Philosofooty

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Through Ryu's Lens - Champions League - Chelsea vs. Valencia, Stamford Bridge

Click pictures to enlarge. Japanese photographer Ryu Voelkel has teamed up with AFR and he will be featuring photos exclusively to our site on a regular basis. Learn about Ryu and his art in our interview with him from last year (embedded below), and be sure to check out his personal website.

You can also follow Ryu on twitter @Toksuede

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What are the Implications of Early La Liga Kickoffs?

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By Tanuj Lakhina, writing from Delhi

Real Madrid played Osasuna at 12 pm (Madrid time) last Sunday at the Santiago Bernabeu. It was an easy and convincing win for the Merengues as they beat their opponents 7-1 with Cristiano Ronaldo bagging yet another hat-trick.

The early kickoff is a concept introduced by Liga de Futbol Profesional (LFP) to compete with the English Premier League and gain some more eyeballs in South East Asia and far East Asia, where the Premiership attracts far more attention. Rayo Vallecano played host to Espanyol in the first week at 12 PM, Betis hosted Vallecano at 12 PM the next week, Gijon played Bilbao at 12 PM on 30th October and now one of the big clubs played early on.

While this early kick off may have been a problem for viewers and fans in North America for whom it would have been early morning, it was the perfect setting for fans in countries like Indonesia, China and Japan who otherwise are accustomed to setting alarms for ungodly hours in the middle of the night to see their favourite teams and stars like Andres Iniesta in action.

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A Supportive Saturday Afternoon

The texture of passion often lacks definition. However, when loyalty befriends sheer strength in numbers, clarity arises. 64,121 people showed up to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts to see the United States Men's National Team play Spain on Saturday, June 4th. Some supported Spain, some supported the United States. 

[whereisfootball]

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Melbourne Victory vs Celtic x Time Lapse and Tilt Shift Photography

On the 13th of July, photographer Joe Armao and Video journalist Dave Pavlich teamed up to capture the summer friendly between the Melbourne Victory and Celtic at AAMI Park Melbourne. The result is phenomenal. The two blended their respective artistic talents together and, as a result, created some stunning sequences and fascinating shots. Really, what’s not to love?

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An(other) enquiry into our ideas of Wenger and his Arsenal

By Darshan Joshi, writing from Sydney

Yet another one of these articles relating to Arsenal – as the very thought of this waltzed into my mind, I recalled the dozens of essays, columns, features pertaining to Arsene Wenger’s seemingly ageless boys. This time though, there’s a wildcard with regards to the looming, possibly illuminating presence of Stan Kroenke. No longer will the self-righteous ‘we-aren’t-owned-by-foreigners’ tune be trumpeted in the faces of the Gunners’ rival fans. Still, though, what would it all actually mean for this side who, for so long now, have found themselves in a sticky quagmire of trophyless mediocrity?

Wenger has always maintained that the availability of funds was never an issue. Or the lack of it, maybe. The future has taken amaranthine precedence over the present; the years go by and yet, by some shamanistic power, Arsenal’s starting XI has its average age spiralling downwards. Blogs, messageboards, Twitter, and the rest of cyberspace has seen fans, speculators and journalists contemplate and ponder over the main issues with Arsene’s model. It’s natural. Humans are an inquisitive race; the desire to know the psychological breakdown of Wenger’s mind and the thought processes that embody his very being hold unequivocally. In the way his accent hasn’t lost its French tincture, his philosophy has been maintained throughout his regime, from Highbury to the Emirates. Arsene Wenger is Arsenal; the squad, the setup. Remove him, and it self-destructs like a supernova.

Across the pond, Arsenal are subjected to a clear view of the rise of their arch-rivals. Arsene has the know-how, and the experience, but Tottenham are on the steep slope towards success, with momentum firmly on their side. They have so many things Arsenal covet – a (relatively) reliable goalkeeper, decent defenders, ridiculous squad depth, a chairman and manager who seem to be on a deathless chase for talent. Whoever could be got, they have made an effort to sign. There has been substantial progress at White Hart Lane, to counter the stagnation at the Emirates.

This isn’t to shame Wenger’s ideology. It is simply to state the facts one more time. Football is ever evolving. The axioms that may have bred success ten years ago don’t hold today. Someone needs to give Wenger a tickle, a poke, something, anything, that could help him relinquish the stubborn grip he has on his now old-fashioned ethos. Change cannot come from the synthesis of Arsenal and a foreign owner. It must come from within, and where Arsene Wenger is the soul…

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The Odd Couple.

By Gordon Fleetwood, writing from New York City

It was only a matter of time before it happened. This past week, Muricy Ramalho was finally appointed coach of Santos. The fifty-five year old signed a contract until April of 2012 at his presentation last Thursday. He had left Fluminese in mid-March after aa goalless draw with rivals Flamengo under controversial circumstances. Ramalho complained of broken promises with regard to improving the infrastructure of the Rio de Janeiro club. He gave the impression that it was the quality of Santos as an organization that convinced him to take up the coaching role.

Santos, although not in crisis, have looked a bit rudderless since the start of the year. It was a situation that prompted the sacking of Adilson Batista. Current caretaker Marcelo Martelotte - as he showed last year - is good for steadying the ship, but not much else. Ramalho looks like the perfect replacement. He is the most successful coach in Brazil in recent times, with four of the last five Brasileirão titles going to sides coached by the São Paulo native. For a club like Santos with its history and lofty ambitions, his appointment seems to be an obvious step in the right direction. 

However, there is a contrast of styles that is a cause for concern. One could draw a parallel with  a hypothetical situation most people would be familiar with. Imagine José Mourinho took over as coach at Arsenal. Yes, you probably have a good idea where this is going.

In the chaotic world of Brazilian football, where teams are often gutted mid-season by ravenous European clubs, and coaches are sacked on a whim, Ramalho has been so successful because of one thing, defensive organization. Yes, just like Mourinho, Ramalho has a reputation for being pragmatic. Calling it catenaccio is a bit hyperbolic, but he does love his counter attacking football and long balls. This  well drilled, organized approach is perfect for withstanding the rigors of a thirty-eight game season in Brazil. However, Santos has built a reputation of playing beautiful, expressive football. Ramalho’s code applied to this philosophy has the look of a straitjacket. There is a feeling that this may be a disaster waiting to happen. 

Inevitably, the question on this apparent mismatch came up in the press conference where Ramalho was officially presented as coach. He gave a very diplomatic response:

I respect all the player’s characteristics. Santos are a team that attacks. They suffer a bit on the counterattack, but this is a calculated risk. We will not change the tactics because that is the nature of the players.

This seems highly unlikely given that it is the team who mirrors the coach, and not the other way around. Putting away cynicism for a moment though, it is encouraging that he seems open to adapting his style to fit Santos’ ethos. It must also be noted that despite his reputation, some creative players, namely Hernanes and Dario Conca,  have done well under his tutelage. We’ll have to wait to see if he stays true to his words.

One thing that should improve under Ramalho is the defense. Santos’ success recent success has definitely not been the result of building a good team. Rather, it has been the case of an excellent attack making up for the shortcomings of a comedic defense. There are some good players there, such as Edu Dracena, Alex Sandro, Jonathan, and Léo. However, most of the remaining players are either substandard or inexperienced, and new signings will have to come in to make the back four fully competent. The responsibility for Santos’ penchant for leaking goals doesn’t solely lie with the defenders. The team’s talented midfield may be where the real strength lies - with the likes of Ganso, Elano, Rodrigo Possebon, and Danilo - but it is often overrun by the opposition when out of possession. It is this division of labor that Ramalho has to eradicate, and instill a holistic nature in the team.

