Ilkay Gundogan – The Heart of Borrusia Dortmund

When Nuri Sahin left Dortmund for Real Madrid in the summer of 2011, a lot of people were expecting Dortmund to fail in their quest for titles. Sahin was the fulcrum; the heart-beat of Dortmund’s playing style. He was so influential in Dortmund Bundesliga winning 2010-11 season that he was voted the best player in the Bundesliga – in a league which had a world-class midfielder in the mould of Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Replacing the best player of a title-winning team is hard, especially with a not-so-big budget. But Jurgen Klopp had already decided who he would sign to replace Sahin: Ilkay Gundogan.

Ilkay Gundogan

Replacing your best player with a relatively unknown €4.5m signing is a gamble; Klopp took it and it paid off. Klopp’s judgement of the then exciting-but-obscure talent was as accurate at Juninho’s free-kicks.

And now, after a little under 2 years, Sahin, who’s back at Dortmund, finds himself playing second fiddle to the man who was bought to replace him in probably one of the biggest ironies of life.

In his first few months at Dortmund, Gundogan drew more skepticism than praise. However, in the business end of the season, he became the focal point of Dortmund’s play – an epiphany about his talent could be seen amongst fans. His distribution of the ball, flow of movements and drive helped Dortmund to win the Bundesliga for the second time in a row – a feat which many thought wouldn’t be achievable after the sale of Kagawa and Sahin.

"Time to make him my b***h!" | Gundogan in action

In his second season, he just got better. Even though Dortmund haven’t been able to retain the Bundesliga title this year, they have had a lot of positives and one of them is their performances in the Champions League.

Drawn in the group of death against Ajax, Real Madrid and Manchester City, a lot were expecting City and Real to qualify with the latter topping the group. Klopp, however, had other plans. Dortmund not only beat the other 3 teams, but also stayed unbeaten and managed to top the group in an outstanding fashion.

And Gundogan was one of the key reasons for that.

Battling for the ball against Ozil

While Lewandowski, Reus and Gotze get most of the plaudits because of their flashy style of play, it is Gundogan who does his work quietly and avoids the limelight.

Against Real Madrid in the first leg of the semi-final, Gundogan was absolutely unstoppable. The way he glided past Real Madrid players – who are established players of their respective international teams – with his deft touches, passed the ball around, pressed with altruism…it was mesmerizing. He made Football look so easy; it was like poetry in motion; as pleasing to watch as listening to Tim Charles play violin while sitting under a tree near a lake. With his first touch, he got away from the nearest opponent and with his second he passed the ball forward – a perfect player for a team that like to break quickly.

On one instance, he went past Khedira with his first touch and then took the ball away from Ramos with his second and then hit a venomous shot at goal with his left-foot which almost went in, but Diego Lopez came to Real’s rescue. Just 2 touches in less than 2 seconds undid two of Real’s best players; that was how good he was playing last night in a nutshell.

Just a spectator - Ozil keeps looking as Gundogan wreaks havoc

Regardless of how tight the space is, he seems calm and confident, that no matter how crammed it is, he will still find a way out. Such quality is very rarely found these days. His mobility and speed of thought and movement – he reads the game a split-second faster than his opponent – lets him get out of the tightest of spaces with the ball at his feet. Also, his surging runs to the opponent’s box gives Dortmund an extra dimension in attack.

In the 35 games he has played in all competitions this season, he has completed 1.8 dribbles-per-game – a very good stat for a deep-lying playmaker. He also has made 0.8 key passes-per-game – not outstanding by any means, but certainly a good stat for someone who plays in front of the defense. Also, he attempts 56.1 passes-per-game with a success rate of 86.1%; not so flattering, but considering the way Dortmund play – quick breaks and not possession Football – these are really impressive stats.

Gundogan’s greatest asset is his long-range passing. Against Real in the first leg of the semis, he executed 7 accurate long-balls. He averages 6.1 successful long balls-per-game this season – that is a testament to his exquisite passing range. He’s also elegant defensively – averaging 2.4 tackles and 2.2 interceptions-per-game this season, he shows that he is very adept at breaking down the opposition’s play.

A player who can break oppositions’ play, get away from the nearest opponent within a touch and start an attack with the next touch – what else could you ask from a deep-lying-playmaker?  Add to that his ability to burst forward and create maelstroms in the opposition defense and we have a complete package.

Surprise scoring threat | Gundogan celebrates after scoring

The second leg of the semi-final is just under a week away and Real find themselves in a position where they must score 3 goals without reply. With the amount of attacking talent Real have, it might not be that hard to score 3 at home against Dortmund. However, given Real’s erratic defending of late, and Dortmund’s firepower in attack, they have to make sure they close down Ilkay Gundogan and thus cutting down the supply line to Gotze, Reus and Lewandowski – something which Dortmund players successfully did on Xabi Alonso. Easier said than done, though, as Gundogan’s mobility and quickness in movement make it really hard to close him down.

From obscurity to becoming the focal point of team that beat Real Madrid 4-1 in a Champions League semi-final – Gundogan’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. A lot of credit should be given to Klopp for trusting and showing faith in him – and Gundogan repaid him thoroughly by playing as he is capable of.

