Euro Trip: The Week That Was

Real's Cannavaro after the 2-0 loss in Lyon. At least they gave him a jersey as a parting gift, but jockstrap not included.






There's a lot to like about European soccer, not the least of which is the sheer number of can't-miss games. For starters, you've got at least four top-notch leagues to choose from, including England's Premiership, Spain's Primera Liga, Italy's Serie A, and Germany's Bundesliga. The other leagues all have their own big-time match-ups, such as France's Olympique vs PSG, Portugal's Porto vs Benfica, Holland's Ajax vs PSV, and Scotland's Old Firm derby. By the time you throw in all of the Champions League and UEFA Cup games in mid-week and the soccer world really never stops spinning. I've never been a fan of this over-packed calendar, since it drains the players, worsens the quality of play, and creates endless conflicts between club teams and national selections. Still, how much can any fan complain about such a plethora of games to watch? Week-end or week-day, there are simply a smorgasborg of games, all of them involving world-class superstars and breathless soccer action. Speaking of which, here is a brief week in review.

The weekend got off to a bang with a cracker of a game between Inter and Fiorentina. The Serie A curtain-raiser looked to be turning into a snoozer when the Nerazzurri went up 3-0 thanks to two goals from Cambiasso (gee, you think Real Madrid could use him now?) and another from Ibrahimovic. However, as they did against Roma in the Italian Supercup, Inter got a bit too full of themselves, never a good idea with Luca Toni attacking your goal. Suddenly it was 3-2 and Mancini's boys had a nail-biting finish on their hands. Inter hung on for the three points, but trouble was brewing. Adriano, who rode the pine in Florence, will not stay quiet for long - we all know his relationship with Mancini makes William Gallas & Jose Mourinho seem like best friends. A midfield of Vieira, Dacourt, and Cambiasso - all starters in the Fiorentina game - seems a bit on the defensive side to me. And sorry, but Francesco Toldo and Julio Cesar might make for good competition for the keeper's gloves, but in a mediocre, who-makes-fewer-than-five-mistakes-a-game type of way. The other big Italian match saw Milan sneak by Lazio 2-1. Juve, you ask? Who dey?

Across the Mediterranean in Spain, the real prime-time game on Saturday saw Valencia travel down to take on Atletico by the banks of the Manzanares river in Madrid. Atletico, a la the Washington Redskins, stole all the offseason headlines and fared well in preseason predictions, but have now, per usual, flattered to deceive. In the Calderon stadium, Villa bagged an early goal off a beautiful feed from Vicente (a heck of a partnership for Luis Aragones to call on at some point, but he doesn't need my advice; the guy's only resigned twice in the last two months - he needs a career counselor). Atletico fought hard for the equalizer, but their star striker El Nino Torres acted like just that and got himself sent off for dissent. Sure, the ref (our favorite: Medina Cantalejo) once again acted petty and short-sighted, but players in Spain should expect nothing less from him by now. Torres barely made contact with Valencia's keeper Canizares, who went down like he'd been stabbed, and Torres got his first yellow, then protested, earning a second one and an early trip to the showers. What is it that makes star strikers a bunch of prima donnas? From Torres to Bellamy, Rooney to Etoo, Adriano to Drogba, these guys are all headcases. It must be the same phenomenon that makes most of the successful NFL wide receivers completely insane. Let me be the first to say that there is some sort of correlation there, as well as the first to say I don't know what exactly that is. Someone with more time can figure it out.

In England, ManU continued their fantastic start against Spurs, Chelsea kept pace with a win over Charlton, Arsenal were underwhelming again - this time in a draw with Middlesborough, and Liverpool fell to a nasty Merseyside defeat at the hands of Everton. It's far too early to tell, but we could be in for a very interesting Premiership if the Red Devils continue their torrid start. On Wednesday in the Champions League, ManU lined up against Celtic in the Battle of Britain. Um, not really. The Scottish Premier League is so far inferior to the English Premiership that I would venture to say that there's a smaller gap between Triple-AAA baseball and the major leagues, but I digress. At Old Trafford, Celtic grabbed a shock lead thanks to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, far & away the owner of the best name in the game. After that, though, the Thomas Gravesen Horror Show began and ManU strolled to a 3-2 win. I'm all for excusing Gravesen's unhappy stay at Real on the grounds of the Spaniards playing him out of position (he's an offensive midfielder, not a destroyer), but he was atrocious all night - no fewer than two goals came directly from his turnovers. Yikes. Elsewhere in Europe, Barca picked up where they left off, cruising to a 5-0 romp over some no-names from Bulgaria or Macedonia or somewhere, Chelsea were efficient if unimpressive in a win over Werder Bremen, and Bayern Munich and AC Milan enjoyed easy wins over Spartak Moscow and AEK Athens respectively.

The shocks of the mid-week action involved two teams that made so much news this summer but have hardly looked unbeatable in this young new season. First, Inter lost 1-0 to Sporting Lisbon in Luis Figo's homecoming. Patrick Vieira got himself sent off (shocking!) and Adriano looked disinterested and far from his best. How long 'til they start sharpening the knives for Mancini at the San Siro? Watch this space. Then, on Wednesday, it was deja vu all over again for Real Madrid, falling 2-0 away to Olympique Lyon. Seriously, who produces more talent year after year than Lyon? Maybe Sevilla? Maybe Roma? Arsenal? If I'm leading a European club - and God-willing I will be someday (I mean, don't a lot of club presidents start off as bloggers?) - then the first signings I make won't be players, but rather the top scouts from those clubs. I don't know who they are or how they do it, but damn they're good. Against Real, Lyon played the way a great team should: fast, full of movement, letting the ball do the work, always looking to attack with speed, well-positioned in the field, cutting down space and time in defense, and never relinquishing control of the game. In summary, it was an exhibition. Sure, Real has lots of excuses for the defeat: Lyon is a finished product, a team that's been playing together for years, whereas Real is still full of new players who need to gel into a solid unit; Lyon's season started much earlier than Real's, so they're in better shape; and Lyon is one of the best teams in Europe, a clear contender for the Champions League title (remember, they had Milan beat & were all set to face Barca in the semis last year before two late, late Rossoneri goals). But still, I've seen Real three times this year: three games - one win, one loss, and one draw. And at no time have they ever looked any different from last year: slow, predictable, short on passion and creativity... the list goes on and on. Capello, with a resume like his, deserves time to sort this one out, but he needs to start making changes fast. Raul hasn't done a damn thing in three years. He is d-u-n done. Beckham can still play, but he's better at this point in his career as a central midfielder than a right winger. Sergio Ramos will be a top-notch defender someday, but for now he is still learning how to play centerback. Roberto Carlos is a shadow of what he was. And Emerson and Diarra sharing a midfield is redundant - they're far too similar. What Capello needs to do is inject some creativity, speed, and vision into his line-up. In other words, fresh talent like Robinho, Reyes, and Guti. This team is crying out for it right now. Everyone knows it, but as has been the case with Real for the past few years, it's damn near impossible to leave the likes of Raul and Becks on the bench. There is no shortage of talent there, except for maybe at the centerback spot (Cannavaro, Ramos, Pavon, and Mejia makes for an odd mix of veteran leadership and youthful inexperience), so it should only be a matter of time before Capello inserts Robinho, Reyes, and Guti for Raul, Beckham, and Emerson. Then again, this is Capello, who was successful at Juve because he got the most out of aging stars like Nedved, Del Piero, Vieira, Trezeguet, and Thuram. Maybe it's time Capello placed a call to the refs. I hear they're available...for a price. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go get some rest: there's another soccer-filled weekend right around the corner. Damn, I love this game.