There is also up top that would benefit from Ramalho’s modus operandum. A big target man who scores goals is often a feature of Ramalho’s teams, and it is a player that Santos lacks. Neymar and Maikon Leite are excellent players, but they are second strikers. The impressive Zé Eduardo  - who is headed to Genoa in the summer - is the nearest equivalent. However, as a converted attacking midfielder, he lacks the clinical nature of a true goal scorer. The man who was supposed to take up the mantle is Keirrison, but he is looking like more and more like deadweight every week. The sole attacking signing from Batista tenure, Diogo, isn’t even worth a mention. He has the impressive total of one goal to his name in the last fifteen months. It is reported that he will be the first man out the door at Ramalho’s request. It is likely that the new coach will make a move for such a striker worthy of the number nine shirt. 

If Ramalho does manage to turn Santos into a beautiful machine, they will definitely be one of the favorites to win the Brasileirão this year, as well as the currently ongoing Campeonato Paulista. The potential of such a meld of beauty and beast would be mouthwatering.

More pressing however, is the Copa Libertadores. After a much anticipated return to the big stage, Santos are on the verge of being knocked out. Some poor results sees the Saints lying third in their group with five points from four games. This Thursday they face group leaders Cerro Porteño -- one of only three unbeaten teams left in the Libertadores -- away from home. Santos go to Paraguay knowing that a win is their only hope of overhauling second place Colo Colo. The Chileans have a home gome against last place Deportivo Tachira. Even worse, Santos will have to face the Paraguayans without three important players. Elano, Neymar, and Zé Eduardo are suspended for the game after receiving red cards in the 3-2 win over Colo Colo.

If there is a black mark against Muricy Ramalho’s coaching methods, it is that his teams tend to falter in must win situations. Time after time Ramalho-led sides have looked lost when they needed to take the initiative in a game - especially in knockout competitions. Taking this into consideration, and the odds stacked against Santos, the possibility of success against Cerro Porteño looks bleak.

In response to a journalist’s question about his approach last Thursday, Ramalho jokingly said, “My DNA is to win.” Hopefully for Ramalho and his new charges, his winning mentality will help propel Santos to victory in his first real test, regardless of the contrast in styles.

[philosofooty]

The Ajax Experience. Part Two: Singing sweet songs at the Amsterdam ArenA

By Eric Beard, writing from Barçelona. Still with nostalgia.

In part one of The Ajax Experience I told you a little about the history of the club, their recent fall from Dutch and European dominance, and the unparalleled success of De Toekomst (The Future), the club's youth academy. Now, we move on to the good stuff: the match. Ajax vs. AZ Alkmaar was the fixture that I saw with my girlfriend and our Dutch friend Babette, who was able to secure the tickets being an Ajax member.

We met up for lunch a little after noon at De Drie Graefjes (close to Dam Square) for a quality sandwich. It has to be said that, especially given the "never really filling" tapas culture in Spain, the Dutch impressed us with their love for food. We all got monstrous portions filled with greens (a surprising scarcity in Spain) and meats (not so much). Delicious. From there we headed to Centraal Station to take a 15 minute train ride to the ArenA. As we approached it Babette said, "A lot of people don't like the new stadium (opened in 1996, definitely worth checking out the video of the opening ceremony). They think it looks like a spaceship." Well, it did look like a spaceship. But spaceships are awesome. The Amsterdam ArenA cost 140 million euros to build, but it was done so because the old and cozy stadium, De Meer, was only able to seat 24,000 in its prime (19,000 after modern safety regulations). The ArenA seats 52,960, though for the European matches they add a few more temporary seats closer to the pitch. Anyway, where was I? Right, arriving at the stadium!

We got off the train with plenty of time to kill. Kickoff was at 4:30, so we had about two hours. Not to worry, the area around the ArenA was completely different from the old, historic Amsterdam we had been walking (and biking) through the previous two days. It was sleek and modern, while still being attaining a vibrant feel. However, the stadium on ground level looked like something straight out of District 9. Again, awesome.

Walking towards the stadium we came across stands selling jerseys, scarfs, and Israeli flags. Amsterdam always has had the highest number of Jews in Holland (especially before the Holocaust) and Ajax has had two Jewish presidents in its history. In the 1950s, the club began to assume the nickname Jews, for better or for worse. The Ajax fans commonly shout "Let's go Jews, let's go!", but then unfortunately when the club travels (especially to Rotterdam or Eindhoven), they are met with rampant anti-semitism.

As Craig Smith stated in his NYTimes piece on Ajax's Jewish identity, "Outside, souvenir stalls sold Israeli flags or flags with the Ajax logo, the head of the fabled Greek warrior, emblazoned inside the Star of David. Fans arrived with hats, jackets and scarves embroidered with Hebrew writing. Until recently, the team's official Web site even featured ringing tones of "Hava Nagila" and other popular Jewish songs that could be downloaded into fans' mobile phones." The Jewish identity was peculiar, particularly as a Jew myself, but hey, I was always going to embrace "De Joden".

We then went in to the gift shop, which still had many remnants of the legendary teams of the 70s and 90s. All the Luis Suarez gear was on sale, but I remained steadfast with my wallet. After the shop, Babette led us to the back end of the stadium, where there were a few fields, as well as the Ajax supporter clubhouse. It was getting cold standing outside, so finally we entered the spaceship and went up its tube-covered escalators.

The retractable roof, the seating set up, the area to get food, it was all completely different from what I expect from a massive footballing fortress, such as the Camp Nou or the Bombonero. The ArenA had a modern, yet intimate feeling and though the roof was open and it was a little chilly, I felt like I was indoors. If you were to create a hybrid of a 20,000 seat NBA arena and the Bernabeu, then boom, you would have the Amsterdam ArenA.

Speaking of boom, the music was blasting and we entered the section our seats were in to Katy Perry, which I am sad to say I will never forget wasn't ideal but those Dutch just love American pop music. After settling in, Babette told us everything we needed to know about the current first team, including her wonderful obsession with Jan Vertonghen, who will certainly become one of the best defenders in Europe. Belgium are very lucky to have him and Vermaelen commanding the back.

As the players walked out to train, the song "One" by Swedish House Mafia came on. I was already aware of the Dutch obsession with this song, as I saw 200,000 dancing to it after the Dutch team returned from South Africa. However, that was nothing compared to Andre Hazes' Bloed, Zweet en Tranen, which played right before kickoff.

One musical tradition I did not expect was Ajax's affinity towards Bob Marley. I mean, given Amsterdam and Bob Marley's shared love for a certain plant, perhaps I should have seen it coming. I remember hearing The Liquidator at Stamford Bridge about 6 years ago, but Ajax took their reggae to the next level. Three rappers/singers/reggae artists took the liberty of walking out on to the pitch before kickoff to give their rendition of "Jamming", then at halftime they came out again to sing "Three Little Birds". The best part of it all was how carried away those three got with the song, bringing a unifying Jamaican vibe amongst families, ultras, and even the traveling AZ fans. At halftime the referee actually had to kick the rastas off the pitch because both sides were ready to play, but that didn't stop the singing. No sir, for the next minute the female reggae singer was on the touchline spuring on the ultras. That's entertainment.

The game itself was one for the memories due to the quality of play and the future stars on the pitch. Ajax, despite its ups and downs this current campaign, had a nearly perfect 4-0 victory (highlights). The club scored twice off a classic Dutch counterattack and AZ Alkmaar could not break down the Ajax back four. The 22-year-old Vurnon Anita did his best Makelele impression as a defensive midfielder, while 19-year-old Lorenzo Ebecilio turned on the style going forward. Christian Eriksen, also 19, wore the #10 and played like the creative midfielder we all expected him to be. His dribbling to set up the third goal was world class improvisation. Remember the names.

My Ajax experience at the Amsterdam ArenA was a mixture of spaceships, Bob Marley, religious affiliations, and the boys in red and white putting on a performance worthy of the club's history. And I wouldn't have had it any other way. Remember to follow my good friend Babette on Twitter for everything Dutch football and Ajax, who helped make this experience possible.

