Deutschland Uber Alles and the rest

I would be lying if I said I wasn't loving this World Cup. Not only have most of the teams I dislike or don't fancy been knocked out, my top favorite teams have made it to the semi finals in Germany and Holland (or Netherlands). Also seeing Germany pre-tournament I had said to a number of people that they play an exciting brand of football, imagine my pleasure to see them deliver the best brand of International football seen in a world cup for years! Without a doubt Germany have been the team of the tournament thus far.

They started out very strong against Australia but for some insane reason people decided to start doubting them after the loss to Serbia. They played the same brand of exciting football with 10 men for almost one hour against a solid Serbian team. It is during this game that it showed how tough they were. They created 2 clear goalscoring opportunity, hit the cross bar and missed a penalty. It remained to bee seen if they could bounce back from the disappointment and they did against strong Ghana. A lot of people are attributing their emphatic wins to the poor form of the opposition. England might have been off form and Argentina tactically naive but no one puts 4 past Argentina and England in recent history.

Joachim Loew dissects the opposition style of play and figures out their weaknesses and then rips them to shreds. His players understand what is required from them and deliver it gladly. They play for their coach and for each other. Players like Klose and Podolski have repaid their coach for having faith in them although they have had their worst ever footballing seasons. Klose is one goal away from tying Ronaldo as the greatest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup with 14 goals (he is now level with Gerd Muller). The whole team is enjoying their football and having fun playing. It was obvious England were not. Schwinestieger has stepped up into the role of Ballack brilliantly, he is truly one of the players of the tournament with his dribbling, passing and both attacking and defensive capabilities. The young-lings Khidera, Ozil and Muller have been a breath of fresh air with their direct running and skill. Add a solid defensive unit and you have a got a world class team. Germany is to international football what Barcelona is to club football.

Guess what? Germany are going to be basically playing Barcelona in the Semi Finals. Spain are a great team and Muller will be deeply missed against them. They have a very good coach and technically gifted players. However for some reason they had not kicked into gear yet. They have played good opposition but no great teams, and have struggled. If not for the fantastic David Villa they would not be in the semi finals, ohh and Oscar Cardozo too:P. On the other hand if and when they click they are virtually unstoppable and it remains to be seen if the collective of Germany can exploit the slow rhythm of Spain and their shaky defense.

It has become obvious in this World Cup that you can't possibly go far without having an excellent coach behind the team. Argentina had sadly a clueless Maradona solely dependent on Messi. If Messi creates, Argentina wins but if he is closed down like against Germany, nothing. It is OK to depend on your superstars to unlock games but you should have a system they can work if things don't go according to plan. Maradona played a 4-4-2 diamond of some sort with only Mascherano to provide cover for the back 4, who for most of the game would stand at the back. Diego didn't fear the Germans and he was brutalized. How can Mascherano have a chance against Khedira, Schwinestieger, Ozil, Podloski and Muller? His problems were compounded by a very slow defensive line and Heinze was played off the park by Muller who was quicker and more intelligent. You would have to feel for the Argentine back 4 , constantly put in 5 against 4 and 5 against 5 situations!

Dunga was better than Maradona but seemed to focus more on the defensive aspect. Going forward Brazil looked dangerous but what was their undoing was their extreme lack of discipline. I was shocked to see the whole team start arguing about every ball against Holland. They should have had 2 red cards but got one. Melo must be insane! Dunga surprised me a bit when he was changing players not for tactical reasons but for fear of them being sent off . Is the Brazilian team that indisciplined that Bastos had to be subbed for a player with half his ability? I have never seen a team that wore the yellow and blue crack after conceding an equalizer. You would usually see them punish opposition for such a transgression, not Dunga's boys. They jut faded away. When Brazil needed to attack they had no options on the bench and Dunga reaped what he had sowed. Instead of having Ronaldinho and Pato on his bench, both great talents and game changers he had Nilmar and Grafite, the rest were Central and Defensive Midfielders?

Holland for me have been outstanding. They are solid at the back, although Brazil ran rampant against them in the first half, and have a lot of creativity going forward. They get the job done with out much hassle and seem to be picking up steam and confidence game after game. With the return of Robben to support the magical Sneijder and Van Persie starting to find his touch I don't think Uruguay will be able to beat them especially with no Suarez.

Oscar Tabarez has done an excellent job with Uruguay. The team runs their hearts out and look very dangerous going forward. Yes they were lucky to reach the semis but overall they have been very good and treat each game differently. The Ex-Milan coach has created history for his country by forging a solid back 4 with excellent wing backs a hard working midfield and an attacking extravaganza upfront lead by the majestic Diego Forlan, one of the players of the tournament for sure. As for Suarez I think he has done what anyone else would have done in his position when he handled the ball and the one match ban is fair enough for the incident in my opinion. He should learn to shut up though.

Ghana might feel a bit hard done by but they have made Africa proud. Milovan Rajevac ever since his run in the Nations Cup has brought discipline to a talented squad. They are no longer going gun hoe in attack and leaving all kinds of spaces at the back. They were one unit. Gyan missed a crucial penalty but like a friend of mine mentioned he looks to be the new Drogba at just 24. With luck Rajevac could and should have been in the semi-finals.

I'm hoping for a Germany/Netherlands final but after seeing Ghana vs Uruguay and Spain vs Paraguay anything is possible and only in football can you see games turn like that. This is what makes football the greatest sport in the world.

The Germans if they win the World Cup will be regarded as one of the best sides to ever lift the trophy. If they lose it they will be one of the greatest sides not to win like Hungary in 1954 lead by Puskas, Portugal in 1966 lead by Eusebio, Holland in 1974 lead by Cruyjff and Brazil of 1982 lead by Socrates!

Goal Line Technology

Yesterday we were treated to two cracking Round of 16 games. Germany destroyed a poor English side 4-1 and Argentina won 3-1 against a very good Mexico side to set up a mouth watering quarter final clash. The level of football aside the games were marred by two horrendous refereeing errors.

