International Football - Is the referee responsible for Coleman's season ending injury?

The Republic of Ireland hosted Wales in a World Cup qualifier last Friday, a game which was instantly forgettable from a footballing aspect, a drawn out 0-0 draw. However the reason the game will live on in the memory was Seamus Coleman's horrific leg injury which will see him out of action potentially until 2018. Breaking his leg in two places, the Everton full back is set to miss around 8 months of action, and despite FIFA covering his wages, it will be of little condolence to the man who was part of an Everton side on the up. Swansea defender Neil Taylor was the man who committed the foul and the incident is currently undergoing examination by FIFA to see if a retrospective increase in suspension would be appropriate. Taylor wasn't the only Welsh player however guilty of a horror challenge, with Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale escaping a deserved red card after lunging into John O'Shea with his studs showing, the Sunderland defender perhaps lucky not to face the same fate his team mate did in the second half. Bale was awarded a yellow card for his tackle, despite deserving a red in the eyes of a lot of people! However if Bale had been awarded a red for his horrible challenge, would Coleman still be on the end of the horror tackle by Taylor?

It is the job for the referee to make sure the players know exactly what they can and can't get away with on the football pitch. A reason a lot of officials will award an early free kick or yellow card is to show the players that they are not willing to take any trouble. The same can be said to the other extreme as well, for example in big local derbies. The tackles are likely to be flying in more then your average game, but to allow the game to flow the referee may choose to let a few more challenges go then he normally would, it is all about consistency within the game. If a player knows the referee is going to award him with a yellow, or red card for a rash or dangerous tackle he may be more inclined to stand his man up rather then diving in. Going back to Friday nights game, Bale lunged in at O'Shea studs up and with no control over the tackle and was given a yellow card by the match official. Even if he had no intention of doing this, that decision may have said to the rest of the players on the pitch that they can get away with a more dangerous tackle tonight, leading to Taylor's tackle. Taylor, much like Bale before, lunged in on Coleman, completely out of control which lead to the double leg break. Had Bale been rightfully sent off for his first half challenge it may have acted as a warning to the other players on the pitch and Taylor instead of diving in may have taken a step back and challenged Coleman on his feet, taking away the risk of a red card. 

Ireland manager Marin O'Neil seemed to agree with this point when during a press conference following the game he was asked if he believes broken leg could have been avoided with a red card for Gareth Bale. He replied: "He may have done. That's true. The referee is in charge of the game." "I thought both challenges when I have seen them back have been very, very poor. very poor indeed." This opinion is one with a lot of merit, the flow of the game would have drastically changed if Bale was sent off and the players would have perhaps felt less inclined to commit such a risky and dangerous tackle. 

With Seamus Coleman set to spend a lengthy period of time on he sidelines, the thoughts of all football fans are with him and I'm sure I speak for everyone when I wish him a speedy recovery and hope he returns as good as ever!

The Magic of the Cup - FA Cup 2017 so far.

The FA Cup, the oldest cup competition in Professional football, the competition where the phrase 'giant killing' was really put into practice and this year, after a few years in the wilderness, it's back with a bang! With the biggest sides in the country using this competition to field weaker sides and for youngsters to gain experience the importance of this competition has dwindled, with the prize money for winning the competition being nothing compared to a respectable finish in the top flight of English football. With last season's FA Cup winners Manchester United pocketing south of £2million, and Aston Villa who placed last in the Premier League receiving over £62million, the long, drawn out cup run was treated as a non priority by a lot of sides, this year however you would have to think otherwise. 

With Chelsea beating the holders Man United 1-0 at Stanford Bridge tonight the semi finals were set, Chelsea vs Spurs, and Manchester City vs Arsenal. Four of the big teams in the country and four of the bookies favourites before a ball was kicked but it has not been as clean cut as it seems. 

