Band of Brothers - Part III

Right from the Neville's to the Laudrup's, we have gone globe-trotting to look at the most famous brother pairings to have played international football for their countries. And this is the concluding part of our mini series - "Band of Brothers"

The De Jong’s – Luuk and Siem

Siem, the elder, has played 4 times for the Dutch national team scoring twice; this after coming through steadfastly at the Under-17, Under-19, Under-21 and Netherlands B teams. He is the club captain of Ajax where he has been a prolific scorer with 50 goals in 148 appearances and has won 3 consecutive Eredivisie titles.

Brother Luuk has 3 more caps at the international level and currently plays for Borussia Monchengladbach where he moved last summer after 3 years with FC Twente where he won the Eredivisie in 2009-10.

The Bender’s – Lars and Sven

The Bender twins – Lars and Sven – one plays for Bayer Leverkusen, the other plies his trade with Borussia Dortmund, runners-up in this year’s Champions League. Lars and Sven are both midfielders and started their careers with 1860 Munchen before going to Leverkusen and Dortmund respectively. The twins have represented Germany at every level – the Under-17’s, Under-19’s, Under-20’s, Under-21’s and Senior level. Sven has 4 senior caps while Lars has 14 with 3 goals to boot. They were part of the side that won the 2008 European Under-19 Championship.

The Charlton’s – Sir Bobby and Jack

Just like how the Koeman’s won the Euro together, so did the Charlton’s; except that it was the World Cup that they won in 1966 on home soil, England’s lone triumph to date.

Sir Bobby is a Manchester United legend having played all but 2 seasons of his football as a player with the Red Devils. Regarded by many as one of the best midfielders to have ever played the game, Sir Bobby was a midfield maestro who ran the show for United with great passing. He was also a great shooter from distance. The England legend was a survivor from the Munich air crash that claimed the lives of many of the famed ‘Busby babes’ of United. He went on to win 3 First Division titles, 1 FA Cup and that famous European Cup triumph in 1968. His performances at the World Cup in 1966 got him the Golden Ball award for best player as well as the Ballon d’Or. He is currently a director with Manchester United.

Brother Jack played for the other United – Leeds. While Sir Bobby was the beating heart of United in midfield, Jack shored up the backline as a powerful centre-back and was part of the successful Leeds sides of the 1960’s and early 70’s. In comparison to his brother’s 106, Jack was capped only 35 times. , but the defensive partnership he forged with England captain Bobby Moore was instrumental in their title run in ’66. Much like Sir Bobby, Jack too was a one-club man; he spent each of his 11 seasons at Elland Road winning the First Division and FA Cup once. He enjoyed some brief seasons in management at Middlesbrough and Newcastle United, but really hit it big with the Republic of Ireland whom he managed for 10 years between 1986-1996.During that time, Ireland qualified for the Euros in 1988 and also qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 1990.

The Berezutsky twins – Aleksei and Vasili

The 2 twins even have identical footballing careers. Both of them defenders, they started off at Torpedo-ZIL and then made the move to CSKA Moscow where they continue to play currently. Aleksei has 261 appearances for CSKA  with 5 goals, while Vasili has played 252 times and scored 6 goals. Vasili though has more international caps with 70 caps for Russia  to his brother’s 51. They have jointly have 1 UEFA Super Cup to their name along with 4 Russian league titles and the Bronze medal from the 2008 European Championships.

The Milito’s – Diego and Gabriel

Diego, at 34 is still playing and is a lead striker for Inter Milan. He has however missed a good part of the season due to injury. The 2009-10 was his best when his prolific scoring helped Inter to a historic treble winning the Serie A, the Italian Cup and the Champions League. Nicknamed ‘El Principe’ (The Prince), Diego has 24 international caps and was voted the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year as well as the Serie A Footballer of the Year in the 2009-10 season.

Gabriel has 42 caps, but is now retired despite being 2 years younger. He too played at Zaragoza from where they got their big moves – Diego moved to Inter while Gabriel moved to Barcelona. He won 1 Champions League and 2 La Liga titles with the Catalans. He did win the Spanish Cup once with Zaragoza earlier.

