According to the local press Barça could be on the point of losing one of our most promising youngsters, Thiago Alcántara. It is well known that Thiago has a release clause of only €18 million due to him not playing in 60% of last season’s games. Now, having shone in Spain’s Euro under-21s victory including a hat-trick in the 4-2 win over Italy in Tuesday’s final, Thiago has Europe’s top clubs chasing him, with Manchester United and Bayern Munich leading the race.
I don’t think anybody could have been very happy with Thiago’s 2012/13 season for Barça. He started the season injured and then after just three appearances in September, totalling 127 minutes, he injured a knee ligament which put him out for another two months. By the time he returned at the start of December Tito Vilanova had more or less settled on his best XI, his once de gala, and the team was setting records in La Liga. When Thiago did get an opportunity to start he was guilty of a poor mistake which gifted Malaga a goal in the Copa del Rey. This may have affected his confidence, or indeed Vilanova’s confidence in the player, but I think it’s fair to say that when he played he wasn’t at the level we saw from him in the second half of 2011.
It may well be that he was inspired in the summer of 2011 both before and then after the signing of Cesc Fabregas. Many people were against the signing of Fabregas because they believed Thiago would see his progress blocked. However, Guardiola showed faith in Thiago and found many ways to give him opportunities, very often playing him alongside Fabregas, Iniesta and Xavi as in the brilliant 4-0 destruction of Santos in the Fifa Club World Cup Final in December 2011.
It has been reported that Vilanova spoke to the player before the Euro under-21s tournament, presumably to try to persaude him that he was an important part of the squad and that he had a great career ahead of him at Barça. It is quite possible that Thiago didn’t want to hear the old stuff about needing to be patient. He may well have his eyes set on the 2014 World Cup and he may feel he needs to play more to convince Vicente Del Bosque of his qualities. Whether he would get the playing time with United or Bayern is another question, but if he wants to take the risk then he deserves a shot at it and I can understand his desire to make Spain’s squad.
For Barça there is the chance to act now and do something more to persaude the player to stay. It’s not possible to guarantee players playing time as everybody should be aware that they need to fight for their place every day. An improved contract is a possibility but the problem with late reactions of this type is it encourages other players’ agents to flirt with other clubs with the intention of pushing for more money from Barça. If Vilanova wasn’t able to convince him before, then there seems little we can do except curse whoever agreed to the release clause in the summer of 2011.
Thiago may not have had the best season for Barça but he has shown his potential in the past, and now once again for Spain’s under-21s. We are going to look pretty stupid letting such a talented young player leave for such a low price, and there will be questions again asking why Tito Vilanova wasn’t even aware of the conditions of Thiago’s contract. It also goes to show there are more reasons to rotate all the players besides just keeping the best players fresh. The youngsters need to be given more encouragement and more first team opportunities or we will lose plenty more promising youngsters before they reach their full potential.
Tahiti 10-0 at theConfederations Cupin Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.
RIO DE JANEIRO: Spain broke the record for the biggest margin of victory at the final phase of a FIFA tournament by crushing minnows
Fernando Torresscored four times and David Villa claimed a hat-trick for the world and European champions at Rio de Janeiro's hallowed Maracana, withDavid Silvaadding a brace andJuan Mataalso finding the net.
No team had previously won by 10 goals at an international FIFA event, with Hungary (9-0 against South Korea at the 1954 World Cup, 10-1 against El Salvador at the 1982 World Cup) and Yugoslavia (9-0 against Zaire at the 1974 World Cup) the co-holders of the previous record.
Tahiti, who sit 138th in the FIFA rankings, equalled their heaviest defeat -- a 10-0 demolition by New Zealand in 2004 -- but Spain fell short of matching their 13-0 annihilation of Bulgaria in a 1933 friendly.
Spain will be assured of a place in the semi-finals if Nigeria avoid defeat against Uruguay in Salvador later in Group B. The same outcome would also end Tahiti's mathematical chance of reaching the last four.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque made no less than 10 changes to his starting line-up, with only centre-back Sergio Ramos keeping his place in the team from the 2-1 win over Uruguay.
Tahiti's players presented their opponents with necklaces and pendants prior to kick-off, but the pleasantries did not last long, as Torres beat goalkeeper Mickael Roche at his near post to give Spain a fifth-minute lead.
