Chris Cook and Greg Wood bring you all the latest news from the annual Grand National weights lunch
Showing posts with label Sport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sport. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Winning Real Madrid's 10th European Cup is José Mourinho's last goal | Sid Lowe
Winning his third Champions League and his employer's 10th will probably not save his job but it will define the head coach's legacy in Spain
He would not say so, at least not publicly, but José Mourinho probably agreed with his captain. This time, they surely saw eye to eye for once, not least because they had to. "If finishing 25 points behind Barcelona in the league means winning the Champions League, I would sign now," Iker Casillas said, exaggerating for effect. That was in December; two months later it could become a reality, simultaneously seductive and troubling.
Real Madrid are third, 16 points behind Barcelona. This has been a tense, conflictive and unsuccessful season – so far. Mourinho long since declared the league "impossible". There remains a Copa del Rey semi-final, second leg but its importance is relative. What really matters is the Champions League.
Mourinho is a collector, acutely aware of his place in history. Madrid brought him here to do what he did with Internazionale: win the European Cup and defeat Barcelona. He came to do two interrelated things: win the league in a fourth country and win a third European Cup with a different team. No coach had ever done either; do so here and his collection would be unique.
In the first he was successful. Madrid completed a brilliant, record-breaking league campaign last season. Two semi-final appearances, against Barcelona and Bayern Munich, ended in defeat. In the second, he still waits. He may get a second chance elsewhere but this is his last opportunity here. For Madrid, too, it is symbolic: they have waited a decade for the decima, their 10th European Cup. It is starting to feel rather a long time.
Mourinho has not enjoyed Spain. It is hard to see how he can continue beyond the summer, or why he would want to. There have been too many conflicts, bridges burnt; the question is what the exit strategy is. The absence of one may be the only thing that can keep him here, where he has been unable to do what most defined him in England: build a strong, united dressing room and manage the media.
The Madrid-based daily Marca recently claimed that the club captains, Casillas and Sergio Ramos, told the president, Florentino Pérez, that some players would leave if Mourinho continued. Covering the story for Mexican television, a journalist said it was "vox populi" that the dressing room does not get on with Mourinho, which might not have mattered if the journalist was not Casillas's girlfriend. Her remarks, widely criticised, confirmed the tension that had already emerged but many, including Pérez, had tried to deny.
The goalkeeper's relationship with the coach, like that of a handful of players, is uneasy. Much of the media has turned on Mourinho too, often viciously and indiscriminately so – and at least in part because they have felt "freed" to do so. And, although he has unconditional supporters, Mourinho has been whistled at the Santiago Bernabéu.
They will not whistle tomorrow. The European Cup is too important – enough to unite, to subsume all in the search for success. The absence of Casillas with a hand injury may even be beneficial, removing a focal point of tension, an alternative source of power. And for all the domestic problems few doubt that this side is good enough to win the tournament. Most assume they are better than Manchester United.
And if they do win it, everything changes. Lose and Pandora's Box opens; win and redemption and vindication could be the reward alongside the greatest trophy of all. It would also provide the conditions for club and coach to part company without rupture or loss of face.
It comes down to one hand but it is a hell of a hand. This competition will define this season and probably Mourinho's period in Spain. From the start of this season, the Champions League was the priority; now, it is everything. But then, in a way, it always has been: this is the trophy that defines Madrid, the one on which their identity is constructed. In the Veterans' Association only nine team photos adorn the wall: European Cup winners, enjoying the incontrovertible immortality Mourinho seeks.
There is a familiarity about the situation too, comfort in the knowledge that league struggles are not necessarily taken into Europe. Quite the opposite. When Madrid won their seventh, eighth and ninth European Cups, they finished fourth, fifth and third in the league, never close to the title. "It was as if we pressed the 'off' button in the league," Raúl recalls of the seventh; Lorenzo Sanz, the president then, describes their domestic season as a "via crucis"‚ a year of conflict and defeat. Juup Heynckes was sacked at the season's end and no one cared. He departed a European champion.
Madrid did not win the league when they clinched their sixth European Cup in 1966, either. And even when they won five successive European Cups, forging their legend as the greatest side ever, back home it was different: of 10 trophies between 1956 and 1960, Madrid won two, the league in 1956-57 and 1957-58. The European Cup, though, eclipses all else. It was true then and it is true now.
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How Marcus Trescothick's confession eased Steve Davies's depression | The Spin
It has been four years since Coming Back to Me was published. But it's only now that the impact of it is really being felt and seen
"I'm in a tunnel that has no end, and no light. There is no point continuing to struggle against the odds ... the psychiatrists don't know what is wrong with me, and there is nothing they can do in any case... If I was on a life machine I suppose one could switch off. I don't want to see anyone. I've nothing to live for. There's no point going on."
Soon after he said that, Harold Gimblett took an overdose and died. Those words are a succinct summation of the distressed, depressed state of mind he was in before he killed himself. Tragically, the first time they were heard by any ears other than his own was after he had died. They were set down in weary and broken monologue on a series of rambling tape recordings which he made for David Foot. The two had been planning to write Gimblett's biography together. It never happened, but after Gimblett's death Foot took the material he was left with and wove it into one of the touching books about the game and the people who play it, Harold Gimblett: Tormented Genius of Cricket.
Depression was always with Gimblett. He called it "the black cloud" and it followed him as closely as his own shadow on a sunny day at the wicket. He was convinced it was his inheritance from his father, who worked the farm at Bicknoller from where his boy hitchhiked to Frome to make one of the most rambunctious and glorious debuts in history. By 1953, 18 years later, Gimblett couldn't take it anymore. "I was taking sleeping pills to help me sleep and others to wake me up. The world was closing in on me and I couldn't offer any reason why." He was admitted to Tone Vale hospital and given a course of electric shock therapy.
Gimblett came back to cricket too soon. In his next match "I just folded up and had to stop the game while batting." The middle had been his sanctuary, once, but now he only felt secure in Tone Vale. "I'd felt so safe there. No one could get me." He struggled to make 29 and then "back in the dressing room I was at the bottom of the pit ..." In his next first-class innings, the last of the 673 he played, he made a duck, walked out of the County Ground at Taunton and checked himself back into hospital. The club's committee never forgave, or forgot, this desertion, and the ensuing rancour still riled him when he took his own life, aged 63, 24 years later. One of too many suicides: William Scotton, Arthur Shrewsbury, Albert Trott, AE Stoddart, Aubrey Faulkner, RC Robertson-Glasgow, Jack Iverson, Sid Barnes, David Bairstow and Mark Saxelby.
In my mind and those, I imagine, of a few other Somerset fans, Gimblett still opens the batting at Taunton. Or at least he does in the early hours of the night, when I'm caught sleepless between the sun's set and rise. Compiling XIs is like counting sheep to me. He and Marcus Trescothick are the openers in the county's All Time side. Strange, the similarities between the two, both ostensibly so uncomplicated, and yet each carrying a melancholic streak as broad as the opposing bowlers found their bats to be. Unlike Gimblett, Trescothick was bold enough, brave enough, or perhaps simply able enough, to talk about his own illness while he was still playing. "The mental battles for me have been enormous," Gimblett told Foot. "And maybe it would be a good idea to put it on record." Trescothick must have had a similar sort of conversation, in his way, with Peter Hayter, his own ghostwriter.
