<a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Nino.jpg"></a><div><figure class="image"><a href="http:\/\/epltalk.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/6/files/2010/04/Nino.jpg"></a></figure></div>“NINO, NINO, NINO!” chanted Los Chicharreros in the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López.&nbsp; When shouted aloud, the chant sounded like an onrushing ambulance through a traffic-jammed street, and for Getafe, who fell victim to the brilliance of Nino, they needed the assistance of EMT workers.
After a 0-0 draw at home to Real Valladolid last Saturday, a result most favored by new Valladolid entrenador and former Tenerife head man Javier Clemente, Tenerife stood seven points behind Málaga for the final place of safety in La Liga.&nbsp; The criticisms laid upon this team fell squarely on José Luis Oltra’s naïve tactics.&nbsp; In the same way that Tony Mowbray’s West Bromwich Albion team in last year’s Premier League was deemed too naïve as they were relegated to the Coca-Cola Championship, Oltra’s Tenerife incorporated an open style that needed clinical finishers in the front line to be successful because there would be several chances for their opponents to capitalize on the counter-attack.
Nino and Alejandro Alfaro scored forty-nine goals between them in the Segunda División last season, and Nino’s twenty-nine goals earned him the Pichichi trophy as the highest goal scorer in the second division. &nbsp;Seventeen goals for the pair in the top flight this season is not a bad return, but when their team has conceded the most goals in La Liga, seventeen is simply not enough.

