Can one player make a team? Real Madrid might found out.

Can one player make a team? Is it possible for just one man to be the difference between winning things and losing things?

The reason I ask the question is because of the possibility of Manchester United losing Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid. Would United have won the Premier League and Champions League double last season without him? Obviously they would have missed his forty-two goals, but would someone else have stepped up to the mark and allowed the side to be just as successful?

Looking back at teams of the past there are many examples of where it was a commonly held belief that one man made all the difference. The Argentina World Cup team of 1986 and 1990 would certainly have missed the brilliance of Diego Maradona. Would they have been so successful without him?

Football is a team game and not an individual one. Within teams there are brilliant individuals, but it is rare for them to shine regularly if the rest of the team are not of sufficient quality to supply them with the ball in the right areas, and make the runs to get on the end of their passes.

Real Madrid seem to be desperate to sign Ronaldo. In some quarters you could be forgiven for thinking that they are saying that a Real Madrid Champions League triumph next season is a foregone conclusion if they capture the signature of the Portuguese winger. Whilst a player as good as him is bound to be a target, there is absolutely no guarantee that he will improve an existing side.

History is littered with great players leaving one club for another and not producing the same sort of results. Ask Arsenal fans if they think Sylvan Wiltord is a great player. Liverpool fans will give you an opinion on Morientes and Cisse. Manchester United might be less than forthcoming about the qualities of the world cup winning Kleberson or the previously sublime skills of Juan Sebastian Veron.

I know he is slightly past his best but there is no doubt that Shevchenko should still be a world class striker but you won’t find many at Chelsea who agree. Real Madrid fans were never too taken with England’s own Michael Owen and it will be interested to see if Galatasaray see the great Harry Kewell that left Leeds or the average Harry Kewell who played for Liverpool.

I fully accept that not all of these players are or were in the same class as Cristiano Ronaldo but they all arrived at clubs with huge reputations and failed to live up to them. Some of it can be explained by a simple loss of form, but most of it is down to lifestyle, coaching, team-mates and many things that affect daily life outside of football.

There is absolutely no guarantee that a player who performs for one club will have the same effect at another.

Back to my original point then, I do not think that one player can make or break a team. Every team is a whole lot more than the sum of it’s individual parts. The teamwork, team spirit, style of play and understanding between colleagues is worth more than any one individual. Examples such as Greece winning the Euros, Porto winning the Champions League and several German teams getting to finals when they have been described as ‘the worst German team ever,’ prove that there are many things that bring success rather than having one or more outstanding individuals.

If Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t the best player in the world at the moment, who is? Messi, Kaka, Xavi? How did Barcelona and Milan fare this year?

It is, of course, a major bonus to have great players in your team but it is not a pre-requisite for success. Having one outstanding individual can have the opposite affect on a team if their personality, playing style or the publicity they bring with them, damage the balance of a previously harmonious dressing room.

I’m sure Ronaldo will do well if he goes to Real Madrid because he is indeed a great player. However, I wouldn’t necessarily bet on them to lift the Champions League or La Liga. In Europe, Chelsea and Manchester United will be very strong again and we await to see if a Mourinho inspired Inter can join the battle. In La Liga, Pep Guardiola will be looking to develop Barcelona into a whole team who play together and for each other in order to exact revenge for Madrid’s title triumph of last year. If he can get that team playing to the ability of the sum of those individual parts, they will be difficult to beat.

We all love watching the great players, but they can only be effective if they are at the right club at the right time and are surrounded by players who compliment them. Before Real Madrid genuinely offer ridiculous amounts of money to Manchester United they should be very sure that the arrival of Ronaldo would provide a missing piece of a jigsaw rather than just another great player.

source: soccernews

Scolaari sparks lampard row

Luiz Felipe Scolari's claim during his introductory press conference that Frank Lampard would stay at Chelsea is reported to have sparked an extraordinary confrontation between the midfielder and chief executive Peter Kenyon that has seemingly made his departure to Inter Milan inevitable.

While Scolari's debut performance in front of the press was composed and confident, his announcement that Lampard would be staying at the club may prove a terrible error of judgement.

Far from settling the issue, the repercussions of Scolari's claim saw Inter Milan table a £8m bid for the midfielder last night and his departure is now depicted as merely a matter of time.

"He wants to stay and to play for Chelsea for many years. I was very happy because I think Chelsea needs Lampard and Lampard likes Chelsea. Now it's a minimum of questions to solve it and Lampard will be with us more time than one year," Scolari declared.

