There’s no doubting that Rafael van der Vaart has been a revelation for Tottenham this season. The Dutchman might not have been in top form in the Premier League recently, but I wouldn’t bet against van der Vaart showing his true colours as Spurs battle Man City for Champions League qualification. Rafa isn’t just skilful with the ball at his feet either, it would seem that he’s pretty handy doing keepy-ups with chewing gum too.
Here’s Spurs star Rafael van der Vaart showing off his skills as he juggles his chewing gum before the match against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in the Champions League last week. Rafa then goes one step too far and kicks it back up to his mouth to start chewing again. Mmmm, tasty….
Rafa’s still got some way to go to match his WAG Sylvie though! Make sure you check out her football skills here.
It has been reported in the news today that Mario Balotelli’s proposed move from Inter Milan to Manchester City has hit the rocks over his astronomical wage demands. Rumour has it that young Balotelli, despite being deemed surplus to requirements for Italy at the World Cup and struggling to hold down a regular starting place at Inter, believes that he is worth a staggering £180,000 a week.
Balotelli has bags of potential, but are City right to be apprehensive? Here we take a look at some other stars who have promised the world as youngsters and failed to deliver…
Francis Jeffers
The Promise
When Jeffers broke into the Everton team just before his 17th birthday, he was hailed as a natural ‘fox in the box’ who would be an international star of the future and his reputation was further enhanced when he became the England under-21 joint record goalscorer, sharing the record with a certain Alan Shearer. A record at club level of almost a goal in every two games prompted Arsenal to pay over £8 million for the then 20-year-old in 2001 and Arsene Wenger described him ‘obsessed with scoring goals’.
The Disappointment
Jeffers’ Arsenal career was nothing short of a disaster, and after less than 30 appearances in three years at the Gunners and a disastrous loan spell back at Everton, he was shown the door. The bright young thing had faded to the point of invisibility. After a series of unsuccessful transfers and loan spells Jeffers, still just 29, recently had a trial at newly-promoted Blackpool after being released by Sheffield Wednesday, where he scored just 5 goals in 3 years, this summer. He has only scored 12 senior goals since 2004.
Jermaine Pennant
The Promise
By the time Jermaine Pennant was 14, he was already a member of the Notts County under-18 team and was attracting admiring glances from teams across Britain. It was no real surprise, then, that in 1999, when Pennant was 15, he was signed by Arsenal. The fee was £2 million, then a record for a trainee. Pennant became Arsenal’s youngest ever player and was soon impressing the fans with his performances in the League Cup, where he demonstrated his pace and trickery. At 16, he was already a huge name in the world of British football and was seen as a certainty for future international honours.
The Disappointment
Pennant became homesick upon joining Arsenal, and his development waned as a result. Despite scoring a hattrick on his league debut for the Gunners in 2002, Pennant was unable to secure a regular place. He moved to Birmingham, where his career hit controversy as he was forced to play with an electronic tag due to a drink driving conviction. After an inconsistent spell at Liverpool, Pennant turned down a move to Real Madrid and instead joined Portsmouth, causing many to question his ambition. In 2009 he did move to Spain, with Real Zaragoza. Now 27, Pennant has become one of English football’s forgotten men. Despite seeming keen on a move back to England, he is yet to find a suitor, and a full international cap still eludes him.
Cherno Samba
The Promise
At the turn of the millennium, Gambia-born Cherno Samba was once seen as the next big thing in English football. His father was a Gambian international, and when the Samba family moved to London, Cherno took the local football scene by storm. He scored 132 goals in 32 games in his under-14 season, and it was Millwall who elected to take a chance on the pacy frontman, signing him for their academy. Samba’s phenomenal goalscoring exploits continued, and before long the Premier League’s big boys became interested, with Liverpool having a £2 million bid turned down for the teenager before he had even made a first team appearance. He also represented England at every level from under-15s to under-20s. The world, it seemed, was at Samba’ prolific little feet. Millwall offered him a three year contract which he signed in 2002, on his 17th birthday.
The Disappointment
For some reason, Samba never made the grade at Millwall. He saw out his contract at the club, but never made an appearance for the first team. A move to Spain followed, and journeyman Samba has now played for seven clubs despite still being just 25. His goalscoring exploits haven’t continued however, and Malaga remains the only team that he has ever scored ten goals for at senior level. A potential move to Portsmouth in 2009 was hampered by the club’s transfer embargo, and he recently signed for Panetolikos in the Greek second tier.
