Bleacher Report - Articles by Ana Maria

Home & Away: The Advantages of Playing at Home

Ana Maria — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:13:19 -0400

It’s statistically proven that playing at home gives the players a huge advantage.

But do you know the reason?

Well to be fair, no one does. But there sure are some very interesting theories.

Statistics (Home : Away)

Those statistics are the results of a study analyzing the English Premier League in the years between 1992 and 2005

Goal average: 1.5 — 1.1

Yellow cards: 1.1 — 1.6

Red Cards: 0.06 — 0.09

Penalties converted: 0.1 — 0.05

Blame The Poor Referee

Statistically, referees are more likely to favor the home team even after eliminating the effects of the crowd by awarding fouls, cards, and penalty kicks.

Adding the jeering of the fans when every player happens to trip over his own laces and you can see how biased a referee can be.

Another study indicates that stronger teams tend to be favored by referees. Also many referees don’t believe in the saying "innocent until proven guilty", and are heavily swayed by players and team's reputations.

This can somewhat explain why teams at the top of the league get many dodgy calls in their favor, while smaller and more physical teams can get bullied by some referees.

Because those big teams perform well, referees subconsciously assume that player X who plays for this magnificent club is too talented to try and dive to get a point from humble team Y (unless he’s Ronaldo).

Good Old Steroids

The natural steroids, not the illegal ones.

Studies showed that the levels of testosterone in the players' bodies increase by 50% when playing at home and this percentage is even higher when they play against arch-rivals.

Testosterone is one of the most popular doping agents among athletes and any increase in its levels in circulations greatly affects both the physical and mental performances of the players.

This increase is possibly because of the primal instinct in males to "defend their territories", which in this case are their home stadiums.

It also appears that a larger crowd makes the home team play more aggressively, which may indicate that the fans also help increase the testosterone levels.

My House My Rules

Another widely accepted factor is the fact that a change in routine for the travelling team also puts them at a disadvantage.

Sure, some people think players are just being softies, but I'm sure you grumble and moan when their is too much milk in your coffee and claim your whole day is ruined.

Imagine what the players have to go through every other week.

Traveling, sleeping in hotels, being out of their elements can harm the players’ mental and physical strength, and lead them to under-perform.

Worth Mentioning

—The level of bias differs between referees so don’t be quick to point fingers. Consider the possibility that maybe your team’s players really are thugs.

—The amount of home advantage decreases in lower divisions; probably because those divisions have smaller crowds.

—It’s the size of the crowd that seems to make a difference, not the density.

—"Home advantage" is a good and valid excuse you can use when your team loses. Just pick the right time to use it and don’t abuse the excuse, or else you will be called a whiner.

The Trials & Tribulations of Valencia CF

Ana Maria — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:22:12 -0400

Valencia are the third most popular team in Spain, and a constant thorn in the sides of the top two, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

They also, as they love reminding anyone who will listen, deserve recognition as one of the "big boys" in La Liga, with six league titles and seven Copa Del Reys.

Their team boasts some of the best talents in Spain; Villa, Silva, Vicente, and Joaquin are just some of the impressive names Los Ches are lucky to have in their line-up which, at least on paper, is strong enough to compete for the league title this season.

Clearly this paints a rosy picture of the club's current state, but is it really all sunshine in the Mestalla?

Sadly, no.

Valencia have constantly whined about the amount of attention Real Madrid and Barcelona receive, but they can finally rejoice as the spotlight will be on them this season, albeit for all the wrong reasons.

Goodbye Benitez [2004-2005]

Like any team, Valencia needs men in suits to operate the club. But, unfortunately for Los Ches, in 2004 those men were as useless and inept as management can possibly be.

Valencia’s management has been invoking the wrath of the fans and the ridicule of spectators for as long as I can remember; but the most recent fiasco gained prominence with Juan Soler’s arrival on 2004, which coincided with the departure of Rafa Benitez.

Benitez’s famous quote, “I asked for a sofa and they gave me a lamp”, pointed the blame toward the men in suits, and it is where the blame should rightly be placed.

Soler, who bought the majority of the club's shares and became the president, tried to amend the mistakes of the previous managment and convince Benitez to stay. But the coach decided that enough was enough, and insisted on leaving while he still retained his mental health.

Claudio Ranieri was the unlucky successor in charge of creating a winning team out of a talent-studded yet dysfunctional dressing room, and with a pesky managerial nose peering over his shoulder.

After one season and a seventh place finish, Ranieri was sacked, and the next victim, Quique Flores, was brought into the slaughter house.