The announcement was immediately countered by Lampard's agent, Steve Kutner, stressing that while his client 'wanted' to stay, that didn't mean he would be staying. "He made it categorically clear that although he would love to finish his career at Chelsea, with the deal he has been offered that is not possible," Kutner's statement read.

Yet while Kutner was issuing his statement, Lampard's reaction is reported to have been even less restrained. According to the Times, 'Lampard, who watched the press conference at the training ground in Cobham, Surrey, between double sessions, confronted Peter Kenyon in the canteen when the chief executive returned from the nearby Hilton Hotel, where Scolari had been speaking.'

An irretrievable breach has apparently opened between Lampard and the club's hierachy, with Chelsea unwilling to meet his demand for a five-year contract worth approximately £135,000 a week. No doubt delighted at the unexpected turn of events, Inter Milan, now under the management of Jose Mourinho, made their first formal bid for Lampard's services last night and saw the odds on the player moving to Italy tumble.

(source: football365)

Pantano picks up from Senna & Grosjean

Giorgio Pantano has claimed yet another win at the Circuit Magny-Cours, outlasting Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean in scorching conditions to cross the finish line well ahead of series returnee Lucas di Grassi and Pastor Maldonado.

The Italian, who historically does well at the French circuit, applied constant pressure to Senna and Grosjean throughout the race, claiming the top spot when both men's cars failed to last the race, leaving the road clear for Pantano's emphatic victory.

Pole-sitter Senna was fast off the line when the lights went out, with Pantano slicing his way past Grosjean who was under immediate pressure from di Grassi, while behind them Andy Soucek was very slow to get away and Kamui Kobayashi stalled next to him, scattering the field as they tried to find a way by the pair and get on with their own races.

Senna could already sense the pressure behind him from Pantano, and the pair was soon swapping fastest laps as they built up a gap back to the rest of the field.

Jerome D'Ambrosio was stuck in traffic in the middle of those following the top pair, and soon came in to make an early stop and get some clear air and make up some time: the gamble paid off handsomely as the rest of the field made their pitstops and then re-emerged behind him until Andreas Zuber finally stopped from seventh and came out just ahead the Belgian.

The pitstops came and went, but all eyes were on the top pair as we waited to see what they would do. The answer came on lap 18 when Senna and Pantano came in line astern and left in the same order, although Grosjean's earlier stop allowed his to run the fastest lap at that stage of the race to put himself between the pair as they came back on track.

The Frenchman knew that he had to attack while he had a tyre advantage, and at the Adelaide hairpin he did just that: running deep up the inside under braking he stole the Brazilian's lead, and didn't look back.

The fight continued for three more laps until Senna slowed suddenly and was limping back to the pits after losing his clutch, with Pantano swiftly moving onto Grosjean's tail, commencing an immense fight between the pair as they pushed each other all over the circuit: no one else had the pace to stay with them as they attacked constantly for the next 12 laps until Grosjean slowed too, the victim of a hydraulic gremlin while the Italian stormed away.


At the chequered flag Pantano's Racing Engineering team were hanging over the pitwall to salute his win, while di Grassi kept his head in his first race back to claim second spot eight seconds later, while Maldonado had a relatively quiet race to round out the podium four seconds later. Vitaly Petrov and Andreas Zuber were the next men across the line, separated by just 0.4s after a race long battle was resolved in the Russian's favour.

D'Ambrosio was next, sixth place a good reward for a great drive in difficult circumstances, ahead of Karun Chandhok and Mike Conway, who stayed out longer than anyone on his first set of tyres and was rewarded with a repeat reverse pole for race two, just ahead of Alvaro Parente, who drove hard to finish ninth after started last on the grid.

Pantano picked up the final point for fastest lap to stretch his lead in the championship to nine points over Senna, 35 points to 26.

source f1-live

Corsi and Bautista confirm pole position

As rain made cutting times in Donington difficult for the 125cc riders, Simone Corsi could rest easy with the pole position all but his.

Although not a renowned wet weather rider, Simone Corsi likely breathed a sigh of relief when it became clear that Saturday´s second 125cc qualifying session would take place in the wet. The Italian had already claimed the provisional pole spot on Friday afternoon in dry conditions, meaning that he was unlikely to be troubled in the decisive session.

Corsi´s 1´37.488 lap proved to be the pole clincher, giving him his first start from the front of the grid since Portugal. The Jack&Jones WRB man emerged victorious from that race, and is looking to do the same in order to keep up the pressure on series leader Mike di Meglio –who starts from 21st after some Friday gearing problems.

