Nike's new World Cup advert makes its TV debut during tomorrow night's Champions League final, and its as big and beautiful as all Nike's expensive flagship adverts tend to be. They hired a real proper Director - Alejandro González Iñárritu, whose Biutiful has been a divisive entrant at Cannes this week and whose last two films I loathed - and as such, this spot is vibrant and energetic and cinematic. Iñárritu, for all the trite pomposity of his work, is technically adept and capable of real style, and both those qualities are showcased here. He is also Mexican, and he seems to get football, a Mexican national obsession, and understand some of the beauty of a man dribbling past an opponent, at least. The Wayne Rooney passage is hilarious, too.
- Last mention of Michael Mann for sometime, I promise: The Autuers published a fine set diary on Public Enemies a while back which is well worth a perusal...
- This site is a legal, free streaming service showcasing some great movies in decent quality with - at the moment - no registration required. Never seen David Gordon Green's lovely George Washington (2000)? Nows your chance. Or his later, more difficult Undertow (2004)? Its there too. As is another recent favourite of mine, Joachim Trier's Reprise (2006). And Fernando Leon de Aranoa's great Mondays In the Sun (2002), starring Javier Bardem and Luis Tosar. Ray Lawrence's excellent Lantana (2001), Milcho Manchevski's masterful Before the Rain (1994), Lars Von Trier's The Boss of It all (2006) and a couple dozen more.
- I love Saul Bass, and thought I knew his work pretty well, but I had never seen this typically awesome poster for The Birds until today:
- The Spanish term for "Nutmeg" (in the football sense) is Caño. A most beautiful maneuver when performed well. I love a nutmeg, as does YouTube. Mute it though because the soundtrack - as is true of most Youtube football montages - is offensively atrocious...
- Mindless Ones is my favourite comics site these days for the occasionally brilliant criticism it features and for the bouts of shameless geek-nostalgia it never fails to evoke. As in this recent piece on Maniac 5 from early 90s 2000AD. I had utterly forgotten that Maniac 5 had ever even existed, (because, like the similarly brilliant the Journal of Luke Kirby, from the same era, it has never been collected) but it was Awesome and possibly Mark Millar at his most Millaresque. Meaning it was ultra-violent, more than a little offensive, and brilliantly played the formula of hero-comes-back-from-the-brink-to-win. Plus it had art by Steve Yeowell, the most underrated of his generation of Brit artists...
- So many World Cinema titles play at various festivals and I read reviews and watch trailers and make little mental bookmarks and then they never come out here. Not even on DVD, in some cases. Whereas American comedies with Paris Hilton in get cinematic releases. There truly is no justice. Which seems to be sort of the subject of this Mexican-American co-production. Its coming out on DVD in the US this month, and I may have to get that version in order to see it. But its Executive produced by Carlos Regaydas, which is good enough for me...:
- This is a preview of M.K. Reed's newest comic, Cross Country. Its funny, well observed stuff. You should read it.
- Just how great are The Monks? Pretty great. One almost perfect, absolutely unique album of 60s Garage Rock, some hilarious promo photos, a stunted career in Germany (where they had been stationed as GIs), and they were more or less done. But that album...that album is brilliant. This is "I Hate You", a good primer in their particular brand of aggressive rock and roll, set to some 60s Israeli movie:
-Anybody remember Marco Brambilla? Well, in 1993 he directed a sci-fi Action film satire called Demolition Man. It was Sylvester Stallone's first post-Cliffhanger comeback vehicle, and it co-starred Wesley Snipes as the villain, a pre-stardom Sandra Bullock as the girl, Nigel Hawthorne as the other villain and Denis Leary as basically himself, if he was a freedom fighter in a future dystopia. And, as big Dumb 90s Action blockbusters go, it was pretty good. With a script written by Daniel Waters, who also wrote Heathers and Hudson Hawk, there is as much emphasis on comedy and light satire as there is on setpiece action. Aldous Huxley references abound, Benjamin Bratt's character is named Alfredo Garcia, there are lots of injokes, and Brambilla never seems overwhelmed by all the whizz-bang stuff hes trying to marshall. His follow-up was Excess Baggage (1997), a silly vehicle for a then-hot Alicia Silverstone costarring Benicio Deltoro and Christopher Walken. Since then hes directed only the mini-series Dinotopia(2002) and one short in the anthology Destricted (2006). Instead of cinema he seems to have turned his attention to conceptual and visual arts. His Destricted piece, Sync, began life as an installation piece, and it edits together and overlays images and clips from dozens of filmed sex scenes, creating a new context and meaning from the result. His newest piece, Civilization, is a fascinating, dazzling video mural created for the Standard Hotel in New York (and showing in their elevators) depicting a journey upwards from hell to heaven created as a collage from hundreds of found-images from cinema. Though its on YouTube, it is best viewed on as large a screen as possible - like this Quicktime version at motionographer - and is definitely worth checking out. Quite a journey from Demolition Man...
- It is a great feeling to watch a young Director develop from film to film, becoming more accomplished with each step. Yet surprisingly rare. "Second album Syndrome" is a problem in cinema as much as music or literature. Not with Pablo Trapero. Emerging as part of the New Argentine cinema in the early years of this decade alongside the likes of Lucretia Martel, Fabian Bielinsky and Daniel Burman, Trapero has surpassed the preceding achievement with each of his four films so far. His last film, the 2006 Born & Bred is a beautiful, remarkable achievement, a precise study in grief and trauma set in stunning wintry Patagonia, which it utilizes with a potency not many young directors could match. Trapero's characters are always believable; flawed, warm, petty real people in a fascinating Argentina full of problems and compromise. His new film, Lions Den, starring his wife, Martina Gusman, played at Cannes this year to no little acclaim, and frankly, I think it looks amazing. The only question is will it get UK distribution? Anyway:
- Michael Bay directing "The Great Gatsby". The perfect fusion of director and source material, obviously. Cracked.com reveal the storyboards for what would be an unmistakeable, undeniable, unshakeable masterpiece. Heres a little sample:
- One of my favourite players when I was a kid was flamboyant Belgian playmaker Enzo Scifo, mainly because he scored goals like this, which includes an embarassing air-kick, a volleyed one-two, and a sublime finish:
- A few months ago, critic Matt Zoller Seitz posted a great series of video essays on Wes Anderson at the site of the Museum of the Moving Image (he was also partly responsible for the fine essays on The Wire credit sequences I ran some months back). His latest series is on Michael Mann , starting with the centrality of Miami Vice the tv show to Mann's work and continuing with an examination of what drives the typical Mann hero. Its great stuff for anyone who appreciates Mann's work, and with three more installments due this week, its worth keeping up with.