It has been four years since Coming Back to Me, the book the two wrote together, was published. It won the William Hill prize. But it's only now that the impact of it is really being felt and seen. There have been better books written about cricket, many more colourful, or more insightful, but not many that have been as important. Last week Steven Davies, the Surrey wicketkeeper, became the latest player to talk publicly about his own depression. In his case, it was triggered by the death of his team-mate Tom Maynard last June. "I really struggled," he told Surrey TV. "I knew I just needed some family time. I had a bit of break away and now I'm ready and really looking forward to the 2013 season." His form fell apart and he was rested, rather than dropped, from the Surrey side last summer.
Davies, it has to be said, was lucky enough to find an unorthodox but, he says, effective remedy. He took some time away from cricket, and went off on tour with Elton John. "Since I came out, we've bonded," Davies said. "He's looked after me in many ways, he knew I was going through a hard time and I mentioned that I was going to take some time away from cricket. He said that winters in England can be a bit depressing and he asked me 'Why don't you come on tour with me?' ... I had a great time."
Tim Ambrose, Mike Yardy and Iain O'Brien have all suffered too, and all spoken about it. The three of them have all contributed to a new awareness and advice program run by the Professional Cricketers' Association, Mind Matters. A book on the subject, with a foreword by Trescothick, has been issued to all PCA members this season. It's easy to forget now, but when Trescothick first flew home from England's tour to Pakistan in 2006, the official line was that he had "family problems", an explanation he then contradicted when he insisted that he had picked up a bug on tour. "In that old macho way," he later wrote, "I didn't want to admit to anyone what the problem might be." A lot had changed by the time Yardy left England's World Cup campaign, only five years later.
There's a temptation to cast cricketers as a species who are more prone to such problems than those in other walks of sport. "Like few other sports of the field," as Foot put it, "it is a game played with the mind. Only the unimaginative escape the tensions." Perhaps. But it would be a mistake to think that there is such a thing as a monopoly on misery. You wouldn't need long to find equally severe cases of depression in the ranks of players of other games. It is just that cricket has done a better job than most of casting light on the darkness, and is quicker and keener to address the issue. The fans and players, so easily and often teased as the one of the more conservative communities in sport, have been enlightened by Trescothick's confession.
Scorn has turned to sympathy which has turned to empathy, though it didn't happen in time to save Gimblett, or any number of others. His recordings, set down verbatim in Foot's book, remain the bleakest possible reminder of the depths sportsmen and women can sink to. You have to hope that, thanks in part to Trescothick, few will fall so low again, or be so lonely if they do.
"Maybe the coroner will listen to this and think what a load of rubbish it is. It is just a very unhappy, a very sad, a very disillusioned man saying out loud the thoughts that go round and round in his head. There is nothing I can do about it ... I'm a freak. Born one and always to be one ... There's a big weight pressing down on me. If I take tablets, it will be because I want to ..."
• This is an extract from the Spin, the Guardian's free weekly cricket email. To sign up, click here.
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Talking Horses: Win a £25 bet on the Cheltenham Festival
The best bets and latest news in our daily horse racing blog, plus win a £25 bet on the Cheltenham Festival
2pm Grand National weights out today
Tidal Bay has been allotted top weight of 11st 10lb in the John Smith's Grand National at Aintree on April 6.
The Paul Nicholls-trained 12-year-old has been in tremendous form this season, finishing second in the Hennessy at Newbury to Gold Cup favourite Bobs Worth and then winning the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown.
He has an official British Horseracing Authority mark of 171 but has been rated on 162 by official handicapper Phil Smith, who is allowed to use his discretion in framing the National weights.
Nicholls won the National for the first time last year when the now-retired Neptune Collonges edged out Sunnyhillboy in a thrilling finish, and his team is further bolstered by Becher Chase runner-up Join Together (10st 12lb), and a pair part-owned by Sir Alex Ferguson in What A Friend (11st 5lb) and Harry The Viking (10st 2lb).
You can read all the news and views on the National weights with Greg Wood and Chris Cook at London's Savoy Hotel via our live blog here.
1.35pm Grandouet doubtful for Kingwell Hurdle
Tony Paley: Nicky Henderson has revealed that Champion Hurdle hope Grandouet is a doubtful runner in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton on Saturday due to the discovery of filling in his near fore. But Henderson stressed the issue "does not jeopardise his participation or prospects" as far as the Cheltenham Festival is concerned.
In a statement issued to Press Association Sport, Henderson said: "First thing yesterday [Monday] morning Grandouet had filling in his near fore which had obviously been caused overnight.
"He swam, as he regularly does, and was seen by our vets and given some antibiotics to stop the inflammation.
"It has improved this morning but not by as much as we might have hoped. He will swim again today, have another two sessions in our spa and we will monitor the situation again in the morning.
"Depending on the progress, a decision will be made as to whether he can run in the Kingwell on Saturday. Should this not be possible, he will change the medication which will eliminate the filling instantly but prevent him from running this weekend, as this more aggressive medication is prohibited for racing purposes in the short term [one week].
"Whatever the outcome, this problem does not jeopardise his participation or prospects as far as the Champion Hurdle is concerned. There is no damage to any bone, tendon or ligament and he is 100% sound."
Tuesday's best bets, by Greg Wood
A race that is still two months away will be the focus of attention this afternoon, but with luck all the chit-chat about the weights for the Grand National will conclude by 3.10 to give all-weather fans a chance to find a betting shop and watch the seven-furlong handicap at Southwell.
It is easy to deride all-weather racing as a needless distraction from National Hunt, but in terms of competitiveness, there will be few races all winter as tight and evenly balanced as this one. At the prices, you can make a case for all bar one of the nine runners, and the fact that it will be run on Fibresand adds another dimension too.
The absence of Southwell from the racecourse roster from mid-November until last Tuesday left a considerable hole, but proven Fibresand performers that have been forced to ply their trade on Polytrack for the last couple of months are now returning to their preferred surface. Nazreef, out of sorts recently but unbeaten in four starts on Fibresand, is one obvious example.
The £11,500 purse for today's Class 3 handicap has also attracted a handful with far less experience on Fibresand, however, including Chookie Royale, one of the favourites, who has yet to set foot on the track.
He is impossible to support against a field full of decent handicappers with proven Southwell form, and while Kickingthelily and Kung Hie Fat Choy are both very credible winners, Docofthebay (3.10) looks to have as good a chance as any yet can be backed at 8-1.
Apache Rising (4.20) recorded a good time over track and trip before it was forced to take an unexpected holiday, while at Ayr, Rossini's Dancer (4.30) is in form and looks a fair 11-2 chance for the two-and-a-half mile handicap chase.
Tipping competition, day two
Lameduck and TL127 are our early leaders, pairing Vinetta (5-1) and Shangani (7-4) for a narrow lead after day one. Orso had Patriotic (4-1) and Shangani.
