Football, ugh. This week my soul suffered through the following abominations, travesties, and disappointments:
Chennaiyin 3-1 Kerala Blasters (16/12/2014)
Cruz Azul 0-4 Real Madrid (16/12/2014)
ES Setif 2-2 Western Sydney Wanderers (17/12/2014)
Skoda Xanthi 4-2 Panathinaikos (18/12/2014)
Malaga CF 4-1 Deportivo La Coruna (18/12/2014)
Al Wasl 2-4 Al Jazira (19/12/2014)
Manchester City 3-0 Crystal Palace (20/12/2014)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (20/12/2014)
It's been hard to pick only 11 players to kill from the many good candidates on display.
Dean Bouzanis (Western Sydney Wanderers) gets it in the neck for missing a penalty against ES Setif, though he was pretty solid for much of the rest of the game.
In front of him, there really weren't that many good defensive displays in the games I caught. That's why I've chosen Marco Materazzi (Chennaiyin), even though he played as a playmaker more than a defender. And even though he got sent off. But he didn't deserve to get sent off, and it happened in extra time. Which is more than I can say for one of the centre-backs I went for last week.
Another hard to justify pick is Dani Carvajal (Real Mejadra), as his side of monoliths and dimensions didn't really have to defend against Cruz Azul, and he's not really a centre-back anyway. But, as I've been saying, everyone else was dire this week.
Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) weren't, though - they eviscerated the bowels of Crystal Palace, and therefore actually deserve their spots. Teammate Yaya Toure in midfield was too good for Palace as well, though he wasted a lot of chances to score.
Malaga pairing Samu Garcia and Jose Camacho were too much for Deportivo in an entertaining 4-1 win that played out last Thursday. Samu's flair and trickery were matched by Germany's Karim Bellarabi (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), and ex-River Plate man Manuel Lanzini (Al Jazira), both of whom could be moving on to some of Europe's richest clubs in the next few months if rumours are to be believed. Finally, up front, it's Abdelmalik Ziaya (ES Setif), who was busy, strong, and not afraid to shoot from ridiculous positions in the Club World Cup. Well done him.
Subs: Bernard Mendy (Chennaiyin), Gullermo Ochoa (Malaga), David Silva (Manchester City), Roberto Rosales (Malaga), Romeo Castelen (Western Sydney Wanderers).
Chennaiyin 3-1 Kerala Blasters (16/12/2014)
Cruz Azul 0-4 Real Madrid (16/12/2014)
ES Setif 2-2 Western Sydney Wanderers (17/12/2014)
Skoda Xanthi 4-2 Panathinaikos (18/12/2014)
Malaga CF 4-1 Deportivo La Coruna (18/12/2014)
Al Wasl 2-4 Al Jazira (19/12/2014)
Manchester City 3-0 Crystal Palace (20/12/2014)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt (20/12/2014)
Dean Bouzanis (Western Sydney Wanderers) gets it in the neck for missing a penalty against ES Setif, though he was pretty solid for much of the rest of the game.
In front of him, there really weren't that many good defensive displays in the games I caught. That's why I've chosen Marco Materazzi (Chennaiyin), even though he played as a playmaker more than a defender. And even though he got sent off. But he didn't deserve to get sent off, and it happened in extra time. Which is more than I can say for one of the centre-backs I went for last week.
Another hard to justify pick is Dani Carvajal (Real Mejadra), as his side of monoliths and dimensions didn't really have to defend against Cruz Azul, and he's not really a centre-back anyway. But, as I've been saying, everyone else was dire this week.
Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City) weren't, though - they eviscerated the bowels of Crystal Palace, and therefore actually deserve their spots. Teammate Yaya Toure in midfield was too good for Palace as well, though he wasted a lot of chances to score.
Malaga pairing Samu Garcia and Jose Camacho were too much for Deportivo in an entertaining 4-1 win that played out last Thursday. Samu's flair and trickery were matched by Germany's Karim Bellarabi (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), and ex-River Plate man Manuel Lanzini (Al Jazira), both of whom could be moving on to some of Europe's richest clubs in the next few months if rumours are to be believed. Finally, up front, it's Abdelmalik Ziaya (ES Setif), who was busy, strong, and not afraid to shoot from ridiculous positions in the Club World Cup. Well done him.
Subs: Bernard Mendy (Chennaiyin), Gullermo Ochoa (Malaga), David Silva (Manchester City), Roberto Rosales (Malaga), Romeo Castelen (Western Sydney Wanderers).
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