Monthly Archives: August 2016

He had everything a football fan can dream about. He had contracts with the biggest clubs in South America, he had lots of girls, money and glory. But the only thing he didn’t have was football skills! He is Carlos Henrique Raposo “Kaiser” and his story is the greatest football fraud story ever!

To begin with, in 1979, at the age of 16, Raposo signed his first professional contract for the Mexican team Puebla – one of the biggest teams in Mexico! Obviously, he was a little bit talented, but not enough for the first-team football. So, after 3 months, no official matches and just 2-3 friendly games, Puebla released him, because the teenager wasn’t good enough for the team.

However, “Kaiser” didn’t give up, because his dream was to be a famous football star. His family was very poor and Carlos just wanted to be a rich guy. That’s why he desperately wanted to take the easiest way to become rich – becoming a footballer!

To continue with, Carlos Raposo was maybe one of the best liars in the world. He met in a disco the Brazilian football stars – Renato Gaucho and Carlos Alberto Torres. He lied them that he is a very good striker, but can’t find a team to play for. So, Renato and Carlos Alberto spoke with Botafogo’s chiefs and Raposo rapidly found his new team.

In the very beginning of his career at Botafogo, Carlos Raposo said that he needed time to get in form. He looked very strong physically, so the coaches agreed with the conditions of the forward, as they thought Raposo would be very helpful to the team with his stamina. But then, Raposo pretended to be injured and after just several months he left the club, without playing a single minute for Botafogo.

However, he took the salaries and started to look for a new challenge in his career. But, this time he needed another lie… Raposo spoke in front of other football stars that he had become the winner of the Copa Libertadores with the Argentinian club Independiente. His words were proven with a call from Argentina and a small team photo, he took off from his pocket. When asked, why you left the club, he said that they haven’t paid him well.

Then, it was really difficult to be checked whether Raposo’s words were the truth. So, he was given a chance to sign 6-months contract with Flamengo. The coaches, then, understood they have made a big mistake, but they had nothing to do, but wait until the end of the contract and see how Raposo takes his “deserved” salary.

And after you have been part of Puebla, Botafogo and Flamengo, then it’s much easier for you to find a new club! In 1986, Gazelec Ajaccio signed the “goal-scoring machine”. And in the night he was introduced to the French fans, Raposo had to shoot towards the goal with 10 balls, but he was really clever and gave all the balls to the fans! Then, the scheme was the same – time for preparation and then injury…

Do you think he retired after this? Of course, NO! During all these years, Raposo “Kaiser” had lots of friends – footballers, coaches, journalists. One of his friends, who was a journalist wrote an article about him, and his great goal-scoring abilities. The journalist also wrote that Raposo has become the top goal-scorer in France!

After such an article, it was very easy for Carlos Raposo to find a new team. This time it was Bangu Atletico Club. He easily became the owner’s pet, because Raposo looked like the owner’s favourite player Renato Gaucho.

But, the owner’s patience came to an end after 3-4 months, in which Raposo didn’t appear on the pitch even once – he was just practicing and having muscle problems. The chairman ordered to the coach to get him on the pitch in one match, which was terrible for Bangu – 0-2 at the break. But, as I told you Raposo was very clever and after he saw that he will be uncovered, he took advantage of the situation. He heard the fans booing and instead of coming on the pitch, he went to the public and started to yell at it. As a result, a furious fan started a fight with the striker. But Raposo was very strong physically and beat the fan.

Then, asked by the owner what was he doing, Carlos Raposo said that he was defending the honour of the owner, because the fans had sworn at him! After this, the owner offered him a new 6-months contract! Raposo even recorded a match for Bangu, coming on in the 80th minute of a league game. However, that was the only match in his career, which lasted 12 years!

After his longest contract – Carlos Raposo signed also for Fluminense, Vasco da Gama, El Paso Sexshooters and America (RJ), before hanging on the boots! What a career! What a great football star! What a legend!

Now, Carlos Raposo “Kaiser” is 53 years old and he is still laughing when he is speaking about his career. Nobody hates him and everyone is enjoying the former footballer’s great stories!

