Majestic Messi

2 days ago marked a decade since Messi broke into the first team at Barcelona. Interestingly a football agent named Josep Maria Minguella discovered Messi on videotape, the agent liked what he saw Messi came down with his family to visit the club and the rest you can say is history. Over the last 10 years Messi has amassed 372 goals in 466 appearances and who knows how many goals he even scored before playing for Barcelona (Probs scored like 300 on his school playground). Messi has broken a whole host of records and pretty much won everything at club level he is by far the greatest player I have seen in my lifetime apart from Ronaldo. A predominantly left footed player,Messi has been blessed with pace, but his dribbling skills are phenomenal constantly being compared to his compatriot Diego Maradona due to them both being of a short stature thus allowing them the low centre of agility. This allows them to change direction, swiftly and instantly at high speeds but still keeping mastery control over the ball. Look no further than youtube to see some of the mesmerising tricks and skills Messi has come up with over the years. Countless number of times he has defenders clutching thin air, eating dust or simply lying down flat on their backside. He will go down as a football great but it hasn’t quite worked for him on the world cup stage even though he was voted as the best player in the last world cup. Here is a list of some of his impressive records ·

• Most goals scored in a year (club): 79 goals[367] ·
• Guinness World Records title for the most official goals in a calendar year: 91 goals (2012) ·
• Only player to finish Champions League top scorer in 4 consecutive seasons (2008/09 - 2011/12) ·
• All time Barcelona top scorer in all games: 389 goals ·
• Youngest player to score 200 La Liga goals: 25 years

Many players can only dream of winning or achieving all that Lionel Andrés Messi has done and at the slender age of 27,He still may have his best years ahead of him. (For a full list of the achievements of Messi check out http://messivsronaldo.net/records.php)

Highlights of the Summer

It’s been an age since I last posted on my blog apologies for that my appendix decided it wanted out of my body so I’ve been off sick (what a shame) however it’s been a great excuse to indulge on sport over the summer. The summer definitely served up generous helpings of prestigious sporting competitions and below I’ve put down my top 10 sporting moments of this summer.This is in no particular order.

PART 1

1)      The 2014 Brazil World cup was amazing and after the English premiership ending which was so sad it was fab to have football on consistently. We all went football crazy, the world cup felt like it was being played in its spiritual home. The world cup in Brazil was brilliant! According to whoscored.com Germany where the highest rated team in the world cup with a 7.17 rating and rightly deserved to win the competition after the demolition job of the host’s Brazil and with a average age of 26.3 years many of the same squad will be together in the next world cup and think many of them have not even hit their peak yet now thats scary!

The world cup saw talented players soar in value and the Columbian James Rodriguez was a prime example completing a reported 80 million Euros (63.8 million pounds).

This is why real Madrid forked out all that cash http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gt07CbhYCw8

2)      The commonwealth Games                                                                                                                                                      

The 2014 commonwealth Games where held in Glasgow and where hailed according to the chief executive of the games Mike Hooper as the “standout games in the history of the movement”. There was 11 days of action with sports ranging from Athletics to weightlifting and shooting. For the first time in 28 years England stood at the top of the table, tall and strong with a grand total of 174 medals, Scotland were stupendous with a record of 19 Gold models and 53 medals all in total. Young stars emerged from the game; Claudia Fragapane, Anthony Fowler, Jade Jones, Ross Murdoch, Siobhan-Marie Connor and Neil Wilson.

3)      Women’s rugby world cup 2014 (France)

England women’s rugby team where not to be denied as it was four time lucky after losing three successive world cup finals and all to New Zealand .England won the 2014 final against Canada 21-9. Canada winger Magali Harvey was named the IRB Women’s player of the year in 2014. She was superb in the world cup with her pace and formidable goal kicking. The England Captain said the triumph had come down to hard work and perfect preparation.

4)      When Suarez and Chilleni clashed I thought it was just a little but the first replay highlighted the secret fear I had as a Liverpool supported “oh no” I thought, he has done it again. The incident occurred in the midst of the Italy game against Uruguay, the more the reply was showed over and over the more the writing was on the wall. The only questions to be asked where, how long would he be ban for? Would he remain at Liverpool? And why does he keep doing this?

