Diego Maradona was an enigmatic character in his lifetime as a footballer, as a TV personality and as someone who was in and around football management.
The iconic midfielder, who broke through the ranks at Boca Juniors, accepted an offer in 2005 to be the sporting director of the club which made him famous.
It was a huge affair for Boca Juniors and for Argentina as a whole, as that was Maradona’s first official foray into football management.
Many hoped that Maradona, who was considered Argentina’s – and arguably the world’s – best footballer even after his retirement, would dip his toes into the waters of management and raise up the next generation of football stars.
Boca Juniors club president at the time, Mauricio Macri, was pleased and gave a lot of interviews on the appointment of Maradona as the club’s sporting director.
It was also a path to redemption for the then 44-year-old Maradona, who was just being reintegrated into life after undergoing drug rehabilitation the previous year and recovering from a gastric bypass operation earlier in that year.
Maradona joined Boca Juniors as director at a time when the club was in crisis. The Buenos Aires club was without a coach for a whole week before his appointment.
Maradona backed Alfio Basile to get the managerial role, which he did and succeeded at. The World Cup winner continued to offer great insights for Boca Juniors helping the team to a good run of victories in the Argentine top flight.
Then the problems started.
In typical Maradona fashion, problems followed the legend with him to his new role at Boca Juniors. The Argentine national team were in need of a manager at the time and Basile’s performance at Boca Juniors caught the Argentine FA’s eyes.
Maradona engaged in a war of words with the Argentine FA on his TV show and in other media platforms as the FA continued to chase after Basile as their preferred managerial choice.
In the end, Basile was appointed Argentina coach and Maradona was left incensed. He quit immediately it was confirmed, telling ESPN, “I’m not going to have more interference. It’s a closed chapter.”
He was even offered the job, but declined, citing other commitments as an excuse. He left with strong words to Basile’s successor, Ricardo La Volpe, telling him to respect the team’s current game, because as it was, “[Basile] won it all.”
The legend would then go one to have one of the most interesting managerial careers the sport has ever seen, until 2019, when failing health required he step down from active duty.
When people think about Lionel Messi’s individual accomplishments, they are quick to mention his 91-goal calendar year and his 73-goal season from 2011/12.
However, the levels he reached in the 2018/19 season were simply outrageous even for his astronomical standards.
In the last game of that LaLiga season against Eibar after Barcelona were confirmed as champions, Messi scored two goals in two minutes. Barcelona could not hold on to the lead but Messi’s 49th and 50th goals were a fitting end to an amazing league campaign for the Argentine.
Here is a look at why the 2018/19 season is Messi’s best individual season.
Messi had better help prior to the 2018/19 season
One could argue that Messi of 2009 to 2012 was the greatest version of the player, thanks to the numerous records he set and broke in that time.
However, in that time, Barcelona was the most dominant footballing force in the world with Guardiola tactics and a wonderful midfield trio of Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets keeping the team in control at all times with Messi leading the line in attack.
2013/14 saw the addition of Neymar, who proved to be almost as good as Messi in terms of carrying a team.
By 2018/19, everyone who supported Messi had left the club (or was in the process of leaving, like Iniesta). Messi became the only creative force in a Barcelona side that had started to drop significantly in performance.
That season, however, Messi went on to lead the goal scoring charts (36 goals; won his sixth European golden shoe), the assists charts (13), the chance creation charts (92), the free-kick goals charts (6), the hat-trick charts (3) and the braces charts (7) in LaLiga. He was also second in take-ons (134) behind Celta de Vigo’s Sofiane Boufal (144).
Despite being knocked out by Liverpool in the semifinals, Messi still finished the tournament with 12 goals in 10 games for Barcelona to clinch the top scorer award in the UEFA Champions League that season.
Messi had scored 50 goals in a season five times prior to that season, but he never had to work so hard for it like in 2018/19.
Messi achieved play making heaven in 2018/19 season
With no Xavi and Iniesta to help and no Neymar to share the burden of play making from the front, Messi morphed into an all-round player.
In LaLiga alone, he played 48 through balls – 12 more than his 36 goals. No other player in the league achieved double figures for that stat in that season, and the highest in Europe was 16 for that season.
Messi also played 141 passes into the final third in LaLiga with the second highest 77 by Sevilla’s Jesus Navas.
Messi’s performance in that season saw Barcelona being only three games close to winning an unprecedented third treble. Compared to the other treble winning teams, 2018/19 Barcelona was very watered down, but Messi, who was a number 8, 9, 10 and 11 rolled into one for the Blaugrana, made it possible.
In 2008, Dickie Best, father of Manchester United great George Best, died while grieving his son who had died a few years before.