The third and final part of The Ajax Experience will be a little eccentric as I share a discovered haven for Mr. Johan Cruyff that I came across on my final day exploring Amsterdam. Until then, thanks for reading.

[philosofooty]

Football and Cricket - Is There Room For Both In India?

By Saheli RC and Kaushik Lakshman. Kaushik is a regular contributor to Real Offisde and can be found on Twitter @_kaushik7.

While Indians are still celebrating India’s first cricket world cup win in twenty-eight years, I woke up a few days ago to find news more akin to my liking: Real Madrid Foundation opened their first academy in Asia; where else but the home of Indian football, and coincidentally my hometown, Calcutta! Football is the second most popular sport in a nation with one billion crazy cricket nuts. Expectedly, though, like most other sports in the country, football has been forced to take a backseat.

History Cricket has not always been the most dominating sports in the country. Back in the 70s, India’s national game (it still is, despite its diminished status) was Hockey and the common man cared about every sport, regardless of whether we were any good at it or not. Tennis was big with the Krishnans, Basketball and Football was quite big too with relatively good performances on both fronts. In football, India won the Asian Games twice, in 1951 and 1962. Prior to the 1960s, the football team regularly qualified for the Summer Olympics. In 1950, Indian football reached its pinnacle when the national team was invited to play in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil. It has been theorised that the reason they didn’t take part in the competition was because their players were still playing barefoot. However, in recent times, this has been debunked as a myth. As is the case in most sports played in India, the problem arose due to administrative indecisions over team selection, lack of sufficient practice prior to the competition and so on that prevented the team from travelling to Brazil.

Then something changed in the 80s. India won their first Cricket world cup in 1983, registering the country’s first major win in a sport, since their triumph at the Hockey world cup in 1975. During this time, Football, Basketball and Volleyball registered a string of bad performances, allowing Cricket to pull ahead of the rest of the pack. It didn’t help that a certain Sachin Tendulkar came along, and did what Michael Jordan did to Basketball, what Tiger Woods did to Golf, you get the picture.

The debate over the status of football in India, and the question whether football will ever have adequate resources to compete with Cricket has become a hot topic for discussion these days, especially among India’s youth. Football, like many other sports, is played in almost all schools across India. It is widely played in neighbourhoods, on streets, and in almost all open spaces, be it in the rural villages or the bustling metropolises in the making. The best part about this game is that you don’t need much to play - just a bit of space and a ball. Impromptu goalposts are set up with stones, shoes and what not! If you’ve been to India, or if you’ve taken a long stroll down the streets late afternoon, you will get a glimpse of how much these kids enjoy the game. It makes you wonder, then, why this enthusiasm for the game fails to show up at a national level.

Lack of organisation structure, especially at youth level Indian football is administered by the All India Football Federation (AIFF) which is affiliated with the regional Asian Football Confederation (AFC), of which India was a founding member, and FIFA. However, youth football is separately administered by the Sports Authority of India. Since the Sports Authority is a government body, it does not come under direct scrutiny or ruling by FIFA. Hence, it leaves ample space for corruption and mismanagement at the foundation level (more on this later).

 Take the USA for example: it thrives in so many sports because it has a great foundation set up at school-level. There are academies geared to harvesting talent, and training them to become superstars. The same concept is followed in Europe too, except the emphasis likes in club football. Most clubs have their own academies which cater to talented footballers, both in terms of their footballing education and proper education. For example, almost all Real Madrid canteranos are currently enrolled in schools and universities across Madrid; the club places a big emphasis on the completion of tertiary education before these canteranos are allowed to turn pro.

However, this kind of organisational structure is lacking in India at youth level. Even though many school-going children play football, they seldom get an opportunity to test their skills in a semi-professional level.  None of the football clubs that play in the National Football League have proper academies set up, to get hold of talented youngsters at an early age and groom them into footballers. There are no national academies or football schools either to nurture talent across the country. The few that are in place cater mostly to the upper echelons of society. The existing facilities in place for the senior team are mediocre at best; they are far from the world class standard that is needed to field a semi-respectable team on the global scale. There are no coaching schools to train coaches and the technical team that is so fundamental in the success of a football team.

Investment on a grassroots level is poor and almost non-existent – the bulk of the money is devoted to the development of cricket, or they end up in the pockets of corrupt politicians. Most of the senior administrative positions in Indian football are occupied either by politicians or by people who have close connections with the politico.  The lack of opportunity for success kills off the drive of talented footballers to turn professional. One might play football on the field with passion and commitment that will rival Lionel Messi, but when there are no financial rewards in store for that effort, it is natural to shy away from pursuing that as a proper career.

Corruption and Favouritism Corruption is the biggest bane of football. It starts at the lowest form. If you look at the number of players who enter age specific tournaments, but are visibly over-aged, it is astounding. Why do people throw in over-aged players? This is because of an incessant pressure to win, a need to create and live up to a legacy, and most of all, the job securities of coaches and association officials depend on winning. This is a country that is obsessed with winning. Everything depends on immediate results and instant-success recipes and nobody stops long enough to think about the future. That is where Cricket has its biggest advantage. Since 1983, the Indian team has done considerably well in competitions across the world. As a result, the country’s focus has shifted and zoomed in on this sport itself – now it begs the question, was last week’s triumph the final nail in football’s coffin? 

The argument forwarded by proponents of cricket is that football must show substantial result before asking for more investment in the game. However, without the proper set up in place, that substantial achievement will never come, leaving the sport in a sticky Catch-22 situation in India. Bhaichung Bhutia, India’s most famous footballer, was one of the lucky few who managed to beat this Catch-22 situation and rise to the absolute top, through a scholarship that allowed him to play football in a proper set up: with the right equipments, and coaches who knew what they were doing. Unlike Bhutia, there are many equally talented footballers whose luck runs out before they are able to turn pro.

Another problem that hampers football is favouritism: towards certain players from certain regions or certain veterans who aren’t at the top of their games. These players are picked regardless of performance, and their selection is often motivated by money or political influences. This problem once caused the Indian cricket team to go on a decline, from the mid-90s to early 2000s. As soon as this was rectified, with the BCCI shifting towards a merit-based selection, the status of the team rose once again, and culminated into a world cup win last week. If a change in this attitude can be brought about in football, the game has a long term potential to succeed. This is evident in Basketball where such a change of attitude, along with a number of alterations made at grassroots level, has steered the sport back on the track for success. It helps that IMG-Reliance has committed themselves to a 20 year plan to develop the game; something like that would do wonders for football.

Current state of Indian Football The current state of Indian football is still comparatively poor. The national team is ranked 132nd in FIFA’s ranking. However, in recent years, India has shown slight improvement by winning the 2007 Nehru Cup for the first time in its history, and again two years later in 2009. India beat Tajikistan 4-1, in 2008, to lift the AFC Challenge Cup. One of the rising stars of the game was Jeje Lalpekhlua who scored four goals in three games that led the Indian team’s fantastic run in the AFC Challenge Cup. Despite the string of small-time success on the international front, the domestic league has always been more popular than the domestic cricket league.

Even though club football in India is not as big as it is in Europe, two of the most successful football clubs in India are Calcutta-based clubs: Mohun Bagan and East Bengal. Their derby is one of the highest attended derbies in the world; in 1997, a record number of 130,000 spectators gathered at the Salt Lake Stadium in Calcutta to witness the game. It has drawn plenty of international comparisons to The Old Firm Derby (Rangers v. Celtic) and the Superclasico (Boca Juniors v. Riverplate). However, recent years have seen the rise of Goa-based SC Dempo; which has won five national league titles six years and made it to the Round of 16 in the AFC Champions League in 2009. The I-League replaced the National Football League in 2007. Dempo recently became affiliated with Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland, for a sporting and commercial partnership, in the hopes of raising professionalism in the country.