The Olsson’s – Martin and Marcus

The Olsson twins (not Ashley and Mary-Kate) represent Sweden and both play for English club Blackburn Rovers which is owned by Venky’s. Martin who plays left-back or left midfield has 15 caps for Sweden, 13 more than his brother. The two of them usually play in front of each other, at left-back and left midfield, and that flank has hence come to be known as the ‘Olsson flank’. German NBA star Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks is their brother-in-law.

The Baresi’s – Franco and Giuseppe

One Milan legend. One Inter legend.

These 2 are as one club as they get. Franco played all 25 years of his career with AC Milan including 5 of his Youth years.  Giuseppe did the same with Inter, spending 21 seasons there; it was only in the fag end of his career that he had 2 years with Modena.

Franco is considered one of the greatest defenders of all time. He was a sweeper, who won 3 Champions League titles, 6 Serie A titles, 4 Supercoppas, 3 European Super Cups and 2 Intercontinental Cups. In 1999, he was voted the AC Milan Player of the Century by the Giallorossi. He has coached the Under-19 and Under-20 teams of Milan too. He played 82 times for Italy and won the 1982 World Cup with the Azzuri.

Giuseppe didn’t have the same success with Italy; he only played 18 times. But, he had a stellar club career with Inter winning 2 Scudettos, 2 Coppa Italias and 1 Supercoppa in his 16 senior seasons with the club. He is currently the assistant manager of the Inter first team.

Band of Brothers (Part-II)

Part 2 of our look at the most famous brothers to have represented their countries in international football.

The Ravelli twins – Thomas and Andreas

The 1994 World Cup in the USA saw Thomas Ravelli at his best. In an international career that spanned almost two decades, starting in 1981, Ravelli played in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Euro 1992, and the 1994 World Cup, in which Sweden finished 3rd, amassing 143 caps for his country in the process. His finest moment came when he saved 2 penalties during the shootout of the ’94 World Cup against Romania, that saw the Swedes progress into the semi-finals. Thomas is a Swedish football legend and also had club success as he won won an incredible 9 Swedish league championships and a Swedish Cup in his fantastic career.

Andrea won 41 caps for Sweden and 3 Swedish league titles.

The Ayew’s – Andre, Abdul Rahim and Jordan

Andre Ayew, the most successful of the three, has played his entire senior career with Marseille. He starred for and captained the under-20 Ghana team that won both the 2009 African Youth Championship and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Andre plays as a striker and has 43 caps for Ghana with 4 goals. He is the middle brother in the trio.

Eldest of the lot, Abdul Ibrahim has only played 6 times for country as a defensive midfielder and picked up the silver medal at the African Cup of Nations in 2010. The youngest, Jordan, has 10 international caps and like Andre has so far played only for Marseiller since joining in 2009. Jordan has won the 2009-10 Ligue 1 title.

The Laudrup’s – Michael and Brian

One of the most decorated set of brothers to have ever played the game and the two greatest Danish players ever in the history of the game. We often see in most cases, one of the siblings doing markedly better than the other. There is as much width as a single strand of hair between these two.

Brian Laudrup played for Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Fiorentina, Rangers, Chelsea and Ajax; he played 82 times for Denmark and won the 1992 European Championships. He was named in the team of the tournament at both Euro ‘92 and the ‘98 World Cup; a 4-time Danish footballer of the year, he won the Champions League, Serie A, 3 Scottish titles, UEFA super cup and 2 Danish league titles. He was named on the FIFA 100 list of greatest living players ever.

If you think Brian’s career was impressive, how’s this for a list…. Michael earned 104 caps for Denmark, played for some of the biggest clubs in world football- Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Lazio and Ajax. He won 5 La Ligas in a row, a European Cup, a World Club Cup and a Serie A title. The brilliance of the man is best encompassed through these quotes by fellow footballers:

Romário: “The best player I have ever played with and the 4th best in the history of the game”

Raúl: “The best I have ever played with”

Andres Iniesta: “Who is the best player in history? Laudrup.”

Lionel Messi: “I fully understand why he is considered one of the best players in Barcelonas history and even the world.”

Franz Beckenbauer: “Pelé was the best in the 60s, Cruyff in the 70s, Maradona in the 80s and Laudrup in the 90s.”

