Random Match of the Week, Feyenoord Rotterdam - PSV Eindhoven [4 December 2011]

After watching this match I can see why dutch football is not where it was in the past. Although both teams tried to play and open game most of the time the ball was played around in the midfield and only on a few occasions, mostly on the counter, the ball reached a penalty box.

Feyenoord won the game with two goals to zero, both scored in counterattack situations and one of them with a lot of help from a naive and very young PSV central defender.

It seemed that the whole match lacked in maturity and that is understandable if you know that both teams had a lot of 18-20 year old players on the pitch. It's not a bad thing to encourage very young players in the first eleven, but I think the dutch are pushing it to an extreme and that might be one of the reasons they don't get consistent results in Europe anymore.

The goals where scored by Cissé (41st minute) and Schaken (50th minute).

Random Match of the Week, Preview Feyenoord Rotterdam - PSV Eindhoven [4 December 2011]

One to watch - Georginio Wijnaldum (now playing for PSV after coming from Feyenoord)

I always thought of the Eredivisie as a league with very attractive football, always straightforward and with lots and lots of goals. Today I'm going to watch the match between Feyenoord and PSV, two of the giants in dutch football.

Although these teams have lost some of their former glory (both having won the Champions League once) they keep producing a lot of quality players, and I'm sure some are going to shine today.

Random Match of the Week, CFR Cluj - Dinamo Bucuresti [5 November 2011]

I saw a very nice match last night, a match that had almost everything in it, penalties, a very late goal and great comebacks.

CFR seemed the team that had the better players and controlled the first half, but in spite of their dominance the first goal was scored by Dinamo. 0-1 but nothing was even close to being decided.

After a penalty in the 38th minute for Cluj, everything was back to square one at half time. Continuing to dominate they also scored in the beginning of the second half and now it seemed that they could not lose this game as they held the possession for most of the remaining time.

In the final ten minutes everything changed again. A penalty that came out of nowhere brought an equalizer for Dinamo and they seemed pleased with getting a point and staying in the first place of the League, but that changed again in extra time when Marius Niculae scored another great goal and brought all the 3 point back to Bucharest.

This is one of the reasons I love football, a team that wants the points more can win against a team that has slightly better players.

Random Match of the Week, Preview CFR Cluj - Dinamo Bucuresti [5 November 2011]

Today I'm going to watch the match between the teams in second and first place in the Romanian League.

CFR Cluj is a team that has enjoyed a good spell in the last four years with two qualifications in the UEFA Champions League which is pretty big for Romanian standards. They had a new approach for a Romanian team which was to heavily import foreign players and so far it seems to work for them with seven trophies won in the last 4 years. That is pretty impressive for a team that came to the first league in 2004. After a modest year they try to push for another title this season and a win today will lead them in first place with a good chance of winning the title.

Dinamo Bucuresti on the other hand are a team with a long history of trophies but with a dry spell from 2007 onward. Having a good start with a new and young manager (Liviu Ciobotariu), they are currently ahead of CFR by only one point and if they want to regain past glory they should push for a win on the ground of their main competitors this year.

Random Match of the Week, Hamburger SV - VfL Wolfsburg [22 October 2011]

Although the game ended 1-1 it was a very disputed match. After a quickfire goal by Wolfsburg in the 65th second through Mandzukic, the wolves retreated and Hamburg pushed forward in a good fashion and the goal could not be very far. Petric equalized in the 56 minute and Hamburg seemed ready to push even harder and get the win, but that didn't happen as they seemed out of fuel.

The last 20 minutes saw an equilibrium and the game ended in a draw.

I usually don't follow the Bundesliga but this game was more than I expected for two teams from the second half of the table. Actually it was a lot more entartaining than last week's Liverpool - Manchester United, and in the future I might be holding a closer eye on German football.

Volksparkstadion stadium photographed by sandro.s

Random Match of the Week, Preview Hamburger SV - VfL Wolfsburg [22 October 2011]

Heiko Westermann - Hamburgs captain

Today I'm going to see a match from the Bundesliga between Hamburger SV and Wolfsburg.

Hamburg is the only team that always played in the Bundesliga from its foundation in 1963, thus earning the nickname "The Dinosaurs". Unfortunately for them, they currently are in the last place. A team that is usually in the first half of the league, now, after 9 fixtures Hamburg managed to bring home only 7 points, but they seem to have gained some momentum with 2 wins in the last 3 matches and I'm sure they will try to continue this good run.

The wolves on the other hand, stand a little better in the league in 12th place, but they still have to win points if they want to be at a comfortable distance from the following pack, and what better chance to do that than to beat the team in last place.

Photo from soccer.ru

Random Match of the Week, Liverpool - Manchester United [15 October 2011]

Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United

I just saw a good match, maybe not as good as I was hoping, but all in all a good watch. United started with a team that was almost unrecognizable, with Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck. It seems that after last year's Champions League final, Ferguson is trying to bring some fresh blood to his first eleven, and today was a perfect example for that if you look at the substitutes bench where he left Rooney, Nani, Anderson and Hernandez between others.

Liverpool was the team that seemed to want the win more, but that didn't help with anything until the second half when Gerrard scored from a free kick. Soon after, Sir Alex Ferguson moved and brought Rooney and Nani on, and also Hernandez a few minutes later. Although after these three changes United equalized from a corner through Hernandez, Liverpool was still the team having the good chances but not the second goal.

The plus: Luis Suarez is an incredible player. In a match with two managers focused on tactics and strong players, his technique and speed in controlling the ball recommend him as one of the best players in the world at the moment.

The minus: I have to say that I'm a little disappointed with the fans, from what I can remember, Liverpool supporters used to be incredible. Today they were nothing special.

Anfield photographed by El Ronzo.