This Year's FA Cup has seen history made, in the form of Sutton United and Lincoln Town. For the first time in over a century two non-league sides made their way to the FA Cup fifth round, beating championship sides Leeds and Brighton. It would take 12 time FA Cup winners Arsenal to knock out Sutton in a much more even match then many would expect, the heart of the non-league side shown throughout. For Lincoln however, the incredible run continued! A late, late goal secured a 1-0 win away from home against Burnley, a side with the third best home record in the premier league. Lincoln became the first non-league side in English football since 1914 to reach the quarter finals of the FA Cup and one game away from a Wembley Semi Final! However, much like Sutton the round before, Lincoln fell to Arsenal but the Lincoln players have written their names into the history books. 

It wasn't just teams from outside the football league causing upsets throughout this years FA Cup, there have been more than anyone would expect. During the fourth round we saw Wolves outplay Liverpool at Anfield and pick up a 2-1 against the reds. Oxford shocked high flying championship side Newcastle with a comfortable 3-0 at home. We also saw Premier League sides Hull and Watford fall to Championship outfit Fulham, and League one's representative in this stage of the cup Millwall. The Fifth round was a lot more run of the mill with the majority of the bigger sides advancing, however Millwall once again gained the scalp of high profile opposition, in the form of Premier League Champions Leicester City! The 1-0 home win saw them progress to the quarter finals for a date with cross city rivals Spurs, where sadly the the League one side. the home team proved far too good on the day and strolled to a 6-0 win! 

Between the final four sides in the competition they scored 14 goals in their quarter final ties and conceded none, showing their class to progress to the semi-finals at the home of football, Wembley stadium. Chelsea have local rivals Spurs on route to the final and a chance to complete a potential domestic double with the London club flying high at the top of the league and with Kante in their midfield it will feel like having an extra man on the pitch for the blues. Where as Spurs will have to handle a second consecutive derby in the FA Cup, and with Harry Kane currently nursing a potentially re-injured ankle it could be a tough ask Pochettino's men. Arsenal seemingly have nothing left to play for this campaign, and in what could be Wenger's last they'll want to end the season with some silverware. Their opponents however are still chasing European glory, leading 5-3 from the first leg of their round of 16 tie against Monaco making the FA Cup play second priority. However, City, along side Chelsea, are perhaps the only side in the Premier League with a squad strong enough to make wholesale changes without losing out in terms of ability. Also, you know Pep will be desperate to remember his first season in charge of the Citizans as a trophy winning one. 

This is what the FA Cup is all about, giant killing throughout from surprise outfits, but the trophy comes down to some of the best the country has to offer. There's a reason the tournament has lasted well over 140 years ago, nothing can replace the magic of the cup. 

Semi Final predictions: 

Chelsea 2-1 Spurs 

Arsenal 0-2 Manchester City. 

Final Prediction:

 

Chelsea 2-2 Manchester City (Manchester City to win on penalties) 

What Just Happened? - Leicester City 3-1 Liverpool But why BOTH sets of players should be ashamed of themselves.

On Monday 27th Febuary at the King Power stadium, Leicester City welcomed Liverpool in their first game in the post Ranieri era, and they put on their best performance of the season. A Danny Drinkwater wonder strike, in between a brace from Jamie Vardy put the reds away 3 goals to 1, with Coutinho scoring a late consolation goal. Jurgen Klopp's men played right into the hands of the Premier League champions, with an almost disrespectful approach shown by Liverpool, they played such a high line allowing Jamie Vardy and Leicester City to play the brand of football we haven't seen since they lifted the trophy last many, which asks the question. Why haven't we seen it?

The Leicester City players showed something on Monday night we haven't seen from them in months, effort. A side which seemingly was heading for relegation turned up to the KP with a caretaker manager in charge and after two days in the job the football world watched his side make a complete turn around and play a style of football which has brought them so much success in the past. That sort of turn around doesn't happen, what we saw was the players putting in a shift, making an effort, showing the passion and dedication that won them the title under Claudio. With this sort of performance under their belts you have to wonder how they got into this position. Simple. The players downed tools under their previous boss, the man who lead an average Leicester side to success, and they forced him out when things weren't gong their way. At the start of this years Premier League season teams had seemingly 'found out' Leicester City, and could now counter their style. Not giving Vardy the space to run into the channels, not pressing high to give Drinkwater the option to clip the ball in behind, and testing the back line of Morgan and Huth in a very different way to last season. This change in approach was made more apparent by the lose of N'Golo Kante, the Frenchman who is set to perhaps be named as the signing of the season two seasons in a row, without his legs in midfield Leicester struggled to play at the pace they did last season, and without his protection, the back line was put under fire in a way they weren't last season. As the opposition found a way to counter Leicester City, Claudio Ranieri tried to enforce a new style of football within his team. The signings of more forward thinking players and by throwing more men forward, Claudio tried to make his team play in a way similar to the other top sides in the league. However as history has told us, it didn't work. Leicester simply did not have the players to fit the system, or the quality to make it work. Leicester, despite success in Europe against teams which had not seem their original style of play, started to plummet down the table to the point that, before Monday, they fell into the relegation zone.