Roche was drafted into the Tahiti team in place of Xavier Samin, who shipped six goals against Nigeria, and the newcomer momentarily looked set to play the hero, saving at Torres' feet and repelling Santi Cazorla's half-volley.
His resistance did not last long, however, as Spain ran in three goals in the 14 minutes before half-time to banish any hopes of a shock result.
Silva found the bottom-left corner from Villa's pass in the 31st minute, with Torres dinking the ball over the advancing Roche and rolling home before Villa got on the score-sheet from Silva's low cross.
Tahiti surprisingly enjoyed 37 percent of possession in the first half, but Del Bosque added another attacking player at half-time in Jesus Navas and Villa soon made it 5-0 from a low Nacho Monreal cross.
Torres completed his hat-trick in the 57th minute, side-footing home from Navas' cut-back, before Villa matched his strike partner by tapping in after Roche allowed a long pass to squirm through his grasp.
Mata drove in Spain's eighth shortly afterwards, and although Torres then put a penalty against the crossbar, he quickly atoned by rounding Roche to roll in his fourth goal.
Navas teed up his new Manchester City team-mate Silva for the record-breaking 10th goal in the 89th minute, by which time Spain's celebrations had become rather sheepish.
Brazilian icon Pele has waded into the Ballon d’Or debate once more and claims Cristiano Ronaldo deserved to scoop the prestigious prize ahead of Lionel Messi. Messi won his 4th straight Ballon d’Or earlier this year for his goalscoring exploits with Barcelona.
Messi scooped the prestigious prize back in January
The Argentinian ace broke Gerd Muller’s record for most goals scored in a calendar year while this season he broke another record by scoring in 17 straight Spanish league games, going on to score in 21 consecutive matches before failing to find the net on the last day out of the season.
While Messi garnered all the praise for his goal-scoring exploits it was Ronaldo who had the last laugh as he helped Real Madrid beat off Barca to win the 2011/12 La Liga title.
Since then Barcelona have wrestled back the league crown from their rivals, and with neither side being crowned champions of Europe, Pele believes Ronaldo should have won his 2nd Ballon d’Or for helping to break Barcelona’s dominance.
"In terms of football, I say Messi, but in terms of successes I think Ronaldo deserved to win the Ballon d'Or. He won La Liga with Real Madrid," Pele said in an interview with AS.
"I was at Fifa presenting the award on two occasions. Cristiano was close on both occasions, but Messi always had more."
Pele has been vocal in the past about his belief that countryman Neymar has what it takes to surpass Messi as the greatest player in the world.
Now it has been confirmed Neymar will line up alongside Messi at Barcelona next season, Pele concedes it will take some time for the former Santos player to reach that level.
"It’s clear that the marking in European football is different to Brazilian or South American clubs," he said. "They’re stronger, the marking is tighter and the referees are used to this type of play. I think that this will be Neymar’s main difficulty.
"He has some obstacles to get over: he needs to play in a World Cup, he needs to improve his heading. By way of comparison, we had [Zinedine] Zidane a short time ago, one of the last great names in world football. He was an extremely complete player. Neymar still needs to get to that level."
Chelsea transfer news: Fernando Torres flattered by Barcelona interest - but wants to stay..
Torres is happy where he is.
Fernando Torres admits he is flattered to hear of reported interest in his signature from Barcelona, but insists he intends to remain with Chelsea beyond the summer transfer window.
Barcelona have been credited with interest in Torres with his future with Chelsea in doubt following the appointment of Jose Mourinho and the likelihood the club will purchase another striker before the transfer deadline.
The situation in the mind of Torres is clear, however, with the 29-year-old intent on staying with Chelsea, while maintaining the belief that Mourinho will be able to kickstart his faltering Stamford Bridge career.
"I want to continue, I want to complete the contract I signed and continue winning trophies and I would like to be the best in the world in my position again," Torres told Spanish newspaper AS.
"It’s always nice to hear about interest from clubs like Barcelona, but my plan is to stay at Chelsea."
Chelsea are already reported to have made an attempt to shift Torres, with the club making an offer of £34 million plus the Spain international in the hope of capturing Edinson Cavani from Napoli.
Cavani, however, appears more likely to join Real Madrid before the end of the transfer window in September, with the Uruguay international reported to have outlined the Santiago Bernabeu as his favoured destination.