Sometimes, in football, you just aren’t lucky. Shane Duffy of Blackburn Rovers, who took part in the Euro 2016 with the Republic of Ireland had a nightmare start of the season. On the opening day of The Championship, his team Blackburn lost at home to Norwich City 1-4 – not a good result when you are a defender of the team.

But, after the bad start, Duffy was glad to see his team proceed to the next round of the Capital One Cup after a 3-1 victory against Mansfield Town away from home. The League 2 side has just equalized to 1-1, when Shane Duffy scored a great header for 2-1. Rovers maintained their victory with a 3rd goal until the end of the game.

So, after the second official game of the season, it looked like everything is fine for the Irish defender. But, then his team conceded another 3 goals in the visit to Wigan Athletic. And guess who scored the third goal for Wigan. Yes, Duffy found his own net. But that’s not everything. He was even more “impressive” in the Rovers’ next league match against Cardiff City. The centre back scored 2 more own goals in just 6 minutes in the first half of the game. Moreover, he was sent off late in the game, making the task almost impossible for his team… And Blackburn, eventually lost again.

Logically, Shane Duffy was not selected for Blackburn in the fourth round against Burton Albion and the result came! Rovers finished with a 2-2 draw, which meant they recorded their first point this season.

Duffy’s record so far:

However, Shane Duffy is not that bad. He returned in the match against Crewe Alexandra in the 2nd round of the Capital One Cup and scored again the winning goal (4-3 for Rovers after extra time). So, Shane Duffy’s record after just a few weeks from the beginning of the season is: 5 matches played, 2 goals scored, 3 own goals scored, 13 goals conceded by his team, 3 yellow cards and 1 red card. Very, very impressive – for sure, when Shane Duffy is on the pitch, the match will never be boring! So, I can’t wait to see him playing again in the Championship for Blackburn Rovers and hope this time he will find the opponents’ net, unless he gets confused.

There have been 20 editions of the FIFA World Cup, 80 nations have taken part at least once in the tournament (including former countries). Since the first edition of the World Cup in 1930, the tournament has become the most prestigious football competition in the world!

The Beginning (1930):

The host nation of the first ever World Cup has been held in Uruguay. The Uruguayans have been considered as the biggest favourites of the tournament, as they have won the Olympics football tournament twice in a row (1924 in Paris and 1928 in Amsterdam). There have been 13 teams in 4 groups, the winner of each group has proceeded to the semi-finals of the competition. So, the semi-finalists of the tournament have been Uruguay, Yugoslavia, Argentina and USA. Logically the best teams of the tournament – Argentina and Uruguay have reached the final game, which has been won by the Uruguayans (the strongest team at that moment). The top goal-scorer of the first ever World Cup has become Guillermo Stabile, who has bagged at least one goal in every game he has taken part in (8 goals in 4 matches).

The Champions:

To begin with, Selecao have taken part in all the 20 World Cup tournaments so far! The most entitled nation is Brazil. Selecao has won the World Cup on 5 occasions. The first World Cup title for Brazil came in 1958 in Sweden, when the 18-year-old Pele lifted the trophy with his country! Then, the Brazilians easily became the rulers of world football. They retained the title 4 years later in the next edition in Chile. Pele, himself managed to lift the trophy on one more occasion – in 1970 (The World Cup in Mexico). After the great successes with Pele, Garrincha, Vava and many other great players, Brazil had to wait until 1994 to win the World Cup again! Selecao beat Italy on penalties in the USA, to win the fourth title in their history. The last big success for Brazil was in 2002, when there were stars like Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho in the squad. They smashed every single team on the road to the final, where they beat 2-0 Germany with 2 goals, scored by Ronaldo. Selecao have also become the runners-up twice (1950 and 1998) and have won the third place two times. Brazil have left in 4th place on two occasions.

The second best teams in World Cups are Italy (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006) and Germany (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014). Both nations have won the competition on 4 occasions. The Germans have lost 4 final matches, while the Italians have been defeated in the final twice.

