Football weekend

Day -515 WorldCup2018

The African Cup of Nations started yesterday. It was a slow start. Senegal beat Tunisia 2-0 today but the other three matches were all drawn.

Burkina Faso's Portuguese coach, Paulo Duarte, had a good excuse for his team pulling off only half a surprise in their 1-1 draw against Cameroon and not achieving the full upset. His players were confused, not by any time difference, or the weather, or the alignment of the pitch in relation to the sun. No. There was a "tactical problem".

"Unfortunately in the first half my players did not understand the strategy." Ok then. Next they play against the hosts Gabon, who Duarte coached in the past.

"I know the Gabon team very well, I trained them." So I see the confusion. It's the wrong team he knows well.

Tottenham Hotspur were outstanding yesterday in sweeping past West Brom 4-0. It was fun football to watch first thing on a Saturday morning. Everton were good today, not spectacular, even though a 4-0 win against Manchester City is a pretty spectacular result. Their game plan was simple. Let City pass the ball around their own half, give them nowhere to go . Eventually they'll bore themselves, give us the ball and we'll score. Repeat 4 times. Ronald Koeman, Everton's manager, decided to give his new 18 year old player, recently bought from Charlton, a run out for a couple of minutes. Ademola Lookman was supposed to run around for a little bit, get a taste of Premier League action. But he only went and scored the 4th goal, didn't he? He might get 5 minutes next time and it could be an anticlimax.

Kevin Mirallas was one of Everton's best players today and scored what was not an easy goal. Mirallas is one of those players who I always wish plays well and that good things happen for him. He is very talented and seems to be a very intelligent player. He also goes about his business with his head down, not literally, and isn't looking to be the celebrity footballer. Maybe he didn't get on with Roberto Martinez, Everton's previous manager. I'm sure he was the Everton and Belgian player with the most conflicting emotions when Martinez was sacked by Everton and appointed manager of Belgium.

Liverpool and Manchester United also played today. They both scored a goal. The fans were all unhappy, the managers were both unhappy. They all wanted, needed, a win. The players? Maybe they were unhappy too, or maybe they were happy because a win is not what defines their happiness. Who knows?

The Top 4 in England have now become the Top 6. None of them can really afford to lose or they'll be stuck in the Europa League next season. But fear not. I'm sure UEFA will change their rules again soon to allow 6 teams from England into the Champions League.

Juventus lost today which is news these days. Fiorentina were the rare team to beat them. It allows for a glimmer of excitement in Italy. Normal service will probably resume next week. And Roma and Napoli will probably have their usual second half of season collapse and let Juventus stroll to the title.

Real Madrid also lost, their first defeat after a record breaking 40 matches. Sevilla scored a 91st minute winner to send their fans into a wild frenzy of "we beat Real" excitement. The other surprise in Spain is that Barcelona are not second in the standings behind Real. Sevilla are. With Atletico Madrid not having a great season it's refreshing to see another team get in between the two giants.

And then there's football in Malta. In today's match between Hibernians and Floriana, a Floriana player got a little carried away in celebrating his team going ahead and was sent off for "disparaging comments" aimed at the Hibs' bench. The Floriana president, Riccardo Gaucci, took offence to this decision and ordered his players off the pitch and got into an altercation with his Hibs' counterparts. At then end of it Gaucci and a Hibs' official were sent to the stands by the referee. Is it just me who wonders why the club president is on the bench anyway? What does the coach do when the president is yelling out instructions. What did the coach say when his boss ordered the team to leave the pitch? In what kind of country do the club presidents sit in the dugout with the players? Not one that is hoping to be taken seriously, I would think. This is a country where when a team wins the supporters call in to the radio or television (or post on social media now) after their team's win to offer their congratulations "to the committee." Because that's who won the match. It amuses me every time.

In happier Maltese football news, one of the players who has been a great success overseas, Andre Schembri, scored for his club Boavista yesterday. His was the third goal as Boavista went 3-0 up against league leaders Benfica. Unfortunately, Benfica hit back to draw 3-3.

And because the only happier thing on a Sunday evening than watching unbridled joy and celebration that follows a 91st minute winner against a team that hasn't lost for 40 matches, is Ray Hudson having a(nother) commentary orgasm after seeing the goal, I leave you with this......