Hulk feeling the pressure at Zenit

Zenit St. Petersburg’s management will have breathed a huge sigh of relief on Wednesday evening after the Russian club notched up their first win of this season’s Champions League campaign with a fortunate 1-0 result over Anderlecht.

Zenit were expected to challenge for the trophy this campaign after spending huge money in the summer on Hulk and Alex Witsel, but have been unconvincing so far.

Indeed, Zenit were heading to a certain goalless draw until 18 minutes from time, when Alexander Anyukov earned a penalty off a quick free-kick while the majority of players were still getting together to form a wall. Alexander Kerzhakov stepped up to smash the ball home and were it not for this stroke of luck the game would have gone down as one on the dullest ties in European football history.

Playing on a drenched Petrovsky Stadium surface, both sides looked unable to play progressive football and the game suffered from a distinct lack of goalmouth chances.
Of the 26 goal attempts in the game, only two hit the target – one of which was Kerzhakov’s penalty.
Dribbling in a straight line became impossible and balls skipped off the surface and out of play far too easily. Strikers were unable to turn properly due to the weak surface and even Zenit’s €37m signing Hulk – clearly frustrated – failed to find the target or team-mates throughout the game.

Indeed, Hulk’s performance was one of the worst of the night and many Zenit fans will have been wondering why the club invested so much money in the striker. He offered very little going forward compared to Anderlecht’s Liverpool flop Milan Jovanovic, who looked composed and comfortable despite the greasy conditions.

If Zenit are to do anything this campaign stars like Hulk must step up. The Brazilian could do a lot worse than study Jovanovic’s game on Tuesday and understand composure and team-work, not luck, is the key to Champions League success.

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Serbia Unlikely to Face Tough Action

The racial and physical abuse subjected to England’s U21 players and staff at the end of their Euro 2013 qualifying playoff against Serbia on Tuesday has rightly outraged the majority in football, who thought those sort of dark days were long gone.

After Connor Wickham tapped into an empty net to earn England a 1-0 victory and propel them into Israel next summer, the team suffered a barrage of abuse and missiles from the Serbian home crowd, while their players stormed to the celebrating England team to verbally and physically express their grievances.

The outcome: England players were subject to clear physical violence and alleged racial abuse, while their coach, Steve Wigley, was wrestled away from the tunnel and quite visibly kicked by a member of the Serbian playing squad.

The referee, who had been out of touch all night – awarding random free kicks to both sides and failing to pick up on England’s clear timewasting – was powerless to prevent the scenes on Tuesday evening but did wield his minute power in sending Danny Rose off after the final whistle for kicking an object into the very crowd that was allegedly abusing him.

In the next few weeks, we can expect UEFA to come up with a sincere and tough-talking press release about how they are doing their utmost to stamp out these sort of ugly scenes, before tickling the Serbian FA with a spineless fine.

Last year UEFA president Michael Platini warned Serbia they faced expulsion from Euro 2012 if crowd trouble continued after a clash with Italy was abandoned due to idiotic supporters completely out of touch with modern-day football and society.

Yet this warning is unlikely to serve as a precursor for stricter punishments. UEFA imposed a harsher fine (£80,000) on Nicklas Bendtner for exposing some branded advertising during Euro 2012 than any previous fine over racial abuse and they are bound to let Serbia off lightly here.

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Phoenix defeat not in the script

For all the pre-season hype of marquee acquisition Alessandro del Piero taking the A-League by storm, the limelight belonged to a couple of fellow new arrivals who can only dream of enjoying the same distinguished career as the Italian maestro.

Phoenix's debutants, Stein Huysegems and teenager Louis Fenton, found themselves on the score-sheet as the home side secured a deserved victory at Westpac Stadium. Indeed, the score-line probably flattered Sydney FC, who began the game as favourites in the A league betting.

Juventus and Italy icon del Piero looked the class act that he is but could only threaten sporadically and of more concern to manager Ian Crook was the obvious gulf in quality between the World Cup winner and the rest of his team-mates.

Never the quickest over the first five yards, del Piero has always made up for a lack of outright pace in brain cells. The worry here is that no-one else is on his wave-length.

It took him the sum total of nine minutes to tell his team-mates he wanted to ball to feet and there were obvious flashes of frustration.

Any Sydney FC fans betting on soccer hoping the 37-year-old would work a miracle in his first taste of competitive action Down Under was sadly mistaken and it will clearly take time for all parties to work on a more level playing field.

Footballers' footballer del Piero must quickly realise the ball will not always reach him to within a micro-millimetre - and there must also be an understanding from the rest of the Sydney FC that what they have here is a special talent.

Granted, it is one at the back end of an illustrious career but one who can still make a difference.

Cole Tweet could be Final Straw

Ashley Cole's tweet criticising the FA in the wake of the John Terry racism trial is the latest example of a footballer being left red-faced using the social media platform.

When used properly, Twitter can be a great link between fans and their heroes, and provides the football-loving public with the chance to get a glimpse into the real lives of players who are usually difficult to communicate with, and often seen as living in their own bubble.

But it is no place for a bitter attack on the game's governing body - something Cole has apologised "unreservedly" for and blamed on a hasty 'heat of the moment' reaction.

He is not the first player to get himself into trouble using Twitter - or Facebook, for that matter - so how long before managers decide to call time on allowing their players to use it?

Surely, footballers cannot be that detached from reality to think what they tweet will not get publicised in the sport updates.

At Premier League teams at least, there must be some form of media training nowadays that warns players of the pitfalls of using social media in such a way that it could land them in trouble legally and, even worse, threaten their position at a club?

If Cole had said what he tweeted in an interview with a television, radio, or newspaper journalist it would have caused a huge storm but players need to realise that in today's technologically-advanced world, what opinions they offer online for public consumption are no different.

Cole may well escape with a fine but he is unlikely to receive much congratulations if he wins his 100th England cap later this month - especially not from the FA.

Some fans making Premier League predictions will welcome players giving their true opinion on Twitter but, when they start getting unnecessarily abusive, a line has been crossed.