Breaking News: Fernando Torres Sucks

Since departing Anfield at the end of the January transfer window, Fernando Torres has been talking more about Liverpool Football Club than some of the current players seem to.  Torres has spoken of turmoil at the club, his desire to win trophies and play in the Champions League.

Fair enough, this is a player that scored the winning goal for Spain at Euro 2008 and was part of the World Cup winning squad in South Africa.  Part of the squad meaning his poor form and nagging injuries kept him from being a contributor.  In 2008 Torres was a player in the ascent.  Possibly the best striker in the world at the

time, he bagged 33 goals in all competitions and made 46 appearances.  That return proved the money Liverpool spent was well worth it.  Some considered it a steal and the Anfield faithful were in love.

Happy days indeed.  The following season his appearances dropped to 38 and his goal tally to 17.  In 2009-2010 his appearances again declined to 32 while his goals trended upwards - 22 in total - but still well off that magical 2007-2008 run of form.  You know where I am going with this.  2010-2011 the injuries limited Torres to 26 appearances and 9 goals for Liverpool.  This was a player some felt was priceless at one point and now was highly injury prone, clearly not enjoying his football and regularly the focus of leaked reports that a move was imminent.

Where am I going with this?  You still have ask?

Torres was sulking on the pitch during the early part of this season with Liverpool (and some would say he is doing the same at Stamford Bridge).  He was blatantly using the ownership situation at Anfield to cover up his poor form.  Torres knows he is no longer the player from 2008.  We've seen this happen to young players before.  Brazilians seem most prone to flaming out by their late 20s as the matches pile up, the travel for domestic league takes its toll, Champions League matches and international appearances wears on them and next thing you know they are an afterthought.  A "could have been amongst the best" type of story. 

Wayne Rooney has been dealing with these accusations throughout the season but I think it is more obvious with Torres.  He is not just out of form but looks like he does not want to be playing football.  He got the move he supposedly desired most - to Chelsea Football Club where he will have the owner's finances to buy any support he needs, Champions League football and the global city to showcase his skill.

He is off the pace whenever he plays.  Has been that way for some time.  Torres is probably still nowhere near 100% fit but even if he were the attitude he displays proves Liverpool were right in selling when they did.  Bringing in a hungry Luis Suarez and the emerging Andy Carroll to replace a pissy Spaniard for a small cost to them was brilliant business.  Let Chelsea figure out what is wrong with Torres.  Let "role models" like Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka lead him back to his '08 form.

And there he was on the bench against FC Copenhagen midweek being "rested" for Chelsea's fixture against Manchester City this weekend.  The striker made an appearance in the 68th minute, plodded around the pitch for the remainder of the match and once again failed to score.  Should he bag a goal against City this weekend it does not mean he has turned a corner and regained form.

Should he come up with a massive goal against Manchester United in the Champions League quarter finals it would go some way to restoring his confidence.  Perhaps even his reputation.  But I don't see that happening.  Torres may be too far gone to re-emerge as one of the world's best.  David Villa has eclipsed him by a country mile as the best Spanish striker of this generation.

Torres may not be first choice at club or for country any longer.  This is his own doing.  He is not mentally strong enough to rehab from injuries.  He is not mentally strong enough to shake off poor form and put the ball in the back of the net.  2008 was not so long ago in the hearts of Spanish football fans. 

2008 is ancient times when you try to remember the last time Fernando Torres simply could not be defended.

We All Live in a Leo Messi World

Four teams have booked their spot in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Below I break down of those four, who is the most appealing and least appealing to match up against.

Schalke 04
Assuming that FC Copenhagen does not get past Chelsea, I think Schalke are the side most clubs would hope to draw. They are struggling in the German Bundesliga, and have a manager in Felix Magath that is on the hot seat. While topping their group - that included Lyon - and having a mighty home crowd that would intimidate any visiting club I cannot see how they get past any club likely to progress.

I have always been a fan of Raul and think it is terrific that he has found form in Gelsenkirchen. And Jefferson Farfan is an exciting player. Both would need to have phenomenal performances over two legs and hope to find a goal because their defense is not going to shut out any of the remaining clubs.

