The Footballing Decade

Footballing Achievement of the Decade – Arsenal’s unbeaten league campaign 2003-04

Winning trophies is the dream of every fan, but making history in the way Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal did in 2004 is in some way even more special. The fact that the professor was widely ridiculed for his belief that Arsenal could achieve this feat a season earlier exemplifies its magnitude. Unbeaten seasons had occurred before but not in the modern era and not with 38 games per campaign. The fact that not many pundits, players or fans would be bold enough to expect this achievement to take place again is a testament to what an incredible season it was for Arsenal in 2003-04.

Final of the decade – UEFA Champions League Final 2005: AC Milan 3-3 Liverpool (Liverpool win on penalties)

There can be no debate about the final of the decade. After the footballing masterclass on show from the Milanese in the first half of the Champions League Final in 2005, surely nobody could have predicted the astonishing comeback that was about to take place in Istanbul. Kaka and Andrea Pirlo had torn Liverpool a new one in the first half with Hernan Crespo bagging a brace of world class finishes. In a period of eleven minutes in the second half, Liverpool clawed the score back to 3-3 following goals from captain Steven Gerrard, Vladimir Smicer and a penalty from Xabi Alonso. There was an air of destiny about the whole experience that transcended football as a game and sport. When Jerzy Dudek evoked Bruce Grobellar’s ‘spaghetti legs’ in the penalty shoot-out after having the game of his life in the second half, we all knew that Liverpool were meant to win this one.

Controversy of the Decade

Controversy plagues football but this decade had an incident that took place in the most high profile game on the calendar – The World Cup Final in Berlin, 2006. The match itself had long carried a scoreline of 1-1 following a cheeky chipped Zidane penalty and a thumping header from Marco Materazzi to equalize. How fitting, then, that it was the same two players involved in a moment that will never be forgotten in the annals of footballing history. As with many items of history, we may never know exactly what happened between them but it is safe to assume that Zidane headbutted Materazzi following an insult to him or his family. The referee had not seen the incident and the suggestion is that the red card shown to the Frenchman was due to the referee’s assistant watching a replay on a television monitor; FIFA doesn’t allow such modern equipment to influence decisions in matches. That Zinedine Zidane, the greatest player of his generation, should be sent off in his final game as a professional footballer carried a poignancy that encapsulated everything about the Algerian-born midfielder; like so many, he was a flawed genius with a propensity for the extraordinary and the insane in equal measure. When Zidane departed the field in extra time with ten minutes remaining, the Italians started believing that it was their time to banish the memories of their penalty shoot-out final loss to Brazil in 1994 twelve years earlier.

Manager of the Decade – Jose Mourinho

Journalists in this country lap up the Special One because he is never short of content for them to help meet their deadlines. But in truth there is a petulance about Mourinho that stops him becoming universally endearing, shall we say. What isn’t debatable is his meteoric rise over the last decade that has seen him come from an unknown to a manager that has won all the major honors the club game has to offer. Pep Guardiola has just achieved a debut perfect season at Barcelona, but if we are talking about the decade as a whole, there can only be one victor in this category.

After winning the UEFA cup and Champions League in successive seasons with FC Porto, Mourinho joined Chelsea and won back-to-back Premier League titles while supplementing them with Carling Cup and FA Cup victories. Upon leaving Stamford Bridge he joined Internazionale and won Serie A in the first season of equal competition since the Calciopoli scandal of 2006. His style of football is less than altruistic, but his results this decade have been unquestionably outstanding.

Player of the Decade – Ronaldinho

He may have faded in the last couple of seasons but if I had to choose one stand-out player this decade it would have to be the Brazilian. He announced his arrival on the world scene in 2002 with that freekick against England in the quarter finals of the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. At the time everyone in this country took solace in the idea that it was a total fluke, but after watching Ronaldinho’s exploits over the rest of the decade, perhaps many observers felt they were a little disingenuous towards the man from Porto Alegre.

This blog is named after ‘fantasisti’ – magical players that make you dream. Make no mistake, Ronaldinho is a fantasista of the highest order; his improvised goal against Chelsea in the Champions League, his chip against Milan in the San Siro to set up Giuly and lead Barcelona to the Champions League final in 2006, his stunning goal against Real Madrid – all the work of a footballing genius and his ability was on display this decade more vividly than that of any other player in the world.

