BigTimeFootball Cup. Semi Final. Spain v Italy

"How in the hell was Pep passed over for this game"? Luis had been a Barcelona supporter all of his life. His father named him after the legendary Barca playmaker Luis Suarez. The night before the Spanish all-stars took on the all-stars from Italy, Luis and his son Johan, sat discussing the match

"UEFA wants attention dad. If Pep is the manager, Spain wins with style and class. With Mourinho as manager UEFA gets clownish quotes and plenty of drama. The bigger the circus the more attention people will pay and the bigger the TV contract". Not only does young Johan possess the footballing skill of the great Johan Cruyff, but is as intelligent as the Dutchman once described as “Pythagoras in boots”.

Pleased with his son’s assessment of Spain’s manager, Luis moves on to personnel. "So who will shine for Spain Tomorrow?"

Quickly Johan replies, "Too Easy. With Messi up front and Pique in the back there is no way Spain will lose. Xavi will come off the bench for some second half play making. And Navas on the wing is real trouble".

"Good. And who is the trouble for Italy?"

Johan had been studying the Italian squad for months. Boys of this age obsess of every player and every stat of the sports they love. Again, Johan was ready for his fathers query.  "Their front three is very good. Sneijder can make plays for both Di Natali and Cavanni. If Banega and Pique can cut out his distribution we should be able to outscore them"

            The next morning, Luis and Johan were joined for breakfast by Luis’s older brother Zoltan. Zoltan was named after Hungarian and Barca legend Zoltan Czibor. Zoltan is by far Johan’s favorite uncle. Their love for football and especially Barcelona has made them very close. Johan had been told of his uncles past and it made him all the more mysterious and intriguing.

His uncle is former Ultra with the Barcelona Firm Boixos Nois (Crazy Boys in Catalan). He left the group in 1985 after a Barca - Juve match where Boixos showed a banner where there was written: “Thank you Liverpool for Juve's deaths” (in reference of the Heysel disaster). Zoltan joined the Boixos to promote the Catalan separatist agenda and go crazy for Barca, not to cheer mass deaths from a tragic stadium disaster. Zoltan was out.

            “Tell me Johan. Whose ass did your father have to kiss to get off today? Shouldn’t he be tasked to keep our Catalonian streets safe from the invading hordes of Italians? ” This is another reason Johan loved Zoltan. He never missed an opportunity to give his father a little trouble.

            Luis had recently been promoted to Inspector in the Citizen Safety division in the Barcelona Police department, the Guardia Urbana. “Now that you mention it brother. We know for a fact that at least three groups of Italian Ultras are here. Probably more. Flags and songs from Drughi (Juventus),  Curva Sud (Roma) and Brigate Rossonere (AC Milan) were seen all over La Rambla to the wee hours of the morning ”.

            “Not to worry though. We have riot police all over the Nou Camp and all of the surrounding Metro stations. We will have men in uniform riding the metros all day, both before and after the game. I expect the real problems to come after the match when the Italians have lost 6 nil”. 

            The men finished their breakfast and head for the Nou Camp.

As our three heroes travelled closer and closer the Nou Camp, the Metro cars began to fill with football supporters. The car they were traveling in just happened to be packed with Italian supporters. More specifically, Drughi Bianconeri. The Drughi took their name from the film A Clockwork Orange. In the film Alex and his band of Droogs roamed the countryside looking for a bit of the old “Ultra Violence”. The Drughi are easy to spot wearing black and white and waving Juventus flags.

Johan was not afraid of the traveling Italian supporters. He was with his father the Inspector and his uncle the former Ultra. Another reason for comfort was his father’s correct account of the police force. There were two members of the Guardia Urbana in the car and they were not taking their eyes off the Drughi.

As the heroes stop Les Corts approached the behavior of the Drughi intensified. Members of the firm began getting on each others shoulders and yelling at the Guardia. A few had begun giving the Guardia a few menacing hand gestures. This was intentional. The Drughi (or a few of them anyway) wanted the police close by when the metro came to a stop. When the metro halted at Les Corts there was a rush to get off the car. Members of the Drughi managed to get the two Guardia off with them.

