SC1 Sports

Luis Suarez - I Just Can't Get Enough

Uruguay have just won the 2011 Copa America, beating Paraguay in the final 3-0. I was so impressed with their work rate on and off the ball, to levels that have made people drool over Barcelona. A real team, they play together, and have such an understanding of each other. Diego Lugano and Sebastian Coates (named Young Player of the Tournament) at the back are so dominant in the air, strong in the tackle. Arevalo Rios reminded me of Javier Mascherano, harassing the opponent in midfield and not giving them a second on the ball, chasing every lost cause. Alvaro Perreira surged down the left wing like a stallion, supporting the forwards in every attack. Diego Forlan was on a 13 international game drought and ended that in style in the final with two sublime finishes. I’m sure he could still do a great job for someone in the Premiership, and I bet he would love to prove some people wrong after his spell at Man United. That brings me to one man. A man who’s attitude and mentality epitomizes the mantra of Uruguay. He led the team to success in this tournament, finishing second top scorer, with one goal and one assist in the final…and I am delighted he is a Red! Take a bow Luis Suarez.

It is often thought that foreign imports to the English Premier League take some time to adjust to the frantic pace, the hard-hitting style of the English game. When #LFC sold their golden boy, Fernando Torres, to Chelsea for £50 million in January 2011, the arrival of Luis Suarez from Ajax was slightly forgotten. Now, I think it is safe to say, and I speak on behalf of all #LFC fans here when I say…”Fernando who?!”. In the 2010 World Cup, ‘Lil Luis’ blocked a Ghana shot on the line and Uruguay ended up victorious with a place in the semi-final. He was lambasted, called a cheat, every name under the sun. But that is how much of a winner Suarez is, he will do anything to win for his team. Luis Suarez arrived from Holland with an excellent record of 81 goals in 110 games, and an impressive number of assists too for the buck-toothed assasin. After half a season at Anfield, he has wowed the English audience with his movement, his close control (like his twists and turns inside the box against #MUFC) and moreso, his work rate. He is a winner. His work rate sets the tome for all of his Uruguayan teammates, he is a leader, and gets the fans on their feet. His touch inside the defender for his Copa America Final goal was incredible, his knock down to Forlan to kill off Paraguay was genius, and extremely generous.

Liverpool fans must be licking their lips for the season ahead. And the rest of the league should beware. This little Uruguayan is on his game, and with his winning mentality, The Kop are sure to see some South American magic from ‘El Pistolero’ in 2011/2012. Playing under Kenny Dalglish’s free-flowing attacking system suits Suarez to the ground. ‘The rebel’ likes to roam. He played in all 3 attacking positions at Ajax and can fit into each position easily. Now that Stewart Downing has been added to the ranks at Merseyside, and with spells on the left and right side of midfield at Aston Villa, the two attackers will hope to bamboozle defenders. Suarez has said recently how Dalglish gives him confidence: “The biggest thing is the trust he puts in his players. He trusts us 100 per cent and that makes you want to return that trust and pay it back.” King Kenny allows Suarez to express himself on the field, and that is exactly what he needs. His movement would be wasted if he was stuck on the wing, or in a rigid formation (a la Woy Hodgson).

Again I say, take a bow Luis Suarez, Copa America 2011 champion and Player of the Tournament.

I Just Can’t Get Enough!

GP Sports: Tracking Technology

Today saw a lot of the Premiership teams put through their paces back at their training grounds as the first day of pre-season began. Being an #LFC fan, I was eager to check up on my teams progress on their first day, and also to see what kind of shape Big Andy Carroll was in after his Ibiza and ‘Glasto’ adventures. Apart from the excitement of Christian Poulsen and Paul Konchesky being back at Melwood, I noticed each player wearing a black bra-type bib.

So what is GP Sports? According to their site (http://gpsports.com/gpsports_website/), GP Sports Tracking and Analysis Technologies are being used to improve the performance of elite team sport. They have revolutionised how team sport athletes prepare and manage themselves. For decreased injuries, weekly planning, allowing more time to be spent on speed and power activities, and more game specific programming. As well as Liverpool, their clients include Man Utd, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona. It is used by teams from other sports as well, with the South African Cricket team using it, and Australian rugby team St George Illawarra Dragons Football Club. A full client list is given here.

The most common product used is the SPI Pro X. This offers more in-game analysis. An impressive feature is showing the work load of each athlete, and how close an athlete is to injury. This means, if you have a target for training, for example, a body load score of 980, they can train until they hit exactly that point. This means feedback can be given on workload throughout training. There is an iPhone app for collecting the information.