- I saw this at Cartoon Brew, and its something of a mini-masterpiece, especially considering it was created as a thesis film by a student at the School of Visual Arts. Great design, animation and storytelling, and a nice mix of a Noirish vibe with a 50s sci-fi feel. There are tons of designs, sketches and test-demos at creator Jake Armstrong's blog, too:
- J.H. Williams III is one of the greatest artists working in mainstream comics today, with a breadth of tone and setting denied to 90% of his peers combined with a beautiful command of line (in a unique style) and great storytelling chops. In saying all that, however, perhaps his greatest talent is his sense of design. Evident in his adventurous panel layouts and his cover work, its boldness and fluidity ensures his art never looks like the work of anyone else and always looks glorious. Below is a Jonah Hex cover, purely because I love me some Jonah Hex, but Williams has a decent website with a blog and a link to his flickr page where you can view loads of his work, including pencils, sketches, pin-ups, covers, etc. Beautiful stuff.
-Evan Dando, whose genius for a lovely pop song is generally overlooked due to his history of being a junkie mess, is these days quite an active YouTube poster under the name PelicanMouse. A few nice cover versions in there, mostly just Dando and guitar, a format in which he excels. My favourite Dando cover on YouTube, however, is this Lemonheads take on Abba's "Knowing Me, Knowing You", a song seemingly forever ruined by Steve Coogan. But no, Dando's interpretation wrings all the melancholy beauty from it without sacrificing the Ah-hah moment, which is a testament to his talent:
South America has long exported its football talent to Europe. In recent years, however, the talent drain has been beginning earlier as young players flee Economic and social uncertainty at home in Brazil or Argentina in order to live more comfortably, funded by their new European owners. Lionel Messi and his entire family left Rosario in Argentina because his boyhood club, Newells Old Boys, could not afford to pay for the hormonal treatments needed to stimulate his growth if "the flea" was ever to develop enough to give him a shot at a career as a professional. Barcelona could afford it, and afford to employ his father and put up the family in town. The Da Silva twins left Brazil before ever featuring for the first team at Fluminense. Manchester United had spotted them at an International Youth Tournament and moved quickly to sign them up.
This is increasingly common. And South America continues to produce great players, with new wonderkids appearing on the conveyer belt every season. They shuffle off to a mid-ranked European club, struggle with just about everything, go on loan, and finally return home, older and wiser, career more or less wasted. The odd exceptional talent - a Messi or a Kaka - thrives on or ahead of schedule. Many others take a few years to adapt to the weather, the rigours of the training ground, the physicality of the European game and the expectations upon their shoulders. Life must feel different once you're worth millions of dollars. Still, European Club football is full of South Americans. The latter stages of the Champions League positively teem with Brazilians and Argentines, alongside the occasional Uruguayan. And they keep coming. There will be more this summer, and in the January transfer window, and after the 2010 World Cup, when a few new talents have been unearthed.
I watch a lot of Argentinian football, and as much of the Copa Libertadores as I can. So I know a little about Uruguayan and Brazilian and Chilean football too. Enough to have spotted a few up and coming stars. It helps, too, that the media in those countries carefully monitors young talent in order to predict the next big thing as early as possible - many of these kids (none older than 22) have been persistently linked with the usual suspects (Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barca, Milan, Inter etc) for years, and its as if the local media wants them to leave and further weaken domestic leagues. Go figure. Anyway, a short primer of some names to watch out for over the next few years:
Nicolas Lodeiro of Nacional (Uruguay)
Lodeiro, 20, is always being compared with Lionel Messi, which suggests how highly he is rated in South America. There are similarities - he is short (5ft7in) and plays on the wing yet with a licence to drift inside and link up attacks. But his game is very different to Messi's. He is more old-fashioned in that his playmaking comes more through passing than through the penetrative dribbles which Messi favours. He reads the game well and has an eye for a killer ball, which he appears to have an eerie knack of seeing before it actually materialises. He scores fewer goals than Messi, altough this part of his game looks to be improving. He is also a hard worker, tracking back and ferreting for the ball and displaying some trademark Uruguayan grit when contesting possession. He really emerged at the South American U21 Championship in January, where he scored three goals in six games and ran the show for Uruguay, who qualified for the U21 World Cup as a result. Since then he has played a key role in Nacional's successful run to the semi-finals of the Libertadores for the first time in over a decade. Uruguayan football never holds onto its brightest stars for very long, and the odds are that he will be in Europe soon, and the loudest talk has been of a move to either Barcelona or Liverpool...
Javier Pastore of Huracan (Argentina)
The Argentine League has been quite topsy turvy of late. The traditional "Big Five" (Boca Juniors, River Plate, Independiente, Racing Club and San Lorenzo) have suffered through sales of young stars to Europe and financial crises brought on by mismanagement and concerted attempts at Libertadores success. River won the Clausura last year, then came bottom in the Apertura, and Boca are not too far off repeating that feat in this Season. Which means that the dominant sides at the moment are a lowlier trio of Buenos Aires clubs - Lanus, Velez Sarsfeld and Huracan. Huracan have a historical reputation for attractive, attacking football (which in a country as devoted to attacking football as Argentina is no small claim) and under current coach Angel Cappa, they more than live up to that reputation. they also feature a duo of young stars who are stealing headlines in Argentina and attracting attention in Europe. Matias De Federico is another half-pint dribbler, blessed with explosive acceleration and feet seemingly magnetic to the ball. Inevitably, he is continually compared with Messi. Javier Pastore, on the other hand, is a playmaker for whom the term "elegant" might have been coined. Graceful of movement and with a fine range of creative passing, Pastore is also a deceptively strong runner, covering lots of ground with his rangy 6ft1in frame. This allows him to arrive late in the box on a regular basis and has meant he has scored 8 goals this Season for Huracan, including two in a 4-0 hammering of River Plate (he provided an assist for another). He seems always calm and composed, and his use of the ball, given any space at all, is often sublime. His agent reported that Man Utd bid £8 Million for him a month or so ago, but at 19, he may need another Season or two in Argentina before a move really appeals. He also needs to impress his National Team Coach, who snubbed him when picking an entire squad of domestically based players for a recent friendly against Panama. De Federico was selected (and scored) and the suspicion stands that Pastore was excluded because Huracan would not release him for the U21 Championship. In the past, Maradona has similarly punished Gonzalo Higuain, so at least Pastore is in good company...
Juan Forlin of Boca Juniors (Argentina)
The Argentine National team, struggling somewhat under the guidance of Diego Maradona, have a few problem positions if they do reach the World Cup in South Africa. Chief amongst them is Centre Back. Since the retirement of Roberto Ayala and the long term injury to Gabriel Milito, nobody has satisfactorily made either of the central defensive positions definitively his own. Maradona has experimented with various different players and combinations there, with mixed results. Which explains why Juan Forlin was fast-tracked into the squad during his first full Season as a first team player at Boca. If he continues at his current rate of development, then he could well be first choice for his country by the time the World Cup rolls around. He is certainly good enough. At 5ft11in, he is short for a centre half, but he makes up for it with incredible anticipation, smooth, apparently effortless pace and clean, precise tackling. He makes many sliding challenges, yet rarely concedes a free kick, instead often emerging with the ball at his feet, his opponent baffled by this lightning ghost. His spring is good in partial compensation for his stature. And, in the Boca tradition, he is adept at passing the ball out from the heart of defence. Barecelona have been sniffing around...
