His streak of tactical genius might just end here with a sad halt in Madrid. His roster of high profile, head strong, fame-driven footballers might just be his downfall. Maybe a little optimism is needed, but what’s the point when you’ve got a roster of national team 7s, 9s, and 10s that just can’t cooperate? If only he had a pair of central midfielders that he could build a team around.

We all know the tactical prowess of The Special One, but what of the tactics themselves? Standard flat-back four with at least one reducer to move around, while the rest move up and down as 3-4 just sit back and clean up. He loves this, chess, and answering questions with questions, or at least ending sentences with interrogative tones. Makelele, Deco, Costinha, and the well-aged Cambiasso and Zanetti did it for him. Hung around and just cleaned up the mess that everyone else created. Why not? Can’t score if you can’t pass or even move. In Madrid, he has the fake German, Sami Khedira, and the folically well-endowed Xabi Alonso who hasn’t hit a signature long pass since leaving Anfield. What’s wrong? He has 8 other forwards to watch over, while Casillas sits and hopes a defender will remember to stay in a flat-back four. I hate watching them whine. It sucks. Why can’t professionals just be professional? If there is a new way to trim your sideburns, I am sure CR has already done it. I can’t watch another no look pass, I’ll die.

Being second to Barcelona isn’t really that bad, but at least allow a Special attempt at winning something. I don’t need another manager to tell me that he will bring home silverware and forget after 4 years that luster looks better in cabinets. It isn’t exactly Italy or England where tactics are easier to establish, but create your own ‘philosophy’ as the Catalonians call it and just win without flare.

Thank you, with a smile on our faces -

Setting history aside, Mazembe found a place in my heart thanks for the amazing goal celebrations by their keeper Muteba Kidiaba. Unlike Victor Valdes’ boring fingers pointed toward the heavens, or Lukasz Fabianski’s dropped waterbottle and probable injury, Kidiaba scoots around on the ground, using only the power of his derrière .

Seriously. Take a look.

Wonderful.

The entire nation - no need for panarama

The average temperature in Qatar is 115 degrees Fahrenheit. If I remember correctly, the players complained about the heat in the 1994 World Cup held here in the USA.  If they thought heat was unbearable back in 94′ then let us hope this oil hungry nation can air condition every square inch of their land.

If you are a tree hugging environmentalist you’ll hate this next thing. Qatar has the highest carbon-dioxide emissions per capita – 55.5 metric tons per person. That is higher than the USA and neighboring Kuwait. Want to know why? – Their #1 consumption of energy is due to AIR CONDITIONING. I really hope Sepp Blatter and the remaining 21 committee members plan on wearing bathing suits in this country. Oh and the nation is approximately 75% Islamic.. try getting away with wearing revealing clothing or doing anything that deviates from the strictly enforced rules of the religion.

Now let’s think about the size of this country. Compared to Connecticut, it has a population of around 1.5 million people. Yes, it is occupied by a 7 digit number. The USA held the World Cup in 9 different cities, does Qatar even have that many soccer fields? I’ll be honest, I have seen the potential fields and ideas that the people of Qatar are thinking of building and they look nice. Really nice:

Good, so they have fields. Can such a small nation hold the capacity of the massive numbers of tourists that plan on coming to Qatar? The World Cup in South Africa saw 400,000 tourists and if my math is correct, Qatar’s population will temporarily increase by over 26%. This means they will need to have enough hotels, restaurants, road ways, parking, food, workers, etc to hold at least 26% of their country at one time. I am sure Qatar gave it some thought before proposing to hold the World’s BIGGEST event.

They have listed their 6 highest populated cities and #1 – Doha holds just above 99,000 people. That alone will be a rude awakening when a potential 400,000 flood the streets. What might be a bit disturbing is their 6th most populated city Mesaieed. It has a population of just under 10,000.. wow. That is the size of a small town, but Welcome to Qatar.

The one thing Qatar has on the USA is history. Oh well.. like history is going to get you through the biggest event that country has and probably will ever see.

Lastly, and the most annoying thing to me – What are the real reasons for FIFA’s decision? The first thing that came to mind was the fact that we are having back-to-back Asian hosts. I also remembered that Russia is technically apart of UEFA. The idea of pure corruption was out of the picture, but then I continued reading into it. The Middle East region is an upcoming land and has the MONEY to hold such an important event. That’s all I will say, no implications, but they do have a lot of MONEY.

