Footie Moments of 2012
It's time to take stock of the moments that had us leaping off the couch and yelling at the telly in 2012. Here are my favorite moments:
Team of the Year - Brazil: The most impressive display I saw all season was in Landover, MD in May where a powerful Brazil side absolutely destroyed the US side 1-4. What I hadn't realized at the time is that this is a side for the future, with seasoned veterans such as Marcello and Thiago Silva not even in their mid-20s yet. They will be a frightening prospect for the next world where they will be (gulp!) hosts.
Player of the Year - Andres Iniesta: Unlike most footie fans on the planet, I'm not a Messi fanatic. Instead, I'm picking a guy who's team actually won something big - the European Championship. When the Spanish are ticking, it's Iniesta at the middle of the gears. I noticed this season the way that he always receives the ball sideways on, while immediately turning away from the approaching opponent. This means that he (and Spain) hang on to possession. Sometimes that can be dull but there is no challenging its effectiveness.
Games of the Year - The simultaneous coverage of the season ending matches on all of the Fox networks at the end of last season. Of course, this was capped by Sergio Aguerro's late, late winner but the highlight for me was Joey Barton losing his mind after getting himself sent off. An incredible afternoon of football watching.
Goal of the Year - A fairly obvious choice; this ridiculous 30-yard bicycle kick by Zlatan in the recent friendly v. England. The big Swede can be a bit lazy, but when he's on his game, oh my! I've never seen anything like this. Enjoy the clip above with commentary from an enraptured Stan Collymore.
Disappointments - Inevitably, England's exit in Euro 2012 in yet another penalty shoot-out.
Hopes for 2013 - With the new ownership deal at Leeds, my main hope is that we can move beyond our current status as a mid-table Championship side that sells off its shiniest assets during every transfer window and then patches up the gaps with emergency loan deals. Open up the purse strings, lads!
How about the rest of you - what got you worked up watching the beautiful game this year?
posted by The Blue Devil @ 9:49 PM
5 Comments:
My team of the year is Dortmund. I say this because increasingly my team Arsenal are playing in a very un-Arsenal way, and under Klopp, Dortmund are playing like the Arsenal of old. For the most part, they raise their trainees into the first team, salt the mix with a few stars they purchase at a reasonable cost, and play very easy on the eye football. I know the AFC board has been looking across the Channel enviously at what they've accomplished, but I'm sure that the Italians and cash-distorting Premiership clubs have stolen a march on us trying to secure Klopp as successor to Arsene.
Please, the only thing we as a group watch is the Premiership and there is only one player to watch in the Premiership. He was ours, we pissed that away, and have sold Man U their next Premiership title. RVP is hands down the player of 2012, no matter what that tricky Argie midget does.
The Citeh-QPR game is an excellent shout for game of the season for the reasons stated. But for me, it never gets any better than the 5-2 consecutive mauling Arsenal handed Spurs. I wish it hadn't been Adebayor who'd given them that cruel glimpse of victory because I hold him in utter contempt. My favorite sequence, however was after the chimp brought them back to 4-2 and we simply willed ourselves not to collapse. And then Theo put a final one away to send the arson enthusiasts back to their slums.
Yeah, Zlatan's goal was fantastic and the skill and vision is just sick. But did I love Theo's 3rd against Newcastle? The way they chopped him down, waited for the penalty call, and then watched him bounce back up and score? Oh yes.
I forgot my disappointments. Obviously, the short-sighted-ness displayed during the saga that saw us lose RVP.
Other than that, it was waking up on the first day of the 2012/2013 season knowing that we still had Squillaci, Chamakh, Arshavin and Gervinho in the squad, that we'd only managed to put Bendtner, Denilson, and Park out on loan instead of shedding them, and hearing that we'd missed out on a midfield pivot because "Diaby is only a bit short for the upcoming match, but will be avaialable soon."
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