Welcome to the "Frog," my little piece of cyberspace to talk about my passion - le foot (or soccer for my North American friends) especially anything around French football. Of course I will have some guest contributors that might want to discuss other aspects of footy!
I support Les Bleus, Arsenal and PSG but really just love watching, analyzing and following the beautiful game.
"You have to trust your teammates, always. If not we are lost."
Chelsea's hard tackling midfielder, Michael Essien is back in the mix for Ghana. 18 months ago it was feared that his knee injury would force him to retire from the international game, which would have been bad for the game. Essien who burst on the footballing scene when he made his move to Lyon and subsequently Chelsea. Valued for his unstoppable engine, tough tackling and occasional pile-driver goals his missing the World Cup last summer was ashame for Ghana.
The Black Stars built on their success from the Germany World Cup to get to the 1/4 finals in South Africa...and were one missed penalty kick from becoming the first African nation to reach a World Cup semi final. Imagine what Ghana would have looked like had their #8 been on the pitch.
Glad he is back, I have always regretted that Wenger and Arsenal did not grab him when they could. He would have solved many of the Gunner's problems.
As we draw closer to the World Cup - less than 50 days until kick off. The injuries are mounting up and taking its toll on some stars of the upcoming tournament. Players such as Gallas, Torres, Essien, Cesc, Davies, Beckham, Adler to name a few are all at risk of missing their respected flights to South Africa. None will carry as much of an impact as Michael Essien.
The Ghana captain is the catalyst for the Black Stars - he is the engine, the leader and the glue that holds the midfield together and makes the team a legitimate threat to advance in the tournament. With a nagging knee injury curtailing his Chelsea season, it is now feared that it might also keep him out for the summer tournament. Ghana has some real belief that it can make some noise this summer, after a run to the African Cup of Nations finals, with a young team, it was thought that add the veteran metal to this side and you have a great combination of youth and veteran talent. Being in group D, with Germany, Serbia and Australia, Ghana will need its dynamic midfielder to carry the Black Stars through what should be a very physical group. Without the Chelsea man, the mountain will get much steeper to climb.
What about Espana? Del Bosque is continuing to watch nervously as his star players deal with injuries - Cesc, Senna, Torres to name a few. While there remains a tremendous amount of talent available, these are players expected to shine at the World Cup. What about Iniesta? Will he be fit in time to partner with his Barcelona teammate, Xavi, to work the midfield? Torres is going to be operated on, Cesc has a broken leg...even if they are fit in time, will they have enough time to get into game shape? Who will hold down the defensive role if Senna is not available? Alonso could slot into the role, but Senna remains the player most capable of holding that slot and allowing Xavi, Iniesta et al to work their offensive magic without concern of defensive responsibilities. Cesc was expected to be a 3rd creative midfielder or a super sub off the bench - without him del Bosque losses one of his key midfield options, one that would have allowed for a rotation keeping his players fresh during the tournament. Finally if Torres does not make it back 100% what will that do for the offense? Granted with Villa in form he can carry a team on his own, but if Spain is looking to reach what many see as a finals appearance if not better they will need the Liverpool striker to be in his usual form. The one good note for Spain is that they should get out of their group with relative ease so may not need to lean on their injured players until later in the tournament.
What about other injuries? Gallas might be out which will only exasperate the problems France have at central defense. If Gallas is out I think the France might not make it out of the group stages...
Germany is without, who many thought, would be their #1 keeper Alder. The US has a gaping hole up front with Davies on the shelf after a horrific car wreck - he is back on his feet but not ready to resume training let alone playing.
There are still some games to go for the top players, so unfortunately more injuries might strike some of the key players and nations. Let us hope that those on the shelf return to good health and no other big names see their World Cup dreams go by way of the trainers' room.
