jose - soccer

Liverpool have now knocked both Manchester clubs out of cup competitions in the space of four days, which counts as success in these parts whatever the league situation. Last week Kenny Dalglish was scathing of his players' efforts in losing to lowly Bolton Wanderers, this time the smile was back, at least until he was asked a question about the Liverpool fans' constant booing of Evra. Before considering the football, what there was of it, you will be wanting to know about the chanting. Liverpool obviously won the volume contest. There were far more people singing: "There's only one lying bastard," than were rejoining with: "There's only one racist bastard." With all the pre-match debate focusing on Evra's participation, United's goalkeeping situation had been overlooked, Ferguson sprang a surprise by choosing this high-profile encounter to reintroduce David de Gea to first-team duties. It was not a decision that paid off.

Liverpool began to crowd out the young goalkeeper at corners and took the lead after 21 minutes when Steven Gerrard swung one over from the left and De Gea came for the ball but found himself blocked by Andy Carroll, leaving Daniel Agger an easy header. United had begun the match looking the more threatening, with Antonio Valencia striking a post after a good run, though until the first goal there was little apart from the rivalry between fans to quicken the pulse and almost no chance of the occasion being remembered for the football, as had been the wish of both managers beforehand. Playing with only Carroll up front Liverpool rarely bothered De Gea apart from set pieces, and though United also lacked their usual attacking edge in the absence of Wayne Rooney they managed to get back into the game with a well-worked goal before the interval. Antonio Valencia sent Rafael da Silva racing down the right with a backheel flick and, though José Enrique was still favourite to reach the ball first, the United full-back took on his opposite number and delivered a low cross, met perfectly at the near post by Park Ji-sung with a firm finish that surprised Pepe Reina.

Liverpool had an appeal for a penalty turned down at the start of the second half when Chris Smalling stumbled in the area and appeared to put his hand on the ball in falling, then a minute later a rare chance fell Danny Welbeck's way and he failed to take advantage, pushing the ball past Reina towards an empty goal but not firmly enough to prevent Martin Skrtel arriving to tidy up behind his goalkeeper. Charlie Adam came on for the last half-hour and immediately offered a more direct threat than Jamie Carragher had managed from defensive midfield, launching a high cross intended to test De Gea and presumably gaining encouragement when the goalkeeper fumbled it to concede another corner. When Gerrard tried the same tactic from a similar distance it was clear Liverpool had been instructed to play on De Gea, though the Liverpool captain left the field shortly afterwards, making way for Craig Bellamy. Just when it looked as though the afternoon would end in a tame draw, Liverpool struck. (guardian.co.uk)

Gerrard was replaced by Liverpool's midweek hero Craig Bellamy with just under 20 minutes to go as both sides pressed for a winner. The game looked to be heading towards a draw until Kuyt — another second-half sub — became the hero with his first goal of the season. Reina's long boot forward was flicked on by Carroll over the head of Evra and the Dutch striker found himself clear through on goal to fire past De Gea at his near post. Kuyt should have put the game to bed moments later after Carroll had hit the bar but it wasn't to matter for the Reds who can now look forward to Sunday's draw. (thesun.co.uk)