Reigning World Champion Gabor Talmacsi will line up alongside Corsi in his fifth front row start of the year, having picked up a recent run of consecutive podium finishes at Mugello and Catalunya. He remained less than a tenth away from Corsi´s marker.

The front row is completed by Talmacsi´s Bancaja Aspar teammate Sergio Gadea and home rider Scott Redding, the first Britain to qualify on the first line of attack at Donington Park since 1988 (when Niall Mackenzie placed on the front row for the 500cc race and Alex Bedford in the 125cc class.). The Blusens Aprilia rider has just one appearance at Donington Park to his name, but commanded the track like a veteran in yesterday´s session.

There will be an empty grid space behind Corsi on Sunday afternoon, with Pol Espargaro ruled out of action with a fractured collarbone. The Belson Derbi rider, who has finished fourth, fourth, third and second in the last quartet of races, will now head to Barcelona for a consultation with Dr. Xavier Mir, missing the bwin.com British Grand Prix.

I.C. Team´s Andrea Iannone, Corsi´s teammate Nico Terol and Repsol KTM rookie Marc Marquez will line up in a trio on the second row. Marquez suffered a spectacular crash on Saturday afternoon, with no effect on his participation in tomorrow´s race.

Bautista takes fourth pole with Donington Friday time
Alvaro Bautista will start the 250cc bwin.com British Grand Prix from pole position, courtesy of his Friday hot lap.

As in the 125cc class, the nature of split qualifying sessions played into the hands of the provisional poleman in 250cc. With a wet track with which to set about improving on dry times, Alvaro Bautista was the principal beneficiary in the quarter litre class, taking a fourth pole of the season and continuing his 100% record of front row starts courtesy of his Friday marker. With the chance to take the lead in the overall standings this weekend at Donington Park, and on a run of winning form, Marco Simoncelli joins Bautista on the front row for the fourth time in as many races. The Metis Gilera rider and his Spanish rival will be accompanied by Team Toth´s Hector Barbera and Emmi-Caffe Latte man Thomas Luthi on the first line.

(source:moto-live)

Day two of the action from Magny Cours

From Kimi Raikkonen to Adrian Sutil, qualifying for the French Grand Prix brought a few surprises as the 20 racers and ten teams battled to get a foothold at Magny Cours.

FERRARI: On low fuel, Felipe Massa is the fastest man at Magny-Cours, but in Q3 race trim, Kimi Raikkonen snatched Ferrari's 200th pole by the barest of margins. Massa, who twinged his neck earlier this weekend in what he describes as a 'stupid' elevator incident, said he overdrove in Q3.

MCLAREN-MERCEDES: McLaren is not quite on Ferrari's pace at Magny-Cours, but Lewis Hamilton's P3 becomes P13 after his ten-position Montreal crash penalty. "I have to apologise to the team for making a couple of errors on my final runs in Q3," he said. Heikki Kovalainen has been consistently a few tenths further back here, and his P6 becomes P10, after stewards ruled that he drove slowly on an out-lap and held up Mark Webber. He called the events leading up to the Webber incident, also involving Kazuki Nakajima, a 'mix-up'.

RENAULT: As at the recent Barcelona test, Nelson Piquet sampled life atop a F1 timesheet on Saturday morning at Magny-Cours. He has been closer to Fernando Alonso all weekend in France, but reality set in for qualifying and he just missed the Q3 cut. Alonso's impressive P4 becomes P3 on the grid after Hamilton's penalty. "The car has really improved and so for the first time this season we have the real chance to fight for the podium," the Spaniard said.

TOYOTA: Both Toyotas in the exclusive top ten, with Jarno Trulli - despite a Q3 spin - the standout performer. His P5 becomes P4 on the grid after Hamilton's penalty. "I didn't expect to be this quick," he said.

BMW-SAUBER: The morning timesheet gave a hint: despite the Montreal one-two, BMW-Sauber is not looking as strong as usual this weekend. Nick Heidfeld struggled the most and couldn't make it to Q3, but even championship leader Robert Kubica is just P7, albeit P5 after the McLaren drivers' penalties.

RED BULL-RENAULT: The signs were not good on Friday, but Mark Webber was as high as P2 in the morning practice session, and P8 - becoming P6 after the McLaren drivers' penalties - in qualifying. David Coulthard is the next man on the grid.

TORO ROSSO-FERRARI: Sebastian Vettel's sensational practice speed continued with his P3 in the morning, netting him 13th on the grid - which becomes 12th thanks to Hamilton's penalty - and his teammate Sebastien Bourdais also broke through the Q2 barrier. "I can't say I'm angry not to make Q3," Vettel said, "but I am disappointed."
(source:f1-live)

Italy's Gattuso backing goal-shy Toni to shine

Gennaro Gattuso has backed Luca Toni to step into the limelight left by Italy's missing players and kick-start his Euro 2008 when they face Spain.