Today, we'd like your tips, please, for these races: 3.05 Lingfield, 3.15 Southwell, 4.30 Ayr
This week, Stan James are offering another £25 ante-post bet on a race of your choosing at this year's Cheltenham Festival.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers. If you have not already joined in this week, you can do so today, but you will start on -3.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
Standings after day one
Lameduck +5.75
TL127 +5.75
orso +4.75
CharlesBukowski +3
CluelessWhisper +3
slackdad38 +3
Beeftodd +3
Neil Harris +3
MISTERCHESTER +3
Toptrapper +3
millreef +3
wiggy12 +3
captainconan +3
72luca +2
paudi051 +2
melonk +2
TheVic +2
maghazi +2
goofs +2
Ellandback -0.25
factormax -0.25
jaygee1 -0.25
glavintoby -0.25
moidadem -0.25
Dangalf -0.25
Harrytheactor -0.25
sandiuk -0.25
diegoisgod -0.25
Blitzwing -0.25
ps4999 -0.25
Mai11 -3
shears39 -3
carl31 -3
waltersobchak -3
tanias -3
NStadium -3
JahLion -3
SussexRH -3
Rustyltfc -3
SmokingGun1 -3
Thewrongtree -3
no1octoberfest -3
ToffeeDan1 -3
mmmdanish -3
fatfrank29 -3
Yossarian24 -3
curlycov -3
ElMatador1 -3
WalthamstowLad -3
john987 -3
Kalaharikoning -3
Viejo -3
noodlearms -3
hegman -3
Sportingbest -3
chrisjh007 -3
NoddyBankie -3
Mulldog -3
chris1623 -3
TCtiger -3
William36 -3
Ormrod76 -3
elbonjourno -3
palace55 -3
GeorgeWTaylor -3
lcprestes -3
GForce1 -3
VolleVlug -3
TwoChainz -3
Shewdette -3
bigben3 -3
BearRides -3
lordofthewest -3
iainqos -3
jowhow -3
Lindsey6677 -3
Click here for all the day's racecards, form, stats and results.
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
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Champions League: Celtic v Juventus webchat with Ewan Murray
Our man in Scotland was online to answer your questions about Celtic v Juventus in the Champions League
Good morning. Ewan Murray will be online from midday to take part in a live webchat.
Some of the British teams to have won the European Cup are struggling at the minute. Nottingham Forest are jumping between managers, Aston Villa could be relegated for the first time since 1987 and even moneybags Chelsea, winners only 10 months ago, were humiliated by Atlético Madrid in the Super Cup and then booted into the Europa League before their defence of the trophy had picked up any momentum.
Celtic, the first team from these isles to win the tournament, have experienced something of a renaissance in this season's Champions League. Home wins over Barcelona and Spartak Moscow secured their passage to the last 16, where they take on Juventus tonight at Celtic Park. Neil Lennon is excited to welcome the Serie A champions to Glasgow: "In terms of glamour, it's a beauty. In terms of qualification, it's going to be very, very tough. It's a huge game to enjoy and relish and anything could happen over the two legs." It should be a fascinating tie.
If you have any questions for Ewan, drop them into the comments section below.
The webchat is underway. Ewan Murray has arrived, and has a prediction:
Afternoon all. I'm armed with a cup of tea and bottle of water here. Prediction first for tonight- I reckon 1-1. Now fire away (and be kind)....
Our first question comes from jonnyhero, who asks:
"I'd love to see Celtic come through this tie, but do you think Juventus will actually pose a more difficult problem for them than Barca did? Celtic were able to exploit Barca's weakness at set pieces, etc., but Juventus are a much bigger, more athletic side. Will this negate Celtic's biggest strength in the competition so far, and how can Celtic cope?"
Ewan Murray replies:
Certainly a different problem, I wouldn't regard it as a more difficult one. I think that Barcelona win in itself presents Celtic with the issue of opposition teams being more aware of their capabilities and dangers... there should be no question (if there ever was) of a team like Juventus treating a trip to Celtic Park lightly.
mkb86 asks:
"How do you see Celtic lining up tonight? Heavy at the back to avoid conceding an away goal?"
Ewan replies:
Would expect a flat back 4; Celtic don't have an abundance of centre backs, especially with Ambrose missing (or, technically, only just back from African Cup of Nations duty). Wanyama offers strong protection to the defence from midfield, as well.
A second line-up query comes from brenndoggz:
"Ewan do you think that Samaras will make it tonight and ambrose? if not do you think lustig and commons will start?"
Ewan replies:
no word on Samaras yet. 50/50. A no to Ambrose, although he could make the bench. Lustig yes. Commons... hasn't routinely been favoured from the start for these matches and is a very useful sub but he played only 45 minutes at Inverness on Saturday. I'd think Mulgrew on left of midfield but only educated guesswork there.
PeterJosephMcK asks:
"Ewan - do you see Forrest starting or do you see him as a game changing option in the latter stages if needed?"
Ewan replies:
From the bench I would think... his lack of game time is a problem with regard him starting.
And the interestingly-monickered KarlKennedyMadeMeIll asks after Celtic's midfield line up.
Ewan replies:
Brown, Wanyama, Ledley...
Howard Trang asks:
What do you think of the Australian Tom Rogic? Will he make a surprise inclusion on the team sheet?
Ewan replies:
[He] did very well at Inverness on Saturday but not included in Celtic's Champions League squad so there will be no sighting of him tonight or in Turin, alas....
EminEmma29 asks:
"In terms of percentage, what do think Celtic chances are to get past Juve? I have not seen much a Celtic but Juve are too strong, especially in midfield."
Ewan replies:
Juventus have to be favourites but not by a strong margin... maybe 65/35....
And a non-question from JGordon21:
"No questions your honour, but thanks for acknowledging that Celtic have actually won this competition, unlike some of your colleagues who seem to think that Celtic have never featured on the European scene."
Ewan replies:
all I'd say on that was that I was careful post-Barca to try and put the win in a historical context. As you say, of course Celtic have been European champions. As fantastic as the victory in November was, the European Cup didn't start in 2005....
Otto Maddox asks:
"How will Celtic aim to neutralise the threat Pirlo poses from the rear of midfield?"
Ewan replies:
Victor Wanyama! I do think there is a risk (externally, not sure Celtic will do it) of too much focus being placed solely on Pirlo. Marchisio's performance against Chelsea in Turin, for example, showed what talent he has.
smiff21 asks:
"Ewan, do you think Lennon will ask Wanyama or Brown (or both!!?) to do a man marking job on Pirlo (if he starts). I think he is the main difference in the midfield between the two teams and if they can somehow shackle him the bigger chance they have of getting a postive result. Also, do you think Lennon could spring an element of surprise and include Watt from the start?"
Ewan replies:
more of Wanyama's job to nullify the Juve midfield than Brown (who could possibly play on the right, anyway).
I'd be very surprised if Watt played.. he seems to have gone off the boil a little/fallen out of favour since December. Actually thought he could have been sent out on loan during January.
