Attacking from the Back...

        At the end of every meaningful and important game a peculiar tradition that fuels much hope and blind optimism is that of the goalkeeper joining the attack to push for that important goal. Many times it ends with a goalkeeper frantically retreating to the goal having been no use at all, however in the case of Daniel Aranzubia last Saturday (20th February) the situation was far from that. With his side, Deportivo La Coruña, 1-0 down away at Almería and the game coming to a close Aranzubia took the gamble and joined the rest of his team in the Almería box for the corner. Leaping for the ball Aranzubia nodded the ball in from the edge of the six yard box and in the process became the first goal keeper in La Liga history to score in open play.

     Having seen this I began to think of goalkeepers who were regular goalscorers for their clubs. One player that instantly sprung to mind was Brazilian goalkeeper Rogério Ceni. Having spent his whole career at São Paolo, where he is still playing today, Ceni has scored 95 goals in over 900 appearances. His best goal tally in the Brazilian Serie A came in 2005 when he reached double figures with 10 goals. An amount that many midfielders would be proud of. Despite also taking penalties the majority of his goals come from free kicks which have led him to gaining many records. The most bizzare of which is the record he holds for being São Paolo's all-time leading Copa Libertadores scorer which is quite an outstanding feat.

      Finally, my favourite goalscoring keeper José Luis Chilavert. The now retired Paraguayan goalkeeper scored 63 goals throughout his professional career. Simiar to Ceni, Chilavert also took free kicks and penalties but, unlike the Brazilian, Chilavert managed to score 8 times for his country which to me is an incredible notion. The majority of his goals came at Argentine club Vélez Sársfield where he scored 48 goals in 341 appearances where, in 1999, he became the first goalkeeper in footballng history to score a hatrick during a game against Ferro Carril Oeste. He has also scored goals in Spain, France and Uruguay where he also played. His ability to score outstanding freekicks, including scoring one from his own half, twinned with his eccenticity and fiery temper have made his one of the most reknowned 'keepers of all time.

The New Mario Gomez

      If you'd have said last May at the end of the Budensliga season that Mario Gomez would be the league's top scorer by February many would have looked at you as if you were delusion and would have even questioned whether he would be playing for Bayern next season. This, however, is exactly the situation that Mario Gomez finds himself in having netted 18 goals for Bayern so far this season.
     Joining Bayern for a fee of about 35million Euros at the beginning of the 09-10 season from Vfb Stuttgart, where he scored 63 goals in 121 appearances, Bayern manager Louis van Gaal and every German football follower expected the transition to the 22 time champions to be very smooth as he was not moving country or having to adapt to a new culture. As you can most probably gather this was not the case. In a season where Bayern Munich achieved so much Mario Gomez achieved so little scoring only 10 goals in comparison to the 24 scored the season before. Despite being in a team that is so attackingly gifted, with the likes of Arjen Robben, Frank Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger supplying passes of a consistently high standard, Gomez looked like a shadow of his former self as he frequently failed to make an impact. 
      With this poor form there was rumors of a potential escape to England during the summer with Liverpool showing interest in the 25 year old. Gomez, however, decided to stay at die Bayern to try and prove that he was worth the substantial fee they paid for him. Whether it be a miracle or just that Gomez has finally settled in Munich, this season Mario Gomez seems like a completely different player. In the absence of Robben and Ribery at the beginning of the season, Gomez has shined and single handedly dragged Bayern up the league after having a desperately poor season. I, personally, am really glad to see that Mario's fortunes have changed and hope that it long continues.

Juan Manuel Iturbe - The New Messi?

        Ever since the early 90s every good, young, Argentine attacking midfielder has been touted as the 'New Maradonna'. Now with the emergence of Lionel Messi natural progression suggests that hitting the heights of Lionel is now the new aim of every young Argentinian footballer. One youngster that has the potential to do such things is Juan Manuel Iturbe.
     Starting his career at Paraguayan side Cerro Porteño he made his debut at just 16. However, his time at the 28 time Paraguayan champions didn't last long as he was snapped up by Buenos Aires club Qulimes who managed to capture him for free as he had not signed a professional contract at Cerro. His talent has also led him to be included in the 'sparring squad' that was taken to the 2010 World Cup by Diego Maradonna to keep the main squad sharp. Following this he has recently been taken to the South American Under 20 Youth Championships in Peru where he has featured 4 times and scored twice, earning himself many admirers in the process. These admirers have little chance of signing Iturbe in the near future as he was signed by FC Porto of Portugal in 2010 for around 1.5 million euros and have tied him to a contract that keeps him at the club until 2016.
     The comparisons to Messi are not unfounded as he has a similar diminutive stature standing at only 5ft 6 ¹⁄₂  in comparison to Messi's 5ft 7. It is, however, his style of play from where one must draw the majority of the comparisons. As with Messi, Iturbe has good close control and the ability to dribble at speed whilst exhibiting this control. He also plays in a similar position, either out on the wing or just behind the striker which makes the likeness to Messi even more apparent. It is fair to say that Juan Manuel Iturbe has an amazing future ahead of him but whether he will become the 'New Messi' we will have to wait and see...