Sebastian Blanco of Lanus (Argentina)
Over the last two or three years, Lanus have easily and consistently played the best football in Argentina. They won their first ever League title two years ago (Apertura 2007), a triumph for their inimitably Argentinean short passing style. They possess a surfeit of creative, positive midfielders. Diego Valeri, the most classical, old-fashioned playmaker to emerge from Argentina since Juan Roman Riquelme (but with pace and a better work ethic, even if he does lack Riquelme's genius), was their lynchpin when they won that League title. Since then both Eduardo Salvio and Sebastian Blanco have become fixtures in the team. Blanco has often been preferred to the out-of-form Valeri this season. A truly two-footed attacker, he can play either wing, as a support striker, or in the Playmaker role at the tip of midfield, which is where he seems best used. Beautifully balanced and with a quick turn, it is that ability to use either foot to deliver his passes which marks him out, and the way he has started to shape Lanus' attacks with changes of play and sudden slide rule balls which suggest he could have a very bright future indeed. Lanus have done a good job holding onto all of their their young talent so far, Blanco included, for fear of selling off all of their success, but sooner or later the money on offer will prove too good to resist...
Maxi Moralez of Velez Sarsfield (Argentina)
Maxi Moralez stands out on this list for having done it all already. Aged 22, he has already moved to Europe for a lot of money, already failed and returned with his tail between his legs. And somehow it seems to have improved him as a player. He built a great reputation for himself at Racing Club in his teens, his technique, link up play, quick passing and incisive runs all impressing observers. At the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada, he was the outstanding performer in the victorious Argentina side which also included Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Franco Di Santo. Moralez, clearly at home in the traditional Number 10 position in the hole behind Di Santo and Aguero, made his strikers look good with his clever prompting and numerous fine assists. FC Moscow promptly bought him for $5 Million. He didn't adapt well to Moscow, barely played, and was loaned back to Racing after 6 months, out of shape and in poor form. It took him around another 6 months to recover form, fitness and confidence, and by then it was unclear whether Racing actually wanted to keep him. So Moralez joined Velez Sarsfield instead, was given the Number 10 shirt and the responsibility to make things happen, and has driven the club to within one game of title success. He is the definition of a livewire - quick on his feet and with them, always looking for options, always a threat. at some point a return to Europe seems inevitable, perhaps in a more hospitable league than Russia's.
Douglas Costa of Gremio (Brazil)
A left-winger with a penchant for lots of step-overs and stunning swerves above the ball, Costa has already been compared to Ronaldinho, Robinho, and Cristiano Ronaldo in his native Brazil. One thing he definitely has in common with these players is an uncommon cockiness - he swaggers with belief in his own ability. Which does seem partly warranted by his undoubted potential. He has vision, astonishing pace and is a magnificent dribbler. His dead-ball ability also belies his youth (he is 19). But he is far from the finished article and above Brazilian ball wizards of his ilk always must loom the shadow of Denilson, who never came close to living up to the huge transfer fee which took him to Europe (he went to Real Betis for £21.5 Million in 1998). Douglas could do with at least one more Season in Brazil before his inevitable move materialises. He has been, unsurprisingly, most prominently linked with Man Utd as a Ronaldo replacement...
Gary Medel of Universidad Catolica (Chile)
His nickname: "El Pitbull" probably tells you all you need to know. A defensive midfielder in the Gattuso/Mascherano mould, Medel is a gritty competitor with fine footballing ability and a fantastic engine. Universidad Catolica are one of Chile's "Big Three", and for them he patrols the midfield, but Chilean National Coach Marcelo Bielsa usually uses him on the right side of a three-man defence, while encouraging him to forage forward, employing that amazing energy to burn his way through a match. In the recent 2-0 victory over Argentina in Santiago, Medel was probably Man of the Match, his drive and hunger for the ball and awesome sight. He will undoubtedly impress many at next year's World Cup, where Chile, who play a lovely high tempo passing game which is the most exciting, attractive sight in current South American football, could well be a surprise package. Independiente of Argentina seemed to have a move for him tied up a few months back, but that appears to have dissolved at the contractual stage. He will undoubtedly be anchoring the midfield of a major European club very soon, however...
- This spot was reserved for a teaser for HBO's "The Pacific" that was on YouTube for about two days in late May. It originated in Australian tv, and brief though it was, it suggested something of the scale of this show. Except HBO got rid of all signs of the trailer sharpish, perhaps unwilling to begin any marketing for a programme which will not air until 2010. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, it is the companion piece to "Band of Brothers", only focusing on the intertwined stories of three US Servicemen in the Pacific theatre of the Second World War. Its the most expensive television production ever attempted, its got some quality talent behind the camera and writing the scripts and the cast is composed mainly of unknowns and barely-knowns. It looks great, and if its anywhere near as good as "Band of Brothers", then we're in for a treat.
- Glen David Gold's second novel, "Sunnyside" is finally released this week, eight years after his fine debut, "Carter Beats the Devil" made its bow. Writers can be terrible this way, stretching out a novel, endlessly tweaking, trimming and thinning, stopping and starting. This one is about Charlie Chaplin, WW1 and America, and it sounds intriguing. A couple of other writers I love have books out over the next few months. Again, they're extremely long-awaited:
James Ellroy's "Bloods A Rover", the final part of his USA trilogy, which is out in September. Long long awaited by Ellroy disciples...
David Mazzuchelli's even longer-awaited "Asterios Polyp", which has gotten unsurprisingly rave reviews and is out in July.
- Simon Kuper is, for my money, the best football writer working today. He once edited the short-lived periodical of literary writing about the Beautiful Game; "Perfect Pitch" and his book "Football Against the Enemy" is something of a masterpiece, and hugely influential. In this month's issue of "Four Four Two" he contributes a dazzling portrayal of Johann Cruyff which for anybody too young to appreciate the man's genius, is an absolute must. The article mentions several legendary goals and tricks, and almost all of them are included in this short clip:
- Gustav Hasford was a former combat reporter in Vietnam who became quite a celebrated Nam novelist upon this return. His novel "The Short Timers" formed the basis for "Full Metal Jacket", and great stuff it is too. However it, like all his books, is bafflingly, currently out of print. But available to read in its entirety here at his official website, as are all of his books and seemingly everything he ever wrote. He was an interesting character - at a dlunch meeting with Stanley Kubrick and fellow Nam scribe, Michael Herr (who went on to write the screenplay of "Full Metal Jacket") Kubrick leaned over to Herr and whispered "I can't work with this man"...