What the Leicester City players have to be ashamed for is that they simply had no intention of making Claudio's tactics work. They didn't receive instant success, and all of a sudden the players who had received such plaudits last season, the players who worked their bodies into the ground under Ranieri, turned their back on the man that brought them the greatest year of their careers. These where all just rumours, until a story broke and was plastered across the entire country of a meeting being held between the Leicester squad and their owners regarding the future of their manager. What's worse is this meeting took place in Seville, hours before their Champions league last 16 clash with Sevilla, which saw Leicester put it a commendable performance and walk away win an away goal in a 2-1 defeat. What hurts even more is that potentially, the Leicester players knew their bosses future before he did, as once the team landed and made their wait to a hotel next to the airport. Claudio Ranieri was sacked. And then, on the following Monday, after two days under Craig Shakespeare, the Leicester players started running again, showing heart again. Jamie Vardy completed more sprints then he has all season, and after not scoring a league goal in 2017, the champions scored three. As a football fan it hurts me to see player power abused to this extent, to cost such a well respected man his job. I personally hope Claudio Ranieri retires now, so he can retire as champion, and no one, not even a group of overexposed players can take that away from him.

There was two sides to this match however, the other being the worst performance from Liverpool I have witnessed in recent memory. In the first half Wes Morgan made a good interception from a Sadio Mane ball across the bow and in the second half Coutinho slotted the ball into the bottom left corner. These are the only two examples of Liverpool attempting to play progressive football, despite having over 60% possession throughout the game. What looked like a lack of desire from a fans point of view, the Liverpool players seemed to expect the Leicester players to just roll over for them and hand over the three points. Liverpool were second to every ball, lost every header, out thought and out played for 90 minutes. Liverpool made this Leicester side look world class, Christan Fuchs, the Leicester left back who has really been found out this season made his way down the Liverpool right earl in the second half, unchallenged, turn Clyne with ease and whipped in a cross onto Vardy's head for the third goal, again completely unchallenged. The same in the channels during the first has was embarrassing to watch, Jamie Vardy may have not scored in closing in on 10 Premier League games but everyone knows his game, one ball in down his right hand side, one touch, bottom corner. The defensive display for Liverpool was nothing short of laughable, and when you take into account the Liverpool defence on Monday night, you can see why! Left to right, James Milner. He's undoubtedly had a good season in his new role, but he is still a midfielder, a right sided midfielder at that. Lucas. Again a midfielder, the Brazilian has never had the legs needed to keep up with fast attackers so why is he playing at centre back? Joel Matip. The only exception, a well rounded defender but on his own there was nothing he could do! And Nathaniel Clyne. Who has really struggled defensively this season, much like Glen Johnson before him.

With the defence as open as it was Liverpool never had the chance to do anything in this game, and when they did a lack of desire and an arrogance on display resulted in one of the world performances of the season. Coutinho as usual, looked by far and away Liverpool's star man, and Origi off the bench at least was a handful, but I can't think of a single other outfield player who can take anything positive away form this game. The pressure is know heavily being piled onto Jurgen Klopp, the German is started to come under criticism which his way with words can't cover up. Is it a poor team selection? Are the owner, FSG not backing Klopp in the way Liverpool need them to? Are the players simply not up to standard? A lot of questions are being asked right now, and they need to be answered soon if Liverpool are to have any chance of qualifying for the Champions League.

