EPL Talk » hamburg

Istanbul, Istanbul, We Aren’t Coming…Or Are We?

Matthew Semisch — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:15:39 +0000

Never mind the fact that I’ve been subjecting myself to the pain of following Manchester City for nigh on 12 years – Despite what I and every other City fan have been singing at the top of our lungs all season, I always knew deep down I wasn’t coming to Istanbul at the end of May.

(Not only do I live in the United States, but I’m also a college student and one who is studying to become a schoolteacher. In other words, I live far, far away from the club I love, I’m skint enough that I can’t afford flights to Turkey on a month and a half’s notice and will likely continue to be so for my entire professional career. So there you go, that’s my excuse.)

A lot of City fans probably began to feel that way after their team survived a penalty shootout against Aalborg in the UEFA Cup’s round of 16 – their second win on penalties in the competition this season, both coming against Danish opponents – and they were hardly rewarded for advancing further than any City team has in Europe in the last 30 years.

When Blues supporters braced themselves for whatever fate was about to dealt to them at the last-ever UEFA Cup draw last month in Switzerland, they received pretty much the worst news possible. A European cup final was still possible, but they would have to get through essentially two two-legged cup finals against Hamburg and Werder Bremen, perhaps the two most dangerous teams remaining in the competition, if they were going to the actual final on May 20.

Things were looking good early at the HSH Nordbank Arena on Thursday, though, when Stephen Ireland’s back-and-forth with Robinho resulted in the Irishman giving the Blues a 1-0 lead and a vital away goal in the first minute of the match. Unfortunately, Hamburg would then overturn the early deficit to take a 3-1 aggregate lead into the second leg in Manchester next week after having scored three unanswered, and anyone who watched the game would tell you it could have easily been closer to five or six.

The good news for City, however, is that one of the few things that the quarterfinal draw allowed them is still in play: Both in the league and (for the most part) in Europe, City have been miles better at the City of Manchester Stadium than they have been away from it, and they’ll have a chance to prove it once again next week.

They were completely outworked for 89 minutes in Hamburg, but Ireland’s goal in the first 35 seconds of the first leg means that a 2-0 win in the second would send the Blues through on away goals. It’s much easier said than done, obviously, but if City can take their undoubted player of the year’s advice in his post-game interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, show their team’s quality and “be braver,” then a spot in the semifinals isn’t completely out of the question just yet.

Thursday night should have shown any myopic viewers that are solely in the tank for Premier League sides that the German Bundesliga is not to be ignored, with Hamburg and Werder Bremen taking English and Italian teams to task. Werder Bremen has most likely already booked its passage into the semis with their own 3-1 win on Thursday, but the gap in talent between Bremen and Udinese is greater than that between Hamburg and Manchester City, and Hamburg manager Martin Jol’s men would do well to keep that in mind when they come to Eastlands next week.

Man City Tells Credit Crunch To Get Stuffed (Again) – Will It Work This Time?

Matthew Semisch — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:42:33 +0000

If at first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh you don’t succeed, try and try again.

This seems to be Manchester City’s mantra ahead of next month’s UEFA Cup quarterfinal tie with Hamburg, made apparent by the fact that the club has slashed ticket prices through this Sunday for Apr. 16’s home leg to just £5 for adults and £1 for kids.

The temporary markdown makes for a 75% cheaper adult ticket than City’s season ticket holders purchased for the Blues’ home round-of-16 encounter with Danish side Aalborg this month. On a personal level, as a City fan living overseas, I’m wishing right about now that transatlantic flights were that cheap, but never mind.

With the cheaper ticket prices – Which, as we’ve all discovered, you can do when you’re also able to bid £100 million for one player; Hi, Garry! – the Eastlands outfit are banking on getting a much-improved atmosphere for Hamburg than there was for the Danes’ visit, when only 24,596 bothered to turn up at a stadium that seats almost twice that.

Up to now, City have yet to even reach the 30,000 plateau in this season’s UEFA Cup, but it would appear that they won’t have much trouble there this time around, with the Manchester Evening News reporting massive queues both at the City of Manchester Stadium box office as well as City’s shop in the Arndale Centre, combining with online customers for 15,000 tickets sold before the club had to temporarily suspend sales.

