Plan the Work, Work the Plan

My vacation plans fell through for this summer. Usually I go to the Neshoba County Fair, spending a couple of days with extended family in ridiculously hot conditions, having some beers, watching people and catching up on cousins, aunt, uncles, that sort of thing. This year I was planning on going to Atlanta during that time with Erin to spend a couple of days away, but that plan was put on hold because she couldn't get out of work (two experienced co-workers left, leaving her as the most senior employee). I then started looking into doing a soccer trip, either to the East Coast to see Juventus, Manchester United and FC Barcelona on tour, or to the Pacific Northwest to check out the Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders and maybe the Vancouver Whitecaps. Between money and time, that trip never came together. It's something I definitely want to investigate for next summer.

So an extended trip away is probably not going to happen this summer, which is fine. But what to do what my vacation days from work? I've decided to try to attempt a practice sabbatical. Written into our employee handbook itstates:

After every five years of full time service, full time employees will be eligible for a three month paid leave of absence.

Guess what? On January 2nd, 2012 I will have put five years in, and I have already put together a tentative schedule.

Possible Sabbatical Schedule (sometime in May through end of July):

Euro 2012

June 8 - July 1

Site: the bar(s)

MLS trip?

Pacific NW

Neshoba County Fair

July 27- August 3

Site: Neshoba County, MS

So come back from the Fair and back to work just in time for the Annual Franchisee Meeting.

Besides watching soccer, what else am I going to do? I plan to finally sit down and write, type up and edit all the crap I've been jotting down over the years. I have an idea for a second story, but first I need to edit and post the first one. That will be job one. Job two, will be to assemble the raw materials for my next whatever it is I do. This is all assuming that I edit and finish all previous materials over the winter. To prepare for all of this, I plan to take long weekends, four to five days, where I simulate what this might look like. You have to practice? Absolutely. If I have time off with no plan, ie nothing to do, I will do nothing. I mean I'll play FIFA and read and watch TV and sit around but I won't get to this stuff sitting in the corner of my closet.

I plan to use these days to help set habits to be the most effective. I start this weekend, taking Thursday and Friday off, plus having Saturday mostly to myself, to get my new soccer blog ready. I have been wanting do this for a while and things came together to launch it in anticipation of the upcoming season. I want to have a lot of new material ready ahead of time to supplement some older posts and the new posts that will be generated from the events of the season. Discipline is the only way the blog will be dynamic. If I wait until the mood hits, the blog will be boring (even more boring that it may be) and will die a slow death. So Thursday morning I am going to get up and hit the ground running, and this will be the first day of a ten month process to get me ready for my sabbatical next summer.

Futbol Time Management

A couple of weeks ago on the World Football Phone In, as a result of Sean Wheelock’s rant against Beckham’s trip to the Royal Wedding, Dotun started a rant segment at the end of the show. Wheelock stepped forward again and made some interesting comments about US soccer fans. In short, he said that he can’t stand footy fans in this country ignoring the domestic league. He went on to say that unless the fans that are following the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, etc., get invested in the MLS, the league will never hit the heights it is capable of. I was struck by his statements and almost quit the run I was on. It was if he was speaking directly to me.

When I first started following footy in the early 90’s, there was no US league, barely even a US team. Coverage basically consisted of World Soccer and FourFourTwo, week old London Sunday Times, with TV games hard to the find—odd Champions League game or an English game on PPV. To put it in context now, Americans can now see more European games than they can handle: Spanish and German games on GolTV, English and Italian on FSC, and a host of leagues on ESPN3. To put a further point on it, in 20 years we have gone from only seeing the FA Cup Final to watching Gary Neville’s testimonial live.

Then in 1996, MLS launched and Eric Wynalda scored that first goal and things were up and running. I originally started following DC United in the MLS. The team had Ben Olsen, who I really liked as a player, and they had a simple uniform, which was in stark contrast to the Nike pieces of crap during that time (insert pics).