CRISTIANO RONALDO is demanding a staggerin £32million a-year deal to stop him from returning to Manchester United.
Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo is considering his options at the Bernabeu and knows United will welcome him back with open arms.
The Spanish giants are adamant that Ronaldo will not be leaving them this summer and are now trying to agree a deal to keep their Portuguese idol for the rest of his career.
But Ronaldo, 28, is determined to cash in on his iconic status and is looking for a mega deal to make him the highest-paid footballer in history.
First up he wants an annual wage of £17m from Madrid, which works out at about £345,000 per week.
But he is also demanding 100 per cent of his image rights contract from the club, which could be worth as much as £15m per year.
Even a club as rich as Real Madrid have been shocked by the figures being bandied around by Ronaldo’s representatives.
And they are hoping they are just the player’s opening gambit in what could be long, complicated contract negotiations. Ronaldo, who cost Real a world record £80m when they signed him from United in 2009, still has two years of his current £200,000-a-week contract to run at the Bernabeu.
So president Florentino Perez believes there is plenty of time to haggle over a new deal before they seriously have to think about selling their brightest star.
But sources close to Ronaldo have indicated the player’s demands are not motivated by greed but his determination to prove himself to be the biggest star in the world.
Ronaldo is aware Barcelona rival Lionel Messi currently gets £14m a year and already has a 100 per cent image rights agreement with his club.
And he is determined to top that. But even Real, the richest club in the world, are unlikely to agree to those terms and will look to strike a compromise deal with a player who has scored 201 goals in four seasons at the Bernabeu.
United still refuse to rule out the prospect of tempting Ronaldo back to the Premier League but would have to smash their wage structure to even come close to matching his terms.
On the 26th of July 2011, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Uli Hoeness are sitting in a VIP restaurant at the Allianz Arena when a man with a shaved head walks in and sits at a table across the room. He’s alone. When they realize who it is, Rummenigge gets up and goes over to greet Pep Guardiola. ‘Can I speak to you a moment?’ asks Guardiola. Rummenigge makes a sign to Hoeness. They order three espressos. At that moment Rummenigge and Hoeness don’t have a clue of Guardiola’s intentions, but of course they want to speak with him.
Guardiola, who has travelled to Munich with Barça to participate in the Audi Cup, comments that he likes Bayern. In the morning he has seen the club’s installations in Sabener Strasse and now the Allianz Arena. ‘Your philosophy is very interesting’, he says. He then goes on to say something that neither Rummenigge or Hoeness expect: ‘I can see myself coaching here one day’.
‘It was an unmistakeable statement that came directly from him’ says Rummenigge. From him, from Guardiola. He was the one who made the first move towards Bayern, not the other way round. Still, today, on recalling that day in one of the club’s offices, Rummenigge seems perplexed. He shakes his head. ‘I don’t know if in that moment I would have dared to ask him: can you imagine yourself training Bayern Munich?’ On leaving, Guardiola gave Rummenigge a note with his mobile number. Rummenigge keeps it. He knows he has a little treasure in his hands.
Pep Guardiola’s younger brother and his main advisor Pere Guardiola takes up the story. ‘The truth is I was surprised when Pep called me and told me “I have given my number to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in Munich, I think he will call me”’. Pere is sitting in a board room on the 14th floor of a Barcelona skyscraper. He is the manager of Media Base Sports, an agency founded in 2009 which works mainly with Barça players. He has negotiated a contract with Bayern in his brother’s name. A ‘nice contract’ in his words. Eight or nine precise pages, ‘in a way, very German’
When he gets back from Munich Pep tells his brother that it’s not just the training facilities and the new stadium. Guardiola is also impressed with the squad, which is very intelligently structured and with ‘two or three small adjustments’ will reach an incredible potential.
Pere knows his brother likes traditional teams. Ajax, Juventus, Manchester United Bayern. In Germany it’s possible that Bayern are synonymous with huge sums of money but outside Germany they are known more for the glorious era of the 1970s. Pere explains that his brother is a ‘romantic’ and that ‘tradition, history, past heroes, that type of thing’ means a lot to him. Before becoming a football agent Pere worked for Nike. ‘This type of thing’ doesn’t seem so important for him. He’s not a romantic. He’s someone who since last summer has had to relate to the big money of world football. He has been inundated with envoys from Inter, Chelsea, Manchester City, PSG, Milan…they all wanted Guardiola.
