Rob Smyth's Blog, page 195

West Ham v Manchester United – as it happened

The substitute Robin van Persie scored a masterful injury-time equaliser after James Collins had scored twice for West Ham in a cracking cup tie

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Brighton v Newcastle United – as it happened | Rob Smyth

Brighton outpassed and outclassed injury-hit Newcastle on their way to an FA Cup shock that wasn't actually a shock

Rob Smyth

Zola and Mancini met on even terms as players but they do not as managers | Rob Smyth

Two of Italy's fantasisti from the 1990s will face up on the Etihad touchline as Watford travel to Manchester City in the FA Cup

Ruud van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert were born on 1 July 1976. Between them these two Dutch strikers spent almost 15 years at world football's top table, yet they never sat together. Van Nistelrooy's peak years began just as Kluivert's career started to fade away. Their shared birth date makes them the perfect example of the football Venn diagram that includes teen prodigies to the left and late bloomers to the right. The same phenomenon applied to the international careers of Roberto Mancini and Gianfranco Zola, who will meet again when Manchester City play Watford in the FA Cup third round on Saturday.

Mancini and Zola were part of Italy's golden age of fantasisti in the 1990s, with Roberto Baggio and a young Alessandro Del Piero also competing for one position. The stock phrase "embarrassment of riches" feels inadequate to describe such a pool of talent. You could find disciples of all four geniuses who would tell you their man is the greatest No10 of all time, never mind the best in Italy in the 90s. The competition was such that Mancini never played in a World Cup, and Zola managed only 13 minutes in 1994.

Although they were born only 18 months apart, their international careers had scarcely any overlap. Mancini made his debut seven years before Zola, and they were never on the field together for the Azzurri. The only time they played in the same game was in Germany in March 1994 – when Zola replaced Mancini at half-time. An angry Mancini told Arrigo Sacchi, the manager: "I'm finished, don't call me again." Sacchi did not. It was the last of Mancini's 36 caps; 30 of Zola's 35 caps would follow over the next three years.

"It was crazy," says Zola, holding court with his usual quiet charisma at Watford's training ground, of the competition for places. "He was a fantastic player, I was a good player as well, and there were others. It was not easy for Sacchi."

Zola and Mancini were players from the same pod: mischievous, imaginative, obscenely talented and as elusive as urchin pickpockets. They scored two of the most famous backheeled volleys of all time, Mancini for Lazio against Parma and Zola for Chelsea against Norwich City. Zola also recalls an astonishing volley from Mancini in 1990-91, when the future champions Sampdoria won 4-1 away to the defending champions, Zola's Napoli. "It was one of the best goals I've seen," says Zola. "He was a pain in the backside to be honest. He was so good, so intelligent, so talented. He and Luca [Vialli] were very, very competitive."

Despite Mancini's competitive nature, Zola did not think they would meet on the touchline. "I didn't expect him to go into management. I knew he was an intelligent player, and normally players like him interpret football in a way that you don't think they're going to go into management. He was a flair player, an imaginative player, and sometimes creative players like him don't become managers." The feeling, he suspects, is mutual. "You'd have to ask him, but I think he would be surprised that I became a manager, yes."

This will be their second meeting as managers. Zola's final game at West Ham United was against Mancini's Manchester City, and he gives the impression of a relationship that is perfectly civil but not close. If they met on even terms as players, they do not any more. City are one of the richest clubs in the world, Watford one of the poorest clubs in the Championship, with a squad that includes 10 loanees from Udinese.

"When you consider he has won the league and the FA Cup, I don't think he's done a bad job," says Zola. "But these are my parameters – I don't know what the owners or the supporters think. He certainly hasn't done too bad. But I don't find it strange that he is under pressure. He's managing a team that cost more than £300m. When you invest so much money you believe you have to achieve everything straight away, which in football doesn't happen, especially in a league like the Premier League. That is what, in my opinion, makes his job even more difficult than the others."

There is one other thing that makes his job more difficult: Mario Balotelli. Zola says managing Balotelli would be "a good challenge", although that was before Thursday's remarkable training-ground confrontation with Mancini. "He's got unbelievable quality. The challenge would be to try to make him a little bit more reliable. Balotelli sometimes does things that seem strange or unbelievable to most eyes. But maybe for him they are normal; maybe he isn't trying to upset people."

Handling Balotelli is a challenge for Mancini but Zola thinks the day-to-day minutiae of life in England has also furthered the City manager's education. "I've always said that coming to play here was a great thing for my game, because I improved my qualities. I believe it's also great for us as managers. I don't think Mancini is coaching the team in the same way he did at Inter, that's for sure. The English mentality has helped him to be a better manager."

And to appreciate the value of the FA Cup. It was Mancini's first trophy in English football two years ago, and Zola's first as a player, in 1997. "This is, in my opinion, one of the best competitions in the world," says Zola. His side will meet perhaps the best team in that competition. "We are playing against the champions of England, so theoretically it should be the hardest task. They are out of the Champions League so they will consider this a priority. It's not going to be easy, that's for sure. If we only try to stop them playing, we're just going there for the beating. We have to go there and play our game, like we normally do. We will have a proper go."

Zola has a dangerous pool of attacking talent, including Matej Vydra, the Czech Republic international; Fernando Forestieri, Alex Geijo and Troy Deeney. Which strikers will he play? "Maybe four?" he teases. "No, that would be too much. I've got a few options, which is good. I know they are the champions and we are a Championship team," says Zola, lowering and slowing his voice mischievously, "but I think we can maybe cause something. A little troubles. Here and there."

If they win, Zola might break the habit of a lifetime. "I'll get drunk, that's for sure. No, I'm only joking. It would be a great thing for the club, for the supporters and above all for the players. It will be a great education for us. In my opinion we have won already. I'm really looking forward to seeing my team play against a good team. I want them to see how good players play on the pitch. I believe Manchester City will have to play a good game if they want to beat us."

At the end he will go to Mancini's office to discuss the game and maybe kick around old times. "I'll be delighted to have a glass of wine, depending on the result. I'm sure he's got a good wine." A vintage from the mid-90s would not be inappropriate.

Gianfranco ZolaWatfordRoberto ManciniManchester CityFA CupRob Smyth
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Arsenal v Newcastle – as it happened

Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick as Arsenal beat Newcastle 7-3, with eight goals in the second half

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Sunderland v Tottenham – as it happened | Rob Smyth

Two goals in four minutes at the start of the second half gave an impressive Spurs side a deserved victory

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Sunderland v Tottenham – live! | Rob Smyth

Minute-by-minute report: Can Spurs stall Sunderland's recent revival? Find out with Rob Smyth

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India v England – as it happened | Rob Smyth

The brilliant Eoin Morgan smashed a straight six off the final ball to give England a superb victory

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India v England – live! | Rob Smyth

Over-by-over report: Will England square the series in Mumbai? Find out with Rob Smyth

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Michael van Gerwen: Dutchman puts buzz into darts world championship

The Dutch 23-year-old prodigy has rediscovered his form and is 4-1 second favourite for the PDC World Championship

Few things in sport are as thrilling as watching the emergence of a rare talent. The seductive infinity of potential is such that tangible achievement can seem almost mundane. Few things in sport are as thrilling as watching Michael van Gerwen. In a few months the Dutchman, for some time the unfulfilled prodigy of darts, has achieved a level that usually takes years.

At the PDC World Championship the biggest buzz does not surround Phil Taylor, the 15-time world champion and arguably Britain's greatest-ever sportsman, who is determined to get his trophy back, or Adrian Lewis, who has won the past two tournaments; it surrounds a 23-year-old Dutchman who has never even reached the quarter-finals. The anticipation has been made even greater by the schedule: Van Gerwen plays the winner of Paul Lim v Mohd Latif Sapup onThursday in the final match of the first round.

"He's the second best player I've ever seen in my life; he's that special," said the Sky commentator and five-time world championship semi-finalist Wayne Mardle last week. "I've seen no one better than him apart from Phil Taylor."

Van Gerwen is seventh in the PDC Order of Merit, yet his form is such that he is the 4-1 second favourite for the tournament. At the end of October he was 66-1. "It's a bit strange," he says of the change in his life. "This year I started at No38 in the world and now I'm No7; that's a very big jump. There are more interviews now, more TV exposure. Three or four years ago my English was not very good but it's getting better. It's all coming together. I'm only 23 and I have a big future ahead. I don't want to make any mistakes."

He hasn't made many this year. He won his first major, beating Mervyn King in the final of the World Grand Prix, and reached the final of the Grand Slam of Darts, dismantling Taylor en route and hitting a record four 170 checkouts in the tournament. There was also a nine-darter against Steve Beaton at the World Matchplay, and a 6-0 win over the same opponent in the Championship League – a match that was over in eight minutes and 15 seconds, with Van Gerwen averaging a world record 121.86.

Van Gerwen seems a gentle soul, softly spoken and polite, but he changes character when he goes to work. Just as sportsmen such as Jack Nicklaus and James Anderson get white-line fever, so Van Gerwen gets oche fever. "Always when I lose I am pissed off," he says, "because I know what I can do and I want to win every game. Simple as that." Watching him is exhilarating. A combination of his demonstrativeness, his look – bright lime shirt and perfectly bald head – and a natural talent that verges on genius make him a crowd favourite.

"If you play well, everyone loves you," he says. "I bring a lot of passion with me. It doesn't matter what I need to do, I want to win." Checkouts are greeted with a clench of both fists, and his infectious celebrations include a sudden short-range headbutt and a bouncing double fist-pump as his face breaks into an expression that is part grimace, part smooch and part smile. He almost looks like a bulldog kissing a wasp.

The primal electro punk of Breathe by the Prodigy, Van Gerwen's walk-on music , seems to fit him perfectly, although he is planning to change to something softer. "I didn't choose the Prodigy myself, I don't like it that much," he says. "I am busy picking a new one; you will hear it at the worlds."

The word 'prodigy' has accompanied Van Gerwen for a long time. He threw his first dart at the age of 13; within four years he had become the youngest winner of the Winmau World Masters and the youngest person to hit a televised nine-darter. He was anointed as the golden child of darts, but struggled to justify the hype.Perhaps it all came too soon. "Maybe, but they're not never going to take it from me. I want to throw well now, not when I'm 45."

In 2008 he missed a double to put Phil Taylor out in the first round of the World Championship. That was followed by an extended lean spell. "Of course I was worried that I might not fulfil my potential. I didn't play well for three years, which is a very long time. I'm very happy that my form is back. I've made big progress the last few months."

There is no grand reason for the change. "This year? Confidence," he says. "You get it by winning games: the pro tours, the youth tours last year, they give me a lot of confidence." A first major title added to his well on confidence. He says that his grand prix victory over Mervyn King was the most important of his career. "It's a final. It's nice to beat Phil – that was maybe one of the best matches ever – but I didn't win the tournament." Van Gerwen was 4-1 behind in that final before blowing King away with some devastating power scoring to win 6-4. He sealed victory with a 145 checkout.

When you ask Van Gerwen what is the best he has ever played, the answer is instant: "Phil Taylor, Grand Slam of Darts." The game was hyped to breaking point, the first meeting between the greatest of them all and the new, improved Van Gerwen. He had not beaten Taylor for 2,016 days. Even the pre-match handshake crackled with intrigue, Van Gerwen maintaining eye contact longer than usual to make the point: it's my turn.

What followed was epic . "In your life, have you ever seen darts of this quality?" said the Sky commentator Rod Studd. From 4-4, Van Gerwen ran away with it to win 9-5. Taylor was sufficiently rattled to lose his temper for one of the few times in his career. It felt like a changing of the guard.

"I was so confident, I don't know why," says Van Gerwen. "I was hitting my finishes and putting Phil under pressure. He still averaged 105. I just played a very good game. The first two times I played Phil I beat him, and after that I lost15 times in a row, and now the last two times I've beaten him. You always need to think, 'Come on, now it's my turn'."

It could be his turn at Alexandra Palace. If all goes to plan he will meet Lewis in the quarter-finals, James Wade in the semis and Taylor in the final. It is the most open world championship in the PDC's 20-year history. "Ten or 12 people can win the worlds this year." Does Taylor still top that list? "Yes, far away. He is still amazing."Van Gerwen was eight months old when Taylor won his first world championship. There is enormous respect, but not any fear. "I'm not scared. I know when I play good I can beat Phil Taylor. There are some players who can play good and still they don't beat Phil Taylor." Van Gerwen may well have to beat Taylor if he is to become world champion. The suggestion makes him puff out his cheeks almost wistfully. "It would be amazing. What can I say? Everyone will remember in 30 years: 'Ah, he was the world champion'."It is a reflection of how far Van Gerwen has come that he says he will not be happy unless he reaches the final. "I want to win it, simple as that. It's going be very, very difficult, but I know my form is there to win it."