- A beautiful and limited Yojimbo print by Paul Pope, available to buy (if you're lucky to find there are any left) right here:
- It is an irresistible idea; bringing an Asian Warrior to the old West. The obvious examples - "Red Sun", "Shanghai Knights", and even "Kung Fu" all fudge it somewhat in the execution, however. Either not really Western enough, or half-hearted in their martial arts shapes. Recently the cross-pollination seems to be going the other way and so we end up with "The Good, the Bad and the Weird" and "Sukiyaki Western Django". This, "The Warriors Way" is a directorial debut, and it looks a little bit insane, if in a good way:
- Lee Weeks is a much underrated artist, perhaps too old-fashioned for current tastes, and under-utilized as a result. I love his stuff, though, and its suggestions of Toth and Wally Wood and Gil Kane. He gives good cover, too, as this "Tarzan vs Predator" shot proves:
- I'm currently reading Dean Wareham's fantastic memoir, "Black Postcards", which has made me go back and listen to more of my Galaxie 500 and Luna stuff, which I've always liked. And this eerie, beautiful, poetic, magical song stands out:
- Darwyn Cooke, one of my favourite cartoonists, tries his hand at hard-boiled crime comics with "The Hunter", an adaptation of one of Richard Stark's Parker novels. Which looks beautiful, and knowing the estimable, scarily talented Cooke (if you haven't read "New Frontier" you need to go to Amazon right now and buy it) will be a great read too:
- Last year I was dreading Sam Mendes' adaptation of "Revolutionary Road", because the director was wrong, the casting was wronger, and the mere fact of the movie was wrongest. This year I find I'm looking forward, sorta, to John Hillcoat's adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's "The Road". Interesting director, great screenwriter (Joe Penhall) and good casting of Viggo Mortensen in the lead. But when I read and loved the book I wasn't father to a little boy. Now I am, and I imagine that the film may be unbearably moving, if it captures even a tenth of the book's power. Anyway, the long-awaited trailer, featuring an excrutiating first 20 seconds or so of exposition reportedly entirely absent from the finished cut:
- Chris Ware, genius that he is, has contributed this amazing little single-page story about web culture and virtual friendship to Wired, which is almost worth buying the magazine for:
- Hernanes, next next-big-thing from Brazil, is currently playmaker for Sao Paolo, the country's most successful club in recent years. No doubt he'll be in Europe soon at a Big Italian, Spanish or Portuguese club. Its safe to say he's quite useful:
- The novelist Rick Moody is of that generation of US writers (alongside the likes of Jonathan Lethem and Michael Chabon, say) whose work is absolutely suffused in pop culture. Its an explicit presence in all of his writing, from the use of the Fantastic Four as a metaphor in "The Ice Storm", to the film references in "The Diviners". But music seems to have a particular centrality in Moody's worldview, as indicated by the references to the Jersey scene of the early 80s in "Garden State" and a particular story in his collection, "Demonology". "Wilkie Fahnstock: The Boxed Set" is a short story in the form of a set of liner notes to a 10-volume mix-tape chronicling the title character's life. The tracklisting is in a column on one side of the page, the liner notes in another. Moody has good, interesting, varied taste in music, which goes along way to redeeming the clever-clever aspects of the conceit. "The Feelies", one of the great lost bands of the 80s, feature prominently in "Garden State", and "Wilkie Fahnstock" is almost the perfect hipster playlist in its careful eclecticism. Recently he's started to write a music blog for The Rumpus , which is a good read if you're interested in that kind of thing (Jazz, Springsteen, Syd Shaw, Frank Zappa) or in Moody's writing in general. Last year he also contributed a fascinating, rewarding playlist to the New York Times , which is, pleasingly, surprisingly heavy on folk music, not an interest I would have ever suspected Moody of having...all of which is basically just an excuse allowing me to post this. The Feelies greatest song, and one of my favourite songs of all time, "The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness":
- Robert E. Howard created a slew of characters, but the 3 most important are the most visible in modern popular culture. Conan The Cimmerian, of course, is arguably the most popular and recognisable character in all fantasy literature, Tolkein excluded. Kull the Conqueror was the hero of a Kevin Sorbo film a few years ago. But the influence of Solomon Kane is more subtle. A 17th Century English Puritan gunman who travels widely across Africa and Europe, fighting and converting heathens, his character is more difficult and less instantly appealing. His influence is obvious visually across the fantasy and SF genres, however. Both Vampire Hunter D. and Van Helsing (and even V, in V for Vendetta, to some extent) are dead ringers for Kane. Kane himself seems to have been developed as a period version of the Shadow, in hatwear and cape, at least. But a new film, starring James Purefoy in the title role, should bring Kane himself into the cultural spotlight to some extent. Illustrator Gary Gianni has done some terrific Kane work in the past, perhaps establishing a definitive look for the character, which even that film appears to echo.
- I've talked here before about my affection for "Red Dead Revolver". Well, the sequel is incoming. Only this time its a free-roaming game, GTA in the West by all accounts. "Gun", only good, I'm hoping. Also hopeful that this has better acting, characters and plotting than GTA, and less tedium. Oh yeah, and more choice spaghetti soundtrack cuts. Whatever, the trailer looks great:
- Speaking of spaghetti Western soundtracks, the Cannes programme includes a listing of the Soundtrack for Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds". The best thing about each of his last three films has been the soundtrack, and this one sounds just as good, stuffed to the gills as it is with Morricone, Tiomkin, both Charles and Elmer Bernstein, Gianni Ferrio and Lalo Schifrin, with just a little bit of Billy Preston and Bowie/Moroder thrown in. I am there. ITunes, I mean...
- YouTube is a treasure trove of boxing footage. When I was a kid, boxing was awesome. Giants still fought in the heavyweight division. Ali had only just retired. Larry Holmes was in his pomp. A young pitbull named Tyson was carving his name in the division in short, brutal fights. But even better was the Middleweight division, where the "Four Kings" co-existed to create the richest division since the Heavyweight era of Ali, Frasier, Foreman and Norton in the 1970s. Those four fighters were Roberto Duran, "Sugar" Ray Leonard, Thomas "Hitman" Hearns and "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler. They fought each other in different combinations over the course of a decade, creating a series of classic encounters. The most classic was "the War" between Undisputed World Champion Hagler and in-form Hearns at Caesars Palace on April 15, 1985. The first round may be the most exciting I've ever seen, and I vividly remember watching it in a Saturday morning ITV replay with my Dad. I doubt any fight I've seen since has really lived up to it, in its relentlessly gripping pace, its clash of style and personality and the sense that it was two true Greats, and equals at that, determined to beat the crap out of one another. Consider that the early stunning right Hearns catches Hagler with broke Hearns' hand. Consider that Hagler had only seconds before the fight would be stopped due to his bleeding eye. Consider that this fight is like something from a video game. When you've finished watching this, follow the links to watch Part 2. You know its right:
Welcome to my most self-indulgent post ever. If you don't like football or don't play FIFA, I'd advise you skip it. Really.