So it was a rare game to say the least. How often can both sides come off as an embarrassment. In all honesty, I can't wait to see just how Leicester progress throughout the rest of the season, will they continue to be found out with a system that, although tried and tested, is common knowledge now. And can the self proclaimed 'normal one' rescue Liverpool's season before it is just another wasted year?

Leicester City - A quick point

I find it very strange that a number of top Leicester City players have today written tributes to their now former manager Claudio Ranieri. The same day that almost every sports media outlet in the country reported on the several meetings held between the Leicester board and players, one of which taking place hours apart from their 2-1 defeat and commendable performance against Sevilla. The few players who have the power within the club to force the hand of the board to make this announcement are the ones who today, two days after the decision was made, have finally shown respect to the man who showed nothing but passion and gave his all to the cause, a man whos image is plastered across the city of Leicester, a man who has been shown zero respect after having his future promised to him by the club only a fortnight ago. These tribute are an insult in my opinion when it is blatantly obvious was really has gone on.I'm sure these few individuals were perfectly happy to sign their new bumper contracts and take the free sports cars that came with the success of last season, the same success masterminded by the same man who has been so unceremoniously forced out of a club he clearly loves. Embarrassing. I really hope I'm wrong, because if not I weep for modern football. The beautiful game is becoming more and more corporate and their is seemingly no place for passion, for loyalty, for the love of the game. Nothing else matters in the eyes of the men who have the power.

Heavy Metal Football - What needs to change with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool?

This is a disclaimer before I get too ahead of myself. Jurgen Klopp is one of the world's best managers in my opinion, and I feel his football philosophy will guide Liverpool Football Club to great things in the future. This is in no way me stating that Klopp has failed in his first 12 months as Liverpool manager, it is also not a call for his head. With two cup finals, one semi final and currently in the race for the Premier League title, Liverpool have came on leaps and bounds since his appointment in October 2015. However with no silverware to show for his time in charge just how far has Jurgen's Liverpool actually came and what is left to do before we can start realistically talking about a Liverpool title challenge?

Heavy metal football. The phrase used to describe the German manager's style of play, an incredibly fast paced, high intensity game which when done effectively can force the opposition into submission. Just look at performances against the likes of current league leaders Chelsea at Stanford Bridge and the champions Leicester City at Anfield earlier in the season. Last season Klopp's new brand of football was also showing results, a crushing victory against Manchester City at The Etihad and the Europa League semi-final victory against Villarreal were perhaps some of the best by any English side in any competition. But inconsistency has plagued Liverpool during Klopp's era, much like it did during the previous regime under Brendan Rodgers. Defeats against the likes of Swansea, Burnley and the recent EFL Cup semi-final against Southampton more than demonstrate the clubs inability to produce the performances required of them week in, week out. The side built by the Northern Irishman is still strongly represented in the current team and this is where I feel the problem lies.

On the 25th January 2017, Southampton turned over Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield, to progress to the EFL Cup final at Wembley, just two weeks after beating them by the same result at St Mary's. These two loses came during the worst run of the season so far for the reds, which has seen then pick up just one win in the last seven games. That win being against league two side Plymouth Argyle in an FA Cup 3rd round reply after failing to score at Anfield, drawing 0-0 despite being over 60 places between the teams in the football league. This recent run of bad form has seen Jurgen Klopp's team fall from 2nd in the Premier  League and battling for the title to 4th place and only hanging onto a Champions League place by a thread. Also an almost expected date at Wembley for the EFL cup final has slipped through the clubs fingers despite them being huge favourites in their Semi-final against Southampton. One win in seven in not title winning form, or even challenging form and it could have cost Liverpool the chance to really make the 2016-17 season one to remember, but what has gone wrong? Sadio Mane's departure for the African Cup Of Nations directly correlates with the start of this poor run of form. Now i'm not saying was the only reason for Liverpool's success was the form of the Senegalese international, but more what the winger represents. Mane is the soul attacking player signed by Jurgen Klopp, and therefore the one attacking player signed under the ideology of  'heavy metal football'. The rest of the Red's front line, Roberto Firmino, Philipe Coutinho and Adam Lallana in particular, despite all being more then capable of fitting the German's system, where all signed by Brendan Rodgers and signed simply to fit his style of play, a much more slow based passing game based around dominating possession of the ball. These three players have been stand out performers for Liverpool this season, but without Mane neither of them have been able to carry the side over the last seven games due to again, neither of them fitting the style of 'heavy metal football'. Technically, Liverpool have one of the best front lines in the country, but without Mane running tirelessly to track the ball down and create goals Klopp's Liverpool have looked worn out and out of ideas.

