DIEGO SIMEONE 3 RD BEST COACH FOR 2013 ACCORDING TO IFFHS

The FIFA backed "IFFHS" ( International Federation of Football History & Statistics ) has released its list of the "Best World Football - Soccer Coaches for 2013". The Top Spot without any surprise goes to a deserved ex-Bayern Munich Coach Jupp Heynckes with 216 pts,  thus being "crowned" "Best Coach for 2013".

Argentine Diego Simeone Coach of Spanish Football Club Atletico de Madrid breaks into the scene with an impressive 3rd position, with the only Spanish Coach Josep Guardiola of Bayern Munich making an appearance in the 5th position.

The appearance of Diego Simeone again puts doubts upon the credibility of the "FIFA - France Football Awards" , as in this mentioned case, Simeone was not even on the list of candidates that could opt as "Best Coach 2013". Need we say more ...

IFFHS Best Football - Soccer Coaches for 2013

1 Jupp HEYNCKES (FC Bayern München) 216 pts
2 Jürgen KLOPP (Borussia Dortmund) 101 
3 Diego SIMEONE (Club Atlético de Madrid) 61 
4 Alex FERGUSON (Manchester United FC) 33 
5 Josep GUARDIOLA (FC Bayern München) 30 
6 Arsène WENGER (Arsenal FC) 29 
7 José MOURINHO (Real Madrid CF/Chelsea FC) 10 
8 Antonio CONTE (Juventus Torino FC) 3  / Jorge JESUS (Sport Lisboa e Benfica ) 3 

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CRISTIANO RONALDO WINS WORLD SOCCER BEST PLAYER AWARD 2013

The prestigious Football Magazine, "World Soccer" has released its list of "Best Football Player 2013", "Best Coach 2013" & "Best Football - Soccer Club 2013". The voting comes in from all their journalists around the World & gives the  Real Madrid & Portuguese International Cristiano Ronaldo the Award as the "Best Football Player of 2013" ahead of FC Barcelona player Lionel Messi & Bayern Munich player Franck Ribery.  The "Best Coach" goes to Jupp Heynckes who steered Bayern Munich to German Liga, Cup & Champions League League titles last season, while the "Best Club" goes to Bayern Munich with Spanish Football Club Atletico de Madrid in 2º place. Below are the full lists:

Best Player 2013 by World Soccer

1 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid & Portugal) 1075 pts
2 Lionel Messi (FC Barcelona & Argentina) 926
3 Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich & France) 870
4 Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint-Germain & Sweden) 658
5 Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich & Holland) 324
6 Neymar (Santos/Barcelona & Brazil) 286
7 Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich & Germany) 255
8 Robin Van Persie (Manchester United & Holland) 251
9 Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund & Poland) 250
10 Gareth Bale (Tottenham Hotspur/Real Madrid & Wales) 187
11 Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid/Monaco & Colombia) 158
12 Andres Iniesta (Barcelona & Spain) 157
13 Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich & Germany) 123
14 Luis Suarez (Liverpool & Uruguay) 101
15 Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich & Germany) 100
16 Andrea Pirlo (Juventus & Italy) 94
17 Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich & Germany) 86
18 Mesut Ozil (Real Madrid/Arsenal & Germany) 78
19 Edinson Cavani (Napoli/Paris Saint-Germain & Uruguay) 65
20 Sergio Aguero (Manchester City & Argentina) 48
30 Ronaldinho (Atletico Mineiro & Brazil) 12
40 Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid & Brazil/Spain) 8

Best Trainer/Coach

1 Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich) 86
2 Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund) 15
3 Diego Simeone (Atletico Madrid) 5
4 Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) 4
5 Vicente Del Bosque (Spain) 2
Pep Guardiola (Bayern Munich) 2
Marcello Lippi (Guangzhou Evergrande) 2

8 Carlos Ancelotti (Paris Saint-Germain/Real Madrid) 1
Antonio Conte (Juventus) 1
Lars Lagerback (Iceland) 1
Safet Susic (Bosnia-Herzegovina) 1
Oscar Tabarez (Uruguay) 1
Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) 1

Best Team

1 Bayern Munich 118
2 Atletico de Madrid 1
Borussia Dortmund 1
Bosnia-Herzegovina 1
Germany 1

The fact that the "Best Player Award" goes to Cristiano Ronaldo is significant & worth highlighting. The winner of the "World Soccer" Prize usually ends up winning the "FIFA-France Football Golden Ball". The announcement today coincides with another that Real Madrid Player Cristiano Ronaldo will finally attend the FIFA Golden Ball ceremony. This was not clear at all previously after FIFA President blatter did his "impersonation" party gag of "Ronaldo the Commander" & favoured publically Lionel Messi. The inner circle of Ronaldo had suggested that the Real Madrid player would not attend the FIFA Golden Ball ceremony. Things look different today. 

