Argentine forward Lisandro Lopez, is Lyon's motor and true unsung hero (Philippe Desmazes/AFP/Getty Images).
After an awkward challenge with Montpellier defender Vitorino Hilton, the home side’s iconic striker Lisandro Lopez slumped to the turf – and stayed there. “With Licha (Lisandro’s nickname), it’s rare to see him on the ground and for him not to get back up,” said Lyon defender Aly Cissokho. As Lisandro was stretchered off - with his face screwed up in pain - a deathly hush fell over the Gerland faithful that feared the worst.
UNSUNG HEROES
The thirteen players to look out for in the UCL. Click here.
If Lyon was grateful for the relative lightness of the punishment, the shock had already been felt. How can one replace the irreplaceable?
Lyon’s captain Cris, one of his fellow South American closest friends at the club, recently described Lisandro as “a warrior, a matador. He runs everywhere, he’s a great goalscorer and, as well, he helps us to defend well.”
Now beginning his third season in Ligue 1, Lisandro still doesn’t speak French, using Cris as an interpreter when he wants to get something across to his teammates – as he did at half-time in the Bernabeu in March 2010, after which Lyon went on to knock out Real Madrid on its home patch en route to the Champions League semifinal. Yet this modest man’s immense personality and his superhuman efforts on the pitch speak for him, to the extent that coach Remi Garde has made him captain while Cris has recently been absent through injury.
It has always been thus since the 28-year-old from Rafael Obligado, a rural village some 150 miles outside Buenos Aires, arrived in Europe back in 2005. Lisandro has scored at a very useful rate of one every two games since, but it is really his tireless industry that has won hearts wherever he has been. A trophy-laden spell at Porto saw him at the heart of a side, along with fellow Argentinian Lucho Gonzalez, at least as dear to the Estadio do Dragao’s public as Jose Mourinho’s 2004 European champions. Even though Radamel Falcao’s extraordinary goal output has since endeared him to the faithful, Porto missed the sheer will of the Colombian’s predecessor in the number nine shirt when the chips were down.
While Porto eventually moved on, Lyon must wrack its brains to find a short-term fix – with the possibility of a temporary switch from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 entirely reflecting the impossibility of directly replacing him. Lisandro has to cope with a dual disappointment, having been recalled to the Argentina side for the first time in almost two years for the upcoming friendlies with Venezuela and Nigeria. His only goal for his country, a rattling cross-shot in the 3-2 win over Russia, came on his last appearance for the Albiceleste, in August 2009.
Lisandro was dropped as a consequence of indulging in the unthinkable – criticizing then-head coach Diego Maradona. Having a dig at the boss is a flawed enough piece of behavior, but when that boss is a living deity and a team has as much world-class striking talent as Argentina, it’s tantamount to career suicide. Yet among the plethora of talent including the inimitable Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuain, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Diego Milito to name just a handful, Lisandro has a spirit that sets him apart.
Messi should, of course, be untouchable despite his failure to reproduce his Barcelona form on a regular basis, and Aguero is making a strong case to follow suit with his performances for both club and country. Yet Lisandro had (and may still have) a good chance to prove himself a viable foil for these two in an attacking trident. He has played all three positions in the front three at club level with great success, maintaining his goal output – which extends to an enviable Champions League scoring record of 22 in 46 matches – even when deployed out wide.
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Click here for more information on FOX Soccer Plus as well as its Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, English FA Cup, nPower Championship, Carling Cup, and Italian Serie A offerings. Lisandro’s indomitable spirit was never more in evidence than last season at Lyon when, struggling with a succession of nagging injuries and against a background of behind-the-scenes strife, Lisandro hit 17 goals in 27 games to ensure Champions League qualification was just about scraped. In keeping with a classy character, he was one of the few big names from the Lyon locker room not to aim a parting shot at the now-departed (and highly controversial) manager, Claude Puel.
Back in Argentina, Lisandro’s home village was named after the 19th century poet and playwright of the same name. Obligado’s poetry detailed the life of the gaucho, the cowboy of the pampas. His most famous character was Santos Vega, a tireless troubadour who wandered the countryside, taking all comers in 8 Mile-style singing competitions. Lisandro is like a modern-day version, his power undimmed by his context. He has always been a star, but Argentina is only just beginning to realize it.