Shakhtar Donetsk
There are dozens of world famous, very rich professional athletes hoping their company hands them an all expenses paid trip to the Ukrainian city of Donetsk - the deepest outpost in UEFA - to take on FC Shakhtar Donetsk. So they topped a group that included Arsenal and thrashed AS Roma in the Round of 16. Arsenal treat the Group Stages of the Champions League with the same level of urgency they show the early rounds of the Carling Cup. And Roma are in shambles - which is pretty much par for the course lately at the Italian club.

Shakhtar have a collection of exciting players - Douglas Costa, Luiz Adriano, Eduardo - and are steady at the back. Their only loss in the Group Stages a 5-1 defeat against Arsenal. Managed by Mircea Lucescu they have as quality of a leader as any team left in the competition. He did lead this relative unknown, yet very wealthy club to the then UEFA Cup title in 2009.

And yet, I don't see them worrying the giants of European football that could draw them in the quarters. Make no mistake, this is a club that will regularly be making knock-out stage appearances moving forward. My opinion is that a lack of experience in 2011 will keep them from moving on.

Tottenham Hotspur
I love that this English club knocked out the Italian giants AC Milan. And not just because I think Italian football is boring and a quick way to put me to sleep on a Sunday afternoon. I love that some new English blood is moving on, that their North London rival Arsenal will be watching on TV and because it means seeing Rafael van der Vaart, Gareth Bale and the maturing before our eyes Sandro play deeper into the greatest competition known to man. van der Vaart has been one of the best signings in the Premier League in the past 5 or 6 seasons. He has done wonders for the Spurs' attack and it is a shame he was wasted in Madrid when he could have been knocking them in for a club that knows how to use strikers of immense talent.


No club in Europe will want Spurs right now. The prospect of going to White Hart Lane and hearing how those supporters get behind the players on the pitch is why I love football. The rousing "COME ON YOU SPURS" that rang out all night against Milan had the hairs on my neck standing up. While they've not been anywhere near consistent at the back in domestic play, the club defended like true brave hearts in the home leg to shut out a Milan side that was deploying Ibrahimovic, Pato and Robinho in all out attack for 90+ minutes.

I have zero clue if this run can go on. But Spurs topped a group that included Inter Milan - reigning European champions - and are the prototype of the "can match up with anyone in the world on any given night" side. They may not even qualify for the competition next year so expect Spurs to go all out in the quarters. If they stay fit and get a good draw (meaning not Barcelona) this is a side that I would bet on booking a semi-final spot.

Barcelona

LOL - Best team I've ever seen in my life. Messi is God.

Negative-Land

If you have paid any attention to football over the past 5 years you saw this coming. Barcelona being the most attacking side the last half decade against Chelsea, arguably the most negative footballing club to have climbed the ranks to become a “big club”. You laughed at people predicting a blow-out and you contemplated what it will be like sitting through a choppy 90-minutes of scoreless football.

Chelsea’s two EPL titles trump Barca’s two La Liga titles on the basis that the EPL is the superior and more watched league. That being said, Barca has the European Championship that Chelsea so desperately crave. They have gone about collecting their trophy haul the latter half of the decade in very different ways.

Chelsea has bored their own fans, billionaire owner and neutrals to tears while filling their cabinet with silverware under Jose Mourinho. The only difference between Mourinho’s Chelsea and the Sam Allardyce managed Bolton sides were Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba (sorry Kevin Davies and Kevin Nolan). What I am saying is that Chelsea were and continue to be a highly unattractive side that wins.

When someone tries to tinker with that formula – Scolari – the squad falls down the table and people lose their jobs. Hiddink is very much an older version of Mourinho. I am certain he explained very plainly to Drogba that he will get 2-3 chances at the Nou Camp. That if he is to score it will be due his ability to finish one of those chances or create something out of nothing. Drogba failed to finish his one clear opportunity while Chelsea spent the rest of the 90 minutes ignoring him as they fouled Barca and clogged the mid-field.

VoF NOTE: Drogba is a monster. A physical freak and one of the best 3 strikers on the planet when hitting form and not pouting / injured. It is incredibly disheartening to watch a player of this magnitude wasted in that Chelsea lineup. Especially on a European night in the Nou Camp.