DC was a little far away, so I followed them as best I could and would go and see them at Soldier Field in Chicago when the Fire started up. Fortunately I picked a team who was successful out of the gate, reaching the first four MLS Cup Finals, winning three of them. But in the end, I felt the quality of the games was poor, especially compared to other European leagues I was watching. The breaking point was the 1999 MLS final at Foxboro. The pitch looked terrible, with the American football lines still visible; Harkes and Lalas part of the halftime analysis (a vision of things to come); and the game wasn’t that compelling. I was like if you are not going to take this seriously, then neither am I.

The following summer I bought Euro 2000 on PPV, after that, I was hooked on European soccer. I watched a tournament that was exciting, dramatic, and fun to watch. There was no way I could go back to the Wiz v the Burn. In the fall of 2000 United were in the midst of three straight league titles, plus their amazing Treble season; Juventus, after reaching three straight Champions League Finals, were rebuilding; Real Madrid had captured 2 out of the last three Champions League titles and were heading towards a third in five years. Plus qualification for the World Cup in Japan/South Korea was starting.

In the intervening years I have tried to keep track of the league as a whole through websites, blogs and social media, even with the ridiculous team names, but for me, it comes down to time. I only have so much time during the week to scour the internet for articles and info and only so much time on the weekends to get drunk at the bar or watch legal and illegal feeds online. I have to use that time wisely. Plus I started have family and time is at a premium, which further reduces discretionary time. There are only so many hours in a day, so I choose to follow the big three leagues with occasional glances at Holland, Germany, and France.

And I am able to see all of these leagues because US networks sense the need to provide it. If there was not audience for European leagues, networks would not provide the platforms. Simple supply and demand. Consumers want the best product, and that product is currently in Europe, specifically at FC Barcelona. I want the kids of America dreaming of being Leo Messi and Xavi, not Landon Donovan and .

And let me say there that presentation of MLS is lacking. Soccer Night in America? Really. Has NBC sued for that yet? I would argue that between all the levels of soccer in this country, every night is Soccer Night in America. New slogan or new campaign.

So if it’s a choice between FCB/Villarreal and Colorado/Houston, I’m going La Liga. Or United/Spurs against Chicago/New York, I’m going with the Reds. I would rather watch a game of a high technical level or high energy and passion instead of a glorified High School game. In the past ten years I have probably seen a dozen MLS games in their entirety and have left feeling underwhelmed in the main.

When the Sounders launched in 2009 with accompanying excitement and fanfare, I didn’t get on the bandwagon. Last fall and winter I sensed the buzz around the Portland Timbers and wanted to jump in but work took over and I missed another chance to get in on the ground floor. I told myself after Wheelock’s comments that I would give the league another go this summer, but there’s Gold Cup and Copa America to watch, plus vacation and general sitting around to be done. For me, I may be an American but the game I love is in Europe, and what little time I have to devote to it will be spent watching from across the pond instead of my backyard.

Conflicted but Satisfied--UCL Final review

Going into the game, I felt the following: conflicted (read my preview post); confident that MUFC would score at least one goal; and worried for FCB in regards to the pitch, which tends to play and heavy, and the travel plans, which were changed due to the ashcloud again.

The conflict inside me affected more than I thought it would. After getting all of my housework done, I took a shower and got ready to go to the bar. I had decided to go jersey neutral, so I was then left with a decision of what to wear. I settled on a blue oxford button up, which is crazy because I never, ever dress up, but there I was in a dress shirt and jeans.

In the weeks leading up to the game, a lineup had materialized for United. Chicarito would lead the attack and trouble the backline of the opponent; Rooney would be able to have some space to attack and would help the center mids; Valencia and Park would work the wings in both directions; and the partnership of Ferdinand and Vidic would be rock solid in the middle. The only debates were whether O’Shea or Fabio would start and whether Carrick would keep his spot. Berbatov wasn’t going to start (turns out he didn’t even make the bench), and Nani was a question due to his defensive weaknesses. The lineup that had gotten them this far, including huge wins in the EPL and Champions League against Chelsea would be the team that would face FCB, and was a team that I was sure would score.