Although one can never put ones hand in the fire in reference to Football issues, the World Soccer Award to Cristiano Ronaldo is a huge boost to his candidacy & the betting houses will now have the Real Madrid star as the hot favourite to win the 2013 FIFA-France Football Golden Ball. Stay tuned!
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ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI STILL A SIGNING OPTION FOR REAL MADRID ?

This news piece from Spanish Sports paper "AS" is a definite seller & not to say a big media grabber. The article comments that Polish International & Borussia Dortmund forward Robert Lewandowski is at "firing distance" for Real Madrid for the up coming "Winter Market".

The reasons are the following:

• The player ends contract on June 2014 & his Club will prefer to get some money with a transfer before the player becomes a "free agent" on the 1st of January 2014.
• The relations between Dortmund & Real Madrid are exceptional. In fact , Dortmund would prefer to have Lewandowski elsewhere than with the eternal rival of Bayern Munich.
• A possible "Winter Market" operation could be as low as 15M€, a bargain price for a "Top" player.
• Lastly, current Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema is not performing, not scoring goals & this is "worrying" the "top brass" at Real Madrid.

But hold on hasn´t Lewandowski an agreement with Bayern Munich? Hasn´t the player commented he wishes to go to Bayern Munich? Correct on all fronts, but something could have changed since all this happened & was said. 

Bayern Munich Coach Josep Guardiola is finally getting his team to assimilate & put into practice his Football ideas & philosophy. The way of understanding the Football of Guardiola puts a Number Nine Striker onto a second level. Said another way, for Guardiola & the way he wants Bayern Munich to play, Robert Lewansowski is not vital nor essential. We are talking about a Coach that practically invented the "False 9" figure: a midfielder that does the role of a Number Nine confusing the opponent Central Defenders as they don't have someone to mark or as a reference. In FC Barcelona that figure was Lionel Messi & at Bayern Munich it looks like Ribery ( & Muller ) have taken on that role.  

This makes one think that if the above is correct, that Bayern Munich may not be so keen to get on-board Lewandowski, plus the player himself may intuitively suppose that he will not be such an "important" piece in the Guradiola scheme at Bayern & could be placed in positions not habitual ( happened to David Villa at Barça when placed on a wing ) or on the bench. Obviously this would make any top class Football professional rethink his decisions & his desires to contemplate viable alternatives, & Real Madrid is a very viable alternative. At the Spanish Club Lewandoski would be a regular & have a solid place to the detriment of Benzema, but this is Football.

So although all this is currently "Football sci-fi" & I would not get too excited at this stage if a Real Madrid fan, it does merit that we keep our ears open & eyes on the ball to see if things evolve & in fact becomes viable.

Stay tuned!

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BAYERN MUNICH SIGNS FC BARCELONA THIAGO FOR 25M€

FC Barcelona & German Club Bayern Munich have made official the transfer & signing of Spanish International midfielder & "Spanish Football Pearl" Thiago Alcantara. The communication was made at 20.00 & the transfer figure negotiated is 25M€. This way Bayern Munich earns some money from the VAT % that is equivalent to the contract release clause of 18M€, & Barça gets some more cash after some criticism at the "bargain basement price" of the 22 year old Thiago.

But there is more, both Clubs have agreed to put together a Friendly Match where I imagine the box-office & TV rights will also be part of the shut deal.

The player signs for 4 years & will thus be able to find more playing time as to continue with his progression & evolution towards the "World Class" player much observers expect will occur. The objective of Thiago Alcantara this season is to play sufficient matches & with good form so as to be able to convince Spanish National Football Team Selector Vicente Del Bosque for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

The player was close to Manchester United but the personal intervention & solicitation of ex-FC Barcelona Coach Josep Guardiola, now at Bayern Munich, has been the determinate factor in the move & transfer.

