A while ago it was 2012, now it's 2013. An extract from the books, while I draw up the Balance Sheet for the year ending as at 31st December 2012
AFTER twelve gruelling months of steaming emotions and nerve-wracking anxiety,2012 has been adjudged by many as the year that has been good,bad and worse for many football fanatics,players and managers.Every New Year has become a time for self-reflection and reminiscing about the year gone by. It is a period we look back at the previous year and take stock of what went wrong and what went right in our football in this twelve month.
The football circles boomed like never before this year.For which many will describe it as eventful,as well as disappointing. From Chelsea refusing to change their mind or actions and unlikely pipping Bayer Munich and winning the Champions League to the often changing in a way that is unexpected state of continuing to exist of Spain's tiki-taka footballing to achieve success in the international game,2012 was an interesting year for football.Things were not all gloom and doom either,with Manchester City's last-minute stealing off the Premier League from city rivals,Manchester United was also on other hand,so enjoying and close moment.
As we ushered ourselves into a New Year, I breakdown what tramspired in the YEAR 2012 that will be high on everyones's list of priorities in football,as far as 2012 is concern...
PRIORITY ONE : THE CHIPOLOPOLO'S OF ZAMBIA CONQUERS AFRICAN FOOTBALL
IN THE MONTH OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 2012, fourteen national teams joined co-host,Gabon & Equatorial Guinea to come together and share football passion at the centre of the earth,when the African Cup Of Nations did commenced.It kicked-off in a grand style with each teams proving their mettle in their respective groups of four.Eight teams at the end of the group stage matches were qualified to the knockout stage,which includes Zambia and Equatorial Guinea from Group A,Cote D'Ivoire and Sudan from Group B.The rest are Gabon and Tunisia from Group C and Ghana and Mali from Group D.Notably there was not a single goalless draw game at the group stage.It continued till where both the host nations,Gabon & Equatorial Guinea were eliminated from the competition at the quarter final stage,when Equatorial Guinea were hammered 3-0 by Cote D'Ivoire in front of a vociferous 12,500 supporters at the Nuevo Estadio de Malabo.
Gabon,on the other hand,had exit the competition through a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw with Mali in the extra time [4-5 on penalties in favour of Mali]..Elsewhere,Ghana and Zambia usurp Tunisia and Sudan respectively to advance to the semi's.The first semi-final match was staged at the Estadio de Bata on 8th February,which was between four times champions,Ghana and Zambia in an arena of 12,000 spectators.Right from the blast of the referees whistle,the Zambians made their intentions clear to the Black Stars that they are in to give Ghana a run for their money,but the Star's stood on their grounds,till the 78th minute when EmmanuelMayuka broke the deadlock,which prove to be the only goal,helping Zambia to advance to the grand finale.
In the other fixture at the Stade d'Angondje in Libreville between Mali and Cote D'Ivoire,wherea 45th minute strike form Gervinho,helped Ivory Coast to stage a memorable final with Zambia and Mali to lock horns with Ghana in the battle of third-place finish...In that third place game,Mali beat Ghana by 2 goals to nil courtesy Cheick Diabete's brace.
The grand finale match between ZAMBIA & COTE D'IVOIRE,which was refereed b Senegalese born BADARA DIATTA, was played at the newly built Stade d'Angondje in Gabon's largest city,Libreville on 12th February.The stadium was a short distance from the spot where Zambian team in 1993,where involved in a plane crashed.....Zambia won the title for the first time by beating Cote D'Ivoire 8-7 on penalties ,after Stopila Sunzu,an unheralded centre-back for the Congolese side TP Mazembe converted the last penalty after Cote D'Ivoire had missed two penalties from Kolo Toure and Gervinho and Zambia missing one from Kalaba.For Ivory Coast it was another story of failure,a fourth straight tournament in which they should have won but did not.
