Just seen this on the BBC website, and couldn't resist having a go myself. For some reason they kept it to 'European' team of the year, can't think why, so here's my 11 worldwide names who have lit up the game more than any other in the last decade:
Gianluigi Buffon - Performed un-believably for Juventus since signing for them in 2001, and even spent a season with them in Serie B when people were throwing around figures of something like £40million to sign him. Pulled off some of the best saves in living memory, including a stunning one-hander from Mutu in the last Euros. And he won the World Cup.
Carlos Puyol - Started his career for both Barcelona and Spain in 2000, and almost instantly became a permanent fixture in each side. His incredible pace, power, agiliy and determination has seen him accumulate almost every club and personal honour there is.
Fabio Cannavaro - The best centre back in the world for the best part of the 00s, and played the classic captain's role in the ridiculous defence that took Italy to the 2006 world cup. The only defender to win the Ballon d'Or over the last ten years.
Alessandro Nesta - A proper centre-half. Holds the line like a rock, never scores, but maintains the ability to stroll out of defence and pick a killer pass. Has remained fairly anonymous but has quietly become one of Milan and Italy's best ever players. Still a relatively young 33, if Man City are looking for a way to avoid condeding three at home to Burnley, here lies your answer.
Paolo Maldini - You expected him to die well before the year 2000 but he kept on dominating the left flank and winning massive trophies with Milan. Even after retiring from Italy in 2002, having reached the Euro final, he went on to score in one Champions League final and lift the trophy in two others. Was Serie A defender of the year in 2004, and in a league like that honours don't come much higher.
David Beckham - So few players have stayed in the limelight for so long and enjoyed such consistent success. Titles with Man Utd and Madrid, was Milan's best midfielder in his last loan spell there, and in his bald-headed 2002 era was completely unplayable. The free kick against Greece would be enough to put him there by itself.
Zinedine Zidane - The best player ever to play the game. After winning the World Cup in 98, he got better and better, dominating the Madrid midfield, winning World player of the year twice, winning the champions league with 'that' goal, destroyed Brazil in the 2006 World Cup on his own, and would have ended up lifting the trophy if he could have been bothered.
Xavi - At the centre of everything Barcelona and Spain have done of late and has won 13 trophies in the last five years. Was a relative unknown in 2000 but ends the decade as the world's best midfielder hands down.
Michael Ballack - The biggest underachiever in the list, but it's easy to forget that Ballack was THE man in a side that reached a World Cup final and semi-final in the 00s, and displayed an unrivalled range of passing, awareness and goalscoring threat at times. Hasn't really done it at Chelsea, but if he performs to his best there is nobody better still playing the game.
Raul - All time leading scorer in the Champions League. All time leading scorer for Real Madrid. They can spend all the millions they like on forwards but nobody, but nobody, has been anything like as consistent.
Thierry Henry - The man who has won everything, and is ending the decade with a massive cloud over his head. But he still has arguably the best touch in the game, and became Arsenal's greatest ever striker in double quick time. Alongside Bergkamp (what a pairing that was) the greatest foreigner to grace the Premier league.
Subs: Who cares
In retrospect, may as well have just kept it to European team...
Monday, 21 December 2009
Sunday, 20 December 2009
Killing In The Name: Christmas #1
I can't believe how delighted I am to see Rage Against The Machine reach Christmas number 1.
It doesn't matter that they will probably disappear out of the top 40 next week, it doesn't matter that Sony, therefore Simon Cowell, will profit financially from the sales of the record. In my opinion it really, truly matters that a Facebook group was able to rouse a million plus members to register their protest against a reality show monopoly and push a 1992 protest song to the most prominent position in the music industry.
I watched the X factor this year, and I was delighted to see Joe win, because he has the kind of voice that deserves to be heard on a wide scale. But in no way, shape or form should a hastily produced, lazy Disney cover be given divine right to top the music charts, which remain a powerful instigator of music taste. Whether or not R Joe has a decent career will be down partly to his work ethic, partly to his management, but he has the kind of head start that unsigned bands are never, ever likely to get. In the grand scheme of things, he has already experienced massive success.
