Can Girona FC Become The New Force in Spanish La Liga?

Girona FC is creating some surprise in the Spanish La Liga. With twelve matches so far, the Barcelona-based club occupies the first position, with two points ahead of Real Madrid and four above their city neighbors, Barcelona FC. This is their fourth participation in the Spanish Premier division; hitherto their activities have been dominant in the lower rungs of Spanish football. 

THE RISE OF GIRONA FC 

The club was taken over by Abu Dhabi-owned, Capital Football Group in 2017 when it bought a 44.3% share in the Catalan club. Pere Guardiola, the brother of Man City manager Pep Guardiola, serves as the managing director of Girona Football Group, which has an equal 44.3% share in the club. Compared to Real Madrid FC, Barcelona, Athletico Madrid, and even Sevilla, who are considered the perennial favorites of the Spanish La Liga, Girona FC, remains a small club with a very meagre budget. The biggest player purchase in their history is around €7.8million. Though the league is still far away from ending with a third of the matches completed, one would expect that their good run could be a result of huge capital investment, but it’s not truly so. They came into the Premier division in 2020 and for a club whose entire wage bill for the 2023/24 season is just €27, 240,000 Million Euros; they have exceeded their expectations for the season and mathematically guaranteed another year in La Liga, with their current 31 points in twelve matches Embed from Getty Images They have a crop of virtually unknown players most of who arrived this season after they lost most of their best players to bigger clubs. Oriel Romeu was bought by Barcelona FC and Taty Castellanos is now with Lazio FC of Italy. With just 12 games into 2023-24, this is the first time in 20 years that a club other than Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Atletico Madrid have topped the Spanish table at this stage of a season. 

WOULD GIRONA FC BECOME THE NEW FORCE? 

Paulo Gazzaniga, the former Tottenham FC third choice goalkeeper, Ex Man United and Bayern Munich player, Daley Blind, Brazilian Savinho, on loan from Troyes, Ukrainian Viktor Tsygankov and Eric Garcia on loan from Barcelona FC, form the spine of their team and so far, they have excelled. Guided by 47-year-old coach Michel, Girona FC took the 10th position last season and according to him, they have exceeded their expectations and continue to remain humble about the possibilities of continuing their smooth ride until the end of the season. Girona FC is a high-scoring side with 29 goals so far and their fluid and attacking quality gives the impression that they'd score many more goals. Speaking about their prospects, Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti says; The Catalan side has a "very big advantage" – not having to worry about European competition. "They have the chance to prepare well for games each week," said the Italian. "We have tiredness and injuries; we don't have time to recover." 

With the kind of attention they have drawn and the financial backing from the new Abu Dhabi partners, their emergence as a new force in Spanish La Liga would be exciting and this would bring a new vista to Spanish football.

How Lionel Messi's World best defender Halted Tottenham's Winning Streak

Embed from Getty Images Cristian Romero’s harsh tackle on Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez got him a red card in the 33rd minute of their English Premier League, week eleven match, and thereafter the tide of the game turned against his team. They lost 1-4. Football has for the past century grown to become a sport with great excitement to such an extent that memories of some great matches remain evergreen in the hearts of football fans for decades. Several legends have emerged from various playing positions; Lev Yashin(USSR), Gordon Banks(England), and Dino Zoff(Italy) were renowned goalkeepers, Franco Baresi,(Italy), Paulo Maldini(Italy), Daniel Passarella,(Argentina), Roberto Carlos(Brazil) made a good impression as defenders, just like Pele(Brazil), Johan Cruyff,(Netherland), Diego Maradona,(Argentina), George Weah,(Liberia), the Ronaldo’s(Brazil and Portugal) and Lionel Messi(Argentina) have got their legendary status as strikers. We cannot forget Andreas Pirlo, (Italy), Lothar Matthaeus, (Germany), Socrates, (Brazil), Xavi, (Spain), Andreas Iniesta, (Spain), Carlos Valderamma (Columbia), Luka Modric (Croatia) in the midfield. The exploits of these legends have remained the standard with which players after them are judged. 