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BAYERN MUNICH GUARDIOLA CONVINCES FC BARCELONA THIAGO ALCANTARA

The voted MVP of the last UEFA U-21 European Championships, FC Barcelona midfielder Thiago Alcantara, has a "bargain basement" contract release clause of "only" 18M€. That figure climbs back up to 90M€ on the 1st of August, thus the big European Clubs are talking with the player in an attempt to convince him to sign with them.

Everything was pointing towards English Premier League Club Manchester United. In fact , Football observers had commented that there was a "verbal agreement" & that the inner circle of the player had made comments that it was a done deal.

However, a new & influential actor has come into the scene. The ex-Coach of Thiago at FC Barcelona Josep Guardiola, has announced that he has expressed to his Club, Bayern Munich, to move to sign the talented midfielder. A mini-bombshell that has changed the plans of Thiago & has brought some "bad vibes" over to Camp Barça. In fact, Guardiola was more explicit in today's press conference saying that Thiago is a "super player" & that he would be his only signing request.

Spanish radio last night already gave glimpses of this news, with information that Guardiola had called Thiago & had convinced the player. The offer would be 4M€ per season & Thiago voiced his concern about the current midfielders at Bayern & if he could find a place. Guardiola is said to have commented that Javi Martinez will had a defensive ( central defender ) role & thus open up a midfield space for him.

Thus , at this moment, things look like Thaigo will head off to Bayern Munich. Stay tuned!

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THE REAL REASONS GUARDIOLA LEFT FC BARCELONA

Eurosport has published on their online edition the “real” reasons why the now Bayern Munich Coach Josep Guardiola left his position at FC Barcelona. Nothing new for many observers but more evidence to the suspicions of which some maybe surprising. Here is the list of the main motives.

• Guardiola has an excellent relationship with ex Barça President Joan Laporta. The current Directive under President Sandro Rosell took Joan Laporta to the legal court which is something Guardiola asked not be done as it risked creating splits within the Club.

• Guardiola was not happy with the performance or attitudes of some players. In this particular case two stand out in Gerard Pique & Cesc Fabregas. Guardiola asked that Club find these two players alternatives somewhere else. The Club refused to contemplate this option. The father of Pique is an influential Club member & Cesc Fabregas had cost the Club 40M€. By the way Dani Alves was another player questioned by Guardiola.

• Guardiola kept firm control over everything including his players. There are accounts of “spying” on players to keep control over there extra-sporting activities (their private lives). One of those – apart from others already mentioned – was Lionel Messi.
• No to Neymar. Josep Guardiola (& Tito Vilanova) did not see the need of Neymar in the current Barça set-up. Apart they felt that the young Brazilian is to extroverted with an erratic behaviour off the field to allow for a 100% concentrated on Football attitude. Neymar is a President Rosell whim. 

With these four main motives Guardiola decided to say goodbye to FC Barcelona. What also surprised the ex-Barça Coach was the decision of Vilanova to continue & take over the coaching position. For Vilanova the opportunity was an obvious chance to come out of the shadow of Pep & make space for himself as a first rate coach in his own right. A difficult decision taken for the man that seemed logical at the time & needs to be respected.

No doubt this is just the tip of the iceberg. I have a feeling there are more juicy pieces still to make the light of day.

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BAYERN MUNICH GUARDIOLA HAS MICHU ON LIST ?

Spanish & Swansea forward MICHU is firing with plenty of goals in the English Premier League. The ex-Rayo Vallecano striker was signed by the English Club this season whose manager Laudrup is very familiar with the Spanish Football scene.

Last night on a popular late night Spanish Football TV show, a regular guest mentioned that he has information from a person very close to Michu, that newly announce Bayern Munich Coach Pep Guardiola has the Swansea player on his list of possible reinforcements. 

There is no doubt that Michu is in a "state of grace" & that Spanish National Team Coach Del Bosque has flown over to England to watch the player, but on a list for Bayern Munich under Guardiola?

Said this, Michu does have 16 goals this season & this does put him in the "class players" bracket this season. Perhaps Guardiola does in fact see something in Michu.

Stay tuned.

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MALAGA FC ISCO A BAYERN MUNICH GUARDIOLA TARGET?

Now that ex-FC BARCELONA Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA has been announced as the next BAYERN MUNICH Coach speculation is rising about possible new signings, & the Spanish League has all the attention. Already THIAGO of FC Barcelona has had to dodge a few uneasy questions about his future, but there is another name circulating.

