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Archive for December, 2009

• Defender has torn knee ligaments
• Jamie Carragher likely to swap to full-back

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has been ruled out for at least a month with a knee injury. The England right-back sustained a tear of the medial ligament in his right knee during Tuesday’s 1-0 victory at Aston Villa.

“Johnson has a problem, so he’ll see a specialist and then we’ll talk but we know he’ll be out for at least one month,” said Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez. “But we are waiting for another opinion and then we’ll know how long.”

Right-back has become a troublesome position for Benítez as Swiss international Philipp Degen has struggled to settle after injury wrecked his first season after signing in the summer of 2008.

The 26-year-old did not make his Premier League debut until this September and has been unconvincing in the first team, and was sent off in the 3-1 defeat to Fulham at the end of October.

Benítez’s likely option is to move Jamie Carragher from central defence to fill a role he is not entirely comfortable with.

He could also give Stephen Darby an extended run in the side while 19-year-old Martin Kelly – who made his first start in the Champions League defeat at home to Lyon in October – is currently sidelined with injury.

If the Liverpool manager should decide to dip into the transfer market it is unlikely he would be looking for anything other than a short-term loan deal.

On the positive front, Benítez is hopeful of having Albert Riera back from a hamstring problem within the next few days.

“Riera will start training tomorrow, so hopefully in the next week he can be available,” said Benítez. “Kelly and Nabil El-Zhar still need maybe one or two weeks.”

LiverpoolPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

From Brazil’s 2002 World Cup win to Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Barcelona with a whole lot of talking points in between. Words: Kevin McCarra

How it changed for the better The quality of club football at the very top level can never have been higher, even if the standard is just starting to dip a little. Considering the expense incurred in luring outstanding footballers from all over the world the owners were entitled to accept nothing less. Arsene Wenger also showed what a cosmopolitan approach can achieve even with a comparatively restricted budget.

How it changed for the worse Stadiums and teams, by and large, have been upgraded, but the cost of attending is often excruciating for Premier League fans. There is little diversity to the competition. Only four clubs have won the Premier League so far and Blackburn will not be expecting to repeat their feat.

Decade’s top five

1 Barcelona Pep Guardiola’s side is not packed with goliaths, so it was a joy to see that sheer perfection of movement and passing technique could leave even Manchester United powerless to get to grips with them as Barcelona took the Champions League for a second time this decade in 2009.

2 Spain Though there is an overlap in personnel and style with Barcelona, the Euro 2008 champions differed markedly and had to develop over the course of a tournament that culminated in a polished victory over Germany when they were without the injured David Villa.

3 Arsenal It would have been uncanny to witness any side go through the League programme unbeaten, but Arsene Wenger’s line-up were all the more remarkable because the durability rested on style as much as steel in the 2003-04 campaign.

4 Manchester United There could hardly have been a greater challenge to a manager but Sir Alex Ferguson, in his mid-sixties, regrouped to shape a side that quelled Chelsea and has now brought three titles in a row and the 2008 Champions League to Old Trafford.

5 Brazil They are as capable of winning ugly as playing the beautiful game. In 2002, the side took the first World Cup to be held in Asia and adaptable Brazil will be favourites to regain the trophy when the tournament comes to Africa.

Match of the decade It may have been the strangest match on a major occasion rather than the greatest, but the 2005 Champions League final was unique. Milan generally looked superior, apart from the six-minute spell in which Liverpool scored three times to pull level. Jerzy Dudek still had to pull off an astonishing double save from Andriy Shevchenko to help Liverpool to a shoot-out in which he settled the final by blocking the Ukrainian’s kick.

Most memorable moment The spectacle of Zinedine Zidane contorting himself to meet an awkwardly dropping ball from Roberto Carlos and score the winner against Bayer Leverkusen with a supreme volley in the 2002 Champions League final.

2020 vision It’s more of a wish than a prophecy, but it would be heartening if owners became more subdued after the global recession and tired of throwing away their fortunes. Outcomes then would not seem quite so dependent on, as Wenger termed it, “financial doping.”

To read our experts’ reviews of the decade in other sports, go here.

Premier LeagueSpainBrazilArsenalLiverpoolMilanWorld Cup 2006BarcelonaManchester UnitedManchester CityKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk

Barcelona, Brazil and Zinedine Zidane provide the memorable moments as Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger continue to shape the domestic game

How it changed for the better The quality of club football at the very top level can never have been higher, even if the standard is just starting to dip a little. Considering the expense incurred in luring outstanding footballers from all over the world the owners were entitled to accept nothing less. Arsène Wenger also showed what a cosmopolitan approach can achieve even with a comparatively restricted budget.

How it changed for the worse Stadiums and teams, by and large, have been upgraded, but the cost of attending is often excruciating for Premier League fans. There is little diversity to the competition. Only four clubs have won the Premier League so far and Blackburn will not be expecting to repeat their feat.

Decade’s top five

1 Barcelona Pep Guardiola’s side is not packed with goliaths, so it was a joy to see that sheer perfection of movement and passing technique could leave even Manchester United powerless to get to grips with them as Barcelona took the Champions League for a second time this decade in 2009.

2 Spain Though there is an overlap in personnel and style with Barcelona, the Euro 2008 champions differed markedly and had to develop over the course of a tournament that culminated in a polished victory over Germany when they were without the injured David Villa.

3 Arsenal It would have been uncanny to witness any side go through the League programme unbeaten, but Wenger’s line-up were all the more remarkable because the durability rested on style as much as steel in the 2003-04 campaign.

4 Manchester United There could hardly have been a greater challenge to a manager but Sir Alex Ferguson, in his mid-sixties, regrouped to shape a side that quelled Chelsea and has now brought three titles in a row and the 2008 Champions League to Old Trafford.

5 Brazil They are as capable of winning ugly as playing the beautiful game. In 2002, the side took the first World Cup to be held in Asia and adaptable Brazil will be favourites to regain the trophy when the tournament comes to Africa.

Match of the decade It may have been the strangest match on a major occasion rather than the greatest, but the 2005 Champions League final was unique. Milan generally looked superior, apart from the six-minute spell in which Liverpool scored three times to pull level. Jerzy Dudek still had to pull off an astonishing double save from Andriy Shevchenko to help Liverpool to a shoot-out in which he settled the final by blocking the Ukrainian’s kick.

Most memorable moment The spectacle of Zinedine Zidane contorting himself to meet an awkwardly dropping ball from Roberto Carlos and score the winner against Bayer Leverkusen with a supreme volley in the 2002 Champions League final.

2020 vision It’s more of a wish than a prophecy, but it would be heartening if owners became more subdued after the global recession and tired of throwing away their fortunes. Outcomes then would not seem quite so dependent on, as Wenger termed it, “financial doping”.

BarcelonaSpainArsenalArsène WengerManchester UnitedBrazilLiverpoolMilanChampions LeagueKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk