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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Mid-season PL XI (4-3-3)

by Josh

As we reach the midpoint of the premier league season, I have assessed the performance of some players and made a team filled with the best performing players in the league for each position. Here is my mid season eleven.

Begovic – Asmir Begovic has been the stand out goalkeeper in the premier league this season. His performances for Stoke this season have been nothing but first class and he has played a big part in Stoke having the best defensive record in the league so far. It’s no surprise he has been linked with some of the top clubs in the league.

Zabaleta – Pablo Zabaleta has put in some of the most immense performances this season. He has always been a good defensive right back but now he has made a big improvement on the attacking front.  His passion and graft have been evident in every match he has played and he has been very consistent. It shows why that even when fit, Richards struggles to get a look in.

Mertesacker – Per Mertesacker, much maligned for his supposed poor first season in England, has been nothing other than exceptional in his sophomore season. He has Arsenal’s most consistent performer this season, showing, intelligence, and strength and leadership skills and has been dearly missed when he has not started for the gunners. People bemoan him for his lack of pace, but who needs speed of foot, when you have speed of thought.

Vertonghen – Jan Vertonghen has shown why Tottenham were so determined to get him in the summer. He has shown great defensive skills, superb technical ability, versatility and an eye for goal. He has put in some of the most immense and powerful performances by defenders his season. He is truly top class.

Baines – Leighton Baines is having another great season. His attacking nature from left full-back is simply a joy to watch. He has been putting in great shifts for Everton week in week out running up and down the left flank as if doing a bleep test. At the current level he is performing at, he is the best left back in the league for me

Yacob – One player who deserves much more recognition that he has gotten is Claudio Yacob. He has been top class for West Brom in the holding midfielder role and has been proved to be a brilliant signing by Steve Clark. His abilities to win possession, keep the ball and control the tempo of a game have been a key part to why West Brom have had such a great season so far. Had he not been missing in some games, who is to say wouldn’t have been even higher up the table

Fellaini –Marouane Fellaini has most definitely been the stand out player for Everton his season. Playing in a more advanced role than he used to, he has had a great affect on Everton’s play and has been a crucial reason to why they have had a much better first half of the season that they usually do. He is a key cog in here team as they have a reliance on him to win aerial duels. His 8 goals this season have shown what a great decision to move him further up the pitch.

Michu – Michu has taken the premier league by storm in his debut season. Who would have thought that a relatively unknown would have been the top scorer in the premier league after 18 games? But this is what Michu has gone and done. With 13 goals his season, he is the premier leagues joint top scorer along with last season’s player of the year, Robin van Persie. This is an exceptional feat he has achieved, especially with it being his first season, and the goals he’s scored have been for exceptional quality.

Suarez – Luis Suarez has had his critics. He has been castigated for his supposed diving antics. But this season, he has been nothing short of excellent this season. He has proven the doubts of his finishing and scoring abilities by racking in 11 premier league goals. His brilliant dribbling skills a craft have cause problems for many a defence this season. Let’s hope he continues this form into 2013.

Van Persie – Robin van Persie is doing it again. He is having another injury free season. And when Robin van Persie has an injury free season there is something you are guaranteed. Goals, goals and more goals. He is currently the joint top scorer with 13 goals, and while his tally is a few less than he had this time last year, it is still an exceptional amount. It’s not only goals that he brings to the team however, his silky skills and excellent link up play is exceeds most. He is a joy to watch, and play with.

Mata – If you thought Juan Mata was good last season, then he has been absolutely outstanding for Chelsea this season. With 13 goals and 10 assists in all competitions (7 goals/assists in PL) so far this season, it could be said that his season is looking reminiscent of former Spanish playmaker of the premier league that goes by the name of Francesc Fabregas, who in the 2009/10 season, amassed a total of 19 goals and 17 assists. Mata is simply an excellent player. His trickery and direct play are first class and he has a wand of a left foot. He is the type of player everyone loves watch.

""This is my XI, what's yours? Use the comment section to share your mid-season PL XI.""

