Picture of The Day: Tevez is Back!

Look who is back with the team?! Despite all the rumors about Tevez leaving Man City, the player is now back with the team. Replaced Aguero at 68 minutes in the game against Bolton last night. The game ended with a 2-3 scoreline, City managed to claim their 2nd victory at Reebok stadium.

Although City proved they can do just fine without Tevez for the last two games, it is always better to have more players in hand. We really have an opinion about this new away shirt though, last night we kept thinking we’re actually watching the Italy Series A.
Goal Scorers: (Bolton) Klasnic, Davies; (City) Silva, Barry, Dzeko
Image via Daylife/GettyImages

Weekly Feature: What’s Wrong with Argentina?

Image via ESPN/GettyImage

It is very hard for us football fan to ignore Argentina’s performance in the COPA 2011. Despite blaming Messi and asking to sack Batista, what really went wrong with the team?

1. Lack of Teamwork
This is definitely the first thing that cross my mind. Unlike Brazil which is in the middle of transition and lacking a player that can really stand out, Argentina has plenty of good players (Well, maybe too many). They have Messi, Tevez, Aguero and even di Maria/Higuain, all have the ability to single-handedly change the match result, yet only manage to win a game in COPA 2011. You cannot blame Batista for putting his best players all on the pitch, like you cannot blame England for using both Lampard and Gerarrd at the same time, although this could be the problem. The key to success is how to get these players to cooperate, and communicate. It may work in Manchester City when Tevez only keeps his head down, run wherever he wants and only pass if he has to, because everyone in City look at him when they move. It may work in Barcelona when Messi does his unusual passes, weird movements and run in his unexpected ways, because most Barca players grew up with him. But in Argentina, when Tevez does not look, Messi being his usual self, there come the problems. They do not understand each other. It happens when a team has more than one key player, the two of them cannot cooperate, and others do not know who to look up to. It only results in chaos. Batista did not do any worse than Maradona, only he is not as respectable as Maradona. Therefore, players may not be as obey to his orders, or tactics, as they did to Maradona. No team can lift a trophy without squad harmony. Look at Spain, five years ago; France last year. If there is anything Argentina needs to work on as soon as possible, it is, teamwork. Without that, even you have the best player in the universe, it means nothing.

2. Messi is not GOD
Messi is human, if you have seen his performances in Barcelona and feel confused, I can tell you now, he is 100% human. He is only godlike in Barcelona, because his teammates allow him to be. So do not blame him only, if he had showed his human form in the COPA 2011. The players in Barcelona, not only grew up with him, understand him, but they love him, and they are willing to use their own efforts to help him shine, to let him stand out. From the boss, to manager, to players, no one have ever tried to outshine him (Those who tried are mostly gone), because they all understand if they want to be at the top of the world, they need Messi, and they are indeed at the top of the world now. Batista said he wants to adopt Barcelona’s style, because he understands this fact too. I don’t think he means adopting the playing style and tactic wholly, but in a way that allows Messi to play more comfortable and more freely in the team. You cannot deny Messi’s efforts in the tournament, even though it did not turn out the way everyone would like to see. If Batista wants to build a strong Argentina team, he will need to be as ruthless as Barcelona, keep players who can play WITH Messi, and drop those who cannot.

3. Too much pressure and expectations
This point can apply to the England national team too. Media, the people, almost everyone in the world are expecting Argentina to perform well, because firstly, they have Messi, secondly, they have Messi, thirdly, they have Messi. People tend to think a team with the best player in the world, can win almost everything. Sorry to disappoint you, but this is not true. Messi is a footballer, not tennis player, not swimmer, and football needs 11 players to form a team, Messi cannot play goalkeeper, he cannot play defender. It is good to have expectations, but these expectations have to match reality. Argentina may have a lot of good players, but in terms of building the team, they are still in the early stage. The football world is very competitive nowadays, look at Spain, not only they have a strong first team, their bench is also full of stars. The kind of pressure that Argentina national team is receiving, not only killed Messi, but killed the team. Imagine the weight of one whole nation is on you, when you step onto the pitch.

What is wrong with Argentina is, they are still NOT a team yet. And everyone should just give them time, to fix the problems, and build their perfect team.

West Brom Interested in Hargreaves and Other Transfer Rumors

More and more footballers use Twitter or Facebook to communicate with their fans, but none of them know the power of the internet as good as Owen Hargreaves. Hargreaves recently registered an account on Youtube and started posting his training videos, hoping this could give him a new contract. And in fact, it does work.

West Brom showed their interests in signing the player, as he is a free agent now after Manchester United’s release. Hodgson, considering Hargreaves condition in recent years, is willing to offer him a pay-as-you-play contract, according to a few British news reports.On the other hand, Leciester boss Sven Goran Erikson is also willing to give the player a chance, if he could prove his fitness.

Apparently the video has worked and who knows, it may become a trend in the football world. If Owen Hargreaves does end up getting a contract, more and more free agent footballers may start posting their videos on Youtube.

Other Transfer Rumors
There are many transfer rumors going on these day, as it always does, during this summer break time. So here we are going to sum up a few more important ones.

• Wenger looked all happy and smiley in Malaysia, so it can be a sign that Nasri and Fabregas will stay in Arsenal, or he is in denial.
• Some reports said that Wesley Sneijder is ready to sign for Manchester United, but we remain skeptical about this one.
• Corinthians launched a bid for Tevez, will the always ‘unhappy’ star finally leave Manchester City?
• After an injury blow of Essien, former Chelsea player Scott Parker is being linked to the club. The player is looking for a chance to stay in the Premier League ever since West Ham being relegated. He was linked to Aston Villa, Tottenham and now Chelsea.

That’s all for now. Let’s see what will happen in the following days.