Mikel Arteta (R) became the unlikely focus of Deadline Day after Arsene Wenger identified the former Everton man as the solution in Arsenal's midfield. (ANDREW YATES/AFP/Getty Images)
The major players were somewhat predictable: Arsenal picked up five players in a knee-jerk reaction to their 8-2 thumping at the hands of Manchester United while Tottenham presided over a curious housecleaning that also saw them miss out on their major target. Stoke, Sunderland and Aston Villa made moves to reinforce their squads while Queen’s Park Rangers were forced by a later shift in ownership to pick up dross in an attempt to stay in the top flight.
No team accomplished what the Manchester clubs and Liverpool had in the window to date, and, as it follows, none of them are expected to challenge those three teams for dominance as a result.
DEADLINE DAY DEALS
The Gunners dithered all summer with the moves of Samri Nasri and Cesc Fabregas, despite the fact that both were foregone conclusions, then got smacked about in the opening weeks of play and discovered they might actually need some replacements. Wednesday, they added a middling striker in Park Chu-young, two decent defenders in Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos, and then picked up a couple of wild cards: Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta and Chelsea wantaway Yossi Benayoun. The first three players are credible attempts to bulk up a thin squad. The latter two are gambles of a type Arsene Wenger rarely makes, and it is telling about the club’s current state that the reaction of the fans to the signing was so hopeful as to border on delusional.
Arteta, a player who pales in comparison to Cesc Fabregas, is decent but fragile; Benayoun is better than people think he is, but is coming off some serious injuries and has a lot to prove. None of the signings give immediate confidence to a squad that has looked slow on defense — Mertesacker is glacial; Santos is untested at Premier League speed — and none of them seem to give the team any guile or bite in the near term. Fans will argue that Arsenal did the best they could, but this masks some poor scouting, bad planning and a willingness to ignore glaring problems.
Tottenham saw a thin squad get even thinner, and while they added striker Emmanuel Adebayor, they also missed out on Bolton defender Gary Cahill. Yes, Scott Parker was a quality player with West Ham and got a lot of feel-good votes from the press last year. But is he really a European-quality player? No, he’s not. Neither signing seems to improve the team’s chances of regaining a European berth, nor do the departures of Jermaine Jenas, Alan Hutton, Peter Crouch, Wilson Palacios and David Bentley. And if, as Harry Redknapp claims, Chelsea offered £40m for Luka Modric (an offer later translated by the BBC to £30m plus Alex), then Spurs were foolish not to cash in. What they have now is a thinner squad, an unsettled midfielder who wants to leave and a lot of money left on the table.
Some teams however, did make shrewd moves.
Fulham nicked Bryan Ruiz from Twente while unfounded and foolish rumors flew that Clint Dempsey was heading to the exit. The Costa Rican was brilliant for the Dutch club, netting nearly a goal every other game, and will pair well alongside the American.
Chelsea also made a solid move, picking up Raul Meireles from Liverpool for what is said to be a bargain £12m price. Meireles was instrumental for the Reds last season, and it is hard to see why the team would let him leave to a-rival.
Liverpool did make an add of their own, picking up one of the many Manchester City castoffs in Craig Bellamy. Bellamy, who can politely be described as dressing-room poison, can indeed score goals, but why a club would take him when they already have goalscorers requires a leap of faith.
QPR had a very busy day, attempting to shore up a very weak side in a limited window. They added tepid striker Shaun Wright-Phillips, Newcastle bad boy Joey Barton, Sunderland’s Anton Ferdinand and now look to have a very average English squad that has removed any possibility of excuses for failure. This is not what manager Neil Warnock wanted, but in fairness, was the best he could do under the circumstances.
If this seems bizarre — and it should — consider that much of the heat and noise in the game is now coming from the newly minted mega-rich. Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, both backed by Arab wealth, have been extraordinarily aggressive in stockpiling talent, and Russian owners have figured out they don’t necessarily need to buy English teams in order to create world franchises.