Thank you for reading and have a happy new year.

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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.

Media Hypocrisy Or Are Real A Bigger Club Than Barcelona?

By Isra Qassim.

In a Liga night of Saturday,  Barcelona met Granada in Camp Nou, where it is hard for teams like Real Madrid to get to result in, everyone thought Barca would win the game with ease as they are the stronger team on paper – and Granada's recent performances have been so poor that they were booed on their own turf by their own fans.

However it was far from reality, it was a difficult home game for Barcelona where they struggled for 86 minutes with a heroic performance from Granada's defense and hero of the night, Tono – their goal keeper. The game ended up with a win for Barcelona, anyway, as a wonder strike from Xavi and an own goal sealed the deal for them.

Barca's Saviour against Granada

 Now some might argue that the reason for Barcelona poor performance was missing Iniesta, leave this argument for another day. Now you might look at my title thinking what does this have to do with what is written so far. Well now I get to my point; Messi, who is the 3 time ballon d’or winner, had arguably one of his worse games ever. Perhaps anyway one of the worst recently. 

He couldn’t make assists or continue his dribbling to cut inside and score, lost possession – and that, on one occasion, almost gifted Granada a counter attacking goal had El Arabi taken his chance instead of shooting it straight to Victor Valdes.

Messi is a Human being and any Human being can have a day on the pitch. He was angry and frustrated – with himself and also with his team-mates.

This frustration resulted into Messi have a got at Villa, just before half-time, for passing the ball too late. He shouted at him 4 times, "Why didn’t you pass earlier, Villa?", Villa responded causing an altercation infront of cameras for millions of people around the World to see.

Villa Replies To A Frustrated Messi

Now isn’t this enough news for media or press around the world to go around speaking of a feud happening in Barca's dressing-room? But no, everyone jumped into the defense of Messi, how it is positive and how it motivates his teammates or it happens in games all the time.

I am not in any shape or form saying these things don’t happen in a game. I am a Real Madrid follower, I have seen Iker, for example, many times just screaming at his defenses to move or position themselves or even be angry at them after conceding a goal, these stuff happen.

However, let’s imagine for a second that Cristiano was screaming at Higuain for not passing ball in a game. Which kind of new inside civilized war will be in RM dressing room? Argentina vs Portugal or Higuain actually thinks that Messi deserved more of Ballon d’or and told Cristiano he isn't as good as Messi and that's why Cristiano screamed at him? Or Cristiano is just purely arrogant and a narcissist?

You think I am exaggerating? Well, Iker didn’t celebrate Cristano's winner vs City – Iker actually doesn’t usually celebrate in a crazy way unless it means something big and winning a home group stage game in UCL doesn’t come under the criteria maybe (but the real reason was that one of his faithful young fan died of a long term disease as mentioned by newspaper sources after all sorts of rumours were flying around) – however did this stop media from speaking about a feud and hate relation that is between Cristano and Iker? No it didn’t.

A Motionless Iker

 Ramos was dropped in ONE game for a technical decision, media went on stories how he is punished for going on against his coach and that Ramos is now in bad terms with Mourinho, even though Ramos has been average after the Euros. But no, let’s believe that Ramos hates Mourinho after all he invited his “support group” for lunch to complain about him.

People say that Real are a big Club and thus media always like to talk about them, so aren't Barca a big Club? Or is it because news regarding Real – like people more interested in Cristano accusing Iker on stealing his hair-gel trying to cover his bald spots on his head – sells more? Or is it just pure media hypocrisy that they just like to talk about Real?

(Talks of rift in Barca's dressing room were reported, but by very few media outlets - not as much as how the aforementioned Real-regarding rumours were talked about worldwide.)

Yes, Real have 2 outspoken personalities in Mourinho and Cristiano, but that doesn't mean that it should make them subject of unfairness – especially when both of them have changed to become more conservative than before.

So what is the reason for this double standard? Is it because Real are a bigger Club or is it because some hypocrite media outlets? I'll leave this for you to decide.