In the Germany game Lampard scored a clear goal off the upright and in that both the referee and linesman failed to see that would have tied the game. Goals make a difference in games although I still think Germany would have eventually won considering the level of play on show. The linesman was actually correctly positioned online with the German defense but he failed to see it, mind you it only takes one second to miss it hitting the ground. The main referee had a very good game overall but missed it as well, both of them should have seen it. Hats of to Neuer though for picking up the ball and proceeding with play as if nothing happened. If only Mohamday could have done the same vs Brazil in the Confederations Cup instead of play acting!

In the Argentina game Tevez scored a clear offside after a Messi pass that put Argentina 1-0 ahead with Mexico having it all to do. I have no excuse for this linesman and he is solely to blame for the error. There was commotion after the goal and conversations between the linesman and the fourth official but the goal stood.

Cries of Goal line technology echoed after the games and the need to use instant replays for incidents like this and so on. FIFA will probably not pay much attention to these out cries and I kind of agree with them. Am I mad? maybe, but lets explore this a bit further.

Using technology and replays for all aspects of the game is inapplicable in my opinion. Imagine having to stop play and contest offsides and fouls not to mention throw ins, corner, handballs and goals. This would ruin the game completely. Yes some would argue that it could be regulated with a limited number of complaints and time outs but this would just turn football into basketball or American football. Stopping the game disrupts the rhythm of play and we have seen coaches using substitutions and players faking injury when their team is on the back foot to waste time and disrupt the other teams play. Imagine playing Algeria and not only are their players faking injury, their coach is calling time outs and seeing replays on the monitors. This wont be the same game we have all come to love. Technology everywhere is out of the question in my opinion. Why not just goal line technology then?

It makes perfect sense to apply that and make it part of the game, so why is FIFA refusing to do that? There is no reason for the football governing body not to want to make matches more fair. They do make a fair argument though. One of the greatest pleasures of football was the ability of all countries and leagues regardless of their level or wealth to practice the game in the same way. How expensive would goal line technology be? How can you force it on all countries? Games would be played differently in richer countries and would cause a void in a sport that unites the globe. Making some countries apply it and others not would not be fair would it? Imagine Egypt playing against Zimbabwe in Cairo having implemented goal line technology and Zimbabwe score a goal missed by the referee but thanks to goal line technology is allowed, fair enough you say...maybe. In the second leg we go to Harary were there is no goal line technology and Egypt have a clear goal disallowed because the referee didn't see it, would it be fair then? People might argue that that's football and it could have been a penalty and referees make mistakes anyways. That is correct, but isn't this the case anyways now? Why are refereeing mistakes acceptable in some circumstances and not others. An incorrect corner could result in a goal, same impact, no?

The fact of the matter is refereeing mistakes are part of the beautiful game. How many hours have we spent debating offsides, goals and penalties among one another? We enjoy doing it too. It's harsh when it happens to our teams and even worse in a World Cup (I feel in a whole club football season decisions for and against teams even themselves out) but it is part of the game.

FIFA have not stood idol. The UEFA experiment in applying a fourth and fifth on field referees in the EUROPA Cup has proved fruitful. Maybe employing these two referees for the sole purpose of the goal line would be a good idea and would minimize such situations. Make no mistake though, they are only human and errors will continue to occur. Frankly I would rather live with those mistakes than have football turn into American football. As for England, 1966 anyone?

I am enjoying the World Cup!!!

It's been rubbing me the wrong way that everyone is complaining about the level of football this World Cup. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but for gods sake, everyone and anyone is saying that. People who have never seen a full game are complaining, girls are complaining and yes Egyptians are complaining.

Why the hell are we unappreciative of the the level of play in the tournament? We have the pleasure of watching one of the worst leagues in the world day in and day out. Yup you guessed it, the appalling Egyptian Premier League. It is a league with empty stadiums, poor pitches, idiotic commentators (the legendary Bakr excluded), prehistoric cameras, bad players, clueless referees and elementary tactical displays. So please give the top stars of the world a break god damn it.

My theory is that Egyptians have become insanely jealous for failing to qualify to the world cup for the gazzillionTH time. Live with it people and instead of portraying your anger towards teams that have actually made it, I suggest sending thank you letters to captain Shehata for ruining the world cup for all you haters instead of blaming the Algerian fans and the Sudanese government!

I, on the other hand will continue to enjoy the world cup because frankly it's a lot of fun and who doesn't enjoy an underdog victory. Some people fail to recognize that a great defensive game with a solid counter attack is just as enjoyable as all out attack. The Swiss display against Spain was a joy to behold in my opinion. Didn't people congratulate Mourinho on playing an uglier game against Barca? I agree that there could be some more goals but lets just remember that this is not the Spanish league, where a team can concede close to 100 goals and still remain in top flight football:P

To be fair to there has been a few boring games, France/Uruguay comes to mind. However we have seen some crackers especially in the second round of games. Argentina/Nigeria, Korea/Greece, Argentina/Korea, Greece/Nigeria, Germany/Australia, Germany/Serbia, Denmark/Cameroon, Brazil/NKorea, Brazil/Ivory Coast, Spain/Switzerland, Uruguay/South Africa, Italy/New Zealand to name a few.

There has also been a lot of talk about the world cup ball, Jabulani. Although I'm not really sure why there has to be changes to the ball every cup, a new design would suffice, I do not think it has such an effect. The Bundelsiga and MLS have been using it and Egypt won the CAN 2010 in Angola with the same ball, and we did not hear any complaints then, why now? Even if the ball has been causing problems, which one of us doesn't enjoy the occasional goal keeper cock up? Green or Hadary anyone?

One last thing, to all those haters out there. If your team isn't winning it doesn't mean that the world cup is poor. It just means that your team sucks!!!!

P.S: Wimbledon is about to start, go watch it and stop wining

Clash of the Titans

It's here again. Yes another bloody match against Algeria. I think I'm probably one of the few people who did not take it personally when Algeria beat us to go to the World Cup. Don't get me wrong I was fuming that we lost but frankly throughout the qualification they were better as a team. I still think our players are better, regardless of the fact that most of them play locally.

