Qatar v Ecuador

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Qatar v Ecuador As far as opening games goes, this might not quite whet the appetite as some would want. If you do not pay attention to Asian or South American football, this could make the Russia-Saudi Arabia game of 2018 sound mesmeric by comparison. Strip away the negativity, though, and Qatar are the current Asian champions while Ecuador are a very handy outfit with excellent tactical acumen.

This could actually be a very good opening game. Why? Because it is so open. The Qatar national team is imbalanced and arguably not physically strong enough to handle a robust fight with the more aggressive Ecuador team. They do, though, boast technical proficiency that could match many teams in Europe – this creates a very intriguing dynamic where we could see the host nation surprise a few with their performance.

Given Holland and Senegal make up the other teams, too, both teams know they more or less need a win here or they will face an early exit.

Who will win this tie?

Two decent teams who are better than they are given credit for, but who have enough deficiencies to miss a shot at glory. Ecuador are adept, physically sound, fast in transition, and capable of scoring goals on the break. They also have in Moses Caicedo one of the most exciting young midfielders around.

Qatar have some very interesting players in most positions, but probably no real star names. Their strength is their teamwork and the fact that they have played together for so long. Definitely not an easy game to call, but there is a case that Qatar might end up being out muscled by a tough opponent.

VERDICT: 1-3

Morocco v Croatia

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Morocco v Croatia As two teams who are perennially mentioned as ‘dark horses’ for tournaments, neither arrive in Qatar with that reputation. For Morocco, they arrive with a bevy of issues in their squad and a real imbalance in certain areas. For all of the attacking flair, they lack balance on the left-hand side of the team. Crucially, they also have a gluttony of left-footed central defenders but precious few who could play on the right.

Croatia, meanwhile, are still trying to drain out more from an increasingly veteran core of players. This has left them coming into the tournament knowing that a group stage exit is as likely as a run to the last eight or four. They lack the same balance and clinical style they had in 2018, and will face off on opening matchday with Morocco knowing it is almost a winner-takes-all from day one.

Who will win this tie?

Score draw. Frustratingly for both teams, the deficiencies will comfortably outweigh the qualities. Neither team comes into the tournament in any kind of meaningful or vintage form. In fact, they both look a bit tired and in need of a refresh. This is likely to see a lot of players coming to the tournament who are not really in the form they should be.

While Croatia have made some bold calls, such as leaving behind the ever-aggressive Ante Rebic, Morocco have arrived with more or less the squad expected. This is a pair of teams who have been together for a long time, and now probably look in need of a reset.

That reset will only arrive after the tournament and amid a flurry of retirements. For Luka Modric, this could be his last ever tournament in the famous red and white checkers of Croatia. A score draw helps nobody, but it feels the most likely outcome for two teams suffering from a paucity of offensive quality.

VERDICT: 1-1

Death of a footballing legend

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One day in 1960, Bela Guttman sat in a chair in the barbers to get a hair cut. Guttman was a successful football coach at the time who had become a man of the people when he led Benfica, the Portuguese football club, into the European Cup.

Despite this success, the coach wanted more. He was pondering how to make his club better and mulling over his options. Sat in the next chair across was the coach of the Sao Paulo football club from Brazil whose club regularly toured around for away matches.

The coach shared a secret – coach to coach – about a young man who the top clubs were chasing and no one had successfully managed to recruit to their own team yet. His name was Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, who in some circles was known more simply as the Black Panther.

The player had been kicking balls around in the youth team in what later become the capital of Mozambique, Maputo. He was the son of a white father and a black mother from a local community in Mozambique.

The swarthy mother had already spurned substantial offers from clubs such as Juventus offering to snatch up the young player in exchange for a lucrative multi-year deal. Bela Guttman liked what he heard and decided to make an offer of his own.

Some time later, Eusébio da Silva Ferreira came to play at Benfica football club where his record of 733 goals spread over 745 matches impressed everyone who loved the game and came to watch the panther play.

At the end of his playing career, the legendary footballer maintained his connection with Benfica by becoming their Ambassador.

At his death recently, Portugal declared a three day period of mourning for the nation. The funeral was held in Lisbon where thousands came out, including both Portugese and fans from around the world, who all came together to celebrate the legacy of the man Portugal came to call their own.

 

 

 

 

 

Fancy playing football inside a bubble? Well now you can

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First there was the crazy inflatable ball, filled with some water, that you roll around inside typically down a hill, called Zorbing. Now, there is a new form of indoor bubble football from Bubble Sports Scotland that is developing a wave of interest from social channels like YouTube.

The basis of the game is not so different to regular football except that all the players are inside their own large inflatable ball. The ball does act as a protection against fouls and injuries that can occur on the pitch which is good news.

Players try to run around the indoor pitch inside their inflated balls, often bouncing around the pitch more than they are running around it, in order to try to score a goal. This is easier said than done because, remember, we said that all players have their own protective bubble. So the goal-keepers are similarly protected and their inflated ball covers most of the open goal making it damn hard to score with Bubble Sports!

The initial spark of interest to make this a business first came up for co-owner Jak Carlin when he saw bubble football being played on a clip on social tube channel, YouTube. He and his business partner tried to find something similar somewhere in Edinburgh, and then around Scotland, but couldn’t find this being offered anywhere.

Trying to buy the equipment proven expensive as it wasn’t something locally sourced. Instead, the founders located the inflatable bubbles over in China and imported them. His partner came in with extra funding to pay for the initial purchases. They played their first game and posted a video on YouTube. Many comments and over 10,000 views later, the team has a small hit on their hands.

 

Robert Lewandowski moves to Bayern Munich

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There was much debate and speculation recently over the fate of Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski who looked set for a move away from the club to pastures new. Ultimately, the player agreed to be transferred to Bayern Munich who are Bundesliga league rivals, as a free transfer.

Arsene Wenger, the popular Arsenal manager has said that he did consider Lewandowski for the Arsenal Football Club, but he knew that the played signed with Bayern over a year ago so unless that situation changed he wouldn’t be able to seriously consider him.

Wenger also went on to point out that the team at Arsenal continue, like with all other clubs, to keep and eye on the transfer market to see which players might be looking to change teams or whose contract is coming up for renewal.

It is difficult to get big players because they are already at the largest clubs. Occasionally it’s possible to pick one up if the football club is experiencing some financially difficulties, but otherwise it is quite difficult, Wenger pointed out.

As with most clubs, they look at their youth teams and the youth teams of other clubs to see where there might be undiscovered talent that can develop with their club.

With Lewandowski going to Bayern Munich this summer, this brings into question the future role of Mandzukic who is another forward at the same club. The player from Croatia is not looking to move away, according to his football agent.

While the Bayern CEO Rummenigge stated that Mandzukic is not on the market, Wenger didn’t act surprised because the football season is not finished yet. At that time, people may start to sing a different tune and eventually be wearing different football jerseys too.