CNNSI.COM

AC Milan-Real Madrid,
Champion's Leage, Phase 2
Matchday 1 (7)
26th November, 2002

Milan Shows Attack Is The Best Defence

MILAN (Reuters) -- The producers of soccer coaching videos could save themselves some time and money by simply offering young players a 90 minute cassette of the Champions League match between AC Milan and Real Madrid, won 1-0 by the Italian side on Tuesday.

The result may mean the match will rest longer in the memory of Milan supporters but the fact that the highly partisan San Siro crowd were applauding the attacking moves of their Spanish opponents should be enough of an indicator of the quality of football that was displayed by both teams at one of the game's great venues.

Everything that is great about the game was on display for the 75,000 lucky enough to witness it -- crisp passing, expert control, powerful, well-directed shooting, outstanding goalkeeping, expertly timed tackles and all played without rancor in a spirit of relaxed, yet highly competitive, sportsmanship.

There was not a sign of the fear that has restricted so many Italian sides in recent years as the textbook of defensive catenaccio was cast aside by Milan.

That positive approach was exemplified when in the 80th minute of a high-speed encounter, with the Italian side just a goal up, Milan's veteran center-half Alessandro Costacurta set off on a long overlap down the right flank hoping to benefit from a counter-attack.

The credit for that attacking spirit must be given to Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti, who after the game, said what some in Serie A would consider blasphemy -- attack is the best form of defense.

"I think playing defensively, sitting back against Real is always risky. You could see that in the spell before we scored when they were playing in front of our defense. We looked to attack and to impose our game on them and we could do that for the greater part of the game," said Ancelotti.

There is of course a risk in leaving yourself open to counter-attack in such an approach and Vicente Del Bosque's side are masters of the swift, piercing break from deep in their own half to the heart of their opponent's defense.

French midfielder Zinedine Zidane is not the kind of player you want to allow space to run at your backline and twice he forced Milan's Brazilian keeper Dida into saves with goalbound shots at the end of classy counter-attacks.

Below-par Figo

Perhaps had a below-par Luis Figo been able to prompt some more of those breaks the result might have been different -- but he was well-marked throughout and when, once, he did manage to get round the back of the Italian defense he was outpaced and then robbed by Paolo Maldini.

Maldini's performance confirmed his return to his very best -- how Italy coach Giovanni Trapattoni must be hoping the defender reconsiders his retirement from the national side.

The best proof that Ancelotti's philosophy is the right way to play against the European champions was the way in which Real's full-backs, Michel Salgado and Roberto Carlos, so devastating when allowed to advance, were pinned back into their own half for most of the second period of the game.

Of course the tactics alone are not enough to beat a side of the undoubted quality of Real -- you need to have the players capable of taking the game to them and exploiting their undoubted frailties in the center of their defense.

Brazilian World Cup winner Rivaldo has been something of a let-down since arriving at Milan but perhaps he has been saving himself for the moments when his magic is most needed.

Twice he managed to turn a high clearance from defense into an attacking move by excellent use of his chest -- swivelling to angle the ball into the path of breaking team-mates.

Class apart

Portuguese midfielder Rui Costa and Real's Zidane both showed the lightness of touch and ability to create space for themselves out of tight areas that distinguishes top class players from the rest.

It certainly helped Milan that Real were without their tough-tackling French midfielder Claude Makele -- the Spanish side were unable to win enough of the rare loose balls in midfield to really ever take control of the game.

The absence of Ronaldo, whose flu bug robbed him of a chance to return to the stadium he called home before his move to Real from Inter Milan, must surely also be added into the equation as Fernando Morientes rarely caused much trouble for Maldini and Costacurta.

But there will be more than a few coaches in Europe who will have taken note of Ancelotti's way of beating Real and few fans would complain if they also try such an adventurous approach.

The Guardian
Superclassico: 24th November, 2002

Peace for Figo? And pigs might fly ...

Will the Barcelona ultras ever leave Luis Figo alone? Sid Lowe thinks it's pretty unlikely on this evidence

Sid Lowe in Spain
Monday November 25, 2002


It was Lord of the Flies in the Barça-Madrid derbi on Saturday night. There may have been no sign of Ralph, Simon or Piggy - cake-filled Brazilian Ronaldo pulled out at the last minute - but the Camp Nou had everything else: hideously unequal rival tribes (98,000 culés to 400 Madridistas), ritual chanting, painted faces, and all the rational tranquility of a troop of public schoolboys on a desert island.
Above all, it had the Lord of the Flies himself. No, really, Sunday's pro-Madrid papers proved it. For there, staring up from the Camp Nou turf, was a real life, bona fidae pig's head, complete with porky grin. Not a full size, pig, alas: this head belonged to a "cochinillo" (a suckling pig), thrown onto the pitch as part of the latest, most surreal installment in the heartwarming love story that is FC Barcelona and Luis Figo.