There might be some compunction amongst other managers for missing out on him – especially looking at how much he cost Dortmund. Klopp, however, has the last laugh. Gundogan is still young, only 22, and has a bright future ahead of him. He is still in his development years and can definitely get better and someday, if the current trend of the Bundesliga continues, play for Bayern Munich.

[Note: All stats were taken from www.whoscored.com.]

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Barcelona 2-2 Real Madrid | Clasico Review

By Mohammed Ifran.

Two Of The Best

El Clasico has never been short of mouth watering every time the giants of Spain clash between each other. This time this was no different. Both the teams have shared 175 victories among themselves with Real Madrid edging Barcelona by 1 match as the victories stand at 88-87 in the favour of Real Madrid. 

The match was held at Camp Nou. As always, the stadium was filled with supporters. 

Barcelona starting line-up consisted of no real ‘natural defender’ as the heart of the defense was empty with notable absentees. Barca’s skipper and long serving defender Carles Puyol was missing due to a nasty elbow injury which happened few days ago. Gerard Pique picked up a knee injury few matches ago to which he was recovering well but couldn’t make it to the playing squad. A couple of other La Masia graduates, Isaac Cuenca and Thiago Alcantara, were missing too. The former has been injured since the end of the last season and the latter has picked up knock which has ruled him out for well over a month. 

This was relatively a slow start for the Blancos. But they came with a lot of confidence brimming in them as they have already got the better of Barcelona on their last meeting in the league last season which ended 1-2. They had a healthy squad travelling to Barcelona with some players hoping to carry their scintillating forms along. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored half a dozen goals in his last 2 outings. And the 2007 Ballon D’Or winner Kaka, who is considered surplus to Jose Mourinho’s immensely squad, has shown that he was not finished just yet again with a hat-trick and a couple of assists in the Bernabeu Trophy. Angel Di Maria already has 4 assists in the league which makes him sit at the top of the assist charts.

Real Madrid were looking for an easy win to cut of the deficit of 8 points to 5 points and Barcelona wanting to keep their unbeaten run going. With the absence of Pique and Puyol, Tito Vilanova chose Adriano to partner Mascherano. Iniesta came back from an injury to his favoured position as Cesc was asked to start on the left of the final third. Despite Kaka’s and Higuain’s form, they were benched as Mesut and Karim filled in for them.

It was the typical Barca playing and moving around the in the whole field. But there was a gradual turn around as Mourinho’s men started pressing the already weakened Barca. Benzema was the guy who could have opened the deadlock within 13 minutes but shot the volley way wide after finding himself in the D-box unmarked. 

But it didn’t take them long to take the lead through Ronaldo. There was a lovely play among the few white shirts which left the Barca players clueless. Mesut Ozil started the play from the right wing and after a couple of passes before Angel found Benzema, who saw space for their talisman in the left flank as he shot the ball with his weaker foot in the bottom corner with such precision past the helpless Victor Valdes which made him the only player in the history of El Clasico to score 6 El Clasico goals consecutively. Sheer class.

'Calm down, I got this.'

After a couple of minutes, Khedira cut the ball in for Angel, who found an unmarked Benzema on the penalty spot and passed it to him. But the France international’s woeful form of the night continued as he missed a sitter - he couldn’t meet the ball properly and the ball hit the post only to be shot wide by Di Maria to whom the rebound fell. 

Tito’s men were playing in their own style; keeping possession for a very long time but couldn’t find the end product. They missed few chances too. For the first time, the Real Madrid defenders were put to test as Pedro was found by Xavi on the right flank as he went past one white shirt to pass it in the box just to be cleared off by Sami Khedira. Then came the equalizer, after a mistake from Real Madrid’s most trusted stopper, Pepe. It all started from the middle third. There was a neat pass past Marcelo by Iniesta to Pedro, who directed a low cross to which Ramos couldn’t clear off properly before it hit Alonso and rose up to which Pepe couldn’t head clear and Iker was completely beaten by Messi who shot home past the Real Madrid goalkeeper in the 6 yard box. 

Messi Equalising

Second half. Ronaldo once again was the predator. He angled himself to shoot a great overhead but completely missed the shot just to land on his arm and injure him. As the injury took toll on him, he couldn’t move his left arm throughout the match but his confidence and his threat was intact as ever. Ramos missed a pretty good opportunity as he got an accurate cross to which he headed just wide.
Just after an hour passed at the Camp Nou, the roar once again rose as the Nou Camp faithful were at the top of their voice when their #10 jersey clinch the 2nd goal. As Barcelona got a foul around 30 yards from goal, it reminded everybody of the goal Messi scored from a similar position in their previous meeting. The World Cup winning captain was once again in between the poles. As Leo shot the ball, the ball went in between the Real Madrid wall to end in the back of the net and Barcelona were leading for the first time in the match. Once again, Casillas was clueless and no one was to be blamed.