‘I called Giovanni and I put him on Bayern’s case’, explains Pere. Giovanni Branchini is one of the best known agents in Italy, an old acquaintance of Hoeness and Rummenigge. He is considered to be discreet and professional. He brought the Brazilian Ronaldo to Barça and later to Inter Milan. ‘It couldn’t seem as though we were offering ourselves to Bayern. My brother only wanted to be sure that they understood that he thought Bayern was an interesting team’ explains Pere. Branchini had to organize a meeting.
In the autumn of 2011, after a Champions League game at BATE Borisov, Guardiola mentions in front of president Sandro Rosell that maybe he would not renew his contract. The news caused a great commotion in the offices of the blaugrana board.
On January 13 2012 Uli Hoeness belatedly celebrated his 60th birthday in Munich’s Postpalast. Among the 475 guests was Giovanni Branchini, the agent. The middle man. He sat with Rummenigge and gave him the message from Guardiola’s brother. What Guardiola had said at the Audi Cup still stood. After the meeting Rummenigge periodically telephoned Guardiola. At the end of April 2012, the coach announced he was leaving Barça. Immediately after Pere began to receive calls on a daily basis from other top clubs, but in front of his brother Pep only spoke of Bayern.
Pere has his eyes on the English Premier, he wants his brother to appreciate the advantages of the ‘very serious English’. The offer from Man City is especially interesting. They send Txiki Begiristain, Barça’s ex-sporting director. Begiristain knows Guardiola won’t be seduced only by money. They speak of a ‘project’ and of 150 million that can be invested in new players. Maybe even more.
But Pep continues with his fixation for Munich. He gets Branchini to call Rummenigge from Italy and tell him that after a year’s break in New York he wants to return to work as a coach without hesitation. And could they speak at some point. Rummenigge asks if it’s a good idea to meet with Guardiola before he flies to the US. ‘Do it’ replies Branchini.
In July 2012 Rummenigge flies to Barcelona. Pere Guardiola meets him at the airport. They go to a friend’s house, outside the city. There they spend nearly six hours together. Pep Guardiola attempts to explain to Rummenigge his opinions about football and Rumminigge tries to explain how Bayern function. Rummenigge explains that half of the team’s training sessions are open to the public, which is not usual on the international scene. Guardiola would have to get used to this. Pep points out that he does not give individual interviews, only press conferences. Rummenigge wants to know if Guardiola is thinking to bring an entire team of his own people, trainers and specialists, as Van Gaal did. No, responds Guardiola, saying that he only needs three of his own people and the rest he doesn’t care: ‘if you have good people at Bayern, I will work with them’.
At the beginning of November Rummenigge receives a call from New York. ‘I want to coach Bayern’.
Guardiola immediately gets himself a German teacher in New York who must promise not to speak to the press. ‘Like everything, he went at it in an obsessive manner. Four hours a day, like a madman’, confirms Pere. A few months later, towards Easter, Guardiola spends six days in Barcelona. He hires a German teacher who goes everywhere with him. ‘It’s absurd. You meet your brother for breakfast and he doesn’t stop speaking German with his teacher’. Pere Guardiola confirms that Pep didn’t take long to be able to speak German, you need to be very obstinate to achieve that’.
In the weeks before Christmas 2012 Hoeness flies to New York to get to know Guardiola and to take advantage of the occasion to present him with the contract. Their meeting had to be a secret. Pep Guardiola sent a car with darkened windows to pick up Hoeness from New York’s Four Seasons hotel. Together with Guardiola’s brother and two bodyguards, Hoeness crosses Manhattan until they enter a subterranean car park. Guardiola’s apartment, at 320 Central Park West, has a private lift and four bedrooms and it belongs to a German executive banker. The rent is $31,000 a month.
Hoeness is there for four hours. Guardiola’s wife, Cristina, cooks. After eating the coach shows the president his ideas of possible formations and lineups for the following season. In New York he has watched all sorts of Bayern’s matches on television. And he is convinced that Bayern is the next team capable of taking on Barça.
Can Guardiola again make an era with Bayern like he did with Barça?
The true nature of a person becomes clear in defeat. Seen in this manner practically nobody can say who Guardiola really is…since he still hasn’t failed. It could happen in Munich; Guardiola could lose….against himself.