No single match illustrates Tenerife’s frustration more than their 0-5 humbling by Barcelona at home at the dawn of the new year.&nbsp; Through the first thirty-five minutes, the islanders completely outplayed the Blaugrana in every facet of the game, but Alfaro failed to exploit three wonderful opportunities, two of them created by Nino.
Tenerife’s high defensive line initially surprised Barça and put them off their game, but this gamble would soon prove to be suicidal, as Bojan Krkic’s blistering pace left the Tenerife defense in shambles, and Lionel Messi finished Bojan’s cutback pass with aplomb.
Sucker punched in the gut, the prudent play would have been to drop deeper and work more on the counter-attack.&nbsp; Call him brave or declare him stubborn, Oltra kept to his strategy, and at fulltime, Tenerife conceded five goals, including an Ezequiel Luna own goal and a Messi hat-trick.
While José Luis Oltra has somewhat toned down his offensively aggressive tactics since that match, the flair associated with this team has not left them.&nbsp; Consequently, Tenerife still had not won away from home all season, an unwanted feat only shared by a few teams in all of the European leagues.
Tenerife righted this wrong on Tuesday evening when they went to Asturias and defeated Sporting Gijón 0-2 with that same end-to-end mentality instilled by Oltra.&nbsp; Unfortunately for Tenerife, their compatriots in the bottom three, Xerez and Real Valladolid, also won in the mid-week.&nbsp; Racing de Santander, one of the teams teetering just above the relegation zone, scored a 3-1 victory over Espanyol with the help of two deserved penalties, both of whom were scored by Mohammed Tchité, to further complicate the situation for Tenerife.
Málaga, however, heeded the bottom three’s protestations of slowing down their point accumulation.&nbsp; Two points in their last five contests left the Andalucians only three points above Tenerife and the drop zone.
Tenerife had to keep their focus on Getafe and away from the other matches affecting their standing. No one understood this more than Juan Francisco Martínez, otherwise known as Nino.
Nino has played every minute in every match for Tenerife this season, an astonishing accomplishment in this modern age, where squad rotation and injuries beset even the fittest of players.&nbsp; Standing at a relatively minuscule 5′ 7″, a center forward like Nino would not strike fear into the hearts of central defenders.&nbsp; Tossed around often due to his slight frame, Nino fought through these nicks and knocks to lead the line every single minute he plays on the pitch.&nbsp; With the season on the line, his hard work came to fruition with a hat-trick that will be remembered by Los Chicharreros for many years.
After Pedro León scored early for Getafe, Nino’s equalizer on the half-hour mark was the result, from all the different ways he can score, of a header!&nbsp; A seriously demented betting man would have gone away with bucketful of cash for predicting a Nino header, but Román Martínez’s perfectly weighted cross from deep in the right flank found a completely unmarked Nino in middle of the penalty area.&nbsp; David Belenguer and David Cortés stood frozen as Nino rose in the air between them.&nbsp; Of course, it would have to be unchallenged for Nino to score a header, but the box score will not indicate that he had enough room to build a house with all the space that the Getafe central defenders gave him.
His second goal to give Tenerife the 2-1 lead showed his technical ability to control a ball in the air.&nbsp; Marc Bertrán headed a hopeful, looping ball into the penalty box, and nothing seemed to come of it; however, Nino kept himself onside while the Getafe defenders were heading forward, and Nino found himself all alone in the box.&nbsp; He had to take down the lofted header softly, and his first touch was nothing short of immaculate.&nbsp; It took a bounce, and he whacked it to the left far post, where Jordi Codina could only watch as it passed by him into the back of the net.
Getafe would score to even the game at 2-2 several minutes later, and it could have been a crushing blow to this club that continues to fight for its La Liga life.&nbsp; Nino would have none of that negative behavior, and in the 76th minute, exactly a minute after Javier Casquero headed the tying goal for Getafe, Nino completed his hat-trick to whisk Tenerife back into a lead they would not relinquish.
Alejandro Alfaro and Nino combined yet another time, with Alfaro perfecting a through ball that sliced through the Getafe defensive line.&nbsp; Nino still had work to do, as Jordi Codina rushed off his line to attempt to clear the ball away from Nino outside of his area.&nbsp; His third goal exhibited his calm composure, dribbling to his left to avoid a sliding, lunging Codina and slotting the ball into the unguarded goal.
Three goals.&nbsp; Three different goals.&nbsp; One outcome: three points for a thankful Tenerife.
Tenerife would find out later that Málaga and Real Valladolid would draw 0-0, and Xerez could only draw 2-2 at home against Racing de Santander, so the Nino hat-trick meant more than an isolated three points.&nbsp; Tenerife is now only one point behind Málaga for the magic 17th position, and 16th is not too far away with Real Zaragoza only two points ahead of El Tete with five games remaining.
In a place where two well-known British names, <a href="http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2010/apr/18/volcano-iceland-trapped-tenerife">Gill Hornby</a> and a certain <a href="http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8627831.stm">Barcelona striker</a> from the 1980s, were forced to stay in Tenerife a little longer due to the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud, they both could have enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at the Estadio Heliodoro Rodríguez López to witness two desperate teams in one of the premier matches of the second half of the season.
“Riki-raca, zumba-raca, sim-bomba; ra-ra-ra, Tenerife, Tenerife, y nadie mas!” the fans sung throughout the match and after their team came out victorious.&nbsp; The first part is merely a set of rhyming words, but the latter half translates as, “Tenerife, Tenerife, and no one else.”&nbsp; If Tenerife rises above the relegation zone and extends their stay in La Liga, Los Chicharrones may alter this chant in honor of Nino, “Nino, Nino, y nadie mas!”
Fueras de Juego
– Sevilla goalkeeper Andrés Palop might be better with his head than his hands, and his hands are quite superb.&nbsp; His best individual moment in his career occurred in the Round of 16 of the 2006-07 UEFA Cup when his last-gasp header sent the tie against Shakhtar Donetsk into extra time, which Sevilla would win 3-2.&nbsp; Sevilla would go on and lift the UEFA Cup trophy for the second consecutive year by defeating Espanyol on penalties in the final.
In the early Saturday kickoff, Sevilla led Sporting Gijón 2-0 when Sporting central defender Grégory Arnolin headed the ball on target from a corner.&nbsp; The header came so quickly from a short distance that Palop could not get his hands up in time to parry it away.&nbsp; Instead, he decided on the next best option: counter Grégory’s header with a header of his own.&nbsp; It was just as effective as if he used his hands to slap it away, and Sevilla would eventually add a third to win 3-0.&nbsp; In dire situations, Sevilla should use Andrés Palop as a center forward.
– If one would want to introduce people to the flair and skill of Spanish football, do not show them a tape of the drab 0-0 draw between Deportivo La Coruña and Almería from this Sunday afternoon.&nbsp; Two teams going nowhere, and the match fit their paths.&nbsp; When there were decent opportunities to score, both teams scorned them with such poor technique that it was literally laughable.&nbsp; The fans at El Riazor did not share the same mirth.
– The champagne for Barcelona’s La Liga title can be put back on ice for the time being, as their 0-0 draw at derby neighbors Espanyol, combined with Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Valencia, means that Real has shaved Barça’s lead to a mere point.&nbsp; Pep Guardiola’s 4-4-2 did not work against Espanyol, and Inter Milan boss José Mourinho surely took some notes on how Espanyol flooded the midfield to prevent Xavi’s distribution across the final third of the pitch.&nbsp; The absence of Andrés Iniesta may loom large for the Blaugrana as they continue their drive for a domestic and European cup double for the second straight year.