PRIORITY TWO : SPAIN WINS THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE SECOND TIME
The European championship enjoyed it climax in the Olympic Stadium in Kiev,as Spain bruished aside the Azzurri's of Italy by 4 goal to nil to win it for the second successive time.
Champions: Spain's players celebrate with the trophy after winning the final of Euro 2012
Two half-time goals from David Silva and Jordi Alba gave them a 2-0 lead,before substitutes,Fernando Torres and Juan Mata rounded off the emphatic win with two late strikes. La Roja's shone brightly from the start of the game and the tournament despite starting the team matches without a recognized striker.....
PRIORITY THREE : MEXICO SHOCK BRAZIL. WINS FIRST SOCCER GOLD MEDAL
It came in August,when two goals from Mexico's Oribe Peralta stunned tournament's favourites Brazil to win the Men's Olympic Football Gold Medal for the first time in the history of Mexican football..
Brazil pulled a goal back through Hulk in the injury time to bring the scores to 2-1.With 29 seconds on the clock,when Oribe first goal came in-at the time many supporters were making it to their seats in Wembley Stadium.The heavily favourite,who many were tipped to end their agonising wait for Olympic glory fail to go home with the medal......
PRIORITY FOUR : CHELSEA 1 BAYERN MUNICH 1 a.e.t : [ Chelsea win 4-3 on penalties].
Things change by 19th of May,when Chelsea finally claimed their first UEFA Champions League title.
Thier long quest to win the title,that team owner Roman Abramovich has been yearning to have,finally came to pass after a penalty shootout triumph over Bayern Munich,who were hopingto become the first team to win the competition in their own stadium.Bayern had the upper hand throughout yet were unable to capitalise until Thomas Muller headed in with seven minutes remaining on the clock.A moment,it looked like the trophy was heading to Munich for a fifth time,but Didier Drogba and his entourage were thinking otherwise,when the Ivorian talisman levelled in the 88th minute with a powerful and audacious header.The game helded to extra time,but either side were able to find a winner,but had to result to spot-kick to decide the contest.
On the spot kicks Manuel Neuer saved Juan Mata's first kick,with Philipp Lahm,Mario Gomez,David Luiz,and Neuer himself and Frank Lampard all converting their kicks before Cech saved from Ivica Olic.Ashley Cole restored parity and Cech then touched Bastian Schweinsteiger's effort on to the post,leaving Drogba to slot in the final kick to spark the joy for them...
PRIORITY FIVE : MANCHESTER CITY'S MIRACLE IN THE MONTH OF MAY
Manchester City won the Premier league,with stunning stoppage time two goal rally,which have been considered as one of the craziest finishes in decades.
Manchester City managed to snatch the title away from city rivals,Manchester United in the dying seconds,when QPR just staying above the relegation zone at the expense of Bolton.City won 3-2,but the decisive goals came when they were down by 2-1,but a wo quick goal from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Kun Aguero sealed it for the sky Blues.....
PRIORITY SIX : THE CLIMAX OF THE MAJOR LEAGUES IN EUROPE AS REAL MADRID,MAN CITY,JUVENTUS,DORTMUND AND MONTPELLIER WON THEIR RESPECTIVES LEAGUE
In ITALY, Juventus wrap up Italian Serie A championship in a grand style after beating Cagliari 2-0 to go four points clear with only one round of fixture remaining.Juventus became the champions of Italy for the 28th time,which became their first official title since 2003.They were unbeaten in that campaign,making it the longest ever in a single Italian campaign...
In SPAIN,Real Madrid won the league at the expense of bitter rivals,Barcelona.Madrid clinched the La Liga title after their 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao..
In FRANCE,Montpellier pipped PSG to the title.Montpellier,whose club annual budget of 29m pounds made light to work,and finished with 82points - the secondest highest total in Ligue 1 history...
In GERMANY.Borussia Dortmund won the the Bundesliga for the second successive season after 2-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach.Ivan Perisic and Shinji kagawa scored in each half as Dortmund wrapped up the title with two games to spare.......
