Venezuela - a nation often unscathed by the European eye – is known for its political and economic troubles. So what happens when, like me, you have ambitions to work in the sports media, journalism or communications industry? I asked the question to Alexis Guanchez, an 18-year-old from Guatire, a city 40 minutes east of Venezuela's capital, Caracas.
Alexis is a friend of mine who has similar career aspirations to me. When asked where his ambitions stemmed from he said: "about three or four years ago when I was in my house a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic" "I have always been in love with football since I have memories and I had a lot of free time so me and a friend created a social media account to write and post about football. After, I created a YouTube channel and there I met a lot of people from the media from here and other countries. In that moment it became more than a hobby." Unfortunately, the pathway to this goal is not as quick and straightforward as many of us here in England. University courses typically take four or five years to complete in Venezuela, private universities (the ideal and easy option) are often way too expensive for most Venezuelans so they have to apply to attend a public university. Public universities are government-funded so are pretty much free to enlist in, but require you to wait "a lot of time" as Alexis put it, who himself is currently waiting for the opportunity to go after graduating from high school last June. He said: "It's exhausting but I have to wait. In a public university, you are unsure whether your course will take longer than five years because of our political problems." Alexis informed me that public universities are the main places where people protest and strike against the government. When Venezuela has troubles as a nation the public universities will stop, which means that the time it takes to gain a degree in your chosen profession lengthens considerably. "We have the presidential election this year and when it happens I'm not sure what will happen with universities. If Nicolas Maduro wins they will become a place of protest." "I know people who are 26 years old and still need another two years to finish university because of the political problems, it is very disappointing." It's not just the politics that cause issues though, the harsh living and economic conditions can cause many young individuals to consider studying abroad. "Here, more than other countries, we have to fight with the conditions. The poor public transport, internet and water for example. So I think studying in another country is realistic if you have the chance. There is a process with studying abroad it is not easy with the visa side of things, but when you make the balance that's the difference." "Today my plan is to study in public university, but tomorrow something could happen and that plan has to change. Here you are not sure of anything" So what other differences are there when it comes to the journalism industry in Venezuela in comparison to England? Alex told me that: "The prototype we have for journalism here is not the same." "In Europe, everything is more modern, here the traditional media is the most popular, we have a lot of radio and TV which is what most people in the media work in." But that's not all that remains underdeveloped. "Social media, VAR and analysts are also all very new and young things in Venezuela." Alexis and I recently met at the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic football tournament that was hosted in Caracas, we worked amongst other journalists but Alexis described it as "really disappointing" when he saw that many journalists who had been working in the media for up to 40 years had to pay to attend and work at the tournament themselves. Instead of being paid to cover it as you would expect. It can be extremely tough when you are in a situation that forces you to choose between your nation and your career, Alexis said: "You know the love that I have for my country and for the Vinotinto (Venezuela's national team nickname) so obviously I would love to work here always… but I think it's very difficult to work here as a journalist." Looking forward to the future, Alexis often questions where he sees himself in five years' time. "I would like to be a scout or analyst… here I could be a communicator and a scout, my Spanish is good." Whilst the situation seems damning, having been there myself and met many natives I can tell this is not a nation that gives up. Venezuelans are some of the friendliest people I've met despite often the conditions they have to put up with. I wouldn't be surprised to see Alexis at the top of the industry one day whether that be in Madrid, Caracas or London.
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Welcome all, my name is James McLeish and I will be taking you through tonight’s (very late for us Brits) MLS match day one game in the Queen City!
The line ups are out for either side an hour before kick off! Charlotte FC Starting XI: 1 Kristijan Kahlina 21 Jere Uronen 34 Andrew Privett 29 Adilson Malanda 14 Nathan Byrne 8 Ashley Westwood 30 Junior Urso 38 Iuri Tavares 18 Kerwin Vargas 10 Brecht Dejaegere 9 Enzo Copetti New York City FC Starting XI: 49 Matt Freese 22 Kevin O’Toole 5 Birk Risa 13 Thiago Martins 35 Mitja Ilenic 6 James Sands 55 Keaton Parks 10 Santiago Rodriguez 11 Julian Fernandez 17 Hannes Wolf 9 Monsef Bakrar Both teams set up with a 4-2-3-1 formation, a favourite of Dean Smith’s when he was managing in England. A notable factor when previewing this fixture is that Charlotte FC have never lost to New York City, beating them three times and drawing once, they clearly know how to get the better of them no matter who the manager is or whose playing. 1’ - The home side get us underway, manager Dean Smith will be looking to impress on his MLS debut. 2’ - New York are sloppy at the back, Enzo Copetti’s press forces Charlotte to steal the ball in a promising position, but debutant Iuri Tavares shoots from distance and straight into the keepers gloves. 6’ - Charlotte certainly started the strongest, two crosses from ex-Derby defender Nathan Byrne float into dangerous areas in the box, but neither result in a goal. The second cross is dropped by the keeper but Junior Urso cannot find the finish. 8’ - GOALLLL!!!! Charlotte FC take the lead from the corner. Kerwin Vargas plays a perfect cross towards the near post which Tavares connects with, his powerfully placed header thunders against the crossbar and onto the goal line. Central defender, Adilson Malanda heads the ball fully over the line to assure the first corner of the game results in a goal. The 63,000 + fans in the stadium go wild! 9’ - The first yellow card of the game goes to New York and Mitja Ilenic. 12’ - New York City looking for an instant reply, an amazing through ball from Santi Rodirguez finds Austrian Hannes Wolf. But the attacking midfielder falls in the box, no penalty given. 20’ - Former Burnley and Aston Villa midfielder Ashley Westwood plays the ball to the skill full Colombian winger, Vargas who has impressed so far with his hard work on the right flank, but his cross is caught by New York keeper Matt Freese. 26’ - A string of quick passes from a short corner almost results in a goal for NYC, but a superb defensive block from Malanda puts a stop to the attack. 29’ - New York have grown into the game massively in the last 19 minutes, Kevin O’Toole’s whipped cross is blasted away by Malanda. 33’ - A dodgy back pass from New York spins towards Copetti who swings at the ball but misses, arguably if he’d connected with the ball it would be a definite goal from Charlottes designated player. Westwood also picks up a tactical yellow card. 37’ - Malanda goes down injured after putting his body on the line to clear a ball, he’s now stopped multiple attacks by himself with his tall stature. 40’ - New signing, Wolf drifts a long free kick into the box, New York No. 9 Mounsef Bakrar stretches but missed the chance, not the first time the player has squandered an opportunity this evening. 45+1’ - New York have a few more half chances but cannot come up with anything clinical, the half time whistle blows and Charlotte FC go into the break 1-0 up. Half Time: Malanda’s goal makes the difference after the first 45. A relatively close match with not too many clear cut chances, the home fans have certainly speared on their team to get that first goal. Dean Smith will be happy with his team’s first few minutes of the season but work is still to be done by either side in the second half. Going around the grounds at half time, DC United lead New England Revolution