So many good things come of this; Shelter gets a huge donation from the sales of the song, Rage have promised to come back to the UK to perform for free, and social media has finally proven the weight that it carries. Most importantly, the music buying public, plus those who market and sell it, are reminded that, when given the opportunity, people will vehemently reject mass-produced, lowest-common-denominator pop music in favour of music that actually means something. Even if they have to go back to 1992 to find it.
Too early to predict if X Factor will change its format to accomodate this in any way - I imagine not, but you never know. But as a band member used to performing in front of 3 people in a pub, whose first rock music purchase was Rage Against The Machine, this is a dose of Christmas cheer that I never, ever expected. And it feels all the better for it.
It doesn't matter that they will probably disappear out of the top 40 next week, it doesn't matter that Sony, therefore Simon Cowell, will profit financially from the sales of the record. In my opinion it really, truly matters that a Facebook group was able to rouse a million plus members to register their protest against a reality show monopoly and push a 1992 protest song to the most prominent position in the music industry.
I watched the X factor this year, and I was delighted to see Joe win, because he has the kind of voice that deserves to be heard on a wide scale. But in no way, shape or form should a hastily produced, lazy Disney cover be given divine right to top the music charts, which remain a powerful instigator of music taste. Whether or not R Joe has a decent career will be down partly to his work ethic, partly to his management, but he has the kind of head start that unsigned bands are never, ever likely to get. In the grand scheme of things, he has already experienced massive success.
So many good things come of this; Shelter gets a huge donation from the sales of the song, Rage have promised to come back to the UK to perform for free, and social media has finally proven the weight that it carries. Most importantly, the music buying public, plus those who market and sell it, are reminded that, when given the opportunity, people will vehemently reject mass-produced, lowest-common-denominator pop music in favour of music that actually means something. Even if they have to go back to 1992 to find it.
Too early to predict if X Factor will change its format to accomodate this in any way - I imagine not, but you never know. But as a band member used to performing in front of 3 people in a pub, whose first rock music purchase was Rage Against The Machine, this is a dose of Christmas cheer that I never, ever expected. And it feels all the better for it.
Saturday, 19 December 2009
Picture this
Was at a party the other day, one of your typical Christmas affairs - glitter and tinsel everywhere, Cava, dancing to Abba, but in the corner I spot a guy, a guest at the party who came with his girlfriend, squatted taking pictures. For over an hour.
What's WRONG with you, you boring bastard? I can't stand this obsession with coming to parties, and not only taking pictures, trying to take the kind of pictures you would like to hang on your wall. Why not just, y'know, enjoy the evening (as much as possible) an keep the mental images in your head?
There are big arguments that photography isn't a valid art form, and it's because of people like this, people who do something remotely out of the ordinary and instantly have to capture it, in order to retrospectively enjoy it. You see it everywhere; mothers lying in bushes in order to get the perfect 'natural' shot of their kid playing in the leaves, or a guy hanging on the front barrier at a gig PERMANENTLY filming or snapping the band. It's great to have a couple of personal shots like these, I have one from a Tool gig that I'm particularly proud of, but if you spend your entire night/holiday/day out literallybehind a lens, you're not actually there.
The more I see this, the more I become concerned about the growing number of autistic, silent men, people who have basically given up on socialising in order to live in a virtual reality that they can believe is perfect and well ordered.
If you're this person, I don't want to see the way your iphone immortalised your last day out, I don't want to see the 400 different angles you captured the Eiffel tower from, and I definitely don't give a shit about the X times optical zoom of your Olympus D-fuckknowswhat. There comes a line where an interest in technology becomes absolutely retarded, and people seem to be streaming over this line like lemmings.
What's WRONG with you, you boring bastard? I can't stand this obsession with coming to parties, and not only taking pictures, trying to take the kind of pictures you would like to hang on your wall. Why not just, y'know, enjoy the evening (as much as possible) an keep the mental images in your head?