Goal of the Decade – UEFA Champions League Final 2002 – Zinedine Zidane against Bayer Leverkusen

There is always a discussion to be had regarding what criteria to use when judging what makes a goal great, but Zidane’s sublime volley in the Champions League Final in 2002 fulfills any element one might wish to throw at it. Firstly, the goal itself is of extraordinary quality; normal players cannot pull off what Zidane does, shaping his body and hitting the ball perfectly with his weaker foot into the top corner with the panache that only the best players possess. Secondly, it is in the biggest game in club football, the European Cup Final. Thirdly, it was scored by one of the all-time greats and it wasn’t a one-off, one in a million goal; Zinedine Zidane was capable of scoring in this kind of devastating fashion. This was a goal that was talked about for weeks afterwards and will be remembered for a very long time.

Game Reviews: FIFA 10 & PES 2010

As something of a Pro Evo fanboy, it was with a heavy heart last season that I conceded defeat to the behemoth that is EA Sports. Many didn’t want to admit it, but Konami’s complacence and downright laziness finally cost them in a battle with their longtime rivals. While Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 was unquestionably a better game than its predecessor, the same Konami bugs and licensing issues remained. Sure, they acquired the Champions League competition license but when this wasn’t integrated into the Master League season mode, what on earth was the point? For years the technical imperfections of Pro Evo were forgiven by its fan base because it played the best game of football available on a console. Last season that changed. FIFA had always been an expensive exercise in style over substance – all the licenses and cutting edge graphics in the world wasn’t enough to mask the fact that it wasn’t as good as Pro on the pitch – but with 09 EA finally cracked it.

It comes as no surprise then to see that FIFA 10 has merely built upon the success of last year’s edition, listening to fans to fine tune what was already an excellent game. Pro Evo by contrast has fallen by the wayside to such an extent that any ideas that it can challenge FIFA in the foreseeable future will have to be dismissed as fantasy. What EA have created this year is simply the most comprehensive console football package that the world has ever seen. The sheer array of game modes, customization and online gaming features is something to behold.

The accusation that has always been leveled at EA is that they essentially release the same game every year with no discernable difference between the new game and the old one. This time, FIFA 10 has a similar game engine to its predecessor but has enough new features and tricks to ensure that you could be quite possibly playing this game all year round and still have time to find new game experiences by the time FIFA 11 is released. The most important new feature in this game is the new 360 degree dribbling control system. This is the first time in a football game that the player can move in 360 degrees rather than the eight directions he was confined to previously. At first the difference seems subtle but when you go back and play 09 you realize you can never go back again. In addition, ‘Be A Pro’ has been improved and the online world cup and team play options are superb.

Online play has also been tightened up to such an extent that you should expect no lag whatsoever when playing with a three bar green connection. There is still something intensely satisfying about sticking three past a complete stranger in ‘competitive’ action and rising up the online rankings. Pro Evo on the other hand has had three years to sort out the bewildering online malfunctions that plagued the 2008 edition and disappointingly still hasn’t been able to deliver a smooth and painless online experience. The fun somewhat disappears when your player is through on goal before the ball teleports to the other end of the pitch and your opponent dribbles into your empty net.

The other problem with Pro Evo 2010 is that the gameplay is simply sub-par. Players have the turning circle of a rhinoceros and the new penalty system is simply appalling – be prepared for shots to balloon over the bar 9 out 10 times. The ball hitting the back of the net still feels better in Pro, but that piece of praise is nothing but a consolation goal in a 5-1 drubbing. Konami have also given the game the worst soundtrack a football game has ever had, while FIFA has a classy set of tunes from around the world.

FIFA simply has so much to do and does it so well that it is difficult to recommend plumping for Konami’s effort instead. But if you prefer an arcade-style game of football then PES is still better than last year’s edition so you may well enjoy it. The graphics have improved immeasurably and some of the player faces are scarily lifelike. However, FIFA 10 is simply the best football game I’ve ever played – it allows you to play whatever style of football you like and is so comprehensive that it will keep you occupied all through the season.

GRADES

FIFA 10 – A*
PES 2010 – B