After twelve months in charge and three transfer windows there is really no excuse for Mane being the one player signed by the German capable of playing football the way he wants. With the Dutchman Gini Wijnaldum being the only other non defender signed by Klopp to have appeared this season, the squad at the former Dortmund manager's disposal is extremely thin and a large percentage of the players available to him are either unproven teenagers or players signed during the reign of Rodgers which Klopp does not feel would suit his system. The likes of Emre Can who, despite finding his way into the team more in recent weeks, Jurgen Klopp does not seem to fully back Can to make the team work the way he wants. In the EFL cup semi-final against Southampton, centre back Joel Matip was the only starting outfield player signed during Klopp's time in charge with the rest being signed by Brendan Rodgers or a manager before to fit an almost opposite style of football.

If history has told us nothing else, it has told us that for a completely different style of play to work for a team, usually additions must be made to make the system fit. An example being Pep's current Manchester City team, his 'Tiki Taka' style of play was forced upon City and despite early success, without additions made to fit the style (Claudio Bravo has been a disaster) the Spaniard's side are now struggling domestically to earn even a top four place. Proof of how additions can make a change in style work can be seen with Premier League champions Leicester City. Claudio Ranieri wanted to play a counter attacking style of football, so he signed French midfielder Kante to sit in front of the back four, break up opposition attacks and launch counter attacks. These tactics lead to the most incredible Premier League season in recent memory with the surprise winners shocking world football. But since Kante's sale to Chelsea the champions have struggled significantly showing just how important he was in winning them the title.

Last season, despite Klopp taking over, Liverpool struggled domestically and finished outside of any European places. He was let off with the excuse 'it's still Rodger's team' but since then nothing has changed, and despite a few additions including Sadio Mane and Joel Matip, you could argue it is still a similar team built by Brendan Rodgers but with a new set of ideas which despite proving to be much more effective when done correctly, the current side appears to struggle to maintain Klopp's style for as long as is required to truly challenge at the top of the table. I'm not saying the failure to sign players which fit the mould of 'heavy metal football' is entirely the German's fault, i'm sure if he was given the money and the opportunity by the board Jurgen Klopp would have brought in the necessary signings to both fit his team and provide back up when needed but he is not completely absent of blame. Jurgen has been un-moving in his support of his team and he should be, but even if he doesn't openly admit it, he hopefully sees that his team needs a lot of work and that has never been as evident as it is right now.

Heavy metal football. The style implemented by Jurgen Klopp with the hope of leading Liverpool back to where they were, at the top of world football. As 2016 drew to a close it seemed as if a winning formula had been found and the newest Liverpool manager's methods were sure to lead them to success. However the loss of Mane to the ACON and the failure to recruit reinforcements has perhaps seen Liverpool's season end before it had even really begun. I believe in the coming years this high intensity football will lead to great success for the five -time champions of Europe, hopefully the curse of modern day football managers won't cause Jurgen's time with Liverpool to end before he can achieve what we all know he is capable of.

The Future of the Five Time World Champions - Brazil

Brazil as a nation are known for, above all, it's football. From the beaches of Rio to the skyscrapers of Brasilia, football is seen as a matter of life and death and the success of their national team more then shows that fact. With five FIFA World Cups to their name, three in the space of four tournaments between 1958 and 1970 Brazil has staked their claim to being the best national team in the world! With two more titles following in 1994 and 2002 a second golden age for the Canariho (little canary) was born and unlike in the past, these stars came across to Europe and allowed us to truly understand how good the boys from Brazil where! With the likes of Cafu, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and many many more world class players joining Europe's elite club sides and making waves, this golden age of Brazilian football left a long lasting impact on the rest of the world. As this squad of players have slowly moved on to lives beyond football a new batch of youngsters have came from the shores of Brazil and made their mark in the biggest leagues in the world, spear headed by superstar Neymar. Other big names such as Coutinho, Thiago Silva, Oscar, Marcelo have continued the trend of exports from Brazil making a splash in Europe, however they have struggled to make the same impact and find the success on the international stage that their predecessors did before them. With a failed attempt to win the World Cup in their own backyard in 2014 and a quarter final exit from the 2015 Copa America the current Brazilian first team has struggled to set the world alight. But one thing the leagues of Brazil is never short of is potential, potential world beaters just waiting to show the rest of us how good they can be. With Brazil winning the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, a tournament of an under 23 structure, the future looks bright and now is the time to focus on the next generation of talent coming from the most successful nation in football.