The New Wembley has been less than spectacular. The field cuts up and the players look like they are playing in quicksand. I felt the slow surface might be factor, especially if the game became a dog fight. This would hurt MUFC, but at least they would be used to it. As for FCB, while the Nou Camp pitch has hand some issues this season, it is always slick. Travel plans usually don’t factor into game prep, but in this case, it was a key item of analysis. Barcelona travel to away games the day of in the league. Except for a crazy trip to Osasuna earlier in the year, this works for them. For European games they arrive with one day to spare. Due to the ashcloud, they could not fly and wanted to avoid a train ride, so they flew in on Tuesday. Taking a team out of their routine was a concern because Pep is very meticulous in his preparation and execution. Plus he preaches comfort, letting players stay at home for as long as possible, so being cooped up in a hotel for several days had to be a touch unsettling.

After all the hype and potential issues and words written, the game kicked off and it was simply 2009 all over again. United harrying and pressing and making FCB uncomfortable. Valdez quick reactions saved the proverbial bacon and allowed the Blaugrana to finally settle in after about 20 minutes. The absence of Puyol was noticeable, as Mascherano struggled in possession and team shape. From there, tika taka took over, with Messi committing half the United team, passing to Xavi who slipped in Pedro, and he opened the scoring with a composed finish. Vidic and Evra were ball watching and did not react to the danger. One day I want to put together a goal compilation involving Vidic. Seems like every goal scored has him sliding at the last second as the goal keeper is beaten.

United responded quickly and decisively. Amazing interplay led to Giggs finding Rooney and he fired in a shot, which gave VV almost no chance. Game on. Halftime came with FCB in control but frustrated and the Red Devils teetering. Carrick looked lost, never venturing very far from Vidic and Ferdinand. Valencia was almost invisible and balls over the top to the Little Pea were wasted, either because they rolled to the keeper or he was offside. In my halftime phone call to Erik, I said if the second half starts as the first half ended, there can only be one result.

FCB were majestic in the second period. Their intricate possession kept United at arms length and resulted in an exquisite finish from Messi as no one closed him down. Moments before the goal, I told a fan at the bar that FCB had control in the first half but were not dangerous. Stay organized and focused, and if Messi beats you from 25 yards, which he rarely does, you have to live with that. Then he fired the ball in and there was no way back.

Ferguson was forced into a change when Fabio pulled up in jured, and moved Valencia to right back and brought on Nani. The sub made sense; bringing on an attacking player and going for the equalizer. But questions remain why Berbatov was left completely off the team sheet and why Anderson did not come on. Surely Anderson for Carrick would have been better than Scholes. The problem with Nani’s introduction was that Nani’s first touch was a turnover that led to Villa receiving the ball and hitting a shot of such power and accuracy that even Messi fell to his knees in admiration and exultation.

3-1 up with 20 minutes to go, the game slipped away from a United short of ideas, energy and poise. Ferguson learned from two years ago but it didn’t matter. His team simply isn’t good enough. Maybe if Fletcher had played, he could have won the center mid battle; maybe if United could have been rewarded from all of that early pressure; maybe if the team had concentrated during the key moments.

Maybes but no matter. We are in the presence of greatness, the greatness of Pep and Messi and FC Barcelona. After a night’s sleep, I awoke with this thought: this Barca are this generation’s AC Milan. I was too young and unaware to witness the wondrous Rossoneri teams of Sacchi and Capello, who were in charge of Van Basten, Rijkaard, Guillt, Baresi, and Desailly.

From 1987 to 1996, these teams accomplished the following:

*5 Scudetti in nine seasons, with 2 second place finishes, including a 58 game league unbeaten streak

*1 Coppa Italia Runners-Up

*3 European Cup/Champions League titles and 2 more Finals

Now look at the achievements of FC Barcelona from 2005-2011 (Rijkaard/Guardiola):

*5 La Liga titles, including 3 straight La Liga titles, with points totals for the last two in the 90’s.

