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Tuesday Football
11 March 2008
by Jerrad Peters

Most compelling viewing
Stuttgart 6-3 Werder Bremen

Die Roten finally looked like champions, Saturday. And while the stars would have to align while the bottom fell out from under the six clubs above them in the standings in order for Stuttgart to win a second successive title, qualification for the Champions’ League remains a very real possibility. And, considering their pitiful start to the current Bundesliga campaign, that says something.

By defeating Werder Bremen at Gottlieb-Daimler Stadion, Stuttgart climbed to a season-high seventh-place in the table. In so doing, they finally resembled the opportunistic side which usurped Schalke 04 on the final day of the 2006-2007 schedule and lifted a first championship in 15-years.

Coincidentally, their current run of form was sparked by a pathetic showing at Schalke on February 16 – a third loss in four outings. Granted, they dropped the following contest at home to Hertha Berlin; but in the three matches since, they have taken maximum points while outscoring the opposition a combined 12-6.

Mario Gomez has scored six of the dozen. And with 23-goals from 24-appearances in all competitions, he has quietly become one of the most lethal strikers in Europe. The 22-year-old Germany international bagged a hat-trick in 45-minutes over the two halves. Combining well with both Cacau and Yildiray Basturk, he was a constant menace to the Bremen backline.

That said, the visiting defense was pitiful on the night. Cacau was too much for Naldo to handle throughout the 90-minutes; and Per Mertesacker, the typically dependable centre-half, was twice found out by the relentless Stuttgart attack. Trailing 4-3 with just seven minutes remaining on the referee’s watch, the Bremen captain and Germany international deflected the ball into his own goal after Clemens Fritz’ attempted clearance struck his backside. Six minutes later, the 23-year-old was shown a red card when he tackled Gomez at 20-yards.

Markus Rosenberg’s was the only credible performance from the visiting side. The Sweden international produced the opening goal of the affair in the ninth-minute when he dribbled down the left flank and placed an accurate pass on the head of Hugo Almeida. He also pulled Bremen back into the match after running onto an Aaron Hunt pass and beating Raphael Schafer with a powerful shot in the 77th-minute.

It proved to be false hope, however, as Mertesacker’s own-goal in the 83rd-minute was followed by Cacau’s second of the night just four minutes later. In the end, the 6-3 score flattered the visitors; and Bremen manager Thomas Schaaf will be eagerly awaiting the returns of Torsten Frings, Pierre Wome, and Diego. The latter is also set to miss Sunday’s match with Wolfsburg after being sentenced to a three-game suspension on February 23.

Trailing Bayern Munich by seven points atop the ledger, the gap is likely too great for Bremen to close. Stuttgart, meanwhile, are just two points adrift of sixth-place Karlsruhe and a berth in the Intertoto Cup. A dip in performance from any of Hamburg, Bayer Leverkusen, and Schalke, however, could see Armin Veh’s side in the mix for Champions’ League football by next month.

Notable results
Barcelona 1-2 Villarreal

It’s tough to read the state of things in La Liga at the moment. Neither of the contending clubs has been able to build a sustainable advantage in the standings. When one has suffered a dip in form, the other has tripped up as well. And when one has put a decent run together, it has been imitated by the rival. You’d almost think it was a Bundesliga.

All of that changed over the weekend, however, as Real Madrid moved eight points clear by virtue of a 2-1 win over Espanyol at the Bernabeu. Barcelona, meanwhile, lost by the same scoreline at home to Villarreal.

It was the type of performance that loses championships. The hosts were completely bereft of imagination – starved of ingenuity. The absence of Lionel Messi was sharply felt. But, as the 20-year-old will miss the next five weeks with a hamstring injury, Barcelona had better learn to cope.

Samuel Eto’o’s early attempt was deceiving. The Cameroon international stretched Diego Lopez in the Villarreal goal when he nearly opened the scoring after just two minutes. Rather than a sign of things to come, however, the 26-year-old’s early effort was his side’s best opportunity at goal for more than an hour.

Still, the Catalans retained the ball for most of the initial 20-minutes. And while they rope-a-doped, the visitors earned several chances through Matias Fernandez and Joan Capdevilla against the run of play. Then they struck.

Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdez made an illogical charge at the oncoming Guillermo Franco on the half-hour. Marcos Senna converted the subsequent penalty; and it was match-point for the Yellow Submarine.

But for Xavi’s equalizer, the second-half was a carbon-copy of the first. Barcelona’s possession was meaningless; and Villarreal continued to make deep, penetrating runs on the counter-attack. Recognizing that Thierry Henry had contributed nothing through 65-minutes, Blaugranes manager Frank Rijkaard replaced the Frenchman with 17-year-old Bojan Krkic. The switch momentarily sparked the hosts; and Xavi calmly stroked the ball past Lopez after Andres Iniesta’s superb run down the left in the 67th-minute.