La Liga Jornada 33 Review: Tenerife Rises to Within One Point of Relegation Salvation - World Soccer Talk

La Liga Jornada 33 Review: Tenerife Rises to Within One Point of Relegation Salvation

<div><figure class="image"></figure></div>As expected Lionel Messi succeeded Cristiano Ronaldo as the winner of the Ballon d’Or award. The Barcelona star comfortably won the prize but he&nbsp;admitted&nbsp;his&nbsp;surprise at the margin of victory as he received 240 points more than Cristiano Ronaldo who finished second.
Messi&nbsp;was quite close to winning all 480 points &nbsp;possible as he finished with a near perfect 473 points while Real Madrid’s Ronaldo got 233 points which is less than half of Messi’s total! There is no doubt the Argentinian deserved to win since he was one of the main driving forces behind Barca’s treble winning season. He led all scorers in the Champions League with nine goals and scored in the final triumph against none other than Ronaldo’s Manchester United. The Catalan club’s star also scored 23 times in la Liga and was on the score sheet six times in the Copa del Rey.
The goals scored by Messi do not tell the whole story since his contributions transcend beyond the occasions he found the back of the net to include the assists he provided his fellow Barca players&nbsp;with. Messi’s assists&nbsp;totalled 18 in all competitions. The top spots on the list were dominated by Barca players which is also not surprising considering the influence of the likes of Xavi and Andres Iniesta as well as current Inter striker Samuel Eto’o.
Messi mentioned to France Football he is honoured to win the award and dedicated it to his family. He also said he was delighted to become the first Argentina to win the Ballon d’Or. Given the performances of Messi the past year, it is near impossible to find any other player more deserving of the individual award. It will not be a shock if Messi repeats next year, but his chances&nbsp;will be hindered if&nbsp;his country continues to struggle&nbsp; under Maradona’s leadership and fails to impress in South Africa 2010. Despite the concerns over Argentina and Maradona, who can bet against Messi repeating as the award winner?
<a href="http:\/\/answers.polldaddy.com/poll/2324441/">Who Will Win The Ballon d’Or Next Year?</a>(<a href="http:\/\/www.polldaddy.com">polls</a>)