Toni enjoyed a prolific season with Bayern Munich and was tipped to shine this summer but has so far drawn a blank in the Azzurri's first three games, leading to suggestions he should be dropped for the quarter-final against Spain in Vienna.

Gattuso is among the senior players ruled out of the clash at Ernst Happel Stadium tomorrow evening, and coach Roberto Donadoni is likely to look towards players such as Toni for Italy's inspiration, despite the criticism the striker has received.

The closest the 31-year-old has come to scoring was against France when he was through on goal before getting hauled down for a penalty, leading to Eric Abidal's dismissal.

'He has been coping fine with everything,' said midfielder Gattuso. 'It was lucky he didn't score against France when he was challenged by Abidal because if he had, they wouldn't have been reduced to 10 men.

'That Toni moment alone was worth two goals because we went 1-0 up from the penalty and had an extra man which was very important.'

Midfielder Massimo Ambrosini added: 'I'm sure Toni will break out soon.'

Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo are suspended against Spain, with Ambrosini among the players in contention to deputise in central midfield.

To add to Donadoni's selection problems, he has been short on options in defence as he looks to keep quiet Spain strikers Fernando Torres and David Villa.

Fabio Cannavaro was ruled out before the tournament with an ankle injury, and Andrea Barzagli joined him on the sidelines this week following a knee complaint.

Marco Materazzi, meanwhile, has been out of form and his tournament has been limited to the first 54 minutes of the defeat to Holland before getting substituted.

'Spain's whole side plays as one - they all pass the ball around very well and then suddenly hit you with a long ball to David Villa or Fernando Torres, who are both very dangerous,' explained Gattuso.

'It's very difficult to steal the ball off them because they are so good in possession. They remind me of the Barcelona team that won the Champions League two years ago.'

Injuries in defence has led to Christian Panucci, a full-back by trade, playing in the middle along with Giorgio Chiellini, who played at left-back at last summer's Under-21 European Championships.

Panucci was only persuaded out of international retirement last October, then scored the winner against Scotland to help seal Italy's qualification.

He netted against Romania in the group stages when it looked like their tournament was slipping away.

The 35-year-old said: 'At first I didn't want to go back but then my father persuaded me otherwise and I made the right decision.

'The fact I used to play with Donadoni also makes me give that little bit extra and I'm delighted at what he has done for my career.'
(ESPNsoccernet)

Hiddink to stick with attacking ethos for Russia

Russia coach Guus Hiddink believes attack will be the best form of defence against Holland in tonight's Euro 2008 quarter-final in Basle.

The Dutch produced an attacking masterclass in the group stages, scoring a total of nine goals in convincing wins over France, Italy and Romania to top the 'Group of Death' in some style.

Holland are a fearsome unit going forward but Hiddink believes the first fortnight of the championships has shown that being negative will get you nowhere in the modern game.

Teams such as Romania and Greece adopted a defensive approach and have fallen by the wayside.

He has urged his team to go for the jugular against his fellow countrymen, saying: 'What is good for the game is that teams who like to attack from the start are surviving.

'That is encouraging, as we can also see that the concept of just relying on your defence, which of course sometimes may have to happen in a game, has no profit any more.

'People like to see a more attacking game. The Dutch like to attack, to have the initiative and control, and be dominant.

'But the Russian team has changed a lot, not just in personnel but also in the way we play. We now try to install the kind of play where people love to come and watch us.

'We have made some progress and we are now meeting a giant. But our approach won't be different.'

Russia, who are set to be unchanged from the team that started the 2-0 win over Sweden on Wednesday, have looked sprightly in attack themselves.

The return from suspension of Andrei Arshavin, the Zenit St Petersburg playmaker, will help them even more in that department and he was superb against the Swedes in his first game of the tournament.

But they have to find a way past Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who has been in excellent form between the posts for the Dutch.

Hiddink, who gave Van der Sar his international debut when Holland boss in the mid-90s, cannot praise the 37-year-old highly enough.

'I know a lot of their players, having worked with them in the national team or at club level,' he said.

'We have seen Van Der Sar has had a tremendous career. This recent season was another highlight for him (he won the Barclays Premier League-Champions League double with United).

'He is the best goalkeeper in Holland, and a very responsible and intelligent man.

'I have enjoyed watching his performances and I will continue to, except this one.'

(source:soccernet)