Andrew Morgan asks:
"Do you think the lack of game time against decent opposition in the SPL will cause Celtic to revert to a 10 in the box mentality ?"
Ewan replies:
I don't quite understand that question... Celtic have enough attacking power not to play that way. And I wouldn't expect Juventus to come to Glasgow and attack en masse.
Celtic have already proved well capable of adapting from the SPL to the Champions League (if not, earlier in the season, from the Champions League back to the SPL...)
Alec McAulay asks:
"Tell us about the Celtic financials for July-Dec 2012, Ewan. Not yet facing ruin after demise of Rangers..."
Ewan replies:
as a general rule, the financials of Celtic are made or broken on Champions League involvement... can make difference between a massive profit and a loss. Nothing new there.
As the chairman said: "The revenues generated by the team's success in Europe this year have significantly impacted our half year results."
A considered question from Elpoppa:
"Celtic's victory over Barca in the group stages was a victory for commitment and 'park the bus' tactics. but, given that this is now knockout football, and that a 0-0 would no longer be seen as a great result.Do you feel Celtic will be more adventurous tonight? Also given Juve play at a lot higher tempo than Italy did in the euros, does it not make more sense to not press hard on to pirlo as given juve's style, he may be more inclined to pop the ball off first time, or at least a lot quicker than he does for italy, in this case, pressing pirlo may result in his creating even more spaces."
Ewan replies:
I think a key difference with this Celtic team to others in the recent past as that they have proved capable of scoring (and winning) away from home. Samaras is a vital tool in that regard; Forrest, Commons, Hooper and even Wanyama also.
Therefore the routine assertion that they will lose and to "0" away from home, in this case, doesn't really apply.
MuthaKuffar asks:
"Its agreed that this is a difficult task that Celtic are facing but what would you say are the essentials NL will have to have solidly covered tactically regards Juve threats in order to even hope of getting sometihng out of these games?"
Ewan replies:
two simple things- a way of breaking down their stubborn defence and a means of halting their midfield from creating chances. Not rocket science.
Celtic have also proved very adept at scoring from set plays...
happygoth asks:
"Should Forster be in the England team ahead of Joe Hart?"
Ewan replies:
no, Hart has proven himself a better goalkeeper over an extended period of time. But Forster is fully deserving of being in the squad, has improved immensely over the last 18 months, and will provide stiff competition.
PatSharpsNappy asks:
"How prominent do you think Vidal will be over the two legs? I think he is an awesome player but, if my memory serves me correctly, his performances in big fixtures leaves a lot to be desired. Also, will the Hoopster get a hat-trick?! Hoop there it is..."
Ewan replies:
Obviously impossible to properly predict but, as I mentioned already, Juventus have plenty talent besides that of Pirlo (who is the player routinely focussed upon).
And no, I don't think Gary Hooper will score a hat-trick... although he may very well score...
And Dormant4 asks:
"I'm a Hibbee. Am I right to feel proud of Celtic's achievement and support them in the CL?"
Ewan replies:
entirely up to you... there is always this domestic argument between "this is good, it boosts Scottish football's profile" and "this only makes the biggest/richest team bigger/richer"....
If I were you, I'd be more concerned about that performance last night...
Some decent musings on Juventus and tactics from Interista:
"Ewan, having seen a lot of Juve this, and last year, I feel that Pirlo's influence on a game is easily nullified by a simple tactical approach. Marking him depsite the fact he sits deep. Pressure him, give him no time to turn, or be comfortable on the ball.
"The reason he has been allowed to flourish at Juve is that he effectively sits in an defensive/central midfield position is allowed more space to do his job. This is from a combination of the fact his opposing players tend to be attacking or creative midfielders, not interested in marking him or breaking up play, and from the fact Juve have are a very strong side that most teams in Serie A will set up to defend deep against. Pirlo sits way behind the play & orchestrates his game with little pressure.
"England (don't laugh) managed to nullify him quite easily when Wellbeck dropped deep to hassle him. The ageing Pirlo simply could not cope with the energy of Wellbeck who picked his pocket a few times with ease. Why England only chose to do this sporadically, even with another player than Wellbeck, & not for 90 minutes is beyond me.
"Do you agree? And do you not agree that Brown is the man to mark him as he will be closer to him positionally. Putting Wanyama on Pirlo will drag Wanyama out of the holding role where his job will be to stop the likes of Marchiso & the marauding Vidal."
Ewan replies:
a good analysis... and you will have seen more of them than I have. I just think Brown has his own dynamic/attacking influence which Celtic will want to utilise, rather than have him focus on stopping an opposition player from doing his job.
And as I have said already, Marchiosio and Vidal are worthy of plenty attention as well... it would be folly of Celtic simply to look at Pirlo (which I am sure they won't, anyway).
And one final question from Cleckers, who asks:
"Afternoon Ewan,
I may be too late but just in case...
Related to Dormant4's point, how has Celtic's progression been viewed in Scotland? This is more about Scotland generally and not just about the views from Rangers."
Ewan replies:
good question.. always a tricky one for me to answer as I'm part of that analysis, I suppose! Celtic have had extremely positive coverage and, I would like to think, at a time when the SPL is at a low ebb (as is the national team) people recognise the wider boost their progress has offered. In simple terms, it can hand people an enhanced view of Scottish football.
The flip side, which cannot be ignored, is that Celtic aren't entirely representative of that Scottish game. They are streets ahead of any other club in the country, on and off the field, and have a real international element to their team (only Scot may play in their starting XI tonight).
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Football tactics: How United can go about getting a result at Real | Michael Cox
Sir Alex Ferguson may move Wayne Rooney to cover the left, man-mark Cristiano Ronaldo and play on the counterattack
Rooney's positioning
Manchester United's shape could be similar to the system they used against Everton on Sunday, with Phil Jones pulled over to the right to help counter Cristiano Ronaldo, and United's left-sided midfielder playing very narrow. That may mean Wayne Rooney covering the left, as he did against his former club. Ferguson has used him there in previous contests of this magnitude, at Camp Nou in 2008 for example. The former Liverpool right-back Alvaro Arbeloa is not particularly dangerous in an attacking sense, but he still requires attention.
Alternatively, if deployed in his usual central position, Rooney will be asked to close down Xabi Alonso and prevent him spraying diagonal passes to the flanks – either way, he must show defensive discipline, and then burst forward quickly at attacking transitions.
Real's counterattacking
José Mourinho has used various shapes and systems over the years, but Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale and now Real Madrid have all been devastating on the counterattack. Real are superb at turning opposition corners into profitable attacking situations, with the trio of Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil and Angel di María particularly dangerous on the break.
United should be cautious about attacking in great numbers – leaving the full-back positions unoccupied is a very dangerous tactic at the Bernabéu, while Ozil's creative threat, plus Ronaldo and Di María's tendency to cut inside and shoot, makes it imperative the back four is protected.
Robin van Persie and Rooney might have to fend for themselves, with a sporadic counterattacking threat from the flanks.
How to stop Ronaldo?
Two individuals have dominated in league wins over United this season – Gareth Bale of Spurs and Everton's Marouane Fellaini. In both return fixtures, Sir Alex Ferguson has successfully deployed Jones in a specific defensive role to stop the opposition's primary threat turning in a repeat performance.