Lionel Messi overtakes Diego Maradona with hat-trick to become third-highest goal scorer for Argentina
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in Argentina’s 4-0 victory over Guatemala to take his goal record to 35 and surpass Diego Maradona’s international tally.
The Barcelona forward appeared as a substitute in the recent World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Ecuador, but he was given a starting berth alongside many fringe players in what was a second-string side for the Argentinians.
Messi opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area, and he got an assist when Augusto Fernandez got onto the end of his cross to head in and double their lead in the 35th minute.
Just four minutes later it was 3-0 after Messi converted a penalty to level his record with Maradona’s, and he completed his third hat-trick for his country just four minutes after halftime when Ezequiel Lavezzi crossed the ball low into the box from the right for the Balon d’Or winner to side-foot in.
His previous hat-tricks came last year against Switzerland and Brazil, and he departed in the 67th minute in third on the all-time Argentinian goal scorers list behind Hernan Crespo and record-holder Gabriel Batitusta, who has 56 international goals.
“That was the least important thing,” Messi said when speaking to TyC Sports when asked about overtaking Maradona. “We wanted to play well in this friendly. The team’s attitude was right.”
Monaco are ready to make a world record €100m (£85m) bid for Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo has just two years left on his contract at Madrid and is known to be disillusioned with life at the Santiago Bernabeu, at the end of his fourth season there.
The Ligue 1 club, funded by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, have already spent over £110m this summer on Radamel Falcao ofAtletico Madrid and James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho of Porto. The Independent in London reports this morning that they are now prepared to make their boldest move yet, taking advantage of the Portuguese forward's frustration at Madrid, and failure to sign a new deal, to tempt him to join with a world record salary offer of €20m (£17m) per year.
Monaco are closely monitoring Ronaldo's negotiations with Real Madrid over a contract extension, and if no deal is done by late July or August they will make their move. There have been talks between Monaco and Ronaldo's camp over the last 18 months and the two parties met earlier this year.
Ronaldo feels underappreciated at Madrid and believes he is due a pay rise. He is especially keen to earn more than his great rival Lionel Messi at Barcelona. In February of this year, Messi signed a new contract with Barcelona that will last until 2018, heavily incentivised but with a basic salary starting at €12m per year, but increased through bonuses and image rights.
Monaco will offer Ronaldo an annual salary of €20m, which would equate to nearly £330,000 per week. The principality of Monaco does not charge its residents income tax and so Ronaldo would become the highest-paid footballer in the world.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who would be his Ligue 1 rival at Paris Saint-Germain, has a net salary of between €13m and €14m but because of France's near 75 per cent tax rate on top earners, Paris have to pay out far more than that. Monaco would face no such issue.
This summer, since their promotion back to Ligue 1, Monaco have spent more than £100m on players, all of whom are clients of Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes. Their summer spending started with a combined £60m on the Porto pair Rodriguez and Moutinho – both of whom are Mendes players, as is Ricardo Carvalho, formerly of Chelsea and Real Madrid, who arrived on a free transfer.
Their next purchase was Falcao, the Colombian forward who joined from Atletico Madrid for a fee of roughly £50m, and will be paid £12m annually.Victor Valdes, the Barcelona goalkeeper, is likely to be the next arrival. They have also been linked with John Terry.
Monaco would have to bid another world record fee for Ronaldo, as Real Madrid would be keen to make back the €95m (£80m) which they paid Manchester United for him in 2009. United are also keen on Ronaldo's signature this summer, with the player himself open to the possibility of returning to Old Trafford, where he enjoyed six brilliant seasons between 2003 and 2009. There has also been ongoing dialogue between Ronaldo's camp and United over the past six months.
Ronaldo has scored an implausible 199 goals in 201 games at Real Madrid since his arrival from Manchester United in 2009. Only the feats of Messi at Barcelona have stopped Ronaldo from being recognised as the undisputed player of his generation.
But, with one Spanish title and one Copa Del Rey in four years of individual brilliance at Madrid, he has not done as well as he could have. In those four years, Messi has won three Spanish titles, the Champions League, a Copa Del Rey, the Club World Cup and, importantly, three Fifa Ballon D'Or awards. Ronaldo has not been crowned the world's best since his 2008 Ballon D'Or and would love to win it again. Last September, Ronaldo declined to celebrate two goals that he scored for Madrid, explaining that it was because he was "unhappy" with the club.