Not that everyone believes in flying pigs, mind you. Barça director Gabriel Masfurrol, appearing on Ona Catalana radio last night, accused the Madrid press of making the whole thing up with the help of a cunningly-concealed cochinillo in the camera-bag, while fellow director José María Minguella provided conclusive proof that Barça fans couldn't have been responsible: "We don't even eat cochinillo in Barcelona", he said, licking his lips.

Stung by the accusations, Marca and AS reacted fast. Both have published lengthy responses this morning, complete with additional photos and the photographers' stories - AS's snapper was "disgusted" by what he saw, Marca's man "thought it was pretty funny".

Truth be told, the Lord of the Flies wasn't Luis Figo's biggest worry; it might have looked pretty grim, but it wasn't nearly as dangerous as the beer cans, lighters and plastic bottles that flew his way. And that wasn't all, either: some Madrid players claimed to have seen golf balls and a knife on the pitch, while television cameras zoomed in on a JB whisky bottle - a glass one.

The most dangerous moments came when Figo took Madrid's corners. The last time he visited the Camp Nou in white, Figo was ordered not to take them, even though he always does. This time, after a week of speculation and helpful "advice" - Marca's front page on Thursday read "Take them, Luis" - he did. "To do otherwise would be to act abnormally," claimed sporting director Jorge Valdano.

The decision could cost Barça dear: they could end up with a whopping fine and a Camp Nou ban - a ban that, in classic style, Madrid's sporting papers see as "inevitable", and Barcelona's view as "totally unnecessary and unfair".

The reason for a potential ban? Midway through the second half, Madrid won a corner at the Ultras' end of the ground. Amid a shower of flying objects, it took Figo two minutes to take it - and then he nearly scored, swinging in a deadly curler which keeper Bonano just managed to tip away. It would have been an amazing and hilariously appropriate response, but all Figo had done was win himself another chance to run the gauntlet. And this time the corner took even longer - as Figo jogged across to the other side, the missile throwing continued and referee Medina Cantalejo suspended the game for sixteen minutes to "let things calm down".

It was, said Marca, "the derbi of shame", while AS led on "Bronx Nou" and El Periódico de Catalunya declared "every corner a Vietnam". The pro-Barça sports dailies El Mundo Deportivo and Sport inevitably gave a very different version of events: Sport led on "Figo is a provoker" - the man who "poisoned the derby".

Their lead came from FC Barcelona's finest - manager and board accused Figo of inciting the crowd. By being on the pitch. And having the temerity to take the corners. Slowly.

"Figo provoked the fans," blasted Louis Van Gaal. "He walked over to the corner really slowly, picked up the bottle slowly, went back to the corner ... and all this consciously and deliberately, without the referee doing anything to stop it."

The board's reaction was even more critical. "I'm not trying to justify events," president Joan Gaspart said, trying to justify events, "but Figo's provocation was out of place and totally unnecessary. I won't accept people coming to my house to provoke". Director Joan Ignassi Brugeras, meanwhile, ranted that: "Figo lives off lies ... he's been provoking our fans for two years."

Even the more moderate opinion of Barça midfielder Xavi Hernández pointed the finger at Figo: "He could have helped more by not taking the corners."

It's true that Figo took his time over the corners, stopped to pick up a bottle, smiled "provocatively" at the fans and even gave a little thumbs up. But why shouldn't he take his time, move the bottles from the pitch, or make a point of showing them to the ref? And as for "helping" - like Barcelona helped when they refused to put nets up?

"I don't know if Gaspart is taking the piss," was Figo's incredulous response. As for Van Gaal, Figo was "plain surprised - after all, he never said anything when he was my manager for two years. And I've saved his arse more than once."

Inevitably, all the fuss has made Figo an even bigger Real Madrid hero. For AS, Figo was the top man, turning in a performance that was "perfect". An enormous exaggeration it most certainly is, but Figo's display - mentally, at least - was pretty impressive. So much so that even El Mundo Deportivo's Cristina Cubero was impressed: "Figo can be proud", she wrote, "he won the battle".

The battle, yes. But what about the match? Er, yeah. The match, wrote Marca's Roberto Palomar, "was shit"

The Future of Brazilian Football: By Riotom on the BigSoccer Boards

Re: The most talented young player for Brazil

quote:
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Originally posted by Hagi
Which young brazzilian is promising to be a super-star?
In Atgentina is Saviola, Pablo Aimar, Riquelme and Alessandro fro River Plate. Can you give me 4-5 Brazillian names who are such as Saviola or Pablo Aimar?
I think nowadays Argentina has a better young football players staff than Brazil...
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Being a veteran of one world cup, does it really make them young and promising? Just because Saviola and Aimar are anywhere between 6 months to 3 years younger than Brasil's Ronaldinho and Denilson, I'd hardly say that represents an entire generation of Argentine players that appears to be better than Brasil's youth.

Denilson, who was 24 last July, is a veteran of 2 World Cups.

Riquelme is 24 and didn't even make the roster! Of course I think his coaches constantly underrate hmi and he would have performed much better than Aimar, but that's my opinion. I guess I shouldn't mention that Riquelme is only 2 years younger than Ronaldo. Just want to add a little perspective so we can cover the amazing Brazilian players the same age as Argentina's fabulous youth, and 2 years in both directions of them.