by 1-0 thanks to Christian Benteke, the Revs also are down to 10 men after Giacomo Vrioni received a second yellow. Chicago Fire lead the Philadelphia Union away from home and Orlando City hold CF Montreal to a goalless draw. Interestingly New York have double the amount of passes in the first half, as well as more possession. But Charlotte have taken chances when it’s mattered and have the higher xG. 46’ - New York kick us back off underway. Charlotte gave up 15 points from winning positions in the 80th+ minute last season, a trend they will not be looking to continue today. 51’ - A beautiful bit of skill from youngster Tavares, he looks for Copetti but the ball is intercepted. 60’ - New York almost play in Charlotte again with a dodgy back pass, their back line has not looked cohesive at times. 62’ - First substitution of the game. Julian Fernandez comes off for 18 year old Serbian Jovan Mijatovic, who signed from Red Star Belgrade, he’s highly rated and will look to make an impact on his debut. 63’ - VAR check for a handball in the box from NYC, O’Toole looks to handle the ball away from Vargas reach. 64’ - Penalty given! After the VAR check is complete, Charlotte scored all five of their penalties last year. Freese didn’t save either penalty faced last season. 65’ - Vargas steps up and misses!! His slow run up was met with a low shot towards the left corner. Freese guessed the right way and saves with ease. Charlotte fail to double their lead, should Copetti have stepped up as the No.9 to take it?? 68’ - Vargas looks to redeem himself with a header from a free kick, but his attempt is timid. 69’ - Freese again comes up with a big save! Vargas finds the ball on the right in plenty of space, dribbles into the box and drills the ball out the keeper’s legs. 73’ - Vargas now picks up a yellow, as it looks like he makes a tackle out of frustration. It’s unfortunately not been as good of a second half as his first. 74’ - A second substitute for NYC as they push for the equaliser. Tayvon Gray replaces Ilenic. 76’ - Rodriguez missed an unbelievable effort for New York!!! Bakrar crosses the ball to him which he controls well, all he has to do is hit the target from close range but he blasts it over the crossbar and into the crowd. 78’ - Scott Arfield comes on for Charlotte’s first substitution of the game! Dejaegere gives way for the experienced Scotsman. 82’ - Mijatovic breaks past the Charlotte lines and drills a ball towards the centre of the box, but Kristijan Kahlina is there to dive low and intercept. 84’ - A touching moment as Nimfasha Berchimas comes on, the ninth youngest player in MLS history who only recently turned 16! 90’ - Five minutes to be added on, will Charlotte hold out?! 90+5’ - Charlotte break and Berchimas has a chance to shoot, he shifts it onto his right and hits it but he is unsuccessful in his effort, what a moment that would’ve been for the teenager. Full Time: They can hold out! Charlotte finally win on opening day at their third attempt, and it was a hard earned win. The early goal was enough to see out a 1-0 victory. They could’ve had a chance to double their lead, but Vargas missed a penalty for the home side. Elsewhere, Christian Benteke started off his DC season spectacularly with a hat trick in a 3-1 win over New England, Philadelphia equalised in the 93rd minute to tie the game 2-2 with Chicago and the Orlando - Montreal matchup stayed a goalless draw. North Carolina will be a happy state tonight as they fly up the Eastern Conference, on to Vancouver next week now for the Crown. Two of the biggest footballing nations on the continent clashed tonight as Brazil looked to make it two wins from two, and Colombia searched for a first goal of the tournament.