 Luis noticed this and gave quick hushed instructions to Zoltan. “Take Johan to the match. I am going to stay on a few more stops. Johan, I may miss the opening 15 so text me a play by play”. The three did not speak after the instructions had been given. Zoltan knew that his brother was bound by an oath to protect the city. Luis knew that Johan would be safe with his brother and that he would see them soon.

When the train began to move again Luis knew he had made the right decision. The 20 Drughi remaining all put their scarves in their pockets and huddled around each other in quiet conversation. There was no more signing. No more taunting. With the uniformed Guardia off the car they were regrouping … and planning.

 After a few more stations Luis got his first text from Johan. This made him feel good and also made him look more inconspicuous as a man just riding the metro and texting.

First Text ...  Kick off delayed 10 minutes due to supporters clashing outside the grounds. Just made it to our seats as Natali Kicks to Cavanni. ...

 --Reply… Thx. Keep me posted. Don’t worry

Second Text  ... Minute 10. Messi played through by Navas. Chips Stekelenburg for a goal.

--Reply … MESSI!!!

Luis and the now incognito Italians rode the metro a few more stops to the Zona Universitària station. Luis exited with the Italians staying a comfortable distance behind them going unnoticed. He was beginning to wonder what these Drughi were up to. Why did they remove their colors? Why were they not at the Nou Camp raising a ruckus? Where the hell are we going?

.Third text ... Minute 20. Another Messi goal, This time he ran through three defenders. Where are you?

--Reply ... just got off at Metro Zona Universitària. On foot.

Before Luis sent his last text, it dawned on him that he should not only be texting his son. He was now CC’ing his second in command Sgt Pedro Valdes. He would not reply to Sgt Valdes but he would keep copying him. Pedro was bright and would figure out Luis’s replies.

Fourth Text ... Pretty Boy Ronaldo gets on the board. Excellent Free kick after he dove to get the call. The Italians look lost. Where are you?

--Reply ... Walking west. Other ultras have joined this group. The number is now about 50

            Luis was fully aware of how these groups of Ultras worked. Walking around with 200 of your best hooligan buddies is a tad suspicious. So smaller groups around 20 – 30 all take different forms of public transportation (trams and tubes usually) and meet up in a designated area.

Fifth Text ... Italian Ultras inside the stadium are letting off bangers and throwing flares. Some bastard just lobbed a flare off of the Gol Sur!! The match has been halted and riot police are on the pitch! Where are you?

--Reply ... I'm about 50 meters behind the Italians. The real crimes will be committed outside the Camp today. The tactics of Ultras in the Nou Camp must be to draw attention away from this clash.

Sixth Text ... Halftime. 3 - 0 to Spain. Too much possession and too much Messi :-)

-- Reply ... Entering the Parc de Cervantes.

By this time Luis has seen the number of Italian Ultras grow to 150. Many of them are now putting on their balaclavas. Luis could see the trams on the other end of the park are emptying. Based on colors he spotted members of the Frente Atletico, Boixos Nois and the lunatics from the Basque region of Spain, The Herri Norte Taldea. This was their pre-designated spot. This is where it is going to happen

Seventh Text ... Xavi replaces Banega and Ozil is in for Carzola. Daniele De Rossi is in for Seedorf. Second half is underway. Where are you?

-- Reply ...

Leaders of the groups step to the front. There are several minutes of taunting and finger pointing. A lot of adrenalin is being worked up. Flares and missiles are lobbed from the back of the groups. And then ... the spark. A member of the Boixos Nois pulls out a Liverpool flag. The Italians are enraged and they charge the Spanish.

Eighth Text ... Minute 56. Messi completes the hat trick. 4 - 0 Spain. Please text me back.

-- Reply ...

The scene is now a chaotic mass of smoke, bodies and screams. Flesh on flesh. Bone on bone. A riot is taking place in Barcelona's Parc de Cervantes. If any of these mad men paused for a second they could hear the sirens coming. Two police helicopters arrive overhead and this starts panic amongst the troops.

Ninth Text … 67th minute. Sub Lavezzi gets Italy a gol. 4 - 1. Are you ok? Father?

-- Reply ...