There are big arguments that photography isn't a valid art form, and it's because of people like this, people who do something remotely out of the ordinary and instantly have to capture it, in order to retrospectively enjoy it. You see it everywhere; mothers lying in bushes in order to get the perfect 'natural' shot of their kid playing in the leaves, or a guy hanging on the front barrier at a gig PERMANENTLY filming or snapping the band. It's great to have a couple of personal shots like these, I have one from a Tool gig that I'm particularly proud of, but if you spend your entire night/holiday/day out literallybehind a lens, you're not actually there.
The more I see this, the more I become concerned about the growing number of autistic, silent men, people who have basically given up on socialising in order to live in a virtual reality that they can believe is perfect and well ordered.
If you're this person, I don't want to see the way your iphone immortalised your last day out, I don't want to see the 400 different angles you captured the Eiffel tower from, and I definitely don't give a shit about the X times optical zoom of your Olympus D-fuckknowswhat. There comes a line where an interest in technology becomes absolutely retarded, and people seem to be streaming over this line like lemmings.
Friday, 18 December 2009
Champions League last 16
I bloody love this draw - always throws up a couple of ties that promise to be classics but never actually deliver. This time round is no exception, but I'll get excited anyway with a quick run through of my tips to progress.
Stuttgart v Barcelona - Barcelona all day long
Olympiakos v Bordeaux - easy passage for the French champions, one of my outside bets to go all the way
Inter Milan v Chelsea - get the fuck in. You can only imagine the reception Jose will get. So much depends on the San Siro leg - Inter are a much better prospect with their quick forwards and Sneijder's left foot is the best in the world. I hope it's tight, but Chelsea are favourites for a reason and will shit on the Inter midfield.
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina - very tight but I'll tip Fiorentina as they seem to have a habit of scoring bags of goals home and away. Bayern have one of the best starting 11s in the competition, on paper, but can't help but concede.
CSKA Moscow v Sevilla - another team I think can sneak to the very late stages, Sevilla will win home and away
Lyon v Real Madrid - you never know. Yeah why not, I'll go for an upset. Lyon regularly beat Madrid at home in the Champions League, and I can image Lloris playing a blinder in the Bernabeau. There isn't a better keeper in the competition.
Porto v Arsenal - I hate Porto, absolutely diabolical football and will never punch above their weight. Arsenal won't be looking forward to marking their big bastard strikers, but if they need to win 6-0 at home in order to progress, they will do.
AC Milan v Man Utd - Beckham returns to Old Trafford, but will leave on the losing side as his team have Onyewu Tiago Silva in defence. People are suggesting United have a mental block against Milan, but seriously, they have Onyewu and Silva in defence.
Go stick a tenner on at laddy's - no need to thank me.
Stuttgart v Barcelona - Barcelona all day long
Olympiakos v Bordeaux - easy passage for the French champions, one of my outside bets to go all the way
Inter Milan v Chelsea - get the fuck in. You can only imagine the reception Jose will get. So much depends on the San Siro leg - Inter are a much better prospect with their quick forwards and Sneijder's left foot is the best in the world. I hope it's tight, but Chelsea are favourites for a reason and will shit on the Inter midfield.
Bayern Munich v Fiorentina - very tight but I'll tip Fiorentina as they seem to have a habit of scoring bags of goals home and away. Bayern have one of the best starting 11s in the competition, on paper, but can't help but concede.
CSKA Moscow v Sevilla - another team I think can sneak to the very late stages, Sevilla will win home and away
Lyon v Real Madrid - you never know. Yeah why not, I'll go for an upset. Lyon regularly beat Madrid at home in the Champions League, and I can image Lloris playing a blinder in the Bernabeau. There isn't a better keeper in the competition.
Porto v Arsenal - I hate Porto, absolutely diabolical football and will never punch above their weight. Arsenal won't be looking forward to marking their big bastard strikers, but if they need to win 6-0 at home in order to progress, they will do.
AC Milan v Man Utd - Beckham returns to Old Trafford, but will leave on the losing side as his team have Onyewu Tiago Silva in defence. People are suggesting United have a mental block against Milan, but seriously, they have Onyewu and Silva in defence.
