to form a league of their own which would have been financed by JP Morgan.
Three more teams were set to join but clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain in France, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in Germany, AS Roma and SSC Napoli in Italy, Sevilla in Spain and Porto in Portugal confirmed that they had no interest in being part of such a league. These 15 teams would have competed in the tournament each season without risk of relegation while five more teams would join them. The teams chosen would have been dependent on their performance throughout the season, similar to how teams are chosen for the current Champions League format. The teams would have been split into two groups of ten, and they would have faced each other in home and away legs. The top three teams from both groups would compete in a knock-out phase. As a 'welcome bonus' each founding team was set to earn £200 - £300 million, while summing up to billions each season. What did this league mean to non-founding clubs?
If this league was to go on as planned, teams such as Leicester, Atalanta, Borussia Monchengladbach, Villareal, Lyon, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb and the list goes on and on, would not be able to compete in a fair European competition where they can face higher opposition, play more exciting football, make history while also earning a great deal of money which helps them in their development.
To put things clearer for you, if this sort of league was to had been implemented in the season of 2016/17, Leicester would not have qualified for it. Meanwhile teams such as Liverpool who finished eighth or Chelsea who finished 10th, would still had been able to play in this so called 'elite' league. But who are the actual people behind this league?Real Madrid President - Florentino Perez
Previously, Perez has spoke about the aims of this league, saying, "We will help football at every level and take it to its rightful place in the world. Football is the only global sport in the world with more than four billion fans and our responsibility as big clubs is to respond to their desires."
Andrea Agnelli - Juventus Chairman
Joel Glazer - Co-owner of Manchester United
What footballing figures had to say about the ESL
Despite the fact that high figures in the footballing world were ready to take over with plans of their own, other key figures such as football players joined the fight along with the fans against these people of high positions.
On Sunday during Sky Sports Football Show, Gary Neville expressed his thoughts in a heart felt speech, which basically highlighted all that is wrong with this Super League, especially for English football.
Liverpool Supporters' Group: "Embarrassing. As fan representatives we are appalled and completely oppose this decision. Football is ours not theirs. Our football club is ours not theirs."
Manchester United Supporters' Trust: "A "Super League" based on a close shop of self-selected wealthy clubs goes against everything football and Manchester United should stand for." Chelsea Supporters' Trust: "Our supporters across the world have experienced the ultimate betrayal. This is unforgivable." Manchester City Supporters' Club: "These owners, irrespective of where they come from, seem to think Football belongs to them, it doesn't it belongs to us, the Supporters, irrespective of which team we support." Tottenham Supporters' Trust: "The current Board is prepared to risk the Club's reputation and its future in the opportunistic pursuit of greed." Arsenal Supporters' Trust: "This represents the death of everything that football should be about."
How organisations responded
"UEFA, the English Football Association and the Premier League, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga, and the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Lega Serie A have learned that a few English, Spanish and Italian clubs may be planning to announce their creation of a closed, so-called Super League.
"If this were to happen, we wish to reiterate that we - UEFA, the English FA, RFEF, FIGC, the Premier League, La Liga, Lega Serie A, but also FIFA and all our member associations - will remain united in our efforts to stop this cynical project, a project that is founded on the self-interest of a few clubs at a time when society needs solidarity more than ever. "We will consider all measures available to us, at all levels, both judicial and sporting in order to prevent this happening. Football is based on open competitions and sporting merit; it cannot be any other way. "As previously announced by FIFA and the six Confederations, the clubs concerned will be banned from playing any other competition at domestic, European or world level, and their players could be denied the opportunity to represent their national teams. "We thank those clubs in other countries, especially the French and German clubs, who have refused to sign up to this. We call on all lovers of football, supporters and politicians, to join us in fighting against such a project if it were to be announced. This persistent self-interest of a few has been going on for too long. Enough is enough."
How it went down
So far, we have seen what high profiles had to say about the Super League, but how did this saga come to an end in just two days?