Riot trucks and officers wielding batons arrive. Water cannons knock fighting teenagers and middle aged men to the ground like rag dolls. Tear gas from the riot police scatters the men from both sides into gagging and coughing huddles.

All hell has broken loose. There is blood. There are bodies on the ground. Why do they do this? What drives this violence? Is it ideology and opposing world views? Perhaps xenophobia? Even in the year 2011 are we afraid of what we do not know? Maybe these men are looking for a sense of community, though it looks more like tribalism and blind rage.

Or is the easiest answer the most logical? Shall I use Ockham's Razor…

These bastards simply like hitting people.

Tenth Text ... Great Finish. Sergio Ramos scored a header. But the gol of the night belonged to Juve man Arturo Vidal. He scored on  bicylce kick from a Cavanni cross. To little to late though. Spain win 5 - 2. We are headed to the Les Corts metro. See you there?

-- Return Call: "Johann? This Segeant Valdes. We have your father’s phone...."

BigTimeFootball Cup. Semi Final. England v Germany

The blogosphere was ablaze before the match at Wembley. Wayne Rooney fired the first shots by taking to Twitter and claiming, "Achtung! Krauts cant win at Wembley". Sir Alex stoked the flames when he wondered aloud if German manager Jurgen Klopp, "knew what it takes to win a big match". German all-star captain Bastian Schweinsteiger hit back at Rooney saying, "Who cares what a hooligan says. Our side will be ready." Reporters asked Jurgen Klopp if revenge was on his mind for the 1966 World Cup defeat to England. To that, Klopp retorted, "We had our revenge in 1990, 1996 and 2010. We are only thinking of this game".

When the match finally arrived, the 96,000 fans that packed the New Wembley were treated to 66 degrees and partly cloudy weather, a perfect afternoon for football. The 30,000 travelling German supporters showed their ambivalence to the English/German rivalry as they sang out, "Wir würden lieber spielen Holland" or in English "We'd rather be playing Holland". Not to be outdone the English supporters rang out with , "Two World Wars and One world Cup" . A little racist? Sure, but this is England v Germany. Not a night at the opera.

Off the opening kick, the German All-Stars took the game right to the English All-Stars. In just the fourth minute, Robben streaked down the right side before cutting back to his preferred left foot and blazing a shot just over Tim Howards bar.

The lack of a true holding midfielder was very apparent in this contest. Midfielders for both sides had room to move and create. Marin and Götze linked up well to create several chances and Howard was forced into making several fine saves in the 9th and 10 minutes.

England got going 15 minutes into the match as All-Star captain John Terry blocked a Lucas Padolski shot which lead to a break. Modric juked Marin just outside of his own 18 yard box and he hit Spurs teammate Gareth Bale with a chipped pass. Bale proceeded to do what he does best. He nutmegged Arjen Robben and ran full speed Hoffenheim's Andreas Beck. Beck turned to run with Bale and the two cheetahs went stride for stride. Just before Bale hit the end line he arrowed a left footed cross to a trailing Wayne Rooney who unleashed a powerful header to roof of the net. Enlgand were in front.

the England supporters found their voice, the lads found their footing. The attacks started to come from the wings as both Bale and Glenn Johnson whipped in crosses. England almost made it 2 - 0 in the 25th minute but Suarez's header rattled off the bar.

Suarez was not to be denied just 6 minutes later. Suarez ran off the shoulder of Mats Hummels and as two midfielders collapsed on David Silva he found the Uruguayan in stride. Suarez danced around Marc-Andre ter Stegen and guided the ball into the empty net. Now it was 2 - 0 to the home side.

England did not let their foot off the gas the rest of the half. Suarez and Aguero's movement led to opportunities. If it wasn’t for a brilliant diving Stegen save off of a thunderous Bale free kick in the 43rd minute England would have had 3. Another Stegen save from an Aguero shot resulted in England’s 4th corner of the half. Now it was time for the youngest and most controversial pick, Phil Jones to find the net. Jones towered over Filip Daems and headed down past Stegen. 3 - 0 ENGLAND!!