Go stick a tenner on at laddy's - no need to thank me.
Thursday, 17 December 2009
Paul Hart named new QPR boss
I'm really beginning to worry about QPR.
With billionaire owners, the Championship should not be too hard a division to get out of - you can attract lower-Premiership quality players without much fuss, get them playing consistently and up you go. This is the club's third season with gazillionaire backing, and they still play at one of the worst grounds in the universe, and are as consistent as David Beckham's hairstyle.
Not only have the owners resisted spending big money (record fee is £3.5 million for Alejandro Faurlin, a complete unknown with a record of 15 apps, 0 goals), they consistently pick middle-of-the-road managers with no real record to speak of. The latest, Paul Hart, has just been installed to replace Jim Magilton, the man who chooses to discipline his immigrant central midfielders with a headbutt in the dressing room.
Why on earth couldn't Ecclestone and Briatore make just one big, bold investment in the footballing side of the club? There are so many decent managers out of work; Curbishley, Coppell, Ferguson, Dalglish, Barnes (just kidding) for example, all of whom have a track record of winning promotion and making shrewd purchases in the transfer market. Paul Hart has a tradition of taking over clubs in a fuckload of debt and gallantly trying, yet failing, to turn things around. If he makes it to the end of his 5-month contract, that will be an achievement in itself.
If I was a QPR fan, despite being 3 points off the play-offs, I'd probably be writing off this season in terms of promotion, and hoping that the two Godfathers in the director's chairs stop treating the club as some kind of social experiment and start making some well-thought-out footballing decisions. Or at least paying someone to do it for them.
With billionaire owners, the Championship should not be too hard a division to get out of - you can attract lower-Premiership quality players without much fuss, get them playing consistently and up you go. This is the club's third season with gazillionaire backing, and they still play at one of the worst grounds in the universe, and are as consistent as David Beckham's hairstyle.
Not only have the owners resisted spending big money (record fee is £3.5 million for Alejandro Faurlin, a complete unknown with a record of 15 apps, 0 goals), they consistently pick middle-of-the-road managers with no real record to speak of. The latest, Paul Hart, has just been installed to replace Jim Magilton, the man who chooses to discipline his immigrant central midfielders with a headbutt in the dressing room.
Why on earth couldn't Ecclestone and Briatore make just one big, bold investment in the footballing side of the club? There are so many decent managers out of work; Curbishley, Coppell, Ferguson, Dalglish, Barnes (just kidding) for example, all of whom have a track record of winning promotion and making shrewd purchases in the transfer market. Paul Hart has a tradition of taking over clubs in a fuckload of debt and gallantly trying, yet failing, to turn things around. If he makes it to the end of his 5-month contract, that will be an achievement in itself.
If I was a QPR fan, despite being 3 points off the play-offs, I'd probably be writing off this season in terms of promotion, and hoping that the two Godfathers in the director's chairs stop treating the club as some kind of social experiment and start making some well-thought-out footballing decisions. Or at least paying someone to do it for them.
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
England World Cup Stadia
If the Fifa execs have any sense (which is essentially the problem) they will pick England for the 2018 World Cup.
The list of potential venues that was published today is reminder of how mental each and every game would be. The new Home Park in Plymouth and Ashton Gate in Bristol, Elland Road, Stadium of Light, stadium:mk - what you get with these is the most amazing cross-section of fans and cultures anywhere in football.
Every region is accounted for, including the South West for the first time, and you have to take your hat off to our much-maligned bid team for presenting a plan that will give our most passionate pockets of fans the chance to see (and scream at) top international sides in action.
The new Wembley is mind-blowing, the new Olympic stadium will be too, and without much doubt the offerings from Tottenham, Forest and Liverpool will be right up there as well. All the likes of Blatter and Warner have to do is visit these places for a few hours and they can't help but be blown away. Surely?
The list of potential venues that was published today is reminder of how mental each and every game would be. The new Home Park in Plymouth and Ashton Gate in Bristol, Elland Road, Stadium of Light, stadium:mk - what you get with these is the most amazing cross-section of fans and cultures anywhere in football.
