Football is more than just a game
IT WAS another World Cup finals draw without Bafana Bafana. The event, which was held in Moscow, drew hosts Russia against Saudi Arabia in the opening game of Russia 2018. It feels like only yesterday we were getting ready to watch Bafana take on Mexico at Soccer City during the 2010 World Cup.
There is no “group of death” which means we could see some massive games further on in the competition. Two stand-out first round games pits Portugal against neighbours Spain, while England will come up against Belgium.
I am sure there will be some boisterous banter between Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and his Spanish teammates at Real Madrid.
The Spaniards dominated world football between 20082012 but have been in decline over the last few years.
The England vs Belgium match should be very interesting due to the large number of Belgian’s plying their trade in the Premiership. Belgium must be considered a dark horse for the tournament with players of the calibre of Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, to name a few.
On the other hand, England has no chance and only a good draw should see them reach the quarter-finals. Except for Harry Kane, they have a boring team without talent or creativity.
IT WAS another enthralling week in the Premiership. Manchester City continued their impressive form with a come-from-behind win against West Ham. They are showing the qualities of champions by scoring a late winner to maintain their 8-point lead over United, who they meet next weekend. A win for City in the Manchester derby and they should have one hand on the Premiership trophy. I think a United win would be the best result for the Premiership.
THE performance of the weekend must go to David De Gea. The Spaniard was in imperious form during United’s 3-1 victory over the Gunners. After 12 successive home wins, Arsenal contributed to their defeat with some shambolic defending. When Arsenal did find their feet, the heroics of De Gea including an incredible double save, steered United to victory in this electrifying clash.
It was not all good news for United as Paul Pogba will miss the key clash against City, after he received a red card for a dangerous tackle.
Who knows, maybe Jose Mourinho does read the After criticising him in my last article, he appears to have taken my advice and played some offensive football, and allowed his players the freedom to play and express themselves.
Mourinho is notorious for setting up his teams not to lose (as opposed to trying to win) against the other top teams but against Arsenal he went at them from the start and it brought about the desired result.
Tottenham Hotspur continued their poor form which saw them slip out of the top 4. Spurs are paying the price for their lack of investment in their squad at the start of the season. They have played some of the best football over the last two seasons and with a new state-of-the-art stadium being developed, this was the perfect time for them to have recruited a few world class players. This, coupled with their rigid wage policy, could hamper their ability to mount a serious challenge and, without Champions League football and the lure of high salaries, they will not attract the right kind of talent.
In addition, their biggest risk is losing some of their star players.