Golden Foot BLOG

BARÇA WANT TO START AGAIN WITHOUT THEIR THREE TENORS

2008-06-30T07:03:00.001-01:00

The first season of the former Galacticos that joined the Blaugranas team ended without a single title for FC Barcelona of president Joan Laporta’s. The second season without the Liga title cost Frank Rijikaard his job in favour to Pep Guardiola, the man of the Cantera of Barça and captain of the legendary Dream Team of Johan Cruijff. Guardiola is going to make a new team without counting on three players that have written the recent history of Barcelona such as Ronaldinho, Eto’o and Deco, all included in the club’s transfer list. But is it really necessary to change Barça that much? Can these players do really nothing to help Barcelona? Rijikaard has defended his players until his dismissal, Guardiola, instead, presented himself as a really tough man, ready to do without them…

WHO IS THE BEST AFRICAN PLAYER?

2008-02-06T09:01:00.001-01:00

Didier Drogba's claim, according to which the African Player of the
Year title should have been given to him and not to Frédéric Kanouté
who got it just because the Ivorian could not be present at the prize-giving ceremony, caused a sensation. Who is really the number one player of the African continent for 2007? Kanouté can make merit of his Sevilla FC exploits (a Copa del Rey and the second UEFA Cup in a row), Drogba, instead, has not won anything important with Chelsea FC, but he seems largely considered the most representative player of the black continent football. What do you think about it?

DROGBA, THE MOVIE

2008-02-06T08:58:00.000-01:00

TOTTI AND IBRAHIMOVICH OUT OF THE FIFA WORLD PLAYER CANDIDATES LIST

2007-11-05T09:04:00.000-01:00

Two of the international football greatest talents such as Italian Francesco Totti and Swedish Zlatan Ibrahimovich have been excluded from the race for one of the most prestigious individual awards: the FIFA World Player of the Year. The coaches and the captains of the national selections affiliated to FIFA have not included them among the best players in the year 2007, that has nearly ended. Obviously, these exclusions have immediately aroused harsh polemics. What do you think about this choice? For sure these two players have not got great international achievements with their clubs yet (Totti, however, is the reigning world champion with Italy); however, only the absolute value of the player during the solar year should be taken into account, not only the wins, which are an achievement of the team, not of the single player. How does it come that a phenomenon like Totti is not valued for his own merits because his club does not have a great international tradition? How does it come that Ibrahimovich, one of the most entertaining and on the up-and-up players, has not bewitched also the football specialists who are not Italian? The debate is opened.

FRANCESCO TOTTI, THE GLADIATOR

2007-11-05T08:58:00.000-01:00

ARAGONÉS: "HOW MANY WORLD CUPS DID RAÚL WIN?!"

2007-10-22T11:11:00.000-01:00

The nonsense in our blog title belongs to the Spanish national selection coach, who, just before the Euro 2008 qualifier against Denmark, bothered by the continual questions about the fact that Raúl Gonzales Blanco had not been called up, answered the journalists as mentioned in the title. No objections about it, Aragonés is right, Real Madrid CF flag and captain never won a World Cup. However, it is also true that no player has ever won a World Cup by himself. As a matter of fact, great stars such as Di Stéfano, Best and Weah never played a World Cup tournament, yet nobody ever dared raise doubts about their class. After the unfortunate phrase (frankly, somewhat racist) about Henry uttered to urge one of his players (Reyes), this is another of Aragonés'(heavy) falls in style. Besides, if he really considers having a stack of wins so important, then, we should suggest him to compare his own (fairly good and not more than that) with Raúl's (extraordinary!).

RAUL GONZALES COMPILATION

2007-10-22T11:10:00.001-01:00

VAN BASTEN’S ODD CHOICES

2007-09-24T10:47:00.000-01:00

In the last two EURO 2008 qualifiers we could watch Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Clarence Seedorf playing with the Dutch national selection once again. The Real Madrid CF forward was called up again by coach Van Basten after the hard clash that caused his exclusion from the 2006 World Cup crucial match against Portugal. Two goals for "Van the Man" on his return to the pitch, which is not bad for a player that was left out of the national selection for months. An even worse fate for Clarence Seedorf, who had to watch Germany 2006 World Cup at home and played only 15 minutes in all of the last two matches against Bulgaria and Albania even though we are speaking about the UEFA 2006/2007 Champions League Best Midfielder, the one that alongside Kaká guided AC Milan to gain the tournament. What do you think about Van Basten's choices?