Barca meanwhile has given the world a true treat whenever they take the pitch for the last several years. Frank Rikjaard presented us a Ronaldinho in his prime, a young Leo Messi and the likes of Ludovic Giuli and Henrik Larrson. When Ronaldinho lost form, Larrson went back to Sweden, Guili returned to Paris and the club failed to continue dominance over Real Madrid they looked to Pep Guardiola.

And under the ex-Barca captain we’ve witnessed Messi emerge as the co-greatest player alive we all thought he could become. We’ve witnessed Xavi and Andres Inesta become mid-field sensations while Thierry Henry has shown that he can still call upon that legendary form he so regularly displayed with Arsenal. Tune into Gol TV and on any given weekend you can see Barca knock in 4-6 goals and string together passing sequences that make you scrap your jaw off the floor.

But Barca has not overwhelmed their fans with such a trophy haul that they can be described as the “Best Side La Liga Has Witnessed This Decade”. You cannot overlook Real Madrid’s back-to-back domestic titles Valencia’s streak that landed Rafa Benitez a gig at Anfield and Sevilla’s 2 UEFA Cups. Barca have attacked, attacked and attacked but Liverpool and Chelsea have also eliminated them in the Champions League in recent years.

So for all they hype, is being the best in La Liga really only roughly a UEFA Cup qualifying spot in the EPL table? Does negative football trump an actual attempt to construct The Beautiful Game over a 90-minute period?

The first leg of this year’s Champions League semi-final would indicate so. And when these two sides turn up for the second leg at Stamford Bridge Guus Hiddink will gladly take a 0-0 scoreline into a penalty shoot out.

Do You Have A Flag?

If you are from Spain it is flying at half-mast.

If you are from Italy the answer is no.

Tonight the English Premier League confirmed once again that it is the dominant league in the world.  Serie A and La Liga have a huge distance to make up.  

Do not let the Barcelona result at Camp Nou over French champion Lyon fool you.  The Catalan club is the best of an average bunch.  Real Madrid were thrashed by the "Red Hurricane" at Anfield while Atletico Madrid could not get past Porto.  Only Villareal will go forward along with Barca to the quarterfinal draw.  

And every team will be hoping they draw the Yellow Submarines.

Inter Milan were outclassed over two legs against Manchester United.  The gulf in talent was so obvious that Jose Mourinho must have been toasting Sir Alex after the match for not drubbing them by 5 or 6 goals.  The supposed "best player in the world" Zlatan Ibrahimovic was invisible.  The Inter defense were in shambles for most of the match as Ryan Giggs ran through them.  Not Ronaldo or Rooney - both were excellent as well - but the 36 year old Giggs!

Chelsea are reborn under Guus Hiddink and Juventus looked a side that knew it was a matter of time before the wheels came off.  Even when Del Piero netted the penalty you never believed Juve were going to pull it off.  Chelsea looked like the squad of a few years ago when they could just turn on the championship form whenever it was needed.  They did so again on Tuesday and earned their spot.

Finally, Arsenal knocked off Roma in Rome on penalties.  Vein of Form felt the most likely of the English sides to go would be Arsenal.   This was an even match-up.  Both sides in a fight to qualify for next season's Champions League right now and not a great deal between them after the first leg.  But the English came through again when needed.  

And there is the difference.  When the English clubs saw the moment called for a bit of greatness they were capable of rising to the occasion.  The Italian clubs could not.  They wilted under the pressure and it was evident they don't have the talent or the coaching to overcome the Big 4 from England.

Detractors will say the Champions League is boring.  I think the best football teams on the planet are still in the competition so it is anything but boring.

Throw in Bayern Munich, Porto and Barcelona and you have a very interesting mix.  Even Villareal could surprise someone in the quarters.  We just don't know who will be healthy when the next matches kick off.

We do know that after tonight no one can doubt where the best football in Europe is being played.

Sporting in for Another Bruising?

I will argue that the Bayern Munich thumping of Sporting Lisbon in Lisbon is the most unbelievable result from the first leg of the Round of 16.  Five away goals from a Bayern Munich club that hasn't exactly overwhelmed in the Bundesliga this season.  In fact, they've been an overwhelming disappointment.