*1 Copa del Rey title, with a semi in 2010 and a Final appearance this year.

*2 Champions League titles in the last three years, 3 in the last six and in at least the semi-finals the last four years.

What can the Blaugrana accomplish in the next three or four years? In a word, everything. Their team is in their prime, with replacements only needed for Xavi and Puyol, and the youth team continues to generate talent with money available for a big name if needed. The club is poised legendary greatness, and. in the end, I wanted FCB to win because, in 10, 20, 30 years, I want everyone to look back and remember a team that was wonderful to watch, a team that brought joy and excitement to the European stage, a team that deserves a spot in the pantheon of historical giants.

My conflict going into the game was alleviated by the quality and energy of the game. Chances at both ends, a better performance by United, a clinic by the Blaugrana, and dazzling goals from the star players. In the end, the best team won, and seeing Abidal lifting the cup after having a cancerous tumor removed just months ago was an emotional finale to a great match. Bring on next season as FCB try to match four straight league titles of Cruyff’s Dream Team and go for another sextuple.

Conflicted--A Champions League Preview

The stage has been set, and FCB and MUFC will play on May 28^th in the 2011 Champions League Final. MUFC breezed through the semis, sending out a Carling cup side in the second leg to crush Schalke 4-1 on the night, while FCB survived four El Clasicos in 18 days to prevail 3-1 on aggregate, in a tie complete with playacting, moments of brilliance, red cards and conspiracy theories. Both teams won their first European Cups at the old Wembley (MUFC in ’68 and FCB in ’92); both teams have been at the forefront of domestic and continental competitions over the last 10 years; and both teams met in the final two years ago.

In 2009, I went off the grid and waited to watch the Champions League Final between Barcelona and Manchester United on replay. After work and coaching a local girls high school team, I settled down at my favorite pub and watched as FCB connected five passes backwards to Valdes, who kicked the ball into touch. The match started weirdly for FCB and for me, and, while it got better for the Blaugrana, it never improved for me.

I didn’t know who I wanted to win the game, in a match that went back and forth, United have a couple of early chances. But then E’too popped up and clipped the ball over Van de Sar, and suddenly it was 1-0 FCB. Usually when Barca score I’m pounding the table, internally screaming my head off, yet at that moment I was conflicted. Manchester United were going after back to back League and European Doubles, which would have been an amazing achievement, while FCB were going for a historic treble under first year coach and former player Pep Guardiola. I follow both teams, with United being my first love, and Barcelona being my current girlfriend, and Juventus, the chick I call up in the middle of the night.

Two years ago, Ferguson got it all wrong, marooning Rooney on the left where he never got involved and sticking Ronaldo up top where he was not quite as dangerous. The midfield never came to grips with the game and the defense could only hold out for so long. However, I think United are in a better position to win this time around. They are more organized, Rooney has found a position behind the striker and Valencia and Nani are quite the tandem on the outside. This team does not blind you with their star power, but as a unit they are quite good and squeeze the most out of the individual parts.

FCB swept all before them in 2009, dominating MUFC on their way to a historic treble. Some of the players have changed, especially in attack (Villa and Pedro), and this time they should have a first choice defense as opposed to Rome where it was held together with tape and string. The blaugrana probably peaked just before the New Year and are not hitting the heights of earlier this season. Their possession is still quite impressive, but they have been lacking in finishing and have had defensive frailties exposed to a certain extent.

Now two years on, I am faced with the same quandary. United have ground out results on all fronts and are on the cusp of an amazing return. They are not super sexy with CR7 running around or Rooney and Tevez buzzing around creating havoc. Barcelona, in the meantime, could add to their legacy, winning a second European Cup in 3 years to go along with three league titles in a row. If they win at Wembley, it would be 6 major trophies (League, Cup, Continental) out of 9, plus two Spanish Super Cups, a European Super Cup, and a World Club Cup.

