Manchester City and Balotelli fall

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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.

Messi's not enough: Argentina crashes out of Copa America

Photo Credit: AP

If Messi was to finally break through with the Argentine national team and solidify his place as the true heir of Diego Maradona, he will have to wait a bit longer. Argentina was stopped flat today by an Uruguayan side that never let up. In the end, it was ultimately Muslera that gave Uruguay the win, even though it had to be through the penalty spot.

Things looked difficult for Argentina from the start. Uruguay attacked with conviction and defended with man-marking to such an extent that the first yellow was given to Perez within the first 5 minutes. He would score in a nice follow-up to a great header thanks to a perfectly-placed Diego Forlan free kick.

Argentina rebounded. Fast and secure. It would be another magical play by "la pulga" Messi to serve Higuain for a solid header past Muslera. But then the Uruguay defense woke up. And when it comes to defenses in South America only Paraguay can claim to top them. It's also true that Uruguay can be very physical and this serves to break up the short-pass plays of Messi, Mascherano, Di Maria and Aguero.

But there were several missed opportunities. Mostly in the overtime. And at least one that Messi should have put away. He knew it when he crashed onto the grass with his face down in partial psychological agony.

The penalty shootout would be about Muslera once more. He had come up with wondrous saves and this wore down on the Argentine kick takers. Messi wouldn't fail but Pastore and Tevez weren't resolute in their chances. For Pastore, the ball miraculously bounced in. For Tevez, Muslera guessed correctly and sent Uruguay to the semifinals.

Now it is obvious that this Argentine side lacks the defense to stop players with significant talent. This is clearly evident when one of your starters, Gabriel Milito, doesn't see the pitch as much with his club team--Barcelona. Is Messi really enough for Argentina? Maybe the team requires more than just Di Maria. Clearly there is a lack of depth in the attacking midfield to complement Messi's considerable talent. In Barcelona he has Iniesta, Xavi, Busquets. Mascherano, Gago and Pastore don't quite measure up. So yes, Messi's not enough for Argentina. And until they build a structure around him, he won't have the international success that Diego Armando Maradona enjoyed.

FIFA referees and technology

Grow up, please. FIFA, as much as we love you and the tournaments you provide, it can be quite unbearable at times to watch our teams (or even our foes) lose out due to bad officiating. As ESPN commentators put it today, bad officiating can be quite costly for football business. A bad call on a disallowed goal at a major tournament may mean losses in broadcast and merchandising, public interest and less respect for the game. This last part I'd like to throw in since it's the more American viewpoint from passive soccer-watchers. "Soccer needs to change or people won't accept it here." I agree with the first part.

Aside from two non-calls that may have favored the US versus Slovenia and Algeria (no fouls or offsides in the disallowed goals by Edu and Dempsey respectively), there have been major faults in the system. Two major faults, both today, both with quarterfinal repercussions. First, in the England-Germany game, came a blatantly legitimate goal by Frank Lampard that bounced of the horizontal bar and a good yard behind the goal line before bouncing back out. We all saw it except for the officiating crew. England would have tied the score. There is goal-line technology now in other sports (and has also been tried in soccer). How can we not go forward with this at least?

The other event was the goal by Tevez that opened the score in the Argentina-Mexico match. Tevez was offside by several yards. If that wasn't offside then Edu scored from his own half, right?

Okay, so FIFA wants to maintain control and pace of the game. True, yes, but when 99.9% of the press, players, coaches, world ask for change, you have to give in. If replay and/or goal line technology aren't enough, then please please please put another referee behind the goals. At least they would be able to tell us if 1) Tevez was offside, 2) Lampard goal counts, 3) Henry/Maradona uses his hand to score.

So FIFA, hear us out. We want some change to have our sport back. Soccer belongs to the world, not to a board room playing God.

Argentina's surplus of attackers

What do you do when you have the best attackers in the world? Who do you bench and who do you start? That's Argentina's "problem" at the moment. Let's count it down from most important to slightly less: Messi (FC Barcelona), Tevez (Manchester City), Higuain (Real Madrid), Milito (Inter Milan), Aguero (Atletic Madrid), Palermo (Boca Juniors). Wow. Just having one of them in your team would make the difference in any given game.

We can argue that Messi can be moved to the midfield, yes, but this may cut down on what the best player in the world can do for the national team. Tevez, it is argued, is a sure bet for a starter, at least according to sports media.

And who's providing service from the midfield? That's the other side of the equation. There's Veron, Riquelme, Cambiasso, Saviola. Oh, wait... no Riquelme because he quit the team thanks, in part, to squabbles with coach Maradona. Saviola has also fallen out of favor with the Argentines. Veron isn't getting any younger and is a tender player at best and has maybe two games of fitness at a time. Cambiasso is a great option, but it seems that Maradona and staff are a bit concerned with his age and fitness. What a mess. There are a few options with Mascherano and Di Maria, but not nearly enough to supply the formidable attack.

Who do you start, then? Milito and Higuain have similar styles and appreciable height for aerial attack. You can say the same about Palermo. Tevez is fast, opportunistic, and a true center forward. Aguero brings youth and unpredictability. My guess would be a 4-3-3 with Messi, Tevez and Higuain/Milito. It all depends on form at this point. In their clubs, they are pretty much the same. It thus comes to who can score and/or assist with the national team. Might we see a preview of this when Argentina faces Germany this Wednesday? In the end, however, it comes to quality passes from the midfield and a stout defense to back up a talented offense. This is Argentina's Achilles heel... their overwhelmingly good offense.