German television speculates that MALAGA FC player ISCO will be playing next season in the Bundesliga. While Chelsea FC is also said to be interested in the services of Isco, apart from other big Clubs, Guardiola is said to be following closely & could be high on his list of possible new signings. 

The 20 year old "2012 GOLDEN BOY" has exploded on the World Football scene with his performances in Champions League with his Club, while he tantalises weekly in LA LIGA.

Stay tuned!

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GUARDIOLA AWAITS FERGUSON TO TAKE OVER AT MANCHESTER UNITED ?

Spanish Sports daily´s have picked up on the news from UK paper "The Daily Star Sunday" which speculates that the future of Spanish & ex-FC Barcelona Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA is in the English Premier League, concretely at MANCHSETER UNITED. The sources report that Guardiola has already said no to Manchester City where two high level Directives of Barcelona during his spell now pull the Executive strings at City.

Apparently Guardiola & current Coach Alex Ferguson have already seen each other up to three times in New York ( USA ) where both own properties & Guardiola is currently living. The Catalan will await the final decision by Ferguson to whether he retires at the end of the season, if not Guardiola is willing to wait another season if Ferguson decides to continue one more year.

The requests of Guardiola are a three year contract, two assistants & three new trainers for the Manchester United junior levels.  


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FC BARCELONA | THE END OF THE SUCCESS CYCLE ?

The image of today is the one below of FC BARCELONA with the SPANISH CUP ( Copa del Rey ) Trophy after defeating Athletic Club Bilbao 0 - 3 in the 2012 Final.

FC Barcelona 2012

However, perhaps the more emotional & longer standing image is of now ex-Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA.

Guardiola

Last nights game was his last as Barça Coach & in the best fashion the man leaves with another title. An incredible & perhaps difficult to repeat again feat with 14 titles out of 19 possible since arriving at "Camp Barça" back in 2008. This is his list of achievements:

• 3 Spanish League - Liga - titles
• 3 Spanish Super Cups
• 2 Champions League titles
• 2 UEFA Super Cups 
• 2 FIFA World Clubs Champions
• 2 Spanish Cups ( Copa del Rey )

Some insiders & observers speculate that we may have witnessed the end of a cycle at Barcelona as many believe that the real talent of Coach Guardiola was keeping together the squad structure from cracking apart. The exit of Guardiola indicates that his continual efforts to motivate & control multiple dressing room "egos" had come to its end energy wise & that it was better to leave now on top than to fall back to earth as a mortal.

The newly named Coach Villanova ( previously assistant ) has a very difficult role ahead that also casts doubts. No one believes that Tito Villanova has the character or personality to keep in line star players & balance the pressures from a difficult Club Directive structure, external needs (marketing)  & forever hungry fanbase.

Villanova is destined to have the long shadow of Guardiola´s past hoovering over his figure & if the results do not come early next season there is little doubt that he will be quickly substituted. The man enters into the Coaching position precisely when the eternal rival is possibly about to enter their own cycle of successes & that could be the knock-out "stick" for Villanova if he does not manage to crush more juice out of the Barça model which has a series of vital veteran players entering their twilight. Barcelona will soon enter the rejuvenating phase & that may cost the Club some years to find again the streak of titles they enjoyed under the "Guardiola Era".

Smart man Pep, knows when to exactly leave & that is the most difficult thing to know & to do.

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GUARDIOLA SET TO LEAVE FC BARCELONA ?

Hot rumour coming out of Spanish Sports media tonight is that FC BARCELONA Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA will announce his departure at the end of the season. REPEAT, it is only a rumour, but a hot one at that hitting the "airwaves"

Pep Guardiola

The Coach wishes to communicate his decision to his players tomorrow & then will give a Press Conference to drop "the bomb". The man is mentally exhausted after 4 season at the maximum level of Football.


The other news is that Guardiola would love to Coach & Manage the ENGLAND FOOTBALL SQUAD & there could be a pre-agreement with the English FA, although I cannot verify this at all. This & another rumour that MANCHESTER CITY has made an offer to get the Spanish Coach over next season.

Stay tuned, the rumours will be verified or dismissed tomorrow mid-day.



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FC BARCELONA | GUARDIOLA WANTS GERARD PIQUE OUT ?

Spanish & Madrid regional TV , "Telemadrid", has added fuel to the ..."when will FC BARCELONA Coach Josep Guardiola renew his contract with Barça fire", claiming that one of the big reasons for the delay is defender GERARD PIQUE.