Then the game turned on its head in the one minute of first half extra time. After Schweinsteiger picked Rooney's pocket, he found Erin Derdiyok on the left wing. The Swiss international then played a fine give and go with Podolski and Derdiyok only had Phil Jones to beat. A swivel of the hips and a clean pair of heels later Derdiyok was bearing down on Howard. Jones must have felt he only had one option as he grabbed Derdiyok's shoulder pulled him down just inside the penalty area.

Referree Mark Clattenburg immediately showed Jones the Red Card and pointed to the spot. John Terry and Wayne Rooney were yellow carded for dissent for ripping into Clattenburg. Replays however vindicated the Clattenburg call. After the yellow cards and several missiles were thrown onto the pitch, Schweinsteiger stepped up to take the penalty. Howard dove right and Schweinsteiger's penalty was blasted straight down the middle.

When the whistle blew for half time England were down to ten men but they were still ahead 3 - 1. Phil Jones had gone from hero to villian

The second half saw 1 substitution from Sir Alex. Knowing he had a lead to protect and three defenders weren’t going to be able to make it hold, he brought on Ryan Shawcross for Sergio Aguero. This left Suarez as the lone striker and trouble maker up front.

As soon as the whistle blew to start the second half the blitzkrieg was on. Götze dribbled past Modric and Rooney only to see another save from Howard. This was a sign of things to come and Sir Alex knew it. He kept motioning his men back but with Rooney and Modric in the middle, two men out of position, it was only a matter of time before the Germans broke through again.

As England parked the bus in front Howard's net, the German all-stars kept creating chances. In the 72 minute the Germans had a breakthrough. Arjen Robben whipped in another corner kick and American Steven Cherundolo hammered a header into the top right corner. The Germans were nipping at the English heels now 3 - 2.

England held tough until the 83rd minute when substitute Kevin Großkreutz pounced on a loose ball in the 6 yard box to level the game at 3 a piece.

Sir Alex brought on his last two subs knowing that he needed a goal and some fresh legs. Robin Van Persie was brought in for an exhausted Luis Suarez and Ashley Young replaced Gareth Bale. Klopp countered with strikers Cacau for Padolski and Schürrle for  Götze.

The Germans continued to press for a winner when against the run of play England created a miracle. Newly inserted Cacau got too cute with his dribbling and lost possession to Wayne Rooney. Rooney found teammate Ashley Young out on the left wing who side stepped Großkreutz and then tussled with Andreas Beck. Young somehow managed to get around the gifted Beck and he darted in a cross that met the educated left foot of Robin Van Persie.

Van Persie’s shot was expertly taken and the ball slammed into the back of the German net. All of England erupted. The England players mobbed Van Persie and the Germans fell to ground many already with tears in their eyes.

At the beginning of the match the German fans had sung for a game with Holland instead they were eliminated from the tournament by a Dutchman. Epic

Then... somewhere from the top of the terraces it started... "There were ten German bombers in the air, There were ten German bombers in the". As the final whistle blew, England had won and the last chorus was sung, "Cos the RAF from Britain shot them down".

Coming Soon … Semi Final Match 2. Spain v Italy

BigTimeFootball Cup ... PART 1

During the European break I got to sit back and look at a lot of the National sides. I thought about writing a post featuring the top players from each nation. But then I thought it would be more fun to pick all-star squads from each of the top divisions and play out a fictional cup tournament. So I bring you...

The inaugural BigTimeFootball Cup

The Breakdown:

• Select a starting 11 from clubs in the top European leagues
• The Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and The Bundesliga
• No more than two players per club team can make the starting lineup of their league team. For Example, the la Liga team can only feature 2 Barcelona players in it's starting 11. However they are allowed one more bench player for a total of three.
• The four teams will be placed in one pot and drawn together to make 2 semi-final  fixtures. Single elimination knockout format.