While no-one expects Anzhi to become a world power any time soon — much less sell pallet stacks of replica shirts – folks should keep an eye on the Russian league in general. Those owners have shown a willingness to spend and understand that the traditional borders that defined world soccer are dissolving.
What has accompanied this realization is the fact that the scouting systems that once sustained an Arsenal, a Tottenham or even a West Ham have also been lost. There are no hidden gems, and it is not possible to develop all the talent in house — the numbers just don’t work.
As a result, these windows are now big money and increasingly games of brinkmanship. Frantic dashes at the end equal heartache, and yet, even the biggest clubs feel compelled to make them. It’s a fool’s errand, and while the day itself is thrilling and exhausting in equal measure, the results are likely to disappoint.
Wenger assured over Arsenal future
RivalsDM
Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood has rubbished suggestions that Arsene Wenger's job is in doubt.
After six seasons without a trophy, Arsenal has endured their worst start in recent history after picking up just one point from nine, including an 8-2 drubbing at the hands of Manchester United.
The poor start has led to fresh angst amongst some sections of the Arsenal fan-base, who are far from happy having also seen star names Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri depart.
But Hill-Wood is insistent that the club's board is not even considering Wenger's position.
"It's complete and utter rubbish and absolute nonsense. I think he is happy enough and we are happy enough," Hill-Wood told the Daily Star.
Wenger brought a number of new players in on the eve of the deadline, and Hill-Wood is hopeful they can make an impact.
"We have brought some new players in and although I don't know that much about many of them I think, generally speaking, they are going to improve the squad," he added.
And Hill-Wood also responded to Barcelona vice-chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu's claim that Fabregas was a bargain, saying: "He is absolutely right - they did get him on the cheap. But he wanted to go back there and we respected that."
ARSENE'S CAREER
In a managerial career that started in 1984, Arsene Wenger has won his league's manager of the year award six times, claiming four league titles along the way. In total, Wenger has claimed 11 major honors in a managerial career that started in France and had a brief sojourn in Japan before moving to London.
| DATES | CLUB | G | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984-1987 | Nancy | 114 | 28.9 |
| 1987-1995 | Monaco | 266 | 48.9 |
| 1995-1996 | Nagoya Grampus Eight | 56 | 67.9 |
| 1996- | Arsenal | 852 | 56.9 |
The poor start has led to fresh angst amongst some sections of the Arsenal fan-base, who are far from happy having also seen star names Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri depart.
But Hill-Wood is insistent that the club's board is not even considering Wenger's position.
"It's complete and utter rubbish and absolute nonsense. I think he is happy enough and we are happy enough," Hill-Wood told the Daily Star.
Wenger brought a number of new players in on the eve of the deadline, and Hill-Wood is hopeful they can make an impact.
"We have brought some new players in and although I don't know that much about many of them I think, generally speaking, they are going to improve the squad," he added.
And Hill-Wood also responded to Barcelona vice-chairman Josep Maria Bartomeu's claim that Fabregas was a bargain, saying: "He is absolutely right - they did get him on the cheap. But he wanted to go back there and we respected that."
Ferguson stands up for Mourinho
RivalsDM
Sir Alex Ferguson has defended the touchline antics of Jose Mourinho.
The Real Madrid coach hit the headlines once more after appearing to poke Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye following a recent Spanish Supercopa clash.
Many feel such incidents could cost Mourinho any chance of succeeding Ferguson as Manchester United boss when the Scot eventually calls time on his stellar career.
However, Ferguson is not convinced Mourinho is a member of the bad boys' club. Indeed, the former Chelsea boss reminds him very much of himself.
"I don't find anything wrong with his enthusiasm," Ferguson told Corriere dello Sport.
"When I was younger I showed more enthusiasm on the bench too. I was always gesticulating and directing.
"It's Mourinho's nature to be agitated," added Ferguson, recalling the night he charged up the touchline at Old Trafford after Porto had recorded a memorable Champions League win in 2004.
"When I saw Mourinho run up and down the touchline at Old Trafford when he coached Porto, I said to myself, 'Did I also used to do that?'
"People recognise his enthusiasm. The fans understand that he's fighting for them and for the squad."
Mourinho will doubtless be glad of the support, especially from such a respected figure.