Brian currently works as a commentator, pundit and analyst on Swedish channel TV3+. He also manages a football academy back home which aims to help out marginalized youth. Michael is currently manager of Premier League side Swansea City.

The Kalou’s – Bonaventure and Salomon

For both brothers, Feyenoord proved to be the starting point after they left their home country for European football. Bonaventure played 6 seasons with Feyenoord as a winger predominantly; Salomon, who once came to visit his brother, impressed the folks at the club who signed him on as a youth player. The signing was almost as a replacement as it came the year that Bonaventure left Feyenoord for Auxerre and then went on to PSG. He played 47 times for Cote d’Ivoire scoring 10 goals. At club level, he won the Eredivisie once with Feyenoord and 2 French Cups (with Auxerre and PSG).

Salomon picked up the pieces left by his brother at Feyenoord and had a very impressive 3 seasons there scoring 35 goals in his 69 appearances. That caught the attention of Chelsea who signed him in the summer of ’06. After 6 years with the Blues, he moved to Lille in 2012 where he has been contributing handsomely with 13 goals in 26 appearances so far. He was more prolific than his elder brother for country, scoring 21 times in his 57 appearances. He won 1 Premier League title and 4 FA Cups with Chelsea and was part of their maiden Champions League triumph in the 2011-12 season. In 2010, he set up the Kalou Foundation aimed at providing facilities for social welfare.

The Neville’s – Gary and Phil

Gary is England’s most capped right-back and is synonymous with Manchester United having been a one-club man. Having joined as an apprentice at the age of 16, he emerged through the ranks as a part of now famous ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ that included his brother and other United stalwarts such as David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. He went on to captain the club for 5 years in the 2000’s.His potent partnership with Beckham on that right flank for United provided a regular supply of assists for the club. Gary won 8 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups and 2 Champions League winners medals. He currently works for Sky Sports as pundit and commentator.

Younger brother Phil pretty much won the same trophies – he won 2 fewer league titles and one less Champions League. Both of them played in the right-back position and after 10 years at United, Phil decided to move on to Everton with whom he finished his career this past season. A very versatile player who could also play in midfield, Neville currently holds a UEFA B coaching license and is on the radar of quite a few clubs post his retirement.

The Toure’s – Kolo and Yaya

The Cote d’Ivoire has a fair share of such brothers, none more famous than Yaya and Kolo Toure. The two of them in fact have even played for the same club – Manchester City – since 2010.

Yaya is one of the most dominating, physical midfielders around who also happens to have great technique. He has 78 caps for his country and after starting with Olympiacos and Monaco, secured his move to Barcelona where he caught everyone’s attention. He has won league titles in 4 countries – in the Cote d’Ivoire, Greece, Spain and England. He received the prestigious African Footballer of the Year award twice in a row in 2011 and 2012.

Kolo, 2 years elder, first arrived in the English Premier League in 2002 with Arsenal and spent 7 seasons with the Gunners before making the switch to Manchester City. He was part of the winning ‘Invincibles’ squad at Arsene Wenger’s disposal in 2003. He has a century of caps (103) to his name and with Arsenal won 1 Premier League title and 2 FA Cups. With Manchester City he added another league title and another FA Cup. He has moved to Liverpool FC in the summer transfer window as a free agent after his contract expired with City.

They have another brother, Ibrahim, who plays football but has not donned national colours.

The Koeman’s – Ronald and Erwin

The Koeman’s are second generation footballers as sons of former Dutch player Martin Koeman who had a solitary cap to his name. Erwin Koeman, the elder of the two by a year, played for PSV Eindhoven, FC Groningen and Mechelen and was capped 31 times by his country. At Mechelen, he won 1 Belgian First Division title and the European Super Cup as well as Cup Winners’ Cup. He was a double Eredivisie winner with PSV in 1991 and 1992. After retirement, he has had stop-start spells in management at PSV, RKC Waalwijk, Feyenoord and Utrecht. He even managed the Hungarian national football team for 2 years. He is currently manager at RKC in his 2^nd spell there.