The game is still a couple of weeks away, and it will be hard to watch it as a neutral. Right now I’m leaning towards FCB, only because I want history to remember this team. Next year they will challenge the Dream Team for four titles in a row, and if they have a second Champions League to go with four straight semi-final appearances, they may go down as the best Barcelona side ever. United’s run has already been undermined. Weak league, a lame defeat to City in the FA Cup and a less than impressive run to the Final (Marseille—blech; Chelsea—underperformed; Schalke—crapped the bed)

This pinnacle of club football should be an enthralling afternoon, but already it feels muted. Part of that comes from what Soccernomics would call being a polygamous fan. Gone are the days when it was one fan, one club for life. Here I am “devoted” to several teams, my emotions and time splintered instead of deeply rooted in one team. Maybe by gameday I will have to come to some sort of peace about the game. If not, I’ll just have a couple of pints and hope there is a footballing spectacle on show.

Old Futbol Buffet--All You Can Eat

Editor’s Note: after weekends I gorge myself on footy, I plan to post on what I saw, heard, thought. This is a little late because I lost my flash drive (momentarily) and then was on the road for work.

Saturday

The rest of the family was away, so I was given free reign over the weekend to watch footy and basketball. I missed the Manchester United game (BERBA BABY!!) but got some work down around the house and headed out for the afternoon matches.

Ran into a couple of Arsenal fans who were drowning their sorrows after the Gunners dropped more points in a 2-2 draw with West Brom. They mentioned that Alumnia had a poor game, which is usual. I watched the hilites later and his contribution to a calamitous second goal. Looks like his fine performance against FCB in the second leg really is the anomaly.

The couple conceded the league to United, but there is still a ways to go. However, the loss in the Carling Cup Final has really put the pressure on them. No trophy from a match which they were heavily favored, and now the club out of Champions League and FA Cup. Everything is tied up in the league or it’s another season of “Wait til next year”.

I watched the end of Lazio and Cesena. Not too much happened. Lazio had a point blank header saved but picked up all three points in 1-0 win.

FCB v Getafe

FCB got off to a nervy start due several factors: Real Madrid playing after so the Blaugrana had to put three points on the board; Puyol out still; and the drama around Abidal. A goal by Alves on 16’ seemed to settle the team. Messi was dangerous but not sharp enough; Villa was looking for PK’s instead of finishing his chances. Bojan was lively but still not up to Pedro’s high standards. The midfield was solid, with Masch winning several challenges. Milito was shaky, but with his injuries and lack of playing time, what do you expect? Felt Adriano could have played better.

Getafe had a great chance to equalize, but Valdes came up huge. FCB continued to create chances but the HT whistle blew with only one goal being scored. Last week Sevilla came out of the blocks in the second half and surely that was part of Pep’s comments during the interval.

Bojan, who has been marginalized over the last two seasons, scored a vital goal early in the second half. It took a slight deflection but will probably do wonders for his confidence. The third goal never came and Getafe set up an interesting finish with a fine finish by Manu. FCB saw out the match and put pressure on Los Merengues heading into the Madrid Derby (which of course they against the choking dogs know as Atletico Madrid).

Sunday

Athletic Bilbao v Villarreal

Watched the last half an hour of this match while watching the Duke/Michigan game. Looked like a tense, hard fought game but I didn’t see much action. The Yellow Submarine picked up three vital points with the 1-0 victory to solidify their spot in the top four and keep the pressure on Valencia. This followed an impressive victory in the Europa League. They continue to fight on both fronts, with very little chance of losing their Champions League position, because, skimming results, Espanyol have lost 7 of their last 9 to fall away from the Champions League places. They are now 1^st for the rest of the table, holding a one point edge over Bilbao.

At the bottom, Malaga have finally caught fire and now have the momentum in the relegation fight. Hercules have hit rock bottom and look to go down despite being the only team to beat FCB this season. The relegation battles in Spain and England should be nail-biting right to the last minute of the season.