The Squads:

Premier League: 4 - 4 - 2

                                                Tim Howard (Everton)

Glen Johnson (Liverpool) - Phil Jones (Manchester United) - John Terry (Chelsea) - Leighton Baines (Everton)

Davild Silva (Man City) - Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) - Luka Modric (Tottenham) - Gareth Bale (Tottenham)

                         Sergio Aguero (Man City) - Luis Suarez (Liverpool)

Subs: Peter Cech - Robin Van Persie - Samir Nasri - Ashley Young - Ashley Cole - Ryan Shawcross

Manager: Alex Ferguson

Trying to pick out the top two players from Man U and Man City was very tough. Leaving Steven Gerrard out of my squad just doesn’t feel right in my soul. I did not pick a holding mid-fielder. This just seems more fun. Playing a 4 - 4 - 2 formation seems right with this group as well. Having Gareth Bale out on the wing with Aguero and Suarez upfront will be a nightmare for the other leagues. The EPL is far and away the deepest league in Europe. Anyone could easily pick three different starting 11’s and each one of those teams could easily win the BTF Cup

La Liga: 4 - 3 - 3

                        Gustavo Munua (Levante)

Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) - Diego Godin (Athletico Madrid) - Gerard Pique (Barca)  - Filipe Kasmirski (Athletico Madrid)

            Jesus Navas (Sevilla) - Ever Banega (Valencia) - Santi Carzola (Malaga)

    Leo Messi (Barcelona) - Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao) - Christiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)

Subs: Roberto Soldado - Xavi - Mesuit Ozil - Carlos Marchena - Andres Palop – Falcao

Manager: Jose Mourinho ... I can't think of a better manager to piss off and defeat SAF.

Barca manager Pep Guardiola is excellent but he is too classy for this tournament. Picking a starting 11 from La Liga is tough because the top talent is concentrated at Madrid and Barcelona. I did pick a holding midfielder in this 11. The two best holding midfielders in La Liga play for Madrid and Barca (Busquets and Xabi Alonso respectively), but neither one of them is worth picking over Messi, Ronaldo, Ramos or Pique. And Ever Banega is pretty good. He is an Argentine international who is strong in the tackle and an above average passer. It also made sense to pick a holding midfielder in this tournament if La Liga runs up against the English juggernaut. Any team featuring both Messi and Ronaldo has to like their chances in a shootout.

Bundesliga: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1

                                    Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Borussia M’Gladbach)

Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim)    Mats Hummels (Dortmund)    Filip Daems (M’Gladbach)   Steven Cherundolo (Hannover)

                Bastian Schweinsteiger (FC Bayern)   Marko Marin (Werder Bremen)

Arjen Robben (FC Bayern)         Mario Götze (Dortmund)                        Eren Derdiyok (Leverkusen)

                                                Lucas Padolski (Cologne)

 Subs: Jerome Boateng - Ron-Robert Zieler (Hanover 96) - Andre Schürrle (Leverkusen) -

Cacau - Kevin Großkreutz - Marcell Jansen

Manager: Jürgen Klopp... Duh!

Picking only 3 (2 starters and 1 on the bench) Bayern Munich Players was tough. I went with the Cool head of Schweinsteiger to anchor the midfield and the lethal Arjen Robben to slice up the right side of the attack. I chose M'Gladback keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen over Manuel Neuer. Stegen is only 19 year old, he has surrendered 6 goals in 9 games including clean sheets against FC Bayern and Hamburg.

Serie A: 4 - 3 - 3

                        Maarten Stekelenburg (Roma)

Maicon (Inter)       Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)      Thiago Silva (Milan)       Burdisso (Roma)

Marek Hamsik (Napoli)      Arturo Vidal (Juventus)           Clarence Seedorf (Milan)

Edinson Cavanni (Napoli)    Antonio Di Natali (Udinese)   Wesley Sneijder (Inter)

Subs: Lucio - Sebastion Giovinco - Antonio Cassano - Ezequiel Lavezzi - Daniele De Rossi - Federico Marchetti

Manager: Who the hell is going to manage this team? The top clubs in Italy change managers like crazy. There is no stability. Therefore before the tournament begins I will hold a fight club between Ultra's from Roma, Lazio and Juventus. The last knife wielding lunatic left standing gets to call the shots.

When I first started researching the starting 11 for the Italian club side I thought they would not stand a chance. But with Seedorf in the middle pulling the strings for Hamsik, Vidal, Cavanni and Sneijder. This lineup can score with the best of them.

The Draw:

The four nations were thrown in a pot and the draw shook out like this …

Game 1 – Premier League v Bundesliga … Wembley

Game 2 – La Liga v Serie A … Camp Nou

Part 2 … Coming Soon