Football is a game of the people, and all football fans united together to protest against this appalling plan. On Tuesday evening, Chelsea fans gathered around Stamford Bridge in London, blocking the entrance to the training grounds. A video circulating around social media showed former goalkeeper Petr Cech arguing with fans to let the bus go in and let people sort this out. Moments later, while people were still making their voices heard outside the stadium, it was announced that Chelsea were going to start filing documentation in order to exit the Super League.
It still doesn't mean that because the Super League is on hold, and because many clubs want out and now they are issuing apologies to fans, the fight is over. These people have tried to steal football from fans of every club basically, as this league would have affected the development of clubs in lower leagues too.
Many of these owners look at these football club solely as a business and forgot that these football clubs were founded by working class people for the love of the game. That is why fans are piling up in front of stadiums and training grounds to protest against these greedy owners who are ready to throw years of history away to fill up their pockets.
Tottenham fans took over the new billion pound Tottenham Hotspur Stadium yesterday calling for their owner to resign while today Manchester United fans managed to get into their club's training grounds in Carrington and blocked the entrances while protesting against the Glazer family ownership of the Manchester club.
My personal thoughts
For those who read this blog frequently, you know that I am a huge Juventus supporter. My dad brought me up supporting Italy, supporting Juventus and I had a great Italian influence especially in regards to football while growing up.
My dad taught me to always stand by my club, as he stood by his club when he saw them lose nine Champions League finals, while I only remember the ones of 2015 and 2017 since I was still very young when they reached the 2003 final. He stood by Juventus when they were relegated to Serie B because of the Calciopoli scandal which tarnished Italian football. That is why I believe that I should always stand by my club, no matter how bad things get, but now I do not feel that I can be happy about last night's 3-1 win over Parma. People tell me, what Agnelli did is wrong but Agnelli is not the club, so I should not hold it against the whole club. As a Juventus fan, I thank Agnelli for making Juventus one of the best sides in football but in my opinion the Agnelli family is Juventus. They hold the eldest sporting partnership in Italy with Juventus, since 1923. They basically built Juventus, so how can someone say that Agnelli isn't Juventus? And that is the reason why I feel betrayed by my club. It took one mistake, one giant mistake to make me feel like this. Juventus gave me an identity, made me feel part of a family, not only a black and white one but also a footballing one. I meet people who support clubs in the Championship, in League One and League Two and despite me being a supporter of a bigger club, we still feel like we both belong to something bigger together. And in my opinion, the people who created this league were taking all of this away. They were threatening to take the opportunity from smaller football clubs to have their own taste of glory in Europe. Thinking of it, it's not only about the money but about the embarrassment that these clubs had in Europe and in domestic competitions against lower clubs.
So previously I talked about how the USA is having a major breakthrough in American football players leaving their mark on European football.
We spoke about how Germany has been one of the most popular destinations for American footballers to start their careers. German giants Bayern Munich are one of the top teams that players choose, but recently the Bavarian club has also displayed for us the talents of Alphonso Davies. The Canadian left-back who impressed mostly during the 2020 Champions League campaign, which took place in August due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Surely Canada is mostly known for winter sports such as ice hockey, but today I will be having a look at some of the players which we might see represent Canada during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, if they manage to qualify, and what they have to offer to global football. Most players who are on Canada's team list hold a dual nationality which makes this team more interesting considering the fact that almost all players have a particular story on how they made it to the Canadian National Team and how they managed to find their feet in football in a country where this sports does not stand in the nation's spotlight. Canada has only participated in the World Cup of 1986, held in Mexico. Now they seek to join the top countries on the big stage as they are currently first with six points in Group B of the World Cup Qualifiers from the North, Central America and Caribbean area. Who is Leading the Pack? - John Herdman
As Canada is hosting the 2026 World Cup alongside the USA and Mexico, Herdman puts his faith in his new upcoming team, especially in rising star Alphonso Davies who he describes as a "trailblazer" for Canadian football.
In Goal: Dayne St.Clair
At the Back: Let's start with Alphonso Davies
At 14 he was chosen to join the Whitecaps FC Academy and as Davies explained to BBC Sport, "My mum wasn't too fond of the situation because I was going to Vancouver, by myself, at 14 years of age and schooling is a big one for my parents because they wanted me to have something to fall back on.