However, with the Champions League due to get under way again, Ferguson has plenty on his plate with the memories of last season's chastening final defeat to Barcelona still fresh in the memory.
The current Barca side has been hailed by some as the finest in history, but Ferguson was more equivocal in his assessment.
He said: "It is certainly among the best sides of all time.
"But so was the Milan side with (Franco) Baresi, (Carlo) Ancelotti, (Roberto) Donadoni and the Dutch players.
"People in football have short memories. Now everyone says Barcelona are a fantastic squad, but at the time they said the same thing about Milan.
"There is no sense in asking which is the best team of all time.
"The important thing is to remember that a certain squad was special. That makes me think of the Dutch squads in the 70s, Bayern and Celtic, which beat Inter in the European Cup in 1967.
"That was a squad in which the players were born within a 25-kilometre radius."
Many feel such incidents could cost Mourinho any chance of succeeding Ferguson as Manchester United boss when the Scot eventually calls time on his stellar career.
However, Ferguson is not convinced Mourinho is a member of the bad boys' club. Indeed, the former Chelsea boss reminds him very much of himself.
"I don't find anything wrong with his enthusiasm," Ferguson told Corriere dello Sport.
"When I was younger I showed more enthusiasm on the bench too. I was always gesticulating and directing.
"It's Mourinho's nature to be agitated," added Ferguson, recalling the night he charged up the touchline at Old Trafford after Porto had recorded a memorable Champions League win in 2004.
"When I saw Mourinho run up and down the touchline at Old Trafford when he coached Porto, I said to myself, 'Did I also used to do that?'
"People recognise his enthusiasm. The fans understand that he's fighting for them and for the squad."
Mourinho will doubtless be glad of the support, especially from such a respected figure.
However, with the Champions League due to get under way again, Ferguson has plenty on his plate with the memories of last season's chastening final defeat to Barcelona still fresh in the memory.
The current Barca side has been hailed by some as the finest in history, but Ferguson was more equivocal in his assessment.
He said: "It is certainly among the best sides of all time.
"But so was the Milan side with (Franco) Baresi, (Carlo) Ancelotti, (Roberto) Donadoni and the Dutch players.
"People in football have short memories. Now everyone says Barcelona are a fantastic squad, but at the time they said the same thing about Milan.
"There is no sense in asking which is the best team of all time.
"The important thing is to remember that a certain squad was special. That makes me think of the Dutch squads in the 70s, Bayern and Celtic, which beat Inter in the European Cup in 1967.
"That was a squad in which the players were born within a 25-kilometre radius."
Francesco Totti issues Roma rallying call
RivalsDM
Roma captain Francesco Totti has issued a rallying call to his team-mates and urged them to back coach Luis Enrique ahead of the new Serie A season which begins this weeken
The first round of fixtures were postponed because of a player strike in Italy so Roma has had to wait until after the break for Italy's participation in Euro 2012 qualifying games before opening their 2011-2012 campaign at home to Cagliari on Sunday.
The game will be Enrique's first in charge and Totti wrote on his blog: "We must rally around the new coach."
He added: "We'll do it together and with one goal, Roma, of which I am just the biggest fan.
"This year I hope, as always, presents the fans with great satisfaction.
"We wait for the stadium to support us as you always do, and I am sure we will make you rejoice."
Dwell on the negative if you want, but as James Horncastle writes, there are a number of reasons to be positive about the upcoming Serie A season.
The game will be Enrique's first in charge and Totti wrote on his blog: "We must rally around the new coach."
He added: "We'll do it together and with one goal, Roma, of which I am just the biggest fan.
"This year I hope, as always, presents the fans with great satisfaction.
"We wait for the stadium to support us as you always do, and I am sure we will make you rejoice."
Players take stand for La Liga's opener
British newspaper The Independent pulled the best April Fool’s Day hoax of 2011. “Portugal ‘sells’ Ronaldo to Spain on €160m deal on national debt,” said the headline to an article by football editor Glenn Moore, claiming that Portugal had ceded its Madrid-dwelling soccer talisman to its Iberian neighbor at international level, in order to combat the country’s dire economic problems.