In the Champions League group stage, if a team goes to a minnow country like Denmark, Belgium or Ukraine and puts 5 goals away it is a big story for the day.  But to do that in the final 16 is insane!  

I look at it this way:  Had Liverpool put away a quarter of their chances over the previous 7 or 8 matches they would be on level points with Manchester United.  So, for Bayern Munich to have been so lethal and taken advantage of all their chances is truly amazing.  

But how great would it be in Sporting Lisbon came back?  What an amazing story this could be.  I won't watch this match.  However, I'd be lying if I said I would not be thinking throughout the day how much I would love to see a comeback of that magnitude.  It could happen.  It probably won't happen.  But I am not going to write it off entirely.

Vein of Form predictions to go through:  Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Chelsea, Villareal, Porto, Arsenal, Barcelona, Inter Milan

Yossi Good-Bye & I Say Goal

I am glad that Rafa Benitez does not have an ear piece that links him to a direct feed to my soul during matches. Because that would mean during last night's epic triumph in Madrid, he would have heard my soul demanding that Yossi Benayoun be taken off at half-time.

The reason I wanted Benayoun taken off is that I could not endure another poorly weighted pass in the area that killed another Liverpool attack. I was losing a piece of my soul with each Benayoun touch of the ball. And I could not endure much more.

Benayoun would make my Top 3 Least Liked Liverpool Players list right now. I don't believe he is a player that belongs in the squad of a club that has ambitions of winning a league title. I don't believe Benayoun would make the bench on any of the following: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa.

For the record, my Top 3 LLLP are: 1. Ryan Babel 2. Benayoun 3. Andrea Dossena

This list is posted for all to observe at my desk at the Vein of Form offices and I could make a long post backing up my argument for each of these players.

But this post is about last night's victory. And about the genius of Rafa Benitez. Not about Benayoun's 82nd minute header that he drove past Iker Casillas - whom I believe is the best 'keeper in the world.

Yes, Benitez is a genius and a manager with a heart of oak. During his time at Liverpool he has won a Champions League trophy with possibly the worst squad to ever win the Champions League. He has gotten to another CL final and lost in a semi-final that were it not for a John Arne Riise own goal in the first leg would have seen him manage the club in 3 CL finals. In addition, he has won an FA Cup trophy and currently has Liverpool second in the table. They are 7 points behind Manchester United as I write this. They will probably not win the league but are as close to re-claiming that trophy as they have ever been in the past 19 years.

That being said, I cannot get over the disappointment of home draws with Hull, Stoke, Fulham, West Ham and Manchester City. Those results are the reason Liverpool are not going to get their hands on the league trophy.

But Benitez has still managed to overcome off-the-pitch distractions from his no-nothing owners and the How-Do-I-Still-Have-A-Job Rick Parry.

Without him in charge last night Liverpool would have suffered a defeat. I believe this. He was without Steven Gerrard - the best box-to-box player in the world - and Fernando Torres could have come off at half-time as his injured ankle rendered him ineffective (So dangerous is Torres that he was left on because playing on one good ankle makes him better than most strikers in the world).

Benitez got a Man of the Match performance out of Fabio Aurelio, his back line defended like lions (again) and he left Benayoun on the pitch when most would have gotten irritated with his inability to produce the end product: a quality pass or a pre-82nd minute strike.

And now Liverpool will take an away goal lead to Anfield and Real Madrid will know they are up against all odds. Were this Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal or a Mourinho led Inter Milan I would be worried. But this is a staggering Real Madrid side that can claim Arjen Robben as their most gutty player (HA!). Not to mention a manager in Juande Ramos that is merely a caretaker at this point.

Benitez sent a message to the owners: You cannot win this competition without me with this squad.

Benitez sent a message to Real Madrid's board: You cannot beat me so you might as well pay me.

A glorious European night for Liverpool and their manager. A manager that is 2-3 quality players away from returning Liverpool to the top of the English Premier League. Any owners with the slightest football knowledge can see that and will give him the contract and funding he so deserves.

Oh, Knowledeable Owners, where are you?