Lev Yashin and 1956 Olympics

The 1956 Melbourne Olympics had many memorable moments, the lighting of the touch by Ron Clarke, the individual performances of competitors such as Betty Cuthbert, Laszlo Papp and Larissa Latynina the infamous water polo match between Hungary and the USSR. However legendary goalkeeper, Lev Yashin competing at the games with the USSR football team is largely ignored.

At the 1956 Olympics in the first round the USSR faced the current world cup holders the Unified Team of Germany (in the 1956, 60 and 64 Summer and Winter Olympics the athletes from West and East Germany competed together), with the USSR winning 2-1.  In the quarterfinals after drawing with Indonesia 0-0 in the first match, it took a replay for the USSR to progress winning 4-0.  In the semifinal the USSR were against Bulgaria.  After 90 minutes the match was scoreless.  Bulgaria were the first to score in extra time however with two goals in the last six minutes of the match USSR had made it to the gold medal match.  In the final USSR were narrow 1-0 victors against Yugoslavia.  The 1956 Olympic football gold medal is one of the two the USSR won, the other was at Seoul 1988.  The 1956 Olympics were also important for USSR football as Lev Yashin and three other members of the gold medal winning team, formed the nucleus of the USSR team that won the inaugural European Championship in 1960. Of the three senior mens football tournaments the USSR and Russia have won, two were won when Lev Yashin was playing.

                 

Lev Yashin played his whole club career with Dynamo Moscow making 326 appearances from 1949-1971.  Lev Yashin won the USSR football championship five times and the USSR Cup three times.  At international level Lev Yashin won 74 international caps from 1954 - 1967.  He played in three world cups 1958, 1962 and 1966.  The USSR were quarter finalists in 1958 and 1962 and finished in fourth place in the 1966 world cup, this is the best performance at a world cup by either the USSR or Russia.  Lev Yashin also went to the 1970 world cup as third choice goalkeeper and an assistant coach.  Lev Yashin as well as playing at the 1960 European Championships, played at the 1964 version were the USSR lost the final to Spain. 

Lev Yashin also won many individual honours during and after his career.  He was selected in the 1958 world cup all-star team.  Lev Yashin won the European footballer of the year award (Ballon d'Or) in 1963 still the only goalkeeper to have ever won the award.  Also In 1963 he played in a Rest of the World XI against England.  1994 FIFA created the Lev Yashin Award for the best goalkeeper at the World Cup finals.  FIFA named Lev Yashin as goalkeeper in the World Team of the 20th Century.  Lev Yashin was one of the goalkeepers that began punching balls clear in difficult situations rather then attempt to catch them.  He developed the quick throw of the ball to begin counter attacks, moving out of the 18 yard box to anticipate danger and commanding and organising the defender in front of him.  Lev Yashin is widely regarded as the best goalkeeper of all time.

Lev Yashin is ability wise and with all his achievements one of the best sportsmen to ever come to Australia.  Although those in Australia in 1956 could not of known the career Lev Yashin was to have, more than 50 years later we are in a position to look back.  However for whatever reason the mainstream Australia sports media have ignored the story of how Lev Yashin and his USSR teammates won Olympic football gold and added to Melbourne's and Australia's rich tapestry of sporting history.

           

The Big Match- Indonesia v Australia

On the 28th of January at 11:30 pm Melbourne time, 7:30 pm in Jakarta, Australia will begin it's qualification campaign for the 2011 Asian Cup against Indonesia at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.  

The Gelora Bung Karno Stadium is named after the first President of Indonesia, it is located in Central Jakarta, has a capacity of just 88,000 people and was opened in 1962.    

Australian Squad

Pim Verbeek named his all A-league 21 man squad for the Indonesia match on the past Monday.

D. Allsopp  2 caps   Striker

B. Celeski  No caps  Midfielder

T. Pondelijak  4 caps  Midfielder

M. Theokiltos  No caps  GK

A. Thompson  30 caps 21 goals (However 13 of these goals were scored in the one mach) FW 

R. Vargas  1 cap  CB 

All of the above are Melbourne Victory players

R. Cornthwaite  No caps  CB

E. Galekovic  No caps  GK

S. Jamieson  No caps  LB

P. Reid  No caps  CDM, CM

The above are Adelaide players

D. Heffernan  No caps  LB

D. Macallister  No caps  CF

M. Simon  No caps  CF

D. Vukovic  No caps  GK

The above are Central Coast players

C. Moore  40 caps  3 goals  CB  Queensland Roar 

M. Zullo  No caps  Left winger  Queensland Roar  

M. Mckay  1 cap  Midfielder  Queensland Roar

T. Elrich  No caps  RB, Right winger  Newcastle Jets

M. Thompson  No caps  Midfielder, Fullback  Newcastle Jets

S. Cole  No caps  Winger, fullback  Sydney FC

N. Topor - Stanley  3 caps  CB  Perth Glory

The squad is very inexperienced with a total of only 81 caps and Craig Moore with 40 caps nearly has half.  Archie Thompson with 30 caps makes up another 38 % of the caps.  Whichever goalkeeper from E. Galekovic,  M. Theokiltos or D. Vukovic is chosen they will be making their international debut.  Also from the chosen squad only Archie Thompson and Craig Moore have scored an international goal before.  The squad has a fair amount of versatility with at least seven of the players able to play in a least two positions.