Messi Curling It In

However, it seemed like Messi took the ball 2 steps backwards, when the referee was busy checking Real Madrid's wall, which gave Messi the space to get the ball over the wall. A very immoral thing done by the Argentine captain. Nonetheless, it was a brilliant executed free-kick.

People might have thought that it was going to be win for Barca, but Real Madrid proved them wrong yet again as they clinched a superb goal within a few minutes. The previous goal could not be enjoyed for long enough as Ronaldo was the man again who broke the Catalans’ heart. 

There was a mistake from Andres Iniesta and they took the full advantage of it. Pedro Rodriguez chased for the ball to regain possession as Mesut Ozil was yet again the man to deliver a great pass between 2 Barca shirts to which Ronaldo cruised past Montoya to shot past Victor Valdes. This guy just can’t stop scoring, can he? 

CRISis-Averter Ronaldo

After a very good second half performance, Mesut was substituted for Kaka. Higuain came in for Benzema just after an hour as Michael Essien was exchanged for Angel Di Maria. Barcelona made a few subs too as Dani Alves was forced to be subbed because of a knock and Martin Montoya was incharge of the RB position - which turned out to be blessing in disguise a Barca's defense looked more organised since the young defender came on. Cesc was subbed for the Chilean Alexis Sanchez at 64 the minute.

Comparatively, this was a much neat match from both the sides as the referee didn't have to pick out the cards more than a few times. Pedro was penalized for a clash with Sergio Ramos as Pepe was shown a yellow - his 7th yellow in the last 7 Clasicos - for a foul on Messi. The other players to be shown yellow were Busquets, Xabi, Alvaro and Mesut. Gladly, there were no injuries which kept the players fit for their upcoming international matches. 

Barcelona had a sigh of relief as the referee, Carlos Delgado Ferreiro, called the match off. The match ended as there was no more goals conceded by any of the sides as this mouth-watering clash ended as a draw. The points were shared among them as the gap among the giants still remain the same; 8 points. This left the home side maintaining the top position with 19 points, the same as Athletico Madrid, the city rivals of Real Madrid. Real Madrid have now climbed to the 5th position after the point earned. After yet another marvelous performance from the goal scorers, Ronaldo and Messi sat on the top, along with Radamel Falcao, with 8 goals to their name each.

Always Listen To Your Mom - Why Xavi Not Signing For Milan Was A Good Decision For Him

By Niklas.

“Freekick from the left side. Pirlo swings in the cross and OHHHH! It’s Maldini with a volley! What

a strike. 1-0 Milan. That was the fastest goal ever in a Champions League final.”

“Sheva in front of Dudek. Will he score? What a vision! He sees Crespo and passes it to him who just taps the ball into the net. Its two-nil to Milan!”

“Unbelivable! What a great pass from Kaka. Crespo in front of Dudek and he lobs the ball over the

goalkeeper and into the net. 3-0 for Milan. Congratulation for your 7th European triumph, Milan! The referee blows the wistle and we go into half-time. See you in 15 minutes!“

“A cross into the Milan box. Gerrard scores with a header and it is 3-1....” “Shot from outside the box.

Dida can’t save the ball. Its 3-2. Can Liverpool turn this game around?”

“PENALTY! Clumsy foul from Gattuso. Dida vs Alonso. Dida Saves! But Alonso scores from the rebound to make it 3-3! Liverpool equalized in just six minutes! Are they now gonna to win this game?!”

“Just one more minute to play and we will go into penalty shootout. Freekick to Milan.

Will they score in the last second? OHHH they will!!! Xavi scores. The boy they signed from

Barcelona at the age of 17 scores the winning goal. And that’s it. 4-3 in Istanbul. Milan won their 7th European Cup.”

The commentary in the last paragraph could have happened back in 2005 – one of the worst nights Rossoneri fans ever had. Instead, you all know how things turned out. Milan lost that final and they never signed Xavi.

Liverpool Won That Final To Win The CL

Some guys of you may now think: “Of course Xavi didn’t sign for Milan, he plays for the best club in the world; why would he want to play for Milan? Besides Milan can only sign useless players on a free transfer.” That may be true for the recent Milan, but back in 1999 Milan were on the verge of signing the talented Spaniard.

According to Milan CEO Galliani, the Barcelona man, who is one of the best midfielders in the world was close to joining Milan. “A few years ago we were really an inch away from taking Xavi [from Barca]. He’s a player with incredible qualities, which I’ve always liked. We had already spoken to his father, and really only missed the final details, but ultimately he decided to renew with Barcelona,” Galliani said.

A Young Xavi

Certainly he was close to making the move, with Xavi having felt his opportunities at the Camp Nou may be restricted by the presence of Pep Guardiola in the midfield. Xavi himself said that it was "actually Barca which decided that I had to stay", but it appears his mother, Maria, also played a part.

"We were offered a villa and more than €1 million for five seasons [by Milan]. Trips would be paid for, a job for my husband. We analysed it as family - Xavi is the third of four children, and they were all against me. Everyone wanted him to take this opportunity and also the complicating thing was the fact that Pep Guardiola was playing in his position. I said: 'If he leaves, I will divorce.' The final decision was still taken by him, however,” Xavi’s mom said.