EA prepares us for E3 with a new trailer of the latest Fifa title, showing off many of the game's new features..
Fifa 14: featuring new ball physics, precision movement and a transformed shooting system
EA has released a new gameplay trailer from Fifa 14, a few days ahead of E3. The 90 second clip whizzes through a series of scorching goals, crushing tackles and flying takedowns. Have a look here:
The developer is promising a range of refreshed features including an entirely new ball physics engine, allowing more powerful controlled shots from distance. A precision movement system allows players to quickly turn, pivot and accelerate, while 'protect the ball' lets strikers fend off defenders from the ball. You can see our in-depth preview right here.
In modern football, it is the playmakers we idolise; the magicians who can orchestrate attacks as well as score. Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Andrea Pirlo, Lionel Messi … mostly, they are deep-lying forwards or creative midfielders; they don't get in on the end of long, lofted passes, they sculpt goals. This is where Fifa 14 wants to go.
Every year, when the latest Fifa is shipped, the team gets together, sifts through feedback, from within the studio and from customers, and works out where to go next. This time there was a rather weighty conclusion: Fifa is too fast. There is something about the system, the physics, the controls, whatever that leads toward end-to-end gameplay. All the action is happening around the 18-yard area. Everything is compressed.
"That's not as realistic as we'd like," says series producer Nick Channon as he introduces a roomful of journalists to the latest instalment. "When you look at the modern game, it's much more about building up through the midfield. The best teams move the ball around, switch sides, attack on the wings, they attack from everywhere – that's something we want to bring into Fifa. The exhilaration of scoring great goals isn't just about the shot, it's about how you get there."
So for Fifa 14, the big emphasis is on build-up play, on anticipation and on off-the-ball movement; it's about driving through the midfield, rather than lofting balls over it. For a start, the team has completely re-worked how dribbling at speed works. It turns out that in most football simulations, when the gamer hits the sprint button, the onscreen player is limited to a turning circle of just 22.5 degrees – which means you get these long, wide turning arcs. Fifa 14 has done away with that; you'll now be able to turn at any angle while sprinting, leading defenders up the pitch before darting back, or winding through opponents.
To ensure this isn't over-powered, however, the movement physics is getting a new addition: momentum. Now, if your player quickly changes direction, or turns completely, you'll get a brief pause as they transfer weight from one foot to the other. Channon runs through early footage of a sharp about turn on screen, and the effect looks immediately more authentic. Beyond that, we didn't get any hands-on time so I've no idea how losing this historic 22.5-degree turning circle is going to affect things, but it should make for much less predictability in the midfield. Which is the whole point, of course.
On that note, Fifa 14 is also set to build on last year's first-touch control system, which varies how effectively a player receives the ball depending on his skill, position and the speed and angle of delivery. This time, EA Sports is introducing variable dribble touches, so sprinting players will push the ball forward at differing distances, again based on their skills; a stylish midfielder will keep the ball close to them, but a hulking defender may well push it out further, giving opposing players the chance to steal possession. Whatever, the days of having the ball stick to the runner's feet are over. "It will transform how you think about sprinting," says Channon.
What we're getting so far is a shift in balance toward defenders, and that continues into the demo. The next big change is in marking, which Channon feels tended to be loose enough in Fifa 13 for players to turn defenders reasonably easily. Now it's being tightened up, thanks to a change to the AI. Apparently, in previous iterations of the game, computer-controlled players would make their defensive decisions in a single frame of animation, often breaking away from attackers if another forward player was spotted in a threatening position. Now they assess situations over multiple frames which means they're less likely to act on split-second decisions, instead staying focused to track the player on the ball.
As a consequence, one cheap route to goal has been closed up. Channon talks about how, in the past, if a ball was cleared from the box, it would almost always fall to an attacking player, allowing the ball to be recycled. Now, however, those players are likely to have tight defensive markers. "It's not about making the game more difficult," insists Channon. "It's about making it more fun." By taking away some of game's repetitive tics, the idea is that the action will feel more authentic, and more representative of the real sport.