Ronald, the younger and more famous of the two, played for all of Hollands “big 3″ picking up 4 league titles and 3 Dutch cups. He is a double European Cup winner, first with PSV in 1987-88 and later with Barcelona in 1991-92 with whom he also won 4 La Liga titles. Ronald was a strong centre-back who has scored more goals than any other defender in the history of football. He had 187 goals in his 532 professional appearances at club level and 14 more in 78 caps with the Netherlands. A lot of it had to do with his powerful right-footed free-kicks and his ability from set pieces. He is currently the manager of Feyenoord and has managed at some of the biggest clubs around such as Ajax, PSV and Valencia. He added title wins in his stints at PSV and Ajax, this time as manager. His teammates at Barcelona gave him the name ‘Tintin’ for his resemblance to Herge’s fictional character.

The brothers have one rare distinction that has eluded some of the finest Dutch players ever – a winner’s medal at a major international tournament. The Koeman’s were a part of the Dutch team that won Euro’88. Ronald was voted Dutch Footballer of the Year 2 years running in 1987 and 1988.

Band of Brothers (Part-I)

Tahiti, the island nation from French Polynesia, are in the 2013 Confederations Cup as OFC champions. In their squad for the tournament, they have 3 brothers and a cousin playing together and one of them, Jonathan Tehau, did score in the first game against Nigeria. Familial presence across various sports is quite a feature. On that note, in a 3-part series, we look at some of the most famous band of brothers who have represented their countries at the national level including the Tehau’s of Tahiti.

The Tehau’s – Alvin, Lorenzo and Jonathan

Alvin and Lorenzo are twins and both play as an attacking midfielder or forward. They represent the same club in the Tahitian League, AS Tefana, and have almost the same number of international caps as well. Lorenzo was the leading scorer for Tahiti in the OFC Nations Cup which they won to qualify for the Confederations tournament. Jonathan meanwhile is the eldest of the trio, a year older at 25 and plays in the defensive midfielder role. The trio have a cousin, Teanoui Tehau, who is also in the 23-man squad at Brazil.

The Hassan’s – Hossam and Ibrahim

The pair are the most capped twins in international sport with Hossam playing 169 times and Ibrahim 125 times for Egypt. Hossam and Ibrahim spent the majority of their careers together. They played for fierce rivals Al Ahly and Zamalek as well as spending time at Greek Club PAOK Salonika. They won 13 Egyptian league titles and 5 cups. As well as 2 African Champions Leagues. Hossam added 3 African Nations cups onto his glittering career and was named the greatest African player of the last 50 years.

The Souza Viera de Oliveira’s – Socrates and Rai

Forget that family name, Socrates and Rai are the names that need remembering. Socrates is a legend in this game, just like his namesake from ancient Greece was in his own right (perhaps it’s in the name). Standing at 6’3”, he was an imposing physical presence and one of the greatest playmakers to ever play the game. Socrates was superbly two-footed and was as skilled as they come – his signature move was the blind heel pass. Sporting a beard and headband almost always, he became a very recognizable figure on the football field and became the symbol of cool for an entire generation. Socrates represented the Selecao in 2 World Cups (1982 & 1986), including captaining the side in the ’82 edition.

Socrates was not just a great footballer, he was also a very intellectual one; he worked as a columnist for several newspapers and magazines writing on sport, economics and politics. He was also a qualified doctor, a very rare feat amongst professional footballers. What is even more astounding is that he earned that medical degree while parallely playing football. Socrates breathed his last on 4 December, 2011. He was one of the greatest footballers to have never won the World Cup.

Rai, his younger brother by 9 years, did manage that World Cup win – as part of the 1994 squad led by Dunga. He spent most of his footballing career with 2 clubs – Sao Paulo and Paris Saint-Germain. He won the intercontinental cup once, the Libertadores cup twice and the Brazilian league once with Sao Paulo and the French league once, the French Cup twice and the Cup Winners Cup once with Paris Saint-Germain.

Both received the South American Footballer of the Year award once – Socrates in 1983 and Rai in 1992.

The Altintop twins – Halil and Hamit

Turk Hamit Altintop has been one of the most versatile midfielders in the game in the past 15 years or so. He has even played at right back sometimes. His thundering missiles from long distance have been a feature of his play right through his playing time at Schalke, Bayern Munich and Galatasaray. He has turned out 79 times for Turkey with 7 goals in them. He won 2 Bundesliga titles and 2 German cups in his time with Bayern.

