Fútbolita

Mentioning Gallipoli will, for those of a historical persuasion, no doubt evoke images of the World War One campaign it is famous for.

But a new drama has been unfolding at a different Gallipoli – a town of 21,200 inhabitants in the province of Lecce in southern Italy.

The story began in 1999 when football club Associazione Calcio Gallipoli was formed to represent the town.

What followed was a decade of drama and intrigue as the club rose up the divisions. By 2004 they had reached Serie D and achieved a third consecutive promotion to reach Serie C1 in 2006. By then they had changed their name simply to Gallipoli Calcio.

A historic promotion to Serie B was achieved last year when the club lifted the League title under former AS Roma star Giuseppe Giannini.

But just when a bright future looked certain, a series of off-field political wranglings have threatened to ruin their dream.

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Appointing young, relatively inexperienced but high profile coaches seems to be in the in thing at the moment. This is perhaps inspired by the success of Pep Guardiola at Barca. Under his leadership the club have swept all before them in recent years. But this tactic hasn’t worked in all cases and last weekend’s clash at the San Siro was a prime example of how things can go wrong.

On one side was Milan’s rookie boss Leonardo, who has had to negotiate some rough managerial seas this season. A home defeat to FC Zurich, a 4-0 hammering by Inter and a six-game winless streak put the former Brazilian international firmly in the spotlight.

In the other corner was Ciro Ferrara, Juve’s embattled coach. Former Italy international Ferrara may have been a playing legend at the club, but his time as manager has seen him come under pressure from both the fans and the board.

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Despite the plethora of Champions League games available to me this week I flicked my sports channel over to the game in Milan to see whether the Milanistas could re-create their spectacular victory in the Bernabeu two weeks ago. And, despite their failure to upset the football betting odds and re-enact their Madrid heroics following 90 scrappy but passionate minutes, there were still signs that they have turned the corner.

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I never thought I would see the day but there are increasing calls from the Inter faithful for Jose Mourinho to leave.

The self styled “special one” who won the Champions League in 2004, as well as league titles in Portugal, England and Italy, is under intense pressure as Inter’s alarming European form continues to slide downwards. Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Dynamo Kiev means the Nerazzurri have failed to win a home match in the Champions League for over a year, a run which saw them lose to Panathinaikos and also draw away with Cypriot minnows Anorthosis Famagusta.

Despite leading them to the Scudetto last season, most fans want Mourinho to deliver success in Europe, something which previous manager Roberto Mancini also failed to do. Mourinho is equally desperate to be crowned king of Europe again, having narrowly lost out with Chelsea in two semi-finals in 2005 and 2007 – one of his biggest regrets during his time at Stamford Bridge.

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Roma’s Brazilian forward Julio Baptista could be set for a move to Italy’s Serie A champions Inter Milan.

News has surfaced that the former Real Madrid star is due for discussions with Jose Mourinho’s men over a transfer from the Stadio Olimpico, after falling out of favour with Luciano Spaletti.

The forward, who also spent time on loan in the English Premier League with Arsenal, only moved to Roma last year and has expressed his desire to remain in Serie A, quashing speculation of possible moves back to England.

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Real Madrid’s record-breaking signing has revealed he believes La Liga is a better league than the Premier League. The 24-year-old admitted he feels football in England is a more physical game and claims that in Spain there is greater quality throughout the league.

This is what he had to say to Real Madrid TV: “The Premier League is a very tough league. It’s physical. You have to be strong and fast. The football is too quick there.

“I think here is different. The small teams have quality players as well. They are not scared to play. I think it’s a special football here in La Liga.

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Manchester United’s defensive stalwart Nemanja Vidic has promised attacking football from his side for the Champions League final in Rome – and these are the words we all wanted to hear.

There had been fears United would line up and try and kill off the Barca attack rather than take the game to the Catalan side, as Chelsea did in the semi final, but Vidic has quashed that notion and promised attacking football from the English side.

Speaking to reporters Vidic said: “Any team that gets to the Champions League final in Rome is a good team and it will be a good final.

“And when we need the goals we score the goals.”

These are confident words from the United centre-half and I’m hoping we do indeed see plenty of goals on Wednesday night.  Both teams have demonstrated exceptional attacking prowess through the course of the season and the stage is set for players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Theirry Henry and Carlos Tevez to shine and it could well be the ‘dream’ final the media are billing it to be.

“In the Spanish league Barcelona have shown some good football and scored plenty of goals,” added the Serbian defender.

“We respect them but we think more about us, how are we going to do and what we are going to do.

“We are not a team that is just going to go there and defend. We want to attack.”

Hopefully Vidic’s words will ring true and United will concentrate on their attack rather than just trying to shut out Barca. Both teams are capable of some outstanding moments of attacking flair and it would be a shame if United do follow Chelsea’s model, which so very nearly worked, when they take on Barca. If both teams go at it, it seems a safe Champions League bet that it will be an amazing tie.