 

CRISTIAN ROMERO’S COMBATIVE ATTRIBUTES 

Argentine World Cup-winning defender, Cristian Romero, of Tottenham Hotspur FC, was recently referred to by his compatriot, Lionel Messi as the World's best defender after Argentina’s one-nil victory over Ecuador in October. Though his exploits helped Argentina win the World Cup and was once adjudged the best defender in the Serie A of the Italian Scudetto, his actions on Monday dearly caused his team, a humiliating loss. He was given a straight three-match ban. With the lack of a reliable backup and the important matches he’d miss, Romero’s absence could be very damaging to their positive progress. The writer once referred to Romero as a disaster waiting to happen because of his crude and unconventional style of play and the same was wryly reiterated by his teammate, Dejan Kuluveski in his analysis about their loss. Cristian Romero’s on-field record is poor and needs to refine his style to achieve the extraordinary potential before him. Lionel Messi’s assertion about him compliments the poppy who doesn’t feel the aggression of its mother but it could also be his recognition of the potential he sees in Romero. 

THE NEED FOR CRISTIAN ROMERO TO IMPROVE 

His club coach, Ange Postecoglou, made him one of the captains at the start of the 2023/24 season and it was expected that this would make him better than the erratic disposition he carries. His personality and football potential tick the boxes to make him an exceptional defender but unlike all the legendary defenders mentioned earlier, Romero doesn't need brute force and dangerous tackles to win his duels. His despicable action cost his team their first EPL loss this season and with further losses of other players in that match, their prospects could be diminished. With age still on his side, he can improve and cut out those attributes that draw the ire of referees. His style could also be a reason for his frequent injury cases and unless he improves his style would remain a baggage for every team he plays.

Tottenham FC's Collapse Against Chelsea FC Could Decide Their Entire Season

Tottenham FC had survived their first ten matches of the 2023 English Premier League season, winning eight and drawing two, but their 1-4 collapse against Chelsea FC could decide their season. Their unique pressing, high-line defending, and inverted full-backs have turned them from a boring counter-attacking team to a ball-playing group with Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma, and Maddison mesmerizing fans time after time. They had survived the small and big teams, nicking victories over Sheffield United, Luton, and Liverpool FC through sheer guts. Their collapse against Chelsea FC was a good lesson of the scenarios that could determine their season. The red cards to Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie created significant turning points and were worsened by the injuries to Van de Van and James Maddison. They struggled, fought, and possibly could have escaped, but, they lost. 

 Postecouglou needs to be Flexible 

Possibly, Ange Postecoglou could have managed the game better, with structured defending rather than maintaining the high line, even with two players short. He does not appear to have accepted the fact of the game, especially the dynamism of the English Premier League. Whilst entertainment, gives excitement to the fans, trophies are not won through losses and retaining ideals that wouldn’t give the right results. The loss of three points and a minus-three deficit in their goal difference is worse compared to if they’d succeeded in squeezing out a draw. 

 The hurdle before Postecouglou 

The writer had warned earlier about Cristian Romero being a disaster waiting to happen and yesterday he did cause a disaster as a result of his somewhat combative and unconventional style. Chelsea deserves the credit for not relenting from their plot and using their advantage perfectly but the critical issue at the moment is about how Ange Postecoglou, would reignite their smooth ride, after losing his first-choice central defensive pair, left back and possibly James Maddison, the best midfielder, so far in the 2023 English Premier League season. It would be difficult to predict but certainly, the team structure has been terribly broken! With the January transfer window still far away and the immediate replacements coming from the supposed outcasts, it would remain a daunting task for the coach to solve, unless the outcasts prove a surprise to win over Postecouglou’s trust. Would he continue his high-line defending without the speed of his very fast first-choice central defenders? Romero and Udogie could lose one and two matches respectively, whilst the return of VDV and Maddison remains uncertain. The match against Wolves FC on Saturday would unravel what options Ange has on his sleeves and the next against Aston Villa and Manchester City FC, coming after the international break, would be crucial. They have some depths in the midfield, with Rodrigo Betancur and Emile Hojberg, but the defense appears a large hole to cover and would determine how well Tottenham survives this setback. Whatever the outcome of their match on Saturday against Wolves, Tottenham FC, have had a smooth ride and another good result could reignite their successes but if otherwise, they could still be consoled that no situation lasts forever.

More Honours for Napoli FC's Victor Osimhen

Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen, of Italy's Napoli FC, is gradually working himself into legendary status, and provided his form remains consistent he would be renowned in World football folklore. His grass to grace story about how he transformed from a young child hawking to survive in Nigeria to getting selected into the Nigerian U-17 team, even without being involved with any big Nigerian club side, is known to virtually everyone who has followed his career.