Little is it known, that Hamit has a twin brother Halil, born 10 minutes after him, who plays as either a centre forward or winger. Halil too has played for most of his career in the Bundesliga with Kaiserslautern, Frankfurt and Schalke. He currently is with Trabzonspor in Turkey. He has 38 international caps with 8 goals to show.

The Inzaghi’s – Filippo and Simone

‘Pippo’ Inzaghi, the master poacher, represented two of Italy’s biggest clubs – Juventus and AC Milan. He turned out for Italy 57 times netting 25 goals. At Juve, he formed a formidable attacking partnership with Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane scoring 57 goals for the Bianconeri in 4 seasons. The arrival of David Trezeguet instigated his move to rivals Milan where he became a club legend. He retired after playing 11 seasons with Milan post the 2011-12 season, making 202 appearances and scoring 73 goals. ‘Pippo’ won 3 Serie A titles (2 with Milan, 1 with Juve) and 2 Champions League crowns (both with Milan). He was part of the Gold medal winning Italy U-21team in 1994 as well as the World Cup winning senior team in 2006. 

One of the most prolific goal-scorers of all time, he is 5^th overall in Italy, with 313 goals. He is also the second all-time most prolific goal scorer in European club competitions with 70 goals, only beaten by Raúl's 77 goals and happens to hold the record for most hat-tricks in Serie A (10), and the Champions League (3, jointly with Michael Owen, Lionel Messi, and Mario Gómez). Filippo is currently the head coach of Milan’s Under-17 team.

The lesser known Inzaghi, Simone played 11 seasons with Lazio during the first decade of the 21^st century. He too was a striker and scored 28 times for the Eagles. He was restricted to just 3 international caps though and did not win any major titles.

The Da Silva twins – Rafael and Fabio

Only 22 and at the beginning of their international careers, both have 2 caps each to their name. Both are full-backs with Manchester United but while Rafael has grown and broken through into the starting XI at United, Fabio has not enjoyed the same success and spent last season on loan with QPR. Hence Rafael has 3 Premier League winners’ medals while Fabio has 1. Rafael was also part of the Brazil team that finished runner-up and earned the Silver medal at last year’s London Olympics. They have been compared to the Neville brothers of England.

The De Boer’s – Ronald and Frank

Both brothers were products of the famous Ajax youth academy which to this day continues to churn out some of the best talent around. They played together at Ajax, Barcelona and at Rangers in Scotland. Frank was the Netherlands’ most capped player, until Edwin Van der Sar surpassed him. He was a mainstay of the Dutch defence for over a decade. Ronald played 67 times for the country as attacking mid/forward. They were part of the 1995 UEFA Champions League winning Ajax side and also went on to win 5 Eredivisie titles and 1 La Liga with Barcelona. Ronald with Celtic won the Scottish league too once.

Frank is currently the manager of Ajax after being youth team manager between 2007-2010 and also working as assistant to Bert Van Marwijk with the national side.

CONFEDERATIONS CUP 2013: PLAYERS TO WATCH (Part II)

In the second part of a look at the players to whom the tournament will be an important one, we examine the teams from Group B of the Confederations Cup.

SPAIN

Iker Casillas, Real Madrid (Goalkeeper)

After being hung out to dry by Jose Mourinho for the majority of the season at Real Madrid, Casillas will be hungry to get back between the posts. We should perhaps not fault him for being a little rusty in the initial games from the elongated period of time spent warming the benches. Captaining the national team to yet another success could well prove to be the shot in the arm that provides Casillas a boost to his confidence.

Gerard Pique, Barcelona (Centre-back)

It has been a season of torment for the Barcelona stopper. After reports emerged from Spain that the club had placed Pique under surveillance for his rather ‘generous’ spending ways and his relationship with music star Shakira, his game on the field too has been well short over the last few months. Pique is very good in the air and with the ball at his feet, but he has been exposed time and time again by pacy, athletic forwards. He will need a big tournament in Brazil to restore some of his reputation; if it goes south he could find himself vacating that starting spot to someone else.