It’s certainly a good sign that that so many tickets have already gone with another four days and change left before the ‘sale’ expires, but getting tickets in supporters’ hands is at best only half the battle. The club is (so far) holding up its end of the bargain – The rest is going to be up to the fans, and they will need to make their voices well and truly heard.

Though I find it a bit disgraceful in a way – Of course there’s a hierarchy there, but a major trophy is a major trophy is a major trophy – the UEFA Cup is commonly seen as a sort of ‘best of the rest’ competition, as indicated a lot of the time by attendance figures, and City fans have been just as guilty as anyone this season in that regard, but City’s win over Aalborg on penalties has given Blues supporters a golden opportunity to redeem themselves.

While City are sure to pass the attendance numbers of their first seven UEFA Cup home matches this season with ease for the Hamburg game, the fans know that it will be up to them to create the kind of atmosphere that the circumstances demand. As Manchester United supporters enjoy reminding their City counterparts, the Blues have not won a major trophy since around the time that John Simm experienced Life on Mars, and rarely has the first team been this close to grabbing any silverware worth grabbing.

City have a tough road to hoe if they’re going to make it to the final in Istanbul, with Hamburg standing in their way and then presumably Werder Bremen after that should their compatriots go down, but if the fans finally prove themselves able to answer the call for the first time in this competition, what sometimes seems like the impossible dream might become that little bit less thus.

Can Manchester City Win The UEFA CUP?

Paul Bestall — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:13:00 +0000

Could Manchester City finally put their 33 year major trophy drought to bed this season by winning the UEFA Cup this season? Why not, what with Ajax crashing out last night at the hands of Marseille and Zenit St Petersburg and CSKA Moscow losing today, the competition for the trophy is getting into the nitty gritty stage and it seems to be opening up for City. Mark Hughes side has been wildly inconsistent, putting 6 past Portsmouth and 5 past Hull City, but dumped out of the League Cup by Brighton on penalties and were humiliated at home 3-0 by Nottingham Forest in the F.A. Cup but they’ve been impressive in the UEFA Cup both at home and abroad this season. With only one away win in the league, it’s been a strange season for the City faithful.

Tonight they travel to Northern Jutland to face Aalborg with a 2-0 lead and a chance to move into the Quarter Finals for a real crack at the trophy. Yet, Manchester City have a history of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory which is unparalled in English Football that has seen their fans develop a very healthy ability to laugh at themselves. Surely this could be their season to finally put a proper smile on faces of the City faithful? It’s certainly a weaker UEFA Cup than it could have been with AC Milan, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Fiorentina, Bordeaux and Valencia all being removed from the competition before we even reached the last 16.I don’t think Mark Hughes will be upset to see any of those sides out at all. Their first 11 is certainly as good as some of the remaining teams in the competition, maybe one of the best, so it’s not impossible to imagine City lifting the trophy in Turkey on May 20th.

City though have perhaps received a little too much stick this season for me. Sure they’ve become the richest club in the world but it’s still a transitional season for them. Thankfully for us, Chief Executive Gary Cook seems to have kept a very low profile after his rather childish comments about AC Milan and Kaka in January, which is a blessing for us all. His rather acidic nature and bombastic attitude doesn’t sit well people and attracts as much criticism as it deserves, but Hughes has also had a fair amount of flak, unfairly I feel. It’s a learning curve for everyone at Manchester City, ever since the Robinho signing, they’ve suddenly moved onto a different level but they’ve got their best chance of some serious silverware for a long time in the UEFA Cup.

If they can negotiate tonight’s away leg, which knowing City, is no forgone conclusion, then the key teams to avoid are Werder Bremen and whoever wins in the tie of the round, Galatasaray v SV Hamburg. Martin Jol’s team have a lot to do and need to score in Turkey tonight to have any chance to get through but if they do, then they’ll become the favourite for the cup. If City can avoid those teams, then reaching the final becomes a realistic proposition for Mark Hughes. I hope they do get there, he’s dealt with rumour and counter rumour all season with supreme patience, fending questions about his future, transfers, ongoing issues with certain big name players and the change in expectations once Manchester City were ought by the Abu Dhabi United Group, with courtesy.He deserves a bit of luck after everything that’s been thrown at him throughout the season.

