Manchester City and Balotelli fall

Photo credit: Getty Images

Manchester City's chances to claim the League title may have vanished today in their 0-1 loss to Arsenal. Manchester United stand a full 8 points away from the "Citizens" and are likely to lift the trophy once again. To make matters worse, Mario Balotelli won't even be there to help his team in case the mathematics hold up and United has a bad run of form. And this may be the Achilles heel of Manchester City: over-reliance on megastars with egos to match.

As much as we'd like to acknowledge Roberto Mancini's puppeteering, it is clear that this team's concentration and decision-making comes down to who is willing to play as a team. Tevez sure felt he deserved more early in the season and was handed a near-season-long banishment from the pitch by Mancini. The Argentinean refused to be used as a substitute in a game when called by Mancini. Why? So many stars vying for the forward role: Dzeko, Aguero, Balotelli, Tevez. And yes, he should always go first, right?

United has their share of talented forwards that are all pretty content. You can argue that Rooney isn't the most obedient of persons but Sir Alex Ferguson has managed to tame the Englishman to a point that he follows his coach's directions well. Chicharito, Welbeck and Berbatov enjoy their rotation and are aware their services are better suited for certain games.

Then there is Balotelli. The Ghanaian-Italian has a history of misconduct and is regarded as a brilliant, although temperamental player with unpredictability to match his ego. When he's on there are few that can stop him. When he's off or his team is losing, he forgets how important and talented he is and pretends to be playing street soccer or video games. Yes, in a video game you can take out your frustration by tackling an opponent for no reason. In real life there are consequences: his deliberate tackle resulted in a silly second yellow card that, because of previous offenses, means that he's suspended for 5 games.

Sport has a history of "bad boys" and it ranges from the NFL's Ochocinco to Ecuador's Kaviedes. Never quite patient enough to understand their talent and how valuable they are to the sport. Balotelli and Tevez both cost Manchester City many points this season and for this reason above all are likely to miss an opportunity to win a title for the first time in over 40 years. A steady hand is required for guiding players like Mario and it is clear that Mancini has been unable to do this. Can anyone do it? Will Mancini return next season? Will Balotelli? We shall know part of the answer to these questions within the next few weeks.

A World Cup Absence: Ecuador

I heard it from family members more than once: "I don't know if it's the World Cup without Ecuador in it." Yes, that's because he's seven years younger and last time Ecuador failed to make the tournament was in 1998, with elimination in 1997. That would have made him about 11. And if you're not a big fan at that age, things will just not register.

So yes, an absence indeed. For two qualifying cycles, Ecuador lit it up in Conmebol, taking down worthy foes like Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and defending its home turf at the Atahualpa. They did not lose once at home for the 2006 campaign. Long gone are the days of Aguinaga (best Ecuador player in the 90s), Agustin "el Tin" Delgado (9 tallies, tied for first in Conmebol for 2002), Alfonso Obregon, and Ivan Kaviedes. One of my favorite players, Kaviedes was also a pioneer for Ecuador, playing in Italy, Spain and England. 2006 was his second World Cup after an ineffective 2002. He was a supersub and didn't disappoint himself with a sublime strike in Ecuador's 3-0 win over Costa Rica. It was also a memorable celebration, and one of the top 50 for FIFA.

Here's the clip:

MLS 2009 Attendance stats weeks 14 & 15

International summer + summer travel by yours truly = less frequent attendance stats. Sorry, kids.

Things are interesting, though. People show up to games even though their national side is obviously playing internationally. I can't say I blame them. I would love to go see a game live after watching a good game by the USA. I did this way back in '98 after a world cup game. I attended the superclasico Emelec-Barcelona of Guayaquil. Score was 2-1 after penalties. Kaviedes scored.

I think stats will look much more interesting once Goldenballs comes back after July 15. Thing is, that's probably when the next major update will happen. Meantime, updated plots are on the right column.

USA!!!!

What happened to Kaviedes?

Arguably one of the most notable soccer players in Ecuador's history, Jaime Ivan "El Nine" Kaviedes has always been on the controversial side of the game, both on and off the pitch. While no Dennis Rodman or Ray Lewis or Diego Maradona, Kaviedes has had his share of interesting moments. He is by far, however,
my favorite Ecuador player.



First, a bit of history for those not familiar with the star:
Born on October 24 1977. He has appeared internationally for Ecuador on 53 occasions, scoring 16 times (most recently against Peru in 2007 in an inspired 5-1 win for the 2010 qualifiers). One of his goals came against Uruguay in 2001 sealing a 1-1 draw with a beautiful header that sent Ecuador to its first appearance in a World Cup at KoreaJapan 2002. Of note is also his partnership with Agustin Delgado during the 2002 campaign but being relegated to the bench thereafter with the development of Carlos Tenorio, Felipe Caicedo and Christian Benitez. Kaviedes is also well known for his antics at the 2006 World Cup in which he wore the number 10 jersey and came on as a supersub in every game. He scored against Costa Rica in what surely must have been one of his dreams. After the goal, he slipped out a yellow Spider-Man mask in reference to and memory of striker Otilino Tenorio (died in a car crash in 2005).

Kaviedes started his career with my favorite club, Emelec, in 1998 scoring 43 goals in the process and earning him an international award. I was witness to two goals scored against arch-rival Barcelona SC of Guayaquil at the Capwell stadium. His prolific goal-scoring led him to Italian Serie A side Perugia. He scored 4 goals with them and was transfered the following year to Celta de Vigo of Spain. Six games with that team were not convincing enough so he was sent to Mexican side Puebla, scoring 5 goals in 17 games. Next came stints at Valladolid (Spain), FC Porto (Portugal), and an eventual return to Ecuador to play for Barcelona SC. There he rekindled his scoring and led Bracelona to the quarter finals of the 2004 Libertadores. Along the way he also played for Deportivo Quito, briefly for Crystal Palace (Barclay's Premier League), Argentinos Jrs, Bracelona again, then El Nacional of Quito in another inspired season (15 goals). His last club was LDU Quito for the present year. A tumultuous relationship with the LDUQ owners and stakeholders meant a permanent absence from any sort of soccer action.
So what's happened to him? Along the way, he was continuously pursued by Ecuador media as their prodigy son and questioned for his methods, absences, extravagances, and personal life. He admitted to suffering from depression on more than one occasion, featuring in Revista Estadio magazine's cover story "Mi Verdad" [My Truth]. I too am partially on the blamers side since my comments were referred to on Ecuador's "Tiro Libre" sports show when I had emailed a note saying the man was being immature (can't quite remember why but I think it had to do with his lack of discipline towards his institution). Clearly the man is guilty of certain things (family problems and neglect, unexplained absences from team practices are some of the allegations against him) but the rest is purely personal. This only adds to his certain mystique and continues to fascinate people such as myself. The man has overflowing talent but is frustrated by his personality, which he lets get the better of him at times. Ultimately, however, his days as a star may be waning. Moves to Lebanon or English League One teams will allow him some playing time but, sadly, not to a return to the national team. I hope to get to see him in action again some day soon. I hope, as many other fans do, that he returns to Emelec to finish his career there and maybe have the team succeed internationally like it hasn't done since the late 90s. Cheers to you, Nine. I hope you're doing well.