To call Andres Iniesta underrated is perhaps not the right term, but for me he is somewhat overshadowed by some of his team mates and it needs to be re-addressed. Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto’o may win the plaudits at Barcelona but you can guarantee the Catalan side would not have had the season they’ve had if Iniesta hadn’t been in the team.

His performances for Barca this season have been nothing short of amazing and he could well be the best central midfielder in the world at this moment in time. His passing and vision is amazing and his link up play with the strikers is probably the best I’ve ever seen from a midfielder. Whenever the ball lands at his feet he seems to know exactly what to do and rarely does he misplace a pass. Not only is his passing game absolutely superb, he can also carry the ball and doesn’t look out of place when playing in the attacking trio of Barcelona’s line up.

Iniesta also has a knack of finding the net and has scored some great goals this season. He also seems to find the net at crucial times, such as the last minute goal against Chelsea which sent Barca to the Champions League final in Rome, and his composure and finishing ability are more fitting of a centre-forward.

For me Iniesta is pretty much the complete package in the middle of the park and should be crowned World Player of the Year at some point soon in his career. His contribution to the Barcelona side is absolutely massive and I would argue he is more of a key component to their success this season than Messi or Henry has been.

His movement on the pitch is extremely difficult for the opposing team to defend against and figure out and he seems to pop up all over the pitch causing problems. Barca coach Pep Guardiola is well aware of how important he is to the side, when he received an injury in Barca’s 3-3 draw with Villareal Guardiola said the loss of Iniesta was a bigger blow than not securing the Spanish title, which they would have done that day had they beaten the Yellow Submarines.

The tricky Spanish midfielder is a doubt for the Champions League final in Rome with that thigh injury picked up against Villareal but reports emerging from Spain and the player himself suggest he will be fit to face Manchester United. If Iniesta is in the starting line-up in Rome I imagine he will have a massive say in proceedings and it seems a good Champions League bet that he will be the player who causes Manchester United the most problems.

We’re still no closer to knowing which of these two sides will make it to Rome for the Champions League final but for a game with no goals it was still some spectacle. 

The game started with promise, Barca pressed in the early stages and nearly took the lead when Samuel Eto’o tried to set up Thierry Henry. The Catalans didn’t get the ball over the line though and Eto’o was judged to be offside so any goal wouldn’t have counted but it was an early reminder for Chelsea that they were facing a side with an immense attacking prowess.

Chelsea tightened up and got forward themselves, with Frank Lampard seeing an effort bend just wide of the post. However, it was Barca, in particular Andres Iniesta, who controlled proceedings in the early stages with Lionel Messi causing Jose Bosingwa all kinds of trouble down the right-wing. Xavi, Iniesta and Messi all tried their luck from range but Petr Cech was not really troubled by the efforts of the home side.

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The Champions League is down to the semi-final stage and, once again, England has given us three clubs out of the final four.  The Premier League has dominated the competition in recent seasons and many expect an English side to lift the cup again this year.  There is one problem
facing the English sides though – the mighty Barcelona.

I’ve watched Barca as much as possible this season and I think they may just be the greatest club side I’ve ever seen.  Their passing movement is unbelievable and in Xavi and Iniesta they probably have the best midfield pairing in the world. Even when they aren’t playing at their best they seem to pick up the points, such as their 2-0 victory over Recreativo Huelva at the weekend.

The Catalan giants have averaged nearly three goals a game this season and have been defeated just three times in the league. They face Chelsea in the semi-final of this year’s Champions League in what should be a cracking encounter but I expect Barca to progress to the final.

By their own standards Chelsea haven’t been great this season but they’re still a threat to Barca’s chances. In Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka they have perhaps the Premier League’s best strike force and they’re both always capable of finding the net. Frank Lampard is another player who knows where the goal is and Chelsea do have the tools to deal with Barcelona. However, Barca’s form has been outstanding all season and they should be able too see off Chelsea. Thierry Henry will be relishing the opportunity to face a Premier League side and it seems as if he has finally settled into the Barca side.  In Lionel Messi they have the best player in the world and he always seems to step up for the big occasions.

Chelsea will be without Ashley Cole for the first leg at Camp Nou and he would have been the man who had to deal with Messi’s attacks down
the wing. In their first leg against Liverpool, boss Guus Hiddink used Michael Essien to man-mark Steven Gerrard and it was a tactic that paid off for the shrewd Dutchman. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had Essien marking Messi in a similar way for the semi-final but I’m not sure it will be as easy to deal with Messi as it was with Gerrard. Gerrard is a fantastic player but probably easier to read than Messi, who should cope better with the presence of Essien.

There will definitely be one English finalist as Manchester United and Arsenal face each other in the other semi-final. It is my football prediction that  Barcelona will get past Chelsea, fairly easily if I’m being honest, and go on to lift the Champions League. The three English sides left in the competition are all dangerous but having seen Barcelona on numerous occasions over the course of the season I just can’t see anyone beating them.