History aside tonight is a very important game for Egypt and Algeria alike. Obviously it's importance is primarily because it's the Africa Cup Of Nations Semi-Final. The biggest competition in the continent. Algeria need to prove that they deserve to be in the World Cup and that their qualification was due to their strength and not due to Egypt gifting them a place in South Africa. A victory tonight will prove once and for all that they are indeed better than the Pharaohs and that the excuses made up by Shehata and co after the defeat in Sudan are what they really are, crap. Algeria will be in their first final (and semi-final) in 20 years, ever since their last win and only win of the cup on home soil in 1990. It will be their third final ever, the other being in 1980. So don't believe what you hear from their players and their coach that they are not under any pressure. They are and under a lot of it. They have a chance to make history and rival their greatest generation of the 80's.

On the other side there is Egypt. A wounded giant. After failing to qualify for the World Cup and the national disappointment that came with it no one, not even their coach himself gave them a chance of retaining their African crown a record third successive time. With players like Trieka, Barakat, Mido and Zaki not in the squad it seemed hopeless. (Shehata started to act confident only after his win against Nigeria defending his team selections and claiming that picking the team had to do with how religious a player was, strangely he forgot that football is about talent and talented players win games, not prayers.) However after the cracking opener against Nigeria and coming from a goal down to destroy the Super Eagles an aura of optimism started to appear. The Egyptians looked like champions and finished their group with a 100% record dispatching both Benin and Mozambique with professionalism worthy of Champions. Then came the real test against the Lions of Cameroon. Egypt capitalized on their opponents mistakes and put them to the sword again coming from a goal down. I've been very critical of our performances but overall we got the job done. Lead by the ever vibrant Ahmed Hassan, who is truly a joy to watch, Egypt are a strong unit. Credit to Shehata for bringing his team together and to his players for showing outstanding determination. Yes Shehata is lucky but if he can pull it off against Algeria (even if he looses the final) it would be a great feat and would earn him respect from everyone, friends and foes, myself included.

Egypt should take this as just another game, a stepping stone to a record third successive title. A chance to redeem their failure to qualify to South Africa. The cherry on top is that they get to do it against the team that knocked them out, Algeria. It is good to feel some purpose in a game but it should not be about revenge and hate. It should be about winning. Increased emotions will tire players easier and make them much more susceptible to lapses in concentration. Egypt should play their own game, keep the ball on the ground and not look to rush things and for gods sake no long balls.

Good teams take their chances, good teams ride their luck and good teams come back after going behind, but only great teams rise up for glory after getting knocked down.

Will we ever Go to the World Cup?

The past two days were very sad for me. It wasn't your straight forward sad, and yes I'm talking about football. For years now Football games have had the ability to lift and sink my mood, just ask my wife:)

Yesterday I saw an Egyptian side (who had earlier crushed the dreams of millions by failing to qualify to the World Cup from the easiest group in the continent) take on a star studded Nigerian side. Nigeria is not that of old and the golden team of Amokachi, Yakini and Finidi seems a distant memory. However, they are back to the world cup after being seemingly dead and buried in the qualification (albeit Tunisia gifting them qualification). Nigeria by all means were a side on the up and having the likes of Yakubu (Everton), Obasi (Hoffenhiem), Yobo (Everton), Mikel (Chelsea) in their squad it would seem they were favorites against Egypt.

After our disappointing performance all through qualification I seriously wanted to get rid of Hassan Shehata and what better way to do it than by being knocked out of the first round in CAN 2010. I was going to support every single team playing against Egypt, cause frankly I don't bloody care about winning another African Cup, I was looking for the future and I don't think Shehata will ever get us there. As I sat down to watch the game I thought GO Egypt! I am far too fond of many of the Egyptian players not least of which are Meteb, Zidan and Ahmed Hassan to support Nigeria and frankly on their day Egypt's most gifted generation can beat anyone. I didn't expect this however.

Egypt put up a scintillating display lead by the brilliant Ahmed Hassan. He is a true model professional that all players in Egypt could learn from. He is playing his 8th African Cup having won three already in 98, 06, and 08. From a goal down early on we hit back by goals from Meteb, Hassan and Geddo (no I didn't make him up). Egypt dominated the Super Eagles especially in the second half and if we had continued to play for 2 days Nigeria would not have scored. Everything was right yesterday. It was the first time in a tournament under Shehata that we came back from a goal down to win (his second time in all competitions, first was against DR Congo in Cairo, in first phase of qualifications). We played better in the second half than the first, we were more physically fit than the Nigerians, we didn't score any penalties and as for the deflection, I say you make your own luck when it comes to scoring goals. Shehata did everything right, off course his clueless Nigerian counterpart helped, but still Egypt were convincing. His team showed experience and high morals and again played for him and for each other. After seeing the game I'm not sue if we will win the cup but I think we can easily got to the semis. A day earlier I had seen Malawi rip Algeria to shreds and after Egypts result I was shocked and saddened. How the hell didn't we reach the world cup?

Watching this cup I still can't believe we are not going to South Africa. We look much better than a lot of the teams going after the first round of games. I know this is not something to go by as I recall Cameroon in 1990 getting knocked out of the first round in the competition then going on to take the world by storm in Italia 90. However, if you look at the fact that we have been dominating the competition for 4 years now and that a lot of the big teams are very eager to win this years competition, none more so than Cote D'Ivoire. The current generation of Elephants have never won the African Cup and can't wait to do so. In the two previous editions their dreams have shattered after coming up against one team, Egypt. Why didn't we qualify then?

Honestly I have no idea why we could not ease through qualification from an easy group but I have some ideas that may have contributed. For starters I think how the group looked on paper and the fact we were African Champs put the fans, the players and the coaching staff at ease. They were heading for a rude awakening after the 1-1 draw with Zambia in Cairo. Sadly no one saw the warning bells and we managed to shift momentum towards Algeria after slumping to a 3-1 defeat there. Egypt rallied up till the first game in Cairo. I talked about the footballing reasons for not qualifying (The Failure)Some other factors came into play leading up to the first game and the decider in Sudan that contributed to our failure.

