Posts Tagged ‘Chile’

Reflections of a Friendly Eye: Chile v Ghana

Posted: March 3, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in African Football
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Chile and Ghana played out an entertaining 1-1 draw in the torrential rain in New Jersey, USA, Richard Mpong and Matias Fernandez – from the penalty spot – on the scoresheet for the respective countries. Chile deployed a fascinating, Football Manager-esque 3-2-3-2 formation, the combative Gary Medel and the metronomic Marcelo ‘South American Xavi’ Diaz forming the double pivot in midfield to protect the back three.

Ghana stuck with their usual 4-2-3-1 system rather than the disastrous 4-6-0 experimented in the 3rd/4th place play-off at the recent Cup of Nations. Kwadwo Asamoah began on the left whilst Sulley Muntari played in an attacking-midfield role behind USA-based debutant striker, Dominic Oduro (who was taken off early on with an injury and replaced by Ghana-based debutant goalscorer Richard Mpong), the other Ghana-based debutant striker, Emmanuel Baffour, was shunted out on the right-wing despite not appearing truly comfortable in that position. Palermo’s Afriyie Acquah, another debutant, didn’t do his chances any harm with a steady performance in a second-half cameo.

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Chile v Ghana: The Unmissable Friendly

Posted: February 27, 2012 by Salim Masoud Said in African Football
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The unmissable friendly. So, yes, you shouldn’t miss this, even though it’s a friendly. Chile v Ghana, La Roja v The Black Stars. It’s on  at 23:59 GMT on Wednesday and it’s being played in New Jersey, USA, of all places – a fantastic money-spinner, obviously. Here is the half-ramble, half-preview of it:

Teams often reflect the personality of their manager. And few teams in world football reflect the personality of their manager better than the current Chile national team. Their manager, Claudio Borghi, is a pure idealist, totally committed to playing pure, attacking, gung-ho football, a non-conformist in a managerial world of conformists. “I don’t like talking about players who are ‘versatile’,” he once said. “In my opinion, someone who’s versatile plays badly in every position.” His carefree stance goes hand in hand with his aura, the aura of the loveable uncle, who is perhaps slightly dodgy, but loveable because he doesn’t take life too seriously. With his companionable figure, you can imagine a handful of nieces and nephews jumping at him for a hug. Borghi looks just like your favourite uncle.

Claudio Borghi: Your favourite uncle

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