Still here? Ok.
FIFA 09: 6 Goals
David Silva for Spain vs France
Spain are perhaps my favourite team to play as. As in the real world, the entire team has ridiculously solid technique, making their possession game both a necessity and a joy. As Spain - and a few other teams similarly bestowed with creativity and technique - I can keep the ball endlessly, playing in little first time triangles, shifting the play all across the pitch. The magic midfield line-up of Xavi-Senna- Iniesta-Silva is a beautiful thing. And ahead of it are Torres and Villa, to my mind the best strike pairing in the entire game. Villa can seemingly do anything, and he scores goals of unlikely quality: shots from distance, free-kicks, volleys, tap-ins, headers, dribbles...nothing is beyond him in front of goal. Alongside him, Torres' pace is a lethal weapon. I have scored more goals playing through-balls for an on-the-shoulder striker to run onto than of any other kind (though this goal probably belongs in the category of the second most common kind of goal I've scored - the pounce upon a rebound from a save) , and Torres is perhaps the best player in FIFA 09 at playing to this tactic. His pace, once he gets on the ball, is terrifying, and he is virtually uncatchable by legal means. Spain just seem to have goals in them at any point during a game. And its always lovely to look at...
Near the end of a tight game under the floodlights at the Mestalla. A goalless stalemate so far, despite Torres striking a post and Villa twice clipping the crossbar, and Henry being denied in a one-on-one by the onrushing and suicidally brave Casillas. Spain dominate possession while France break with pace down the flanks, usually via the elusive Ribery. Spain are stroking the ball around in midfield, as they have done all game. Xavi takes a touch, turns away from the pressing Toulalan, then plays the ball off to Senna, who finds him with the return, Toulalan now lost in the space between them. Seeing the opportunity, Xavi plays in Torres with a first-time ball along the turf. Torres, who has made a run along the edge of the box, turns speedily into the area as Gallas closes towards him. Torres deigns not to shoot and instead cuts it back for Villa, near the penalty spot. The ball is a little behind him and his shot is not as powerful as it should be, but it forces the keeper to dive to his right to save it, then Mexes hooks it clear. It arcs out of the box towards David Silva, loitering near the left touchline. He takes a short run and hits it first-time, on the volley and it travels over the crowd of players in the area and into the far top corner like an exocet, the keeper barely having moved. Silva may even have done the robot in celebration.
Juan Roman Riquelme for Boca Juniors vs Sao Paolo
Boca are probably the team I play as on the most regular basis, and it is a source of massive heartache that the Argentine League is not one of the featured leagues, and something EA should address forthwith. I would play as Estudiantes, Lanus and Independiente, for instance. I never ever play the Danish League. Or the J-League or K-League. Anyway, I have to create tournaments if I want to "manage" Boca the way I can Man Utd or Barcelona, say. And, being a stickler for some sort of realism, I tend to make my tournaments regional in nature. So Boca play River Plate, obviously, the bigger Mexican clubs, and a lot of Brazilian teams. Probably the strongest of these teams is Sao Paolo, who are pacy all over the pitch and always tough to beat. Boca play a short-passing game, you see, meaning you need to be at your best to unlock a well-organised team, and that it is extremely difficult against the big European Super-Clubs, who all have considerably better stats. The pace of Palacio upfront or even Vargas in midfield is no use against a team as fast over the ground as Sao Paolo. But I love playing as Boca. Riquelme, who the commentary in Fifa 08 branded "the orchestrator of the midfield" is just that, on the ball more than anybody else in every game. He also breaks into the box to score crucial goals, as his finishing is almost as good as his passing. This goal, however, was sort of a fluke. I meant it, but it shouldn't have worked.
Boca pass it out from the back, creating little triangles between defenders and then feeding defensive midfielder Sebastian Battaglia, who turns and slides it to Riquelme, hovering, back to goal, near the halfway line. He turns with a little backheel. He has space, a snatch of time. There is no pass on save for a safe ball out to the flank. Instead he looks up, and instantly shoots. One stroke of the boot and the ball is high in the air and traveling at pace in a low arc over the pitch. The goalkeeper is scrambling already and then, somehow, ridiculously, the ball is passing into the net just under the crossbar, the keeper in a heap on the goal line. 1-0 Boca. Beautiful. Later Riquelme would sweep a free kick into the top corner, just to make the result safe, before Palacio stabbed a Palermo cutback inside the near post in injury time to flatter the Argentines with a 3-0.
Kaka for Brazil vs Paraguay
The problem with Brazil is that midfield. Two destroyers in the middle makes them slightly less terrifying than they should be, despite the amazing attacking talent at the top of the pitch (Ronaldinho, Adriano and Robinho in addition to Kaka, with Pato and Diego on the bench). So I changed it. What does Dunga know? I put in Thiago Motta and Felipe Melo, more rounded players, giving the team a more creative element in that area. Motta, in particular is adept at charging forward and delivering telling passes to the forward players. Altough sometimes they do that themselves. for years, when PES was in its pomp and lording it over FIFA, the accusation most commonly made of EA's game was that it was too easy. That you could pick up the ball with one player and dribble right the way through the opposition to score. There may even have been something to this, back then. But for the last 2 years, PES has been the easier, more Arcade game, all unrealistically pacy players and spectacular goals. FIFA is now a game where tactics and patience matter, where goals can be rare and precious for that. And yet it can be spectacular and even beautiful when something goes right. In short, its a true simulation, it feels like football. PES feels like a game. Made by people who want football to be more like a game. Sometimes, though, with the right player at the right moment in the right game and the right coordination, its still possible to score one of those "beat-the-entire-defence" goals in FIFA 09...
Kaka takes the ball from Melo inside his own half. Brazil already lead 2-0. He turns and sets off at pace, beating a midfielder with his speed within two strides, then turning past another. Passes open up for him; Robinho making a run towards the box to his left, Ronaldinho loitering in safe distance. He ignores them. The penalty box is in view now and he performs a step-over and then slaloms between two defenders with a burst of acceleration and into it, heading towards the corner flag, the keeper unsure whether to come out or not. Morel-Rodriguez, the Paraguayan left back, is charging at him and will be there in an instant. Kaka clips the ball just as the keeper commits himself and before Rodriguez arrives and it flicks almost apologetically over his ankle and nestles in the side netting just inside the far post, the goalkeeper skidding into Kaka as Brazil begin to celebrate. He has beaten four or five players and run from the halfway line.