Fernando Torres, Chelsea/Roberto Soldado, Valencia/David Villa, Spain (Forwards)

This is the one area, where coach Vicente del Bosque and Spain are yet to arrive at a conclusion. Villa, Spain’s leading goal scorer of all time was the undoubted top dog in the team before his injury happened and the Barcelona striker has not been in the same lethal form since. ‘El Guaje’ has also been surrounded by talk of a move to the Premier League which could materialize now that Barca have also added Neymar to their ranks. The move could be good as it would get him more playing time with the World Cup around the corner.

Torres has had a revival under Rafa Benitez and though not quite striking fear into opponents as he used to, managed to put in a good account of himself with a return of 22 goals for the season, double that of last year. He also had an excellent Euro 2012 chipping in with 3 goals and 1 assist in Spain’s defence of their continental crown.

Soldado meanwhile continues to do what he does best – score goals, lots and lots of goals. He finished with 30 goals from 46 appearances for Valencia, a better return than either of the two above. Just for the record, his last goal scoring record for the last 5 seasons goes like this – 13, 20, 25, 27, 30! How is this guy not starting for ‘La Furia Roja’ you wonder? A technically proficient striker more than capable of the spectacular, this tournament could prove to be Soldado’s big break.

A fully fit Villa still remains Del Bosque’s first choice and at times he has even played a striker-less starting XI preferring to keep Torres and Soldado on the bench. It will be interesting to see how Del Bosque goes about sorting out this position ahead of the World Cup.

URUGUAY

Luis Suarez, Liverpool (Forward)

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Liverpool’s talented striker Luis Suarez on the pitch. All of the blame for that does lie at the Uruguayan’s unsavoury attempt at sinking his teeth into Branislav Ivanovic of Chelsea. Since then, Liverpool have again finished behind Everton and out of European competition, Suarez has made all sorts of noises back home about a move away from Anfield with Real Madrid seemingly on his mind.

But, come Sunday night, all of that will go to the back burner and the only thing that will matter is how he turns up for his national side through the tournament. If he showcases any of the form that kept him atop the goal-scorers’ standings until his ban, we will be in for quite a treat. Suarez already has 8 goals for his country in the 10 qualifiers that he’s played in. Edinson Cavani, in comparison, has played all 12 qualifiers yet scored only 3 times.

Diego Godin, Atletico Madrid (Centre-back)

While Radamel Falcao grabbed all the headlines with his goal scoring exploits, as strikers generally do, Diego Godin was the bedrock of Atletico’s stingy defence that propelled them to a 3^rd place finish in La Liga. Under Diego Simeone, Atletico have added some defensive ruggedness to their team which has been as important to their fortunes as the potency of Falcao up top.

Godin was one of the players of the season for Atleti alongside Falcao and amongst the top defenders in the league. He made 35 appearances (all start) and was the most used player behind keeper Thibaut Courtois. Marshalled by Godin, Atletico had the meanest defence in La Liga conceding just 31 goals, under a goal a game – a fantastic effort. Also, Atletico as a team have been very good at defending set pieces and at aerial duels, which comes as no surprise.

Gaston Ramirez, Southampton (Attacking midfielder)

The Saints dished out £12 million to acquire the services of Ramirez, one of the most promising young talents around. In his first season in England he built up a nice combination with Ricky Lambert and Adam Lallana which saw Southampton play some attractive attacking football.

He is very good with his dribble and likes to play those short passes amongst his teammates to open up space. It is early days yet at the national level for Ramirez, he’s made 7 appearances in the qualifying campaign, but with his talent and ability one reckons he will become a regular feature in the sky blue shirt of Uruguay in the coming years.

NIGERIA

Vincent Enyeama, LOSC Lille (Goalkeeper)

A veteran of the national side, Enyeama has been playing for the Super Eagles since 2002. Inspite of signing for Lille in 2011, he spent last season on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He captained Nigeria to the 2013 African Cup of Nations title. Enyeama is rated amongst the best shot stoppers in football.

Ahmed Musa, CSKA Moscow (Forward)

20-year old Musa currently plays for CSKA in the Russian league. He often plays as a winger or a second striker and is a hot prospect amongst the emerging group of African footballers. He found the net 15 times for his club side last season and has 5 at the international level so far.