The media was crazy. They proceeded to portray Algeria as the devil and this for me added extra pressure on the players. Playing against an enemy is very different from playing against an opponent. You won't take risks and will play it safe , after all you are defending your countries honor and not competing in a sport. The anger also takes up some of your energy and you get more lapses in concentration. Where the hell did the spirit of sport disappear to? It seemed we were in a war and not a football game. After the first game people and the media celebrated as if we had already qualified, there was one more game left.

The choice of venue for the final game from the Egyptian Federation and Hassan Shehata was idiotic. We picked Sudan. It is of common knowledge that pitches in Sudan are very poor and that rarely have Egyptians teams gone there and won. The Egypt team is very skilled and dominate opposition by using a slick passing game. We need a good pitch, yet we chose a really poor one. We refused to pick Libya cause they would support Algeria although there are around 1.5million Egyptians living there? We did not pick South Africa although they have great pitches and we had already played there months before. Most of the fans that went there were not true footballing fans and a lot of politicians and artists decided to go in order to boost their own self image. The atmosphere when it came to Egypt was bleak. We will never qualify to a world cup unless we stop turning sport into war and instead of talking about a football game we blamed the loss on events after the game?

Last but not least was the caliber of coaching. Yes I don't like Shehata and at the end of the day you can be unlucky at one game were it all matters. Just ask Guus Hiddink, one of the most brilliant coaches in the world did not qualify to the world cup with Russia. However, before you start going on about how this is true and how it could happen to anyone think a bit. Egypt to Africa is not what Russia is to Europe. Egypt is like Spain or Germany in Europe. We are the "it" team in the continent. Shehata had luck on him for most games in qualification but not when it most mattered. Shehata's results speak for themselves he has done very good. But he has failed twice when it really mattered. First was in 2005 when he came on as coach for the first time mid qualification and we had to beat Cote D'Ivoire away to have any chance of going to the world cup. He lost that game but that wasn't the problem. He never tried to win, he was scared and couldn't or wouldn't turn around the game. Maybe he was inexperienced then but the second time he wasn't. He has failed when he has had to up his game to the next level. He has proven time and again that he can't read the big games and can't take control of matches if his players are not in top form. He can't turn things around. Against Nigeria the stakes were not high, you have 3 strikes so the pressure is lower. In the two African Cups we were never favorites and the expectations were low. When we have high expectations and the pressure is on us and not on the opposition we fail. This is also a problem with the players, it it not only the coaches fault but it is his job to help them cope. He has had it easy as half of his players already had the know how of dealing with pressure. Jose's Ahly were favorites for five years in every game they played locally and in Africa. Most of the time we delivered.

I hope that in my life time I get to see Egypt once again in the World Cup. I'm not very optimistic though as the way we go about it is not encouraging. We need a highly technical coach . Shehata in all honestly has done good but we need someone to take us to the next level. This person should be backed up by a system that views football as a sport and not as a holy calling. A system that analyzes why we fail and doe not congratulate failure. We also need more professional players that deal with pressure day in and day out. There should be some sort of law that allows players to go abroad and learn. The golden team of Egypt has not reached the world cup, may the next golden team take us there!

Timing of the African Cup: What's the Fuss?

As we all know the Africa Cup of Nations 2010 in Angola is going to kick-off on Jan 10th, a week from now. It is usually the biggest event in the continent (usually since this year the world cup is in Africa) In my opinion it is the 3rd best Continental tournament behind the World Cup and The Euros as unlike their counterparts in South America, African players actually leave their clubs and come to play there. Here there lies the problem.

As was discussed in many English and European blogs the timing of the Cup of Nations seems to be to the disliking of Europe in general and specifically European Clubs with African players. I thought I would discuss this from a more African point of view albeit that Egyptian players are not affected as most of them sadly play locally.

Europe's argument has always been that playing in January robs clubs of their players in an integral part of the season and why couldn't the competition be played in June like most other Continental Competitions. More so is the fact that it is played every 2 years and in the same years of the World Cup which over exerts these players come the next season. They suggest that it should be played every 4 years and or in odd years to avoid clashes with the World Cup.

The CAF and Africa reply that playing in January is essential as the weather in Africa is very hot in the summer months and in some areas of the great continent there is a rainy season at that time. As for the gap of only 2 years, CAF says that the tournament helps improve the infrastructure in the countries that organize the event and the frequency gives the opportunity for more countries to get the chance to do that.

Both arguments hold a lot of merit. European Clubs pay the wages of these players and have a right to feel aggrieved and at the same time the players themselves are put in an awkward place and if they are not world class players like Drogba they risk losing their place in the team. This could lead to one of two things happening; more Top class clubs decide against buying African Players like Manchester United for example and AC Milan to some extent, or Players can stop attending on the longer run and the tournament will turn into the Copa America. Also players will be overexerted especially if they are also playing in the world cup. They don't get a break after the Cup of Nations or after the World Cup and by the start of the new season they are already burned out. Off course there are ways to minimize this but why should clubs go through this? On the other hand making the Cup every two years does improve infrastructure in organizing countries and excites the economy in Africa as a whole to some extent. We have seen this a number of times, Burkina Faso stands out. At the end, the Europeans try forcing their view and the Africans are too proud to listen to any outside voices especially from Europe (history plays a part in this case). What then is to be done? The solution is simple in my opinion and lies in combining both views.