"I promised my parents I would stay the same and I wouldn't change. I am happy they let me go and glad it worked out. "But I will never forget where I came from and I want my story to give hope and excitement for other refugees to say, if he can do it, I can do it too." Davies made his Canadian international debut in a 2-1 friendly win against Curacao in which he played 37 minutes. He later on had his first start in the first Group A match of the 2017 Gold Cup in which he netted in two goals for Canada in a 4-2 win over French Guiana. Alistair Johnston
Johnston is an exciting prospect who is very mature about football, adjustable and flexible in positioning for the age of 22.
As Nashville Head Coach Gary Smith explained after his debut against Dallas FC, "I think we view Alistair more so as a right back but what he has shown us in a very short period of time, is that he is an incredibly genuine character, and his quality and understanding of numerous roles is getting better and better. He is very adaptable, but most importantly of all, he's a very intelligent boy. "For 90 minutes, Alistair was able to take on board exactly what was required of him. He applied himself fantastically well and in fact, he actually had a couple of reasonable opportunities and supplied a couple as well. When I remember the good save from Maurer in the first half and a wonderful cross-field ball to Hany. The boy's had a terrific debut, full debut. And if I was him, I certainly wouldn't be going to sleep tonight, I'd be looking at that game again and you know getting excited all over again." His debut was in a World Cup qualifier match against Bermuda in which he came in to play for 21 minutes during a 5-1 win. He then got his first start in another qualifier against the Cayman Islands in which he played for 68 minutes before being substituted. He contributed as a right-back in an 11-0 win in which he scored his first international goal and also assisted one of the 11 goals. Frank Sturing
Canadian Head Coach Herdman describes Sturing as "Just a young pro who's showing he could be someone Canada needs in the future."
Ricardo Ferreira
"Ricardo Ferreira is a modern centre back who has played at good levels in Europe, so we look forward to adding his experience to the Men's National Team Program in 2021."
In Midfield: Marcelo Flores
He started his footballing career when he attended a training camp by Ipswich Town youth development coach Steve Faley. He then went on to join the Arsenal Academy and immediately left his mark after scoring three goals in two games at the beginning of the U18 2020-21 season. This urged Arsenal to offer him his first professional contract which he signed in October 2020 after attending a training session with the first team.
Canada are fighting hard in order to convince Flores to join them in this exciting project of brining Canadian football to the top level with U23 Canada Coach Mauro Biello saying, "Marcelo Flores is a player that obviously we have been looking at, a player that for sure we would love to have in our group. "Again, he is a player that is being [sought] after by other organisations. "At the moment, for sure, Canada is interested in Marcelo as a player. Going forward, there will be opportunities down the road for this young player and Canada will do its best to try and bring him across to our team." Samuel Piette
Piette has great European experience to bring to the Canadian side along with his aggresive ball-winning and strong physique.
Making his debut at a very young age, Piette saw the Canadian team growing and told FIFA in an interview in 2020, "Not only the team, but the entire program has grown a lot in the past two, three years. Our new manager, John Herdman, made the switch from the women's side to the men's side and it's been really positive for us. He's trying to implement things that will bring us to the next level. We also have some highly talented young players: Alphonso Davies playing at Bayern Munich and Jonathan David playing in Belgium, for example. We haven't had these type of players before, and especially at young ages. I think this new generation of player will be very helpful for this country." Junior Hoilett
In 2009, he got promoted to the Blackburn Rovers Senior team and if you're a fan of English football, you might remember him from scoring the final penalty in the quarter final of the 2009 League Cup against Chelsea after they finished full-time in a draw of 3-3, which saw Blackburn make it to the semi-finals.
Hoilett also played for Queens Park Rangers, with whom he recorded 122 appearances which saw him score 13 goals and register 13 assists. Now he represents Cardiff City in the Championship with his best season being that of 2017/18 in which he scored nine goals and registered 11 assists in 46 appearances. Up Front: Jonathan David
Before joining Lille, he played for Belgian side KAA Gent recording an involvement in a goal every 93 minutes during the 2019/20 season. His movement and use of space is what makes him such an intelligent football player. He makes sure to make the most out of every opportunity in which he can score and also creates chances for the whole team.