Often described by loved ones as “Proud” Dickie, he was George’s best and biggest fan throughout the Northern Irishman’s football career and life.
The “tragic genius” died in 2006 at the age of 59 after a life which was spent battling alcohol addictions and various scandals including domestic violence.
George Best was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 22 May 1946 to Dickie and his wife, Anne. Dickie helped George identify his footballing talent from a young age, which also led to Manchester United noticing the young George’s talent and signing him to their academy.
Best, who was also blessed with good looks, made his debut at the age of 17 for United and became the first celebrity footballer. He was nicknamed “The Beatle” as he had charisma comparable to the famous band, The Beatles.
Dickie attended every of his son’s games while he played for Manchester United from 1963 to 1974. Dickie continued to support his son after he left in 1974. However, life was never the same for George as the first lifestyle took over and his football began to suffer.
George had an alcohol addiction for most of his life. He had a liver transplant in 2002 and later died on 25 November 2005 in London’s Cromwell Hospital from multiple organ failure, aged 59.
Dickie stood by his son through all of his trying times, maintaining his “Proud” persona which fans of his son as well as his loved ones knew him by.
Three years later, at the age of 88, Dickie died of a broken heart.
Loved ones say that Dickie never really got over George’s death a few years ago.
A close friend of his said after his death was announced: “Dickie was never able to fully come to terms with losing him.
“The doctors will record a physical reason for his death, but I have no doubt he died of a broken heart.
“He lost his wife Annie to an alcoholism-related illness in 1978 when she was just 55 and then he had to watch as the same illness claimed the life of his son. It was just simply too much for him.”
His family said in a statement after his death: “Over the years, as everyone knows, Dad had his sorrows to bear but he faced them always with courage and dignity.
“He was a man who took great joy and pride in his family.
“He was an irreplaceable father whose bravery, integrity, wisdom and above all love shaped our lives.”
Dickie was surrounded by his family as he passed away in the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald in July 2008. He left behind five children.
Between 2000 and 2004, Real Madrid made a host of signings that shook the football world to its core. They signed big names like Luis Figo, Ronaldo de Lima, David Beckham, Michael Owen and many more for prices that were unheard of in football history at the time.
Zinedine Zidane joined the Galacticos in 2001 for a hefty price of €77.5 million, a price that was almost €20 million more than what was paid for Luis Figo the season before and almost double the amount paid Ronaldo de Lima the season after.
The most expensive buys before Zidane in world football asides fellow Galactico Luis Figo were Hernan Crespo, signed by Lazio for €56 million in 2000; Christian Vieri, signed by Inter Milan in 1999 for €46 million; and Denilson, signed by Real Betis Balompie in 1999 for €31 million.
The jump to €70 million was world-breaking at the time, as many squads cost that amount in total.
No football club would be able to match or even break that record for the next eight years until Real Madrid – again – paid in excess of €90 million to Manchester United to secure the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo.
How did Zidane’s move work out for Real Madrid?
Florentino Perez was in his first tenure as Real Madrid president during this mega signing, fulfilling his promise to Los Blancos fans about attracting the world’s best players to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Prior to Zidane’s signing, the Frenchman was already a world and European champion. He was also a Ballon d’or winner and a two-time FIFA best men’s Player of the Year award winner.
Zidane was already an established player in Juventus with club awards and titles to his name, and was talked about in the world of football as often as discussions on talented players were had.
Zidane came in to become the creator-in-chief of Madrid and even after the likes of David Beckham and Ronaldo arrived, he remained the main man.
He scored 37 goals and provided 50 assists in 151 LaLiga games across five seasons. But his most memorable moment came in the Champions League final in the year he was signed.
With the game tied at 1-1 between Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen, Zidane struck a beautiful volley with his left foot that nestled itself in the top corner of Leverkusen’s net. That goal still remains one of the best goals in the tournament’s history.
Zidane will be remembered fondly by Real Madrid fans for his time as a player but mostly for his time as the club’s manager. He made up for winning only three trophies with Los Blancos during his playing career by winning eight trophies in three seasons as manager of the club.
In his time as manager, Zidane won three Champions League titles back-to-back between 2006 and 2018, taking Real Madrid six titles clear of the team with the second most Champions League titles, AC Milan.
His transfer proved to be the most important move which Perez made, as he played crucial roles in their record-breaking and record-setting history as both a player and a coach.
If the particular stint of Zico at Fenerbahce, as a coach, is something somewhat forgotten throughout Europe, it still remains as arguably of one the best managerial works in a Turkish club, and surely there isn’t any Turk who’s into football who doesn’t remember it.