In 2006, India and Brazil also signed an agreement to formalise a scheme to train Indian footballers and coaches. On paper, this is a win-win situation for India since it will have access to Brazilian professionals to teach and train them in the art of the game, samba style. However, the worry on everyone’s mind is the extent to which this contract will be executed. It is possible that favouritism might once again come into play – thus limiting the truly talented footballers from lower tiers of society the access to this opportunity.

Last year, Bhaichung Bhutia set up the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools in Delhi in association with the Portuguese football academy by Carlos Quieroz, Football By Carlos Quieroz. The aim of this project is to provide children aged between 5 and 15 years a platform to develop their football. It also aims to provide coaching lessons under the guidance of Portuguese football coaches. Bhutia revealed that 20-30% of the students at the academy will come from underprivileged sections of society. More recently, Real Madrid Foundation also opened an academy in Calcutta for youngsters, in collaboration with the Indian Institute for Mother and Child in Spain. The academy is going to serve 450 children, out of whom 185 are girls.

These are still baby-steps en route to raising the status of the game in a cricket crazy nation. India has the talent, it lacks the infrastructure. The foreign clubs and FAs are more than willing to step in and help because 1) it allows them to nurture and harvest talent from India and bring them back to their own clubs (like the kind of Brain-drain that is occurring in African football these days); 2) it gives them access to a market of 1.5 billion consumers, among whom a substantial number of them are hardcore enthusiasts of the EPL, the Spanish La Liga, the Serie A, the Bundesliga and even the Argentine Premier League!

The question is: can the country shift its focus away from cricket long enough to take the opportunities presented to them? It’s about time India realises football is not a Bollywood script – it won’t beat the indefatigable odds stacked against it without some conscious effort from the part of the sport authorities in the country. Realistically speaking, with a billion people in its populace, India should’ve been world champions by now! We arm chair critics can write and talk as much as we want, but the day someone actually goes out and executes Gandhi’s famous ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’, it will be the day when Indian football will take the turn for the better.

[philosofooty]

So Arsenal may not be winning a quadruple... but yes, the Earth appears to still be spinning just fine

By Ally Zazzera, still keeping the faith.

Editor's note: This piece was original set to publish after the Carling Cup final loss against Birmingham, but after a few changes in sentence structure it remains very relevant in Arsenal's pursuit to win the Premier League.

Losing the Carling Cup final after beating Barcelona at their own game, then going on to get knocked out of the Champions League and the FA Cup? Talk about from the sublime to the ridiculous. In the space of just a few weeks Arsenal’s outlook on the season has changed dramatically. After the stirring defeat of Barcelona in the Champions League we had our sights set firmly on winning our first trophy of the season, was it too much to ask to expect us to be able to beat a team that had failed to put more than a goal past us this season? To expect to be able to at least outplay them and prove our undoubted footballing skill? Although they were all absolutely crushing defeats in their own way, one especially being a capitulation unfortunately all of our own doing, the fans have got to be able to see past Arsenal's exits from cup competitions. After every loss, I saw things that both shocked me and annoyed me in equal amounts. Some fans have to realise that while it is a difficult time, acting rashly and in fact overreacting helps no one, and this is why.

1.     Questioning their “choice” of supporting the team

  This is possibly the worst way to deal with defeat. As a fan, you are supposed to believe in your team no matter what, to believe in them unconditionally, this is the choice you are making. To insinuate that it is something that you can somehow suddenly switch-off makes you one of two things: a fair-weather fan and a glory-hunter. Not a good look at all.

  2.     Playing the Blame Game

  When supporters begin to point the finger, irrationally and consistently, there is little to nothing than can make them stop the accusations. If you are to look into what and who they believe to be the problem, it is likely that you will find empty statements made without taking the time to think. Yes, criticising players is part of being a fan, but being non-constructive? Hello pointless and ignorant.

  3.     Ranting, to the point of passing out

  While anger is absolutely impossible to escape when you lose, it is possibly one of the worst things to succumb to after a disappointment. Imagine spitting with rage at a maths teacher who gives you back a test you failed, doubt that would solve the problem of your failure. Staying calm and collected under pressure is the only way not to let the anger consume you, because you might end up saying something you strongly regret, and it will be no one’s fault but your own, and your credibility can be tarnished at the drop of a hat.

  4.     Giving up hope

  When I didn’t see fans getting angry at the players or proving their complete disloyalty, I saw an alarming amount of loss of faith, “What’s the point in playing the rest of the season?” and “We’ll never win anything ever again!” were phrases I stared at for a long time. This attitude is just humiliating. Before a game, people are all for waving flags and talking up our chances of winning everything, and yet one stumble later people are falling into this trap of misery, unable to keep faith with what they are supposed to love most. Arsenal’s motto is Victoria Concordia Crescit, victory through harmony, and if the fans are losing faith, what are the players going to do? Although you may be heart-broken, you have to raise your head high, keep believing, and dare I say it, Keep The Faith.

  5.     Calling for wholesale changes

  Tied in with blaming certain players is calling for the whole team to be revamped and for us to splash our cash. People moan constantly about our lack of steel, quality players and big-money signings. What these people are forgetting is Wenger’s beliefs. He came to England and stopped all the bad habits, instilled a sense of poise and elegance into our play and most importantly his footballing philosophy. While paying countless millions for a store-bought team might give you quick success, what does it feel like? Is there pride? Is there a sense that you did something special? Arsene wants to do it his way, and I don’t remember hearing people complain when we went a season unbeaten. Give him a little more credit.

  6.     Attacking the Professeur

  Although I can understand anger and feelings of disappointment, turning on your own manager at a time like this makes about as much sense as calling for a complete change in personnel. Being rash and throwing everything you know is true up into the air is the most ridiculous of the lot. Arsene has done nothing but great things with this club. We play the best football in the Premier League, competing with the likes of Barcelona and other European clubs with a whole lot more money than us solely because of him. He has changed us and made us into what we are today. Before Arsene Wenger we were “Boring, boring Arsenal.” I sincerely hope people start realising this, and that we never go back.

  So having seen all these irrational and crazy reactions, I sat and thought hard about what this means for us. Yes, we were bullied and harried out of a trophy we were expecting to put into our cabinet, but perhaps this was the time for the players to learn that complacency and fear should never be allowed to creep into your game. Too many times I have seen players be lackadaisical during games, too many times have I seen us lose our heads in the last five minutes of an important game. Perhaps this was the shock they needed, because no matter how bad things look right now, we’re still in the most important competition in England. The title is still in our hands. We were exposed, but now it is time for our captain to instill the belief. The boys need to stand up and be counted. I for one, can’t wait for these next few weeks and hopefully, you can’t either. 

[philosofooty]

The perfect sending off?

By Eric Beard, not a United fan. Just honestly imagining the possibilities.

It's actually decent weather, more like Spain than London, though the excuse for a warm night with clear skies is that it's nearing the end of May. The journey has been a long one, giving the English media all the more reason to incessantly hype this one up like a royal wedding. The culmination of decades all come down to this moment, and it could not be sweeter. Sure, going on and lifting the FA Cup trophy after beating Manchester City in the semifinals was pure ecstasy. Seeing Arsene's frustration as Rio lifted the Premier League trophy was even better. 19-18, Liverpool. But this is the Champions League final. Everything else pales in comparison.

It may have not been the prettiest of football played to get to Wembley, but the road to the final only got better as the tournament progressed. Making thousands of traveling from the south of France disappointed may have been expected, but going to Stamford Bridge and grabbing a crucial away goal while ensuring that Fernando Torres continued to look foolish was a highlight. The return leg may have been classic catenaccio, but it took United to the final four nonetheless. Lastly it was the Germans blocking the path back to England. Jurado and Farfan were troubling with silky runs, but Evra and Vidic did the dirty work to contain.  There was no point in looking at the other side of the tournament bracket. You always knew what you were getting with Real Madrid and Barcelona. You just hoped that 4 Clásicos in 16 days would be enough to get a few on the injury list and bring a sweeping feeling of exhaustion. Inevitably, it did.