From the 21 players chosen by Pim Verbeek my choice of lineup would be-

...........................E. Galekovic

T. Elrich R. Vargas G. Moore S. Jamieson

...........................P. Reid

B. Celeski............................S. Cole

...........................M. Zullo

.................A. Thompson D. Allsopp

Subs

M. Theokiltos

R. Cornthwaite

D. Heffernan

M. Mckay

M. Thompson

D. Macallister

M. Simon

At this point of time Pim Verbeek hasn't given any indication of the players or formation he will use against Indonesia, however it is likely E. Galekovic will be given the nod as goalkeeper, R. Vargas will partner G. Moore in defence and that S. Jamieson will start at left back.  It is probable A. Thompson and D. Allsopp will start together up front.  It is also probable a 4-4-2 formation will be chosen for the match.

Indonesia 

Team nicknames Mereh Putih (Red and White), Garuda- an eagle-like being that Vishnu rides as his mount.  Played their first match as the Dutch East Indies in 1934, losing 3-2 to the Philippines.  In 1938 when still known as the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia were the first Asian team to play at a world cup.  Indonesia lost 6-0 to Hungary in the first round.  This is the only word cup appearance Indonesia has made.  Indonesia have appeared in the Asian Cup four times 1996, 2000, 2004, 2007 which Indonesia co-hosted with Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia.  Indonesia have never made it past the first round at the Asian Cup.  Indonesia's only appearance in an Olympic football tournament was in the Melbourne 1956 Olympics.  Indonesia were knocked out in a quarter final replay by the USSR 4-0 after a goalless draw in the first match.  Indonesia have won the football tournament at the South East Asian Games twice in 1987 and 1991.  Indonesia's best result at the ASEAN Football Championship has been runner up, which they have achieved three times in 2000, 2002 and 2004.  Indonesia's biggest win was  13-0 against the Philippines in 2002.  Indonesia's biggest defeat 7-0 was inflicted by Syria in 2007. Indonesia's current FIFA ranking is 144, Indonesia's higest ranking was 76 which occurred in September 1998 and Indonesia's lowest ranking of 153 which occurred in December 2006.     

Recent Form

In the last month and a half Indonesia has played six games.  Winning two, 3-0 against Burma (Myanmar) and 4-0 against Cambodia.  Losing three, 2-0 against Singapore, 1-0 against Thailand and 2-1 once again against Thailand.  Their most recent result was a 0-0 away draw with Oman, which was a Asian Cup qualifier.

The matches against Burma, Cambodia, Singapore and Thailand were ASEAN Championship games, Thailand eliminated Indonesia in the semi-finals.             

The draw with Oman is the most impressive result of Indonesia's out of the six matches as well as it being an away match Oman are ranked 50 spots higher than Indonesia at 94.

For the ASEAN Championship Indonesia named a twenty man squad-

Markus Horison  GK

Muhamad Roby  DF

Erol Iba  DF

Fandy Mochtar  DF

Charis Yulianto  DF

Elie Aiboy  FW

Talohu Abdul Mushafy  FW

Aliyudin  FW

Ponaryo Astaman  MF

Ferry Rotinsulu  GK

Budi Sudarsono  FW

Ismed Sofyan  MF

Firman Utina  MF

Syamsul Bachri  MF

Muhammad Ilham  DF

Arif Suyono  MF

Bambang Pamungkas  FW

Isnan Ali  DF 

Irsyad Aras  MF

Nova Arianto  DF

All of the players currently play for Indonesian club teams.

For the Asian Cup qualfying match against Oman four new players, not named in the ASEAN Championship were included for the match day squad-

Boas Theofilus Erwin Salossa  MF  

Hariono  MF

Richardo Salampessy  DF  

Maman Abdurahman  DF 

These four players also play their club football in Indonesia.

It's probable the Indonesian starting 11 and match day squad chosen to play against Australia will come from these 24 players.

Indonesia's most dangerous player will be centre forward Bambang Pamungkas, he is Indonesia's all time leading goal scorer (34) and most capped player (87).  Attacking midfielder/forward Budi Sudarsono will also be dangerous having scored four goals in his last six internationals.

Indonesia are currently coached by Indonesian Benny Dollo.

Match Prediction 

If Australia score an early goal before the 20 minute mark, Australia could get a comfortable 3 or 4 goal win.

If Australia don't score an early goal, 2-1 or 2-0 win in Australia's favour.

If the match is still scoreless approaching 70 minutes narrow 1 nil win to either side or 0-0, 1-1 draw result.         