Moore’s mischievous story had all the aspects of a great wind-up; it preyed on people’s worst fears, and was outrageous but reasoned. Most of all, the story retained a charitable side to it, in having one very knowing flaw. Where on earth would Spain get the money from?
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero hasn’t had to go cap-in-hand to the European Union for bailout cash yet, but Spain is demonstrably in crisis. With the cajas (regional savings banks) crumbling, years of laissez-faire financial management is coming home to roost, and this is rarely more evident than in the fortunes of the country’s national sport. A strike will wipe out this weekend’s schedule of opening day fixtures, following the crescendo to an issue that has been bubbling for months. Earlier this year, the AFE (Asociacion de Futbolistas Espanoles – the Spanish players’ union) revealed that an unbelievable 85 percent of players in Spain’s top three divisions receive its salaries late – or in some cases, not at all. An estimated €50 million of entitled wages went unpaid in the last campaign.
Meanwhile, many of the clubs continue about their business with their heads buried in the sand. If there’s a sign of flagrant disregard for the morality of dealing with financial reality on La Liga’s skid row, it should be the case of Real Zaragoza. Despite being in administration with eye-watering debts of over €130 million, coach Javier Aguirre has been able to sign nine new players, including the returning goalkeeper Roberto, for whom Benfica was paid €8.6 million ($12.4 million). Zaragoza claimed it only paid €86,000 of the fee, the cost of registering the transfer with the RFEF (Real Federacion Espanola de Futbol – the Spanish FA), to claim the “sporting rights” of the player, while Quality Sports Investment - a mysterious investment fund based on the tax-haven of Jersey, off the southern British coast - paid the rest.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, right, vies for the ball with Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo during their Super Cup final second leg at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Zaragoza is not the only top-flight side in trouble. Real Betis, Racing Santander, and Rayo Vallecano are also in administration, which is an attractive option for struggling clubs. They get away with paying a mere portion of their debts, with the LFP (La Liga de Futbol Profesional) contributing to the shortfall. Unlike in the English professional leagues, there is no sporting sanction, such as a point deduction, for clubs that opt for this route.
Recently the AFE has decided enough is enough, and on Thursday, August 11 called a strike for the first two match days of La Liga, in protest at the current collective labor agreement for players, which it claims does not make sufficient guarantee for payment of players. Despite helping stricken clubs clear debts – however irresponsibly they may have been accumulated - the LFP has refused to approve the creation of a central fund to cover unpaid players.
All concerned parties were already resigned to there being no action on a first weekend that had included champion Barcelona’s trip to moneybags Malaga and the Seville derby between newly-promoted Betis and Sevilla, but a meeting of almost four hours on Friday afternoon (CET) between the LFP and the AFE brought the two parties no nearer a solution.
An ugly struggle has erupted, with sports daily Marca claiming the LFP’s Javier Tebas this week sent Luis Rubales, the AFE president, a letter damning the AFE’s conduct.
“Luis, the LFP has a lot to improve upon,” wrote Tebas, “but I don’t know if you are conscious that the AFE has much to improve upon too.”
Tebas went on to blame the union for limiting La Liga’s earning power by not accepting changes to make the competition more like the EPL – including matches at Christmas, and the end of a limited number of free-to-air matches that are still available in Spain. Perhaps most contentiously, he blamed many unpaid players for being thoughtless enough to sign contracts they knew their clubs would be unable to fulfill.
Crucially though, the AFE has presented a united front and the strike has the public backing of the likes of Iker Casillas and Carles Puyol, megastars themselves unlikely to be stuck without the means to cover mortgage payments themselves, but aware of the implications for friends and former colleagues nationwide.
“Solidarity is not attending press conferences, but contributing financially like the LFP has done,” Torres said.
Yet even Torres agrees with them on one thing: The current financial chicanery cannot continue.
“If Rayo, Betis and Zaragoza players go three years without getting paid, then why are these clubs not relegated? It is a joke and a lack of respect for the fans.”
The reaction of those fans may be the impetus for a much-needed cleansing operation. The labor agreement maybe only the tip of the iceberg as regards Spanish soccer’s money problems, but the instant effects of the strike at least means the issue will not be swept away until some genuine progress has been made.