Suarez was banned for 4 months, he left Liverpool for Barcelona and to be honest no one but Suarez knows why he keeps doing this? (Take note Suarez is 20/1 to bite Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid not bad odds considering el classico is a feisty affair)

5)      Wimbledon 2014

London is well known for this splendid competition and this summer was another interesting display of shots and drama and intensity. Surprisingly enough Serena Williams did not win the women’s title that was won by Petra Kvitova. Sadly there was no Andy Murray delirium he was knocked out in Straight sets in the quarter finals 6-1 7-6 6-2.  The biggest surprise for in the whole competition was Rafael Nadal being knocked out to the Australian teenager by the name of Nick Kyrgios. (Don’t forget that name Kyrgios he’s gonna be big in the future)

5 Reasons why Brazil received such a punishment against Germany

The world cup was fantastic it seemed as though it would never end. I really believed Brazil would win it, congrats to Germany for winning the competition,overall they were the best team. There 7-1 win against Brazil was definitely the most crushing victory I have ever seen at a world cup. The end result would warranty a FIFA apology, in fact I think Brazil forgot the whole meaning of defending. Here are 5 reasons why Brazil  received such a punishment against Germany.

1. Sole reliability on the One. Neymar Jr the poster boy of the world cup, Brazil's golden boy at the young age of 22 years old had the immense burden of winning the world cup, he had the tricks, the samba flair and the moments of magic but the team was built to maximize his potential and him only everyone else where just extras.
2. No plan B I aint talking about the singer/rapper but God knows he would of done a much better job then some of the Brazilian defenders against Germany.The loss of Neymar jr and Thiago silva were equally huge loses seeing as goal scoring and stopping goals were massive problems. However there was no like for like replacement in the squad for Neymar, without him and silva the squad seemed totally lost, there were a lack of creative ideas and an alternative strategy.
3. Lack of Firepower I always believed this would be Brazil's Achilles' heel. One player can't always make it happen and with a country bursting at the seams with attacking talent its weird that only Jo and Fred where the best the country could offer. Both however did perform well Brasileiro Série A. But Scolari made a mistake in having two target men strikers in the squad instead of another striker who could offer something different. 
4. Obsession on winning.Football these days is all about. If you keep losing your will be shortly receiving your p45 in the post. From the beginning of the world cup each match just supported the argument that Brazil had sold their footballing soul for the price of winning. No longer was joga bonita on the agenda  it was something else, something ugly. I know for sure what i was watching was not the Brazilian way.
5. Just doing enough can only take you so far. That statement sums up Brazil's 2014 world cup journey. This defeat was coming although perhaps not in the crushing manner. Brazil would win but it would never be convincing and Germany just seemed to be to efficient, to lethal and to clinical the game was over in the first half an hour 

Although Brazil finished the competition in fourth place i'm sincerely hoping that Dunga Brazil's new manager will make complete changes and breath life into this classical team. The road to redemption starts now and Brazil must be planning to make a better show of themselves at the Olympics which will they will host.

Number 10 please come again!

I’m back again. Yep I know it’s been a while (precisely a month) but this world cup has had me glued to the television. Don’t worry I will be having 2 posts up for you in the next couple of days. I would begin by talking a little about Tuesday night; some of the memes and pictures coming out on the social networks were hilarious. To be honest Brazil have been winning ugly all the way through this tournament and its sad to say but I thought that winning this way would only take them so far and a lackluster poor performance would be coming very soon. Number 10’s have been vital in this tournament with all top goal scorers playing in that role, apart from Thomas Müller who has sorted drifted from a false 9 and number 10.

Evidently with Brazil without their main man and poster boy Neymar Jnr and talisman captain thiago Silva things went from ok to bad to horrendous. Conceding 4 goals in 400 hundred seconds is atrocious it reminded me of the Liverpool vs arsenal game at Anfield in terms of swiftness and decimation of a highly ranked team.

During this tournament I had really hoped that one of the African sides would perhaps progress to the quarter finals two made it out of the group stages Nigeria and Algeria and fought valiantly however they were knocked out by France and Germany. I was rooting for my home country Ghana but they failed to win a game, this wasn't because they weren't good enough but bottom line is they couldn't take their chance and where not clinical enough in front of goal. Look at Germany yesterday they were brilliant, efficient and ruthless in front of goal.