Wise decision by the then 17 year old boy.

He won several league titles with Barca plus three Champions League titles, became one of the best players football has ever seen and a focal point for the Spanish National team. But what if he moved to Milan in 1999? Could he still have achieved the same success?

The Brain Of Spain

Milan showed signs of being over the hill, having had several aging players while it won the league in 98/99, so the addition of a young Xavi could have helped Milan. With midfielders like Albertini, Boban, Leonardo and Guly, playing time might have been hard to find for the young Xavi. But Zaccernoi could have built a midfield that would still exist today.

Giving Xavi the full creative control of the midfield, while using young Gattuso and Ambrosini to cover his back and energetic midfielder Serginho to provide him with some help, the bad season in which Milan crashed out of the Chamions League in the group phase could have been avoided.

The strike force was immense at that time with Bierhoff, Weah and the legendary Shevchenko – all of whom could have profited from Xavi’s vision and assists.

The Maestro

However, Xavi would have had to settle in very quick. You can’t expect a 17 year old to find his place in a league that is so different from the Primera Division in such a short time. If Milan had given him some time to settle in, he had to fight with Pirlo over a starting spot and Xavi might have lost that. Both players are too similar to play together and succeed.

With Milan’s philosophy to loan young players to other Serie A or B clubs, he could have got playing time. But then again he would have had to fight for a spot in Milan’s midfield.

All in all, Xavi made a good decision in staying at Barca. He would have never been the player he is today if he had joined Milan & looking at Milan’s current side; he might have not won even half the trophies like he did with Barca.

So what did we learn? Always listen to your Mom.

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C for Champions, D for Death – A quick look at CL Group D

By Fahim Alam.

Following Chelsea’s shock triumph over Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, where Chelsea’s dogged performance helped to hold out a 1-1 score line before the penalties, with Peter Cech’s heroics and Robben’s penalty miss finally presenting Roman Abrahimovich with his long cherished ‘holy grail’ – the Champions League Trophy.

This year, the Champions League is back and it never fails to bring out the excitement among the ardent football fans. Following the draw, the highlight of which was ‘Group D’ – which inherited the ‘Group of Death’ title, where the Champions of England, Germany, Spain and Holland will face off each-other, looks to be the most exciting group of the draw.

Ajax

The Dutch powerhouse have had a disappointing summer, losing some of their most influential players in their former captain Vertonghen, midfield enforcer Vurnon Anita, wing-back Van Der Wiel and veteran midfielder Theo Janssen among others. 

They have also reinforced with a number of players, the pick of which would be Dutch winger Ryan Babel and seasoned Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen. Therefore the weight of this Ajax team will be on the young shoulders of free-scoring striker, and current Ajax captain, Siem de Jong and midfield maestro Christian Eriksen. 

New signing Niklas Moisander will face the daunting task of defending against the likes of Aguero, Ronaldo, Lewandowski. However, the star of Ajax is their excellent team of talented coaches under the tutelage of their charismatic manager Frank de Boer, upon whom falls the duty to devise a plan to unlock the resilient defense of Real, City and Dortmund. 

With the loss of important players, and addition of untested and inexperienced players, they are not expected to progress further than the group stage by many. However, Champions League is always full of surprises, so never say never.

PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR:  Siem De Jong

Manchester City

Following their dramatic last-game title win, thanks to an astounding injury time goal from Aguero, Manchester City enters the Champions League this season in a bullish mood. Backed by the limitless wealth of Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed, the Blues participated in their maiden Champions League voyage last season, only to hit the iceberg early on in the group stage. 

Real Madrid, Ajax and Borussia Dortmund bring 14 European Cups between them, with City being the newbies in this group. However, they have a very good shot at progressing from this group this time around. Having an expensively assembled squad with the likes of Yaya Toure, Aguero, Dzeko, Balotelli, Tevez among others, under the leadership of uncompromising captain Kompany, Mancini certainly has a squad capable of competing with the European elites.

Unsurprisingly, they have splashed cash again to reinforce their midfield, which seemed to lack the presence of a deep-lying playmaker last season - and they still lack one -  with Yaya Toure playing as an all-action box-to-box midfielder & Barry doing the dirty work in front of the defense. With De Jong leaving the club, Rodwell was signed in a £12m deal from Everton; while García was signed for £15.8m from Benfica,

Despite that, the team may face still a difficult midfield battle and it remains to be seen how their defense deals with the likes of Ronaldo, Reus and de Jong. Nevertheless, this new squad will face their sternest European challenge competing against the former European Champions, but with a team that has been playing together for more than a year, they certainly have a chance of progressing further than the group stage this season.

PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR: Aguero

Borussia Dortmund

The high-flying young Germans won the Bundesliga title last season, overcoming the challenge of the German giants Bayern Munich, with a young, talented and exciting team, playing some eye-catching attacking football. 

A former winner of the Champions league title during the 1996-97, the young team showed great promise and has blossomed under their young coach Jürgen Klopp. 

Despite not splashing out big in the transfer market, unlike the Bavarians, Dortmund are known for plucking out rough diamonds out of wilderness and shaping then into some of the finest. 