And to balance things up, there are additions to the attacking intelligence of AI players. They can now make three different types of forward move: spinning out and running in behind defenders; running along the back line to stay onside, and backing in to defenders to create space. Each one is a visual cue to gamers, and as with the variable ball control while sprinting, it adds more personality to individual players – powerful centre forwards will have much more success backing into and tussling with defenders than lighter strikers.
"The new runs make a huge difference," says Channon later. "The big one is the backing in to defenders, being able to play the ball in to the feet of a striker is important, you see it a lot in the real game. And being able to turn the defender gives you other opportunities. It's all about balance – with the tightening up of marking, it means the game will be less backwards and forwards. We're not changing the actual game speed at all, but it will slow down naturally, you'll be able to look at different options and vary your game. It won't be about getting cheap goals."
Adding to the sense of physicality is a new "protect the ball" move, accessible by pressing the left trigger. Hitting this slows the player down, but allows them to shield the ball while dribbling, sticking out an arm or angling their body to see off opposing players. Gameplay producer Aaron McHardy likens the new control system to a racing sim, with sprint on the right trigger acting as accelerate, and "protect the ball" on the left as brake. The idea is that players can now battle through midfield, dictating and varying pace, while probing for decent passes. Players can also use left trigger to jostle for a loose ball, or to counteract a defender using the B button to pull at his opponent.
The most intriguing update, though, is to scoring. In the past, player animations didn't tell the full story about a shooting chance. If you hit the shoot button during an animation sequence, the player would be snapped into the correct position – a slightly awkward process. Now, strikers will adjust their stride and angle realistically and this will signal how truly prepared they are. Channon talks about how EA would get feedback from gamers mystified why a certain shot flew well wide or dribbled pathetically into the keeper's arms – now, a new set of animations will provide visual tells: you'll know if the ball is too close to the attacker's feet, if they're going to have to attempt a rushed shot; and by watching closely, there will be a chance to pull out of a strike and instead pass the ball or feint and set up for a better chance.
Defenders will get their own version of this. When going in for a tackle in Fifa 13, the defender is essentially committed for the duration of the fixed animation cycle – time it slightly wrong and your man is left floundering. In Fifa 14, however, the more phased approach to animation will allow defenders to break out of the cycle and will get a second chance to tackle. There's only a small window of opportunity, but it's a key addition that's likely to make the outcome of tackles much less predictable. It's all about widening the challenge in those midfield areas.
And at last, EA Sports has finally addressed the ball physics – considered by many to be flat and predictable in previous iterations. Channon says the studio has been studying elements such as drag, curve and spin and has totally rethought the physics. Central to this is a much more realistic drag coefficient. The ball will speed up in the air, it will slow, it can almost flatten out or even slightly speed up – simulating the effect of wind, turbulence and the weight of the ball – instead of simply providing a dull curve to the flight. "It just felt like the right time to work on it," he says. "We realised that the linear deceleration of the ball wasn't right – we were getting these really flat, repetitive trajectories. Now you can kick the ball harder, there's more spin, more movement in the air, it just all came together."
The hope is that this loosened flight mechanic leads to a far great variety of shots, including the sort of 30-yard low-rising screamers Steven Gerrard tends to fire off, or those shots that dip at the last minute into the top corner. In fact, Channon demonstrated the new effect by showing a video of this famous goal against Olympiakos:
Apparently, crosses and long passes will also be affected, allowing a greater range of defence-splitting through-balls.
So, that's Fifa 14 right now. Tighter marking, more finesse to attacking play, more control over the tempo – and completely rethought game physics. It's a promising array of improvements – some may read it as overly defensive, but hopefully the added range of forward runs from computer-controlled players, the more expressive movement and the less predictable ball flight will open things up for varied attacking play. And certainly, closer more intelligent marking should rid us of some of those cheap scoring scenarios, like coming in at an angle from the edge of the box and striking across goal, which some Fifa regulars have turned into an unfailing exploit.
But these was all shown through demo videos – there is no hands-on code right now. The team is still tweaking the parameters and the animation. Channon did show us a video that one of the QA testers sent him on his mobile phone – it shows the replay of a beautiful goal scored from way outside the box, caught perfectly on the volley, the ball barely rising above ground level, wavering in the air and tucking in beyond a flailing keeper and the near post. Channon can barely disguise his delight.
Tomorrow: a look at the new skill games and career mode updates, plus, why we haven't mentioned what consoles the game is coming out on....
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