The Best Fake Competition Idea Ever

OK, I don't know if it really would be the best fake competition idea ever but I certainly needed something to draw the eyeballs in and that's what I came up with.  The genesis of my proposal came from - what else - an IM session between Jeremy and I yesterday where we were discussing, among other things, the insane amount of talent on the Real Madrid bench in the wake of the Ozil signing from Werder Bremen. That got us thinking about the combined talent on the Real Madrid and Man Citeh benches and here's where my twisted mind went from there:

Why doesn't some enterprising entrepreneur create a shadow one month competition (not unlike the Indian Premier League in Cricket) between the four best second teams in the world?  Real Madrid and Manchester City would clearly be the first two teams on the list with Barcalona a likely third.  I'm not sure who the fourth would be this season with Chelsea and Inter Milan having thinned their ranks somewhat over the Summer but I'm sure we can come up with something (maybe Arsenal's reserves). 

Why do this? For a few reasons:

• By locating the tournament strategically, it would be great marketing for football in markets they don't traditionally reach during the regular season.  I'd think India, Japan/Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, and US/Canada would be great places to rotate.  Alternatively, they could pick a resort destination and create a high end event for fans to enjoy as part-spectator event, part-vacation (I'm thinking Las Vegas would be the obvious spot for this).
• By bringing together exceptional talent and (presumably) having the financial power to create a meaningful financial incentive for the club that wins (say $10 Million), the matches would mean something.
• Finally, because the matches would mean something this would give us an opportunity to watch some of the best talents in the world in the competitive situations that they'll be missing out on over the next couple of years as they rot on the benches of their current "super clubs."  Here are some excerpts from those rosters and the players we're likely NOT to see on a regular basis...
• Real Madrid - Ozil, de Maria, van der Vaart, Benezma, L. Diarra, M. Diarra, Drenthe, Carvalho, Gago, etc.;
• Man City - K2, SWP, Adam Johnson, Robinho, Given, Bridge, Lescott, Vieira, Weiss, Micheal Johnson, RSC (for now), Jo, Richards, etc.
• Barcelona - Krkic, Ibrahimovic, Hleb, Keita, Hleb, Abidal, Pedro, and a bunch of kids who are likely to improve;

We could hold all of the matches on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays so as not to compete with league matches across Europe.

The final twist in this twisted idea is that at the end of the tournament, the management team from the winning side must come out to the center of the field to be ritually flogged by contest winners.  Perhaps this would dissuade them from accumulating so much superfluous talent.  At the very least, it would make the supporters of teams like Bremen and Lyon and Everton who used to be able to hold on to one or two exceptional players when they unearthed them feel better that at least their tormentors were suffering some consequences for robbing the footballing worlds of so much talent on a weekly basis.

Just a thought, you may now return to your regularly scheduled day.  Of course you may also contribute your own thoughts on alternative ways to take advantage of all of the talent sitting on the benches of rich teams or to punish those in charge of assembling these too-large squads in creative ways.

Who Is The Player of the Tournament So Far?

My wife and I moved into our new house over the weekend.  Turns out that moving is a lot of work and priorities must be set.  On Saturday morning with a house full of boxes, we navigated our new neighborhood and found a gigantic sports bar that was showing the game to very few people watching.  My wife was bitterly disappointed that Argentina showed so poorly (if I hadn't mentioned it, she spent a lot of time in Argentina while she was in high school and college so her second favorite national team after the US is Argentina) there wasn't much hope of breaking away from the moving chores for the later match.  This led to more text messages than usual between me and Jeremy over the course of Spain/Paraguay. 