So here we are. This is the final. The final game for Sir Alex? It simply has to be. The traditional tacticians may not agree, but this may as well be the best season of them all for Manchester United. Imagine the scenes, lifting that trophy in front of a fleeting José Mourinho or Lionel Messi. Imagine the pride instilled, not just in the people of Manchester, but all throughout Britain. With the treble must come the end of a road of legendary proportions traveled. The future of the club, with all its issues of debt, may be uncertain, but this produced the highest of highs. End it on top, can you even imagine a better sending off?

[philosofooty]

Naughty man says bad word

Mr Potato Head was furious

By Amit Katwala, London

I'm not sure what mainstream football coverage is like for you international readers, but here in England the back pages have been dominated by the growing scandal that I'm going to call 'F*ck-gate'. The key point from a pivotal weekend in the title race, in which Man Utd probably cemented their title claim by coming back from two goals down to snatch all three points seems to be the shocking news that Wayne Rooney said a bad word into a television camera while celebrating a goal. Now, if left to its own devices, I don't think even the FA would be stupid enough to enforce such a ban, but I can see it happening because the growing media circus demands action. This is a pretty recent phenomenon, and its not confined to football. 24 hour rolling news and live blogs are great for killing time at work, but they create a tendency to exaggerate the smallest things and blow them out of all proportion.  In the past, Rooney's over-exuberance would have perhaps got a line in the match report in the Sunday papers, but Sky Sports News has got 24 hours of airtime to fill, and the papers have websites that constantly need fresh content.

So they generate it themselves. Daniel Harris in The Guardian explains it better than I can: "The truth is that this is a phoney controversy, manufactured by the self-serving circle of greed, pomposity and conceit that's ruining football. Sky's cameraman stuck his device in Rooney's face with his mic turned up, desperate for a reaction. The broadcaster then repeatedly replayed their "offensive" footage, hawking their content and prolonging the hype. Rooney is news, news is money, and Sky believes in money."

But the truth is, The Guardian is equally guilty. I've read three blogs on the subject on their website today, and I wouldn't be surprised if we get live text updates from the hearing, or whatever bizarre pseudo-legal processes the FA uses (I am also aware of the rank hypocrisy of complaining about this while writing about the same topic).

The media cycle becomes very tedious: minor incident, overblown response to incident, overblown backlash against overblown response, and finally angry blog bemoaning the whole thing (meta!), until something else happens or there's actually a match on.

In the aftermath, Harry Redknapp called Rooney a 'silly boy'. This is exactly the level of response required. A gentle scolding, and then lets all shut up about it and get back to talking about football. 

[philosofooty]

Rewriting Our Woes: Real Salt Lake’s Champions League Run

By Patrick Doherty, writing from Boston.

Editor's note: Patrick, a recent graduate of Tufts University where he wore the #8 for the "Jumbos", is joining the AFR team as our expert on Major League Soccer and US Soccer. He's a proud Bostonian, as big a US supporter as they come, a New England Revolution fan since the beginning, and also a supporter of PSG, Spurs, Ireland, and his hero Clint Dempsey. Give Patrick a warm welcome! ----------------------------------------------

One more game. That’s all that stands in the way of the first American in the Champions League final.  

Only this final won’t be played at Wembley.

It surely does not have the same following as its cross-Atlantic counterpart. In fact, unless your team is in it, you may not even know it exists. Yet while only a handful of diehards may have been watching the tourney since the prelims kicked off last July, the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL) may be the key to the future of soccer in North America. With their second-leg match against perennial Costa Rican champion Deportivo Saprissa on April 5, Real Salt Lake will be one step closer to earning the title of best club in the confederation.

But first off, let’s be honest. When it comes to club football, CONCACAF is not UEFA, and its premier club competition continues to languish in obscurity as far as the mainstream football fan is concerned, despite a reorganization of the CONCACAF Champions’ Cup three years ago.

Since this expansion of the tournament from an exclusively knockout format to a 24 team championship modeled after its European counterpart, not a single MLS team has made it past the quarterfinals. The League’s representatives have simply been abysmal, and I hate to be reminded that it was my New England Revolution who kicked off the League’s awful CCL record (a 6-1 aggregate defeat, including a 4-0 whipping at home, in the preliminary round of the 2008-09 season to Trinidadian minnows Joe Public FC, a side whose chairman just happens to be CONCACAF boss Jack Warner).

Conspiracy theories aside, MLS clubs’ record in CONCACAF just has not been good enough. Not since Los Angeles won the old Champions’ Cup in 2000 has an American side made the finals of the tournament. And in the three seasons of the newly revamped Champions League, MLS sides have suffered multiples losses to clubs from regional minnows like Trinidad and El Salvador. The Los Angeles Galaxy may have been the 2009 MLS Cup Runners Up, but even that couldn’t prevent them from being brushed aside by the minor league Puerto Rico Islanders in a preliminary round last summer.

With an already crowded schedule that includes MLS, the US Open Cup, and random summer friendlies that end up getting more attention than games that actually matter, some managers have chosen to sit their big guns and give their reserves a run on their trip down to Honduras or Guatemala. But as the years have gone by and MLS has languished at the cellar of CONCACAF’s only club competition, North American clubs have begun to focus more poignantly on winning the tournament.

Throughout the 2011 preseason, RSL coach Jason Kreis has consistently said winning the Champions League is his club’s top priority. In addition, MLS has addressed the bad run of form and made it easier for its clubs to compete, or maybe given them less excuses for failure, with new rules allowing for expanded squad size and increased allocation money for teams competing in the CCL.

As critical as I have been of certain moves MLSHQ has made over the years, file this one under brilliant. If MLS ever wants to be considered alongside Mexico as the premier championship in CONCACAF, it needs to succeed in this tournament and represent the confederation on the world stage at FIFA’s Club World Cup. It seems as though Commissioner Garber has recognized that the Champions League is the only true international litmus test available for MLS teams.

Frankly, Superliga isn’t it. Playing middle-of-the-table Mexican clubs who use the tournament essentially as part of their preseason does not make the MLS a hot destination for international talent. The seats are empty. The pressure isn’t there. Even the $1 million purse for the winners only adds to the feeling that the entire thing is fabricated, a cheap attempt by Soccer United Marketing to cash in on the rivalry between the two countries at the national team level. Don’t get me wrong, there are surely benefits to the tournament, but it is far from the ideal hook on which to hang the League’s collective hat.

Meanwhile, no MLS side has ever made it to the Club World Cup. Los Angeles qualified for its predecessor, the FIFA Club World Championship, in 2001.  But with the bankruptcy of FIFA partner ISL (of World Cup bidding bribery fame), the competition was cancelled before the Galaxy had the opportunity to face off against Ghana’s Hearts of Oak, Japan’s Jubilo Iwata, and the Galacticos in all their glory, Real Madrid. As a result, CONCACAF has been represented in every year of the tournament by a Mexican club, with the exception of Saprissa’s 2005 third place showing.

With their recent run through the CCL, Kreis’ Utah men have the opportunity to rewrite history. After drawing MLS rivals Columbus in the first round, RSL posted a 4-1 aggregate win in a pairing that ensured an American team in the semis.

However, just because the club has managed to avoid Mexican teams thus far in the knockout stage, their run at the finals should in no way be undervalued. RSL managed to win a group that included perennial powers Cruz Azul, including a 3-1 win at home over the Mexicans on the last match day.