Ricardo Carvalho's untimely departure from the national team will leave a noticeable gap in the defensive back-line. ( KARIM JAAFAR/AFP/Getty Images)
If Raul Meireles’ last-minute move to Chelsea should have been the country’s most dramatic story of Wednesday’s transfer deadline day, Portuguese football had already had its fill of shocks by that point after the Carvalho story blew up earlier in the afternoon. It emerged shortly after lunch that the Real Madrid defender had left the team’s training camp in Óbidos, some 50 miles north of Lisbon. Without a reason initially forthcoming, most presumed an injury or family emergency, but one half of this extraordinary dispute came to light a few hours later, when Carvalho released a statement dropping the bombshell that he had quit the international game.
“Never before have I felt as disrespected or my dignity so hurt,” it said. “The only option was to leave.” Carvalho’s gripe had been that he had been dropped from the XI to face Cyprus on Friday in a Euro 2012 qualifier without explanation despite, in his words, being in “great physical and mental form.” That Carvalho would not have started is pretty much the only common ground between him and the furious head coach Paulo Bento. “You can only have a disagreement if the people involved speak,” Bento responded in a press conference. “There wasn’t any conversation.”
It appears that an understandably-busy Bento had been unavailable to immediately talk through his reasoning with Carvalho, the centre-back took this as a snub and simply went without a word, in Fábio Coentrão’s car (one can only assume he had permission from his Bernabéu team-mate to borrow it). It seems certain that a “surprised” Bento will stick to his word that Carvalho will “never again” be selected while he is Portugal coach, with the bottom line being that Carvalho had “abandoned his team-mates and his country.”
Portuguese football is still reeling. A veteran of 75 international appearances, Carvalho appears to be the least likely of players to apparently throw a superstar tantrum. He has commanded great respect within the international set-up, just as he has at each of his clubs in the last decade; Porto, Chelsea and Real Madrid. The 33-year-old is elegant on the pitch and understated off it.
If the genesis of the split is hard to fully understand, the reasons why it is likely to be final are less so. Carvalho is not much of a communicator, ill-at-ease with the glitz and glamour of the modern game. Interviewing him is an unusual experience, with Carvalho softly-spoken and always full of shrugs and nervous grins. He is very uncomfortable speaking about himself.
If his seniority and outstanding quality on a playing level made him an obvious choice for Portugal captain some time ago, his personality made him far from it. Carvalho wore the armband in last year’s 4-4 draw with Cyprus in Guimarães, in the dying embers of Carlos Queiroz’s reign, and looked like a bemused rabbit in the headlights of the waiting media after the game. He muttered a few words, gratefully grabbed his waiting children and slunk off into the night.
Unfortunately, Bento can be rather circumspect too, albeit in a very different way. He too is a throwback from the HD, reverse-angle sheen of today’s game. Bento is gruff and austere, admirable is his innate decency but far from friendly, and has had his difficulties in the past, given his reluctance to polish modern players’ egos.
Any insecurity felt by Carvalho is understandable. There is genuine competition for places in the central back position since Bento eschewed predecessor Queiroz’s taste for playing Carvalho’s Real Madrid colleague Pepe as a midfield anchor – Pepe will start the game in Cyprus alongside Bruno Alves of Zenit St Petersburg. Porto’s Rolando (like Alves, an erstwhile transfer target of Juventus) is pushing hard for a starting place too.
The whole unedifying saga is the last thing that Portugal needed before an arduous trip to Friday’s game, which involves a five-hour flight from Lisbon to Larnaca, followed by a bus to Nicosia, where the game will take place. Cyprus is much improved too, and Nikos Nioplias’ side is a tough nut to crack at home.
Yet, the main emotion at the moment is sadness for the marginalization, whether self-inflicted or not, of a player whose legacy should be one of huge achievement. “I didn’t intend to finish my (international) career in this way,” said Carvalho’s statement, “but I’m doing it conscious and convinced of having always honored my country.” Carvalho has always commanded admiration and respect for his performances and his conduct, but if a player is only as good as his last performance, he may be remembered, sadly, in rather less glowing terms.
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