The Midfield Battle

The Midfield Battle

Today, I would like to further analyze the soccer/football game played last week between Chelsea FC & Galatasaray AS, in UEFA Champions League. 

The game was played in Istanbul and the result was a deadlock tie score of 1 - 1. 

          Jose Mourinho & Roberto Mancini

The game did not look as close as the final score, in the first 30 minutes of play Chelsea FC was all over Galatasaray AS.  The reason for this, in my opinion was that Gala's manager Roberto Mancini had the wrong formation on the field.  He choose a 4-4-2 formation. This means that there were 4 defenders, 4 midfielders, and 2 strikers.  

This kind of formation against a very good dribbling and passing team like Chelsea FC is not very smart, since it gives the Londoners plenty of room and space in the midfield area.  And in turn, plenty of passes to the strikers for goal scoring opportunities.  Luckily for Gala, Chelsea FC only scored on one of the attacks, instead of 3 or 4.  

          Jose Mourinho in the Bench

Being a good Manager, Roberto Mancini saw this (loosing) battle between the two teams midfielders, and he therefore completed a substitution in the 33 minute to bring in a defensive-midfielder named 'Yekta Kurtulus', and also changed the formation to a 4-5-1.  

This tactic payed-off as Gala started plenty of attacks on Chelsea net, while clearly winning the midfield battle.  

Surely, a goal would come, and it came in the 68 minute, to make it 1 - 1.  

This was an entertaining, well played game by both clubs. 

          Gala Bench

I'm looking forward to watching the 'return leg' of the game between these two clubs on March 18, 2014.  It will be another 'chase match' of a game between Jose Mourinho of Chelsea FC and Roberto Mancini of Galatasaray AS. 

May the better team make it to the last 8 of this competition.  

Thank you for visiting. 

So Called Defend the Land

So Called Defend the Land

I read an article in a major American news paper today.  There was a full page advertisement which was a statement that was pro-Israel, listing all the reasons why they have a right to defend themselves.

          Palestine flag and her young future

They are spending a lot of money trying to convince the world that they have a right to defend themselves, which no one is disputing.

Furthermore, a journalist in that newspaper had a whole argument about how people who harshly criticize Israel over humanitarian concern for the Palestinians are closet anti-Semites. 

The magazine 'Economist' has published many articles which are biased in favor of Israel.  So have many other big publications.  

Soldier taking away a young boy

Such biased and one sided reporting of so called facts and interpretations completely discredits the entire news media.  It has become so bad that their is more truth in the advertisements than there is in the actual news.  

Well, just because people are critical of Israel when Israel misbehaves does not make them anti-Semites.

To disagree with a Jew does not make one an anti-Semite.

To label such people like that is dirty, a low blow, and downright despicable.

This type of rhetoric will not win people over to Israel's side, but will anger them and drive them away.

Thank you for reading, 

Ben