Even more impressive would be their progression past Saprissa. Along with Cruz Azul, the Costa Rican giant is one of the two best performers in the competition since its new format launched in 2008. In knockout meetings with Saprissa, MLS clubs have been eliminated five times in five tries since 2001. Before RSL’s win earlier this month, only two MLS clubs had managed to beat Saprissa since the league’s inception in 1996. Of those, only Columbus has recorded a victory down in San Jose, when they rode a 5’ Eddie Gaven goal to a 1-0 win in the group stage last year. (For those keeping track, the United States national team has never won in Costa Rica and has been outscored 6-1 at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Ayma since its transition to field turf in 2003.)

Fortunately, RSL’s current advantage means they don’t necessarily need a win to advance. The victory added to Salt Lake’s home unbeaten streak (which has since swelled to 34 games in all competitions). But there is surely still work to be done. With RSL’s dynamic team play and explosive scoring threats at his disposal, Kreis has never been one to pack it in, so don’t expect Salt Lake to play for a scoreless draw.

The fact is that MLS fans from every club should be pulling for RSL in this tournament. If come late April they are able to lift the trophy, MLS can take a major step towards securing its place as a regional hegemon much in the way the national team has over the past decade. When their shot at the finals comes on April 5, count me as a Loyalist for the day.

And should they progress, it’s only fitting that a club from our southern neighbor awaits.

[philosofooty]

Racism in European football again? The same old lines.

Are campaigns just for show for European footballers?

Soraya Soemadiredja, writing from Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Dear European Footballers, If you, your colleagues or your clubs are going to have numerous campaigns being all pedantic about how fans shouldn’t be racist to footballers, how football is fighting to stamp out racism in football and in Europe, then it would be good to try not to undermine those causes and campaigns by being racist yourself.

Small statements that you make whether in interviews or on a public forum like twitter not only become big news in minutes, but also make yourself to be ignorant, and by association, embarrass the club and country you work for. Especially when fellow, non-footballing, athletes from your own country have had to contend with racist scandals. Yes, scandals ultimately die down because, “it’s so common”, but, no, that is not an excuse and doesn’t make it acceptable, and doesn't make it better for all associated with you. Being portrayed as an idiot just because you’re a footballer with too much time on your hands between training and football matches doesn’t make it better. I think we can all see that when coaches make bans on social media sites for footballers, it’s either probably for the best so their consumers don’t see how terrible they are, or it’s not so good because we need to not have whitewashed (haha, too soon?) images of our “heroes”. It’s clear you have intelligent fans who won’t accept this, from all social and racial backgrounds, and while, maybe it will never reach a point where everybody cares, eventually it will reach a point where many fans (also known as consumers) will be able to access your public comments and start to point out how unacceptable it is. Secondly, if your club are trying to capitalise on the massive Asian market, try not to make obvious your inability to separate racial stereotypes and gross generalisations from your mind such as all, "Asians look the same". If you are supposedly one of the educated ones, rarity or not, with your "psychology degree", that doesn’t make it better, it sort of makes it even more ridiculous. While that market you may have insulted with may not be your home market or your target market, your club, and by extension, your nation as a footballing nation, and yourself, still benefit from the revenue they bring in through jersey sales, marketing and television broadcast rights alone, not to mention indirect revenue from football tourism. “Listen to us about how amazing we are for fighting racism in football, because you, fans, need to be educated—possibly, because you don’t know any better and you love us. But when we are racist ourselves, it is alright, because look how much money we make, and it’s not our fault everything we say gets on the front page of newspapers and become misconstrued,” should not be European football’s motto. No love, Asian football fan.

Related reading: http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_football/3294211.html

[philosofooty]

Dear Football Fans, you are all wrong.

By Teddy Barrett, writing from Germany. A reluctant football fan, who should be doing something with his life, but is too busy wondering about Saturday.

29 years of age, only really 10 years of proper regular attendance of football under my belt, and I come here to tell you that you are all wrong.  The cheek of it!  However, I'm afraid that despite perhaps not serving as much time on the terrace of many of you readers, I can still maintain the point that I am right.  Rightminded people live a progressive and positive life until this sport is the main topic on their mind, and to prove the point of how far your life has taken a wrong turn due to this simple game, I give you the following examples.

ID Cards

Remember them!  It was going to be rolled out across the UK.  Here in Germany you are supposed to carry the things around with you at all times!  How we railed against the idea in the UK. “Is the database safe for my precious address details?  And I'd have to pay for the priviledge?!  Not in my name!”  Here in Germany, other than perhaps a demonstration or at a football match, where not having ID on me might result in me being arrested or unnecessarily delayed, I don’t carry the thing out of defiance. Germany as we know didn’t really get its act together until 1990, I was born in 1981. Technically I'm older, so I get to call the shots and I'm not carrying an ID around when I'm popping out for milk!

However when it comes to football, we are straight onto the ID card list as quick as you can fill out the form!  Exclusive access to merchandise!  Access to tickets!  “a membership charge for the card?  Sure why not!”  “My details are only going to be held on a sheet in an office or on some fellow fans computer in Excel format? Whatever is easiest!”. 

Local Patriotism

I still treasure the copy of United We Stand from straight after France 98 and the anti- Ingerlund stuff it covered. So not everyone is some crazed, “no borders, no nation”, Englands just for Londoners, angry man like myself, but I bet all of you shy from ethnocentrism to an extent. If some lad pipes up in the pub that England will win the world Cup and that there is no better country, you all shy away a little.  You probably quietly admit, that Lampard and Gerrard fussing about who gets to be the main midfield man, will always cause problems with the England side’s path to glory and that you actually think Weissbier from Germany is better than Carling from Burton.

Throw in your local club though and suddenly its “by faaarrrr the greatest team, the world has ever seen”. Your clubs songs are the wittiest, your fans the best dressed,  your city significantly better employed and with nicer facilities than that of the fierce rivals.  All ridiculous claims, but things that you’ve actually started to kind of believe.

Uniforms

Here England isnt quite as bad as in Germany, where you can almost tell in which part of the ground someone watches their football from whether they choose to wear a replica shirt, jeans “kutte” jacket or black windbreaker. In Germany members of the same fangroup will often even wear the same hoodie with their groups name on the back! I mean its like everyone thought the Chinese Cultural Revolution with the popularity of civilians in uniform was a good idea! However having spent your school years, adjusting your uniform to be individual and your work years bemoaning the need to wear a tie, official overall or suit, you then at a weekend leap at the chance to look exactly the same as the people stood next to you at the match. Scarf in the same colours as everyone else? Check! Brand new replica jersey, like everyone else including the players – check!  Uniformity!  And as for those are you at the back there, sneering at the official merchandise?  Well I bet you went through a phase of wearing Ralph Lauren, then a bit of Italian designed mountaineering gear and still only buy Adidas or Nike for shoes, shunning the likes of Vans.  Yep as uniform as they come!  Just another number in the system.

Capitalism

You’ve got books at home by Naomi Klein, on the table in the living room you have a copy of “The Cradle of the Game”, you marvel at the photos and say money has ruined the sport.  You shake your head at the news the Tories want to abolish womens rights to maternity leave in certain circumstances, all for the sake of their mates.  A light social democratic streak is present with you.  You may actually enjoy the Sunday Times colour supplement, but you nevertheless believe in fairness and like any pin-badge for your club that features a star or a raised fist with all of the socialist-chique that such images bring.  Nevertheless as soon as some wealthy millionaire is rumoured to be sniffing around your club, “to hell with the rest!”, “I care not for our tradition of youth development, bring me the signature of Terry, Tevez and Ronaldinho!” is all you cry.  You spend hours glued to the screen of the very tv company you claim has ruined football, waiting for a new signing.  Even if you’re more reserved in your selling out, your first signs of a rebellion involve the printing of protest tshirts – available to purchase from the stand!  Yet another capitalist enterprise, only small-scale.  The very league system with its fighting for promotion, win at all costs attitude, would make even that brownnose from Sales blush.  As a great manager once said, “If you are first you are first. If you are second, you are nothing.”  Wait a second, isnt that just Thatcherism?  And you lap that up? Ohhh you sicken me…

Freedom

Finally you've always fancied yourself as the spontaneous type.  In your day, you seduced people with your carpe diem lifestyle.  You have the tales (and awful wooden jewellery) from that time you “whitewater rafted through Cambodia with these three strangers I met in a hostel.  We lived off what we could find and a little baggy of pot I had tucked in a spare sock”.  You identify with the lyrics of  “Too much, too young” by the Specials.  “Man those couples.  Bottle of wine on a Friday night in front of the tele, DIY centre on a Saturday, moan about how some youth trend is ruining their house price on a Sunday”.  Repeat till death.  Not for you though, you will never be tied down!  You are a freebird!  So when are you next free on a weekend?  I bet you just got your fixture list out or at least mentally thought it through.  “April the 10th.  We’re away that day, but it’s a rubbish ground so I'm skipping it.  I'm free then.  Oh no wait a second, a few of us are got a deal with Easyjet to Eastern Europe and rather than going to take in the culture, we’re hopping that 2nd division side Club X.  Repeat till death in your football prison.  Your only priviledges is the odd decent ale at an away pub and two cans of energy drink (not Redbull) for the price of one at Knutsford Services.