Used to Make a Name for Himself
Zico is an uncontainable name in world football: named as the “white Pelé”, he has 545 goals to his name, and 39 titles in his sheet, he is not only of technically the best to ever step on the pitch, he is a legend of game for all the reasons that are not football also. His enticing personality, his will, and his leadership echoed through the teams he played for and, well, his tremendously differentiated feet did the rest. There is no way to speak about football without mentioning Zico at the very least once.
But there’s even more to Zico than his personality, his feet, or his career: he was also a politician and an edited musician. He also played beach football and his currently immaterial patrimony of Rio de Janeiro. Yep. That’s how much he means to Brazil.
Zico at Fenerbahce
Zico at Fenerbahce achieved, essentially, two things: titles and glory. In his stint at Fenerbahce, Zico managed to stage all the three most important titles in Turkish football: the League, the Super League and the Cup, all in one year. Now, it’s important to mention something about Zico’s squad, in order to fully understand how was he capable of not only winning these titles, but going the furthest that any Turkish team went in Europe, ever.
Zico could count, in his squad, with the likes of Edu Dracena, Alex, Deivid, Fabio Luciano and Roberto Carlos, all Brazilian talent, and most of them internationals. To add to that, Maldonado and Lugano were also star-features on this dream-team, that was relying mainly on South American talent to take Europe by storm.
Taking Europe for a Ride
In the 2007/2008 Champions League, Fenerbahce, as any other Turkish team, was not seen even as a team capable of passing the group-stage. Afterall, all this south-American talent was deemed finished and doing a pre-retirement cash-grab at Turkey, and the history was not kind to the emblem neither. Zico himself had never coached an European team before, and was considered a mediocre coach riding on a spectacular career as a football player.
All this speculation was put to bed, though, when Fenerbahce reach the final 16, though. At that time, teams were taking Fenerbahce’s squad and coach into consideration, at least more so than in the beginning of the tournament.
Rightfully so: Fenerbahce ended up taking Sevilla out of the way, after an emotional 5-5 in aggregate that took them to penalties, where Sevilla lost 3-2. Fenerbahce had made club and international headlines, being the first team to reach the quarter-finals in the Turkish clubs’ history.
Leaving, Standing Up
Next up there was Chelsea to face. This time, no one was taking the underdog so lightly as they did before. This takes another proportion when we know we are mentioning Mourinho’s Chelsea at his peak; a coach that wants to win at any cost, that is rational and strategic, that reads the teams quite well, and that had a squad to match any in Europe.
Nonetheless, Fenerbahce weren’t meant to go down without putting up a fight. And putting up a fight they did, winning at home 2-1, to the shock of the entire Europe. They hadn’t that much luck at Stamford Bridge though, where Chelsea won 2-0, taking Fenerbahce off the Champion’s League.
One thing who can’t be said about Zico’s Fenerbahce is that it left any sweat in its pours before surrendering. It was the brightest Fenerbahce’s period, and Zico played a fundamental role.
On Saturday 22nd January 2022, the Red Devils and the Hammers will lock horns at Old Trafford for their second leg premier league match, which is their third time to play each other this season.
West Ham will be looking to redeem themselves after the first leg defeat at home, the London Stadium. Although since 2007, West Ham has not won in the premier league at Old Trafford, they are sure to cause a real problem to the Manchester United players to clinch that win.
Manchester United vs. West Ham United – 22 Jan 2022 – Best Bookmakers
They may be seeking to rejuvenate themselves from a painful loss against Leeds in the past game week. Both these teams have injuries and unavailable players out playing for their countries. Therefore, this will be significant to the eventual result. Read on and find out more about this fixture, facts, and news about both teams.
Man United – West Ham Live Betting
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Manchester United Team News
Several players may not play for their side in the weekend’s match. Some of them include:
• Jadon Sancho
• Edinson Cavani
• Luke Shaw
• Aaron Wan Bissaka
• Jesse Lingard
• Paul Pogba
• Eric Bailly
United’s winger, Jadon Sancho, who missed the previous match against Brentford due to family bereavement, may not feature for Saturday’s fixture.
On Wednesday, Maguire came off the bench to replace Ronaldo and didn’t get the armband after getting on the field. On the other hand, Lindelof and Varane may start for the Red Devils backline, who are in better form, which leaves the boss, Rangnick, in a dilemma on who should start.
The goals of the previous game came from Anthony Elanga, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford, who replaced Greenwood later in the game. These three may be a doubt for that game, though Rashford may start because he played for just 20 minutes. Edinson Cavani and Luke Shaw are still out with muscle issues, didn’t feature for the midweek game and are likely not to play the weekend match.
During the midweek action, Scott Mctominay picked up an injury in the last minutes and had to be replaced by Nemanja Matic. Ralf Rangnick will be hoping he gets back on his feet before this fixture as he has developed to play a pivotal role under the interim manager.