Every region is accounted for, including the South West for the first time, and you have to take your hat off to our much-maligned bid team for presenting a plan that will give our most passionate pockets of fans the chance to see (and scream at) top international sides in action.
The new Wembley is mind-blowing, the new Olympic stadium will be too, and without much doubt the offerings from Tottenham, Forest and Liverpool will be right up there as well. All the likes of Blatter and Warner have to do is visit these places for a few hours and they can't help but be blown away. Surely?
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
Mick McCarthy
The Wolves boss rested ten players for his side's trip to Man Utd, and the fans are going mental, accusing him of giving up on the game and screwing the Wolves fans who paid for a ticket. Give me a break.
What did the average Wolves fan expect from a Tuesday night visit to Old Trafford? Especially after the champions had lost at home a few days before? Most would have taken 3-0 before kick-off.
What McCarthy has done could turn out to be one of the best decisions made by any manager this season.
After a 1-0 win away to Spurs, the Wolves team is buzzing, and the last thing they need for morale is a footballing lesson by the likes of Gibson and Obertan. The players are also protected from any Scholes-esque tackles which would have got them injured for the christmas fixture run-in. On top of all that, the 11 he put out weren't that bloody bad.
Fans who listened to McCarthy before the game would have heard that he expected nothing less than a tanking tonight, so should have prepared themselves accordingly. And £42 is the price you pay to sit in Old Trafford and watch one of the best teams in the world, you're supposed to just enjoy the spectacle and if you feel you deserve an evenly-matched game for your money, you're a moron.
Wolves have one goal this season: stay in the Premier League, and by resting his best side tonight, McCarthy has the best possible chance of winning a crucial game against Burnley this weekend and taking another step towards safety. Teams like his win at Old Trafford once in a blue moon, and when the league is a tight as this, you work to those probabilities. If they stay up, and I think they will, the manager is a genius, and all the fans who are accusing McCarthy of screwing them will, come May, fondly remember the night away to Man Utd, when he saved them.
What did the average Wolves fan expect from a Tuesday night visit to Old Trafford? Especially after the champions had lost at home a few days before? Most would have taken 3-0 before kick-off.
What McCarthy has done could turn out to be one of the best decisions made by any manager this season.
After a 1-0 win away to Spurs, the Wolves team is buzzing, and the last thing they need for morale is a footballing lesson by the likes of Gibson and Obertan. The players are also protected from any Scholes-esque tackles which would have got them injured for the christmas fixture run-in. On top of all that, the 11 he put out weren't that bloody bad.
Fans who listened to McCarthy before the game would have heard that he expected nothing less than a tanking tonight, so should have prepared themselves accordingly. And £42 is the price you pay to sit in Old Trafford and watch one of the best teams in the world, you're supposed to just enjoy the spectacle and if you feel you deserve an evenly-matched game for your money, you're a moron.
Wolves have one goal this season: stay in the Premier League, and by resting his best side tonight, McCarthy has the best possible chance of winning a crucial game against Burnley this weekend and taking another step towards safety. Teams like his win at Old Trafford once in a blue moon, and when the league is a tight as this, you work to those probabilities. If they stay up, and I think they will, the manager is a genius, and all the fans who are accusing McCarthy of screwing them will, come May, fondly remember the night away to Man Utd, when he saved them.
Monday, 7 December 2009
Zamora for England?
No, absolutely not.
Roy Hodgson, probably one of the Premier League's best managers, today suggested that Bobby Zamora gives England a great alternative to Emile Heskey at the World Cup. He couldn't be more accurate - in the semi-finals let's swap one big tough bastard who has as much chance of scoring at the World Cup as I do, with another.
Why have certain sectors of the public now decided that we need a number 9 whose sole purpose is to chest the ball down and go down dramatically at corners? We might play in all white, but Bolton we aint.
Peter Crouch is the only choice to play alongside Rooney if we want a front line with agility, creativity and an eye for goal. We can't afford to have a Heskey or Zamora clogging up the penalty area when one of the good players comes steaming in to meet a cross.