Berbatov for Manchester United vs Arsenal
United are too good in FIFA. Its too easy. No team really measures up. Strong in defence, able to pass it through the middle, quick and inventive on the flanks and with an awesome array of attacking options. If I play as United and get an early goal, it is usually the first of many. Rooney scores amazing goals, of course, as do Ronaldo and Tevez. But Berbatov seems programmed in FIFA to play as a poacher, which he isn't remotely in real life. So he finishes off long passing moves. He scores tap-ins. The real Berbatov likes to drop back and dictate the play, to create for others. Here Rooney does that job. This Berbatov is also blessed with the kind of pace the real Berbatov can only dream of, or at least rarely displays. But one thing is legitimate: that divine touch. That elegance of movement and vision. I usually prefer Tevez. But Berbatov is better in the air and the EA version isn't as seemingly lazy as the real Dimitar...this goal was maybe the second time that trying this had ever worked for me. Which was exhilarating. Especially against Arsenal.
A night time game at the Emirates. United lead 1-0 from an early Rooney missile from the edge of the box. Arsenal have had a couple of chances, and have finally gone all cavalier in the last minutes of the game in a desperate attempt to score an equaliser. As a result, United are breaking and threatening every minute or so. On this occasion, Giggs plays a smart first time ball to Berbatov after an Arsenal move has broken down at the feet of Carrick. Berbatove nudges it to Rooney, again first time, and Rooney rounds Sagna and plays it back into Berbatov's path. Gallas and Toure snap at his heels as he approaches the box. Goalkeeper Almunia advances slightly. So Berbatov lobs him. An impudent flick, perfectly struck and judged. Almunia leaps but comes nowhere near. The ball crosses the line at waist height. Berbatov celebrates. Almunia will get one back with a great header in injury time.
Zico for Classic XI vs Brazil
If I miss anything about the old days when I played PES instead of FIFA, its the Classic lineups of International teams. To play with a Classic Argentina starring Maradona (alright, Manadona) and Redondo (Redanda) was a great pleasure. Figuring out who some of the other players were meant to be was always amusing, too. I often found myself scruitinizing an England full-back, thinking "Could it be Kenny Sansom?" This is one rare PES feature FIFA should copy outright. At present, the closest it gets is the Classic XI and the World XI. The World XI seems an arbitrary and somewhat silly notion. As does the Classic XI, I guess. But it allows you to play as Cantona and Hugo Sanchez. Or even better, as Zico. One of the greatest players ever, he is a little underrated, for my liking. He should be somewhere just below Maradona and Pele and Crujif in the pantheon, alongside Platini and Zidane (he was easily the equal of either). In FIFA his stats reflect how good he was. And he can score the most sublime goals. So can most of his Classic XI teammates, to be fair... Sometimes a player will do something you didn't expect in FIFA. Some combination of buttons and triggers and analogue stick pressure elicits a move you didn't know was possible. A drag back and flicked backheel of a pass. An overhead flick. This Zico goal was like that. And all the more enjoyable for it.
A corner kick. Taken by Paul Gascoine. Zico near the penalty spot, a crowd of Brazilian and CLassic XI players also in the box. As Gascoine steps up to the ball, Zico makes a short run to the edge of the six yard box. The ball is floated in. Behind him. He goes for it anyway, but instead of heading it hopelessly over the bar - which seems the only real option - he dives backwards and, almost upside-down as he strikes it, scissor-kicks it into the top corner. It is a graceful, balletic physical motion, then the ball is in the back of the net.
Thierry Henry for Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Ah, Barcelona. Pass-pass-pass-pass-pass- little dribble - pass-turn-pass-pass-pass-flick-pass-goal. Like Spain, like Man Utd, playing with Barcelona is almost too easy, too smooth. Built for possession, they pass and score, pass and score. Their defence may be unrealistically solid, but they lose the ball so seldom it barely matters. Their midfielders all pass the ball beautifully, their strikers all have amazing pace and finishing prowess - every game is a feast of perfect through-balls and superb clips into the bottom corner. Anyone who knows me well and talks about football with me knows I love a passing game. Football is a passing game. It must be played that way. Long ball football is an affront to the soul. When I play it I want to play in a passing team. I get annoyed when I don't play in a passing team. When I watch football I want to watch beautiful technical football. Yes, there is a separate pleasure to a strong, well-organised defence, but there is something almost sacred in the sight of a team playing as one in possession of the ball. Even to be involved in a goal based upon the timeless principles of "pass, move, offer, receive, pass" is the greatest pleasure in the game, I think. But from playing and watching others play FIFA, it is obvious that not everyone plays the game the same way. Most people, in fact, play a weird combination of ceaseless dribbling and long balls muntered up front. Give the ball to a fast, skillful player, and let him do some damage, seems to be the theory. And of course all football comes down to this at some point. Only, with the best teams and the best football, it only comes into focus in the six yard box, after a beautiful sequence of passes has opened up the soft underbelly of the opposition. Style in football is a moral question, I think. If you play ugly, pragmatic football, you're in the wrong, win or not. Thats why the Brazil team of 1982 are more beloved than the team of 1994. Or to quote Keats: "Beauty is truth, truth beauty." This all applies to FIFA as much as real football. This goal came at the end of a period of short passing possession that went on so long I was almost getting bored. Then a hole appeared in the other teams defence. And the flea found it.
Barcelona pass it about from a short goal kick. Puyol to Alves, up to Messi, over to Xavi, back to Puyol, over to Milito, out to Abidal, back to Milito, forward to Iniesta, out to Henry, back to Toure, to Xavi, to Iniesta, to Messi, to Xavi, to Alves, to Messi, to Xavi, to Toure, to Etoo etc etc. Madrid make the odd lunging tackle and continually press but never really threaten to regain possession. The ball comes to Messi, facing Heinze. He sprints up the wing then turns sharply and cuts infield. He lays it off to Xavi. Xavi plays it in to Etoo, who plays it across the corner of the box to Messi, back on the wing. Messi turns and flicks the ball past Heinze, and is beyond him before he can even turn. On the edge of the box he plays it fast along the ground almost perfectly along the six yard line. Etoo is already past the ball, as are a scrambling Cannavaro and Pepe. It rolls straight into the path of Henry's run, and he strokes it first time into the top corner, Casillas having no chance. this is the opening goal. Barca will score four more, Madrid none.
- I'm on a real short story kick at at the moment and the best young short story writer I've recently come across is named Wells Tower (which, yes, is his real name). His collection, "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" is fantastic, full of finely honed, beautifully written stories which are remarkably well-observed and funny, truthful and occasionally disturbing. Yet they are generally heavier on plot than the microscopic observation which dominates the form of the modern short story. Things happen in Tower's stories. There are unexpected twists and turns. Never more so than in the title story of the collection, a story of a Viking Raid on a coastal town and its consequences, narrated in a modern American idiom by a decidedly reluctant pillager. The first line gives a little of the flavour: "Just as we were all getting back into the mainland domestic groove, somebody started in with dragons and crop blights from across the North Sea." It is a great story, unlike anything else I've ever read. And you can find it in its entirety right here.