 

THE EMERGENCE OF VICTOR OSIMHEN

Since he emerged as the leading scorer in the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup, which Nigeria won, Victor Osimhen has continued to improve his quality. First was his move to Belgium, then to Lille FC, France, where he won the  2020 Prix Marc-Vivien Foé, a prize awarded to the best African player in the French championship. Then his transfer to Napoli FC, with whom he won last year's Scudetto, more than 30 years after the great Diego Armando Maradona, helped them achieve this feat.  He also won the League's highest goal scorer and has been a source of rumor-mongering over his next move. Two months ago, he helped the Nigerian Super Eagles, qualify for the 2024 CAF African Nations Cup.  

It is evident that so far, he’s proven his worth in virtually every league, he’s plied his trade. Very few laurels remain to win to enable him run shoulders with the highest legends of world football. He still has age on his side and so much could still be achieved for club and country.

 

TRANSFER RUMORS ABOUT VICTOR OSIMHEN

Since about six weeks ago when he missed a penalty in their league match against Bologna FC, which created some unfortunate events with his club, there have been serious speculations about his possible move in the January 2024 transfer window, though he's publicly pledged his allegiance to Napoli FC.

Last month, he was named amongst the world's best ten players on the Balloon D'or list and nominated for the African best footballer 2023. These recognitions are a reflection of the consistency he has maintained over a very long period. For a striker with his kind of physicality, it is an immense achievement and his relevance in World football would continue, provided he's able to remain fit and lethal in front of goal.

 

Victor Osimhen currently attracts the attention and relevance given to the new generation of World strikers such as Erdin Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, lately and Jude Bellingham, etc. His capability to remain focused on football, shying from the razzmatazz of his celebrity status is another positive that would see him continue to rise. It would be no surprise if he wins the African Footballer of the Year title this year!

 

With the few very lethal strikers in world football tied down by other big and rich club sides, his continued stay in Napoli FC would definitely be short. He would definitely command a huge transfer fee, with his young age and immense quality. The 2024 CAF African Nations Cup commences in a few months and apart from the Scudetto, this competition would be an immense opportunity to further show his worth, provided his club doesn’t prevent his participation like they did subtly during the last tournament.

Mikel Arteta and the Needless Goalkeepers’ Debate at Arsenal FC

Though he’d never admit it, Coach Mikel Arteta has put his club into a needless quagmire. Since he took over from fellow countryman, Unai Emery, his rebuild has steadily improved the team, but for some few hiccups, and the immutable capabilities of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City FC, they’d have won the 2022/23 English Premier League.

During the August 2023 transfer window, Mikel Arteta strengthened his goalkeeping unit, even when no obvious weakness was identified amongst his crew, and brought his countryman, David Raya from Brentford United FC.

 

Whilst he stoutly defended this decision, several fans considered it obtuse! English-born Aaron Ramsdale has grown progressively from his time at Bournemouth FC, to become a capped player of the English national team, the Three Lions. His remarkable exploits got him the transfer to Arsenal FC and nobody would dispute his immense contributions to Arsenal FC’s near-perfect run last season that got them 2^nd position in the league and a UEFA Champions League ticket.

 

Ramsdale vs. Raya

Arteta is known for his tactical nuances, like his compatriot and former boss Pep Guardiola. The best coaches and analysts in football always affirm the goalkeeping area, as a unique position that requires consistency and stability for the chosen player. The goalkeeper and his defenders always need good communication and understanding between them to make their job simple; the goalkeeper serves as the on-field coach, making his role of extreme importance. Fast forward to the current times, coaches now clamor for keepers with good ball-playing attributes. With these attributes, both keepers are fairly gifted.

When Arteta made his move for Raya, he permutated the likelihood of swapping goalkeepers during a single match for tactical reasons and did everything to reassure fans about his wisdom of having two equally gifted keepers. His defense for this action revealed how ill-advised it was. When he dropped Bernd Leno for Aaron Ramsdale, it never caused the same grumble as the current; the fans identified Ramsdale’s edge.

 

Dropping Ramsdale

Aaron Ramsdale was dropped by Arteta by the week 3 EPL and thereafter made David Raya, his number one both for the EPL and UEFA Champions League. It has obviously been a difficult situation for him and he’s voiced his frustrations, though there’s very little he can do to change his situation. Raya has still not shown an undeniable edge over Ramsdale, and this would continue to make him tense in trying to prove himself. Arteta’s action is not about genuine competition but has usurped Ramsdale’s position for another player, without showing appreciation for his dedication. It would never make the team better and could create a backlash unless their good run continues. Raya would be unnecessarily judged and compared with Ramsdale for every action that goes awry.