For starters the CAF should have no problem adjusting the Africa Cup of Nations to being played in odd years instead of even years to avoid conflicts with the World Cup. All that needs to be done is skipping one Cup of Nations or playing 2 in consecutive years. It still should be played every two years as the impact on the continent is noticeable. On the other hand the argument of playing the Cup of Nations in January because of the weather is frankly very very weak. Yes it is hot in the summer but the African Champions League Starts and continues to be played all through the summer plus the equator splits Africa into two parts so there will always be a country with poor weather at some point in time. Therefore moving it to June will make everyone happy, African players and their Clubs. Also it will increase the viewing audiences considerably as it will be played at a time where no football is being played anywhere else in the world leading to more exposure for the African Game and maybe on the long run leading to more World Cup places. If the CAF doesn't like this then how about alternating between January and June depending on the weather conditions in the organizing country at the time?

I hope that such changes be given a hard long look as I would love to continue seeing the continents top professional play both at great clubs and in the greatest tournament in Africa. Feel free to provide any suggestions or feedback.

Predictions, Looking Back

Last month I decided to predict the remaining Teams to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa with some mixed results. Here is a look of how I did

AFRICA

Manga's Prediction: Cameroon, Gabon, Togo

Actual: Cameroon, Gabon, Togo

Prediction: Tunisia, Nigeria, Mozambique

Actual: Nigeria, Tunisia, Mozambique

Prediction: Algeria, Egypt, Zambia

Actual: Algeria, Egypt, Zambia

Manga got just 1 incorrect answer. It seems I know my continent and sadly my country well. Cameroon duly delivered while Tunisia threw away qualification. Egypt like I had said could not beat Algeria twice.

EUROPE

Manga's Prediction: France , Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ukraine, Russia

Actual: France, Portugal, Greece, Slovenia

Manga got just 1 prediction correct and that was because Henry used his hand. Bosnia was always going to be a long shot and Ukraine vs Greece was too close. The real shocker has to be Russia not qualifying.

THE AMERICAS

Manga's Prediction: Uruguay

Actual: Uruguay

On paper this was much easier than it actually turned out to be with Uruguay edging it 2-1 on aggregate.

Overall I manged 10 out of 14 predictions correct. Not bad I would think. Next time have faith in Manga, or not if you are from Europe:

Egypt vs Algeria: The Failure

Last Wednesday was a very sad day for Egyptian football. Algeria beat Egypt 1-0 in the play-off game to reach the World Cup for the third time. Egypt's best footballing generation ever didn't. I was almost reduced to tears after the game. I am after all a fan. Football rarely has this impact on me. It can always change my mood for sure but never frustrate me as much. I recall my eyes watering twice after a football game. In 1990 after England knocked us out of the World Cup with a Mark Wright header and when AC Milan lost the Champions League (no, not in Istanbul) against Ajax to a Patrik Kluivert goal in the 88th minute. Yeah I don't know why I cried either. My frustration came from the fact that after all this I was right. Never have I wished more to be wrong and for Mr. Shehata to prove he is the mastermind tactician he so blatantly is not. You can blame who you want for our failure to qualify, Algerians, players, referee or luck. I blame Hassan Shehata.

Where to begin? His failure was not in mismanaging this final play-off match. It was throughout the qualifications. Egypt has played the same game of football for the entire campaign. We played poorly and below our potential in all 7 games. If you bring your memory back to the Zambia game in Cairo, where it all began. We had no midfield couldn't control the game, couldn't create chances and Zambia ripped us to shreds on the counter attack. They got a deserved equalizer and if it was not for some luck they would have won. (My father told me then that it was never going to happen, should have listened). We followed this up by a humiliating defeat to Algeria. We played a decent first half with Trieka and Zidan combining perfectly but without any real menace or chance creation. After going down by a goal it all went bad. Mr. Shehata is no tactician, he panics and eveything goes to hell. He couldn't contorl Algeria and hit them on the break when it was 0-0 and he couldn't attack to get a draw after going a goal down. In trying to attack he left us wide open at the back and we got hit by 2 more goals. This was a turning point in the qualification. Algeria took momentum and self belief from that game and never looked back(they had started with a poor 0-0 draw away to Rwanda). There was a break after this from the qualification and Egypt went to the Confederations Cup.

Egypt faced Brazil then Italy and we managed an incredible showing against Brazil and beat Wold Champions Italy. Shehata inadvertently had discovered a gold mine. Injuries to all of his top strikers forced him to play a 3-6-1 formation with Zidan as a lone striker supported by Trieka form the midfield with three holding midfielders that included Hassan, Shawky, Homos or Hosny to control the game. This worked perfectly it gave a lot of freedom to the wing backs Mowaad and Fathi (Mohamady)to bomb forward, with Trieka free to roam as he pleases in midfield and the pace of Zidan. We looked scary in attack and solid defensively. Egypt's holding midfielders were not just grunts. They could pass and shoot the ball adding extra support in attack when needed (Shawky and Homos both scored in this tournament) It might have not sounded pretty but it was perfect. Only when Mr. Shehata decided to change this against the U.S.A were we convincingly beaten. If you recall we played the same game we had continued to play afterwards and versus Zambia and Algeria previously. Drained after playing both Italy and Brazil Shehata decided to play with just 2 holding midfielders and opted for 2 strikers plus Trieka. We lost control of the game and couldn't even defend a theoretical 2 goal advantage and lost 3-0 without testing Tim Howard once!Live and learn I thought, but it seemed Shehata had the memory of a gold fish.

In Cairo we beat an unlucky Rwanda (yes, unlucky. take a look at the game) 3-0 by sheer determination. Again it was haphazard and thanks to the referee we managed to score a very late penalty and an injury time goal. Due to the results of Algeria we had to win all our remaining games and then some.We went to Rwanda next with all of our top choice strikers out and Zidan was banned by our brilliant Coach because he decided to stay with his club and not show up for a firendly against Guniea that put into highlight all of our flaws both in attack and defense. It ended 3-3, Guniea finished bottom of their qualification group. I can't recall a single chance we created against Rwanda. We played poorly and luck was on our side and Ahmed Hassan scored after a skirmish in the penalty area. I said then that our midfield was poor and we would live to regret goinng a goal up and wasting time in my article When the Going gets Tough. We all regret it now!