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Iker Casillas – Always There For Everyone In Their Hour Of Need, But Some Aren't There For Him....

By Umid.

In the hour of need, he is there. Whether it is by making a jaw-dropping match-winning save or as a shoulder to cry on; he is there.

Iker Leading Real To Their First La Liga Title Since 2008

Always.

Casillas introduced himself to the World like that: those eye-popping saves against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final and being Spain’s saviour against Ireland in the 2002 World Cup Round Of 16 in the shoot-out – it was the beginning of something great, something epic.

And since then Casillas has saved Spain and Real Madrid many times with his astute goalkeeping.

But it was in Euro 2008 when we saw the true leader in him. Leading Spain to its first ever major championship triumph since the long forgotten 1964 European Championship conquest, Casillas showed to the World a side of his which many didn’t think he had: a leader.

Leading Spain To Glory For AThird Consecutive Time

Often accused of being too quiet and nice to make a good leader, Casillas has proven all of those critics wrong by leading Spain consecutive Euro and a World Cup wins. He also lead Real Madrid to their first ever league title since 2008 – these feats wouldn’t have been possible if Casillas wasn’t a good leader.

It is his personality as a Human, however, that makes him such a lovable person.

On Tuesday when Real Madrid were drawing 2-2 against City with just injury time to go, there was nervousness. Losing 2 points at the Bernabeu is never pleasing – and certainly not at all when Real are in the toughest group in this year’s CL.

Then, suddenly, everything paused. It was as if time stopped itself to witness that moment. That moment was when Cristiano cut inside from the left and shot…. Kompany’s presence blocked Hart’s view and the ball went into the net.

3-2 Real Madrid.

Every Real Madrid fan – every – were celebrating as if they just won the Champions League. Rafael Nadal, who was watching the game from the VIP box, jumped out of his seat in exhilaration. Jose Mourinho sunk his knees into the wet grass and slid on it, so did Cristiano – the scorer, the joybringer.

Extreme Joy For Mou And Cristiano

But there was one-man on the Real Madrid side who didn’t even move. Showed no emotions. Showed no thrill. That man was the captain himself: Iker Casillas.

A lot of things were written about it, a lot of theories, a lot of stories, some even doubting his Madridismo.

Unanimated Iker After Cristiano's Winner

But no-one knew the true reason. All of them were just assuming. And most of the assumptions were, in fact, proven wrong when the real truth behind Casillas not celebrating came out.

Iker didn’t celebrate because just hours before the Real-City game, his 14 year-old Polish friend, Dawid Zapisek, died after suffering from Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and he wanted to show the little kid respect by not celebrating.

Dawid’s ultimate dream was to meet Iker “before dying in peace” and his dream came true when Iker met him in Poland during the European Championship. Iker expressed his sadness via his Facebook page, posting "my most sincere condolences to his family; rest in peace, my friend" on his status.

Dawid With His Idol, Iker

Iker Casillas also articulated his grief on Dawid’s death via Real Madrid’s official website (which you can read here).

Iker didn’t know Dawid for a long time, yet he was touched by his death: this just goes to show what a wonderful Human being Iker is. Casillas didn’t celebrate at that time because he was paying homage to Dawid; whose body was beneath a willow drapery, whose soul was waiting for the boatman to get him across the slarlit waters where dreamscapes are golden.

The boatman has, by now, done that – which boatman wouldn’t do so to a soul who met a saint just before it released itself from the materialistic body?

This is not the first time Iker has shown what an amazing Human being he is. He has made several charities to the people in need, always been humble, always been modest, always been equal to everyone and always been a symbol of Humanity.

And yet, once again, some Real Madrid fans want him to be removed as Real’s captain, instead of being grateful for having a great person like him as captain, because he is too nice and kind – such sad is this World that kindness and being nice isn’t good anymore if you want to lead a team. But, well, Iker will prove them all wrong – just like he has done before.

