Football Failures

End of season WTA & ATP Championships


Henin defeated Sharapova in the WTA Championship final in a match lasting three & a half hours. Henin hasn't lost since losing from a set up to Bartoli at Wimbledon, a 25-match win streak. As well as being arguably the most talented female player, the stats prove Henin is the best too.

The end of the ATP season saw a return to form for David Nalbandian. He showed his potential by reaching the Wimbledon final in 2002, and has made the semis of the other 3 Slams- French (04, 06) Aus (2006) & US (03). He had struggled for form this season, but incredibly he won back-to back Masters titles in Paris & Madrid, beating both Federer & Nadal twice. Andy Murray did very well to be in contention to qualify for the Masters Cup, considering the period he lost to injury (Wimbledon & US Open) & consequent loss of opportunity to pick up ranking points.



The ATP Masters Cup was business as usual for the Fed Express, although Fernando Gonzalez beat Federer in the round-robin stage. When his forehand is in the groove, Gonzo is unstoppable, but he is erratic. End of season tiredness can lead to unexpected defeats in this tournament. Novak Djokovic has had an excellent year, but lost all three matches to be eliminated at the group stage. Federer comfortably defeated Roddick & Ferrer in the semi & final respectively, and the question remains whether Nadal can challenge him for the no. 1 ranking in 2008. I expect Roger to be top of the pile again this time next year.



Euro 2008 qualifying


Scotland coming third in their group was a glorious failure. Not so for England. In a previous post I had predicted Scotland would qualify. Unfortunately their loss 2-0 way to Georgia has proved to be a killer blow. Their qualifying group was an incredibly tough draw, with both France & Italy in the top 5 of FIFA's rankings. Still, they did the double over the French, have improved their seeding for future tournaments, & restored Scotland's reputation in world football.
England got what they deserved against Croatia. The only tactic was the long punt up to Crouch. It was the same old story for England- without Rooney, they struggle for creativity. Wright-Philips did well in the first-half, but then made way for Becks. Joe Cole can beat opponents one-on-one, but he had an off-day. The failure to qualify could be a blessing in disguise though. The FA now have the opportunity to recruit a world-class coach like Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, or Mourinho. All are proven winners at the top level. Only Lippi has managed a national side, but the other two have extensive Champions League experience.
So, none of the Home Nations or the Irish will be represented at Euro 2008. Northern Ireland had some excellent results, beating Spain, Sweden & Denmark; & David Healy finished as the top scorer in the entire quaifying competition with 13 goals. Wales & ROI were disappointing, although the Welsh finished with an encouraging away draw against the Germans.