Germany’s first World Cup title in 1954 is the most legendary one, because the Germans were the total underdogs against the goal-scoring machines from Hungary. The final of the competition is called “The miracle in Bern”. That’s because Hungary smashed Germany (West Germany at that time) 8-3 in the group stage and nobody believed the Germans can do something to stop Puskas, Kocsis and the other Hungarian forwards in the final game. Moreover, Hungary took the lead by 2-0 after just 8 minutes of playing time. But, Germany are famous for their team spirit and that was the first time they proved it. Just 10 minutes after Germany were 2-0 behind, they managed to equalize! In the 84th minute Rahn scored the winning goal. 3-2 for Germany!

The Italians’ most significant performance in a World Cup tournament was in 1982 (Spain). The Azzurri struggled a lot in the first group stage, finishing in 2nd position with 3 draws (against Poland, Cameroon and Peru). But, then in the second group stage of the competition, Italy showed their real face! Firstly, they beat Argentina 2-1. Then, the star of Paolo Rossi started to shine. Italy have never played in such a dramatic and unbelievable game, like this against Brazil. Zico and Socrates pulled the strings in midfield for the Brazilians, who had one of the strongest teams in the tournament. But, Paolo Rossi bagged a hat-trick and Dino Zoff saved a lot of goal-scoring chances, to secure the 3-2 victory for Italy, which meant that the Azzurri headed to the semi-finals! After such a victory, the semi-final against Poland seemed like an easy task. Rossi scored another two goals to see his team in the final. The Italians won their 3rd title after a 3-1 victory against West Germany.

Argentina and Uruguay are with 2 World Cup titles each. As we spoke about Uruguay earlier, now we will pay tribute to the Argentinians. The first time, Albiceleste won the World Cup was in 1978 (as the host nation) and the second in 1986 (in Mexico). The second World Cup title for Argentina will be remembered for Maradona’s “God’s hand”. The Argentinians won their group after victories against South Korea and Bulgaria and a draw against Italy. Then, Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 in the Round of 16, before the legendary quarter final against England. Diego Maradona was doing whatever he wants with the ball on his feet. He was dribbling past all the English defenders. But, the Argentinian magician scored the first goal of the game with his hand, which wasn’t seen by any of the referees. Maradona scored another goal a few minutes later, after going through all the English defenders. Lineker scored a goal for England late in the game, but that wasn’t enough for The Three Lions. Then, Argentina beat Belgium 2-0 in the semi-final match and outsmarted West Germany in the final by 3-2.

We must also say a few words about the nations, which have become the World Cup champions just once. These teams are France (1998), England (1966) and Spain (2010).

France’s biggest success came in 1998, when they were the host nation. The Blues had really good players in their squad. Laurent Blanc, Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry and Didier Deschamps were the key reasons for France’s trophy. We must pay attention to the final match against Brazil, in which The Blues smashed their opponents 3-0, with two header goals, scored by Zinedine Zidane. However, there are still a lot of conspiracy theories about the French victory. But, we mustn’t decry them!

England’s one and only World Cup title came in 1966. The Three Lions started with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay. Then, the Englishmen beat 2-0 Mexico and France. In the quarterfinals, they recorded a very difficult 1-0 victory against Argentina with Hurst’s only goal of the match, 12 minutes before the final whistle. Bobby Charlton secured the victory against Portugal in the semi-final, with his two goals. Eusebio could score only once against The Three Lions. England’s most dramatic game of the tournament was in the final against West Germany. The Germans led early in the match, but Hurst equalized in the 18th minute. Pieters turned thing around 12 minutes before the final whistle, but Weber equalized for Germany in the 89th minute! And here is the most controversial moment in the history of the English football! The referee counted the Hurst’s goal, which is still analyzed by the specialists. The forward shot towards Germans’goal, but his shot hit the bar, and the ball thumped on the goal line. However, Hurst scored his hat-trick in the extra time, England won 4-2 and The Three Lions won their first World Cup title!

The third nation with just one World Cup trophy is Spain. La Furia Roja were the total dominants in football from 2008 until 2012, when they also won The European Championship twice. The Spaniards lost their first game to Switzerland 0-1. But, since this defeat, they have recorded 6 victories in a row, which meant that they became the World champions! It’s interesting that Spain won all their knockout matches with the score of 1-0 (vs. Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and Holland in the final).