Iker won't, and shouldn't, change himself just because some Madridistas want him to –  he will stay true to his identity; the identity which made him a symbol of Real Madrid, Spain and Humanity.

Iker Casillas was, perhaps, sent by God on this Earth to be there for everyone in their hour of need.

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Barcelona’s Professional Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore

By Faisal.

One of the best backline of all times: Alves, Alex Song, Javier Mascherano and Adriano. They aren’t regular starters, they are back ups, but back up of the greatest defense line up you can ever come up: Dani Alves (certainly not in his peak in recent times and stay in opponent’s half most of the time), Carlos Puyol (34 years old and certainly struggling physically), Gerard Pique (poor form since quite a while now), Adriano and Jordi Alba.

'Defend what?! I can't listen!'

(To understand the paragraph above, you have to know what sarcasm is.)

Puyol is definitely one of best defenders of all time, but you have to admit that age is catching up on him. He can’t carry this huge task of defending all alone. We need to realize that this 34-years old man needs some rest, and we saw many examples of how he got injured in recent times. Well, I’m not saying that he is finished, but he’s certainly not in his psychical peak condition anymore. Furthermore, another great warrior, Abidal, retired because of his Liver transplant – so they needed at least two defenders, and one of them should have been a center back. 

Everyone was thinking Barcelona were going to sign a center-back, as a Puyol’s backup. But what did they do? They trolled the whole football world by signing another midfielder (Alex Song) and a left back (Jordi Alba).

Well, at least Barcelona thought they trolled us – Football fans – big time, but now it looks like they trolled themselves by not signing a center-back.

No backup for an aging and injured Puyol – just no. They swore not to buy any back up for Puyol, as they may think it be insult for Puyol.

Instead they bought a ‘defensive’ midfielder with no tactical and positional awareness – yes, they bought another midfielder; an area which is already so overpopulated that a World-class player like Cesc is warming the bench.

Biggest Part Of Barca's Professional Joke

To solve this problem Barcelona came up with an ingenious idea: make Alex Song a defender as a backup of any of the only two existing CB, Puyol and Pique. Isn’t that hilarious? Barcelona thought so.

Oh, they did spend to buy another player: Jordi Alba, Spain’s best left-back.

The question is did they need him? Yes, they did as Abidal has retired. But did they need an attacking left-back (when they already have an attacking right-back) more than a center-back? No.

Read the statement below which Barcelona released to explain why they bought another midfielder instead of a center-back:

“The world is surely going through a tough time. Everywhere there is sadness and depression, and so, as the greatest club we are, we decided to do something for this world – to make it happier.

 “We will make a really professional joke, which will leave people in awe at first and later they will just laugh till they pooped in their pants. So here is what we did and what we want to do: we bought another midfielder, Song, instead of a center-back, in an already overpopulated midfield, and then made him play as defender. Now, we intend to play him and Mascherano or Busquets as central defenders. 

“This will make people laugh as, for sure, those midfielders will make stupid mistake when they play as defenders. Just think how funny it will be to watch when our defender will also try to dribble past opponents as they have the DNA’s of midfielders? How beautiful and surprising it will be to watch an empty defense as our beloved Dani will be in the opponent’s half trying to assist/score more goals rather than defending, Mascherano will move too his natural ‘midfield’ position by habit, Alex and Adriano, both, will fly to attack? Isn’t that wonderful? It will be really funny for spectators to watch.

“By the way, in the near future, we will buy Neymar and make him the goalkeeper and he will be given permission to attack and dribble past opposition players – and will certainly get the ball away from Di Maria, unlike Valdes.”

'My ball control's better than Valdes!' | Barca's Future Goalkeeper

The blue plan of Barcelona was to make a little professional joke for the sake of this world. But unfortunately, it’s not funny anymore.

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Note: The ‘statement’ of Barca was a pure work of imagination. Barca didn’t, actually, release any statement like that for real, this was just made up for humour purposes.