Efe Ambrose, Celtic (Centre-back)

We saw a lot of Ambrose in the UEFA Champions League this season as Celtic progressed to the last 16. He had a nightmare game in the 1^st leg at home against Juventus which his side ended up losing 3-0 effectively sealing the tie. However, one has to consider that Ambrose had just got off the flight a mere 24 hours before that game after winning the African Cup of Nations with Nigeria.

In the 2 games against Barcelona in the group stages, he was impressive in the rear guard action that Celtic put up. That performance earned him a place in the UEFA Champions League Team of the Week. He was also named in the African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament.

TAHITI

In all honesty, I don’t think I can pick the three players to watch out for!

Only 1 of the 23 man squad is not from the Tahitian Division Federale. Tahiti won an international tournament for the first time when they lifted the OFC Nations Cup in 2012, thereby booking their tickets for this year’s Confederations Cup.

They will be led by defender Nicolas Vallar. Keeper Xavier Samin and defenders Teheivarii Ludivion and Vincent Simon are amongst the most experienced members of the travelling group.

CONFEDERATIONS CUP 2013: PLAYERS TO WATCH (Part I)

The Confederations Cup 2013 is here and Brazil gets ready for a glimpse of the football that will be in full swing next year. Part I of a look at the players to watch out for through the tournament.

BRAZIL

Neymar, Barcelona (Forward)

He has the tricks, the multi-million dollar sponsorship deals, the recent big money move to Barcelona along with the media buzz and hype; but all of that will count for nothing if the ‘most marketable athlete in the world’ falls flat in the famed Yellow shirt of Brazil.

This year will mark the beginning of a new and more challenging phase for Neymar; he will turn out for Barcelona next season after his €57 million transfer, a new environment and one where the level of football is obviously a huge step up from the Brasileirao. And then, there’s the pressure of delivering the World Cup for football crazy Brazil after the disappointments of the two previous editions.

There is no questioning the talent of Barcelona’s newest acquisition; however the terms ‘overrated’, ‘over-hyped’ and the like have been aimed at his feet in the last year or so after his failure to replicate his brilliant form for the national side. His performances at the last Copa America and the London Olympics didn’t help matters either. There are some elite teams in the fray in the Confed Cup and the tournament presents him with the chance to show everyone that he can cut it at the highest level.

Hernanes, Lazio (Attacking Midfielder)

The Lazio man will be a key component for the Brazilians as he is the one true playmaker in the side. While Oscar is very good in moving forward with the ball and initiating the neat 1-2’s, it is Hernanes who will be key to Brazil having good possession. He is good with both feet and has the ability to spray the ball out wide to stretch the play. He also has a good and powerful shot on him. He has struck up a nice partnership with Miroslav Klose at Lazio and will be looking to develop a similar understanding with Fred and Neymar.

David Luiz, Chelsea (Centre-back)

Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has partnered Luiz with captain Thiago Silva in most of the friendlies. Luiz has great skill on the ball, but his defensive capabilities have been found wanting at times with the odd mistake often seen from the bushy-haired defender. He will come up against some of the best attacks in the world at this event and how he fares could determine whether he starts the World Cup on the field or on the bench. It’s also an opportunity for him to show new Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, who we hear is not entirely convinced about the Brazilian, his ability to hold his own in that position.

JAPAN

Keisuke Honda, CSKA Moscow (Attacking Midfielder)

Japan became the first nation to qualify for Brazil 2014 after Honda converted an injury time penalty against Australia to earn a 1-1 draw for his team. He has had an injury-riddled season, but is one of the main stars in this Japanese team. He plays in that central attacking midfielder’s role and sometimes even behind the main striker. Honda is a great dribbler and very good from set piece situations, especially his superb free-kicks. He has 14 goals in 42 appearances for Japan with 5 of them coming in the qualification campaign for next year’s World Cup.

Shinji Okazaki, Vfb Stuttgart (Forward)

The Japanese front man has been in good form for the ‘Blue Samurais’ in 2013 with 4 goals from 5 games; he has 8 overall in the World Cup 2014 qualifiers. Okazaki is a prolific goal scorer at national level with 33 goals in his 63 appearances overall. He picked up a runners-up medal in the DFB Pokal Cup where Stuttgart were beaten 3-2 by Bayern Munich.