Paul Pogba has been out and definitely won’t play, and Aaron Wan Bissaka, who joined Pogba on injury after the match against Norwich, is unsure of making even the bench soon. Eric Bailly is out on international duty, but Manchester United’s defence is covered with Maguire, Varane and Lindelof available.
West Ham Team News
For the Hammers, players that are likely not to make the squad against the Red Devils are:
• Said Benrahma
• Kurt Zouma
• Angelo Ogbonna
• Mark Noble
West Ham’s midfielder, Tomas Soucek, will return from COVID after missing the previous match that Leeds won against them at the London Stadium. Declan Rice seemed to be struggling during that game, but with Soucek likely to play in the weekend, the duo will be back to seal the midfield.
West Ham United winning the Betway Cup | imago-images
Both Pablo Fornals and Nikola Vlasic will battle for a single spot in David Moyes’ formation if Soucek is cleared to start for his side on Saturday’s game. The centre Back, Kurt Zouma, who has been out for six weeks, may make his return from the sidelines, but he may not be good enough to start for Moyes.
Said Benrahma from Algeria is out on international duty and therefore won’t be an option for Moyes’ squad playing on Saturday. Jarrod Bowen will start on the right flank and Michail Antonio in his usual centre forward position.
Mark Noble may be available; although he picked up a knock, he may be fit to play. Angelo Ogbonna was ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury against Liverpool back on 7th November 2021. With Dawson and Diop, the backline is still secure.
Final thoughts and Prediction Man United vs. West Ham
With Manchester United’s shaky form, they will seek to get three points at Old Trafford, but with Moyes, who also managed the Red Devils a while ago, it’s sure to be an uphill task. The hammers defeated the red devils at home to eliminate them from the Carabao Cup and progress to the fourth round; therefore, they also have a shot at getting the three points.
As said earlier, West Ham has not clinched a win in the premier league at Old Trafford since 2007; hence, it may be a historic match if the hammers win.
In the past five matches, Westham has scored a minimum of two goals, while the red devils in their last four home matches against the hammers have scored less than 2.5 goals across all competitions. Westham have 37 points and Manchester United 35 points, meaning that either team will be seeking a win to hold on to a top-four position. This match is sure to be exhilarating and full of action from both ends. Check out our list of betting sites to claim the best bookie offers!
It begins at 3:00 pm GMT on Saturday, 22nd January 2022.
Roberto Carlos is widely considered one of the greatest left backs in the history of football and we will be reminiscing on the exploits of the Brazil legend in this piece.
The defender was a pioneer for the attacking full-back as he was solid in defense, extremely devastating going forward and possessed one of the cleanest strikes of the ball the game has ever seen. He also had a reputation for scoring free-kicks that made him something of a ‘complete player’.
As most world-class players did at the time, Carlos joined Real Madrid from Inter Milan in 1996 and spent the next 11 seasons making history at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Brazilian won 13 trophies during his time at the club, most notably four La Liga titles and three UEFA Champions League crowns among others.
The São Paulo native possessed a famous cannon of a shot from dead balls and his powerful bending shots have been measured at over 169 km/h. Carlos became a mainstay in the Madrid side for over a decade as their former captain earned a reputation as the most offensive-minded left-back in the history of the game.
He duly cemented that legacy by assisting Zinedine Zidane’s iconic winning goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League Final.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup winner would make 125 appearances for his country which is recognized as the second-most appearances for the Seleção. Indeed, he was up to similarly record-breaking appearances for the famous Galacticos.
Carlos surpassed Alfredo di Stefano as the most capped foreign-born Real Madrid player in La Liga with 370 appearances in January 2006 and ended that season with six goals and six assists from 45 appearances. The rampaging full-back spent one more campaign in Madrid to total 527 games for Los Blancos, scoring 69 goals in the process. He ended that spell on a high as Madrid clinched La Liga in Roberto Carlos’s final game at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in 2007.
Till date, only Marcelo (533) and Karim Benzema (579) are the foreign players with more appearances for Real Madrid, and only Cristiano Ronaldo (316) joins the duo for more wins in the famous White kit than Carlos (301).
The legendary left-back departed Spain after 11 glorious years and moved to Fenerbahce where he scored 10 times in three seasons and won two Turkish Super Cups.
Carlos saw out the final years of his career between Corinthians in his hometown, Anzhi Makhachkala in Russia and Delhi Dynamos of India as a player/manager. He has ventured into management a number of times, but Roberto Carlos would forever resonate for many as the best to strike a ball with the left foot.
His exploits have defined a generation of superstars in the history of Real Madrid and Brazil, and his world-class abilities captured the hearts of a global audience. Par for the course, Roberto Carlos’ influence remains true to many modern-day footballers.