Freddy Adu
The Promise
There was only one name on everyone’s lips before the 2004 MLS SuperDraft: Freddy Adu. The 14-year-old was drafted as the first pick by DC United, and became the youngest US athlete in 100 years to sign a professional contract. His development continued, and in 2005 he was nominated for the FIFPRO World Young Player of the Year award. Adu had a two week trial with Manchester United in 2006, and became the youngest ever USA international when he came on as a substitute against Canada in the same year. Suddenly, the whole world knew about the Ghanaian-born forward, and it seemed only a matter of time before he made the step into a top European league. In 2007, he agreed a move to Benfica for $2 million.
The Disappointment
Adu never really settled into the Portuguese game, and after failing to hold down a first team place at Benfica, was twice sent on loan, to Monaco and Belenenses, where he also failed to make an impact. A third loan spell in Greece has proved more successful, but at 21 Adu has lost his place in the USA squad and appears to be some way off achieving the brilliance that his early potential suggested. Question marks over his real age have only added to Adu’s turmoil.
Nii Lamptey
The Promise
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When you’re described as the next Pelé, you’re good. When the praise comes from the great man himself, you’re very special. In 1991, midfielder Nii Lamptey inspired Ghana to victory in the FIFA Under 17 World Cup, claiming the Golden Ball in a competition that included Juan Veron and Alessandro Del Piero. Lamptey was hardly an unknown before the tournament. When he signed for Anderlecht as a 15-year-old, Belgian age-limit rules were changed to allow him to appear in the first team at 16 and it wasn’t long before he earned a glamorous move to PSV Eindhoven. Again he was the star performer, leaving fans and pundits awestruck, despite the fact that he was just 19 years old.
The Disappointment
Lamptey seemed happy at PSV, but in the summer of 1994 his agent forced through a move to Ron Atkinson’s Aston Villa, seemingly ignoring what was good for Lamptey’s career but making himself a small fortune. Expectation was high but Lamptey disappointed in England. He followed Atkinson to Coventry after one season but his career nosedived and never fully recovered. He left for Italy after one season, but the death of his child, as well as a racism-plagued spell in Germany, left Lamptey psychologically damaged, and he fell short of the potential he had as a youngster. Currently assistant manager of Sekondi Eleven Wise in the Ghanaian top flight.
Only time will tell if Balotelli will make the grade or if, like so many before him he will fade and be forever thought of as a player who never fulfilled his potential.
What do you guys think? Is Balotelli the next Cristiano Ronaldo or will he fail to shine like his countryman Nii Lamptey?
Back in the day, professional footballers would have had no option but to study for another living that they could turn to if their sporting career didn’t work out or ended prematurely. The likes of Sir Trevor Brooking and co studied in alternate professions before and during their careers so that their life after the beautiful game would be sustainable and quite often achieved a degree or qualification that would be crucial in their later years.
The main reason for the extra hard work was the measly wages that previous generations of players received, which is a far cry from today’s millions. Even some modern day footballers feel the need to pursue a second life after football which in my opinion is extremely credible. Numerous ex-players become heavily involved in charity work, continue a career in football or in Dion Dublin’s case, become an inventor.
However, the wages in twenty first century Premier League football have risen so rapidly that the need for work after football is obsolete. Players such as Yaya Toure, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney have wages bordering or in advance of £200,000 a week this year that would have been unthinkable 20-years ago. Earning millions of pounds a year to play football is completely farfetched but the players are not to blame for this.
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The introduction of the multi–billion pound foreign owners to the Premier League in the past 10 years or so has seen a rise in wages to fight off competition from rival clubs. Take Manchester City for example, they have brought dozens of players to the club since their takeover and the majority of the players signed will have received a significant wage rise. One of the main beneficiaries of the influx of foreign ownership has been Wayne Bridge. Chelsea signed the England left back just a month after Roman Abramovich arrived at Stamford Bridge and the former Southampton player doubled his wage overnight. Six years and 87 league appearances later Manchester City; now under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour; signed Bridge for around £10million, once again boosting the left back’s wages.
So with a progressively increased pay packet over his career, Bridge was told he can leave City this January after becoming third choice wing back at the Etihad Stadium. The former England international will be 32 this year and may only have two seasons at the most at the top level of English football left in his career. No team in England or Europe is going to pay the same wage to Bridge that he is receiving in Manchester at the moment so why would he want to leave?
