Now that I have a chance to say it without being bothered by natural events, I can say it comfortably and without batting an eyelid that football/soccer is the most beautiful game you can ever watch. The drama, the passion of the fans, how events turn on their heads, {sigh} it’s breath taking! Of course some people will never understand why 11 men chasing after inflated leather and kicking it around will attract millions of people around the world to watch – actually it’s billions; Based on the number and size of stadiums around the world, the number of people who wear football merchandise, number of people who are aware of football, and the number of leagues/tournaments worldwide football ranks at the top of the list regardless the definition of “most popular”. Approximately3.5 billion people watch football { http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_most_popular_sport_in_the_world } and 1.1 billion people watch the FIFA World Cup final match. Surely, there is no way all these people can be wrong. But that’s not the reason why I watch soccer. Am not really a wave guy, you know, the kind that move with the crowd, yeah, not really me. I watch football for various reasons. One of them is the joy it gives me to watch my favourite teams winning. I tell you, I almost cried with joy when France beat Brazil in 2006 in the World Cup quarter final….aahhh, that was a good day! I’m not a Brazilian fan, don’t give me that look, especially not after the way they played in that tournament.
France Players celebrate after beating Brazil in the 2006 World Cup quarters
Secondly, the pain and anguish that follows a loss. I was at the Nyayo National Stadium when the Carthage Eagles (Tunisia) beat the Harambee Stars in the 2010 World Cup-cum-Africa Cup qualifiers. You could hear the loud silence that followed Tunisia’s second goal, just minutes after we had equalised! Then when the Match ended, everyone just walked out of the stadium, no rage, no madness, just heads hung in grief…
The third reason is the joy that comes with watching some of your least favourite teams or teams that you really feel are a threat to what you feel is your birth right, go through what I just described above. Which brings me to what I want to talk about today – “bad days in the office” For those who do not follow the English Premier League, there is a team named Liverpool Football Club. This team is the second most successful club in England after, of course, Manchester United, when the domestic trophies cabinet is visited. It is also the team that was beaten by Sunderland last Saturday and then by Olympic Lyonnais on Tuesday…{that’s the definition of a “bad day in the office.”
However, it is also the team that shocked AC Milan in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final, when the likes of then high-flying Schevchenko thought they had them in the bag then won on penalties. It is also the team that shocked West Ham United in 2006 by pulling another draw to beat them in penalties.
Right now, though, Liverpool fans must be feeling a little more than disappointed that their team has won just two of their last five matches on the road i.e. away in the premier league. That is not a good record for a team of it’s calibre. Add that, to the fact that they have lost their last four consecutive matches in both league and cup, that kinda complicates things for them.
The fact that the last time they won the English Premier League was back in the 1989 – 90 season and narrowly lost out last season must be very painful doesn’t make matters any easier either. The thing with soccer is, there has to be a few people who stand out from the bunch of 11. In the scousers case, the names Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres on the starting line up may mean a whole lot more than some of us may want to accept. The beauty of this is that having players like these in your team can mean a world of difference because you never really know what anyone of them will do next.
The duo’s dynamism is extraordinary. Gerrard’s precise passing, his strength and his technical excellence feeds Torres’ tremendous talent and provides him with goal scoring opportunities which some other strikers can only afford to dream about. Take Torres’ goal against Blackburn at Anfield last campaign. He found space, was fed the right ball and smashed home a glorious goal in the top left hand corner when he was facing in the opposite direction. Astonishing!!
Of course it helps that Liverpool have players to supplement their quality like Jamie Carragher and Yosi Benayoun, but the skill and prowess of the England midfielder and the Spanish International have taken Liverpool to a new level.
The downside to this is if the two {Gerrard and Torres} are off form or are unavailable due to various circumstances, it becomes very tricky for the team and the manager as well. Think about what happened last weekend and the mid week Champions league fixtures.
Liverpool Disaster
Wednesday night must have been a very long one for both Benitez and his men as their plans {and world} crumbled at home in the hands of Lyon. Torres was out of the game with a groin strain while Gerrard limped off after 25 minutes with a recurrence of a similar problem.
The hosts ended the night with a strike force of N’Gog and Voronin supported by the ever so ineffective promptings of Lucas and Fabio Aurelio. The sale of midfield key cog Xabi Alonso to the Galacticos is just starting to be felt as there is basically no one to replace Gerrard! The team has basically a serious lack of depth with Alonso’s replacement Alberto Aquilani yet to play while Voronin, well, he spends most of his time on the doctor’s table.
Am not a pessimist or a prophet of doom, but, if Benitez doesn’t do anything to take care of his midfield, Liverpool will spend another 20 years before they come close to even smelling the Premiership