Yasuhito Endo, Gamba Osaka (Central midfielder)

Endo is one of the most long standing icons of Japanese football. Now 33, he is been around on the international scene for almost 12 years. Widely revered as one of the most creative players of his generation, Endo has exceptional passing ability and is great with free-kicks. Along with Honda, the duo will pose a threat to all opponents from set pieces. Also, as a veteran in the game, he brings a calming influence to the Japanese team.

MEXICO

Giovanni Dos Santos, Mallorca (Attacking midfielder/Winger)

It feels like Dos Santos has been around forever, yet he’s only 24. Ever since his triumph at the U-17 World Cup in 2005, Dos Santos has been something of a ‘golden boy’ for Mexico with many expecting him to emerge as a real superstar. That hasn’t happened, partially down to his club hopping; the last 4 seasons he has played for a different club each time.

He is a vet at the international stage with 62 caps already to his name in which he has scored 14 times. He was a member of the Gold medal winning team at last year’s London Olympics where they beat Brazil in the final. In the 2010 World Cup, he finished 2^nd in the votes for the ‘Young Player of the Tournament’ award behind Germany’s Thomas Müller.

Mallorca have been relegated from the La Liga and the tournament will serve as an important platform for Dos Santos to try and resuscitate his career by drawing the attention of some of the big clubs.

Javier Hernandez, Manchester United (Forward)

‘Chicharito’ played in the shadows of Robin Van Persie and Wayne Rooney during the 2012-13 season and yet managed 10 goals and 5 assists for Man United in 22 appearances (only 9 of which were starts). Overall, he had 18 goals from 36 appearances, a goal every other game. For Mexico, he has an even better scoring average with 32 goals from 47 caps, 0.69 goals a game.

All of which point to the inescapable fact that the 25 year old is a proven goal scorer, something that his national side will be relying on as they look to go deep in this year’s Confederations Cup.

Andres Guardado, Valencia (Winger)

Key player for Valencia last term after his move from Deportivo La Coruna, Guardado predominantly plays as the left winger and is adept at taking on full backs and whipping in crosses. He has already represented Mexico in 2 World Cups as well as the 2007 Copa America.

ITALY

Mario Balotelli, AC Milan (Forward)

Following his move to Milan from Manchester City, there was a breath of fresh air for Mario as he guided Milan to 3^rd spot in Serie A clinching Champions League football in the process. After ending his fractious stay at City, Balotelli has had a wonderful second half of 2012-13 as he scored 12 goals in his 13 appearances for Milan.

He did have that memorable semi-final performance against Germany in the Euros last year, but save for that, his performances have been nothing spectacular. For all his talent, he is yet to display that consistency and there is still that little bit of immaturity from him on the field.

Former Brazil striker Ronaldo, recently had some words of advice for Mario asking him not to throw away his talent like Adriano did. Balotelli, in all likelihood, will be leading the line for Italy at next summer’s World Cup. Like Neymar and Dos Santos above, he needs to show us that he’s worth the hype.

Riccardo Montolivo, AC Milan (Midfielder)

Like Michael Carrick for Manchester United, Montolivo will not blow you away with any great stats. But his importance to Milan and Italy are unquestionable. Montolivo primarily operates as a deep lying playmaker, but can move into a more attacking role when the situation calls for it.

He has great passing range and good ability on the ball and is viewed as the successor to Andrea Pirlo in the heart of Italy’s midfield. He has had a great season with Milan after he moved there last summer following 7 seasons at Fiorentina. Italy will look to him to set up their attacking rhythm. And like Carrick, he is a very neat interceptor which helps his side break up the play of opponents.

The Trio of Andre Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, Juventus (Centre-backs)

Sumptuous goals, dribbles, stepovers, cute backheels all make for great viewing. So does the art of defending as exemplified by this famed trio. It does help when you play with each other so often as these 3 do for both club and country.

Watching Bonucci, Chiellini and Barzagli go about their defensive duties is a joy to behold. The organization and synchronization of their play is simply outstanding. Their positional play is so wonderful that it feels like they have an almost telepathic understanding of where the other is. The way they get their tackles and interceptions in, then recycle the ball and release it forward is like clockwork. Apart from the final, where 

Spain literally picked them apart, the Italian defence stood firm against all and sundry.

The Azzuri will look forward to more of the same from its 3 defensive specialists.