He made his first appearance for Canada in the first Group A match of the 2018 CONCACAF Nationas League Qualifiers, which was an 8-0 win against the US Virgin where he scored two goals and also assisted one. In 12 appearances with Canada, he already scored 12 goals and recorded five assists. David had the choice to play for the USA since he was born there. When he was only three months, his parents moved to Haiti before deciding to settle in Canada when David was aged six years old. David is excited about what the future holds for Canadian football and the talents that are yet to be discovered as he explained, "Canada has a lot of talent. Maybe we just don't have the exposure yet. Let's say there's a player playing in the street, they may have more talent than all of us. We just don't know. We just have to give the players chances to really prove themselves." Theo Corbeanu
He came on at the 77th minute, to make it 5-1 four minutes later, urging Wolves fans to take on to Twitter and encourage Espirito Santo to finally start Corbeanu.
So far the Canadian has only been called up on the bench. This came after during his first season with the U23 Wolves side, he scored a brace in a 4-2 win to West Bromwich. This encouraged Santo to give him a first team call-up for the Premier League match against Burnley. U23 Coach James Collins is very fond of Corbeanu as he said, "He's athletic, tall, can head it, can defend, can dribble past people and score, he can shoot, he can pass, he's both footed, he's got a bit of everything. "Theo can be anything he wants to be. He's an outstanding prospect. But, and there's always a but with these players, he's got to learn to play within the system and play with the others, adapt his game for different scenarios and situations. "He's got to keep improving and he knows that, he's another good kid who wants to learn - but I think Theo can be as good as he wants to be." Cyle Larin
For the season of 2019/20, Lanir was loaned to Belgian side Zulte Waregem with whom he scored nine goals and recorded 11 assists in 33 appearances.
After that spell, he returned to Besiktas, featuring in 31 Super Lig matches this season so far, where he scored 15 goals and was involved in four other goals. Larin has been part of Canada's plans for a long time as his debut dates back to 2014 when he played 15 minutes of a 1-1 friendly draw to Bulgaria. Teamed up with David and Corbeanu, Canada seem to have one dangerous attack.
During this season, lots of eyes have been turning to the French league. Ligue 1 is normally considered as a 'farmer's league' by fans due to the Paris-Saint Germain dominance. In my opinion, they have got it all wrong. Let's start with the fact that many great players are developed in France, in fact they have one of the best national teams in the world.
One of the main reasons that French football has taken long to develop was because footballers were forced to pay a huge amount of tax, summing up to 75%. A lot of developments and arguments have been made about this issue, but we are not here to talk about that. Monaco had recently been crowned French Champions in the 2016/17 season, and this year France might see another new champion. Having won against Paris-Saint Germain this weekend, Lille lead the Ligue 1 table by three points. Despite the small gap, Lille have been upping their game this season and proved to be a threat. So can this Lille bring the league home again after 10 years? Manager: Christophe Galtier
In Goal: Mike Maignan
The exciting 25-year old goalkeeper, who is also known as the "Magic Eagle", is set take the first goalkeeper spot with France as soon as Hugo Lloris who is 34-years old and Steve Mandana who is aged 35, retire. Being rated hire than Alphonse Areola, Maignan made his debut in a 7-1 friendly win against Ukraine as a half-time subsitute to Mandanda.
Being a product of the Paris Saint-Germain academy, Maignan made the move to Lille in 2015, and is the player with the longest time spent at the club so far in the squad. Holding the best defensive record in Ligue 1 so far, he has managed to keep 17 clean sheets and only concede 19 goals in 31 matches. Having a solid defense helping in front of goal can of course keep him from making more saves. Despite this, Maignan uses his 'free' time during a match to read the way of play which by experience enabled him to read danger early. This built many confidence in Maignan who is famous for saving golden goal-scoring chances. To add to that, Maignan is a great offensive goalkeeper which complements Lille's style of play. Having great aim enabled him to help out his team by starting counter attacks from the back of the field and create great offensive opportunities. In Defense: Young Talents
In the heart of defense, one can find Tiago Djalo and Sven Botman. Both players are only 21-years old, with Djalo celebrating his birthday today.