'The next Neymar'. That is what young striker Gabriel Barbosa was dubbed when he caught the public eye after breaking into the same Santos side as the Barcelona star at the ripe old age of 16, making his debut in Neymar's farewell to his boyhood club. After being part of the youth set up at Santos from the age of 8, and signing his first professional contract only a month after his 16th birthday with an incredible 50 million euro buyout clause attached, Barbosa has been tipped for greatness for a long time. He will forever go down in history of the Sao Paulo based club after scoring the clubs 12,000th goal, he finished his first full professional season at the club with a tally of 21 league goals which instantly saw the youngster handed a new five year deal as the strikers stock continued to grow. The following season saw Barbosa have to fight for his place as Brazilian international Robinho resigned for his former club, and although this reduced the number of first team opportunities Gabriel received, he continued to improve and after returning to a full time member of the first team he completed another very successful season, which included finishing as the top goalscorer in the Copa Do Brazil with 8 goals, which lead Santos to the final in a losing effort against Palmeiras. As the 2016 season started Gabriel was officially one of the top stars in the Brasileiro Seria A and with that status, the interest from Europe was inevitable and on the 27th August 2016 Barbosa signed a five year deal with Italian giants Inter Milan, the same European side where Ronaldo thrived from a young age, the deal was reportedly worth just south of 30 million euros. Since signing however Barbosa has only made one first team appearance as he tries to get a grip on the Italian style of football. But with the hype surrounding the striker from such a young age, and the attention on the youngster never wavering, Barbosa is 100% one to watch.

Scoring a brace in your International debut, now that's a way to make sure everybody watches out for you! Gabriel Jesus (Yes another Gabriel) has been regarded as one of the most promising young players on the planet since coming through the youth system at Brazilian side Palmeiras and has earned comparisons to 'el phenomenon' Ronaldo. Jesus signed his first development contact with the club at the age of 16 and featured for Palmeiras in the under 17s state championship but within 9 months, with 22 games played and an incredible 37 goals scored, the teenager was offered his first professional deal with the club. He finished the calendar year with 54 goals in 48 matches, making him the club's top goalscorer at any level, and the interest from abroad was already evident, with English side Arsenal reportedly monitoring the strikers development very closely. The striker from Sao Paulo was subject to a petition coming towards the end of the 2014 season. With Palmeiras struggling in the league and risking relegation, the fans where outraged that the young Brazilian wasn't getting a chance in the first team despite his major success in the youth system, and a petition was created to force the hand of the manager. Despite the fans best efforts Gabriel didn't get to make his first team debut until March 2015 and his first start came in April, just days before his 18th birthday, where his quick feet, speed and dribbling ability instantly attracted yet more attention from the world of football. His first professional goal for the club came in July, scoring the only goal in 1-0 Copa Do Brazil win against ASA, Jesus scored two more goals on route to Palmeiras winning the Copa Do Brazil, although he was forced off during the second leg of the final due to a shoulder injury. During his first full professional year Jesus has currently scored 21 league goals, and averaging a goal every other game in all competitions. He has also however earn his first red card of his career during the 2016 season, as he was involved in a fight with Damian Musto, Jesus apologised instantly after the game for the misconduct and it remains the only sending off of Jesus's career. Despite the red card the young striker continued to gather more and more momentum and the attention surrounding him grew until August 2016, when a pre contract was signed with Manchester City which totalled at 32 million euros which will see the youngster joining the English club in January 2017 once the Brazilian league season has finished.  After the deal was completed Jesus stared in the gold medal winning Brazilian side at the 2016 Rio Olympics, this was perhaps the first glimpse for most people of the future Manchester City player and he did not disappoint, scoring 3 goals on the road to Brazil's first ever football Olympic gold. Once Jesus officially becomes a Manchester City player all of Europe will find out what many people already know, that we have a future world beater on our hands! When Ronaldo officially agrees to mentor a young striker, you know we could be in for something special. Watch this space.