Tottenham Hotspur bukan termasuk klub hebat di Inggris, jika dibandingkan dengan Liverpool dan Manchester United. Tapi klub berjuluk The Spurs ini pernah memiliki kkebesarn di era 1980-an. Dan, penyihir yang membawa kebesaran itu tak lain adalah Glenn Hoddle. Gelandang yang membuat permainan Tottenham selalu efektif, berbahaya dan menarik.
Padahal ketika Hoddle masih remaja, nyaris tak ada yang memperhatikan kemampuannya. Maklum, waktu itu Hoddle belum memiliki klub karena hanya bermain dari satu klub ke klub kecil lainnya di Middlesex, kampung halamannya. Beruntung ada teman yang juga striker Tottenham, Martin Chivers. Atas sarannya, Hoddle masuk The Spurs sebagai pemain magang. Bahkan Chivers memberi rekomendasi, sehingga Hoddle diterima.
Belum lama magang di Tottenham, manajer The Spurs kala itu, Bill Nicholson dipecat. Ini justru memberi berkah buat Hoddle. Manajer baru Terry Neill, tak memandangnya sebelah mata seperti pelatih sebelumnya. Neill melihat bakat Hoddle luar biasa dan dengan berani memberi kepercayaan kepadanya saat masih berusia 18 tahun. Agustus 1975 ketika Hotspur berjumpa Norwich, Hoddle diturunkan sebagai pengganti Ian Smith. Sejak itu Hoddle sering dipasang dan menunjukan bakatnya sebagai gelandang kreatif dan punya tendangan keras. Lalu memasuki tahun 1976, dia sudah menjadi pemain inti dan mulai tampil penuh saat lawan Stoke City di bulan Februari. Bahkan berkontribusi untuk kemenangan 2-1 tim ibukota lewat gol tendangan jarak jauh yang memperdayai kiper kenamaan Peter Shilton.
Inilah awal kebintangan Hoddle, tak berapa lama dia segera jadi pahlawan White Hart Lane, markas Tottenham. Permainannya selalu mengundang kagum dan punya gocekan maut serta akurasi umpan yang berbahaya. Meski begitu, baru di era 1980-an, Hoddle membawa kebesaran bagi tim London. Bukan cuma dalam negeri tapi juga tingkat Eropa. Puncaknya dia mempersembahkan gelar Piala FA 2 tahun berturut-turut dan trophy Piala UEFA 1983-1984 kepada klub. Publik White Hart Lane ingat betul, pemain kesayangannya ini berandil besar dalam sukses tersebut. Salah satunya pada partai final FA Cup 1982, Hoddle mengukir gol untuk menaklukan Liverpool.
Terakhir, dia memperkuat Tottenham di final Piala FA tahun 1987, namun sayang The Spurs kalah dari Coventry City 2-3. Setelah itu Hoddle pindah ke Liga Perancis bersama AS Monaco dengan transfer 750.000 pounds. Torehan kenangan Hoddle selama berkostum The Whites adalah 490 laga dan mengoleksi 110 gol.
Meski tergolong uzur, 30 tahun, Hoddle ternyata masih tampil bagus berseragam Monaco yang saat itu diarsiteki calon “Professor” Arsene Wenger. Bahkan Hoddle menjadi motor serangan klub. Puncaknya dengan raihan juara Ligue 1 musim 1987-1988. Ini satu - satunya gelar kompetisi liga yang pernah diraih. Usai membantu Monaco merengkuh trophy Le Championnat, cedera lutut kanan yang dia derita sejak di Hotspur sering kambuh hingga Hoddle jarang diturunkan pelatih.
Tahun 1993 dia pindah ke Chelsea sebagai pemain nonkontrak, bertahan dua bulan kemudian hijrah ke klub Divisi I, Swindon. Hoddle merangkap menjadi pemain – manager dan menunjukan kemampuan sebagai calon manager brilian. Berkat sentuhannya pula Swindon promosi ke Premier League season 1993. Musim itu juga dia langsung kembali ke Chelsea juga sebagai pemain merangkap manager. Sekali Hoddle menjalankan tugasnya dengan baik. Chelsea seperti bangun dari tidur dan mampu bersaing di papan atas dengan para raksasa Premiership lainnya. Cedera yang terus menjerat memaksanya pensiun lalu berkonsentrasi sebagai pelatih.
Bagi public White Hart Lane, Hoddle dinobatkan menjadi pemain terbaik sepanjang masa dan rakyat Inggris menilainya sebagai pemain berbakat St. George Cross era 1980an. Memperkuat The Three Lions 53 caps dan 8 goal.

(reference: soccer classic 23th dec03)