Professional footballers will only have around 12-15 years in the game and so is it not expected that they will try and earn as much money as possible in that time before early retirement? Some will obviously jump on the bandwagon that the players are just greedy but I don’t feel they are to blame and although playing football should be their goal, being paid as much as possible to do so in a short space of time has got to be understandable.
Admittedly the players do not deserve everything they get and the overall debate about money in football is for a different time, but a salary cap or something along those lines would be unthinkable in football as players wages are set to increase even more if they are on the move in the January transfer window.
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Disagree? Do not hesitate to let me know below or on Twitter: @Brad_Pinard
Reigning Premier League champions Chelsea sit a distant 11 points behind leaders Manchester United following Saturday?s 1-1 draw with Stoke.Jonathan Walters’ early strike shook the Blues until Didier Drogba levelled matters before the break in a game that could have produced far more goals.
Carlo Ancelotti made a tactical switch up front with Salomon Kalou and goal-shy Fernando Torres dropping to the bench to allow Drogba and Nicolas Anelka to spearhead the Blues? attack.
Robert Huth’s early miss was soon forgotten as Walters ran at Michael Essien and cut back on his right foot to beat Petr Cech with a ferocious cross-shot after eight minutes.
Chelsea came close to an instant retort as Ashley Cole steered his diving header wide, while John Terry’s timely tackle denied Kenwyne Jones at the opposite end.
But Chelsea’s strikers did re-pay manager Carlo Ancelotti’s faith as they linked up perfectly in the 33rd minute with Drogba meeting Anelka’s perfectly-weighted chipped pass for a textbook diving header.
The drama continued after the interval as Jermaine Pennant shot straight at Cech’s legs and Drogba struck the post from a tight angle
The Potters were unlucky not to regain the lead with Marc Wilson’s 30-yard free-kick and Huth’s bullet header both pounding Cech’s crossbar in the space of 60 seconds.
The hosts’ profligacy continued with Jones and Walters both struggling to apply finishing touches from around the six yard box.
Drogba rattled Stoke’s woodwork late on as Chelsea’s grip on their champions crown slipped further from their grasp.
West Ham United manager Avram Grant has promised the club's fans that there will be several more new faces at the club before the season starts in less than three weeks' time.
Despite being linked with a host of big names this summer, the only new arrivals at Upton Park since the end of last season have been Pablo Barrera, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Frederic Piqiuonne.
The Hammers have looked good in pre-season so far, securing 2-0 and 1-0 victories against Borussia Monchengladbach and Panathinaikos respectively, with Grant saying:"It was a very good week.
"The boys trained very hard, they showed a good attitude. Most of the training was of a high intensity which is not easy and they did it very well.
"We also reached our targets in the games. The first was to be familiar to the system that we are going to play this season. Second was we wanted to improve our fitness as we prepare for the league. Everything went well.
"We want to create a structure that can develop and improve the team all the time. We don't have the money of the top four, or top seven as it has become, but we can be a very good team with a vision for the next years.
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"It is encouraging. The squad is not complete yet, we told the players we want to make the squad as strong as we can. Even if the club are limited with money, because we are in debt, we know what we are doing and we know we want to do.
"The owners are trying to give their best for the team so we will buy or loan a few more players. Even if I don't like loans so much – most players here will be players for the long term."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
The Euro 2012 draw has been made and it’s good news for England who will be playing in Group D against hosts Ukraine, Euro 2000 winners France and recent friendly opponents Sweden. As a result of the draw the England Euro 2012 odds have proven very popular with punters wanting to take some early value on Fabio Capello’s side.
England fans will be thinking “It could have been a lot worse after that draw”, England were second seeds just like Germany and could have ended up in a group with Holland, Portugal and Denmark. Instead it was Germany who took the remaining spot in Group B. England were widely available at around 11/1 before the draw with many bookies but most have shortened, including William Hill who now only offer 7/1.
Republic Of Ireland are in Group C in a tough group with Spain, Italy and Croatia. Republic Of Ireland got a draw the last time they played Spain in a major tournament in 2002 and they’d love the same result again. Group A looks the more favourable group with hosts Poland taking on Russia, Greece and Czech Republic. The problem is the two qualifiers from the weakest group will meet the two qualifiers from Group B which looks the toughest group so the runners up in Group B won’t be too disheartened at having to play a group winner.