PRIORITY SEVEN : THE KINGS OF AFRICAN'S CLUB FOOTBALL
Egypt leading and powerful football club,Al Ahly bruished aside Esperance 2-1 in Tunis to the CAF Champions League title,after the first leg has end 1-1 all in Egypt.Al Ahly extended their Champions League title for a record seventh time.
Despite it's domestic league have been suspended for nine months following the death of 74 fans in the Port Said Stdium tragedy,Ahly came to the party stronger and improve each and every game.Al Ahly pocketed a cash prize of 1.5m dollars.
PRIORITY EIGHT : THE SACKING OF FOOTBALL MANAGERS ; THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON
''Coaches or managers are hired to be fired'' This has been words of many pundits whenever a coach is asked from his position. Coaches had their share too in 2012, with managers like Andre Villas Boas, Kenny Dalglish, Harry Redknapp, Roberto Di Matteo, just to mention a few, were sacked by their respective owners. Unfortunately, both managers were sacked on the grounds of abysmal performance.
Andre Villas Bias was sacked as Chelsea's manager after less than a year in charge at Stamford Bridge. His sacked came after a 1-0 defeat suffered at Hawthorns to West Bromwich Albion in a run of just three league wins in their last twelve games. The former Porto manager joined Chelsea in June 2011 after Chelsea paid Porto a whopping 13.3m pounds as compensation.
Kenny Dalglish on the other hand, was sacked after finishing 8th in the Premier League. Daglish exited Liverpool on the grounds of result in the Premier League which a statement release by the club says "It was disappointing and to build on a progress, we need to make a change''. The former Liverpool Legend led the club to Carling Cup glory and FA Cup finals but lost to Chelsea.
Harry Redknap got sacked by Tottenham Hotspur, after almost four years at White Hart Lane. His sacked came in after failing to qualify the team to the Champions League.
Roberto Di Matteo won the FA Cup and the prestigious UEFA Champions League Trophy but was not enough to safeguard his job. He was sacked by team owner ROMAN ABRAMOVICH, after just eight months in charge as Chelsea's manager. He left Stamford Bridge in a wake of the 3-0 defeat to Juventus which left The Blues off from the Champions League.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS : Claudio Ranieri from Inter, Steve Kean from Blackburn Rovers, Henning Berg from Blackburn Rovers, Sean O'Driscoll from Nottingham Forest, Mano Menezes from Brazil, Mauricio Pellegrino fron Valencia, Roger Palmgren from AmaZulu,Juan Koops from AFC Leopards,Pitso Mosimane from South Africa.
PRIORITY NINE : WHAT A SHOCK!
The whole Catalunya went into mourning when on 27th April, Pep Guardiola announced he would step down as Barcelona Coach at the end of the season, citing tiredness as th main reason for his decision.
The 41-year old, who was appointed in 2008 after Frank Rijkaard has left. Guardiola led th Catalan Club to 14 trophies in 4 seasons. It will be fair to say his Barcelona team will go in history as one of the game's great team_which some could argue. Guardiola is an obsessive, perfectionist, which have seen his team not only dominated, but done so much with a grace and beauty in their play. Their style of play has led Guardiola to become the most successful coach in Barcelona's history.
On top of this, he has overseen the rise of three-time World Player of the year Lionel Messi, Xavi and Iniesta. The former Barcelona player, is now enjoying a season break from football in USA.
PRIORITY TEN : A YEAR FOR YAYA TOURE & CHRISYOPHER KATONGO
2012 INDEED, was a great year for the two player on the continent.Christopher Katongo won the 2012 BBC African Footballer Of The Year Award after beating off competition from Denba Ba, Didier Drogba,Younes Belhanda and Yaya Toure to become the first winner from Southern Africa in the history of the award.Katongo,who is also a soldier in his home country was inspirational as he led Zambia to thier first African Cup Of Nations title in February.Also, Katongo was honoured by Zambian Army for winning the Award...