Ferguson does not need a demonstration of Ronaldo's attacking flair to realise he requires special attention. The Portuguese winger starts on the left before cutting in and shooting powerfully from long range – he averaged 6.2 shots a game in the group stage – and Jones is the best player to support Rafael da Silva, replicating the right-sided, defensive-midfield role he played against Bale.
Darren Fletcher's performance, shuttling back to help Gary Neville cope with Ronaldinho in a 4-0 win over Milan at this stage three years ago, is another good template.
But Da Silva's individual contribution is also vital. Against particularly dangerous opponents the Brazilian usually sticks tight and tracks his man across the pitch – so Antonio Valencia must follow Real's left-back, either Fábio Coentrão or Marcelo, on overlapping runs.
Ozil v Carrick
Ronaldo is Real's greatest individual but Ozil is an astoundingly talented, selfless playmaker who varies his positioning superbly, gently easing opponents out of position before knocking casual but penetrative passes through the gaps. His movement from central zones towards the flanks allows Ronaldo and Di María to move inside, and his decision-making when attacking directly is faultless.
Michael Carrick will be the player in closest attendance, but marking Ozil too tightly will leave United undermanned in midfield. Instead, Carrick must communicate effectively with the back four, and be brave enough to let Ozil go free when he moves into advanced positions. Minimising the space between the lines, rather than insisting on remaining goalside, is Carrick's best chance of stopping him.
Attacking Real's centre-back
Pepe and Sergio Ramos are among the finest defensive pairings in Europe – strong in the air but mobile on the ground, and capable of bringing the ball forward. Both prefer to stick very tightly to opponents, and if United use two strikers against them, with both moving deep towards the ball, Rooney and Van Persie may be able to draw the Real centre-backs out of position before exploiting the space in behind.
Rooney and Van Persie have both performed impressively this season without directly combining as a partnership particularly frequently, but this is a good opportunity for some intricate link play - think Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke at the Nou Camp in 1998/99.
Michael Cox is the editor of tactics website zonalmarking.net
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This week's Champions League last-16 ties: how the teams shape up | Marcus Christenson
Real Madrid should beat Manchester United and PSG can be expected to win in Valencia but Celtic will frustrate Juventus and Borussia Dortmund can avoid defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk
The Champions League returns this week with the first four of the eight last-16 ties. Real Madrid taking on Manchester United may be the most high-profile encounter but elsewhere big-spending Paris Saint-Germain will look to gain an advantage on Valencia while Borussia Dortmund travel to Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic hope to cause another upset, this time against Juventus.
Here is how the teams shape up before the first legs:
Celtic v Juventus, Tue 12 Feb
Juventus may be top of Serie A and did not lose a league game between May 2011 and November 2012 but they do not appear quite as imperturbable as last year. Recently they completely lost the plot after not being awarded a late penalty against Genoa with the coach, Antonio Conte, the players Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Mirko Vucinic and the director, Giuseppe Marotta, all banned for "intimidating and insulting" the referee and one other official. Chiellini, who was not even playing but ran from the stands to confront the referee, has since apologised, as has Conte.
On Saturday night, meanwhile, Juventus beat Fiorentina 2-0 in a game that could not have been more straightforward. The two goals came in the first half, through Vucinic and Alessandro Matri (who scored despite losing his boot just before shooting), and none of Conte's key players was injured, despite some hefty challenges from the Violas.
Conte did lose the midfielder Paolo De Ceglie to injury but has been boosted by the return of Kwadwo Asamoah from Africa Cup of Nations duty with Ghana. Asamoah is likely to replace De Ceglie on the left of midfield in the manager's preferred 3-5-2 formation. José Martín Cáceres can also play in that position with the former Manchester United attacking midfielder, Paul Pogba, also showing promise whenever given a chance.
The only potential weakness for Celtic to exploit appears to be Juve's defence where the mainstay (and hardman) Chiellini has been missing through injury. The Italy defender is suspended for the first leg on Tuesday but there is little comfort to be had for Neil Lennon and his players in Juve's midfield or forward line.
The midfield is marshalled by Andrea Pirlo and the ever-improving Arturo Vidal with Claudio Marchisio offering protection and drive and Stephan Lichtsteiner in the form of his life on the right. Up front, Matri has five goals in his last five games while Vucinic is an all-round player with no apparent weaknesses. He is strong, he is skilful, he is good in the air – and he is in form. In addition there are Sebastian Giovinco, Fabio Quagliarella and the newly arrived Nicolas Anelka waiting to contribute. This game will be tremendously difficult for Celtic but then so was Barcelona.
Prediction: 1-1
Valencia v Paris Saint-Germain, Tue 12 Feb
The Paris Saint-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi last week demanded that his team-mates show Valencia "respect" when the two teams line up at the Mestalla on Tuesday but, considering the Spanish team recently lost 5-0 at home to Real Madrid and that their best player turned up hungover (or still drunk depending on whom you believe) two days before the game against Barça, it is easy to see why PSG are the favourites.
Ever Banega it was who reported for training late and in an unfit state but such is the shortage of alternatives available to the Valencia coach, Ernesto Valverde, that the Argentinian started the game against Barcelona – and played well in a 1-1 draw against the champions at the start of this month. And it is performances such as the one against the Catalans that will give Valencia confidence that they can hurt PSG. Against Barça Valencia were well organised, worked hard and put an awful lot of pressure on the visitors.
Against PSG the spine of Valencia's team must perform. The goalkeeper Diego Alves, centre-back Ricardo Costa, Argentinian central midfielder Tino Costa, Banega and, up front, Roberto Soldado, will be key to the Spanish side's hope. And the last, who has a remarkable record of 16 goals in 21 Champions League games for Valencia, will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing Alex in the PSG defence. There always seems to be a mistake lurking when the Brazilian centre-back is on the pitch, as Chelsea fans can testify. The problem for PSG is that Thiago Silva has been injured, so Alex is likely to be partnered by Sylvain Armand on Tuesday.
The Qatari owners of Carlo Ancelotti's PSG, however, are unlikely to accept a defeat in the last 16 in the Champions League, especially to an inconsistent Valencia side. PSG were good before Christmas with attacking talent such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lavezzi, Javier Pastore and Jérémy Ménez in the team and now they have added the €45m signing of Lucas Moura from São Paulo. David Beckham, another January arrival, has not played yet and is unlikely to feature against Valencia.
Prediction: 1-2
Shakhtar Donetsk v Borussia Dortmund, Wed 13 Feb
Jürgen Klopp knew exactly how to sum up Dortmund's 4-1 defeat at home to Hamburg on Saturday: "Heute war ein Scheiß-Tag". Today was a shit day. And who can blame him? It was not a great day for Dortmund. In fact, it had not been a great week. The midfielder Kevin Großkreutz was sent to hospital after a bad bout of bronchitis, Marcel Schmelzer was injured and Mario Götze, Roman Weidenfeller and Moritz Leitner were hit by a virus. Marco Reus and Lukasz Piszczek were struggling with knocks. Oh, and Robert Lewandowski was sent off in that 4-1 shocker.