One of their finest and most influential players of last season, Shinji Kagawa has moved on to ply his trade with Manchester United. But this time Dortmund has reinforced with the signing of exciting German youngster Marco Reus for a reported 17.5 million euros along with forward Julian Schieber, and 0midfielders Oliver Kirch and Leonardo Bittencourt have been added to their ranks. 

Moreover, they have resisted interests from all over Europe for their star striker Lewandowski. In German internationals Mario Goetze and Mat Hummels, Dortmund boasts some of the finest German talents. However, as exciting and talented the team may look, experience has always been vital in Champions League and they will be highly tested against the champions of some of the biggest leagues in Europe.

PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR:  MARIO GOETZE

Real Madrid

32^nd La Liga title, 100 points, 121 goals – Real Madrid had a record breaking season last season, finally winning the La Liga title after a wait of four years, and in quite a spectacular fashion. 

However, Champions League has still been their own weakness and once again they have fallen victim to the heroics of Bayern Munich shot-stopper Manuel Neuer in the Champions League final. 

This year, they are back, chasing the elusive La Decima. After a summer long drama, they finally got their man and signed Luka Modric from Tottenham and, in the final minutes of transfer season, also secured a loan deal for Michael Essien from Chelsea. 

There have also been outgoings from Real, with squad players Altintop, Lass and fan-favorite Granero all exiting the Bernabeu. However, they have had a stuttering start to the campaign with a draw and a defeat in their first two matches. 

In order to win the Champions League, they must get back to their best and hope the attacking trident of Ronaldo, Benzema and Higuain are all fit and firing, flanked by assist machines Ozil and Di Maria. 

Real Madrid have always been dominant in their group stages, progressing as group champions in most seasons. This time around, they will have a bigger challenge and they will need to stay focused and consistent, and hope that luck is on their side too. Can Real Madrid finally banish their Champions League hoodoo and finally win the La Decima?

PLAYER TO WATCH OUT FOR:  Luka Modric.

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Neymar's Europe Trip...

By Faisal Uddin.

Neymar; another talent from Brazil. And, of course, as a Brazilian you will expect him to be more hyped (player like ‘Phenomenal Ronaldo, ‘Beast Carlos’, ‘Elastico Ronaldinho’ can be thanked for this).

For a long time, we are hearing a possible move of Neymar to Europe. Now, let’s see how he will fit, and which Europe league…

At first I will rule out any move of Neymar to Italy and Germany – Clubs in countries just don’t have the money to buy him (Bayern do, but they have already spent a lot of money this summer and it is unlikely that they will spend around 65mE on another player). Even if they do, there is a very slight chance that Neymar would go there, especially with Clubs like Real and Barca’s interest in him.

Now, onto the Premier League.

Only 2 Clubs in this league have the money to sign Neymar; Chelsea and Manchester City (though, both unlikely to sign him as City have spent a lot over the past few years and Chelsea spent a lot this year – and FFP comes into play in a year’s time). If he joins one of these Clubs, however, I believe that he will initially struggle and will take time to settle to the physicality of the Premier League.

Many may argue that players like David Silva, Mata and Cazorla didn’t take any time to settle to the game in England, so Neymar can too. Well, here we need to consider the position they are playing in. The former two are midfielders, and Neymar is an attacker – someone who makes a lot of box runs to score goals.

The battle in midfield is to win the ball, but the tackles in the box area are really the hard ones which the defenders execute as the last attempt to stop the attacker. This kind of last attempt tackle is usually done with full force, whereas the tackles in midfield aren’t as hard as this.

This is not to say that Neymar won’t succeed in the Premier League – in fact, he will. But it will take him some time to settle to the League and do what he does best – make runs inside the box from the left and score.

The best move for Neymar, at this point of time, would be in Spain. Why? Not because of Real Madrid and Barcelona, but this league is somehow similar to Brazilian League; less physical, lots of passing, quick build-up, few direct/aerial balls.

Now the question is which Club: Real Madrid or Barcelona?

Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s name comes automatically at first because of their past history to get star players. However, if reports are to be believed, a move to Real Madrid seems unlikely now after Santos refused to sell him to the Galacticos after Perez’s hastiness.

Anyways, if Santos do change their mind and sell Neymar to Real Madrid, I believe that he will have to adjust his playing style a lot in order to gel into Real’s quick-attacking style of play.

Neymar keeps the possession of the ball for a long time; this habit of his sometimes interrupts the flow of game. Mourinho just won’t tolerate this, we all saw how Cristiano changed under Mourinho – ‘The Only one’ won’t let the flow of game to be disturbed just for the sake of some dribbling, even if they are jaw dropping.

And, of course, Neymar will have to forget about his love for the smell of ‘Grass’, Mourinho has allergy with grass – the way Cristiano and Di Maria have reduced their diving habits under Mourinho is a testament to that.

There is another problem. Neymar has a habit of going down to almost wing position to collect the ball and then run fast towards goal. Can you people guess who does that at Real Madrid? Yes, you are right; it’s Cristiano Ronaldo - the Complete Package.