PDC World ChampionshipsDartsRob Smyth
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England's series win in India: 10 turning points | Rob Smyth

The key moments from Alastair Cook's reprieve in Ahmedabad to a decisive drinks break in Nagpur

1 Cook's reprieve in Ahmedabad

Test matches do not exist in isolation; they bleed into each other as the narrative of a series develops. In the course of his mighty 176 in the second innings of the first Test, Alastair Cook should have been given out lbw to Pragyan Ojha on 41. It was one of the many umpiring errors that became a sad feature of the series. Cook's reprieve allowed him to kickstart his astonishing personal series; just as importantly, he showed his team there was nothing to be afraid of.

2 Yadav's untimely injury

Nobody in England paid much attention when Umesh Yadav sustained a back injury during the first Test, but it was to rule him out of the remainder of the series. He had taken four wickets in Ahmedabad with extra pace and reverse swing, but spin had been India's main weapon, the same old story. That story changed as the series developed: in the third Test in particular, reverse swing was a big factor and Yadav was sorely missed.

3 India muck up a Cook run-out in Mumbai

The series turned during a partnership of 206 between Cook and Kevin Pietersen in the second Test. Their stand would have been ended at 122 had Ravichandran Ashwin and MS Dhoni not fluffed the chance to run out Cook for 90 in the third over of the third day. England's other batsmen struggled in the innings, with Nos 5-11 scoring 69 between them. Had Cook fallen, Pietersen might not have had the time or the freedom to smash a superb 186.

4 Swann's second-Test dismissal of Pujara

Unlike many modern spinners, Graeme Swann does not seem to like bowling early in the innings. He made an exception in the second innings in Mumbai, where the ball was spitting and kicking, and took one of the most important wickets of the series by dismissing Cheteshwar Pujara in his first over. Before that ball Pujara averaged 388 in the series; from that moment on he averaged 12.50.

5 More variety from Monty

In 2008 Shane Warne famously said that "Monty Panesar hasn't played 33 Tests, he's played one Test 33 times". Panesar was dropped soon after, but in his second incarnation as a Test player he has shown much greater variety, as he demonstrated in his match-winning performance in Mumbai. If Panesar's naturally quicker pace was perfect for the pitch, he also mixed it up. In the second innings he bowled a 51.2mph delivery to Sachin Tendulkar; the next ball was 58mph and trapped the unprepared Tendulkar lbw. India collapsed from 52 for two to 117 for seven at the close.

6 England's never-say-die attitude in the third Test

India started the third Test ominously on a featherbed in Kolkata, racing to 45 for nought after 10 overs, when the dangerous Virender Sehwag was run out. It took a number of disparate elements to produce the run-out: Samit Patel's diving save on the boundary, Steven Finn's excellent throw, Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir jogging the first two runs and then Gambhir turning down an easy third. The stars had aligned – or, some might say, the attitude of each side's stars had aligned – and England were in control for the rest of the match.

7 Pujara's Kolkata kit problems

As hassles go, taking off a chestguard and shinpads each time you move from short-leg or silly-point is not exactly up there with moving house. But Pujara kept his protective equipment on when he moved to slip in Kolkata and they might have contributed to his slow reactions when he dropped a relatively straightforward low chance to dismiss Cook for 17. The England captain went on to make 190.

8 Swann sparks series-winning spell

We have become used to Swann taking a wicket in the first over a new spell. In Kolkata he varied a theme by taking a wicket in the first over of a new session on day four. It could barely have been more important. India had pummelled England before lunch, taking the last four wickets for 14 before racing to 86 for nought. Another hour of Sehwag and England would have been in trouble. Swann's first ball of the afternoon session was a beauty that bowled Sehwag and sparked a series-winning spell in which England took six top-order wickets for 36.

9 Gambling on Root

Joe Root's selection for the final Test seemed to come out of nowhere. In fact it came out of Navi Mumbai, where Root's 166 for the England Performance Programme just before the third Test reinforced the perception that he was ready for the step up. When a position became available for the final Test, Root helped England to a series victory with a wonderfully composed first-innings 73.

10 Bringing on the drinks in Nagpur

The Nagpur pitch was so dead that the drinks break became one of the likeliest sources of a wicket. Four batsmen lost concentration, and their wicket, in the over after drinks. The most important came on the third day, when Virat Kohli was lbw to Swann to end a huge partnership with Dhoni. With him went India's chance of pressurising England by taking a big first-innings lead.

England in India 2012-13England cricket teamIndia cricket teamCricketRob Smyth
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