Other successful nations:

The unluckiest nation, when it’s up to World Cups, is Holland! The Dutchmen have lost 3 finals (1974, 1978 and 2010), without having won the World Cup. They have also become the third-placed team in 2014 and the fourth best nation in 1998. The best Dutch player ever Johan Cruyff was an integral part of the team in 1974, but the forward couldn’t lift the most prestigious trophy in football.

The biggest disappointment leaves to Hungary and their classic team, which lost the final to West Germany in 1954. The Hungarians have lost another final in 1938 (to Italy). The other nations, which have reached the final match, but have never become the champions are Czechoslovakia (1934 and 1962) and Sweden in 1958 (as the host nation).

The Goal-scorers:

The nation, which have scored the most goals in World Cups is Germany with 224, but the Brazilians have scored just 3 goals less. So, no wonders about the rankings of the top goal-scorers ever. Miroslav Klose of Germany is the best goal-scorer with 16 goals. The forward took part in 4 World Cups (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014), won the trophy in 2014, lost the final in 2002 and helped his team win the third place in 2006 and 2010.

The second best scorer remains the Brazilian Ronaldo, who has scored 15. He held the first place, until the last World Cup (2014), when Klose scored twice and left the Brazilian behind him.

1. Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 16 goals;
2. Ronaldo (Brazil) – 15 goals;
3. Gerd Muller (West Germany) – 14 goals;
4. Just Fontaine (France) – 13 goals;
5. Pele (Brazil) – 12 goals;
6. Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11 goals (scored in just 5 matches – 2.20 goals per game on average);
   Jurgen Klinsmann – 11 goals.

Is this insane – a football player to cost €105 m.? If we take a look back in the past, we can see Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale costed very close amount to Real Madrid, but when we talk about the Portuguese – he was a complete goal-scoring machine, who continues winning trophies for his teams and is an integral part of the team, because the building of the starting eleven starts from him!

Paul Pogba is a very, very good midfielder. But, his price is much, much higher, than he really costs! However, Jose Mourinho really doesn’t care about the price. He knows that he needs the player and he knows that Manchester United can afford to buy Pogba! Nothing else really matters for the Portuguese manager. Mourinho also knows that with the 4 complete football players he bought this summer, he will be able to win trophies. That’s why The Special One is so successful in football, because he knows what “tools” he need to win everything possible.

The former Manchester United midfielder, Paul Scholes, also thinks that the amount is too big for Paul Pogba. Scholes said that it is unduly to buy such a player for over €100 m., despite he is so talented.

To continue with, the French midfielder, who took part in the final of the Euro 2016, was Manchester United’s player 4 years ago, but didn’t sign a new contract at the end of season 2011/12 and joined Juventus with a free transfer. Since then, the Frenchman has become a world class player and was one of the key figures for the Bianconeri.

At both ends, now nobody talks about Ronaldo’s transfer and the amount Real Madrid paid to Manchester United. So, I think after a few years, no one will pay such attention to Pogba’s transfer from Juventus to The Red Devils.

It is always difficult to find a world class striker for your team, especially if you are Arsene Wenger. The French manager of Arsenal has always had problems when he must find a classy forward. Here is a list, full of examples how Wenger has failed to sign his transfer targets during the past several years.

According to the British press, Arsenal have tried to sign the Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez in 2013. Wenger has offered to the Merseysiders £40 m. But, The Reds have decided to keep their world class forward. Wenger is still wondering what would have happened if Suarez have joined The Gunners…

Then, the French manager decided to try his luck with the Argentinian goal-scoring machine Gonzalo Higuain. However, Higuain also rejected to join Arsenal in that moment. But, Arsene Wenger again tried to buy the striker, just before he joined Juventus a couple of days ago. But that’s not all! In 2015, Wenger offered €50 m. to Real Madrid for Karim Benzema. Rejected again…

This summer, Arsene Wenger was interested in signing Lyon’s forward Alexandre Lacazette and Leicester City’s striker Jamie Vardy. Guess what happened? The French manager offered £20 m. for the Englishman, but Ranieri managed to convince his best striker sign a new contract with The Foxes. Maybe Wenger is used to hear the answer “No!”. So, no wonders Lyon rejected the €35-m. offer for Lacazette.