Against Zambia it was even worse. Same game plan. We couldn't go forward and left ourselves wide open at the back and would have lost convincingly if not for Hadary. We won with our only shot on goal (more info in Zambia 0 Hadary 1). Other results meant Egypt needed to beat Algeria by 2 goals to force a play-off. After scoring an early goal we again played the same game we have been playing. No midfield, no chance creation and very poor overall. Hadary again kept us in it and Meteb scored a goal at the death to keep us in it. Luck was on our side one last time (The Aftermath for more details regarding the game)

Then came the final game. All of Egypt was hopeful. We had made a tremendous comeback. Morale in the Algeria camp has to be low. Guess what? Hassan Shehata again played the same game. It was his third time playing Algeria and it seemed he had learned nothing. He tinkered with his team again. A team he has been coaching for 4 years now. I would have understood if he started with the same formation as the last game, although I would prefer Fathi on the flanks for protection. But no way, this is Shehata. He decided to go with a new midfield combo. Not in any game since he took charge of Egypt did he ever play Fathi and Hassan as the only holding midfielders together and again he LOST THE MIDFIELD! Where was Homos? The player who started the last game never even played this one!. Where was Shehata's 3-6-1, his masterpiece? Surly he could control Algeria with it.

He opted to bench Zidan for some reason although this was to be an open game (prior to Egypt conceding). There was going to be space and Zidan's pace and dribbling ability would have been lethal. The only time he got the ball in a good position he created something out of nothing and Meteb missed a glorious chance. We proceeded to play the same game. Random play, no tactics and long balls. If he wanted to play long balls then what was the point of passing six passes before hitting a long ball? Wasting time while we were down? and if Shehata wanted to play the long ball strategy then why not get Mido to help you out. He is a real threat in the air!

Hadary also wasted 25minutes by hitting the ball straight to the oppositions keeper! What the hell was that about? It took our manager that long to notice that this is idiotic. We became much more dangerous as soon as we passed the ball around. We conceded against the run of play at the end of the half.

The second half Shehata had to do something. He decided to play Zidan for Zaki and Hosny for Fathi? As we have come to expect a straight swap.. Taking Zaki off was strange as although I'm a fan of Meteb it would be a no brainer to take him off as he hasn't played a full 90minutes for almost a year. Changing players in the exact same position. we wasted 2 changes and we did not become more dominant. The coach of Algeria tried to help us out by starting to defend too deep and taking off one of his forwards. Shehata's luck had truly run out. His changes didn't work! He even decided to change things just as we started playing better. Hani Said pushed into the midfield for support and his impact was very noticeable. The former Bari man originally plays in midfield and caused a bit of havoc with his passing and runs. Egypt missed a glorious chance after Hany had put Trieka through and Hosny missing the follow up with the goal at his mercy. We also managed one or two decent free-kicks. Shehata took off Saka for Eid AbdelMalek whose sole purpose was to pass the ball to Mohamady for the cross. Hani went back to defense. Nothing had changed from the first game. We again failed to capitalize on their 2 central defenders clearing to the edge of their own box. No one was there for the shot. Why was Zidan taking corners. He crossed 4 identical corners in the same area were not a single Egyptian player was there. Apparently he never took corners before! Why wasn't Moawad put into play. It was obvious he had the upper hand over Algeria's right back. The list goes on. We continued to look poor up to the final whistle. Egypt's dream was over.

My point here is that it was not the final game that knocked us out. We were poor in all our games and there is an old saying in football that throughout a season decisions even themselves out. Meaning; effects of the calls and breaks for and against a team cancel one another at the end. The same goes with luck we were lucky to reach a play-off game and we were unlucky to lose it. It is probably the most game we had clear cut chances in. There should be no pats on the back for Hassan Shehata though. He failed to qualify from the easiest qualification group in Africa. His 2nd seed Zambia didn't make it through the group stage in last years CAN 2008. Algeria hadn't even qualified for the last 2 Nations Cup. I remember my friends and I celebrated when we learned of the draw! Egypt lead by Shehata gifted qualification to Algeria. It was easy, a win against Zambia, one more goal against Rwanda and we would have been there. His tentative approach and inability to learn from games cost us qualification. Supporters of Shehata will tell you he won two CAN in 2006 and 2008. I tell them bravo. He must have done something right at some point.

In 2006 it was on home soil and in a World Cup year with a lot of the top teams focused on the world cup. Shehata also had 7 starters from Ahly who at the time was the most dominant force in African Club football. Not only that, Ahly was playing fantastic football as well. Hadary, Gomaa, AbdelWahab (R.I.P) Barakat, Shawky, Trieka and Meteb. In 2008 Egypt got a lot of momentum after the 4-2 win versus Cameroon and it is much easier to keep momentum when you are in a tournament. We played some good football but had some luck on our side too. We have fantastic players and we were underdogs in a lot of the games and that always works in our favor. Most of all there was no pressure. Shehata can't deal with pressure or instill the confidence required for such crucial matches. Shehata should resign or get sacked.

He will stay till Angola in 2010 I'm sure and I'm glad, as afterwards he will be sacked and we can get a coach to lead us to glory. No Egyptian coach will take us to the world cup in the foreseeable future. We have some bright lights like Tarek El Ashry but it is too early for him. The Egypt job should be given to one man and one man only. Manuel Jose. He has enough experience and rapport with all football fans in the country. He would be untouchable and if left to work in peace we will be there in 2014.

Road To South Africa 2010: Egypt vs Algeria, The Aftermath

Prior to the game 38% of voters on the Poll thought we would directly qualify and another 38% thought we would force a play-off game. 24% thought that Algeria would go through, they were wrong. Egypt has indeed forced a final play-off game versus Algeria for one last time. I had earlier predicted in my article Road To South Africa that Algeria were favorites to qualify, I stand by that but I'm ecstatic Egypt were able to force one final game. I also mentioned that for Egypt to qualify they had to do it in Cairo, but after yesterdays extraordinary circumstances I'm inclined to take a different perspective.