But, with Bayern Munich 15 points ahead of Dortmund in the title race, Klopp's attention has already switched to the Champions League. And this season, having won the Bundesliga two years running, Dortmund are finally establishing themselves as a European force. In the group stage they were far better than Manchester City in the two games against the English champions and dominated Real Madrid for large parts of their two encounters with the Spanish club.
Klopp favours a 4-2-3-1 formation with Jakub Blaszczykowski, Mario Götze and Marco Reus supporting Lewandowski up front. Blaszczykowski has been given a more advanced role this season while the 23-year-old Reus rocked Real with his speed and eye for goal.
Shakhtar, meanwhile, showed in their Group E matches against Chelsea they have the firepower to trouble any team but have sold the brilliant Brazilian Willian to Anzhi Makhachkala for a reported €35m. They have not played a competitive game since losing to Juventus on 5 December but the Armenia international, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, said: "We are looking to get the maximum out of 2013 and that means trying to win every game, including Champions League games."
Prediction: 2-2
Real Madrid v Manchester United, Wed 13 Feb
What an utterly bizarre season it has been for Real Madrid. There have been reports of dressing-room unrest, Cristiano Ronaldo has said that he has felt "sad" at the club, José Mourinho told one Marca journalist there were "three rotten apples" in the squad and the seemingly undroppable Iker Casillas has been dropped (and then injured).
And still, here they are, facing United on the back of a convincing 4-1 home defeat of Sevilla with Ronaldo, carrying a few knocks, scoring an impressive hat-trick. They are 16 points behind Barcelona in the table and can concentrate fully on trying to win the club's 10th Champions League title.
There is no question that Real – so far – have been worse than last season, when they lost to Bayern in the semi-finals. This season there have been lame league defeats against Getafe, Sevilla, Real Betis, Málaga and Granada and they struggled desperately at times both home and away against Dortmund in the Champions League group stage.
There is some good news for Real, though, before Wednesday's game. Diego López was signed from Sevilla in January for €4m to fill the gap left by Casillas' injury while the physically imposing Pepe returned from injury in Saturday's win against Sevilla. Pepe's understudy Raphaël Varane has been superb when given a chance and then there is a certain Ronaldo who has scored an astonishing 36 goals for Real this season. You can talk all day about whether Real would be better with both Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuaín playing up front, or whether Luka Modric can unlock United's defence but in the end this tie is likely to be decided by the performances of one man: Ronaldo.
Prediction: 2-1
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Super League Set of Six: Could all this blood end in tears? | Andy Wilson
Brawling, plus plenty of the red stuff, was on view in the weekend's matches. Is the game getting too tough?
1) Biff overload?
Is rugby league, and specifically the Super League, in danger of becoming too tough for its own good? The question was prompted by a weekend of matches to delight followers of Reg Reagan's Bring Back the Biff campaign in Australia, with one prop dismissed after a brawl in Widnes, another in Perpignan and blood and gore on display from Wigan to Wakefield and most grounds in between.
The most graphic image of all was tweeted by Lincoln Withers, Hull KR's Australian hooker, although the "scratch" in his head that required 17 stitches was inflicted accidentally, by the large right boot of his compatriot Justin Poore in the first tackle of Saturday's televised game at Wakefield. Alas, there was nothing accidental about Julian Bousquet's late attack on Theo Fages early in the Catalans-Salford game, for which the Dragons prop was rightly dismissed.
Ben Cross was the other player to see red, for a high tackle on Paul Wellens that so enraged the rest of the St Helens players, most spectacularly Jon Wilkin, that they charged in to exact retribution.
Rangi Chase, Castleford's New Zealand-born England half-back, escaped immediate punishment for his hit on Zak Hardaker that left the Leeds full-back "out cold", according to his coach, Brian McDermott. But the replays of that incident also look horrendous and it was no surprise when Chase was summoned to appear at Tuesday's busy disciplinary hearing – especially as he does have some previous for this sort of reckless tackle, having been suspended for three matches for felling Tangi Ropati in a Challenge Cup tie at Featherstone last season.
Chase's hit on Hardaker has again raised the issue of whether the British game should have followed the example of Australasia's National Rugby League by banning the shoulder charge, which has always been outlawed in rugby union. The majority of professional players were disappointed by the NRL's decision when it was announced during the winter and several repeated that message when a couple of shoulder charges were penalised in the pre-season All Stars match in Brisbane at the weekend.
But as John Kear, one of the more respected figures in the British game, stressed during Sky's Super League Full-Time programme on Sunday night, the most pressing priority for any governing body should always be the safety of the players.
It is a difficult decision because it is the toughness of league, and its players, that provides games such as Friday night's Wigan-Warrington classic with much of their appeal. Matty Smith's late drop-goal for Wigan was all the more admirable coming from a half-back who had played most of the match with his head bandaged, having required seven stitches at half-time.
But as McDermott said, the decision not to ban the shoulder charge places a greater responsibility on players to ensure such challenges do not make contact with an opposition player's head. As the state of Smith and Withers showed, the game is dangerous enough. Now that responsibility transfers to the disciplinary authorities, to ensure that the punishments dished out to offenders reflect their willingness to inflict serious injury. Bousquet, Chase and possibly Cross should be banned for at least six matches and possibly many more.
2) Vive les differences
On a more general level, perhaps it is time for the Rugby Football League and maybe even the International Federation to work on making the laws of the game suitable for the various levels at which it is played. To take the most obvious example, even if shoulder charges are deemed acceptable in Super League fixtures between full-time professional players, it should be made clear to the impressionable youngsters at Wigan St Patrick's under-10s that, as they always say on American wrestling, such actions are very dangerous and should not be carried out by amateurs. The same would go for development teams from the Hammersmith Hills Hoists in west London to the Vrchlabi Mad Squirrels in the Czech Republic.
There would seem to be a pretty obvious opportunity for rugby league to market itself as the toughest football code in the world at the highest level. But football's long-established position, that the basic laws of the game should be the same on Hackney Marshes on a Sunday morning as they are at Upton Park in the afternoon, simply does not work for either code of rugby.
3) Czech them out
That mention of the Mad Squirrels, a nickname that is always worth crowbarring in, also allows a quick nod to the quietly impressive progress that is being made in the Czech Republic. The code was introduced only a couple of years ago but both the European Federation and the Rugby Football League have been heartened by the expansion to a two-division competition after the national team beat Hungary's Magyar Bulls to win the European Bowl last year.
4) Read all about it
Still on an international theme, albeit a little closer to home, and there was a low-profile but quietly uplifting example of the side benefits of hosting the World Cup later this year at Leeds central Library last week. Jamie Jones-Buchanan, the Leeds and England forward, threw his, and the competition's, weight behind the Reading Agency's Six Books Challenge, which encourages over-16s to develop their reading skills.
"When I was young I used to see other people reading, especially girls, and I always wished I could read like that," said JJB with typical honesty. He is now a sports science graduate, as one of the generation of Leeds players to have benefited from the importance placed on personal development by the Rhinos coaches Daryl Powell, Tony Smith and now McDermott.