Djalo joined Lille in 2019 from AC Milan's U19 side for a transfer fee of €5 million. Having to yet make his international debut with Portugal, the youngster still has lots to learn from football. Djalo is a possessive centre-back who wants to get his feet on the ball at all times. He is known for his great intercepting and successful tackles. Being only 21 years of age, Djalo is deemed to make some mistakes at this point of his career, and sometimes his possessive style can get him to unnessecary foul. Alongside him, Sven Botman is another exciting prospect who had his call-up with the Netherlands side but is yet to make his international debut. Botman is compared mostly to his fellow Dutch teammate, Virgil Van Dijk, due to his physique and height. Having been influenced by the great centre-backs in the Netherlands such as Van Dijk himself and other teammates such as Matthijs De Ligt, Botman is a dominant figure in the defensive heart. By the first half of the season he had won 105 duels out of 143 contested with a success rate of 73.4%, as per stats presented by Squawka Football. He is also a great defender which starts play from the back of the field, with a pass completition rate of at least 86%. Lille boss Christophe Galtier had previously spoken about Botman, saying, "He's settled in very quickly, despite the language barrier. Like so many players that come out of the Ajax academy, he's had a very good football education. "In football, you have leaders who are vocal, ones who gesticulate and ones who shake the team up... I have a few of those. "But you also have people who lead by example, through their performances, and it's true that Sven is emerging as this type of leader." The Experience
The Portuguese is 37-years old and while he is known for his successful winning percentage in aerial duals, he is an accurate player who does not lose his focus easily.
He is a concentrated player who would rather challenge players than tackle them directly. He incorporates his style of short passing perfectly in the 3 v 2 system that Galtier has implemented in the team. In Midfield: Upcoming Talents
One can describe him as the playmaker, although he needs to gain more experience to refine that position. He is on the right track though, where he finds a balance to defend but also play offensive football. Rather than creating goal-scoring opportunities himself, he is the one who makes sure that the ball arrives to the right players in order to find the net.
Most of his actions will always be with a ball rather than without as he gets involved in the build up rather than the repossession. the French provides a great equilibrium in the centre of the pitch to create attacking opportunities from throughout the whole field. Jonathan Bamba
The Experience: Benjamin Andre
After spending five years at Rennes, the 30-year old made the move to Lille on a fee of €7 million in 2019.
He does not only bring experience but he brings some of everything on the pitch to the squad. Andre can basically help any player out on the pitch as he makes sure to cover all grounds. This is what makes his such a key figure in the team as he is able to change from defensive to offensive easily. He is not a fast paced player but and organised player who is intelligent and can use the space around him in a smart manner. In Attack: The Jonathans
Upfront, one can find the outstanding pair of Jonathan David and Jonathan Ikone.
David is one of the most exciting strikers in Europe, especially since he had previously made the move from Canada to Belgium to play for KAA Gent, before joining Lille during the last summer transfer window for €27 million, making him the most expensive Canadian player. It also makes him another exciting Canadian talent alongside Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies. Having emigrated from Haiti to Canada when he was younger, the 21-year old explained how he found it difficult to practise football in a country where sports such as ice-hockey are the focus, "It's difficult in the winter because of the cold weather which means it can be hard to find somewhere to play. We would sometimes play indoors but the facilities were often being used by other sports. We had a great coach so he found a way for us to train and that was very important for me." So far this season he scored 10 goals including the one against Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday. Alongside him, Ikone also plays an important role as he scored four goals and registered five assists in 30 appearances so far. The 22-year old joined Lille from PSG in 2018 for a fee of €5 million. He had made his debut for France in 2019 in the EURO 2020 qualifying scoring on his debut during a 4-1 win over Albania. Against Andorra, he also assisted one of the goals in a 3-0 win. The pair has been important to help bringing the play more forward, which helped to score the 51 goals so far.