So, it’s very, very unlikely that Neymar will actually move to Real Madrid till Mourinho is in charge. And even if he does, he will have to make a huge change in his style of play and even then he will have to play second fiddle to Cristiano.

Barcelona

As of now, a move to Barca seems like the most likely thing to happen with some reports even claiming that a deal has already been accepted between the two Clubs and Neymar would move to the Catalan Club in the summer of 2013.

If he does moves to Barca, here is what I think would be the result.

Barcelona have a slower game play. Their key thing is keeping possession. They do back pass and circulate the ball among them just to keep the ball; sometimes, in this sense, Neymar’s habit of keeping ball won’t disturb the flow of their game too much.

As a Brazilian, he is good in tiki-taka style and if you have seen him play for Santos, you would know that he is a very good passer of the ball.

First problem he will face is smaller circle to play than he is used to in Santos. As I mentioned before, he has a habit of going down and collect the ball and make sole run towards the goal. This habit of him won’t be accepted in Barcelona, simply because Barca are more efficient with Xavi and Iniesta collecting the ball and spraying it around or making a defense-splitting through-ball.

Some people may argue Messi too does this kind of run, but so far from my observation Messi doesn’t go that down as Neymar, and he does some passing during his run. And also, Messi is Messi – the biggest fish in Barca, Neymar has a long way to go to reach his level.

Second problem will be the little Magician, Messi. Neymar can’t play as main attacker in Barcelona as long Messi is on pitch – just ask Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Virtually I feel there is no main attacker in Barcelona except Messi, all others seems to be playing in a supportive role in order to get the best out of their best man.

Future Team-Mates?

Messi’s unbelievable skills and records gave him this privilege. So, Neymar will also have to be in supportive role, which of course will limit his freedom and reduce those dazzling dribbling in the D-box area.

In recent history, we saw many great strikers failed to play the supportive role (especially in Barca) – when their freedom reduced. As I have mentioned above, Ibrahimovic failed to do so and David Villa took a lot of time to adjust to that role.

So only time will tell how Neymar will play the supporting role. It’s a big question, so big that it can determine his future in Barcelona if he moves.

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Ruben de la Red – The Star That Faded Before It Could Shine….

By Umid Dey.

29^th June, 2008. Spain had just won the Euro 2008 – their first ever major International title since the long forgotten 1964 Euro triumph.

The players were ecstatic. Every Spaniard was celebrating. Every Spaniard was sensing a start of a Golden Era. And almost every Spaniard was expecting Ruben de la Red to be a part of it.

De la Red Kissing The Euro 2008 Trophy

De la Red himself was celebrating like a small child after getting presented with chocolates. He was proud that he was in the squad that won a major trophy after years. He may not have played a big part in it, but he scored a goal against Greece to help Spain just overcome them 2-1.

Things were looking bright for Mostoles-born man. He was returning to Real Madrid after a great season at Getafe where he helped them achieve a respectable 14^th place finish.

He had all the qualities you could ask from a central midfielder: he could tackle, had a great defensive positional sense, had a great vision, was an excellent passer, was tireless and had an eye for goal. He was a complete package.

His route to glory wasn’t such an easy one, of course. He arrived at Real’s youth academy at the age of 14. After relentless amount of hard-work and dedication, he finally got his debut with the first team on November 10, 2004.

Ruben Flying High

The talent he had was apparent and, in order to polish it, he was transferred to Getafe with a buy-back clause. Real activated the buy-back clause to bring their youth product back just after one season at Getafe.

A lot of Madridistas were thrilled by this – Madridistas love their canteranos a lot and Ruben was one of their apple-eye – even though it was reported that he would be used in a swap deal to bring in some other player. They were all looking up to him in hope that he was the man who could finally replace Claude Makelele because they knew he had the capability to do so.

But, the journey ended before it could even get started.

On 30^th October, 2008. Real Madrid took on Real Union at the Bernabeu in a Copa del Rey clash. Then the unthinkable happened; fans at the Bernabeu – and across the World – were in shock. Madridistas were in tears. Ruben de la Red collapsed on the ground, motionless, fighting for his life.

No matter how hard they try, that moment would forever stick in Madridistas’ minds.

Every second felt like an hour. Every passing second added more pain & fear in Madridistas. Every Madridista was feeling helpless – their dear one was battling death and they could do nothing but pray....

There were prayers all around; even an Atheist Madridista might have prayed to God that night for the well-being of Ruben’s health. And God listened to those prayers as it was soon revealed that Ruben was in a better condition; he had survived, he had beaten death like a true warrior he is.

Madridistas now were hoping that they could see their beloved Ruben back on the field, playing for their beloved Club. But further tests on his heart condition convinced the doctors that he could’t play Football anymore because it would be risky for his health.

And on 4^th of November, 2010, he announced his retirement from Football – Ruben’s heart broke the hearts of a lot of his fans. His heart, which had Real Madrid in it, wouldn't let him play for Real again. God doesn’t fulfill all wishes – he playing again for Real Madrid was one of them.