I wish them all the best in Europe and hope we get a Hamburg and Manchester City final for the last ever UEFA Cup final before we welcome the Europa League next season.

Dirk Kuyt: From Joke to Top Bloke for Liverpool

Josh Allen — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 17:51:37 +0000

Another weekend of Premier League action and another cracking Dirk Kuyt goal. Now who would have predicted that this time last season? Certainly not me and with good reason because his goal tally in the league last season was just five, managing 11 in all competitions for the Reds. So far this time around the Dutchman has already managed five in the league, seven in all competitions.

Kuyt’s transformation from potential big money flop to an invaluable part of the team has certainly been a steady one. Signed from Feyenoord in 2006 for £9million I must admit I thought Liverpool had bought yet another striker who wouldn’t cut it for them. The likes of El Hadji Diouf, Milan Baros and Vladimir Smicer had all arrived with big price tags and failed to improve Liverpool’s goal tally.

It’s always a fair assumption to make that players arriving from overseas will take some time to adapt to the English game. For example Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t an instant success but he certainly has become one. It would be fair to say that the most important thing Kuyt did in his first season was to dispatch the penalty that put Liverpool through to the 2007 Champions League final.

Perhaps Kuyt had been resting on that one spot kick to keep the Liverpool fans on side for the next season. Signed as a striker the Dutch international was expected to bang in the goals but struggled and was instead deployed out on the right hand side of midfield. There is no doubting Kuyt’s work rate, as he seemed to endlessly sprint from one part of the field to another, but his end product was what was being called into question.

Those asking the questions became so loud that there were rumours that Hamburg were preparing to make a bid for the flying Dutchman in the summer. However Rafael Benitez is thought to be high on Kuyt based on his endless work rate and has stayed put for now.

Good thing to because Kuyt’s rich vein in form has co-inside with Liverpool’s sustained push for the Premier League title. The football odds on Benitez’s side lifting the Premier League trophy have been shorten, albeit the campaign still being in its early stages.

Kuyt had become known as a big game player but as he demonstrated against Bolton on Saturday the 28-year-old has become indiscriminate about who he scores against which will please all of those who cram into Anfield every other week.

Truth of the matter is that whilst Kuyt is having a good season so far he is certainly being helped by the team around him who are actually mounting a serious title challenge for the first time in along time. It’s an old cliché but Kuyt is part of a well oiled machine, which will continue to improve if the Dutchman keeps up his standard of performances.

Expert Football Coverage From Around The Leagues

The Gaffer — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 10:32:04 +0000

While you’re enjoying EPL Talk, don’t forget to check out the sister sites in our network for a taste of German, Italian, Spanish, European and American soccer.

Bundesliga Talk has the statistics comparing Schalke to Atletico Madrid for the most enticing Champions League third round qualifying match. Another new article written by Bundeliga Talk correspondent Mark Moll is a piece on the new manager at Hamburger SV, Martin Jol, who lost 2-1 yesterday against Real Madrid in the 2008 Emirates Cup in London.

Prolific writer Lonnie Smetana at Champions League Talk has been busy previewing the most exciting matches in the Champions League third qualifying round stage, the latest transfer market activity in Europe and a roundup of the results from the third round of the Intertoto Cup.

If you’re a fan of Major League Soccer, Kartik Krishnaiyer writes on a near daily basis at Major League Soccer Talk about topics such as Cory Gibbs who may be heading to LA Galaxy, the list of MLS players playing in the Olympics, how the Mexican players are notorious sore losers when they get defeated by US club sides and/or the national team, and a very interesting article entitled, Does SuperLiga Have A Future?

Over at Serie A Talk, Kevin Walker has an interesting article about the Italian connection at Bordeaux, as well as rumors about Tiago leaving Juventus.

Yours truly has written an article about the Spanish influence at Swansea City under the website Championship Talk. Shakira Graham meanwhile writes about one of the best supported clubs in England, Derby County.

If you’re a fan of the world’s game, be sure to check out the sister sites on a regular basis.