England will be without the suspended Wayne Rooney for the beginning of the tournament but recently beat Spain without the striker and also beat Group D opponents Sweden 1-0 without Rooney which is a good sign for England’s chances. England’s recent results against France and Ukraine haven’t been as good though, in a friendly against France in November 2010 where Fabio Capello experimented with his team England were beaten 2-1 at Wembley whilst England have two fairly recent competitive matches against Ukraine from World Cup 2010 qualifying. England beat Ukraine at Wembley but lost the away tie 1-0 which is a worry.
Most will expect England to at least qualify from this group but winning the group will be very important as the runners up in Group D will take on the winners of Group C, which will in all likelihood be Spain. Winning the group would probably mean a quarter final against Italy which looks a much more favourable tie. England are favourites to win the group at around 6/4 whilst France are 2/1 in the Euro 2012 group betting.
Former England manager Glenn Hoddle was pleased with the draw, he told Sky Sports news “Nothing threatening there, we should be able to qualify, all in all a very good draw for England” whilst current England manager Fabio Capello declared himself “satisfied” with the draw and stated that he thought Spain were still the favourites.
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It has been many years since Wayne Rooney wasn’t the favourite to be England’s top scorer at a major tournament but his suspension means that Darren Bent is 11/2 favourite to score the most goals for his country, Ashley Young is next best at 7/1 whilst Wayne Rooney is 8/1 despite the fact he will miss at least half the games that England play at Euro 2012. For more betting opportunities at Euro 2012, click here.
Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu hailed the quality of his young squad after they bundled Roma out of the Champions League.Roma fell 3-0 at Shakhtar on Tuesday to crash out of the Champions League last-16 with a 6-2 overall aggregate.The Ukrainian champions were aided by the dismissal of Roma defender Philippe Mexes, whose rough treatment of Brazilian striker Luiz Adriano left Roma needing three goals with 10 men in below-freezing conditions.Lucescu said he never doubted his side would make it through to the quarter-finals of Europe’s most prestigious tournament.”We prepared well, knowing we couldn’t afford to lose the margin we earned in Rome,” Lucescu said.”We had problems at the beginning as Roma produced some strong football but we were well-organised and managed to rearrange and eliminate errors during the match.””We attacked well and after we scored the first goal we stopped thinking about Roma because the cooperation and coordination between our players grew much stronger.””We have many youngsters who are very quick and they showed it. I am very happy with my lads; they have a great future ahead of them.””One cannot think that we won only because Roma were reduced to 10 men. We played very well against 11 men too, and would have won as well.””I expected a result like this because I have trust in my team; I trust in our preparations, in the atmosphere at our stadium, in our supporters.”Roma boss Vincenzo Montella was always going to struggle to help his side overturn the deficit they suffered under his predecessor Claudio Ranieri, especially given Shakhtar have not lost at home in any competition since October 2008.But the Italian found reason to be hopeful for the future in his coaching debut at European level.”Ahead of the game I asked my players to prove that we are improving regardless of the result and qualification,” Montella said.”I’m satisfied because the approach was very good and we played very well while it was 11 against 11.””Then Mexes was sent off and it’s difficult to play at this level with 10 men, especially against a side like Shakhtar; they are very good at keeping possession and use all parts of the pitch.””We played a good game but once again we finished with ten men and we had a few players booked for fouls we could have avoided.””I think we are improving and we shouldn’t be demoralised by this defeat – that was the main problem in the team when I arrived.”
England captain Steven Gerrard is hoping to play a more advanced role against Algeria in Friday's make-or-break World Cup encounter.
Gerrard believes the return of a fit-again Gareth Barry to the anchor role in midfield from the side that drew 1-1 with the United States in their Group C opener last week will give him more licence to attack.
"I should imagine I will play in a more forward and attacking role and that suits me," said the Liverpool midfielder.
"It's great to have Gareth back and available, hopefully he'll provide protection for the two centre-halves."
Head coach Fabio Capello has broken with tradition to confirm that Barry will start against Algeria after shaking off an ankle injury but has kept the rest of his plans under wraps.
Reports claim that he will stick with Robert Green despite the goalkeeper's costly error against the US.
Jermain Defoe could partner Wayne Rooney in attack in place of Emile Heskey.