The TV, via its Sports programme, claims that Coach Guardiola does not wish to have the Barça & Spanish International defender continue next season at the Club ( remember how Guardiola got out Ronaldinho, Eto´o & Ibrahimovic? ). Are you surprised?

Model Pique

Some are not surprised at all, as there has been a persistent rumour that Guardiola & Pique have crossed some strong words. Apparently, Guardiola is "sick & tired" of the public life ( or private ) of Pique who has his head in everything else except Football of late. The player has a very frenetic social life & appears more on the pink & fashion magazines than time on the field lately. This & his continuous "attention grabbing" public antics & social media activities has coincided with a dramatic drop in the players Football performance which played a part in some Liga losses.

Josep Guardiola is a very strict Coach & has not bucked to get "thrown" out the door other "scared cows" who did not follow the team philosophy, professional attitude & keep their heads focused on Football.

According to this news source, Guardiola has voiced his desire to FC Barcelona President Sandro Rosell, to which the later has said categorical ( for now ) NO. The President considers Pique one of the "Best Defenders" in World Football & a future symbol of the Club. This & the fact the Pique father is an ex-Club Directive with influence still within the Clubs office.

If this news story is indeed true & Guardiola does not get his way, the Coach could well leave at the end of the season because not accepting his solicitation Guardiola would see his authority & credibility lessened within the dressing room.

However, although I am not saying this story is totally out of hand, it could be a Madrid-media based attempt to destabilize the Barcelona dressing room & even put the focus on a Guardiola - President Rosell "bad vibes" relationship.

In any case, stay tuned for further developments as enough fuel is being poured from all sides to keep this fire roaring for some time.

PS: Officials at Barça have commented that this news piece is totally incorrect, naturally!

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FOOTBALL FINANCE | REAL MADRID JOSE MOURINHO Nº1 MONEY EARNING COACH

Portuguese Football Website specialized in Football Finances, "Futebol Finance", has handed in it list of Top Money Earning Football Managers/ Coaches in World Football. REAL MADRID Coach JOSÉ MOURINHO tops the list with 10M€ per year, followed by FC BARCELONA Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA with 7,5M€ per year. Lower down the list in Nº 16 position is MALAGA Coach MANUEL PELLEGRINI & Spanish National Team Coach/Selector VICENTE DEL BOSQUE is in the Nº 22 position. 

Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho

Here is the list of the Top 30 Money Earners in World Football as Coaches:
1. José Mourinho (Real Madrid) - 10.000.000 M€ /year
2. Pep Guardiola (Barcelona) - 7.500.000
3. Guus Hiddink (Anzhi Makhachkala) - 7.500.000
4. Roberto Mancini (Manchester City) - 6.000.000
5. Carlo Ancelotti (Paris Saint-German) - 5.900.000
6. Jupp Heynckes (Bayern Munich) - 5.000.000
7. Alex Ferguson (Manchester United) - 4.800.000
8. Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool) - 4.800.000
9. Arsène Wenger (Arsenal) - 4.700.000
10. Harry Redknapp (Tottenham) - 4.700.000
11. Luís Felipe Scolari (Palmeiras) - 3.600.000
12. David Moyes (Everton) - 3.600.000
13. Mark Hughes (QPR) - 3.600.000
14. Steve Bruce (Sunderland) - 3.600.000
15. Maradona (Al-Wasl) - 3.500.000
16. Manuel Pellegrini (Málaga) - 3.500.000
17. Luciano Spaletti (Zenit) - 3.000.000
18. Muricy Ramalho (Santos) - 2.600.000
19. Ottmar Hitzfeld (Suiza) - 2.600.000
20. Alex McLeish (Aston Villa) - 2.400.000
21. Joachim Low (Alemania) -2.400.000
22. Vicent del Bosque (España) - 2.100.000
23. Abel Braga (Fluminense) - 2.100.000
24. Massimiliano Allegri (AC Milan) - 2.100.000
25. Jurgen Klopp (Borussia Dortmund) - 2.100.000
26. Dorival Júnior (Internacional) - 1.900.000
27. Tite (Corinthians) - 1.900.000
28. Claudio Ranieri (Inter de Milán) - 1.800.000
30. Antonio Conte (Juventus) - 1.600.000
29. Mano Menezes (Brasil) - 1.700.000

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FC BARCELONA | WILL GUARDIOLA RENEW AS COACH ?