Pros and Cons of the Culina Move

Today Gold Coast United will be announcing the signing of Jason Culina as their inaugural marquee player.  Jason Culina's decision to return to Australia is fairly easily the biggest move by a player coming to the A-league.  However for all the benefits of this move to Australian football there are some negatives.     

Pro- Culina is a current socceroo and played at the 2006 world cup.  The con to this is you want your best players playing at the highest level possible to them.  The playing level of football at PSV Eindhoven one of the best clubs in Netherlands is higher then it is currently in the A-league. However a counter to the con side of the argument is at the age of 28 and having played for 10 years in Netherlands, Jason Culina has most likely learnt all he could.     

Pro- Coming back to play with Gold Coast United will enable Culina to share his experiences of playing in a top league of Europe with his teammates.  He will also be able to give useful knowledge to any player who is trying to move to a club in Europe.

Con- there are no cons to this, his experience will make his teammates better players, especially the younger players.  As well his knowledge could enable a player to play at a higher level of football at a club in Europe then would of been otherwise possible.

Con- the A-league season ends in February, if the socceroo's qualify for South Africa 2010 there will be a three month gap between the end of the season and the start of the tournament in June.  This would make it difficult for Culina to maintain match fitness before the world cup. Pro- If Culina isn't playing league matches before the tournament there is less chance of him being injured for the world cup.  It may also be possible for Culina to get a loan move to a club in Asia or Europe before the world cup to maintain match fitness.  

Pro- Culina's return to Australia will strengthen the A-league and this will in turn make Australian Football stronger.  There is no con to something that will put Australia football in a stronger position.

Pro- Culina's move to Gold Coast United could be the trigger to more socceroo players in the future returning to the A-league in their late 20's rather then waiting until their 30's.  Con- if more players stop playing at the top level of football possible to them earlier in their careers then the national team will suffer as a result.  Qualifying for the Asian Cup and especially World Cup will become more difficult.

Pro- Culina's move to Cold Coast United to be their marquee player may lead to other clubs signing players that are of the same calibre of Culina other then socceroos.  There would be no cons if the Culina move lead to better players joining the various A-league clubs.  However not all clubs might be in the position financially to do this.

The last pro is with Culina playing in the A-league there will be more media interest and coverage of the A-league.  As well his move could lead to new fans coming to A-league matches. Overall there are more pros than cons to Jason Culina's move to Gold Coast United for the next A-league season.  

                              

Australia beat Brazil in football?!

Well actually the second last time we played Brazil it ended in a one - nil to us, Australia.  It was in June 2001 and the match was played at the Ulsan / Munsu Football Stadium which is located in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.  Why am i talking about this game which secured Australia third place at the 2001 confederations cup?

Because in the Pssst section in the Sport part of the Sunday Age this was written "I mean did you know New Zealand is the reigning beach cricket champion? Surely that's the equivalent of Australia beating Brazil in soccer?"  You would have hoped as a so called sports journalist the writer would have already known about the match in 2001, I mean football is the most popular sport in the world.  Or that he would have had the skill to research the facts from the first paragraph (took me less then five minutes).  From Sunday's effort it would appear not.  

One of the main reasons I started writing this blog was to highlight some of the mistakes the Australian media makes when reporting or commenting about football, which I have refereed to as media mishaps and mistakes.  A website that does a better job at this and has a extensive record of what they refer to as soccerphobia is Das Libero.  If your a fan of the world's game living in Australia then this is a must visit site.                 

   

Win against the Aussies great, African Nations Cup better.

In the past week South Africa achieved one it's greatest sporting accomplishments by winning a cricket series against Australia in Australia for the first time.  However for the majority of South Africans their proudest sport moment remains winning the Africans Nations Cup at home in 1996.

South Africa only became hosts of the tournament after they had to replace the original hosts Kenya.  South Africa were part of group A, with Egypt, Angola and Cameroon.  South Africa went through to the quarter finals as group winners, beating Cameroon, and Angola, losing to Egypt.  Egypt joined them in the quarter finals as the second side from group A.  Zambia and Algeria were the top two teams in group B. Gabon and Zaire (the country now known as Democratic Republic of Congo) were the best from group C and Ghana and Tunisia qualified from group D.

In the quarter finals South Africa then defeated Algeria 2-1 thanks to an 85th minute winner form Moshoeu.  Ghana beat Zaire, Zambia got past Egypt, and Tunisia prevailed in a penalty shoot out against Gabon.  In their semi final South Africa got past Ghana with a comfortable 3-0 victory.  Giving South Africa a chance to win it's first African Cup of Nations in front of their home fans.  In the other semi final Tunisia got past Zambia with a 4-2 win.  

The final was played at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg in front of 80,000 passionate South African fans.  And they were not disappointed thanks to two goals in the space of two minutes, at the 73rd and 75th minute mark from equal leading scorer of the tournament Mark Williams. When captain Neil Tovey lifted the cup, the celebrations began across the nation.