"I have made up my mind, but I will announce the team on Friday and the players will find out on Friday," said Capello when asked about his potential line-up for the game in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, Capello is also keen to dismiss suggestions that Algeria are the weakest team in the group following their opening defeat to Slovenia.
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"They have scored a lot of goals. Algeria are dangerous at free-kicks and corners. Also on counter-attack they play very well," he explained.
"I saw all the games that have been played. Not one game is easy. It will be a big mistake to think this game will be easy."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email
Fantasy Football returns hand-in-hand with Premier League football after a positive week for the England during the international break. So who’s looking likely to make their mark?
The Captaincy Debate
Norwich host Arsenal in the first game of the weekend. With the Gunners coming to town, it also means the Premier League most in-form player Robin van Persie will be at Carrow Road. The Dutchman needs no introduction with his current form (but he has scored eight in his last four if you needed further convincing).
Perhaps though this is the weekend RVP’s run of form comes to an end. Let’s turn our attention to the 1st v 3rd clash, and who’d have thought that would have been said ahead of a Manchester City versus Newcastle game this season. Nevertheless, the likes of David Silva, Edin Dzeko should be catching your eye in terms of potential captains. The way the Toon are playing currently, it might be worth as an outside bet considering Demba Ba as he can’t stop scoring.
Let’s move back down south to North London this time as Spurs take on Aston Villa on Monday. Even though van der Vaart has arguably been the key player for the Lilywhites over the season so far, Gareth Bale is starting to rediscover some of the form that last season led to him being lauded around Europe. He was on target for Wales last weekend as he put in another convincing appearance. Shay Given is one of the Premier League’s best keepers but Bale must be confident of adding to his recent tally.
Captain: It’s hard to veer away from Robin van Persie at the moment. Any time he gets near the 18 yard box, you think he’s going to score.
Vice Captain: Although Mancini might rotate ahead of City’s trip to Napoli, David Silva will probably be a survivor in the team. Even though Newcastle’s defence has been impressive, there’s not been much that has stopped the little Spaniard.
Long Term Look
This week, he might find it hard to continue to score points but in the long term, Ryan Taylor is a good player to have in your defence. Although he hasn’t exactly been the headline maker in Newcastle’s unbeaten run, Taylor is the current top points scorer in the defenders category.
The ex-Wigan man has two goals, two assists and four clean sheets. The two goals were both memorable moments, the first was the winner in the Tyne-Wear derby and the second a fantastic long range half volley which proved to the winner against Everton nearly a fortnight ago.
Whilst Newcastle’s run may well come to an end, Taylor is averaging just over 5 points per gameweek (Official Fantasy Premier League ). His price has increased at an alarming rate, so now could be the time to grab the defender before his price goes up even further.
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Real Madrid travel to Lyon’s Stade de Gerland on a revenge mission in the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday.With last season’s final held at their Santiago Bernabeu home, Real were determined to win their 10th European crown in front of their own fans.But they came unstuck in the first knockout round, losing 2-1 on aggregate to French club Lyon, making it six consecutive seasons in which they have failed to progress to the quarter-finals of the competition. For a team that prides itself on a rich pedigree in continental competition, yet another disappointment – coupled with poor results on the domestic front – played a major part in the dismissal of coach Manuel Pelligrini.Jose Mourinho – who lifted the European Cup with Inter Milan inside the Bernabeu – was approached to take over soon after his side’s 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in May last year.The Portuguese, who also won the European Cup with Porto in 2004, has made an immediate impact on the domestic front with Real. They are right behind league leaders Barcelona in the hunt for the La Liga title and have reached the final of the Copa del Rey for the first time in six years.But the most important test of Mourinho’s credentials is likely to come in the Champions League, a tournament which club President Florentino Perez is determined to recapture.Real defeated Levante 2-0 at home on Saturday and have won four consecutive matches in all competitions. Lyon beat Nancy 4-0 on the same day and also dispatched local rivals St Etienne 4-1 the week before. Claude Puel’s side have recovered from a slow start to sit third in Ligue 1, four points behind leaders Lille.Lyon also boast an enviable record in the Champions League – they reached the semi-finals last season and have progressed to the knock-out stages every year since 2004.First-choice Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez is in doubt for the French side after picking up a hamstring problem.Former Lyon striker Karim Benzema may start up front for Real against his former club.