Unlike the previous two mentions, this Brazilian youngster is yet to agree a multi-million pound move to Europe, but that does not mean he hasn't been on the radar of the top clubs. Rodrigo Ciao has came through the ranks at Sao Paulo and from the very beginning he was tipped for greatest! First creating a buzz in 2012, Ciao was asked to play as a right back, despite playing the early stages of his career in the centre of defence. The reason for this was their opposition, Santos, and more notably, Neymar. His inexperience in this role didn't show and instead Rodrigo was able to hold off Neymar throughout the State Championship fixture and received rave reviews from the media for his performance. Noted by the people reporting on the match was Ciao's footwork, known in Brazil as movimento do escorpiao, it is a style used in indoor football to hold off attacking players, a style rarely seen in full size games. At the age of 19 Rodrigo Ciao was one of the first names on the team sheet at Sao Paulo playing at right back, but injuries lead to him returning to the centre of defence and much like he did before he impressed instantly with manager Paulo Autuori highlighting his quality of performances by promoting Ciao to become his sides number one central defender. Rodrigo continued to impress game in game out for the remainder of the year, and was beginning to force his way into the Brazilian national team picture where he played for both the U21 and U23 sides, once again impressing. Sadly for the Brazilian however, in August 2014 Ciao picked up an ACL injury, ruling him out of action for 7 months, returning in March 2015. A mere three months after returning to action Rodrigo was subject to a 16 million euro deal being agree between Sao Paulo and Spanish giants Valencia. Sadly for the returning defender, his knee injury caused him to fail two medicals and the deal fell through. In response to this his business relationship with 'super agent' Jorge Mendes was ended by the youngster due to frustration of the deal collapsing. Since his injury Ciao has continued to improve at Sao Paulo and due to club captain and legend Rogerio Ceni retiring in December 2015 it has been reported and seen that Ciao has taken on responsibility and now is the main voice and leader in the dressing room. A Brazilian centre back with the potential to be up there with the great defenders in the countries history, his horrible injury has prevented him from completing his move to Europe already, but don't be surprised if it happens very soon. This defender is mature beyond his years, incredibly versatile and just keeps getting better and better! A future Brazilian captain, mark my words.

Brazil has, is and will always produce top footballing talent! Whether they can translate that talent into success on the biggest stage is always another question, but the future of the five time world champions looks bright. The players mentioned are just a few of the men from the Liga Do Brazil that can take the European leagues by storm. Once again, watch this space.

Boca Juniors vs River Plate - The Superclásico

The South American's will always be synonymous with football, from Columbia to Argentina, the people of the continent eat, sleep and breathe the sport. With footballing greats such as Pele and Diego Maradona going down in history and current stars Lionel Messi and Neymar setting the world alight, South America has produced some of the worlds finest. Brazil vs Argentina is one of the oldest, and greatest rivalries in international football, with the first meeting of the giants taking place over one hundred years ago, in September 1914 in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires, with Argentina coming away with a 3-0 win. However within Buenos Aires, an even older and arguably greater match takes place. Making it's first appearance in 1913, the Superclásico is a football match which draws passion unlike any other. In 2004, The Observer ranked the derby between Boca Juniors and River Plate as number one in their list of '50 sporting things you must do before you die.' And was also quoted in saying that, 'Derby day in Buenos Aires makes the Old Firm game look like a primary school kick-about.' The people at the Guardian aren't alone with their valuation of the match, with FourFourTwo magazine considering it as the 'biggest sporting derby in the world' and also The Daily Telegraph refered to the Superclásico as the 'biggest club rivalry in world football.' The Superclásico doesn't get the attention is deserves, with the passion shown by each set of supporters as well as by the players privileged to take part, The Superclásico is simply a unique game of football and one which should achieve the same level of media attention as El Clasico in Spain.