Have received a few emails from readers asking what is happen at FC BARCELONA & in particular with their Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA. Firstly the only person that can answer this is Josep Guardiola, the rest is just supposition, rumour & invention. Secondly, although this is not an area that I am particularly well informed, I will write down the main points that has Barça on a limb & hanging in suspension on whether Guardiola renews his contract or not.

Josep Guardiola

In fact, this is what is happening at FC Barcelona, that Coach Guardiola has not as yet given his OK to renew another year at the Club. Guardiola has a professional relation with the Club were he renews every year as he does not wish to tie himself any longer. The 13 title winning Coach & voted "The Best Coach in The World" by FIFA this year is not too sure if he will continue. This has Barcelona nervous, or in any case,  some are nervous.

Here are the much written & talked about possible reasons that may lead to Guardiola not renewing his contract: 

• Family. The man eats, sleeps & shits Football 24 hours a day. Some think this has put some pressure onto his family. The man is married with three children.
• His best mate & second Coach Tito Vilanova. The man has cancer & is going through a difficult moment. Guardiola is worried & the situation has put life back into perspective for Pep. There is more in life than just Football
• Differences with President Sandro Rosell & some Directives. There is rumours that there is no "good vibrations" here & in fact, some Directives think that Guardiola has become "TOO BIG".
• The end of the winning cycle. Some commentators think that Barça is coming to the end of its historic streak of winning everything. Some key players ( Xavi for example) are getting on & some players may be losing their "hunger".
• Serious problems with certain players in the dressing room whose "private life" is not in accord with the Guardiola way of seeing & being of a "Football Professional". Names talked about are Gerard Pique, Dani Alves & Cesc Fabregas 
• Opprtunity & offers elsewhere. Inter Milan is sounding
• A year of to relax & grow back his hair. Being the Barça Coach is very stressful.

These are basically the main points that has Guardiola doubting if to continue or not. However it worth repeating that the only person who really knows is Guardiola.

To end I would like to put in my two bobs worth:

• could be all a tactical move to motivate his players for the rest of the season
• could be a call to attention to the "difficult players"
• could be that Pep is setting up his terms to which President Rosell & his Directives will have to adhere to & which will contain the "leaving" next season of a "sacred cow" 

Either way, everyone will have to wait.

Hope this helps explain a bit to the overseas readers what's up at Barça. Stay tuned!

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FIFA GOLDEN BALL 2011 WINNER LIONEL MESSI | GUARDIOLA BEST COACH

FIFA handed tonight the 2011 GOLDEN BALL ( BALON D´OR) AWARD - the Best Player in World Football - to FC BARCELONA player LIONEL MESSI. Its his third straight Golden Ball & puts the 24 year old Argentine in the elite class of 3 x winners like Platini, Van Basten & Cruyff. 


The second place was given to REAL MADRID player CRISTIANO RONALDO & third to FC BARCELONA player XAVI HERNANDEZ.

FIFA also made public the "IDEAL 11 WORLD TEAM" with 5 FC BARCELONA & 4 REAL MADRID PLAYERS...as listed below:

Iker Casillas; Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué, Sergio Ramos, Vidic; Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Xavi Hernández; Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo & Rooney.

Here is the full list of the "GB" voting:
Messi 47,88%
Cristiano 21,60
Xavi 9,23
Iniesta 6,01
Rooney 2,31
Luis Suárez 1,48
Forlan 1,43
Etoo 1,34
Casillas 1,29
Neymar 1,12
Özil 0,76
Sneijder 0,72
Müller 0,64
Villa 0,53
Schweinsteiger 0,50
Xabi Alonso 0,48
Agüero 0,48
Abidal 0,36
Benzema 0,34
Alves 0,34
Fábregas 0,29
Nani 0,26
Piqué 0,22

Lionel Messi

In the "BEST COACH" for 2011 catagory, FC BARCELONA Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA was voted as the winner, ahead of Manchester United Manager Sir Alex Ferguson & with third place going to Real Madrid Coach José Mourinho.

