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Champions League reaction: Sid Lowe answers your questions – live | Champions League
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Why have Spanish clubs slumped domestically despite strong showings in Europe?
trollercoaster asks: Why have so many Spanish clubs competing in the Champions League or European Cup been relegated? It happened with Real Betis and with Villarreal. We have seen leading Spanish clubs fall to the second division and even to lower leagues, see Deportivo.
Sid:
There are lots of elements at play here, and they are not all the same going back over time, as the structure of Spanish football has changed (collective TV deal, etc), while some clubs had their own specific issues (Depor’s success, built on money they didn’t really have, was what brought their fall, for example). The short-term reason for some teams – look at Athletic this season, for example – is that they don’t always have the resources for both competitions. There’s definitely a financial component to it. Villarreal’s relegation in 2012 was baffling but internally they had overspent – which is unlike them, a stable and financially strong club – although they did learn from that.
Look at the second division now and it is full of massive clubs (historically). Zaragoza are the really clear example … Sporting, Málaga, Depor, similar with Oviedo until last summer. Often laden with debt, often unready for the sudden fall off of income, etc …
Does the ‘curse of Sid Lowe’ still exist?
GUnit asks: Some years ago, us regular readers of your column had this running joke about the curse of Sid Lowe; ie whenever you’d write an article praising a team, they’d go and lose the next match. Would you say it’s broken now?
Sid:
I don’t know … I’m not sure that I feel that the people I bigged up (early) have started suffering better fates … have they? It might not have been that bad before. Or maybe it was, ha.
There’s a related issue here, actually, which is part of the daily battle … most pieces are on-demand, so to speak, (the desk asks about an issue or I suggest an issue or whatever), but on Mondays, the regular column linked to the weekend games, I more or less write what I want (over a 38-week season there might be three or four weeks when the desk suggests/wants a certain topic and I’m not totally mad: if it’s clásico weekend then very likely that will be the focus). Which is why you get Leganés or Levante.
Anyway, to the point: that means I am often “gambling” on a subject: which game to go to, where I think a story might be, who the overachievers are, whether I can afford to wait a few weeks to do them and so on … and so when I have written on say, aren’t Getafe amazing, and the week after they lose, well, usually I am happy about that and think thankfully I got it out when it was true, rather than missing the chance to write a good story by waiting and then next week it’s no longer true. Usually that outweighs the feeling of “ah bollocks, now I’ve cursed it and/or look stupid”. Not least, of course, because I won’t have written it in the first place if I didn’t really think so. Some weeks you have loads of topics to choose from; some weeks, in truth, you wake on Monday morning empty-handed and panicking.
Where is Viktor Onopko?
CarlosZ asks: Hi Sid, what became of Viktor Onopko?
Sid:
The one and only Viktor Onopko! What a player. He’s assistant coach of the Russian national team, I think.
I went to do a piece with the Spanish unemployed players team a few years ago and they played CSKA and he was there as assistant to Slutsky, if memory serves. I missed him post game, didn’t get the chance to speak to him and have regretted it ever since.
Who will be Real Madrid’s next manager?
KratosBeThyName asks: What’s next for Real Madrid? Arbeloa’s not gonna be there next season. Have you heard anything about who Pérez is targeting? (Not Klopp, I hope)
Sid:
He would love it to be Jürgen Klopp … which doesn’t mean it will be. I’m intrigued by this situation. We could be in for a long few months. And endless names.
I also think it needs more than just the change of name, it’s also about culture and power at the club. And the perception of a need to change that was already there, which is why the sacking of Xabi Alonso doesn’t only feel like a pity but also a missed opportunity. There is, I think, an irritation at his sacking that is not just about him as a coach but what he symbolised, what he was supposed to bring, and the fact that it was undermined by his authority effectively being removed. As for a name, someone like Mauricio Pochettino wouldn’t surprise me.
What are this season’s feelgood stories in Spain?
stooze asks: If you could choose one (or maybe two, three?) genuine feelgood stories from Spanish football this season – ones that virtually everyone in Spain would agree on – what would they be?
Sid:
Santi Cazorla, of course. (But maybe that is more last season than this, what with things not going quite so well now … ). Watching him get an ovation at every ground is lovely.
Vedat Muriqi: my word, he’s amazing. And everyone loves him. Top character too. I’m very, very close to considering him player of the year.
I would love to say Lamine Yamal as this incredible kid who might well be the best in the world and lead Spain to the World Cup, but of course that has not been as clear as it felt at the Euros (and even then there were some who resisted), when he felt more like he was everyone’s …
Is the Spanish press harsh on Atlético’s playing style?
Goatse asks: Has there ever been such loud, blanket, across-the-board outrage at Atlético’s playing style from both the Spanish media and from Spanish fans as there has been around Arsenal from the English media and other clubs’ fans for the past few months?
Sid:
Difficult to answer this because to be honest I’m not entirely sure about the UK media/societal/fan response to Arsenal. But, not being RM or FCB, having a defensive identity (previously, but it lingers here too), having a coach like Simeone, I would say that Atlético fans will feel that they have felt the finger of accusation pointing at them often as well … I’m not sure I would call it outrage, or across the board, but the accusation of anti-football, boring, etc … all that is there I guess.
