Lazy Man's Calcio

Seba Veron: 100-word hero #31

giancarlorinaldi:

Back to the guest posts this week, courtesy of Richard Graham (@RPG_1988 on Twitter) with another glorious baldy. If you like it, check out his blog at Lazy Man’s Calcio.

With his shaven head, goatee and knee tape Juan Sebastián Verón looked more like a pirate than a footballer.

However, when the ‘Little Witch’ stepped onto the football pitch he couldn’t help but produce magic.

UEFA Cup victory with Parma, and a Scudetto with Lazio (only their second ever), gained Seba recognition as a classy and technical midfielder. Able to pick the perfect pass, Verón was an expert at dictating play.

A (Calciopoli) Scudetto with Inter followed a passport scandal and an ‘unsuccessful’ spell in England. Verón was an inspiring central midfielder and a joy for any spectator to watch.

Read the rest of the series here.

Image via Old School Panini

Café Colombia

After 13 years at Inter Iván Ramiro Córdoba has finally hung up his boots. A central defender by trade, Cordoba was also able to fill in the roles of right and left back when called upon. Playing 454 games for the Nerazzurri, all played with excellence and integrity, Café Colombia announced his retirement the day before the Derby della Madonnina:

“[The] derby will be my last match at the San Siro as a player. I’ve decided to tell you about my decision after speaking to the president, the directors and the coach.

At the moment I am focused on tomorrow’s game, just as you and all my team-mates are, but there will be time over the next few weeks to talk about what my future holds and to look back on the thirteen marvellous seasons we’ve spent together - years shared with passion and respect, from the tough times through to all the fantastic success we’ve had.”

Signed in 1999 from San Lorenzo during a period when Massimo Moratti bought and sold players for fun. The young Colombian could have easily become another one of the many players tossed to the side during this uncertain period. However, like teammates Javier Zanetti, Marco Materazzi and Francesco Toldo, Córdoba became one of the rare mainstays in the Inter team. As players like Laurent Blanc and Fabio Cannavaro came and went, the diminutive Colombian was often partnered with towering Italian, Materazzi. With the Matrix standing at 6 ft 4 in, with tattoos and often messy hair, the pair made for an odd couple. At only 5 ft 8 in and his short, cropped hairstyle Córdoba was opposite to Materazzi in every way. While the Matrix was desperate and cynical in his defending, the Colombian was precise. A great man-marker, Córdoba had a good turn of pace, and despite his size he was great in the air. Able to leap above opponents, he was surprising comfortable with dealing with high balls. His excellent performances were not (originally) rewarded with the trophies he deserved.  On international duty he captained his country to their one and only Copa América success in 2001 on home-soil, even scoring the only goal in the final against Mexico. However, with the Nerazzurri he could never quite claim the honours that President Moratti sought. Only consecutive Coppa Italia successes in 2004-05 and 2005-06 came before the Calciopoli scandal put Inter into an unexpected position of power.

Forming partnerships with both Materazzi and Walter Samuel, Córdoba went on to win a total of five Scudetti (playing a major role in most of them), four Coppa Italia’s, a Champions League and a FIFA World Club Cup. Córdoba remained a mainstay at the heart of the Inter defence, more often than not partnering il muro. Creating a solid partnership, the pair formed a wall in front of Júlio César. The 2009 first-leg Last 16 match against Manchester United at the San Siro was just one example of Córdoba putting his body on the line to defend the team. With United dominating like the home team he was brought on at half time to replace his hapless compatriot Nelson Rivas. Several key tackles and blocks saw a brave 0-0 result (only for the Nerazzurri to go and perform better in the second-leg but still lose 2-0). The arrival of the Brazilian World Cup Winner, Lúcio in 2009-10 saw the Colombian’s role within the first team decline. In that treble winning year José Mourinho opted for a Samuel and Lúcio partnership, with Córdoba and Materazzi acting as deputies.

With appearances diminishing in his last three seasons the Colombian decided that the derby match against Milan was the best way to bow out. A well respected member of team and servant to the club for 13 years, Iván Córdoba came on as an 83^rd minute substitute to give him the perfect send-off to go with his presentation before the game. He still has a long role to play at Inter:

“The first part of this story is over. Now we’ll see what I’ll do when I grow up… I’ve always said this, but I’d still like to give my contribution to this club. But we’ll see. Now my family deserves to have a dad who’s all in one piece, who’s with them. As we said, it’s the beginning of another chapter that I hope is very important; equally important. Thanks, thanks to everyone.”

Image via 8borntorun.

Serie A Squadra della Stagione

                                                     Gianluigi Buffon

                          Andrea Barzagli      Thiago Silva        Giorgio Chiellini

      Juan Cuadrado        Andrea Pirlo            Arturo Vidal            Dušan Basta 

                                                   Sebastian Giovinco 

                                     Zlatan Ibrahimović  Antonio Di Natale