The game was a very tense affair for players and spectators a like. However, after the dream start we had with a Zaki goal in the 2nd minute I thought we would put Algeria to the sword, I was wrong. I'm not sure what happened after this goal as it seemed to me that as a team Egypt took it's foot off the paddle a couple of minutes later, maybe because they realized they had to score just 1 more goal in the remaining 90minutes or possibly a bit of relief set in. Regardless this helped Algeria regain it's composure and like true professionals they started to get more and more into the game. Their midfield lead by Zaini dominated the game and it seemed Egypt could only regain possession by fouling the opposition. Egypt were restricted to long balls and direct play for the rest of the first half.

Algeria could have equalized at the final breath of the first half if not for Hadary. The veteran again proved that he is with out a doubt one of the most composed and talented keepers in the current game. He was arguably Egypt's best player and time and again delivered to keep us in the game with a number of fantastic saves. Abdel Zaher El Sakka was another excellent performer and his return to the squad is most certainly welcome one. He was calm and collected throughout the game and this proved invaluable as his counterpart Hani Said was a nervous wreck at some parts. Nerves seemed to have taken the better of the Egyptian team as they were unable to put on any serious number of passes to open up the opposition and again in the second half it seemed Algeria were dominating the midfield even more and were truly scary on the break. At a point it seemed that Algeria were much better footballers, freely dribbling past one or two players from Egypt. I knew otherwise and I could only attribute this to that Egypt were tense and wanted the ball in the other side of the field ASAP.

Our starting eleven, I thought were the best for this game and for once me and Shehata agreed on something. Tactically we left a lot to be desired and there is nothing that rubs me the wrong way more than a coach that has no impact on the game in the 2nd half. Captain Hassan did nothing to try and regain the midfield, he even weakened it by taking off Homos and adding Brakat. Ok Homos was not particularly impressive, but who was? Trieka was a ghost, he was not looking for the ball as much as he usually does and nothing was working for him. I'm thinking the ball he hit the post with that eventually lead to the goal hampered his confidence. Chance creation was left to Zidan. The striker dropped into our own half to get the ball (Trieka's job) leading to a lack of attacking presence inside and around the box. Zidan should have been getting the ball closer to the box by Trieka. The few times he got it there he was ever so dangerous. Barakat was lost for the first 15minutes he came on, and neither he nor Shehata new where he was supposed to play. Egypt changed formation a number of times throughout, credit to Shehata trying to unsettle the opposition, but at points it seemed too random and haphazard.

Tactical complaints aside, it was always going to be difficult for Egypt with Algeria employing 11 players behind the ball and in fairness we were not as bad as I initially thought during the game. Every time we manged to break down their tough midfield we looked extremely dangerous and in my opinion their defense is not as strong as they set themselves to be. They only look strong because of their midfielders protecting them. The game would have been a lot easier if Mohamady showed more ability to cross the ball when getting into really good positions and/or if we were better placed to take long shots off his cleared crosses. To Mr. Shehata's credit the fighting spirit on the pitch was very evident. Egypt's players fought for each other and for their coach. Not once did you see a player waving or arguing with his fellow teammates, when frankly some deserved it. Egypt were a disciplined team.

Algeria dropped deeper towards the end of the game and Egypt looked more and more dangerous, however as injury time drew closer I had almost lost hope. Egypt are known for a lot of things, injury time winners was not one of them. If this were an Ahly game I would have had faith till the last breath. Ahly does this sort of thing regularly, you need to look no further than last season's last game. It is something inherit in Ahly's footballing culture, it is not in Egypt's. So you can guess my shock and awe when Emad Meteb (Moteb or Meteab) rose to head the ball clinically into the back of the net at almost the final kick of the game. I was ecstatic, all of Egypt was. I was even happier the goal scorer was Meteb.

The Predator, as my father and I like to call him, has been recovering from a six month lay-off and was subject to huge ridicule at the last CAN 2008 in Ghana. Meteb in my opinion is the best striker in Egypt's current generation. Ever since the first time I saw him in the U-20 African Nations Cup under Shehata were he finished top scorer he seemed special. He is miles ahead of our other strikers, with all due respect to Zaki, Zidan and Mido (the thin one). He might not have the dribbling skills of Zidan, the brute force of Zaki or the presence of Mido but he is much more. He has all these abilities combined. The boy can shoot with both legs and is lethal in front of goal. He works tirelessly for his team and is never selfish. He can take on defenders or hold them off. He can take direct free-kicks and head the ball too. People tend to forget that he was pivotal to our CAN 2006 win in Egypt with 3 goals. In 2008 his work rate and positioning opened up chances for the likes of Trieka, Zidan and Zaki. When Manuel Jose's Ahly were dominating local and African football he was the pivot in front of Barakat and Trieka. He would have never scored a more important goal in his career than that against Algeria and I'm glad he will get his over due credit.

Algeria will be distraught, they were 30 seconds away from the World Cup in South Africa. They have suffered yet another set back. 2 month ago it seemed unlikely Egypt could fathom 2 back to back away wins and even if we had done that Algeria were surely going to thrash Rwanda and make it impossible for Egypt to beat the goal difference, but here we are. Egypt has proved a worthy contender and in any other year 4 wins and a draw would have sent us to the World Cup with flying colors and if the head to head rule was applied we would not be playing a decider. Egypt has now got the momentum and hopefully top players like Trieka and Ahmed Hassan will rise to the occasion now that some of the pressure has been lifted. If Algeria can lift themselves after the heart break to put on a performance against Egypt next Wednesday it will be very interesting. Otherwise Shehata's men will be there to finish off the job they started in Cairo.

Road To South Africa 2010: Europe

EUROPE

Nine group winners have already qualified with just a few surprises. Most of the top guns came through with out a scratch: Germany, Italy, Spain, England and the Netherlands. Most surprisingly was the first time qualification of Serbia that sent France to the play-offs. Slovakia also qualified for the first time with old friends of the competition Denmark and Switzerland making it through. It was the end of an era for teams like the Czech Republic and Sweden who failed to even make the play-offs and who have been a constant show up in many previous World Cups.

