Hotspur forced to kick it up a notch
Pep Guardiola’s Man City club has won 15 straight as they roll into Wembley Stadium
Manchester City hosts Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, and the question on everyone’s mind is: Can anybody stop City?
With 16 wins and a draw in their first 17 matches, the runaway league leaders are setting a new standard of excellence, well ahead of the pace of previous Premier League glory sides. Since being held to a 1-1 draw by Everton back in August, Pep Guardiola’s men have won 15 straight, a Premier League record.
Remarkably, the Spanish league record of 16 consecutive wins was set by Barcelona in 2011 under Guardiola, while the Bundesliga record of 19 consecutive victories was established by Bayern Munich in 2014, also a side managed by Guardiola.
A key figure for City is midfielder David Silva. The 31-year-old Spaniard looks to be in the best form of his career, combining non-stop running, silky skills and aggressive play. The biggest knock against Silva is that he doesn’t score enough, but he’s been finding the back of the net lately and is on pace for double digits.
Young gun
Paris-Saint Germain has built up an imposing nine point lead in Frances’s Ligue 1, but the race for second place is very much on, as three teams sit level with 35 points. Two of those sides clash Sunday as Lyon hosts Marseille.
The player to watch in this game is Marseille winger Florian Thauvin. The 24-year-old is quick, skilful, composed on the ball, and definitely brings flair to Marseille’s attack. This week Thauvin was named Player of the Month for November in Ligue 1 by France’s professional players union. He earned the acclaim ahead of all the PSG superstars.
This is Thauvin’s fifth season at Marseille and he seems to get better every year. He did spend time with Newcastle in 2015, where he was something of a flop.
In hindsight, he says, he made the move to the Premier League too soon, and at 22 wasn’t prepared physically for the British game. He was returned to Marseille on loan early in 2016, and that move was made permanent this past summer.
Thauvin says he’s glad to be back in France, although Marseille’s rivals are no doubt wishing he’d stayed in England.
World’s best
The FIFA Club World Cup is reaching its conclusion in Abu Dhabi on Saturday with a big doubleheader. It starts with the third-place match between home side Al-Jazira and Mexico’s Pachuca, followed by the championship final contested by Gremio of Brazil and European champions Real Madrid.
It’s been a strong showing by Al-Jazira, the reigning Arabian Gulf League champions in the United Arab Emirates. The hosts knocked off Auckland City 1-0 in the qualifying match, then downed Asian champions Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan by the same score last Saturday.
Al-Jazira then caused problems for Real Madrid in the semifinals, opening the scoring in the first half before Garter Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo replied for Real in the second half.
Challenging Madrid in the finals will be South American champions Gremio. The team is led by rising Brazilian star Luan. The 24-year old attacking midfielder is a quick and gifted playmaker, and was named top player of the Copa Libertadores tournament.
Memories
Fans and players alike love to get together and share memories of great games from the good old days. Now a charity in Britain is using sports nostalgia to help people suffering from dementia, depression and loneliness.
Called Sporting Memories, the foundation organizes get-togethers across Britain for people 50 and older to reminisce over sporting events. Soccer, of course, is a popular topic.
The gatherings help rekindle memories for those whose memories are failing, while giving the lonely and depressed a chance to socialize.
The Professional Footballers’ Association is involved, getting former players out to the events, while news agency Reuters recently donated 90,000 sports photographs to be used as talking points. I think it’s a fantastic idea.
Dementia is something that afflicts many families, including my own. My mother and my father-in-law were both victims. I’m a proud supporter of the Alzheimer Society of B.C., and I encourage everyone to help fight this horrible disease.
Bob Lenarduzzi is president of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. For tickets visit: whitecapsfc.com/tickets