So you see, you have been ruined by football. You’d ring Talksport sooner than think about the Alternative Vote. Cheating, elbowing your way to the top is ok as long as it's your team.  You’re not even Big Society, you are “there is no society”.  Your life has been nothing but a distraction.  George Orwell was right.  You must change!  You must free yourself and live life!  Take up painting!  Demonstrate in the street!  Run as councillor of your town to make a positive change! Break into an old disused office and throw a party!  But we’ll wait to May first eh…

[philosofooty]

Much ado about nothing: James McCarthy and the story surrounding 'fake Irishmen'

By Amy Eustace, writing from Dublin

James McCarthy. Hmm, that name rings a bell, doesn't it? Wigan midfielder? Glaswegian? The guy on the receiving end of THAT infamous Wayne Rooney elbow? Yes! That James McCarthy. He may be better known for getting a face full of prime Scouse flesh but McCarthy has been hitting the headlines in Ireland for very different reasons as of late.

The Republic of Ireland - a nation full of people just about fed up with people telling them that they're a quarter-Irish twice-removed on their Dad's side or something or other along those lines - is often subjected to much debate when it comes to the tricky issue of the national side, and its profitable utilisation of the famed "Granny rule". Compiling a starting eleven of players who were actually born and raised on the Emerald Isle is more difficult than you might expect. The spine of the team are thorough-breds - veterans such as captain Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, John O'Shea and Shay Given, as well as younger players like Kevin Doyle, Shane Long and the Hunt brothers. But in the national side's history, there have been plenty of players from the neighbouring lands of Northern Ireland, Scotland and England declaring for Ireland. For many different reasons.

Some, arguably, choose to accept the Ireland call-up because they do not think they will recieve one for England. As Tony Cascarino - who qualified for Ireland through his mother's adoption - admitted in his autobiography: "I didn't qualify for Ireland. I was a fraud. A fake Irishman."

John Aldridge, Mick McCarthy, Andy Townsend, Phil Babb, Jason McAteer and many others have also played the role of the 'fake Irishman' - whether that was out of a fear of never kitting out for the national side of their birth and rearing or otherwise is, as always, something only they would know. But such an accusation is less likely for players hailing from the other British Isles. In a recent interview with the Irish Examiner, Owen Coyle - current Bolton manager - impressed with his 'Irishness' despite hailing from Glasgow, and only having won one international cap with the Boys in Green. Ray Houghton, yet another Glaswegian, is rarely off Irish airwaves and is now an ambassador for the Football Association of Ireland. It's evident that, once you go green, you don't really go back.

The switch from Northern Ireland to the Republic is the rarest of the three, but has come into fashion lately with the arrival of Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson and Stoke City player Marc Wilson. But Scots and Englishmen have filtered steadily into the side as per usual. Kevin Kilbane and Liam Lawrence are perhaps the most senior of the latter, but their ranks have been boosted as of late by the likes of Nottingham-born Leon Best and Stoke City's Liverpudlian striker Jonathan Walters, as well as the now firmly established Sean St. Ledger in central defence. Equally, the Scottish thread continues, with former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady.

And now, after literally 'much ado about nothing', McGeady is joined by James McCarthy.

McCarthy's international future was thrown into the spotlight during Ireland's preparations for the Home Nations clash with Wales, when McCarthy rejected his call-up, choosing instead to focus on getting fit for Roberto Martinez's Wigan. Not an unusual scenario, but there are high hopes in Ireland for the 20-year old, who granted his Gweedore-born grandfather's dying wish by accepting an offer to join the Irish team. His allegiances, however clear in McCarthy's one mind, were not officially set, having not featured in a competitive senior game for Ireland. But it was Irish manager Giovanni Trapattoni's ill-advised comments - spurred by a well-documented dislike for stay-away international stars - that sparked the debate. If there's one player any prospective Irish player does not want to be likened to, it's Stephen Ireland; the Corkman who fabricated grandparents' deaths in order to evade Ireland duty, before acrimoniously quitting the international scene altogether. But that was the comparison the Italian drew.

One can understand Trapattoni's fears - McCarthy had been overlooked by the youth set-up at home in Scotland, and his rise in the Premier League had been well-documented. Liverpool and Chelsea sniffed around the then 16 year old in 2007, only for McCarthy to decide that staying on at Hamilton Academical would be better for his development. But since then, McCarthy has featured for Ireland youth squads at every level.

What followed Trapattoni's comments was what seemed to be a bitter tug-of-war between the Italian and Wigan manager Roberto Martinez, eager to protect the young midfielder from aggravating recurrent injuries. According to McCarthy, Scotland never made an approach, but the media soon picked up on his international woes, and the rumour mill spun. Martinez waded in to the argument with all guns blaming, and claimed just last week that McCarthy had not yet decided which national team he intended to play for.

Thankfully, since then McCarthy has rubbished such a thought. Whether or not his competitive international debut comes tomorrow night against Macedonia as it is expected to, in the young Latic's eyes, the question of his allegiances is very much a non-issue. Either way, expect a massive sigh of relief from the Ireland dug-out when McCarthy steps onto the pitch.

It can only be seen as a testament to James' loyalty that his conviction has endured such trouble over the past few months without being shaken. Tomorrow, or further down the line, McCarthy fully intends to play for Ireland, and that is a major coup - whichever way you look at it. We can only hope his career is resembles Houghton's more closely than Coyle's.

[philosofooty]

The Ajax Experience. Part One: The Future (De Toekomst)

By Eric Beard, writing from Barcelona with nostalgia

A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I embarked on a wonderful little trip to explore the Netherlands for the first time. Amsterdam more specifically. Not knowing what to expect from Europe's sin city (nor knowing a single word of Dutch, 'hallo' aside), we both found ourselves delighted with the kindness of everyone we met despite the near frigid temperatures. We had left the sunny shores of Barcelona, however, we found a love for the Catalan lifestyle, especially when it came to Total Football. To many of the Dutch men and women we talked football with, there was a sense of pride in comparing their club, Ajax, with the Blaugrana. Some still avidly watch their club at the Amsterdam ArenA every weekend, while others have lost the fire for the 'Joden' because the complex of modern football has left them with the despair of knowing they'll never again have a team capable of winning the Champions League, or even as close to as good as the team of the 70s with Cruyff, Krol, and Rensenbrink.

Thanks to our Dutch friend Babette, who is a spirited Ajax club member as well as a sports & media student, we were able to take in the legendary Ajax experience against AZ Alkmaar at the Amsterdam ArenA with 50,000 other fans, while we also saw the football culture of the club everywhere throughout the city. Those four days in Holland inspired me, as the uniqueness of Ajax is something that needs to be appreciated. The club is not consistently playing in the Champions League, nor have they won the Dutch Eredivisie since 2004. Despite this perceived trip in mediocrity, they are still one of the best clubs in the world. Why? Well that is exactly what I will focus on in the first of my 3 part series capturing the Ajax experience.