As it happened, it was all they could muster. With just nine-minutes of normal time remaining, Santi Corzola, having been put through by Sebastien Eguren, laid a simple pass to the feet of Jon Dal Tomasson for the winner. The three points put Villarreal on 50-points – just four back of Barcelona. Real Madrid, meanwhile, stretched their lead to eight points.

Inter Milan 2-0 Reggina

You can be forgiven for assuming that Reggina gifted three points to Inter Milan on Saturday. It was, after all, the occasion of the Nerazurri’s Centenary. What better rationale for gift-giving? Of course, considering Roma’s 2-0 win at Napoli, you might say the Amoranto presented their rivals with the Scudetto as well.

Despite the 2-0 win, Inter were dire. That Julio Cesar was man-of-the-match speaks volumes as to the lack of effort from the ten men in front of him. The Brazilian goalkeeper was sensational. In making key saves on Salvatore Aronica and Edgar Barreto in the opening period and stopping Nicola Amorusa in the second, Cesar allowed the earlier goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Nicolas Burdisso to stand as the lone tallies on a very deceptive scoresheet.

Of course, Reggina were diabolical in the attacking third. The buildup play, however effective, was never converted by the forwards. For all the hard work of Franco Brienza, who might have been man-of-the-match had the visitors earned at least a draw, none of Simone Missiroli, Aronica, Barreto, or Amorusa could find the back of the net. And given that Reggina currently 19th-place in Serie A and three points back of safety, they could have used some finishing.

Lyon 4-2 Bordeaux

Had Stuttgart and Werder Bremen not served up a gem, Lyon’s entertaining 4-2 win over Bordeaux might have produced the most compelling viewing of the weekend. Even before kickoff, the script could not have been better. Lyon – on the heels of a disappointing exit from the Champions’ League and struggling in Ligue 1 – appeared ripe for the picking. Bordeaux, conversely, entered the match as the hottest team in France – the beneficiaries of the superb coaching and man-management of rookie boss Laurent Blanc.

Still, the hosts looked every bit the defending six-time champions. Mathieu Bodmer’s brace within the opening 24-minutes set the tone; and Bordeaux visibly struggled to contend with the tempo. Bodmer’s second goal was particularly attractive. After chesting the ball to the ground, he skittered past Soulaymande Diawara – who managed to get a piece of the ball before being beaten by the 25-year-old. After regaining control, Bodmer struck a stunning half-volley past a helpless Ulrich Rame to put Lyon 2-0 ahead.

A bit of luck brought the visitors back into the match, however. From 25-yards, Wendel bent a lovely free-kick past an out-of-position Geoffrey Coupet in the Lyon net. Coupet had also mishandled the positioning of his wall and was completely to blame for the goal. But full credit to Wendel. He took advantage of the mistake and scored his fourth goal in two matches.

Shortly after the break, Karim Benzema restored Lyon’s two-goal lead after releasing a convincing shot which followed a neat piece of interplay between himself and Fred. The 20-yeard-old striker, who has already scored 25-goals this season, bears a stylistic resemblance to a young Ronaldo – such is his pace and control when on the ball.

Unrelenting, Bordeaux were given a lifeline when Jeremy Toulalan brought down Mathieu Chalme inside the area. Fernando Cavenaghi, who had been useless throughout the hour, converted the penalty on 60-minutes and brought the Girondins to within a goal.

The 3-2 scoreline would have been a fair result for both sides; but Kader Keita notched his first tally for Lyon after getting on the end of some good work from Hatim Ben Arfa. The win extends Lyon’s lead in Ligue 1 to six points over Bordeaux. The visitors, meanwhile, remain a narrow four points ahead of third-place Nancy.

Key contributors
Juan Arango

Mallorca were catapulted to 11th-place in La Liga, Sunday, by the hat-trick performance of Juan Fernando Saenz Arango. The Venezuela international bagged his eighth, ninth, and tenth goals of the domestic season as the Balearic club drubbed Recreativo Huelva 7-1 at Estadio Son Moix.

Arango’s first goal opened the scoring in the 18th-minute. After Ariel Ibagaza’s corner-kick was deflected by Jose Carlos Nunes, the 27-year-old midfielder got his head on the ball and nodded it past Stefano Sorrentino. It was the opening of the floodgates. Daniel Guiza put the hosts 2-0 up just four minutes later and scored a second just after the half-hour.

Guiza, whose contribution should not be overlooked, produced Arango’s second goal only moments after the restart. The 27-year-old forward, who earned his first cap for Spain in November against Northern Ireland, put his teammate in the clear for a decisive shot past Sorrentino.