On 12th September 2020, German side Wolfsburg celebrated their 75th anniversary, after the club went through a rough patch by almost getting relegated twice.
Every football fan knows that Wolfsburg has always been a popular name in German football despite the fact that they do not hold many titles to their name. They have only won the Bundesliga once, in 2009 and where runner-ups in the 2014/15 season. This qualified them for the Champions League, where in the Quarter Finals they almost beat out Spanish giants Real Madrid. They finished the first leg with a 2-0 home advantage but then a classic Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick at the Santiago Bernabeu sent The Wolves back home. From almost kicking the best team in Europe out from the Champions League to fighting for survival in the Bundesliga the following season. For two consecutive seasons from 2016 till 2018, Wolfsburg managed to survive in the Bundesliga thanks to a relegation play-off. What happened to Wolfsburg during these two years? 2015/16 The Departure of De Bruyne
Despite presenting a threat to Los Blancos in the Champions League Quarter Final tie, the side was still left disappointed. They were eliminated from European football and finished 8th in the Bundesliga, 43 points behind Bayern Munich, to whom they were supposed to be competitors.
Dost only scored eight goals that season, while Julian Draxler managed to net only six and Kruse only five. 2016/17 Players on Edge
Ismael's spell did not last long after losing nine matches out of 15. He had lost the first two matches against Darmstadt who now play in Bundesliga 2 and against Bayer Leverkusen. They also suffered a terrible loss to Bayern Munich of 5-0 and also lost to Borussia Dortmund again, this time with a score of 3-0. There seemed to maybe have some hope for the club, after Ismael managed to lead them to three consecutive wins against Eintracht Frankfurt, Borussia Monchengladbach and Hamburger. That did not last long though, and so then Andries Jonker took charge till September 2017.
He managed to help the team get a total of 15 points from four wins, three draws and five losses. A 4-1 loss to Schalke and a 6-0 to Bayern Munich were cruel for the side who was up to face Eintracht Braunschweig in the relegation play-off. Mario Gomez found the net from a penalty in the first leg, while Vieirinha secured the team a place in the Bundesliga for the 2017/18 season during the second leg. 2017/18 Way too many changes
From what we have analysed so far, it is clear that the lack of stability that Wolfsburg held was the reason why they could not catch up in the Bundesliga. A player was going through having one teammate to another, and from one coach to another.
During the summer transfer window, significant players of the previous season departed the club such as Mario Gomez, Vieirinha, Luiz Gostavo and Ricardo Rodriguez. In contrary to previous years, during this transfer window, Wolfsburg focused on enforcing rather than replacing and making a profit, that was taken care of the previous season. In fact they recorded a loss of €36.75 million as they bought youngsters such as John Anthony Brooks, Ignacio Camacho, Landry Dimata and Divock Origi also went in on loan from Liverpool.
After the first leg of the relegation play-off against Bundesliga 2 side, Holstein Kiel, the side had basically already reserved a place for next season. They had an advantage of 3-1 thanks to goals from loanee Origi, Josip Brekalo and Yunus Malli. During the second leg, Robin Knoche secured Wolfsburg after he found the net 15 minutes before full-time.
With the little time that Labbadia had, he managed to show that Wolfsburg can produce dominant results in matches, he saved it for the relegation play-off and went on to have a great season in 2018/19 and get them back in the Europa League. After only spending €40 million during the summer transfer window, in 34 league matches, they recorded 16 wins, seven draws and 11 losses. The lowest place that they reached in the table during that season was 12th on Matchday 11 but they managed to get back in the European slots in four matchdays. The worst loss was that of 6-0 against Bayern Munich but this growing side managed to win 5-2 to Fortuna Dusseldorf and finish the season off on a high with an 8-1 win to Augsburg.
After making sure that Wolfsburg are back where they belong, Labbadia left the club and Oliver Glasner took his place for the 2019/20 season. Currently, Wolfsburg are under the Austrian coach who hopes for a place in the Champions League for the 2021/22 season, as they hold third place with 51 points.