THE 2007 GOLDEN FOOT WINNER: DEL PIERO

2007-09-24T10:45:00.000-01:00

IS RIQUELME ONE OF THE GREATEST?

2007-07-16T14:08:00.000-01:00

Talking about the greatest number 10s still in activity, the names of Ronaldinho, Kaká and Totti immediately come up. Lately, however, also Argentine Juan Román Riquelme came to the forefront, or, to be more exact, made a comeback. "El mudo" has always been considered a great talent. Right from his first spell at CA Boca Juniors (1996-2002) we would have expected him, given that his playing level was much higher than the continental players’ standard, to come to Europe and do very well; on the contrary, he did not have success at FC Barcelona (2002-2003). Last year he guided small Villareal CF up to the Champions League semi-final after four seasons during which he played at a good level, but still without making a real qualitative leap. Then, Riquelme returned to Boca Juniors where in few months he was able to hold the South American audience spell-bound winning the Copa Libertadores (he had already done it in 2000 and 2001, when he was also elected Best Player in South America). Besides, he was called up by public acclaim to play with the national team again, and also Maradona has praised the star of "his" Boca Juniors. "El mago" seems to have eventually made it.

RIQUELME COMPILATION

2007-07-16T14:05:00.000-01:00

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE OR COPA LIBERTADORES?

2007-05-28T06:58:00.000-01:00

Many people believe that the Champions League is the most important and prestigious clubs’ tournament in the world. As a matter of fact, however, in the direct matches between the Champions League winning team and the Copa Libertadores de América (i.e. the South American “sister” competition) winning team, the latter is generally more successful. Since 1960 the clubs’ World Champion title was awarded, without the endorsement of FIFA, with the Intercontinental Cup (created by an idea of Santiago Bernabeu, the great madridist president) which was replaced by the FIFA Club World Championship in 2006. The South American clubs, since a few years deprived of their best talents who leave to wear the European clubs shirts, won 21 out of the 24 matches played up to now. Is it, then, true that the best football is played in Europe? And how come that the South American clubs more often win the direct contests?

BECKHAM SCORES AFTER THE EXILE

2007-02-19T10:32:00.000-01:00

In Spain someone have spoken of "absolution" to explain the
comeback of Beckam to Real Madrid CF in the ranks of convoked players for the match of Liga against Real Sociedad, but it is not clear what the player had to be condoned. Capello turned out Beckam, who didn’t polemize, despite his team was collecting disappointing results. So the English midfielder has been not only reintegrated, but he played last February 11 to recover the result (0-1). Beckam took out from
the top hat one of his famous free kick and equalized the game, further won by Real thank to Ruud Van Nistelrooy. So it seems right ask oneself why renounce to a player like Beckam?

DAVID BECKHAM COLLECTION

2007-02-19T10:30:00.000-01:00

"GIGI" BUFFON

2006-11-14T12:57:00.000-01:00

THE BALLON D'OR TO A GOALKEEPER?

2006-10-25T06:30:00.000-01:00

Forty three years later the great “Black Spider” Lev Yachin it could be possible that a goalkeeper win the best award for a player of European leagues. In the achievement to be appointed by France Football’s jury best player of the year failed truly sacred monsters of world football and also goalkeepers like Dino Zoff, Trevor Banks, Peter Shilton, Walter Zenga, Oliver Kahn and Peter Schmeichel, because in football, it is well-known, that the most of attention is always stolen by forwards or, at the best, by the attacking midfielder. But during these days in which the goalkeepers of all the world mobilize themselves against the dangerousness of the role that is increasing (see the terrible accident during a Premiership match occurred to the Czech Petr Cech of Chelsea) and to the lack of arbitral guardianship, from Italy arrives the nomination as best player of the year for the best goalkeeper of the world since several seasons, Gianluigi Buffon. Arrigo Sacchi, the ex coach of great Milan during nineties, suggested him. He said from the pages of La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I always thought that to win the Ballon d'Or it is necessary to get a big talent, physical and technical abilities. The assignment of the award become later on an act almost due when a player win a lot as protagonist with his club, in the cational team, in a European championship, in the World Cup and in the Champions League. This is the history of the last season of Gigi Buffon, the absolute protagonist… Nobody is like him.” The Inter’s coach Roberto Mancini joins Sacchi, he thinks that Buffon is “ the sole player more decisive in the world”. Did Yachin find his successor?

DOES “VAN THE MAN” DESERVE A CHANCE AT REAL MADRID?

2006-08-09T07:20:00.000-01:00

Van Basten leaves him out of the field in the crucial game played by the Netherlands against Portugal at Germany 2006, Ferguson turns him into a substitute overnight: all of a sudden it seems that Ruud Van Nistelrooy has become an inadequate player and not that merciless striker that we all knew, one of the most effective ones in the world. In the forthcoming season Ruud will have the chance of a lifetime that is the opportunity to play at the most famous club in the world, Real Madrid CF. Do you think that he can be the right player to relaunch the Merengues club? Do you think that "Van the Man" deserves to be more esteemed?

RUUD VAN NISTELROOY

2006-08-08T12:27:00.000-01:00

ITALY IS THE WORLD CHAMPION TEAM, WHICH WAS THE MOST DISAPPOINTING TEAM OF THE WORLD CUP?

2006-07-19T09:28:00.000-01:00

Italy is the world champion team, but nobody considered the Azzurri team one of the favourites of the World Cup just ended. It was not the World Cup of the most eagerly awaited stars, it was rather the World Cup of the hard workers, of the unselfish players. Which is the team that lost the big chance and that disappointed most among Brazil, England, Argentina, Spain, etc., i.e. among the most esteemed teams at the beginning of the tournament? And why?

HOW CAN THEY LEAVE RAUL AND TREZEGUET ON THE BENCH?

2006-06-21T14:39:00.000-01:00

We are talking about two players: Raul (97 appearances with Spain and 44 goals) and Trezeguet (64 caps with France and 32 goals) who wrote the history of their selections. In the World Cup openers they were not in the regular line-ups, like Raul, or they were allowed to play only 3
minutes (which is quite ridiculous …) to make you see what they can do. What do you think about it? Is it reasonable to do without two champions like these in a World Cup tournament?

CAN ZIDANE LEAD FRANCE TO WIN THE WORLD CUP?

2006-05-31T07:37:00.000-01:00

He already did it in 1998: after a bad start in the World Cup tournament, in the final in Paris great “Zizou” broke Brazil with two goals in the first half, and, practically speaking, the game was over. In Germany Zidane will play the last matches of his successful career and will try to guide the new France squad to gain their second World title. Can he make it? Can his side be up to the task of winning?

DO YOU AGREE WITH OUR 2006 NOMINATIONS?

2006-05-11T06:20:00.000-01:00

Our jury chose 10 names, but there are, undoubtedly, other players that might have been in the 2006 Golden Foot nominees short list. What do you think about our choice? Which player, in your opinion, might have competed for our prestigious career achievement award?

IS RONALDINHO ALREADY A LEGEND?

2006-04-21T07:04:00.000-01:00

Great Cafu, formerly captain of the Brazilian selection and twice world champion, said to the Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo that, according to him, Ronaldinho can already enter the list of the all-time greatest players with Maradona, Pelé and Di Stefano. A token of immense esteem from a milestone as Cafu in the history of Brazilian football. What do you think about it? Has the number 10 of FC Barcelona already earned a place in legendary football?

WOULD YOU SHARE SHEARER’S CHOICE?

2006-04-05T06:29:00.000-01:00

Alain Shearer spent all his life at Newcastle United FC (1996-2006), and has become the all-time beststriker of the St. James Park club. Even if Newcastle Utd. FC had one of the strongest European forwards, they never got to win a trophy. Would you share Shearer’s choice? Had you been in his shoes, would yourefuse the offers of other great clubs to remain at your favourite team?

IS RONALDO STILL RELIABLE?

2006-03-22T13:53:00.000-01:00

We are talking about one of the greatest forwards in the last 10 years, is it possible to question Ronaldo? Real Madrid CF’s supporters do it, some of his very team-mates do it,in Milan the supporters of Internazionale FC are split about his possible return. We are talking about a player who in the last three Liga seasons has always scored more than 20 goals and played more than
30 matches. What do you think about it? Would you still bet on Ronaldo
as the main forward of your favourite team?