And Madridistas' hearts still beat for you, Ruben

"I had to retire because of a problem with my heart, but my heart still beats for Real Madrid,” an emotional Ruben de la Red told in his farewell press-conference. Ruben continued, "I want to start giving my support to all those athletes who have suffered like me, who have had their dreams cut short sooner than expected. I advise them to look ahead as I am doing.”

These words could only come out from a man who fiercely loved his Club – Ruben wore the crest of Real Madrid in his heart. His love for Real Madrid – and Football – can’t be told highly of enough; he accepted the offer of Real Madrid to continue with the Club as its youth coach.

In Ruben de la Red the player, the Football World not only lost a great player with immense talent, but also a great & classy professional who never gave less than his 100% on the field. And Madridistas lost the charm of their Club.

Oh, what a player he could have been.

This story, however, doesn’t end here. Ruben de la Red is now working with the Real Madrid youth academy and also wants a coaching degree. He might as well go on to become the manager of Real Madrid one day and fulfill his dreams which he couldn't as a player.

In almost every fairy-tale we have read in our lives, the ending has been a happy one. And here is hoping that the ending here will be the same as well.

But one thing is for sure; Ruben's heart still beats for Real Madrid, and Madridistas' hearts still beat for him.

Follow Umid on Twitter!

Why Cristiano Ronaldo Deserves To Win The Ballon d'Or Ahead Of Messi This Year

by Nour Sedki.

Two of the best...

Well, that's the big debate. It's the debate that possibly divides fans the world over. What remains is the question: Who's better, Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo or Barcelona star Lionel Messi? Firstly, I would like to say this article will not certainly settle that debate as fans' opinions are so solidified at this point that I doubt any article could.

While Messi may be more beloved and has better stats overall in 2012 as things stand, I'm one of those objective writers whom are of the opinion the Portuguese attacker fully deserves to snatch this year's Ballon d'Or award. It's quite true Messi notched a staggering amount of goals last season, surpassing the mark of 70 strikes for club and 80 if taking national team goals into consideration. 

The Defending Champion

One could suppose Messi has no opponents to square off against for this year's award considering he had completed the greatest individual season of all time, but what most people are yet to realise is that team performance counts when talking about the Ballon d'Or. 

Saying that Barcelona struggled as some of their key players were injury-prone for nearly half of the season and Messi had to carry an off-form Barcelona side to glory all by himself undoubtedly makes sense. As shown statistically, if we take out Messi's 50 league goals, Barcelona would have ended up at 6th place, which proves how important Messi has been for Barcelona. And while Ronaldo had Higuain and Benzema on his side with both scoring 25+ goals, it was a lot easier for him to get the job done. 

However, one could also argue Ronaldo has been the most decisive player in club football this year. Even though he had teammates uninjured and creating chances for him to score, we have witnessed a more unselfish and less individualistic Cristiano Ronaldo. 

Taking team performance into account, Ronaldo led Real Madrid to their first league title in four year after racking up 46 goals in La Liga over 60 in all club competitions. Moreover, Ronaldo had silenced 95% of the people who previously criticized him for not scintillating in the most crucial games, the 'Big Games'. Ronaldo, unlike rival Leo Messi, proved decisive for Real as he produced several match-winning displays that have helped the Whites through all competitions - i.e: v (Barcelona, Bayern, Betis, Valencia, Lyon, Atletico Madrid, Rayo Vallecano,..etc) Ronaldo showed up when it mattered most for his side, something the Argentine phenomenon couldn't do.

Another thing people seem to forget nowadays is that the Ballon d'Or is given based on the player's performances throughout the calendar year, and not the season, so all what will be taken into consideration are Ronaldo and Messi's plaudits back from January the 1st until the 31st of December. Thus, statistically speaking, the pair share the same amount of goals (64) whilst the Argentine currently has more assists (21) compared to Ronaldo's (15). 

But what really gives the Portuguese the edge is his impressive performances at the Euros with Portugal. 

Carried Portugal On His Shoulders...

Ronaldo got off to a poor start following two lackluster showings respectively against Germany and Denmark, but then produced the goods since taking the Seleccao further than expected - the semifinals of the tournament. Ronaldo scored thrice and ended up being the top scorer of the tourney along with five other players. Portugal have unfortunately got eliminated at the hands of eventual winners Spain, on penalties, in which Ronaldo could not take a single spot-kick. 

Ronaldo then traveled to France and Thailand with future wife and current girlfriend Irina Shayk as part of his short two week vacation. He returned to training on the 28th of July, hoping for a great start to the new season in order to win trophies with Real Madrid. 

Real kicked off their La Liga title defence with poor performances against Valencia and Getafe as Real drew 1-1 against Los Che and suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Getafe after a late goal from Barrada. Ronaldo afterwards showed why he truly deserves this year's Ballon d'Or when he was integral in Madrid's conquest of their first Supercup since a long time following a 2-1 victory over eternal rivals, FC Barcelona, where he scored a goal each in both legs. Ronaldo unquestionably outplayed Pique and his charming displays might have overlooked Messi's during that game.