Flores to The Rescue [2005-2007]

Flores proved he was the man for the job, finishing in third place after a very impressive first campaign. He even managed to finish fourth the following season, despite numerous internal conflicts and spats.

Flores was hailed as the man who could handle the lunacy of Valencia, and returned the club to the right path. In the fans' eyes, he was the new Benitez.

But in 2007, after some disappointing results and endless conflicts with the management, the "new Benitez’" was sacked, after both the club and the fans turned against him.

Soler can rightly argue that he couldn’t avoid the departure of Benitez as the mess was created before he arrived, but he repeated the same mistake as the previous management—by sacking the only coach to achieve any form of success.

Common sense states that not many quality coaches have the stomach to handle the mad house that is Valencia, so when you find someone who does then, by all means, you hold on to him as if he was dear life itself.

Sadly, common sense is not so common after all (least not at the Mestalla), and Valencia hired their third coach in four years, Ronald Koeman.

Koeman? Oh My! [2007-2008]

A widely accepted consensus is that Koeman was happy to be the management’s puppet in the hope that he could keep his job long enough to move onto better things—possibly even to slip into the vacancy left by Rijkaard’s imminent departure at Barcelona.

However, six months later, Valencia were too close to the wrong end of the table and in real risk of relegation.

While he dragged down Valencia, Koeman also managed the great feat of ousting Albelda, Angolo, and Cañizares , the most loyal players on the team.

The sight of Albelda crying in a press conference, coupled with the team's disastrous performances, turned Koeman and Soler into hated figures in and out of Valencia.

On October 2008, Koeman was unceremoniously dismissed from the job, and the three outcasts were allowed to return to the club. Valencia finished the season in 10th place under caretaker Salvador Marco, or Voro.

Change was imminent for the blighted club.

Ding Dong, The Witch Is Gone [summer of 2008]

If this short summery makes you think Valencia had turned into a circus, then you have seen nothing yet as the drama, backstabbings, resignations, and mayhem in the boardroom itself are enough to produce a soap opera that would make Mexican television look like a lighthearted sitcom.

In a desperate final attempt, Soler hired a financial consultant, the shady Juan Villalonga, only to fire him two weeks later. After four years of disasters and an impressive display of single-handed destruction, Soler finally started getting sick of his toy and decided to sell his shares in the club on the summer of 2008; but not before announcing that the club is “a dying patient.”

Valencia are in serious debt; the original debt was 439 ME, and 350 ME for the new stadium—making the total a staggering 789 ME (about £642m).

Valencia must pay 150 ME (around £122m) by the end of this year to avoid going bankrupt.

As Stubborn As a Bat

In comes Soriano, the new president of Valencia and major shareholder.

Villalonga suggested in the media that the club must sell some of its star players in order to survive, and everyone expected a major clearout, with the team setting free some of their most expensive bats.

But Soriano had another plan—sell all the players returning from loans, keep your best players (David Villa alone could’ve brought in more than 50 ME), and give them new contracts you can’t possibly afford.

In a mind boggling move, Soriano rejected ludicrous offers for European champions Villa and Silva, one of them coming from the new Chelsea, Manchester City.

One can only wonder whether Soriano actually has an alternative plan, or if Valencia will have to endure the same fate as Fiorentina.

The New Guy in Town

Valencia’s latest coach is the young Unai Emery. At only 36, Emery is hailed as one of the most promising managers in Spain after he achieved wonders with Almeria, leading them out of the second division and into an eighth place finish in the first Division—all in just two years at helm.

Whether he can manage to keep his head from falling remains to be seen, but he is off to a good start in La Liga with a convincing 3-0 win against Mallorca. Things are relatively quiet in Valencia, and will stay that way as long as the team is winning.

But Los Ches can’t contain the storm for long, and this season will be decisive for Valencia. Will they be able to pay the debt and recover their status as one of the titans in Spain?

Or are the fans and the players doomed to pay for the mistakes of the men in suits?

The Pros & Cons of Señor Ramon Calderon

Ana Maria — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 05:05:55 -0400

Well, Ramon Calderon seems to have become the beloved idol of the public in just two years of competing with Blatter for that title. This piece is not about defending the old man, it only (tries to) objectively lists the pros and cons of señor Ramon Calderon:

(Note: this is not meant to be taken too seriously)

Cons:

1. He’s everywhere! When I watch the national team, he’s there. When I watch tennis, he’s there. For God’s sake stay at home for a while!

2. He thinks the world revolves around Real Madrid (to be honest we all do)

3. He was fooled by the lamest Nicholas Cage impersonator therefore he is deemed uncool.

4. (Everyone’s favourite) He can’t shut up for more than a minute and always says the darnest things ever.