This week I decided to tackle a very delicate topic which has been discussed greatly throughout social media, especially this year.
Some may think that it is about time that I am writing about racism now, but I found it very difficult to speak out about an issue considering the fact that I do not suffer from racism and that means that I cannot even begin to understand what people go through when they get racially abused. This year, stories about athletes who suffer racial abuse are being put in headlines much more, as finally everyone realised the importance about raising awareness regarding this issue. Everyone can agree that the life that we are living in is very difficult considering that we are actually going through a worldwide pandemic. While thinking that in 2021, the world has developed and broaden its way of thinking, there are still people who think that it is right to abuse people of a different skin colour. This is affecting the mental health and performance of athletes and in some cases, taking away their freedom to express themselves globally as they cannot take it anymore. In this blog, I will be mentioning some instances where racism was present and the response that it received. Reece James Removes his Instagram Account
We frequently hear about racist incidents happening at stadiums, when they are generally filled. Now that fans cannot attend stadiums, they are using social media in order to still share their hate.
Chelsea issued the following statement in order to support Reece James and his fight against racism:
"Everyone at Chelsea FC is disgusted with the racist abuse Reece James received on social media on Friday evening. This club finds racism and all forms of discriminatory behaviour completely unacceptable. We totally condemn it. In sport, as in wider society, we must create a social media environment where hateful and discriminatory action are as unacceptable online as they would be on the street. We add our voice to those urging social media platforms and regulatory authorities to take stronger, more effective and more urgent action against this despicable behaviour. Something needs to change and it needs to change now." Fourth Official Displays Racism in a UCL Group Stage tie
With fans being prohibited from attending sporting events due to the Covid-19 pandemic, one would expect that athletes would have to face less racist situations while playing. The problem is, that even people who work in the game hold this hatred, and this was displayed in the Champions League Group Stage tie between Paris-Saint Germain and Turkish side Basaksehir.
UEFA stated that the Romanian has been suspended for "inappropriate behaviour during a UEFA match for which he was appointed" and that now he will be have to "attend an educational programme before the 30 June 2021."
Glen Kamara Experiencing Racism Against Slavia Prague
UEFA has opened an investigation to look into the events that occurred with Kamara issuing a statement through his lawyer Aamer Anwar saying, "There is no place for racism or any form of bigotry in football.
"Since summer many of us have taken the knee in solidarity with those who have lost their lives to racial violence. If UEFA genuinely wants to 'show racism the red card', then it's time to stop the tokenism and take a zero-tolerance approach. "As a player I do not expect myself, nor any other to have to tolerate racial hatred on or off the pitch in 2021. The vile abuse by Ondrej Kudela, took place on the internation stage and any failure to act by UEFA will be viewed as a greenlight for racism. "During yesterday's match with Slavia Prague, Kudela was arguing with a Rangers player and after I tried to intervene, he told me to shut up and then said 'one second my friend'. He then came over to me covering his mouth, leaning into my ear, he uttered the words 'You're a f****** monkey, you know you are.' I was shocked and horrified to hear such racist abuse from a professional football player. "Kudela's claim he simply swore at me and said 'You're a f****** guy' is a complete utter lie, which does not stand up to any form of scrutiny. Kudela's actions were deliberate and premeditated, but he was loud enough for my team-mate Bongani Zungu to hear what he said. "I am grateful for the unconditional support of my team, our club and especially our manager Steven Gerrard. I want to thank not just our Ranger fans, but the many fans from across the football community and beyond, for calling out racism not just against myself, but also fellow player Kemar Roofe, who was subjected to a tirade of racist bile on Instagram."
I can spend a whole day writing about different racist incidents that take place in football. From taking the knee and from several initiatives by footballing bodies, these athletes are still suffering from racism while only doing their work.
So what can be done? There is always the possibility of having more people from different cultures in the boardrooms. In my opinion, people who do not experience this type of discrimination cannot fully understand what people that actually receive this abuse feel. We can only sympathise and be there to hear them and tell them that we are in the fight with them. Only someone who went through the same situation can fully help an athlete to gain justice and put a firmer stop to racism. |