5) Glass full of halves
Now, briefly, to the rugby. Wigan-Warrington was terrific, obviously, providing the Super League with a perfect early-season boost after a slightly tame opening round. I thought the presence in Wigan's 17 for such an important fixture of two tough young Welsh forwards, Gil Dudson and Ben Flower, was one of many positives on the night. There was another gifted Welsh rugby player who has chosen league over union, Rhys Evans from Bridgend, playing at centre for Warrington. But, as things stand, he is not eligible for Wales in the World Cup, having plumped for England instead, even though he has no chance of being selected by Steve McNamara. Please, somebody, anybody, have a word.
As noted above, Smith's performance in that famous Wigan No7 shirt offered real encouragement, and importantly, he must already have gone some way to winning over the demanding cherry and white aficionados who have made life so tough for previous incumbents, most recently Dennis Moran.
Warrington's scrum-half, Richie Myler, responded with a truly glorious individual try and another heartening feature of the season's opening exchanges has been the number of homegrown half-backs, with Danny Brough looking good for Huddersfield, Danny McGuire still a pleasure to watch at Leeds, Thomas Bosc linking with Leon Pryce for the Catalans and even Chase – an England man for World Cup purposes, whatever his accent – producing the play of the week to lay on Jake Webster's try in Castleford's stunning win against Leeds, before he let himself down so badly later on.
St Helens have also started the season with a pair of local lads in the pivotal positions, which represents quite a gamble on the part of their new coach, Nathan Brown, as on the evidence of their opening defeat by Huddersfield followed by Sunday's stormy passage at Widnes, neither Lee Gaskell nor Jonny Lomax yet has the experience or confidence to boss a game. "We always recognised it would take a while with our attack because we're working on some new things," Brown said afterwards. It is an enlightened attitude, which will be tested again in Friday night's tricky home game against Hull.
6) What the Hull?
Mention of Super League's eastern frontier leads to a quick point about each of the city's professional clubs. Hull KR? They certainly did not have the rub of the green at Wakefield on Saturday but, with a single win from their last 12 Super League matches stretching back to last June, these are tough times for the Rovers. Yet bizarrely, the new stand that is rising rapidly at one end of Craven Park is potentially a more significant development than anything happening on the field, boosting their ability to compete at the highest level in the long term.
Now is the time for everyone at the club to hang tough, to draw on the stack of happier memories from their unlikely rise into Super League's top four not so long ago. The single win in their wretched run came at Widnes last July, so perhaps that offers hope for this Sunday, when Denis Betts's team are the visitors to Craven Park.
Finally can it really be true that the new owners of the KC Stadium which Hull FC share with Hull City football club are so lacking in class that they are charging for the right to display a picture of the great Johnny Whiteley in the hospitality suite bearing his name? As ever, your thoughts on that, any of the above or any other league matters are encouraged below.
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Alex Ferguson will bring tactical nous as well as motivation to Madrid
The Manchester United manager's tactical skills and new-found caution will be vital in the Champions League tie at the Bernabéu
Sir Alex Ferguson does not readily admit mistakes. Poor signings are bundled discreetly out of the back door, the subject rarely up for discussion, and critics are routinely taken apart by a genuine master of rhetoric. So when he does admit to a mistake, it is reasonable to assume it is a biggie: the sale of Jaap Stam, the announcement of his plan to retire in 2002 – and his tactics against Real Madrid in 2000.
It was one of the most important games in modern Manchester United history. Not only did it irrevocably damage their hopes of a European dynasty; it led to the most significant philosophical change in the history of the club. Before that game Ferguson sent his teams out in Europe to score one more than the opposition; since then, for the most part, he has sent them out to concede one fewer. Now, ahead of another meeting with Madrid, he may have come full circle.
After 26 years one would think English football knows everything about Ferguson, yet despite regular reminders, such as the expert muzzling of Everton's Marouane Fellaini on Sunday, his position as one of the game's keenest tacticians remains strangely unrecognised. Ferguson is sometimes patronised as somebody armed with a hairdryer and a chequebook, his success largely down to his genius for man-management and motivation, yet he has always been something of a chalkboard addict.
He was one of the few British managers to employ a sweeper system before English football's Italia 90 epiphany, and in the days before squad rotation he was christened Tinkerbell by the fanzine Red Issue for his habit of making unexpected changes, such as the omission of Mark Hughes for crucial games against Nottingham Forest and West Ham in the unsuccessful title challenges of 1991-92 and 1994-95. In the credit column, his inspired decision to use Danny Wallace at centre-forward in the League Cup in 1990 led to a 6-2 win at Arsenal that was a significant rite of passage in the development of his first great United side.
Ferguson suffers from the weirdly simplistic British perception that the sharpest tactical minds are foreign – but maybe he shares an element of such thinking, because nothing gets his chalkboard dirtier than the magical mystery tour of European football. Once the competition peaks after Christmas, every game is a bespoke challenge that demands a bespoke solution, particularly away from home, and usually involving changes to the midfield and attack.
That was not the case in 1999-2000. United, empowered by the previous season's treble, seemed to have an omnipotence that rendered tactics almost irrelevant. Everyone knew the best front six: David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. Then, in the quarter-finals, an unusually tame 0-0 draw at the Bernabéu – when the players, the manager or both were in awe of the name Real Madrid – was followed by a traumatic 3-2 defeat at home. Madrid had been in disarray before the tie, and although they won the Champions League that year they finished fifth in La Liga. The received wisdom is that Madrid had too much class and street wisdom for United in that second leg, best exemplified by Fernando Redondo's backheeled nutmeg on Henning Berg that led to the third goal, yet the tape shows that Redondo and the 18-year-old goalkeeper Iker Casillas had the games of their lives.
Madrid should also have had Aitor Karanka sent off for handball on the line when they were 1-0 up, while Keane – who had been on a one-man mission to win the European Cup after missing the previous season's final, and who was playing the best football of his career – scored an own goal and missed an open goal. In short, United were pretty unfortunate to lose an excellent game of football between two excellent teams.
Madrid might not quite have taught United a lesson, as many felt, but that does not mean United didn't learn anything. "This was the standard we had to aim for, world class," said Keane in his autobiography. "A number of features of Real's play struck me. The incredible first touch. The economy of movement, no daft running, every move purposeful. Raúl's cunning, waiting like a panther to pounce on any half-chance. And burying it when it came."
Ferguson decided United lost because he was too slow to react to Madrid's unprecedented 3-3-2-2 formation, with Redondo the only central midfielder. "If I had altered the team early to a 4-3-3 … I am sure we could have won handily," he said in his autobiography. "I know that, and could kick myself for delaying the change." The Real manager Vicente del Bosque, did it for him, referring witheringly to United's "tactical anarchy". Ferguson ensured nobody would make such accusations ever again.