Yaya Toure,on the other hand,was named African Player Of the Year for the second successive year,after seeing off Didier Drogba and Alexander Song. Yaya Toure helped Manchester City to the 2012 Premier League title.Toure,is the definition of the midfield engine and someone who works hard, but with effortless ease and beautiful aesthetics and has the ability to read the game with the greatest of vision.
PRIORITY ELEVEN : LIONEL MESSI; THE CROWN PRINCE OF FOOTBALL
A finisher extraordinaire,a poacher with an acrobat agility to reach the ball and transfer it instantly pass a keeper.Messi surpass Gerd Muller's phenomenal 40 year old record of 85 goals for club and country in a calendar year....
MESSI IN 2012
.19 FEBRUARY : Messi made his 200th La Liga appearance,scoring four goals against Valencia CF in a 5-1 win.
.7 MARCH : Messi became the first palyer to score five goals in a UEFA Champions League match since the tournament re-establishment in 1992,helping Barcelona win 7-1 against Bayern Leverkusen.
.20 MARCH :Messi scored 3 goals against Granada,making him FC Barcelona's leading goalscorer in official competition,surpassing club legend Cesar Rodriquez,who had 232..
.11 APRIL : Scored his 61st goal of the season against Getafe
. 2 MAY : Scored a hat-trick against Malaga surpassing Gerd Muller'd 67 goals in 1972-72,with 68goals.
.11 NOVEMBER: Scored twice at Mallorca to bring his tally to 76 goals surpassing Pele's milestone of 75 goals in a calendar year.
. Messi girlfriend.Antonella gave birth to his son,Thiago Messi
. 9 DECEMBER : Scored twice against Real Betis his 85th and 86th goal ,surpassing Gerd Muller's milestone of 85goals scored in a calendar year in 1972 with Bayern Munich and Germany as well as surpassing Rodriquez's record for most league goals for Barcelona
. 12 DECEMBER : Messi increased his record to 88,after scoring twice against Cordoba CF in the first leg of a Copa Del Rey game .
.16 DECEMBER : Scored twice in a 4-1 Barcelona victory against Atletico Madrid increasing his record to 90goals
.18 DECEMBER :Messi renewed his Barcelona contract extending it to 2018
PRIORITY TWELVE : WHAT TRANSPIRED IN GHANA FOOTBALL
THE PASSING AWAY on Ghana Football Association Vice President,Jordan Anagbla hit Ghanaians like a thunderbolt.The former U-20 Committee Member was reported recovering from illness after he has been taking to South African for medical treatment.Upon arrival from South Africa,Jordan was seeking further treatments at the SSNIT Hospital in Osu,were unfortunately he passed on.
Mr Anagbla,who was the Chairman of Tudu Mighty Jets death came weeks after that of the Vice Chairman of the Division One League Board,Nana Ntiri Dankyi has been buried.Anagbla was elected GFA Vice President on August 2011.having previously served as the Greater Accra Regional Football Chairman.
. Kotoko clinched the Glo Premier League trophy for the first time since the 2007-08 season .The Maxwell Konadu's side did secured an historic 22nd title in the Ghanaian League.dethroning Berekum Chelsea ,who were the champions..
. Ghana defeated Lesotho completely by 7-0 in their opening 2014 World Cup qualifying game at the Baba Yara Stadium. Ghana victory on that day was overshadowed by the malfunction of the stadium floodlight system which nearby marred the game, forcing it to be stopped for about an hour in the second half. A feeling of disgust, shock and shame gripped many football spectators who were at the stadium's heart, as the match was suspended, with some leaving the stadium to their various destination. Ghana, a football prowess nation, did showcase a despicable senario to the world.
By: Kojo Owusu-Okyere _ @kojookeleji
NB: Please your comments are welcome
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE ENTIRE TEAM @iNewsGh