The key to Brazil’s success centres around an extremely successful strike partnership of 17 year old Endrick and John Kennedy - who scored the winning goal in last year’s Copa Libertadores final. They originally set up with four at the back but their advanced fullbacks often made it a 3-4-3 when attacking. Colombia were handed the first chance of the game in the third minute when number nine, Carlos Cortes surpassed the opposing keeper. Sustained Brazilian pressure meant he failed to convert his chance though. It took 12 minutes for Brazil to have their first shot of the game. Winger Mauricio’s shot was tame as Colombian defenders stood in the way. The evenly contested game continued as the next ten minutes saw close efforts from Brazil’s Marlon Gomes and Colombia’s Cortes once again. But Brazils increasing pressure finally paid off after Endrick broke the deadlock 25 minutes in. The teenager one possession back for his team with an excellent tackle, giving it to his strike partner Kennedy who struck the ball from far out, the keeper parried the shot right into Endrick’s path, allowing him to put it away quickly and calmly. Kennedy carried on showing off his dribbling skills as in the 43rd minute he took on three defenders in close proximity and attempted to poke the ball past Sebastian Guerra whose legs were there to save it. A succession of corners and scrambles in the box for Colombia 10 minutes into the second half almost led to an equaliser if it wasn’t for Mycael’s quick reaction save in Seleçāo’s net. In the 67th minute Colombia came even closer, Brahian Palacios - who played excellently off the bench - surged down the wing, skipping over tackles from the opposition. Andres Gomes looked set to score, but Arthur Chaves heroically stood tall and blocked the strike. Another close attempt from Los Cafeteros was enough for Brazilian manager, Ramon Menezes, to change formation, leaving a single strike up top and adding emphasis to the defence, in order to see out the game. And it worked perfectly! As shortly after Brazil added a second goal in the 82nd minute. Captain, and Chelsea player, Andrey Santos drifted a ball over to a rapid Gabriel Pec whose pace is too much for Fulham defender, Devan Tanton. Tanton falls and allows Pec to cut the ball back to Kennedy. The striker simply couldn’t miss. It wasn’t a comfortable game for the eventual and expected winners. But like their first match, they managed to push through and grind out a result. Brazil are now left on 6 points and looking extremely likely to qualify for the finals, as for Colombia they were still without a goal after conceding five in their first two games. Two of the biggest footballing nations on the continent clashed tonight as Brazil looked to make it two wins from two, and Colombia searched for a first goal of the tournament. Unbeaten Ecuador took on a Bolivian side that had conceded four times in their opening two matches in an extremely important tie for both outfits.
For Bolivia, it was all about survival, as nothing other than a win would make it almost impossible to qualify. Ecuador on the other hand would extend their lead at the top of the group with three points. Ecuador set up in a fluid 4-3-3 style formation that put emphasis on their pair of dangerous wingers, Yaimar Medina and John Mercado. They were combined with attacking minded midfielders, Pedro Vite and Patrik Mercado who also found joy in pushing forward and breaking lines. Bolivia’s starting 11 on the other hand was picked with a lot more caution. And with good reasoning also as Ecuador were the side that started on the front foot. The first threatening chance of the game came from J. Mercado in the eighth minute, curling an effort from 25 yards out which landed in the Bolivian keeper, Bruno Poveda’s gloves. It was then time for La Tri’s other winger to take the stage as tournament top scorer, Medina, was sent through on goal in the 18th minute. The Ecuadorian fell dramatically but any penalty claims were waved away by the referee. Two minutes later he was at it again, this time having a shot cleared off the line heroically by Cesar Romero. However this was not enough to stop Ecuador scoring. As the clock ticked over into the 21st minute, J. Mercado characteristically cut in from the right hand side, launching an attempt from a central area just outside the box, scoring the first goal of the game. The move started with Christian Garcia (who was impressive all game) winning the ball back and lobbing it to Vite, who subsequently sent J.Mercado off down the right flank. More threat from both of Los Amarillos’ wingers continued for the rest of the first 45. But solid defending from either team meant it was 1-0 at the break. Bolivia came out looking a lot stronger in the second half, managing to put some attacks together. Unfortunately for the side in green, they simply couldn’t contain the oppositions weighted wing play. The game was certainly not won yet though. In the 54th minute Medina smacked the left post. Furthermore in the 66th minute 17 year old substitute striker, Allen Obando, burst past the Bolivian defender, cutting it back to P. Mercado, but his shot ripples the side netting. The nerves were finally settled for Ecuador right at the death. Three minutes into stoppage