Eighteen months earlier he had described a 3-3 draw with Barcelona as "the perfect football match – both teams trying to win with scant regard for the consequences. That's how football should be played." Now he saw the world through different eyes. "One of the forceful reminders delivered by that Madrid defeat was that consistent success in Europe would be more readily achieved if we improved our capacity to defend against the counterattack," he said. The most obvious way to do that is to ration your own attacks. With destruction intrinsically easier to control than creation, prioritising the former became irresistibly logical.
Yet logic was only part of the story. Ferguson said that Casillas's performance was "not normal at all" and that "just about everything that could possibly go wrong for us did so in spades, and we were left looking back on the match with the sense that Real were simply destined to progress". That he should change his entire approach based on such a freakish, inscrutable match is a fascinating insight into a man with an unshakeable courage of his convictions.
Since then United have been a different side in Europe and in big games domestically: whereas once they were swashbuckling and intrepid to the point of naivety, now they are worldly, cautious and always look under the sauce to see if it really is pasta. The change was intensified when Carlos Queiroz, a defensive influence for richer and poorer, joined as assistant manager in 2002.
The new approach took a long time to be successful: United could not even win multiple Champions League knockout ties, never mind multiple Champions Leagues, with only one victory between 2000 and 2006 inclusive. Ferguson also sacrificed a golden goose that was delivering a Premier League title every year. Some feel he had ultimate vindication with Champions League victory in 2008 and a run of three finals in four years; others say the potential of the treble team was not fulfilled because they played in a manner that was alien to them.
"Justifying the change of approach depends on how you view it," says John-Paul O'Neill, a contributor to Red Issue. "The aim of it all was of course to win the European Cup, which Ferguson has only managed once in 12 seasons since that Madrid tie. Would he have won it more without changing tack? The stats – one victory from four previous attempts (post-foreigner rule) – suggest he'd have been better off carrying on as he was. What's most disappointing about the change in the wake of the 3-2 defeat to Madrid, which was most pronounced from 2000-01 to 2005-06, is how a perceived overemphasis on attack (which to a large degree is what won us the trophy in 1999) can initiate a wholesale change of approach when it fails, whereas overemphasis on defence (Monaco 98, Madrid 2000, and plenty of times since) doesn't result in the system being scrapped when that fails to deliver time and time again."
The first significant change came with the signing of Juan Sebastián Verón in 2001. He was in the side the last time Ferguson named an unchanged team from one European match to the next – more than 11 years ago, against Deportivo La Coruña. The extent to which Ferguson tinkers, allied to the variables of form and injury, makes it hard to define his tactical approach by any given season. The Verón years, 2001-03, are often associated with the Argentina midfielder alongside Keane with Scholes playing behind Ruud van Nistelrooy, yet they only played that system in six out of 32 European games. Similarly, what was described as a 4-3-3-0, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez forming a fluid forward line, is indelibly associated with the Champions League victory in 2007-08. Yet Ferguson only started one out of 13 European games that season with such a formation.
Ferguson's approach is perhaps best summed up by the XI for the final against Chelsea in 2008. It was the only time that team ever started together, a bespoke solution for a Champions League final. Owen Hargreaves was on the right-hand side of midfield in a loose 4-4-2 so that, if Chelsea's midfield got on top, he could tuck into the centre with Wayne Rooney moving to right wing. That is precisely what happened. Rooney has probably been the most important counter on Ferguson's tactics board, such is his selfless flexibility. In semi-finals and finals of the Champions League alone he has played left-wing, right-wing, in the hole and up front.
To Ferguson, the squareness of a peg and the roundness of a hole are in the eye of the beholder. Players are frequently used away from their regular position. Ronaldo often played as a centre-forward, for example – particularly away from home, most notably in 2008-09 when he scored from more than 40 yards in both the quarter- and semi-finals. Ferguson takes pride in telling the media they have no chance of predicting his team – between 2008 and 2011 he went 166 games in all competitions without naming an unchanged side – and he has no compunction about going against expectation or upsetting people. Ronaldo and Rooney have both been omitted from matches in the last 16, while the £30.75m Dimitar Berbatov started only five of 18 knockout games and did not even make the bench for the 2011 final. Ferguson also left the PFA Player of the Year Teddy Sheringham out of both games against Bayern Munich in the 2001 quarter-finals, and thought he could make a European central midfielder of Alan Smith.
He quickly shelved the Smith experiment, proof that he has never been afraid to change his mind. Park Ji-sung started zero European games in his first two seasons at Old Trafford; over the next five years he became a vital player, trusted implicitly because of his energy, tactical discipline and intelligent movement. He was regularly used to sit on full-backs such as Dani Alves and Maicon – or even, when United played Milan in 2009-10, to get tight on Andrea Pirlo. Park became not just a European specialist but a European big-game specialist: 15 of his 23 Champions League starts for United were in the knockout stages. Attackers are often picked for their defensive capabilities: Sheringham was included away against Bayern Munich in 1998 partially because of his height at defensive set-pieces (he scored a last-minute own goal from a Bayern set-piece, proof that even the best-laid plans can go wrong) and Phil Jones may play as a nominal right-winger in Madrid so that he can double up on Ronaldo. Jones may become Ferguson's new Park, the man trusted to do a precise aggressive-passive job in the biggest games.
It was not Park but the parking of the bus that drew most attention after Ferguson's most controversial selection, against Barcelona in the 2008 semi-final. Barcelona were unravelling towards the end of Frank Rijkaard's reign, yet United's ostensibly attacking 4-2-3-1 in the first leg at Camp Nou soon morphed into 9-0-1. They had 28% possession in that game and only three shots on target in the entire tie but went through 1-0 on aggregate after a stunning goal from Scholes. The debate endures as to whether such an approach was acceptable. "For the obvious reasons like Scholes's redemption, the atmosphere in the second leg, reaching the final – yes," says O'Neill. "For the embarrassing tactical approach in the away leg – not at all. It was a betrayal of everything United are supposed to represent, especially in Europe, and Barcelona weren't even a particularly strong side at that time. But for most it's justified as we got to the final."
United were similarly cautious on their last two trips to Madrid, without the same success. Both times they travelled during startling winning runs in the league – 11 in 2000, 10 in 2003 – yet played on the subservient side of meek. The teenage Ferguson had been seduced by Real's legendary 7-3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park in 1960, a match he said "epitomised all the dreams of European football", and it almost felt as if he had sent his team out to face Puskas, Di Stéfano and Gento. This time United are on a run of 38 points in 14 league games.
Ferguson has recently admitted another mistake, that United were too negative in the title-deciding Manchester derby last April. That miserable performance may have stung him into change just as the Madrid game did all those years ago. A greater emphasis on attacking meant the signing of Robin van Persie and a more positive approach in big games this season, albeit with controlled rather than reckless aggression, that was particularly successful in 3-2 victories at Stamford Bridge and Eastlands. He has also played around with a diamond midfield in some European games, a reminder that an old don can learn new tricks.
"It's hard to predict whether he will go for it in Madrid," says O'Neill. "On occasions this season – in the wake of last April's tactical surrender at Eastlands – it has seemed like Fergie's rediscovered his cojones when it comes to picking an offensive line-up in big games. We'll find out for sure in Madrid." One thing is already sure: Ferguson will have a plan. He always does.
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