But at the end of the day, WC 2022 is still in Qatar and all I can do is wish them the best of luck. When the WC committee visits Qatar in mid-July I hope they realize they can’t just renege their decision when they are sweating in their expensive suits. I’ll be watching from my television in a normal climate.

For the sake of the country, I hope by 2022 we will all come to realize the importance of soccer in the world and have people enjoy it rather than embarrass themselves with a lack of understanding.
With that said, the Big House was selected as one of the final 27 locations for the 2022 World Cup. If the USA is chosen as the 2022 host nation, 18 of the 27 locations will be chosen to be the actual hosts of the World Cup Finals matches. At 10am today, if the USA is chosen, I will be ordering an entire booklet of tickets and wearing Maize and Blue underneath my USA jersey for all of July 2022.

The Big House seats 109,901 - Make It Happen

Lionel Messi IS The Best player on the planet.

Currently, both CR and Messi have each scored 21 goals in all competitions, but CR has 8 assists as Messi has 7. The big difference is that Messi has played in 6 less games than Cristiano. Barca’s #1 averages a goal per game and if match is not your strong suit then I will just state that Leo Messi is the current FIFA WPOY and is on track to repeat.

Tomorrow’s match between Real Madrid and Barcelona is not to determine who is the best, but rather how much better is Messi than Ronaldo.

The top 3 Spanish goalkeepers, as well as Brazil’s#1 are still considered top class, however in the past couple years new names have emerged and have taken over as the #1 for top clubs and national teams.

France #1 - Hugo Lloris

The German’s have not had success in developing a goalkeeper since, arguably the best goalkeeper to date, Oliver Khan. In recent years a new, equally as pale and lengthy keeper has earned the #1 for Germany. Manuel Neuer has been compared to The Oliver Khan for the past 2 years. I’ve watched him rather closely and can tell he has the reflexes to top Iker Casillas, but Neuer is also currently sitting bottom of the table with Schalke 04.

Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Fabien Barthez was once recognized as one of the world’s greatest in net. For a few years he was MU’s #1 and during his time in Ligue 1, he won the European Cup. 1998 was the year he became a celebrity as he conceded just 2 goals in 7 games en route to winning the World Cup in front of his home crowd. Since then, a new face has emerged as 24 year old Hugo Lloris has now taken over as the French #1. A dismal performance by France in the previous World Cup destroyed Lloris’ image, however he is the most highly regarded keeper in France. Lyon would not be able to consistently compete in the close title race in France nor enter Champions League without him.

Somehow, Nordic countries have been able to consistently create some of the world’s best keepers to this day. Edwin Van Der Sar has been one of the EPL’s best if not The Best in the last few years. Last month, the most capped player in Dutch Football history turned 40, an age that is unheard of for most footballers, let alone athletes. I know goalkeepers are better with age, but 40+ is pushing it. Manchester United always manage to have top class goalkeepers and the hype is now behind a 26 year old that comes from the same country as the great Peter Schmeichel. Denmark native, Anders Lindegaard is set for his medical sometime in the near future and is all the talk to become the new Red, or green or blue or yellow, Devil #1. Van Der Sar has worn just about every color of the rainbow.

One of the better goalkeepers, or at least one of the most talked about, did not come from Europe, Asia, nor South America. If you can pronounce his name you have conquered something. Itumeleng Khune, the South African Bafana Bafana goalkeeper. Nobody knew who he was until the host nation allowed him to distribute the ball for the first time. There is not a single goalkeeper in the world besides this guy that can side-volley a ball to a winger on the touchline without it going 40+ feet in the air. If there is one player with unusually large gloves on that I can trust to give a backpass to, it would be Mr. Itumeleng Khune. I don’t think South Africa’s hopes laid on the shoulders of Steven Pienaar, who hardly showed up during the summer, nor the long haired Tshabalala, but rather their keeper that kept them in the tournament. An unfortunate red card saw him off due to a Luis Suarez dive inside the box, but no other goalkeeper in the tournament could drop kick a ball right to a players foot. Get Khune out of Africa, someone could use his talents in Europe. If it is any consolation, you can probably sign his brother too. His name is Lucky Khune.

nice glasses

I’ll be honest, Seattle has been the best city in the entire nation for soccer support, but that does not make it right to send their minority owner as the entire nation’s representative. He knows nothing about the game and is not a big enough celebrity to make anyone do a double take. I would at least say hello to Ryan Stiles.