So I am sitting in Logan waiting for my flight and figured I would pontificate about this weekend's big footie matches. There are two big games today and I will most likely see neither...ugh but I did DVR them! Ok the first match - Manchester United vs Chelsea. What really needs to be said about this match. These two clubs have become heated rivals ever since the Russian wealth has showered the Blues with outrageous buying potential and made Chelsea a club on the same level as Manchester United when it comes to contracts and purchase power. ManU have 3 games in hand over league leaders Liverpool, so if they win all three of those matches they will be leading the title chase. However this is game is much more than than. If Chelsea win they will be 1 point off the lead. So both teams will be motivated for the full compliment of points from this match. Both sides should have most of their regulars available for the match so that should not play a part in the outcome. The question will be, can Chelsea's central defense deal with Rooney, Tevez, and Ronaldo? Terry is back after suspension so should be fresh, but that does not take away from the fact the Blues have had a difficult time figuring out who will anchor the middle of the defense. I think without Essien it is even more difficult since more attacks are getting through the midfield when in the past Essien or Makelele would be shutting some of those attacks down. Without this cover the Chelsea back line has been exposed. The trip to Old Trafford is not where you want to be fixing this problem. Manchester United have their own defensive woos, with Ferdianand coming back from injury, so how effective will he be against Drogba and Anelka? I think this match will be a tight match, with both sides afraid to make any mistakes. I think Scolari will bring on Ballack at some point in the second half and that will change the dynamics. Ballack and Lampard will put pressure on the ManU midfield and allow Drogba to spring a late game winner - Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0.
The other big match? PSG vs Bordeaux!!!! In the past this was always a tasty fixture, but for the past seasons PSG has been more concerned about being relegated than in challenging for any silverware, but not this season. PSG won the first fixture, in what proved to be the beginning of PSG's run back up the table. This game would give them an opportunity to leap up to the third spot in France, a remarkable change after their wooful past few seasons. It will be interesting to see how PSG and Bordeaux come out of the break. PSG was clicking with Hourau starting to pile up the goals and Landreau recapturing his form. However it is bitterly cold in France and Hourau, who is from the warm waters of the Reuion has admitted that is it the cold that is his biggest enemy. Will this latest freeze impact the big man? There have already been 3 games postponed due to the weather. As he goes so does PSG. The question on the other side is how will PSG handle what is turning out to be a solid midfield combo of Gourcuff and Diarra. Both French internationals are really finding their games this season, it will be interesting if PSG employs Makelele to try and slow down this midfield and how Chantome and Sessegnon work against Diarra. I think that PSG have some good mojo going, and will find a way to beat Les Girodins once again 2-0, goals from Sessessgnon and Guily.
Should a good pair of games, too bad work is making me miss the matches live!
United when it comes to contracts and purchase power. ManU have 3 games in hand over league leaders Liverpool, so if they win all three of those matches they will be leading the title chase. However this is game is much more than than. If Chelsea win they will be 1 point off the lead. So both teams will be motivated for the full compliment of points from this match. Both sides should have most of their regulars available for the match so that should not play a part in the outcome. The question will be, can Chelsea's central defense deal with Rooney, Tevez, and Ronaldo? Terry is back after suspension so should be fresh, but that does not take away from the fact the Blues have had a difficult time figuring out who will anchor the middle of the defense. I think without Essien it is even more difficult since more attacks are getting through the midfield when in the past Essien or Makelele would be shutting some of those attacks down. Without this cover the Chelsea back line has been exposed. The trip to Old Trafford is not where you want to be fixing this problem. Manchester United have their own defensive woos, with Ferdianand coming back from injury, so how effective will he be against Drogba and Anelka? I think this match will be a tight match, with both sides afraid to make any mistakes. I think Scolari will bring on Ballack at some point in the second half and that will change the dynamics. Ballack and Lampard will put pressure on the ManU midfield and allow Drogba to spring a late game winner - Chelsea 1 Manchester United 0.
ure, in what proved to be the beginning of PSG's run back up the table. This game would give them an opportunity to leap up to the third spot in France, a remarkable change after their wooful past few seasons. It will be interesting to see how PSG and Bordeaux come out of the break. PSG was clicking with Hourau starting to pile up the goals and Landreau recapturing his form. However it is bitterly cold in France and Hourau, who is from the warm waters of the Reuion has admitted that is it the cold that is his biggest enemy. Will this latest freeze impact the big man? There have already been 3 games postponed due to the weather. As he goes so does PSG. The question on the other side is how will PSG handle what is turning out to be a solid midfield combo of Gourcuff and Diarra. Both French internationals are really finding their games this season, it will be interesting if PSG employs Makelele to try and slow down this midfield and how Chantome and Sessegnon work against Diarra. I think that PSG have some good mojo going, and will find a way to beat Les Girodins once again 2-0, goals from Sessessgnon and Guily.