I will always love Zamora for the goals he scored to get us to the Premiership in 2005 - his second against Ipswich was without doubt one of the goals of the season, but in the Premiership, four years and a couple of stone later, he simply won't score unless he's four and a half yards out. His goals have come against some of the worst defences in the league, Portsmouth, Hull and Liverpool for example, and we need players who can make chances for themselves. I'd love to see him in the next friendly though just to be proved right.
Roy Hodgson, probably one of the Premier League's best managers, today suggested that Bobby Zamora gives England a great alternative to Emile Heskey at the World Cup. He couldn't be more accurate - in the semi-finals let's swap one big tough bastard who has as much chance of scoring at the World Cup as I do, with another.
Why have certain sectors of the public now decided that we need a number 9 whose sole purpose is to chest the ball down and go down dramatically at corners? We might play in all white, but Bolton we aint.
Peter Crouch is the only choice to play alongside Rooney if we want a front line with agility, creativity and an eye for goal. We can't afford to have a Heskey or Zamora clogging up the penalty area when one of the good players comes steaming in to meet a cross.
I will always love Zamora for the goals he scored to get us to the Premiership in 2005 - his second against Ipswich was without doubt one of the goals of the season, but in the Premiership, four years and a couple of stone later, he simply won't score unless he's four and a half yards out. His goals have come against some of the worst defences in the league, Portsmouth, Hull and Liverpool for example, and we need players who can make chances for themselves. I'd love to see him in the next friendly though just to be proved right.
Friday, 4 December 2009
World Cup draw - post
That'll do nicely. Three wins for us I'd say, but a tasty second round tie with Ghana looms large.
I'd love to see Ivory Coast upset Portugal and qualify from their group, and you know what? I think they will.
France are the jammiest bastards in the competition, and even they can't screw up qualifying from that ridiculous group. Other than that, Spain have the softest passage into the knockouts that they could have wished for; lets hope Brazil slip up in their group and then those two can meet in the last 16.
Quick summary of the sides I'm tipping to progress:
A: France, Mexico
B: Argentina, Nigeria
C: England, USA
D: Germany, Ghana
E: Netherlands, Cameroon
F: Italy, Paraguay
G: Brazil, Ivory Coast
H: Spain, Chile
I'd love to see Ivory Coast upset Portugal and qualify from their group, and you know what? I think they will.
France are the jammiest bastards in the competition, and even they can't screw up qualifying from that ridiculous group. Other than that, Spain have the softest passage into the knockouts that they could have wished for; lets hope Brazil slip up in their group and then those two can meet in the last 16.
Quick summary of the sides I'm tipping to progress:
A: France, Mexico
B: Argentina, Nigeria
C: England, USA
D: Germany, Ghana
E: Netherlands, Cameroon
F: Italy, Paraguay
G: Brazil, Ivory Coast
H: Spain, Chile
Thursday, 3 December 2009
World Cup Draw - pre
One of those days I genuinely can't wait for, the World Cup draw is upon us. One look at the four pots and you just know there's going to be some bloody brilliant ties. There are a couple of near certainties; there will one impossibly hard group in which a pre-tournament favourite will crash out; there will be one unbeleivably shite group containing a team that will jam its way to the semi finals; France and Netherlands will be drawn together.
I'd like to see England draw some of the more unpredictable teams, mainly to provide some good variation and a range of game tempos before the knockouts. And nobody wants a big African side or a team with Premiership stars, I think it's safe to say.
Dream Group:
England
North Korea
Nigeria
Greece
Nightmare Group:
England
Australia
Ivory Coast
Portugal
My hope is, by predicting this now, I rule out the possibility of this actually happening.
I'd like to see England draw some of the more unpredictable teams, mainly to provide some good variation and a range of game tempos before the knockouts. And nobody wants a big African side or a team with Premiership stars, I think it's safe to say.
Dream Group:
England
North Korea
Nigeria
Greece
Nightmare Group:
England
Australia
Ivory Coast
Portugal
My hope is, by predicting this now, I rule out the possibility of this actually happening.
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