May 24, 2013
Today's Photos:
The drive was filled with Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.
Because when you're in a car alone, you can make these decisions.
Newcastle United - After fifth place a year ago, a massive disappointment not totally explained by European distractions, injuries and the loss of Demba Ba. Some big decisions to be made this summer to get the balance of the team right.
Best player: Fabricio Coloccini
Best player: Fabricio Coloccini
Saturday's Champions League final between German powers Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund could be the greatest clash between good and evil since the Book of Mormon.
(I think he means the musical. He didn't mean any offense.)
(I think he means the musical. He didn't mean any offense.)
If you're defending Robben, the only thing you need to remember is to force him to use his right foot. That's it. That's the whole strategy. Everyone knows this. And yet his one move is so beguilingly effective that he's scored 67 times in 119 games for Bayern. Every other game — more — his "oh hi opposing left back maybe I'll just take the ball toward the corner for a nice simple right-footed cross HAHAHA NO YOU FOOL I AM CUTTING INSIDE YET AGAIN AND WILL NOW SURPRISE YOU BY SHOOTING WITH MY LEFT FOOT FOR THE 9,000TH CONSECUTIVE TIME" trick actually pays off. It's mind-boggling.
There's a secret here, though, known only to the savviest defenders, which is that Robben always telegraphs his inside cuts with his eyes. That is, no matter what his eyes are doing, it's a signal that he's about to cut inside, because he's always about to cut inside, unless he's already cut inside, in which case you might want to watch that left foot for any signs of shootiness.
(I kept finding pieces of this article I wanted to share.)
(If you're interested at all, just go read the whole thing.)
German football is booming, reaping the rewards of the strategy drawn up after their dismal performances at Euro 2000, when Germany finished bottom of their group. Forced into an overhaul of youth football, the DFB, the Bundesliga and the clubs decided that the development of more technically proficient homegrown players would be in everyone's best interests. This led to the creation of academies right across the top two divisions.
The fruits are there for all to see. Joachim Löw, Germany's coach, is blessed with a generation of gifted young players – Julian Draxler (19), Andre Schürrle (22), Sven Bender (24), Thomas Müller (23), Holger Badstuber (24), Mats Hummels (24), Mesut Ozil (24), Ilkay Gundogan (22), Mario Götze (20), Marco Reus (23), Toni Kroos (23) … the list goes on – and Dutt says there are more coming through in the under-21 side who will travel to Israel for the European Championship next month.
As for Saturday's Champions League final at Wembley, the DFB proudly points out that 26 of the players Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund named in their Uefa squads this season are homegrown and eligible to play for Germany. More than half of those players came through the DFB's talent development programme, which was introduced in 2003 with the aim of identifying promising youngsters and providing them with technical skills and tactical knowledge at an early age. Covering 366 areas of Germany, this impressive initiative caters for children aged 8 to 14 and is served by 1,000 part-time DFB coaches, all of whom must hold the Uefa B licence and are expected to scout as well as train the players. "We have 80 million people in Germany and I think before 2000 nobody noticed a lot of talent," Dutt says. "Now we notice everyone."
...
Under the tutelage of their erudite and colourful manager Christian Streich, a qualified teacher who worked in the club's youth setup for 16 years, Freiburg were one of the stories of the Bundesliga season. With an annual wage budget of only €18m (£15.4m), which covers the coaching staff as well as the first-team squad, Freiburg's fifth-place finish was a remarkable achievement, even if Streich was unable to conceal his disappointment that they will be playing in the Europa League, rather than the Champions League, next season and that four of his best players have been snapped up.
Across a sizeable area where they face little competition from other Bundesliga clubs, Freiburg work closely with five amateur feeder teams who receive a part-time coach to train children aged 8 to 11 twice a week. The most promising players are invited to attend the academy during school holidays and for occasional tournaments at weekends. "We believe it is not good for a nine-year-old to play [regularly] for a professional football club because it changes the reasons why he plays football," says Sebastian Neuf, a member of the football school's management.
Once a player reaches under-12 level things change. Those who live within 40km of Freiburg train at the football school up to four times a week and play in a league, where teams can win a title and be relegated, a major difference to the way academies are run in England. The earliest an academy player would take part in competitive football with a professional club in England – where the theory is that it "should be about performances, not results" – is at under-18 level.
Dutt offers an interesting response when asked about the rationale behind the league system. "It's important for the mentality to have some games in the year you have to win, but it is not the main thing. The main thing is to do good training.
"For the Germans this system is very important. It's like golf. If I play golf in England, no club wants to know my handicap. If I go to play in Germany you have to show your handicap. If you play with a guy you don't know, the first question is: 'How do you do?' The second question is: 'What is your handicap?' Germans want to reach something, they want to go up."
Today's Photos:
The drive was filled with Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.
Because when you're in a car alone, you can make these decisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment