Category: Football

Dirty, defensive, boring, unattractive ! That’s how football defending is perceived among many fans ! In reality, attackers get all the attention.  However, defence can keep a team in the game for as long as possible on a day the attack is having it bad.  Or even if the attack scores numerous goals, it will just require conceding one more than the goals scored to lose a match! A draw can be savoured by a team having a good defence and a bad attack which is not necessarily the other way round.   A successful team is built around a very solid defence. And it has been seen that teams winning bigger tournaments have relied on a compact defence and the effective role of defensive midfielders.

I have always enjoyed watching good defensive skills. It requires as much finesse and artistry as scoring spectacular goals or executing defence splitting through passes. I find it almost as attractive as free flow attacking novelties. For this reason, I have always been a fan of the Italian football team which has always been built around a water tight defence.

Catenaccio or The Chain is a tactical system in football with a strong emphasis on defence. In Italian, catenaccio means “door-bolt”, which implies a highly organised and effective backline defence focused on nullifying opponents’ attacks and preventing goal-scoring opportunities [1].Italian defenders were technically way ahead of many other countries in the post-war period, and in particular from the 1950s, when Italian clubs developed sophisticated training methods and disciplined rules and regulations concerning player behaviour[2]. Although pure catenaccio is no longer as commonplace in Italian football, the stereotypical association of ruthless defensive tactics with the Serie A and the Italian national team continues to be perpetuated by foreign media, particularly with the predominantly Italian defences of A.C. Milan of the 1990s and Juventus F.C. from the 2010s onwards being in the spotlight.

Having started watching international football regularly from late 80s, I missed watching the defensive art of Gaetano Scirea, Claudio Gentile and Giuseppe Baresi, some of the great Italian defenders who winded up their careers by late 80s. I try to make it up by watching some You Tube clippings and even a limited exposure is good enough for me to admire their amazing defensive skills, with Scirea being the standout. In the last 28 years, I had the fortune of watching some great Italian defenders representing both the Italian national sides and Serie A clubs. My initial live viewing of Italian defence was luckily exposed to the Italian cum AC Milan back four of Franco Baresi, Alessandro Costacurta, Mauro Tassotti and the peerless Paulo Maldini. These all-time greats seemed to make their defensive screens as strong as the Berlin wall while fans watched their impeccable skills with all astonishment. Their high tempo pressing defensive game was one of the primary reason’ of Italy’s Runners Up performance during the USA’94 World Cup (they were also supported by Antonnio Benarrivo and Luigi Apolloni). They also helped AC Milan win the prestigious Champions League in 1989,1990 and 1994 with runners up performance in 1993 and 1995. Also with consecutive Serie A titles, AC Milan during then was by far the best club in the world. Baresi was among the greatest centre backs of all time while the versatile Maldini was as good in the centre back as he was in the left back position.

Baresi retired during mid 90’s but that was the time two other greatest defenders of all times came into prominence. One was Alessandro Nesta who ultimately became my all time favourite defender and Fabio Cannavaro. Both were centre backs and were known for their artistic tackles, elegance on the ball, distribution and tight marking of opponents. Their contributions to the Italian national squad culminated into a crowning glory in 2006 when Italy won the World Cup for the fourth time. Nesta was unfortunate to have missed half of the tournament through injury which enabled skipper Cannavaro to lead the defence for the remaining part of the tournament. He was ably supported by Marco Materazzi, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabien Grosso and the tough tackling central midfielder, Gennaro Gattuso. Cannavaro’s impregnable performances earned him the nickname “Muro di Berlino” — the Berlin Wall. He had such an assured presence and with arguably one of the greatest goalkeepers of times Gianluigi Buffon manning the goal, it became literally impossible for opponents to score against the Azzuris. That World Cup win gave immense joy to many purists mainly because of the elegance of the Italian defence which performed like a well-oiled machine throughout.

Italian defence continues to go strong due to which scoring in Serie A still isn’t a cakewalk inspite of its dipping levels. The goal scoring skills of CR7 will now be put to ultimate test as the Serie A defenders are not expected to give him free space and favourable angles required for clear view of the goal. The performance of the present Italian team which didn’t even qualify for 2018 World Cup has been utterly disappointing, but it still retains its reputation of having one of the best defensive systems presently manned by Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonnuci.

The modern Azzurri, regardless of who is coach, can defend as a unit and as effectively and intelligently as ever without having to put 10 men behind the ball so their approach does not necessarily compromise the spectacle. Italians see defending as an art and the key to success. Any defender from a young age would take as great a pride in keeping a striker quiet as would someone who has scored a hat-trick. And because of this quality, my admiration for this legendary footballing nation will continue to grow.

 

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catenaccio

[2] https://theconversation.com/dirty-defensive-boring-italys-football-reputation-is-undeserved-27487

 

Lionel Messi doesn’t need any introduction. He is simply a phenomenon! This little genius is arguably one of the greatest footballers ever to have played this beautiful game (if not the greatest). Born in Rosario, Argentina he shifted to Spain in 2001 to join the Barcelona Youth Academy. He shot into fame from 2005 when he was only 17, the time he started becoming a regular in the super strong Barca starting line-up. I have started following his career ever since.

My all-time favourite has always been a chap by the name of Diego Armando Maradona who according to me is the “Football God”. However, Messi comes a close second in my all-time favourite list. The reason partly stems from the fact that I have been a diehard fan of the Argentina football squad ever since Maradona’s unforgettable exploits in 1986. Just to put things into perspective, I might even support the Argentina football team in case they play against the Indian Cricket team (albeit in a fantasy world!). The other reason for being a Messi fan is his incredible footballing skills which according to me can be matched only by the Football God. His speed, stamina, creativity, ability to surpass the best of the defenders and incredible scoring abilities have always left me and millions across the globe awestruck. His performances for his club Barcelona and Argentina have been simply scintillating. Even his diehard critics couldn’t help but applaud a few of those performances.  This has made him arguably the biggest star of this sporting generation. However, in spite of all the stardom, he has always remained humble both on and off the field, displaying the qualities of a good human being.