Marseille v PSG

I usually have not been impressed by French games, but the first half was very open and entertaining. OM really took it to PSG, which looked very average. Lots of turnovers and too much hesitation when they finally got into the final third.

Heinze opened the scoring 15’ with a fantastic free kick. Coupet didn’t even move. Who knew he could take free kicks? However PSG took advantage of poor clearance, and scored when a shot off the post from Nene was fired home by Chantome. OM responded quickly and Ayew scored with a relatively free header from Gignac to put the Champions in front on 35’.

The exciting first half caused two thoughts: Where was this against United? And I had made the right choice as Valencia v Sevilla was 0-0 at HT.

The second half was a little more disciplined. PSG really didn’t create enough chances, even though Marseille looked to have settled for the lead and invited PSG on to them.

Ayew had a great chance after a fine individual run turned away by Coupet, then Mandanda kept PSG out with a nice save 10’ into the half. Lucho and Abriel came on with half an hour to try to maintain OM’s grip on the game.

Guily best chance came with 10’ to go with interplay creating a real chance on goal as opposed to the half chances for most of the half. PSG threw bodies forward in an effort to equalize and OM squandered two gilt edged chances to kill off the game, with Lucho and Remy at fault.

After that result, this what the top of Ligue 1 looks like. With OM out of the Champions League, they could still make a final push to retain their title.

Lille	28	15	10	3	22	55
Marseille	28	14	9	5	17	51
Rennes	28	14	8	6	11	50
Lyon	28	13	10	5	21	49
PSG	28	12	9	7	12	45

Feature Presentation--Too Busy for TV

Between work, preparing a sermon for our church retreat, working out and family life, I have not had much time to just veg in front of the TV. Guess that’s good and bad. But here’s what I’ve checked out over the last couple of weeks.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1442449/

I saw this on a preview for something and put it on hold at the library. Months later, I picked it up. I quit after the first disc. Where do I start with my criticism? I didn’t care about a single character; the graphics were over CGI’ed; the dialogue was a mix of Shakespeare, soap opera and clichés. I won’t criticize for the amount of blood. I knew that going in, although it was still a little over the top. Also the sex was gratuitous and really unnecessary. They wanted an R rated series. They got it.

Avoid like the plague.

The State (complete series)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0130421/

I bought this a while ago and I’m going through it again. Love this show—love its sensibility, its characters, its attitude. It starts off a little slow, but season 2, especially episode 3, is of the highest order. I’m glad these guys burst on to the scene and then went on to other things, Reno 911 in particular. After SNL of the early 90’s, this was way better.

Check it out.

Manchester United: The Official History 1878-2002

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0410292/

Watching this again, I was really struck by the Busby era. Matt Busby built a team ready to compete for domestic and European honors and lost almost all of them on that night in February, 1958. He started over and 10 years later finished the job. That is just amazing.

I also noticed how poor the 70’s and early 80’s were, with the club out in the wilderness compared to the heights of the mid 60’s. Once Fergie arrived and finally won the FA Cup in 1990, they reached the stratosphere in terms of success.

Watching the Treble year gives me goose bumps every time. What a dramatic ending to the season of a lifetime.

If you love Manchester United, a must.

If you love soccer, you should really check it out.

If you want to be able to talk to me, watch it.

Everybody, take it or leave it.

Strip Club—RIL Edition

See here for definition: http://www.tuscl.net/b.php?AID=67

It has been said that you don’t find a football club, a football club finds you, and Manchester United found me via my best friend Erik. When we were in high school and college, he would share stories of this great club called the Red Devils from England, and he had all this swag—jerseys, scarves, articles, magazines, trinkets. He would talk about the amazing achievements of Hughes and Kanchelskis and Sharpe and Schmeichel and Ince, and he won me over, taking me to this hole in the wall bar in Detroit to watch live games.