The future. That's what the club, for better or for worse, is all about. Ajax is looking towards the future and it always will be. Walking into an Ajax store near Leidseplein square, I looked at the vast array of Ajax scarves. You know those rare moments when something, whether it be a person, a university, a club, or a company, defines itself so precisely with just one phrase? Ajax's phrase was 'Where The Legends Are Made.' I saw it, stopped and paused, simply staring at the truthful essence of that slightly overpriced scarf I probably wouldn't have bought had I known there were scarfs for 5 euro at the actual stadium.

However, I was caught gazing at the scarf by the Moroccan employee working.

He said, "You like Ajax?"

I responded, "They're not my team, but they're something special aren't they?"

"Oh, they certainly are. Follow me."

The employee took me into this sketchy backroom before I came to see a wall that might as well have been an alter to Ajax. In the middle of the wall there was an Ajax crest, but surrounding the crest were the signatures of Ronaldo, Ruud Gullit, Bergkamp, Suarez, Sneijder, and the list goes on. He told me the players used to come to the Leidseplein square to celebrate after winning a trophy, but now they do it in the Amsterdam ArenA because it's too dangerous from all the drunk fans. Then he told me the whole Moroccan national team had been at the store a few weeks before. I asked if it was for a friendly, though I couldn't recollect Holland playing them. Then he proceeded to show me his jersey signed by Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh. "No, they won their game. So they came here to party." Of course.

But looking through the names I saw on that wall reminded me Gordon Fleetwood's recent AFR article trying to mathematically prove that the Ajax team in the 70's with Cruyff was the best in the world. Ever. Obviously Gordon's debate sprouted from the constant murmurs that this Barcelona side is the best ever. I don't care so much for those comparisons, but seeing all these names that had left Ajax, I thought it was important to recognize Ajax for what they do better than anyone else, maybe even Barcelona. And that is consistently create the future stars of football. Appropriately, Ajax's academy has taken the name De Toekomst (The Future).

Sitting in the Amsterdam ArenA with Babette and my girlfriend the next day, about an hour before kickoff, we began talking about the world class players that have passed through the ranks of this club in recent years. Does Ajax's reputation deserve to be perceived as second-rate simply because it is located in a country with just over 16 million people in a league that cannot financially match those in England, Spain, Germany, and Italy? Not at all.

If Barcelona have a star coming through La Masia or even Barça B, then that player will never be sold unless there is a truly exorbitant amount of money involved. What if Ajax had the power Barça had to hold on to everyone they produce? How strong would the squad, as a culmination from the past 5, 6, or 7 years be? Here is what Babette came up with:

(bold are still at club, italics are who would be in my personal starting XI. Van der Vaart would be winger in 4-3-3.)

Forwards: Luis Suarez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

Midfielders: Rafael Van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder, Ryan Babel, Steven Pienaar, Nigel De Jong, Christian Eriksen, Lorenzo Ebecilio

Defenders: Maxwell, Thomas Vermaelen, Cristian Chivu, Zdenek Grygera, John Heitinga, Hedwiges Maduro, Urby Emanuelson, Gregory Van der Wiel, Jan Vertonghen 

Goalkeepers: Maarten Stekelenburg

Not to open pandora's box with countless hypothetical situations, but when Ajax's squad is put into this sort of perspective, not even some of the best clubs in the world could compete. Ajax's role in modern football is now as a club that consistently creates the next generation. The future. 200 players, ages 7-19, make up Ajax's academy. Their youth system, though criticized by many for targeting players as young as 5, is undeniably the most effective in the world.

The system itself, as you can imagine, is all about technique. The little things. As Gregory Van der Wiel put it, “You do things again and again and again, then you repeat it some more times.” Johan Cruyff famously said, "Don’t run so much. You have to be in the right place at the right moment, not too early, not too late.”

Currently in Ajax's first team are 8 players (Stekelenburg, Van der Wiel, Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Blind, Anita, De Jong, Eriksen, Ebecilio) who came through the academy. Some played there longer than others. Aras Özbiliz is another talent that's often included in the squad. The biggest talents coming through the ranks in the academy are Davy Klaassen (center attacking midfielder, U19's), Sneijder's little brother Rodney who plays for the Reserves, and the talented but not mentally strong striker Castillion. Others that will likely make the first team in the future are Jody Lukoki (made his debut already) (right winger), Ruben Ligeon (left back), Nicolai Boilesen (defender).

The signs of the academy are everywhere, even in the Amsterdam ArenA itself. Before the match, on the screens highlights of the youth and reserve teams are displayed. At halftime, the academy boys that help with the balls during the match play on a small 5-a-side pitch behind the goal in front of the Ultras, trying all sorts of skills that are applauded by the hundreds cheering them on. Just before the players walk out of the dressing room, one 9, 10, or 11-year-old in the academy juggles as many times as he can in front of the thousands supporting him in attendance. The kid that juggles the most at the end of the season gets to hang out with all of the first team players.

We were lucky enough to see a little 10-year-old Dutch boy juggle 436 times... his first try. Only Ajax.

This piece could not have been created without the invaluable knowledge of the Ajax team and academy from my good friend Babette (follow her on Twitter), who's passion for Ajax is second to none. I was also inspired by Michael Sokolove's comprehensive piece in the New York Times on how the Ajax academy functions. Part Two: Matchday at the Amsterdam ArenA. Coming Soon... Please leave your thoughts below.

[philosofooty]

Respect the Officials or Respect the Game?

By Azeem Banatwalla

Football is a beautiful game, but I'm starting to get a bit disillusioned by this whole Respect for Referees campaign that seems to be getting eerily similar to those groups who protest outside abortion clinics. You know the ones I'm talking about.

The last few days have seen Sir Alex Ferguson handed a generous 5-game touchline ban, and a massive fine of around a third of his weekly wages. Forgive my thinly-veiled sarcasm, but I think that's as logical as repeatedly throwing a drunk out of a bar and telling him he can come back after a week when he's learnt his lesson. What do they hope to achieve with touchline bans?

We live, for the most part, in a democratic world, where that "freedom of speech" jazz that our forefathers rambled on about is supposed to be a big deal. So why can't that apply to football as well? The FA, at this moment of time is analogous to a municipal corporation that's protecting its servants when they've clearly messed up and angered the people they're supposed to be serving. Why shouldn't Sir Alex Ferguson, or for that matter, any manager at the top level have a go at a referee when he's clearly made a wrong decision? Why should he be punished for stating plain fact?

Sir Alex said that he "feared the worst" when he saw Martin Atkinson as the referee for the game against Chelsea. I'm sure any manager would fear the worst when they saw that Chelsea had only dropped two out of a possible 48 points in matches officiated by him. Is it a crime to make your apprehensions known? Last season, the title was decided, in effect, by Didier Drogba not being flagged when he was, forget inches or feet, but YARDS offside, at Old Trafford. Doesn't a manager, in today's world, where results decide your employment status, have a right to express himself when he justifiably perceives injustice?

Speaking of dubious decisions, another thing that riles me about the FA, and FIFA, in general, is the continual cold-shoulder to the use of technology to make controversial calls. I'm sure a one-time investment in goal-line technology would cost far less than the wages paid to those two officials who stand behind the goal for Champions League matches. It's working fantastically well in cricket and tennis. How does this sound? Allow each team two referrals per game for fouls, offsides or goal decisions. Add an extra minute of added time for each referral. Problem solved. No more controversy. The idea sounds simple, most effective, and easy to implement, so what is the bigger picture that FIFA sees that we don't? Is it it because they think referees will be undermined? Well, if that is the case, there's just one question to be asked. What deserves more respect? The beautiful game itself, or the men who officiate it?