Aside from the insanity of the two missed PKs and the one re-called make in-between, the conversation turned to the following topic..."Who is the man of the tournament thus far?"  We're down to four teams and unless someone who has played reasonably well to this point has an incredible "Final Four" then we probably already have our finalists.  In my mind, the obvious candidates are (in no particular order):

1. Mueller, GER - He won't get to play in the semi-final but he's been in the right place at the right time all tournament.  He doesn't have the outrageous skill of a Ronaldo or a Messi but he always seems to be in the right place, make the right pass, strike the ball solidly, and make something happen in a way that neither Ronaldo nor Messi were able to do in this tournament.
2. Sneijder, HOL - I can't say I love his game but it certainly has been effective for the Dutch thus far.  Maybe the Special One has rubbed off on him but he seems to be more able to stay in control and keep his team together than in years past.
3. Forlan, URU - I think I've enjoyed watching him play more than any other single player in the tournament.  Uruguay haven't had a very difficult road to the semis but you can hardly blame that on Forlan.  He has been everywhere showing great passing, strong set pieces, orchestration in the attacking half of midfield, and a vicious strike from distance.  Tell me again why striker-shy ManYoo let this guy go.
4. Villa, SPA - Spain hasn't been all that impressive really but they've won and he's scored the goals so hard not to put him in the conversation.

So, who is my pick for my man of the tournament so far? One of this blog's favorite gunners (not to be confused with Gunners) from last season's Premier League Fantasy season.  That's right, Mr. Kevin Prince Boateng.  What you say? You're picking a guy who went out in the Quarterfinals to a back water South American team? Yup.


Why KPB? His has been by far the greatest impact in the tournament.  His influence on this tournament is so great that he started making it in May.  I'm referring, of course, to the tackle that crocked Michael Ballack and left Mueller and Ozil with the freedom to run wild in midfield.  If you think that the confidence and flair that those two are playing with for Germany would have come out with Old Man Ballack getting starts for Lifetime Achievement as opposed to current skill/capability then you're crazy.  Ballack's shadow would have been cast over the entire German side and I'm guessing they would have gone out early.  With Ballack gone, Mueller and Ozil could take control and not worry about sharing the spaces in the center of the midfield with the now-plodding, toothless veteran. 

Oh yeah, outside of his unintentional influence on the tournament, Boateng also scored a critical goal that helped Ghana into the Quarterfinals and provided a lot of the attacking impetus that the Black Stars were missing with Michael Essien unavailable due to injury/the Chelsea Curse.


So, for all those things, congratulate KPB for winning the 2010 Fantasy Blog Man of the Tournament Award (at least until someone does something not to be believed in the semi-finals and/or finals).

World Cup 2010 - Injured Ballack out of World Cup

Today *today* *today*... I consider myself *myself* *myself*...

Germany captain Michal Ballack has been ruled out of the World Cup after injuring his ankle in Chelsea's FA Cup final win over Portsmouth.

The German Football Federation (DFB) said Ballack underwent a scan on Monday which showed that he had partially torn a ligament in his right leg.

They said his right ankle would be placed in a cast and he would have to wear a special shoe for two weeks once the cast had been removed.

The DFB said it would be eight weeks before he could resume training. The World Cup starts in South Africa on June 11.

This is a blow to Germany as Ballack is their captain, and could have started for them in the holding midfielder position that he's played for Chelsea since Mikel's knee injury.

But let's not get carried away. It's a personal tragedy for Ballack who misses out. But he was only starting for Chelsea because of Mikel's injury. And if Germany want an aging warrior in that role they probably should have called up Torsten Frings, who just had a great season at Werder Bremen. Instead, we're likely to see Schweinsteiger as the deep-lying middie. It's a role he's taken to quite well at Bayern this season, and that will likely give the Germans a little more dynamism in their attack.

Just be sure to note Schweinsteiger's shift for fantasy World Cup 2010 play. He'll be devalued compared to previous seasons.

And speaking of fantasy World Cup 2010 and successful Bremen midfielders... what this really does is open the door (even further) for Mesut Özil to come in and place his mark on this team and this tournament. He's going to be Germany's attacking hub, and I look to him to be one of this summer's emerging stars.