 

David Raya was heavily criticized for Mykhailo Mudryk's surprise goal in their duel against Chelsea FC, even when the cross never looked deliberate. Again, rather, than discussing the veracity of the refereeing and VAR decision to award the goal against Arsenal FC, in their one-nil loss to Newcastle FC, fans have Raya’s missed efforts to stop the cross, and not the push on Gabriel Maghalaes, or if the ball had gone off the field, amongst so many other questions about the goal.  It’s a situation Mike Arteta has caused for himself and would remain so for a long time since his ‘coaching decision’ appears skewed and one-sided!

It is only a matter of time for the Arsenal FC fans to turn against him unless the club continues with good results.

Solving Nigeria's Super Eagles Goalkeeping Wahala*!

The Nigerian national football team, the Super Eagles have at different times been fortunate with very good goalkeepers such as Emmanuel Okala, Best Ogedegbe, Peter Rufai, Aloy Agu, Wilfred Agbonavbare, Ike Shorounmu, Vincent Enyeama, et al but since after the unfortunate circumstances that led to the exit of the mercurial goalkeeper Austin Enyeama, Nigerian football fans have endured the nightmare of several goalkeeping mediocrities.  Just to remember a little exception of some few matches when Carl Ikeme of English Premier League club, Wolverhampton Wanderers FC provided some respite before health-related issues cut short his career. The football world is awash with very talented Nigerian footballers in all positions, except goalkeeping!

 

Several Pretenders After Enyeama's Exit

After Ikeme’s exit, fans have endured the uninspiring performances of Daniel Akpeyi (now retired?), Francis Uzoho, Maduka Okoye, and listless other invitees. What is evident in these men appear similar and makes it difficult to still repose trust in their capabilities. These keepers lack confidence and have not been able to raise their game beyond the little flashes that instigated the trust that got them to the limelight. This assessment is corroborated by their club performances where they enjoy peripheral roles. When Francis Uzoho dazzled everyone last year, during his team's Europa League campaign against Manchester United FC, it got tongues wagging and aroused the optimism that this could raise him to better consistency. Former Manchester United Star affirmed as much but alas it ended as a futile dream.  Maduka Okoye has been elusive since after being blamed for the goal at the 2022 CAF African Nations Cup, second-round match when we lost one nil to Tunisia.

 

Why The Lack of Reliable Keepers?

Unless some disconcerting events abound within the Super Eagles coaching setup, it remains unexplainable how Nigeria still suffers this goalkeeping wahala, whilst several other African keepers, such as Yassin Bonou (Morocco), Eduard Mendy (Senegal), Andre Onana (Cameroon), Mbohi (Algeria) et al continue to distinguish themselves in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The needful must be done to immediately solve this problem and it remains inconceivable why the Super Eagles cannot have goalkeepers at the level of these mentioned names.

Building Trust

The solution to solving the goalkeeping conundrum remains in building trust and exposing the opportunity beyond the current keepers, who obviously are not the best we have. We must focus on the Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) and give ample opportunity to the NPFL keepers, since the available foreign-based options so far identified, have been awful. Football is a global sport with the same rules across the World and little distinguishes the foreign and locally based footballers, as highlighted here by Dutch coach Clemence Westerhof:

‘’The only advantage the foreign players have over the home-based is that the former are more professional minded. They keep in better condition because they know they can easily lose their places in their clubs in Europe if they don’t train hard enough’’.

 

Times have changed and the NPFL players are more focused and proficient because their ultimate ambition is to join a foreign-based club and improve their financial and professional status. The grass-to-grace stories of Kelechi Ihenacho, Victor Osimhen, Victor Boniface, and Gift Orban who emerged from Nigerian football environments without even playing in the NPFL, validate this assertion about the quality of (suppressed talents) players that abound within Nigeria.

 

Several other keepers, such as Bendel Insurance FC, Amas Obasogie, Remo Stars FC Kayode Bankole, and Hapoel Jerusalem FC Adebayo Adeleye are tested first-choice keepers in their teams and consistently showcase their qualities. Their competence makes one wonder why they’re never invited and even when invited are given a cold shoulder to the benefits of the current error-prone keepers. This obviously cannot be based on sporting or performance-based factors. Give them the opportunity and they’d outshine the current goalkeepers and also enhance their opportunities of getting into better foreign football leagues.

The goalkeeping department needs to help instill confidence in our goalkeepers since this is the greatest attribute a keeper needs to reassure the rest of the players. A timid keeper unsettles the entire team!

Note: Wahala Synonym: It connotes something alarming, disturbing, upsetting issues