By the time USA ’94 rolled around I was excited but not caught up in World Cup fever. I watched several matches on TV, but this was only a prelude to my viewing dedication for the following tournaments. Soccer on TV in the US was rare in the early 90’s, and in 1995 life changed forever for me. We watched the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners Cup between Arsenal and Real Zaragoza, and I still remember Seaman backpedaling and falling into his own net, unable to stop a ridiculous shot from Nayim: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiYt3iNWau0 From there it was on to the 1995 Champions League Final, which Patrick Kluivert won for Ajax against AC Milan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi8MMBHSgS8

All of this set up the 1995-96 season, which, thanks to a slow internet connection at college and ESPN’s coverage of the Champions League, I was able to follow. What a year that was. Juventus won the Champions League Final. Euro 96 was epic, with Poborsky’s chip, Gazza’s goal against Scotland, and Bierhoff scoring the first Golden Goal. But all of this paled in comparison to the Domestic Double won by Manchester United.

Here is a synopsis of the season from aboutmanutd.com:

1995-1996 brought a second Premiership and FA Cup double in just three seasons. Newcastle United squandered a ten-point lead in the Premiership and Liverpool were beaten in the final of the FA Cup.

There was controversy before the season began. Three established players left over the summer. Mark Hughes signed for Chelsea, Andrei Kanchelskis for Everton and Paul Ince for Inter Milan. The first two wanted to leave, but it appeared to be the manager’s decision to sell Ince. With Cantona suspended until the beginning of October, it was assumed that experienced replacements would arrive, but they didn’t. Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Phil Neville and Paul Scholes all began the opening game of the season and David Beckham came on as a substitute. The game at Aston Villa was lost 3-1, leading TV pundit Alan Hansen to famously declare that you win nothing with kids. Ferguson continued with the ‘kids’, they won their next five consecutive league games and remained undefeated until November. They were strengthened by Cantona’s return. His first game after suspension was against Liverpool. The game ended 2-2, with Cantona making Manchester United’s first goal and scoring the second (a penalty). He was on his best behavior for the rest of the season, ending it as the club’s top scorer and the Football Writers’ Player of the Year.

Newcastle United should really have won the league. In December they led Manchester United by ten points. Gradually the gap was closed. Great saves by Schmeichel and a goal from Cantona won a crucial game in Newcastle in March. Alex Ferguson employed all his psychological ploys to successfully get under the skin of Newcastle manager, Kevin Keegan. Newcastle imploded and Manchester United won the Premiership by four points. Another Cantona goal won the FA Cup Final. After a fairly dull game, Cantona scored the only goal with just a few minutes remaining.

During 1995-1996 there was embarrassment as well as success. Rotor Volgograd knocked Manchester United out of the UEFA cup. York City knocked them out of the League Cup, winning the first leg at Old Trafford 3-0. Then, towards the end of the season, the club lost at Southampton after being 3-0 down at half-time. Ferguson blamed the grey shirts they were wearing, had them changed at half-time and then determined that they would never be worn again!

A marvelous blend of youth and experience brought success in 1995-1996 and Alan Hansen - a former Liverpool player - had to eat his words.

I still remember watching the replay of FA Cup on Fox Sports South, and after Cantona’s winning goal, running around my parents’ house, screaming in celebration. The goal (about 2:40 in): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCrtCRm8_kg

This was the away jersey from that season:

A big fad in the 90’s was sublimation, whether it be the club crest or an iconic image or the home ground. For that year, barely visible all over the jersey, United used the names of the legends of the club, plus a sublimated reminder of the 1968 victory in the European Cup at Wembley. Not only recent players, but legends like Charlton, Best, McIlroy, Robson, Law, and Whiteside. I knew some of them and as I’ve learned more and more about the club, I’ve found out why some of the names are on there. Recently I got a DVD of 1001 Manchester United Greatest Goals and it’s cool to see the names on the shirt actually playing.

This United kit is not my favorite, but when I finally I found it on eBay in my size, I snapped it up. As for the shirt itself, it’s not the greatest, it doesn’t breathe well and doesn’t fit all that great, but for the year it represents and the history it represents, it’s a true collector’s item.