Barca Are Over-Reliant On Messi, Karim Benzema Is Mr. Champions League Junior - What We Learned From Match-Day 1 Of The Champions League…

By Umid Dey.

Malaga are doing just fine without Cazorla….

When Santi Cazorla joined Malaga from Villarreal last summer, the Yellow Submarines got hit hard. So hard that they failed to win a single game in the group stages of last season’s Champions League.

This summer, same was expected with Malaga when their talisman was sold to Arsenal. All of those expectations, however, don’t look like will get fulfilled as Malaga have made a terrific start – both in La Liga and the Champions League.

With the sale of Santi Cazorla, the task to perform well and fill in his boots fell on the young shoulders of Isco – and the 20 year-old has, so far, done an excellent job for his team.

Malaga's New Messiah

The youngster put in a stunning performance by scoring twice in Malaga’s 3-0 win over Zenit on Tuesday – a Zenit team which had the likes of Hulk, Bruno Alves, Shirokov, Lombaerts et al in it.

Albeit it’s too early in the season, if the way Malaga have played so far this season is anything to go by, then we might as well say that Malaga are doing just fine without Santi Cazorla.

Barca are over-reliant on Messi….

When Arsenal were being mocked as an one-man-team last season, there was this another team in Catalonia who could have been labeled the same: Barcelona.

The Catalan Club, at times last season, had to solely rely on Messi to win them games – and he indeed won them some games single-handedly, but that wasn’t enough to secure the Champions League or La Liga title.

The same happened last night as well – the Argentine talisman had to score twice in the last ten minutes to win Barca the game after them being 2-1 down at Camp Nou against Unai Emery’s Spartak Moscow.

Barca's One Man: Messi

Whether Messi can save Barca like this every time is yet to be seen, but the chances of that aren’t 100% as Messi is, after all, a Human and can have bad games – and Barca will need to find a solution when that happens, or else they might lose it again like last season.

Juventus are Italy’s only hope in the Champions League….

Ah, the Old Lady is back to where it belongs: the Champions League.

After 3 years of absence in Europe’s elite competition, Juve finally kicked off their Champions League campaign against defending champions, Chelsea. Things weren’t looking bright for Juve when Oscar scored twice to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead.

Then a saviour appeared in Arturo Vidal.

Juve's Saviour

The Chilean scored a brilliant goal just before half-time to give Juve a chance to get back into the game. Vidal looked like he was playing through an injury barrier – such dedicated players are needed in a team if they are to challenge for silverware.

And then Quagliarella scored in the 80^th minute to tie the scores at 2-2.

It was a great comeback from Juve, especially considering that they were up against a very strong Chelsea side and were playing in the Champions League after a long time. They also showcased their great mental strength – they went unbeaten last season and have not lost a game, so far, this season as well.

Things, however, don’t look bright for the other Italian Club in the Champions League, Milan. They drew against Anderlecht 0-0 at San Siro and it was uninspiring.

Frustrated Pazzini

Milanisti might argue that Juve also drew, so Milan drawing isn’t a big deal. However, Juve drew against a strong Chelsea team at Stamford Bridge and also put in a great performance. Milan, on the other hand, drew in their own backyard against Anderlecht and the manner in which they played wasn’t inspiring.

Milan lost 2 of their best players in Thiago Silva and Ibrahimovic to PSG – Juve, in contrast, have strengthened by signing great players like Asamoah and Isla. Showing no disrespect to Milan, Juve look like the only Italian team capable of going far in the Champions League.

Milan fans will be hoping that Milan pull off a miracle like Chelsea did last season …. but it looks unlikely.

Champions League is Karim Benzema’s competition….

Didn’t score for Club or Country since May 2012. Had a torrid Euro 2012 with France. Had a woeful start with Real Madrid this season.  Yes, that’s Karim Benzema.

Prior to the City game, Karim Benzema was going through a drought – he hadn’t scored a goal for more than 800+ minutes.

Real Madrid were trailing 2-1, with just 5 minutes to go, after Kolarov gave City the lead once again by scoring from a free-kick. Every City fan were convinced that their team would come out of the Bernabeu with all 3 points.