Pep Guardiola

Full list of votes for the "Best Coach":
Guardiola 41,92%
Ferguson 15,61
Mourinho 12,43
Del Bosque 9,12
Tabárez 7,47
Lw 4,40
Villas-Boas 4,16
Wenger 1,91
Klopp 1,54
Rudi García 0,89


There was an element of pure Marketing - there had to be - as Brazilian NEYMAR was Awarded the "Best Goal of the Season" (Puskas Award). One can debate the true merits as the Wayne Rooney overhead "screamer" could be considered as better. Anyway, some multinational sportswear had to get their value from all this as well. 

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IFFHS NAMES GUARDIOLA BEST COACH 2011

SPANISH & FC BARCELONA Coach JOSEP GUARDIOLA has been named by the FIFA backed "International Football Federation of History & Statistics" (IFFHS) as the "Best Coach in World Football". Its the second straight year that the Catalan gets this prestigious recognition & with a healthy margin over second placed José Mourinho of Real Madrid.

Josep Guardiola

Here is the list of "Best Coach 2011" as given by the IFFHS:

.1. Pep Guardiola (SP) FC Barcelona 201 pts

.2. José Mourinho (POR) Real Madrid 112

.3. Sir Alex Ferguson (ESC) Manchester United 107

.4. André Villas-Boas (POR) Chelsea 78

.5. Roberto Mancini (ITA) Manchester City 45

.6. Muricy Ramalho (BRA) Santos 20

.7. Ivan Jovanovi (SER) APOEL Lefkosia 11

.+. Jorge Luis Sampaoli (ARG) Universidad de Chile 11

.9. Domingos Paciencia (POR) Sporting Club 10

.+. Jorge Daniel Fossati (URU) Al-Sadd Doha 10

.+. Jupp Heynckes (ALE) Bayern Múnich 10

.12. Arsene Wenger (FRA) Arsenal 9

.13. Ricardo A. Gareca (ARG) Vélez Sarsfield 8

.16. Diego V. Aguirre (URU) Peñarol Montevideo 6

.18. Víctor M. Vucetich (MEX) Monterrey 5

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PEP GUARDIOLA - JOSE MOURINHO LOCK HORNS PRE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMIS

Tense pre-Champions League press conference this afternoon just 24 hours before REAL MADRID & FC BARECLONA play the 1ºst leg semi final in the "Santiago Bernabeu Stadium". That Real Madrid Coach Mourinho makes comments & sly insinuations is not a surprise, its part of his psychological warfare to rattle the oppostion. What is news, is that Barça Coach Josep Guardiola explodes in response in a fashion that has caught everyone here off-guard & leads to suspect that in fact "Camp Barça" is rattled.

I for one believe it is a smart counter move by Guardiola to seem to be the "victim", the underdog & to call up "historically" political ( Spain - Catalonia) issues to motive his players & not the rest. Although the political issues are out of hand & Football is not a place for theses trivial issues.

What is evident that this semi-final Champions League phase will be tough, competitive, of the maximum level & very, very serious stuff elevating things into the personal level. To a certain point things - the rivalry - has got out of hand & I hope we do not see collateral damage. 

Coach Mourinho was first today with press conference duties & went straight for the "jugular vain":"Con las declaraciones de Pep, entramos en una nueva era, en un nuevo grupo en el que sólo está él: criticar el acierto del árbitro. Nunca lo había visto"...translated..."With the declarations of Pep, we enter a new era, a new group with only himself: criticize an accurate referee decision. The never seen before". 


A reference to Guardiola´s comment on the disallowed off-side goal by Pedro in the Spanish Cup Final.

The Guardiola press conference was a direct head-on attack to Mourinho, Real Madrid, Spanish "Madrid" Media & Spain. This was certainly unseen & has caught the attention of everyone.

"Mañana nos enfrentamos en el campo a las 20:45; fuera del campo ya me ha ganado"
Tommorrow we´ll meet on the ground at 20.45; outside he has already won.


"En esta sala él es el puto jefe, el puto amo..."
In this room (Real Madrid press room) he is the freaking boss, the f**king owner..."

 "Dentro del campo intento aprender mucho cuando juego contra él o cuando le veo por la televisión. Fuera del campo intento aprender poco".Inside the field I learn a lot when we play against each other or when I watch on TV. Outside of the field I try not to learn at all.

If this was aggressive, Guardiola added:
1. Barça will go out to attack
2. Real Madrid is an extraordinary & superb Football Team full of cracks
3. If you meet Real Madrid defensively, they will destroy you
4. Andres Iniesta is 100% not available for the Real Madrid match...