After 362 meetings, 132 wins for Boca,116 for River and 115 draws, the match has become famous for an incredible intensity and atmosphere, one which no single game on the planet can equal. The foundations of the fixtures in the people of the Argentine capital, with Boca Juniors being seen as a club for the 'working class' whereas River Plate became known by the nickname 'Los Millionarios' with a fan base made up of supposedly upper class members of the city. With the fans being a major part of the rivalry right from it's beginnings, it is only right that in the current fixtures the fans also have a part to play. They really don't disappoint! A sea of colouful flowing banners, screams and roars, chanting, dancing and never ending fireworks. This is how the BBC described the fans interaction within The Superclásico, and it truly is a sight to behold. With chants being used as arsenal by both sets of fans, sang with intensity rarely seen on European soil, the stadiums hosting this historic fixture are known to bounce during the 90 minutes. Boca fans have labelled River 'las gallinas' (the chickens) for choking when it comes to the big game. River fans have subsequently labelled Boca 'los bosteros' (the pieces of sh*t). However a match which exudes such passion from the fans doesn't come without the ugly side of a derby. Both on and off the pitch, violence comes hand in hand with the The Superclásico, a factor of the derby which most would like forgotten, but will likely never subside.

Something pretty substantial must take place for a country to, quite simply, stop. And that is exactly what happens on the day of  River vs Boca, with an incredible 70% of Argentina supporting either River or Boca, a statistic which simply explains the enormity of derby day in Buenos Aires. The passion from the fans is easily translated onto the pitch and into the players, causing many incidents that have became infamous within the history of The Superclásico. Carlos Tevez, the former Manchester City and United man is never far from controversy. So when the life long Boca fan scored against River Plate, he took his chance to rub it in the nose of the opposing fans, by performing a chicken dance when celebrating his strike, infuriating the River supporters. Tevez was immediately awarded a red card for 'inciting violence between the fans' and in his post match interview the Argentinian admitted that the passion got the better of him. River aren't simply the victims of acts of stupidity from the players during The Superclásico. In 2011, Matias Almeyda was charged with assault and, like Tevez, inciting violence when he celebrated a win for River by kissing the club's badge in view of the furious Boca supports. These incidents will forever be a part of what makes this historic fixture great.

Sadly however tragedy has struck this fixture in the past, and in 1968, the tragedy of 'gate 12' struck a cord within the game that suddenly made the world loudest rivalry fall silent. Sunday 29th June 1968 was the 89th league meeting between the two biggest sides in Argentina, and as the clock ticked closer to a goalless draw which resulted in neither side being crowned champions the fans became increasingly anxious, Boca fans in particular. At full time the travelling fans made their way down to gate 12, which had been closed earlier in the day. Despite this the fans poured down the steep, narrow hallway which caused many fans to fall to the bottom. Unknowing to the fans who continued to make their way down, many supporters where crushed underneath the boots of their fellow fans which resulted in 71 deaths and another 150 injuries. The death count was already shocking, and then a later investigation showed the average age of the deaths was 19 years old and to this day, no one has been held accountable for this tragic event. Accounts of the event vary from person to person, starting with some suggesting Boca fans had thrown burning River Plate flags into a section of the home support which caused a stampede in the lower tiers. A separate account has stated that it was the River fans at fault, with a group of them entering the Boca Juniors section, creating violence and a rush to the exits by the fans which leads to the deaths. These accounts point the finger at the fans, with others stating that the closure of gate 12 by the stadium officials made exiting the over crowded stadium close to impossible. This tragedy has drawn contrasts to the Hillsborough disaster of 1989, and drew a similar media outcry for the truth, but to this day, the details of the event have never been confirmed.

The Superclásico. A fixture which never quite gets the attention it deserves. Truly unique, the passion and fire from the pitch to the stands during the 90 minutes is a sight to behold, and one I would push any true football fans to experience themselves if given the opportunity. August 23rd 1913, the first derby day in Buenos Aires, the debut of one of the greatest fixtures in club football, and one which will hopefully never meet its end.