But it wasn’t to be because Benzema had something else in mind.

Benzema received the ball on the edge of the box, turned Nastasic – who was having a storming game – in the wrong direction with his first touch and shot the ball straight into the right bottom-corner. Hart couldn’t save this one and Benzema had finally broken his goal drought.

'I own the Champions League!'

And what better an occasion to end the drought?

Benzema has scored 26 goals in 43 Champions League appearances. It was his performances in the Champions League for Lyon that drew a lot of attention. When it comes to Champions League, it is almost guaranteed that Benzema will deliver an awe-inspiring performance.

Real Madrid lost Mr. Champions League, Raul, in 2010 – but they have found another one in Benzema; Mr. Champions League Junior.

How not to take penalties….

Bayern Munich, Schalke, Dortmund & Manchester United – what is common between these four teams? All of them were awarded with a penalty each and all of their takers failed to score from it.

There was once a time when penalties made heroes out of the takers – they would almost always score from them. Lately, it is the goalkeepers who are getting the better of the penalty-takers and making them look like fools instead of heroes.

This is how you take a penalty....not

If you ever want to learn on how to not take penalties, then you should watch the way Nani, Hummels, Mandzukic & Huntelaar took their spot-kicks this midweek.

Varane, Nastasic, Isco & Veratti are the stars of the future….

When City’s and Real’s starting XI came out, everyone was surprised – two talented 19 year-old center backs were in it; one for Real and the other for City.

Almost everyone expected Ramos to start for Real and Lescott for City. Instead, a 19 year old Varane filled in the boots of Ramos & another 19 year old Nastasic took Lescott’s place.

And both of them had a tremendous game.

You may ask how did Real concede 2 and City concede 3 if they both had great games. Here’s why: Kompany had a terrible game; arguably his worst game ever since becoming an undisputed starter at City (was heavily at fault for Cristiano’s winning goal) and all of Real Madrid’s goals were scored from outside the box – blatantly revealing the inability of City’s deep-midfielder to close down the space.

The Future Of City's Defense

Apart from Benzema’s goal, where the Frenchmen schooled Nastasic, the teenager had a brilliant game and showed the World why he is one of the most hyped defenders out there.

And Varane; none of the goals Real conceded were his fault – one came directly from a set-piece and the other from a counter-attack goal where he had to close down Yaya Toure (Pepe should have tracked Dzeko). He was astute with his defending and brilliantly organised the defense when City were building an attack. His composure is way beyond his years.

The Future Of Real Madrid's Defense

Now onto Veratti.

A lot is expected of him, a lot of Italians see him as the next Pirlo; but I can assure you that he won’t be the next Pirlo – he will be the new Veratti.

Against Kiev, he showed that his incredible performance against Toulouse was no one-match wonder. Against Toulouse, he did everything you could ask from a midfielder: defend, set the tempo by spraying passes & play some amazing long-balls.

The Marco Verratti

And he did the same against Kiev.

It is absolutely astonishing how a 20 year old has so many skills; he can read the game so well that he is always in the right defensive position at the right time, he can pass it, has good ball-control, has great vision and is really brave.

I have already written about Isco earlier in this article, so I will keep it till there for him. If these 4 keep progressing the way they are now, then that day isn’t far when these 4 would be in the list of Ballon d’Or candidates.

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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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Extracts From The Secret Diary Of Nicklas Bendtner….

By Umid Dey.

August 18, 2012.

7 am. I wake up from sleep. The first things I see after opening my eyes everyday are posters of Nicklas Bendtner with a caption of ‘The Best In The World’ all around my room.

I wake up pleased. Everyday.

But today, I was extra-pleased because tonight my Club Arsenal will be playing Real Madrid – one of the best teams in the World – and I am going to be in the starting XI. Only a foolish manager would leave out his best player when his team is playing against the best team in the World.

August 19, 2012.