Not since Abedi Pele has Ghana produced a number 10 of such quality. Ghana have always been fantastic on the counter attack and were so close in South Africa to making their first ever semi final appearance in a world cup, cruelly they were knocked out by Uruguay.

Since then Ghana has been seen as a rising team but we lack a number 10 playmaker that can find pockets of space in-between the lines of a team and create. An example of this sort of player who I watched and admired was Juan Román Riquelme.

He was a player known for his creativity, passing, vision and skills. I remember the 2006 world cup. Riquelme was the key in a sequence of 24 passes made by the Argentine team, setting up their second goal scored by Esteban Cambiasso when Riquelme fed Javier Saviola, who slipped a pass inside for Cambiasso, Cambiasso knocked the ball into Hernan Crespo who back-heeled a return pass back to Cambiasso who netted from 12 yards. Crespo described the movement as "the most beautiful goal"

  

Have a think and ask yourself this question when was the last time you say a world class African player in the role of a number 10. I haven’t seen anyone like that for a long time. Africans tend to dominate central midfield roles because of their speed and strength.

My theory was brought to light even more in the USA after they had scored in the first minute we struggled at times to break them down, don’t get me wrong USA are a decent team who are set up very well, but it’s at these times that a classic playmaker can break down a team.

Overall I thought Ghana’s world cup went o.k. but didn't reach its full potential. Well done for Asamoah Gyan breaking Milla’s record as Africa’s top world cup goal scorer with six goals. But when you don’t take your chances at international level like Jordan ayew had to square the ball to Gyan to make it 3-1 you will always ask yourself what if????

The world cup is upon us!

Welcome or should I say Sejam muito bem-vindos!A copa do mundo está sobre nó (For those of you who are not as fluent in the language as I am this means welcome the world cup is upon us! After all the wait the World cup is finally today! And this year its in Brazil,I'm super excited as we go into the next 30 days which will be filled with action, excitement, glory and inevitable heartbreak for some. The world Cup is by far the biggest sporting competition in the world. For a country like Brazil there is always expectation there is always a high standard of players with names such as Pelé,Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, ronaldo, Zico, Garrincha. To be honest the list can go on and on. Brazil is not sprinkled its completely drenched and soaked with talent at all age groups.


 For me this year I think Brazil will win it. Here are my reasons why: 1)No European side has won a world cup on the Americas (Gives Brazil a 1 in 6 chance) 2)No country has beaten Brazil on its home turf in 12 years 3)The nations fans will roar them on to victory These may not be good enough reasons for some but I just feel that its Brazil's time, i also forgot to mention that Brazil have the most wins in the competition 67!!! There star man is definitely going to be Neymar I remember watching the confederation cup (2013) and thinking OK lets see for all this Neymar talk lets see what he can do and my my was I blown away!! He can frustrate you with his theatricals but in terms of moments of brilliance he can deliver when it matters his wonder goal in the 3rd minute of the 1st game against Japan proved it and I truly hope he does the same today!


The tournament in Brazil will be an amazing spectacle as will as predicting the winners brazil I think Neymar will be the player of the tournament with the surprise team of the tournament being my Beloved Ghana. I think France will underachieve with them not making it past the group stages. Klose to win THE Golden boot as he graces the world cup for the last time and Ozil will be the Assist king! Last but not least here are my top 10 wonderkids for the FIFA world cup 2014 (In no particular order)
1)Julian Draxler
2)Adnan Januzaj
3)"Bruno" Martins Indi
4)Lucas Digne
5)Paul Pogba
6)Raheem Sterling
7)Ross Barkley
8)Marco Verratti
9)Mateo Kovačić
10)Jordan Ayew

 Odds for the world cup 3-1 Brazil, 5-1 Argentina, 11-2 Germany, 7-1 Spain, 14-1 Belgium, 22-1 France, Colombia 25-1 Italy, 28-1 England, Uruguay, 33-1 Portugal, Holland, Chile, 66-1 BAR.

The beggining

Welcome to Simplysports My name is Elijah Allotey and one thing I can tell you right now is that I am a Sports freak. I’m 23 years of age and I've been following sports for 23 years yep I’m convinced I used to listen to match of the day as a fetus lol. I hope you enjoy my blog its a blog that will inform you, to take the debates of the sporting world and really dissect them, asking probing questions and seeking out the answers, like was he really offside? And how many points for a try or touchdown? It’s a blog that will hopefully make you laugh but take the stats into consideration so you can make your own opinions . I welcome all feedback and you can leave me comments on twitter, facebook, instagram and email.