Cristiano Celebrating His Goal Against Barca

Ronaldo obviously has a very good chance at scooping this year's prize from rival Lionel Messi. Reasons in short are because his dragging of Portugal to Euro Semis after scoring three crucial strikes, he helped Real Madrid secure their first La Liga title since 2008, he showed up when it mattered most and was arguably this year's most pivotal player. 

And that's why he deserves the Ballon d'Or more than Messi.

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Bundesliga Preview 2012-13 Season

by Niklas.

The German Bundesliga celebrates its 50th anniversary. With an overall record transfer market, German teams spent more than €240m on new players, this season promises to be one of the best.

Borussia Dortmund

The German champion and cup winners are big favourites for the title this year as well. They sold only Kagawa to Man United and retained the rest of their squad, despite huge interest in players like Lewandowski and Götze. With Piszszcek, Hummels, Subotic and Schmelzer; they arguably have the best defense in Germany.

New signing and one of the stars of the last season, Marco Reus, has already shown his enormous talent. Dortmund always state that Bayern are the favourites for the title, but the team in black and yellow are the most favourites to win the Bundesliga title for a 3rd consecutive time.

FC Bayern München

No title for more than two years. Unimaginable, and unacceptable, for a club like Bayern Munich.

They came second in every competition they played in last season – be it the Champions League, the Bundesliga or the German Cup; they were the best losers of last season.

However, with record Bundesliga signing, Javi Martinez, plus Swiss wonderkid, Shaqiri, they have signed two players who not only strengthen their team, but also give them a lot of tactical ploys to use.

In Mandzukic and Pizarro, they finally have strikers who could be great back-ups to Mario Gomez. If Schweinsteiger stays fit and the duo of Robben and Ribbery get back to their best, then Bayern will of course fight for the Bundesliga title.

After the two lost CL-finals against Inter and Chelsea, it is apparent that the team still haven’t found their winning mentality, so Jupp Heynckes has a job to do – to inflict the winning mentality.

FC Schalke 04                                                                                                                                                           

No money at Schalke. They are in a bad financial condition and need to save a lot of money. That means no big signings but also no big sales. Despite a 20m Euros offer from Zenit for young defender

Papadopoulos and interest in striker Huntelaar, Schalke refused to sell them.

They have, however, brought in Ibrahim Affelay from Barcelona on loan and he can help them a lot as he is a great player when fit. The team is good enough to fight for a CL-spot, with a bit of luck they can actually win Bundesliga.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Gladbach sold the backbone of their team in Reus and Dante. It needs to be seen if new signings Luuk De Jong and Alvaro Dominguez can fill in the huge boots left by the departures of the former 2 players.

They are a young talented team, maybe to inexperienced to repeat last season’s heroics. With European football this season the team needs to be competitive on both fronts; and I skeptical about their chances.

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

Leverkusen will compete in the Europa League. However, they have lost plenty of experience with

Rene Adler, Michael Ballack, Tranquillo Barnetta and Eren Derdiyok all heading for the exit door.

However, they have also signed some young talented players, like Daniel Carvajal – a promising right-back from Real Madrid’s B team. They have signed 17 players (6 on loan) and only 5 of them are over the age of 21 – that shows their emphasis on signing young players with some experienced players as well.

Joint-coaches Sascha Lewandowski and Sami Hyypia will need to cut out last season’s inconsistency if they are to do well this season.

VfL Wolfsburg

The season’s surprise package could well be 2009 champions Wolfsburg, who again start a full

season under Felix Magath, the man who masterminded the historic campaign four years ago.

‘Die Wolfe’ have no European commitments and boast an impressive forward line after the signings of

Ivica Olic, Eredivisie top-scorer Bas Dost and Czech winger Vaclav Pilar. An improvement on last year’s modest 8th place finish is on the cards.

SV Werder Bremen

Werder meanwhile, have suffered key losses in Naldo, Claudio Pizarro and Tim Wiese. A rebuilding operation looks like manager Thomas Schaaf’s main priority. The sleeping giants of yesteryear will probably have to settle for mid-table mediocrity and hope for domestic cup success once again

Hamburger SV

With Mladen Petric leaving for Fulham and the charismatic Jose Paolo Guerrero jumping ship to

Corinthians, Hamburg will have to start from the scratch during a transitional period at the Imtech

Arena. New signing van der Vaart might as well save them from getting relegated – but that is not a certainty.

Others

Both Stuttgart and Hannover 96 look well set to at least build on last year’s upper mid-table

positions and will again count on impressive home records to help them on their way.

Elsewhere,

Hoffenheim have recruited well with the likes of Derdiyok, Wiese, Mathieu Delpierre & the extremely talented Joselu – who scored 40 goals in 72 games he played for Real Madrid’s B team - and head

a host of teams looking to push on from the bottom half of the table.

Lastly, promoted clubs Eintracht Frankfurt and Fortuna Düsseldorf have been particularly busy in

the transfer market in the hope surviving the dreaded drop, whereas Augsburg may well suffer from

‘second-season syndrome’, and for these three, along with Bundesliga newcomers Greuther Fürth,

avoiding relegation will be the one clear objective in mind.

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