The top 8 out of 9 runner ups were drawn to face-off against one another for the final 4 spots in Europe. Scotland were eliminated as the worst runner up. The draw was seeded according to the latest FIFA rankings, a decision that made many teams furious. Non more so than the Republic of Ireland whose coach Giovanni Trapattoni called this a disgrace. He had a right to feel aggrieved as this decision was taken prior to finding out who has qualified and was not part of the original rules. However, although I might think this to be a bit unfair, overall it is better for football and the World Cup as a face off between Portugal and France would have truly been bad for the competition.

Play-Offs:

Game 1:

Republic of Ireland v France: This has to be one of the toughest games to call. Ireland are on a high, they have a good coach in Trapattoni who was recently described by Ancelotti as "Very Very Smart" and a solid squad that includes the likes of Given, O'Shea, Dunne, Duff, Reid, Doyle and Robbie Keane. They might not be world beaters but they are an experienced bunch who practice their trade in the strongest league in the world, The Barclay's Premier League. Italy failed to beat them twice in qualifiers and they finished the group stage undefeated. On the other hand France will still be coming to terms that they are actually in the play-offs. However, they are an experienced bunch and will quickly focus on the task at hand. I'm not particularly fond of Reymond Domenech nor am I a fan of his strange antiques when it comes to coaching, but he has lead this team to a world cup final before. There is also the fact that the French team is one of the strongest in the world. World class players in every position. In attack Benzema, Anelka and Henry. The fantastic on form Gourcuff in midfield, Ribery if fit will be a hand full. In defense there is Arsenal trio Sagna, Gallas and Clichey in addition to Eric Abidal. This is to name a few of the available options. France have history and experience on their side but Ireland are a disciplined team under the Trap. It is going to be close.

Manga's Prediction: France to South Africa

Game 2:

Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina: It seems clear cut with Portugal on paper huge favorites. Taking a deeper look at things may give us a different perspective. Portugal are not on form at the moment and injury to their best player and arguably the best player in the world Cristiano Ronaldo will not help their cause. He is confirmed to miss both legs of the play-offs. Chelsea right back Bosingwa is also injured. Coach Carlos Queiros is not as experienced as one would think and Portugal provided a poor showing in their group and lost twice to group winners Denmark. Make no mistake though they are sill a handful and boast talents from the top leagues from Europe. They also include a nice mixture of youth and experience. On the other hand Bosnia have true experience in Miroslav Blazevic. He is the coach that lead Croatia to 3rd place in France 1998. He has probably the most prolific striker in European football at the moment in Edin Dzeko. His teammate Misimovic is able to both create and score goals and with the rest of the squad mostly playing in the Bundesliga they have quality.

Manga's Prediction: I'll go out on a limb here, Bosnia Herzegovina to South Africa

Game 3:

Greece v Ukraine: The Greeks have the distinct advantage of having one of the greatest coaches alive in my opinion, Otto Rehhagel. He has been with them since 2001 and sticking with him has put Greece on the map of world football after their Euro 2004 win. The German tactician is more than capable of leading Greece to the World Cup but it seems Greek football is at a period of change with very few footballers playing outside of Greece. Yes this maybe due to the fact the Greek league has improved a lot but still, they are not the impenetrable fortress they used to be. Ukraine face the same problem with an abundance of local players in the National team. However, club football in the Ukraine is on an up with Dynamo Kiev doing wonders in the Champions League and Shakhtar Donetsk winning the UEFA Cup recently. Schevchenko and Co face a tough battle. This one is going to be very close

Manga's Prediction: Tough one, youth to edge it. Ukraine to South Africa

Game 4:

Russia v Slovenia: Slovenia are more of an unknown quantity to me. They did have some good result in qualifiers mainly edging out Czech Republic convincingly for second place and beating group winner Slovakia twice. However, in my opinion this was one of the easiest groups in qualifiers. This aside Slovenia will be facing one of the most exciting European teams, Russia. Lead by the brilliant Guus Hiddink and his fantastic captain Arshavin, Russia have a real chance of lighting up South Africa. We all got a taste of what this team can do at Euro 2008 . They came second to the mighty Germans in qualifying and pushed the Manshaft till the end. It would be a huge upset if Slovenia pull this off, but then again this is football and this is what makes it amazing.

Manga's Prediction: Russia to South Africa

Road To South Africa 2010: The Americas

CONCACAF

The Qualification include teams from North and Central America along with the Caribbean. 3 teams have already qualified from this region. Mexico, U.S.A and surprisingly Honduras sending Costa Rica to a play off versus Uruguay.

Honduras qualified dramatically as they beat El Salvador away from home 0-1 in a very tight affair. Their game ended early and they had to wait on the result of U.S.A and Costa Rica. U.S.A were assured of qualification and Costa Rica needed a win to qualify automatically and were well on their way with a 2-1 lead against the U.S. However, an injury time equalizer sent them to the play-offs. Wild celebrations erupted in Honduras who reach their first World Cup since Spain 1982 thanks to the efforts of such stars as David Suazo, Wilson Palacios, Figueroa and top scorer Carlos Pavon.

SOUTH AMERICA

Brazil as expected dominated proceedings and qualified with 2 games to spare. Chile and Paraguay followed and a final day win for Maradona's Argentina against Uruguay sent them through and pushed Uruguay for a play-0ff match as Ecuador failed to beat Chile.

Play-Off:

Uruguay face off against Costa Rica in a two-legged playoff for the final qualification spot in the Americas. Uruguay have been there before and although will be disappointed to have to go through this again they have enough quality to do so. From Napoli's Walter Gragano to Villarreal's prolific Striker Diego Forlan it seems the odds are in their favour. Costa Rica too have an abundance of players playing in Europe but in my opinion lack the caliber that is ever present through out the Uruguay squad. If experienced coach Oscar Tabarez can get his team to perform up to their potential, Costa Rica will face an uphill task.

Manga's Prediction: Uruguay to South Africa