Champion's League Thoughts
A few tactical, cultural and random thoughts as I watched this smorgasbord of footballing illuminati.
LOVE PSG. Lavezzi, Cavani, and Ibra make a terrifying attacking front.
Hard to understand why David Moyes and Man U (along with the announcers) throw a fit when Welbeck is whistled for a foul when he goes in on Neuer after De Gea's long, quick punt...but no one mentions or seems to notice that Neuer was well off his line and is a good enough soccer player/athlete that he cleared away Welbeck's touch. Even if there was no call, Neuer had it handled.
Welbeck is just glad he survived this challenge. He was no threat to score, as it's clear Neuer was either clearing the ball or decapitating Welbeck. It's not a foul, that's fine...but Neuer's incredibly high line and great read on the play makes it a non-starter.
****But I'm no Welbeck hater. The poor guy is trying to make the England squad for Brazil, keep Utd in the Champion's League next year, carry a staggering club on his back, and all while being sympathetically looked at as the distant-second, redheaded stepchild replacement for an injured Van Persie. He's doing pretty well, all things considered.
But, after trying to chip Neuer when in 1v1 on the Bayern GK, Welbeck was taken to task by everyone for not just, as one English sophisticate put it on the half-time panel on Fox, "Get[ing] it out yer feet and hit it..."
Seriously?
This sort of (alleged analysis) is simply unfair and a bit thoughtless. How much longer do we have to listen to the (English) pragmatists try to kill creativity in the game? Messi would have chipped Neuer. Zlatan would have. Suarez would have. Ronaldo. Michu, for pete's sake! Ribery, OK...enough, point made.
Oh, wait, those are all non-UK players. I guess they all stink. Too cheeky, eh?
Plus, consider this: Manuel Neuer is pretty solid. He's six foot five or thereabouts, is cat-quick and has prototypical German-style courage in front of a shooter. If a player took a wind-up to hit a blasted shot at Neuer in the situation featuring Welbeck, Neuer would spread himself out, and probably anticipate the shot's location...He had the guts to try something, and it didn't work out. But Welbeck scores pretty steadily, as much as one can in a squad like Man U where minutes are tough to come by.
******
Man U went very direct...nothing subtle here. With Martinez and Schweinsteiger missing the next match, perhaps they'll be able to correct the deficit at the Bayern Arena. But it's doubtful this approach will get them the goals they'll certainly need:
United only have one way to play...surprise will not be in their favor.
*****
Despite being one of the best at the position, even outstanding GKs can beat themselves. Thibeault Courtois was beaten by a similar goal to Di Vaio's (My brief Union post-mortem here) against the Union a week earlier. Here's the moment of truth:
Courtois is over-committed to the near post, a very typical occurrence (the ball came from the center of the field, moving from the GK's left to right...Courtois over-pursued, as GKs get it pounded into their heads to never get beaten at the near post. Too often this is the result. Courtois is too close to the near post, his feet are too wide and the ball is on the shooter's back foot. The defender isn't between the ball and the goal, so it's a case of two wrongs not making a right. Because Courtois has worked so hard to get all the way to the near post, all his weight is on his right leg, and he ends up "diving" off that (the wrong) leg. Here's the proof:
If he takes a step less to the near post, and gets set, that shot hits his shoulder. Additionally, his feet would be better set and he wouldn't be diving off his right foot to go left. Nit picky? Probably. But this is the only thing this guy has to do 365 days a year.
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