And this is a small part of Wenger’s transfer fiasco! Now, the Frenchman signed a totally unknown Japanese player, Rob Holding of Bolton Wanderers and the mediocre midfielder Granit Xhaka for £34 m. No wonders, if Arsenal don’t win a trophy again…

In conclusion, we must say that Wenger has made really good transfers during his stay at the Emirates Stadium. Maybe his best signings are Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira. Can he find other players like them?

Andriy Shevchenko

AC Milan to Chelsea; £30.8m; 2006

Sheva was one of the most clinical strikers in the modern history of football. He was unstoppable during his career at AC Milan in Serie A. The Ukrainian forward played for Chelsea 2 full seasons before was loaned out to his former club. Shevchenko only managed to score on 9 occasions in The Premier League, which led to his departure. So, the transfer amount of £30.8m is one of the biggest transfer failures!

Robbie Keane

Tottenham Hotspur to Liverpool; £20.3m, 2009

Ireland’s top goal-scorer has 2 big transfer failures in his career. In 2000, Inter Milan paid £13 m. to Coventry, but the forward couldn’t adapt with the Italian football and recorded 14 appearances for Inter, before being sold to Leeds United for a close to his price amount, but the striker wasn’t impressive again.
However, after developing as a world class forward Robbie Keane moved from Tottenham Hotspur to Liverpool in 2008. The Merseysiders paid £20.3 m. to Spurs, but Robbie Keane only spent half a season at Anfield, before returning to White Hart Lane.

Albert Luque

Deportivo La Coruna to Newcastle United; £9.5m, 2005

Most common, when a player who has become an integral part of his club, when he leaves it – he hardly adapts to the new one. That was also the Albert Luque’s case. In 2005 he left Deportivo La Coruna for Newcastle. Luque made a great impression, when he helped Deportivo reach the semi-finals of The Champions League in 2004. So, The Magpies paid £9.5 m. to La Coruna. But, the winger suffered a hamstring injury in his second match for the club. Luque only managed to score once in The Premier League, before leaving for Ajax in 2007.

Francis Jeffers

Everton to Arsenal; £8m, 2001

Franny Jeffers was determined as the most talented English striker, before Wayne Rooney’s development. The forward started his career at Everton in 1997. Jeffers bagged 18 goals in 49 league matches for The Toffees, which made Wenger pay £8 m. for the youngster in 2001. However, Jeffers couldn’t impress the French manager during his stay at the Highbury Stadium. The forward scored 4 league goals in 22 matches for The Gunners, before he left the club. That’s a very sad story, because the talented forward made his debut in the Premier League at the age of 16. He also scored on his debut for the English national team against Australia in 2003 (that game was also a debut for Wayne Rooney). But, that was the first and final cap for Jeffers…

Adrian Mutu

Parma to Chelsea in 2003 for £15.8 million

You could expect Mutu to score anytime in the match. He was such an explosive striker, which was well known by Claudio Ranieri, who signed him in 2003. Roman Abramovich paid £15.8 m. to Parma for the services of the Romanian striker. He wasn’t bad in his first season at Stamford Bridge, but after the arrival of Jose Mourinho in 2004, Mutu failed a drug test and was soon released by the club.

Denilson

Sao Paolo to Real Betis for £21.5 million in 1998.

After a magnificent performance by the winger Denilson at the World Cup 1998, Real Betis amazed the world paying £21.5 m. for the Brazilian, setting a new record for the biggest transfer amount. The winger was expected to do magical things on the pitch, but he didn’t show anything great in his first season, scoring twice in 35 matches. His team finished in 11th position. Real Betis even relegated in 2000, which is a moment to forget for Denilson. At both ends, the Brazilian spent 8 years at Betis. His only trophy with the club was Copa Del Rey in 2005, just months before leaving the club.

Andy Carroll

Newcastle United to Liverpool for £35 million in 2011.

Again, Liverpool haven’t learned from the mistake with Robbie Keane. The £35 m. deal wasn’t worth! I think Dalglish still regrets for his stupid decision. Andy Carroll only recorded 44 Premier League matches and bagged 6 goals. In my opinion, these 6 goals don’t cost £35 m. However, The Reds tried to fix the problem and eventually took £15 m. for the striker, who moved to West Ham United in 2013.