I was too tired to write about last night’s game last night itself; after all, I scored 5 goals against Real Madrid to help Arsenal win 5-4 after being 4-0 down at half-time. So I was tired; tired of carrying Arsenal on my back – but, they don’t call me The Great Dane for no reason.

I not only scored 5 goals, but I assisted 5 of them as well. I didn’t allow Szczesny to take goal-kicks because, if he did, the assists would have been his. So I took the goal-kicks myself by shooting the ball in the air and then running to reach the place where the ball would land, receive it, dribble past my opponents, and then score.

For my 5th goal, I actually told my team-mates, including Szczesny, to stand in my way while I am dribbling so that I would dribble past all 21 players on the pitch and then score. And that’s exactly what happened: I dribbled past 21 players, then went past the referee, then nutmegged my own self by slowly pushing the ball and quickly standing in front of it to let it roll between my legs and then scoring.

I went past all 22 players on the pitch – including myself – and 23 men to score the greatest goal of all time. Only Nicklas Bendter can go past Nicklas Bendtner with the ball - I am just too awesome.

Once Mourinho said that 5-4 is a “disgraceful” score-line in a 11v11 game and that he sends his players back to the dressing rooms, as they are not defending properly, if the score-line reaches 5-4 in a 3v3 training match. I wonder what he did to his players last night after they conceded 5.

They once conceded 5 against Barcelona, too, but conceding 5 against Barcelona and conceding 5 against a team that has Nicklas Bendtner – the best in the World – in it is 2 very different things.

Barcelona didn’t have me – Nicklas Bendtner – so it’s not understandable to concede 5 against them. After all, who did Barca have in that game? Lionel Messi? Andres Iniesta? David Villa? Meh. These are players who are not even fit to tie the laces of my boots – you get these players in every street of Denmark.

However, last night was different. Real conceded against me. They should, and must, be happy that they were blessed enough to concede 5 against the best in the World. If Mourinho didn’t do anything to his players after they conceded 5 against Barca, then he must have partied last night after conceding 5 against me as he conceded way less than he expected.

Anyways, after the match, Wenger came to me and told that I was excellent and bla bla… the usual stuff to make me feel good. I don’t know what kind of an idiot he is because even after being with me for so many years, he doesn’t realise that I always feel good about myself, regardless of whether I get praised or not.

A reporter came to me and asked me how I felt scoring 5 against a great team like Real. I replied, “It was easy, a piece of cake. Scoring goals have always been as easy as walking in the park for me; whether it is against Real Madrid or any other team.” (I know that this is my diary and thus putting my own words in quotes may have baffled you, but guess what; this is cool – the guys you see doing the same with their tweets on Twitter or comments/statuses on Facebook got that from me. This is called ‘being awesome’.)

I went to the dressing room and got a hero’s welcome. The new guy Cazorla came to me and said that he never had a team-mate who made such good use of his passes. I replied to him, “that’s because you never had Nicklas Bendtner as your team-mate”. (Again, I’m being awesome.)

Now you must be wondering when did Arsenal play against Real Madrid. They played Sunderland on August 18, not Real Madrid, you must be shouting in your head.

Well, that’s in your inferior Universe – the Universe which everyone sees. In your Universe, Arsenal played Sunderland and drew 0-0. But in that superior Universe, Arsenal played Real Madrid and I scored 5.

That superior Universe is located in a blissful place called ‘The Mind Of Nicklas Bendtner’. You have to be Nicklas Bendtner to see what is happening in that Universe and God has made just one Nicklas Bendtner – and that’s me – so only I can see that Universe. No-one else can.

So all of you mere mortals: be pleased by being and seeing this inferior Universe and I, on the other hand, will be owning that superior Universe by my breath-taking, jaw-dropping and eye-popping Football skills – and you won’t be able to see that.

“HAHAHAHAHAHA,” I laugh at you all.

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Note: This is just a satirical article and isn't Nicklas Bendtner's real diary - this is just intended for fun purposes and not to offend Bendtner or anyone mentioned in this article.