It’s not all cliche of course, and cliches and stereotypes are often rooted in some truth. I remember an opposition coach coming past me after a game at Atlético once, years ago in fairness, and saying “Christ, they’re a horrible team, aren’t they?”
How will Atlético fare against Arsenal in the Champions League semis?
cordelspo asks: Do you think Atlético will trouble Arsenal? They were hammered 4-0 in the group stages; has anything changed since then to make you think there will be a different outcome?
And, on a similar theme, benjvj asks: Good morning Sid, greetings from Valencia. What are Arsenal’s chances in Madrid? Will the atmosphere be as wild as against Barcelona?
Sid:
Atlético have changed a lot since then … or sort of. Their title challenge, insofar as there was ever one, was over by Christmas really and there have been evolutions, shifts, changes in form. I think there’s a momentum and a clarity about them now that wasn’t there before. An obvious, if simplistic example: Antoine Griezmann and Koke were supposed to be getting phased out but are among the best and will play now. Griezmann is sensational. Marcos Llorente has been full-back and midfielder, and is a freak of nature.
It feels like every year there’s this almost existential debate about what Atlético are and at some point along the way they sort of find themselves. What they are not, by the way, is what so many people seem to think they are. “We attack better than we defend,” Diego Simeone says and he is right. In terms of the last Arsenal game and this one, I guess there’s the change in Arsenal themselves and also the very basic thing which is that it is a different context now than in the league phase.
Not having seen enough of Arsenal I am unsure, but I would probably lean towards them as favourites, and I’m intrigued to see the approach. Atlético and Barcelona have played six times this season and all of the games have been different. The atmosphere should be great, although maybe not quite at the level of the Barcelona game.
How has Spanish football evolved during your career?
proevpete asks: Hi Sid. How has La Liga and Spanish football more broadly changed since you started your reporting career? And how has the actual reporting of it changed in that time as well?
Sid:
There are loads of elements to this, not least as it’s a long time, and there have definitely been big shifts economically and so on, and obviously a lot of it is societal, which is being played out everywhere not just here.
I think some parts remain the same, the quality of the football, the taste for technique (in very broad terms, as there are a million caveats), lots of players coming through … you can see shifts in the national team of course: they were like England, the “big” team that never won and that has changed. Obviously, I think the big difference between Spain and elsewhere (well, England in this case), is the dominance of two teams … and yet that does not entirely eclipse the other clubs, some of which are very big, and I’m always very conscious of giving space and proper attention to the “other 18”. They often feel abandoned by Spanish media/society, I think. In terms of reporting, that’s central to it.
There’s immediacy now of course; I’m not pre-internet, but it has changed completely, the platforms and tools, etc. The content shift, which has been played out everywhere I think, but is much more accentuated here than anywhere else, is the increase of the shouty-confrontational stuff, which I find utterly tedious to be honest.
How did you get into all things Spain?
tpth asks: Sid! I’m a massive fan of both your writing and the country about which you write. I’m wondering how you learned to speak Spanish/how you came to develop such an affinity for Spanish culture – I feel like I read you did an exchange year at some point?
Sid:
Thank you. And hello everyone. Tea made, so I’m ready. (Which, erm, maybe undermines this first question/answer a bit).
I suppose the simple answer is: people. And, in truth, while I do think Spain is special and there are lots of very good reasons to believe it’s different, who knows, it might have worked out the same way if somehow I had ended up in Italy or France or Germany or wherever. The practical answer, which takes in the language and, from there, I guess the affinity, is that I did Spanish at school (as well as French).
There was a school exchange to Lorca, in Murcia, of all places. Tiny little town. This is 1990, I think. And I turned up with no Spanish at all. But the family were lovely, all the kids on the trip (including the English ones) were great, and I found myself suddenly thinking actually this isn’t so hard. The language, I mean. I came back and really through myself into it, reading in Spanish (kids books, nothing clever) and translating and stuff … then, to give the brief version, GCSE, A-level and my degree was Spanish and history. The history was the part that really drew me in I think. Third year of University was Erasmus year in Oviedo, which is a step again. Studied there. “Studied”, ahem. Played football too, although I then broke my ankle. Which was all part of it.
Again: people. I did a Masters and PhD in Spanish political history which brought me back, this time to Madrid. I am, in part, an accidental journalist. And then I don’t know really, I guess it’s just being here and enjoying it, having an interest. In truth at times now, at my old age, busy with work and stuff, I sometimes feel like I don’t get as culturally engaged and immersed as I might/should, but it is true that the writing about football is always about society and people too for me and means engaging with all those kind of questions as well.
Welcome
Sid Lowe is the Guardian’s Spanish football correspondent, based in Madrid, and has been covering an increasingly busy beat for years. And after a busy week of action in the Champions League, La Liga and beyond, post your questions below the line; he’ll answer as many as he can from 12pm BST.
In the meantime, here’s his report from Madrid, where Atlético knocked Barcelona out of the quarter-finals, plus Andy Hunter’s dispatch from PSG’s win over Liverpool.
And after another dramatic night on Wednesday, here’s Nick Ames on a classic in Munich, where Bayern knocked out Real Madrid, plus Barney Ronay on Arsenal squeezing past Sporting.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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