- The pictures of Megan Fox dressed as the hottest Old West Whore since Claudia Cardinale on the set of "Jonah Hex" set me to pondering on the character of Jonah himself and Western comics in general. I like Western Comics. From the classic Fleischer Hex stories (particularly those with Garcia-Lopez art) to Mobius on "Blueberry", to "Lucky Luke" and Azzarello's "Loveless", Westerns make for good comics. All this in turn led me to check out "High Moon", a Western-Horror on DC's web-comic imprint, "Zuda". I don't read many web-comics and this is an interesting read on that basis alone, for what it suggests are the strengths and drawbacks of the medium itself. The story and art are ok, but the premise is pretty good and its worth a glance. The image above, on the other hand, is a classic Nick Cardy "Bat Lash" cover that I just had to include because its so lovely...
- "Batman: Dead End", the impressively slick and assured 2003 short fan film featuring Batman, the Joker and Alien and Predator, was primarily intended as a showreel for the directorial skill of Director Sandy Collora. Well, it worked, as "Hunter Prey", Collora's debut feature, is nearing release. A determinedly 70s-retro feel to the photography and design instantly marks it out as something different to most mainstream SF. Basically, it looks somewhat like a Star Wars fan film. But a really good one, with lots of violence:
- As I've written before, there are only a handful of Playmakers in the classic mode surviving in modern football. Riquelme, Diego, Gourcuff, to name a few, as well as the Brazilian Ederson, who is being played out of position at Lyon to accommodate the waning talents of Juninho. In previous seasons however, he was phenomenal for Nice, scoring regular belters like this one:
- Next Season, Arsenal will wear a Green ("Hunter Green", to be precise) away kit in Europe. Supposedly in homage to the (reputedly unlucky) away kit worn in 1982-83 and rapidly abandoned (in a similar vein, Man United's new kit is a tribute to thier 1909 kit, White-V from the shoulders and all). Not too many clubs play in green, is the thing. Countries (Ireland, Ivory Coast, Mexico for instance) do, since its a staple of many flags and even key to certain National identities and myths. But disregarding those that wear green stripes (like Celtic, Betis and Sporting Lisbon), how many Big clubs play in Green? None in England, unless you count Plymouth Argyle as a Big club. Saint Etienne in France, Werder Bremen in Germany, Palmeiras, Panathanaikos...In a world inescapaby dominated by red and blue, green is an unfashionable colour for a football shirt, it seems. A friend suggested to me that this was down to the folk superstition associating green with bad luck, which makes some sense, I suppose. What also makes sense is that Nike would ignore any such superstition in its lust for money through increased sales of as many new kits as it can churn out.
- One of the great voices of 90s Indie, singing one of the best songs of 90s Indie:
Topside? Jacqueline Bisset, officially the most beautiful woman in the world back then. Seriously.
On Football - No. 19 : Andy Reid & Stephen Ireland
"Football is a beautiful game, and it should be played beautifully" - Brian Clough, The Damned United
If you love football, it can be really depressing coming from a small country. You don't qualify for most tournaments. When you do, you don't go very far. Because of this you get horrible seeding, which means you get awful draws in qualification groups, so ensuring that, yet again, you don't qualify. Each generation has a maximum of two top-class players, if you're lucky, and none if you aren't. This lack of quality encourages coaches to opt for percentage football - style is sacrificed. Results are paramount. The football is dire. Your club sides are terrible, the play unexciting, the best players swept off to bigger, more lucrative markets at a young age. You, like most lovers of football in this small country, look abroad for entertainment, for a team to care about. But you still love your national team. How could you not? Even though its an ugly beast. Its your ugly beast, dammit.
Ireland haven't qualified for a major tournament since the 2002 World Cup. Under Manager Brian Kerr we came very close. In a tough group with France and Israel, the team played nice, attractive football, but choked in the big games and narrowly missed out on qualification. Under his successor Steve Staunton Ireland hit a nadir - the worst results since the Charlton era, bad football, a lack of any tactical nous, and awful results. So Giovanni Trappatoni, legendary and incredibly experienced septegenarian Italian coach, was given a Big Money contract. Results immediately improved. Trappatoni knew exactly what he wanted and he knew how to get it. He placed two holding midfielders at the centre of his team, leaving the flair to the wingers and the forwards, knowing that his two midfielders provided security to the defence above all else.
In theory this is not an entirely bad idea. But it depends on the calibre of the playing staff for its success. A key player for Ireland in this system would be Blackburn midfielder Steven Reid. He is a good example of the modern central midfielder; strong, fast and incredibly fit, he has the stamina to run all game, to cover the entire pitch, to go ceaselessly from box to box. He is good at almost everything - he can tackle, run the ball, shoot from distance, his awareness is good, his passing varied, and he is fine in the air - but exceptional at nothing. He would work beside a journeyman destroyer in such a midfield, because his energy and pace would allow him to join the attack when required, and he can be a danger in the opposition half, but he would also so his share of defensive work. The destroyer could hold back all game, making Trappatoni happy.
But Reid is injury-prone, and he is suffering from a long-term injury at present. So Trappatoni has been forced to use lesser players in the midfield roles. Players like journeymen Glenn Whelan and Keith Andrews. Or Darren Gibson, a Youth team player on the fringes of Manchester United's first team, who had played for Ireland at senior level before he ever played in a serious competitive match for his club. Or Liam Miller, who has consistently had to drop down a level to the Championship to find first-team football. None of these men is really fit to play in a midfield that has, over the years, been filled with the likes of Johnny Giles, Liam Brady, Ronnie Whelan and Roy Keane. Meanwhile, Ireland's two most creative Midfielders are absent from Trappatoni's Squads. Andy Reid and Stephen Ireland.
Lets start with Reid. Arguably the most creative Irish player of his generation, he is perhaps better known for suffering from recurrent weight problems than for having one of the best left feet in the Premier League. Not only that, but Reid knows how to use it, deploying a range of passing that seems more Latin in its variety than Northern European. Indeed, when he signed for Charlton Athletic a few years ago, a profile in a club match programme claimed that early in his career he was called the "Irish Maradona". I don't remember anybody ever being called anything so silly, but Reid's sheer talent has never really been questioned (and during his stint as Irish Assistant coach/Advisor, Bobby Robson echoed the sentiment by claiming that if Reid was Argentine, the media would rave about the purity of his technique). His first coach at Charlton, Les Reed, compared him to Ferenc Puskas. On a good day he has the kind of gift that inspires these sort of comparisons. He can pass accurately over distance or can play a rapid short game as well as anybody from these islands since Paul Scholes. He also takes a mean free kick, his control and touch is lovely, he has a few close control tricks in his arsenal, and his shooting is ferocious. That all makes him sound like a luxury player, a lightweight technician of the type the modern pragmatic Coach has little time for. But no, Irish football culture prizes effort as much as (if not more than) skill, and so Reid closes down, clatters into tackles and generally runs himself into the ground for his team.
The problem is his build. He is typically Irish - short and squat, barrel-chested and broad-shouldered. He would need to be super-fit to even look like he was moderately fit, and Reid generally looks a little out of shape. Paunchy. Carrying a half stone too much weight. Sometimes he obviously is out of shape, but the point is with his sort of build, he always looks tubby, no matter how hard he works or how much ground he covers. For Nottingham Forest and Spurs he usually played on the left-wing, and people expect wingers to look a certain way: whippet-thin, rangy, all angles and bones. They also expect wingers to operate using pace above all else. Reid was never about pace. As a winger his game resembled (to a certain extent) David Beckham's - he could send in a brilliant delivery with the minimum space. He could lose a full back with a trick and shoot from outside the box. The main comparison he endured was to Forest legend John Robertson. At Spurs, the crowd got on his back early, he struggled with his fitness, and despite securing a regular place in a team with far too many midfielders in its squad he never seemed to settle, and he was moved along relatively quickly. Charlton embraced his talent more enthusiastically, and he thrived once more in the Championship. Partly this was he was given more freedom in his role. He drifted infield in possession, his passing able to damage teams, his confidence increased by the trust placed in his creative ability. His form earned him a move to Sunderland, where he was a key player in keeping the club in the Premiership, as manager Roy Keane acknowledged. Reid had the ability to put his foot on the ball and use it intelligently, something missing in all too many struggling teams, who descend into panicked kick-and-rush. Take this Daryl Murphy goal against Wigan. Reid had just come on as substitute, and this is effectively his first touch:
Steve Staunton, for all of the horror and ineptitude of his stint as Ireland coach, placed similar faith in Reid's ability. He played Reid as playmaker - surely the position he was born to play - in a European championship Qualifier against Germany at Croke Park. Reid virtually ran the game, pinging first-time passes across the pitch throughout, fighting a strong German midfield for possession and holding his own, and setting up numerous chances for the strikers with his astute through-balls. But his development in the position was not enough and Staunton's replacement by Trappatoni sealed Reid's fate. Included in the first few squads selected by Trappatoni (presumably at the behest of Assistant coach Liam Brady, a confirmed fan of Reid) he went unused and had a screaming match with the Coach after a late-night singalong went on past curfew. He has not been selected since, altough Trappatoni says that this is because Reid does not fit in with the system he uses. He doesn't work hard enough, in other words, he is too creative, too much of a passenger. Setting aside the fact that this is not the case, games like the recent 1-1 draw with a 10-man Italy in Bari were crying out for a bit of creativity, for somebody - anybody - to put their foot on the ball, look up, and find the right pass. Instead, Ireland's 80th minute equalizer came from a long ball lumped upfield. without the injured Damien Duff, all of the other creative players were either stifled (Robbie Keane) or not creative enough (Stephen Hunt). Where was Reid? At home, thats where.
As was Stephen Ireland. His case is more complex. Primarily, he is obviously a young man with some issues. In brief - he fell out with Irish Youth team Coach Brian Kerr over an incident with the Under-18 team after being dropped from two successive games. Kerr told him he would never again play for Ireland while Kerr was Coach. Kerr then became Coach of the Senior National team, and Ireland has claimed that at that point he considered declaring for England or Italy, for both of whom he has eligibility. However, Steve Staunton's appointment brought Ireland into the team, and he scored a couple of important goals and delivered some impressive performances in his first few games in an Irish shirt. Then, on an away trip to play the Czech Republic in a crucial european Championship Qualifier, Ireland spun a ridiculous web of lies in order to leave the team camp on compassionate leave. His girlfriend rang and informed the squad officials that Ireland's Grandmother had died. Ireland backed this claim and a private jet was chartered for him. However the Irish media soon discovered that this story was untrue. Confronted, Ireland claimed it was his other Grandmother. Again, the media disproved this story. Ireland now claimed it was a Step-Grandmother by Marriage before finally admitting that his girlfriend had suffered a miscarriage, and that he had hastily lied out of a stress-induced panic, believing that the Grandmother story would more easily provide the compassionate leave he sought. The Irish public and the rest of the squad was baffled, the team lost the game, Staunton was sacked, and Ireland has not played for his country since.
There have been rumours of bullying in the camp - Ireland is plainly a highly sensitive individual, and mockery of his hair (or lack of it) are alleged to have disturbed him enough that he is reluctant to return. But he is desperately needed. For, despite his stupidity in the Granny-Gate affair and his silly goal celebrations, he is an outstanding young footballer, an outside candidate for player of the season this year, and he seems already twice as effective as he was when last he played for Ireland. In my dream Irish line-up, he plays in a three-man midfield alongside the two Reids, with a front three of Keane in the centre with Duff and McGeady on the wings. Ireland is talented enough to make such a formation work. He is almost as gifted as Andy Reid in his passing, has a pleasing directness in possession, and is increasingly adept at nicking the ball from opposing players with quick challenges and hard running. His football brain is excellent, and the way he has linked up with the likes of Robinho and Elano at Manchester City in the last two seasons displays his true level.
Added to that is his habit for scoring insanely spectacular goals. Last minute volleys of balls crossing his body? No problem. He has a cavalier flair to his game that is balanced by his work ethic. Trappatoni has admitted he would love to have Ireland back in the team. He and Liam Brady have met the player, and were informed that he would come to them at such a time as he was ready. That has not happened yet, despite the comments from his fellow Irishmen in the Man CIty team.
To an Irish football fan, none of this is news. The absence of these two players has been the biggest story of the early portion of Trappatoni's stint as Ireland Manager. Irish football journalists want to see both of them in the team. Reid is highly rated at home, and Ireland's form is impossible to ignore. Pressed on the issue at a recent Press Conference, Liam Brady lost his temper and said "Have some pride in your country" in apparent reference to Stephen Ireland. Trappatoni, meanwhile, is unrepentant about the exclusion of Reid, and justifies his tactics with his results. He also claims that he doesn't believe Ireland will soon return to the national team, based on the players body language and attitude when they met.
Which means we will continue to play a plodding sort of low-risk football without any real beauty or imagination. We may qualify for the World Cup - we are big on fighting spirit, and sometimes that is enough, if a team is properly organised. But if we do get there, we will go out at the group stage. Or maybe in the first knockout round. We won't score many goals. We won't concede too many either. Ho hum. If you love football, it can be really depressing coming from a small country.