Now the introductions are out of the way let’s get down to it. My blogs are going to be 50% mainly football (My passion) and the other 50% comprised of other sports.

If you didn't know the Barclays Premiership has ended for another year and for most people the summer period probably form the ending of May to the end of June is like the wilderness period, I've seen people at work actually planning out there small talk thinking what do I do I can’t even pretend to strike up conversation when there are no scores to talk about HEEEEELPPPPP LOL !  BUT never fear The World cup is here and all attentions will turn to Brazil 2014 IN 2 weeks time.

But today I’m going to give you my view on Liverpool’s 2013-2014 season review. Being a passionate Liverpool supporter since my boarding school days it was painful to see Liverpool miss out on the Premier league by 2 points when destiny seemed to be in their hands but like Graeme souness said Liverpool didn't win the league because they lost to Chelsea but because they were not the best team over 38 games and I must agree. But the season has been a revelation for Liverpool, congratulations should go to Man city for winning the league and the capital one cup and a big well done to Arsenal finally, finally finally winning a trophy and ending their 8 year drought for silverware. That’s all I’m going to say about Arsenal for that!

The 2013-2014 season in numbers for Liverpool reads; 26 wins, 6 draws and 6 loses with 101 goals scored and 50 goals conceded. Rewind back to 1^st June 2012 and Brendan Rodgers gave his first interview to Liverpool fc and he said this “The philosophy is very much based on the attacking side of the game. People ask me that question and I always say it's about being offensive and creative, but also with tactical discipline. If you look at the Swansea team in the last couple of years they've been lauded for their offensive approach but defensively we've kept many clean sheets and we're up there with the top defensive records. That's the principles of this club. This is a club that's based on fast, attacking, offensive football. But I'll repeat - it's very important to have tactical discipline within that. Your philosophy and your principles will always be governed by the players. There is a fantastic squad here, some terrific players, but there is no doubt I'll need to make maybe two, three or four additions to try and get that flow - and it will take time to put that in place.”

Key words being fast attacking offensive football and that’s what Liverpool fans have been blessed this season to witness from the 5-1 thrashing of arsenal to the 4-0 demolition of Everton and countless other matches. Liverpool where devastating. The stats show that Out of the 28 games that Liverpool scored first they went to win 23 of them, with them winning at half time 25 times they eventually went on to win 21 times.

Liverpool were supreme and Brendan Rodgers based his team on a side that counterattacked with pace and precision, the star players of the season being suarez, Sturridge, Sterling, Skretel, coutinho, Henderson and obviously Captain Marvel Steven Gerrard. Suarez and Sturridge scored 56 goals in the season there partnership was Liverpool’s foundation of success. But for all the good there was one glaring problem Liverpool had and that was the defence, Teams that usually concede 50 goals are usually mid table teams or fighting relegation but it seemed that my beloved team had the notion that scoring enough goals would do the trick and it seemed to work however carragher said this after the entertaining crystal palace game “"That is not acceptable, for all the plaudits Liverpool have had in the last few months - and deservedly so as they have been the most outstanding team in the Premier League to watch and excited us all.

"But that has been their Achilles' heel all season. Even when they've been winning games it's been 4-3 or 6-3 or 3-2. We always felt the defence would come back and haunt them with the goals they've conceded.”

That was said after the Crystal Palace game in which people thought the league was theoretically out of Liverpool’s hands but Liverpool didn’t lose the league there really it was over the 38 games as I will stress again.

I’m not slating my team just perhaps saying a little I told u so but the 3-3 draw at crystal palace magnified everything I had seen in the season but it had not taken the joy out of seeing my team rise to compete with the big boys of the league! My hope for Liverpool next season is that in the summer transfer window they focus on the defence but strengthen in all departments to prepare them for the season return of being in the champions league!!

All I can hope is that one day we will taste Premiership glory.

Interesting STATs!

*Liverpool picked up 5 wins in March 2014 in the premiership scoring 18 and only conceding 4

*Unbeaten for 16 games

*Scored 60 out of there 101 goals in the 1^st half of premier league games  definitely fast starters!

For more Liverpool stats check out http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/clubs/profile.statistics.html/liverpool

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