Even after all the scandals and bribing, England still has the upperhand over the USA. Interest in the game still plays a big role, but we needed to send someone who could at least sell the idea to FIFA that the USA will quickly build a proper following. Looks like I will be waking up very early to watch the World Cup in 2018 and 2022 because Russia and Spain will both play host.

Just to name a few examples for a need for defensive minded players:

The last time Arsenal brought home some silverware was also the last time they had a true defensive midfielder in Patrick Vieira. Liverpool’s current slump came sharply after they separated their CDM pairing of Mascherano and Xabi Alonso. Barcelona have been very successful in the past few years with the addition of the skill-less gump, Sergio Busquets, while last year Inter Milan put together a historic season and gathered The Treble with the elderly DM pair of Cambiasso and Zanetti.

The derogatory term ‘Anti-football’ has been a frequent topic in the last few years since Jose Mourinho came into the spotlight. He took U.D. Leiria, a bottom table Portuguese team, to a 4th place finish then took control of FC Porto the following year, bringing in the UEFA Cup and Champions League Trophy the following year.  His usage of the reducer roles and overall style of Anti-football allowed him to finish a record season at Stamford Bridge having only conceded 15 goals all year. In under 10 years, Mourinho has accomplished more than any other current manager with multiple league cups and league titles, but most of all 2 Champions League trophies. His use of Costinha, Makelele, Zanetti, and Cambiasso have brought him success, but far too many do not appreciate their roles.

The role of the ‘reducer’ is to break up plays by sniffing out passes and tackling at will. The reducer is not known for their skill, keen vision, nor their scoring ability, but rather their bulldog mentality, eye for the tackle, and simple passing. Every great European team has made use of the reducer role and during those time periods have taken home some silverware.

At The Santiago Bernabeu, Mourinho is now being called out for his boring, defensive style that the fans of Los Blancos are not used to. The fans have become used to flashy football, outstanding individual efforts, and a shelf full of decade old trophies. In his first 7 competitive matches with Real Madrid, they managed to score only 9 goals, far from the old Real Madrid standard. Fans booed and jeered until their most recent win of 6-1 in La Liga. None of these fans took a second to realize that 6 of their 8 competitive matches have been clean sheets. With 15 goals for and only 2 goals against, the new Real Madrid already looks to have improved on paper.

Efficient is an adjective that isn’t used enough when characterizing teams, but I guarantee that this year’s Champions League winner will be described by that word one way or another.

Always dealing with injury, Arsenal have three out until the middle or end of October and two without an actual return date. Nicklas Bendtner finally returns from his continuous struggle with his groin, however hat-trick hero Theo Walcott is out til the final week in October with an ankle issue, as well as RVP who always has something. Vermaelen and Diaby have not been given an actual return date, but I assume it should be soon. Samir Nasri is recovering from knee surgery and also has not been given a return time. Youngster Frimpong is dealing with his ACL and will be back hopefully in February.

I don’t expect Fulham to be able to keep up as they lose both Senderos and Zamora until the second week of February. Bobby Zamora just recently broke his leg, while Philippe Senderos had his Achilles tendon rupture.

Recently, Jermaine Defoe suffered an ankle injury while playing for England. He is set to return after the Christmas break. Tottenham will finally return keeper Gomes next week along with Luka Modric and newly acquired Rafael Van Der Vaart.

Newcastle are missing six in total, but three are vital to surviving in the top league. Andy Carroll and Dan Guthrie return in the next week, but Dan Gosling is gone until after the Xmas break with an ACL injury.

Man City don’t need mentioning as they have a roster full of stars, but Adebayor returns alongside newcomer Jerome Boateng. Balotelli will return at the end of October when he recovers from his knee injury.

Louis Saha suffers from old age and Jack Rodwell is out for three months due to an ankle injury that was found to be worse than it looked. Hopefully, Everton will be fine without Saha. Glad to see Arteta back in the starting XI.

Manchester United just recently saw a terrible ankle break with Antonio Valencia. He is ruled out until February and will hopefully have a quick recovery. Owen Hargreaves is attempting to make a comeback this season, but is unsure of when it will be. Having ailments for most of his recent career, his surgeon in the USA is finally clearing him for the next month.

Chelsea is fine. Lampard has been out for a little, but is in full form as of today. Apart from having a huge unibrow, Bowingwa will be fully fit by the beginning of October and should be back.

Liverpool have been missing Dirk Kuyt due to a shoulder injury, but he will return at the end of October, while Fabio Aurelio should be back October 3rd from his ankle injury.