I know from experience in tough training, certain people are quick to call the bluffers and say who isn’t ‘putting it in’. This technology would be great to try out. Also, playing an amateur sport (Gaelic Football) and having gone through the rehabilitation stage of injury, it would have been brilliant to be aware of my limits when attempting to strengthen my injury. I must have re-torn my quad muscle 3 times after the initial tear. It would also get rid of this "it'll tighten ye" attitude, where people are pressured to play through pain at their highest level when they only make an injury worse. However, do not...i repeat...DO NOT...tell the world for weeks you are in fighting shape, the fittest you have ever been, and then when you crumble, stand on the table at your press conference and show the world your injury.

Messi vs Ronaldo

For the last 4 years now, one of the most frequently asked football questions is generally: Messi or Ronaldo? (Well, that and "Why Emile Heskey?") I, personally, have always sided with the former United powerhouse after watching him make mince meat out of the Premier League for 6 seasons. People call him selfish but I would call him a winner. And it is this desire to be the very best footballer the world has ever seen which makes me want to pick the explosive Portuguese man ahead of the Barcelona attacker whom Pelé refuses to acknowledge as a legend just at the minute.

I always said that Cristiano would cope much better than his counterpart if he was playing in a worse team, surrounded by weaker players; and I thought he, alone, could impact on a whole team's performance more than Lionel could. But having researched last season's statistics, I found that it was actually the Argentine who, at first glance, seems to have been more important for his respective team.

I looked at their direct involvement in their team's goals - an assist or a goal. Yes, of course, being the best players in the world, they are bound to have had vital hands in many other goals that they didn't set up or score - but at least this way, we can focus on pure objective facts and eliminate opinions. (click on image to enlarge)

I tallied the amount of goals that were scored in the games in which the two players featured and, overall, Lionel seemingly had a more direct involvement in his team's goals - beating Ronaldo in every competition.

However, it should be noted that it is somewhat apparent that Real Madrid are much more reliant on Ronaldo than the European champions are on their golden boy. Barcelona managed to score more goals without Messi than Madrid could muster up in the absence of the better looking of the two.

What I also found was that throughout the league campaign (the longest competition), each team were less effective without their best player (and the award for most unnecessary statement goes to...). With Lionel, Barca were averaging 2.5 goals per game compared to the 1.8 goals per game that they averaged without number 10. More dramatically though, Cristiano's Real Madrid were averaging a higher 2.8 goals per game in contrast to the lower 1.75 goals per game without CR9. It should also be noted that, in Ronnie's absence, Madrid lost 50% of their league games, whereas the Catalans lost zero matches when Messi wasn't playing (in any competition).

Messi's stats are certainly hard to argue with, but it's also clear that his better equipped squad were able to cope with his loss much easier than Madrid could cope with losing Ronaldo. Maybe their team's input, rather than Messi and Ronaldo's individual contribution, is why Barca ran away with the Champions league and clinched the Spanish title for a third successive year.

On Your Marks...

August 13^th sees the start of a brand new Barclays Premier League season. New teams, new signings, new managers, new kits, new heroes, new villains. It promises to be an exciting one with Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers’ Swansea side entering the league as the first ever Welsh side in the Premiership. Alex McLeish has a mountain to climb as new manager of Aston Villa, where he will have to first of all win over basically every single fan. Martin Jol has a point to prove at Fulham after his unfair dismissal at Spurs. Can Man City take another step forward and mount a serious title challenge? (Hopefully not)

Since the fixtures for the forthcoming season were released on Friday, all the talk was about each team getting off to a good start. It’s about building momentum early, getting some confidence and gaining some consistency in the performance. On the other hand, they say it’s a marathon and not a sprint. It’s a very long season with twists an turns.

I decided to take a look at how important the first six games of a Premiership season can be for the eventual champions in the last 10 seasons. Firstly I looked at the form in the six games and the point total taken from those games:  
It appears in the 3 seasons Chelsea won the league, they started their season with a bang. Twice they took maximum points, with the other season they drew two and won the rest. Even though Man United have won the league in 4 of the last 5 seasons, they haven’t exactly set the world alight from the start. So two different examples of how a start can be vital for momentum, but consistency is also vital.

And looking at how many points these teams ended up with:  
In the seasons Chelsea won the league, they followed up their magnificent starts with colossal points totals of 86, 91 and 95. Man United won the league on numerous occasions with lesser total, but maybe this shows how in a tight season where teams are beating each other, they have remained the most consistent. United remain the masters of 1-0 victories, especially when they don’t appear to be at their best. Arsenal set the bar extremely high with their ‘Invincibles’ team at the start of the millennium, and when Mourinho took over the helm at Chelsea, he knocked them off their perch.

So consistency plays a massive part of the Premiership season. Getting off to a good start is important for confidence, but it’s a very long season, and Man United have shown even if there are some early knocks, bouncing back to #RaiseYourGame can lead to success.