Three minutes later, the treble was complete. This time it was Ibigaza doing the work. His superb effort allowed Arango to run alone in front of Sorrentino and stroke the ball home for the hat-trick.

Mevlut Erding

Turkey and France are in a tug-of-war over Mevlut Erding. The 21-year-old forward, although born in Saint-Claude, has represented Turkey at both the Under-19 and Under-21 levels. He has yet to declare for a senior side, however; and officials from both nations will only have been spurred further by his performance at the weekend.

Erding, however, will have been more concerned with his club’s position in the table than his international status ahead of kickoff at Stade Municipal on Saturday. Entering the match on 28-points and ranked 19th in Ligue-1, the Coupe de France holders unexpectedly found themselves in the relegation zone. With 11 matches remaining on the schedule, the show-down with 18th-place Toulouse was appropriately billed as a do-or-die affair.

Nobody rose to the occasion more than Erding. The youngster had the visitors ahead after just six minutes when he volleyed Michael Isabey’s superb pass beyond the reach of Nicolas Douchez. A quarter-hour later, Sochaux were fully in control when Erding headed Stephane Dalmat’s cross beyond the Toulouse ‘keeper. The win vaulted Sochaux over their hosts and into a deadlock with 17th-place Paris Saint-Germain. As dire as their situation once seemed, Les Lionceaux are just four points back of 14th-place Strasbourg.

Mathieu Bodmer

Olympique Lyonnais dominated their visitors from the get-go on Sunday. Without the superb finishing of Mathieu Bodmer, however, they might well have done a Reggina and provided Bordeaux with an undeserved victory.

The hosts set a frenetic pace from kick-off. Karim Benzema and Kader Keita were extremely active; and Fabio Grosso opened up the opposing defense with deep forays down the left. In the 12th-minute, one of the Italian left-back’s runs resulted in a fine pass to Bodmer. With the ball squared to him, the 25-year-old midfielder had only to deflect it past Ulrich Rame for the opener.

After another dozen minutes, Bodmer was at it again. This time, however, he produced a spectacular solo effort – controlling the active ball before dinking Souleymane Diawara, chesting it to his left foot and unleashing a spectacular volley beyond Rame. It was the goal of the weekend. And it put Lyon in the drivers’ seat to stay.

Man of the weekend
Mario Gomez

While the likes of Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, and Cristiano Ronaldo have never lacked attention or exposure, a fellow twenty-something – Mario Gomez – has been flying under the radar for years. It’s quite remarkable, really. Given his goalscoring record for both club and country, you’d think the 22-year-old would have garnered considerably more publicity in recent years. That’s all about to change. Super Mario will be among the hottest commodities in Europe during transfer season. And Stuttgart, with which he won the Bundesliga last term, are all but resigned to losing him to a bigger club.

The football world might have clued in when Gomez was proclaimed German Footballer of the Year for 2007. Having scored 16-goals in all competitions as a 21-year-old, he was the best player in a very good squad which claimed a first national championship in 15-years. But, like his goal total, his value has surely doubled in the meantime. The 6-foot-2 Germany international has produced nearly a goal-per-game this season – tallying 23-times in 24-appearances. And while Stuttgart crashed out of the Champions’ League in December, he managed three goals in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

Gomez’ hat-trick against Werder Bremen, Saturday, boosted his domestic haul to 14-goals – identical to his record over all of last season. Each was clinical – the type of finishing rarely demonstrated by a player so young. On the first, he accepted Ciprian Marcia back-heel before calmly rounding goalkeeper Tim Wiese and stroking the ball into the back of the net.

Stuttgart, in 7th-place in the Bundesliga after the win, cannot hope to keep Gomez without the spectre of Champions’ League football. Considering that both Juventus and Real Madrid have already inquired about the player, they retain little realistic hope of keeping him in Germany beyond this season.

Madrid are a likely target. Both Raul and Ruud Van Nistelrooy are past their best; and the thought of Gomez partnering Robinho in attack is enough to take the breath away. Claudio Ranieri, meanwhile, is attempting to rebuild the Bianconeri with fresh, young talent; and Gomez would fit the bill nicely. Either way, Stuttgart can expect upwards of 25million Euros in compensation. And Gomez, for his part, can expect a starting position alongside Miroslav Klose when Germany open their EURO 2008 campaign against Poland on June 8.

Your questions
Football fans, and North American footballfans in particular, are often left puzzled by many of thesport’s quirks andpeculiarities. In upcoming editions of my weekly column fortheWinnipeg Free Press, I will be answering your questions directly. While only one or two will be printed in the newspaper, I will do my best to respond to each query sent my way. You can email your questions to jerradpeters@gmail.com.