He later returned to an attacking mood & posture:
1. The grass is too high & perhaps UEFA should look at this...
2. Perhaps Real Madrid will end up with 10 men , but that will be there doing...


There was more vicious & venomous pearl comments, but Guardiola ended with a Catalonia "nationalist" quote from Catalan poet Lluis Llach: "hemos caído muchas veces como país y como equipo y luego nos levantamos. Este es un pequeño país que desde mi campanar se ve el campanar de otro pueblo"...we have fallen many a time as a Nation (Catalonia) & as a team we will lift ourselves. This is a small Nation that from my towers view I see the higher tower of another Nation (roughly translated, respecting the poetry of the master Llach)

Admirable from Guardiola , uplifting for his players & his Club, super motivation for his fans...but out off place in Football & a authentic mud fight not of a gentlemans level as of Guardiola level. Jose Mourinho does escape criticism, very harsh, very aggressive & including unsportsmanlike, but this should not surprise us.

Many the better team win, may the match be clean & sportsmanship flow.
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JOSEP GUARDIOLA TO LEAVE FC BARCELONA | THE GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY BY ALBERT EINSTEIN

I have received an also “alarmed” email from a Spanish Football Sports reader asking if it is true that FC BARCELONA Coach Josep Guardiola will leave at the end of 2012. The question arises after it has been “splashed” all over the World Sports media some words that Guardiola mentioned in a TV Interview to Italian channel “RAI” whist in Italy visiting his ex-Club Brescia.

FC Barcelona Coach Josep Guardiola 

These are the now “famous” words":


"Creo que mi etapa en el Barça se está acabando".
"Me quedaré este año, éste será el cuarto, y un entrenador tiene que saber el momento de marcharse. Los jugadores se cansan de los entrenadores y viceversa.


Translated:
• “I feel my time at Barça is coming to en end”.
• ”I will stay this year, it will be my fourth & a Coach has to know the moment when to leave. The players get tired of the Coaches & vice-versa”.


Some have said it was a “April fools” stunt, others ask that we watch & listen to the whole interview & put it in its correct overall context which becomes "watered down".


Either way here is my reply for other readers who may have the some questions in mind as our dear reader who sent me the email (encourage all to do so, by the way)

Albert Einstein

My thoughts to all this are in line with the great scientist Albert Einstein were I take a leaf out of his "General Theory of Relativity" & use this theory to explain Coach Guardiola words & the possible future outcomes for FC Barcelona & all the millions of fans around the World. Here we  go. 

These are some consequences that flow from the two inbuilt grand ideas that Albert Einstein formulated to create the “General Theory of Relativity”


Several of the consequences that follow from the special theory of relativity are 1) time dilation (clocks moving near the speed of light operate more slowly than stationary clocks), 2) length contraction (objects moving near the speed of light appear to be contracted in the direction of motion), 3) relativity of simultaneity (things that appear to happen at the same time to stationary observer A may appear to happen at different times to moving observer B), 4) mass-energy equivalence (mass and energy are essentially the same thing and transmutable into each other).


These ideas could very well apply to Football – Soccer in general. As in physics, things in Football are relative, were time distorts, space bends & visuals are stretched. The only difference is that while in the “General Theory of Relativity” the force of GRAVITY is the vital force, in Football WINNING is the force that dominates.


Will Coach Pep Guardiola leave FC Barcelona at the end of 2012? Depends, depends on if he & the Club are WINNING & if other objects are travelling at the “Football Speed of Light” & where Guardiola is in a particular point in space & time & what he observes.

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FC BARCELONA | THE "SECRET" TO THEIR SUCCESS

Just some informative & interesting observations from Spanish Sports paper "Marca" that I thought would tantalize FC BARCELONA fans around the World. Did you know that Barça hasn’t gone below 50% of ball possession,  that is,  total control of the ball in a game, in the last three years? That is,  166 games were the opposition Team hasn’t been able to get the possession of the ball beyond 50% of the time?

FC Barcelona 2011

The last time Barça was below 50% of ball possesion was back 16th of March 2008 with 49.5% against Valencia FC. Since then FC Barcelona have never been below 50% & have risen as high as 80.3% against Real Zaragoza this season & 80.2% against Inter Milan last season. The match average this season is 71.1% which is simply amazing.

These numbers illustrate very clearly the strenght of FC Barcelona. The opposition without the ball cannot play, added to which,  they are constantly running after the ball not with the ball.

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