Needless to say that there have been multiple Messi moments for me during the last decade or so. Choosing one among those is a herculean task to say the least. Those blistering runs, beating defenders with pace, creativities with surgeon like precisions and the breath taking goals with his trademark left foot makes it too difficult to choose one among the many moments. We all were waiting eagerly for the 2014 World Cup final where courtesy a Higuaín jolly miss, Messi was deprived of his and our biggest moment, something that couldn’t have been surpassed by any imagination!

One moment which I fondly remember is during the 2014 World Cup during Argentina’s group match against Iran. This was a world cup where all the Messi and Argentina fans were eagerly waiting for. Reasons for the same was twofold. One, that Messi hadn’t won any World cups whereas as an individual he has deserved it the most. Second, Argentina hadn’t won a major trophy since the 1993 Copa America. Argentina had won their first league match against Bosnia where they found the net twice, one through a Bosnia own goal and the second with the genius’s trademark left foot. All Argentine fans were full of optimism as a winning start was made and equally importantly, the genius had scored.

Argentina raided the Iranian goal with barrage of attacks from the likes of Messi, De Maria, Aguero and Higuain. However, frustratingly for all of us they just couldn’t score. The primary reason for failed attempts was the incredible defending by the Iranian defenders cutting down spaces for the Argentine forward line. Other than the goalkeeper, all other 10 Iranian players dug deep into their halves to thwart the famed Argentine attack. It was simply a lion hearted defending by the Asian giants. Argentina continued to fail from scoring till the closing stages of the game.  We were simply getting frustrated. With full respect to Iran, how could the giants of World football not win against the perceived minnows !  We almost resigned to the fact that an additional point (and not 3) will be gathered by Messi and his team in spite of having almost 70 percent of possession! But this was more about pride. Just when we were almost winding up during the midnight hours in India, in came the moment during injury time!

The master takes up possession 30 yards out on the right wing, level with the right-hand post. We took a deep breath still in anticipation. He takes a step forward, and a touch inside, then curls a stunning shot into the top-left corner! Unstoppable! Poor Iranian goalkeeper who was incredible throughout the match had no chance! It was simply mesmerising. Deft footwork, great exploitation of available space and an unforgettable curve with precision. The mark of a genius! But as their coach Alejandro Sabella said “When you have Messi, anything is possible.” Looking at the replays time and again, it was impossible to stop this effort. The angle and the curve was so perfect. Added to the fact was the entire Iranian team were defending inside their own box. The best attack in the competition failed to breach the Iranian fort until the end of regulation time. That is when the golden left foot intervened giving us that moment of joy which can never be forgotten.

A draw against Iran would have been embarrassing for Argentina. The football God Maradona described this Messi moment as a “divine intervention”. This tribute by the maestro said it all!

Watch the moment:

https://youtu.be/XMnGE-FcIqc

 

 

The stakes were high. A place in the Champions League for the 2001-02 season depended on the result of the final game of the La Liga season for Barcelona and Valencia. A draw would seal the deal for Valencia as they were 3 points ahead of Barcelona. Only a win would put Barcelona through and the win against Valencia at the Mestalla earlier in the season would prove decisive since both the teams would then be tied on points. I remember watching the game around midnight in India. Barcelona were looking for their talisman Rivaldo to deliver and they were not disappointed!

In the 4th minute of the game, Rivaldo swerved a brilliant free kick above the wall and into the bottom right corner and the Valencia goalkeeper Canizares had no chance. It clipped the post on its way in but there was no denying the quality of the free kick. Barcelona up 1-0 and their supporters were happy. In the 26th minute, Valencia equalized courtesy of a Ruben Baraja goal off an Aimar assist.

It was almost the end of the first half and with time added on Rivaldo received a pass from Barjuan, feigned a strike, took two more touches and then hit a shot of such ferocity that it magically evaded three defenders and landed in the bottom left hand corner of the net leaving Canizares stranded again. Rivaldo held up the Barcelona badge with pride. Barcelona up 2-1 with Rivaldo carrying the team on his shoulders.

Two minutes into the second half, Valencia equalized again courtesy of Baraja much to the chagrin of the Barca supporters. The score was 2-2. In the next 40 minutes opportunity after opportunity went abegging. Rivaldo came close again with a few free kicks. The Barcelona fans were in despair. Then in the 89th minute, Frank De Boer looped the ball over a defender – Rivaldo received it on his left chest. Then with a marvellous display of skill and precision he scooped the ball up off his chest and hit an overhead kick into the bottom right corner of the net all the time with his back to the goal. No chance for Canizares and Game, Set, Match Barcelona. Barcelona – 3, Valencia – 2. Rivaldo took off his shirt and celebrated deservingly getting the yellow card in the process but he could care less. Barcelona were through to Champions League football with that amazing bicycle kick.

This performance epitomized what the beautiful game is all about. All three goals were scored from outside the box. No goalkeeper on earth could have stopped any of these goals and the third one was a goal for the ages. I have witnessed some amazing hat-tricks from many including Messi and Ronaldo but on that summer night what Rivaldo carved up will stay in my memory as the mother of all hat-tricks. The fact that it was Guardiola’s last La Liga game in a Barcelona shirt or Xavi who would become one of the best players in the world but would come in as a substitute was purely academic. It was all about Rivaldo.

What vision! What timing! What magic! What a genius!!!!