5. He thinks it’s a good thing to be honest and spill everything out to the media (No…just stop talking!)

6. (related to the former one) He is surprised that people get angry over what he says.

7. (read pro 3) When he does something like that, he talks about it to the press (now Villarreal’s president is mad and, guess what, Calderon is surprised he’s angry)

8. He promises players on whims and rarely delivers them.

9. He wanted to buy Ronaldo even though no one else wanted him.

10. He ignored Schuster when he said he wanted a striker.

11. He still haven't sold Robinho. [Due to recent events, this will become pro 14]

Pros:

1. He’s a cute old man.

2. He didn’t strip into his underwear in an airport.

3. He actually stands by his principals sometimes (he didn’t pay the buyout clause for Cazorla, unlike Perez and Ramos...read con 7).

4. He’s Spanish like the team.

5. Watching him is like watching a baby learn how to walk. Frustrating, but you feel proud and want to give him a candy bar when he gets something right.

6. He picked Mijatovic to babysit him.

7. He built a young good team and is doing what he promised to do: make the team more Spanish.

8. He doesn’t spend record breaking fees like Perez (Mijatovic also deserves credit for that).

9. Perez doesn’t like his approach (aka. too much football, not enough visits to Asia)

10. (This may be shocking to some) He’s not the editor of Marca nor AS.

11. He brought us two league titles in two years.

12. He puts the club first at all time.

13. Raul likes him (this seals the deal).

14. [NEW] He sold Robinho to Man City for 42 ME (I expect to see flying pigs anytime now.. poor Robinho)

So you see the pros clearly outweigh the cons 14 to 10 (not on purpose really :P). Don’t you think the criticism he gets from English fans is a bit unfair? (why do I feel the answer will be no?). My point is, despite his many many faults, he's been good for Real Madrid so far and he's really not the villain everyone thinks he are... He just needs to put his foot in his mouth sometimes.

Robinho Opens His Mouth Again

Ana Maria — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 02:54:37 -0400

Many people have painted Real Madrid as the villains in this new saga (they never end do they?) but let’s take a look at poor old Robinho's latest little gem and see how this modern day slave (according to his agent ) manages to survive the oppression of evil Madrid. In his very own press conference (to which he was late, btw) Robinho said again that he wants to leave because he wasn't appreciated, they love Cristiano more than him blah blah, and all his usual rants (what is it with him and Ronaldo!). Some things worth mentioning though:

1- He said Real Madrid didn't offer to improve his contract until after they failed to purchase anyone:False. they offered him one while the Ronaldo saga was underway ( I think around 6 mill. Not like the lucrative deal from Chelsea, but sure he can't be leaving for money!). I think Robinho should look at his attitude and his performances in the past seasons before asking himself if he deserved more money than that (he didn’t).

2- He sent his agent and his father went to the club many times and they were ignored:True I suppose lol. I don't know about his father, but I read in Marca that Calderon and Mijatovic have been ignoring Ribeiro and I honestly don't blame them. The man is a real 'piece of work' (I can't curse, can I?) whose sole mission is to transfer his whiny client from one club to another as many times as possible and then go home and swim in his profits a la uncle Scrooge. Not to mention that he is so in love with his own voice, he seems unable to shut up for full week.

3- Schuster is not his father:Shocking! Who would've guessed he wasn't his long lost son. On a more serious note, saying something like that speaks volumes about Robinho's personality. Schuster has been nothing but supportive to Robinho and defended him even when he said he wanted to leave; not to mention that he was the only thing standing between him and Calderon’s baseball bat. To talk like that about the man who is possibly his only remaining friend in the club sends the message that Robinho is all about Robinho (not that it wasn't obvious before, but some people refused to see that)

4- He chose to speak the day of Real Madrid's match in the Riazor: couldn’t he wait until the Classico or our game in the Mestalla? He’s turning into Ronaldo v2 (and we remember how fond Raul was of Ronaldo. Bye Robby)

I suppose money is hard to resist, but the way Robinho and his agent have conducted themselves so far is very disrespectful to the team and the fans who supported him through him ups and (many) downs. I hope he can grow up a bit in Chelsea and maybe fire his agent, but Robinho, in my opinion, has such a high regard for himself that he will never be satisfied with anything short than a king’s treatment and this may cause him many setbacks.

What do you think about Robinho’s behaviour? Do you think my opinion is too harsh or biased? (NO) One thing is certain, Robinho better wear ear muffs the next time he’s in the Bernabeu because everyone (including yours truly) will be booing him like there is no tomorrow.