Messi Wins Ballon d'Or - World Soccer Talk

Messi Wins Ballon d'Or

<div id="attachment_2077" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><div><figure class="image"></figure></div>This is the kind of space Xavi thinks he deserves.</div>
The theory is that because of the low amount of scoring in football, using particularly protective and cynical tactics ruins the sport whose nature inhibits a high amount of goals per match.&nbsp; Football’s common nickname is “The Beautiful Game,” but from where did that phrase initially originate?&nbsp; Credit is usually given to 50’s and 60’s Brazilian star Waldyr Pereira, universally known as Didi, and those Seleção teams spoiled the world with their slick passing, their showmanship, and their creativity.&nbsp; In today’s football, FC Barcelona would be the team that most resembles this vision of Joga Bonito.&nbsp; Barcelona survived a 1-0 victory over feisty Almería on Saturday to maintain their perfect start and their position at the top of the table.&nbsp; While the game itself was not that interesting, the postscript afterward <a href="http:\/\/www.sportinglife.com/football/overseas/spain/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/09/10/04/SOCCER_Barcelona.html">brought attention to a long-standing feud between defensive tactics and football</a>.&nbsp; Xavi Hernández, the main orchestrator of the Barça attack, had some bold statements regarding Almería manager Hugo Sánchez’s strategy to stifle Barcelona’s flow:
“We will have to get used to it.&nbsp; It’s a shame that they come here to pack the defense.&nbsp; I’ve never been marked like that.&nbsp; It was madness, obsessive.&nbsp; Even when they had the ball or when I was going to take the corner they marked me.&nbsp; (Coach) Pep (Guardiola) told me to use the wings to create space so that Busi (Sergio Busquets) and (Lionel) Messi could get the upper hand in the middle.&nbsp; I practically had to leave the game.&nbsp; It was very boring for me.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who played in the Italian Serie A for the last five years, was far less incensed with Almería’s style of play:
“It’s difficult to play against five defenders.&nbsp; We didn’t play well, but we’ve won.&nbsp; This is also important.&nbsp; I’ve not scored, but I’ve made another.&nbsp; This is important.”
The tight marking of Almería was something Ibrahimovic faced in Italy weekly, so he was not as frustrated as Xavi.&nbsp; Ibrahimovic also keyed on a point that Xavi failed to address: Barcelona did not play that well.&nbsp; Xavi deflected the criticism of their play by pointing out how Almería did not let them play their football.&nbsp; Does Xavi make legitimate claims concerning the opposition?&nbsp; Last year, Almería lost both meetings to Barcelona, 5-0 at the Camp Nou and 0-2 at home.&nbsp; Almería wants to win just as much as Barcelona, and there is no doubt Hugo Sánchez remembered those matches and was wary of what Barcelona could do to his team.&nbsp; In terms of pure technical ability, there is no argument that Barcelona has the most technical ability in Europe and uses it to the fullest extent, so a team like Almería, who does not have the resources or the players like Barcelona, has to be much more pragmatic with their approach.&nbsp; Every team wants to entertain and provide a spectacle for their supporters, but results are most important, and sometimes, they have to make sacrifices in order to get the outcome they want.
Even European powers like Chelsea and Manchester United knew that trying to fight fire with fire would only lead to their demise.&nbsp; They swallowed their pride and played with nine to ten men behind the ball for the majority of the time, not worrying about the chastisement they would receive from the fans and the media.&nbsp; Manchester United pulled off a 1-0 aggregate victory over Barcelona in the 2008&nbsp; UEFA Champions League semifinal, and Chelsea was a couple of minutes from completing the same task as Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League semifinal before Andrés Iniesta banged home the equalizer and the 1-1 victory on away goals.
So how is defense treated in other sports?&nbsp; In baseball, while a home run fest excites many fans, a pitcher’s duel with great defensive plays is equally appreciated.&nbsp; Two of the most storied teams in American pro football history are the 1985 Chicago Bears and the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who each had tenacious defenses and held their opponents to less than thirteen points per game.&nbsp; Hard tackles and tough defense are paramount in succeeding in rugby union.&nbsp; The closest sport that would identify with association football’s loathing of ultra-defensive tactics is hockey.&nbsp; The New Jersey Devils won a few Stanley Cups with their employment of the neutral zone trap, but many criticized the Devils for this scheme because it drastically reduced scoring and made their games boring in the eyes of fans.&nbsp; The NHL took action during the 2004-2005 lockout by implementing changes in the rulebook to penalize teams who employ such methods.
Unfortunately, for Xavi, unless FIFA changes its rules, Barcelona will most likely face opponents that employ Almería’s tactics to limit Barcelona’s goal-scoring machine.&nbsp; What Xavi fails to recognize is that there is more than one way to play football.&nbsp; The sexy football that Barcelona plays is an ideal that almost no teams can accomplish.&nbsp; If teams want to play like Bolton Wanderers or Stoke City and use their physicality and direct style to stymie Barcelona, then it is up to Pep Guardiola and the team to figure out how to unlock the defense.&nbsp; If clubs like Villarreal and Valencia want to compete with their passing football, it will likely be a better display for the fans, but the task is still the same: to unlock the defense.&nbsp; Barcelona has a very good chance to retain all three crowns from last year as well as adding other trophies to outdo last season’s treble-winning season.&nbsp; Worrying less about their opponents’ tactics and focusing on their own game will greatly benefit Barcelona in the long run.

Why is Defense So Reviled in Football? - World Soccer Talk

Why is Defense So Reviled in Football?

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