Ronaldinho is roughly the same age as Aimar, and I think his performances far outshone Aimar, and at least the last few months of last season, he was tearing it up for his Paris team. Remember he had to take 6-9 months off for contract/legal issues and largely disappeared from the scene.

Among that age group is also Gilberto Silva (25) who was undeniably a force in K/J and starts for Arsenal now; and Kleberson (23), whose play improved steadily up until the Final where he was probably man of the match until Ronaldo finally scored.

Saviola and Brasil's Kaka are 20-21 years old and I'd but them on even ground. Kaka may not be as refined yet, but in pure talent, they match up well. I give Saviola a little edge right now in experience and poise, but Kaka is MUCH more versatile and once he improves his judgement and has a little better system around him, he should be the superior player. (Just because I'm biased doesn't mean I'm wrong!)

Saviola plays for a much larger club, but it's nice to see Kaka staying home for now and leading Sao Paulo at the top of the table in the Brasileirao. The first Spanish team that buys him should have a great deal, as I think his skills, surrounded by more rigid tactics, will make him a star at most any team in La Liga.

Of course we've talked about young Adriano.
But Lucio (24) will be a fixture for Brasil and I see a big club buying him from Leverkusen within the next year or two.

And to finish, the whole Santos team is practically under-23 - with 17 year old Diego leading the charge and surplanting Kaka and the latest youngster to start making headlines.

So ages 21-25, I'd say Brasil has stayed more than competitive with any country in the world, includnig Argentina.

Just as many players that had little to no experience coming into the 2002 World Cup, Brasil's got plenty more coming into the pipelines as always.

Now, where's that list of new, talented coaches....??

(I swear I'll do something drastic if they hire Luxemburgo again. Brasilians have such short memories...)

Real Madrid vs Deportivo La Coruna
Venue: The Riazor
Date: 2nd November, 2002

A good performance by the team I felt, especially keeping in mind the state of the pitch, that was very slow and waterlogged and bad for the sort of passing game we play.

Very tactical midfield battle, and the sort of game where one sloppy mistake could cost you the match, and it was good to see that after the mistakes of the last few weeks, the defence played with concentration and sat deep in their own half. With a slow defence, trying to push up the defensive line is suicide, and it has hurt us this season.

There were very few chances and the chances that were there were quite equally distributed. I actually felt that Madrid had slightly the better chances, especially when Ronaldo miscontrolled a long high through ball from Heirro and when Roberto Carlos' free kick cannoned off the keeper towards the end. That Ronaldo miss was a shocker, his first touch just deserted him, with Raul on the field there was no way that it would have been anything but a goal. Casillas made one great save off his legs, and was lucky when a free kick dipped and hit the crossbar (very seaman-like keeping :)) but on the whole neither team threatened too much.

Player feedback:

Hierro: Great first half, superb anticipation and distribution. But faded as the match went on, and his age and slowbness really showed once as he was left beaten just outside the box in a dangerous area in the second half

Cambiasso: Poor game. His distribution and passing have really taken a dive the last few games (although this was admittedly not a great pitch for passing). Makalele is obviously tackling better than him, but right now, Makalele is also passing better than him which is not a good sign.

Ronaldo: Another poor game, and clearly still not at his sharpest or quickest. First touch let him down at his best opportnity. Seemed more mobile than in the last match against Villareal, and tried to get more involved. Still struggling to adapt to our style, to act like a targetman, often playing with his back to the goal.

Figo: Yet another terrible performance. The right flank was terrible until Minambres came on, and yes, I do think he played better than Figo. I agree 100% with Merengue when he says that Figo is one of the reasons why our buildup is so slow... he hardly ever seems to get past defenders this season, but he still insists on holding on to the ball instead of some quick first time passing, eventually ending up with a dive in the right corner. His crossing hasn't been brilliant either. Figo really needs a spell on the bench to recover his fitness and form. However, his workrate was high and he did play well defensively.

Solari: Our best player on the pitch today. Blemished his report card somewhat with a blatant dive in the penalty area but was a traet to watch. Was fast, incisive and created loads of problems with his trickery. The left flank always seemed the most threatening option for us, and he linked up well with Zidane. He faded in the second half but that was largely because Depor started putting two defenders on him everytime he had the ball. He really should have cut down on the dribbling then but that doesn't take away from what was a superb performance. I really think that on current form he is a better option than Figo on the right wing, once Raul is back.

Summary:
People can talk about a crisis but an away draw at the Riazor, on a bad pitch, without Raul, and having played on equal terms, that's a good result for us, as well as a good performance.

The future:
Solari must play on the right wing instead of Figo. Figo needs the rest, and Solari looks sharper, quicker and more dangerous. I can't wait for raul to be back, it's a different team when he is playing. We can have all the stars in the world but without Raul, the team feels incomplete and that shows on the pitch. And give Ronaldo time. I know that he isn't fitting into our system but he's far too good a footballer to not figure it out eventually.