time, Obando once again was gifted the ball in a promising position. This time he sets himself up with a few touches before powerfully placing the strike past a helpless Romero in goal. The victory for Ecuador left them on seven points, and in an extremely positive position in terms of final qualification, as for Bolivia the sorry faces and hanging heads explained it all. Two years ago Ipswich sat midtable in League One, Leicester on the other hand were preparing to face Napoli on the European stage. Fast forward to today and both sit joint top of the Championship table (after 16 games played). It’s also no coincidence that two years ago, Kieran McKenna was employed as head coach of the Tractor Boys. But is this newfound success just a fluke? Or do the statistics support the argument that Ipswich are the real deal in the 23/24 Championship title race. Only two clubs in the last 15 years have achieved back to back promotions from League One to the Premier League, Norwich 10/11 and Southampton 11/12. Comparing this Ipswich side to them we see a similar trend. Ipswich have 2.44 points per game, 2.25 goals per game and 1.31 goals against per game. This matches/exceeds Norwich (1.8ppg, 1.8gpg and 1.3gapg) and Southampton (1.9ppg, 1.8gpg, 1gapg) as fbref.com records. Of course nothing can be predicted after a third of a season but just how far are Ipswich from success? Looking over recent seasons 70 points has been a minimum needed for a top six spot. Leaving them already over the halfway mark on 39. Especially considering their projected points total is currently 112! The man behind the machine is Kieran McKenna, forced into premature retirement before his career at Tottenham had even started, McKenna spent the past 15 years all over England and briefly Canada learning what it takes to be a coach. In December 2021 he left his role as assistant coach at Manchester United (where he worked with Mourniho, Solksjaer and Rangnick) to finally be in charge. Speaking on the subject of working with Mourinho in an interview with ‘The Coaches Voice’ YouTube channel, McKenna said: “One of the biggest insights I gained was seeing the levels of organisation around his training process and match preparation.” “How he went from that process of studying the opposition and identifying things from within them to turning that into training practices… a lot of things I’ve picked up and used now, certainly looking into the future as well.” Many describe McKenna as a calm head, perhaps due to so many years as a student of the game. But his team on the pitch oppose his personality. High press and fast transitions are key to this Ipswich squad and work spectacularly against high line defences. To back this up they currently lead the chart for most tackles in the attacking third with an average of 3.06 per 90 (the only side to surpass 3). Two integral profiles to Ipswich’s success thus far are Sam Morsy and Leif Davis. Holding midfielder, Morsy, has a heavy presence in the overloaded first phase that Ipswich build from. He has an 84.1% pass completion rate from the 1037 attempted (a squad high). The Egyptian international also has 3.63 tackles + interceptions per 90, alongside his fellow defensive midfielder, Luongo, who has an average of 4.04. Their forward thinking fullbacks hold width, allowing wide men and the number 10 to drift into advanced spaces, overloading the final third with blue shirts. Davis is key to this progression. Currently topping the Championship assists chart (7 in total) and already totting up 55 progressive passes this season. There’s only been twelve seasons of the successful Women's Super League, and just five installments since it went fully professional but the sport has been unavoidable since doing so on a national and international level. It’s safe to say the lionesses have been thriving currently more than ever, winning the 2022 European Championship (a first major tournament success), coming fourth at the 2019 World Cup and unfortunate runners up at the recent 2023 World Cup. Having 1.12 billion overall tuning in to watch the 2019 World Cup was record breaking, but was effortlessly smashed by the 2 billion+ predicted to have watched this summer's edition. This trend continued on the European stage as 365 million watched last year’s Euros, more than double the number of live viewers compared to the 2017 edition (178 million) and 214% more live viewers than in 2013 (116 million). As for the English female top flight, matches are broadcast out to over 12 countries. 15.3 million watched the WSL in the first four months of 2023, up from 14.6 million in 2022, with a 29% increase for viewers 35 and under. Popularity of the women’s game continues to surge.
Some may have observed that on Tuesday night SV Austria Salzburg played Red Bull Salzburg in the OFB Cup’s second round. An overlooked but historic match as it had arguably been 18 years in the making. Back in 2005 Austria Salzburg was in financial trouble but were eventually saved by native energy drink giants, Red Bull. The fans were not pleased to discover that the whole identity of the club would be stripped from them, including the team’s violet colours. So fans decided to create a new club, leaving behind the rich history of the old, which boasts records of domestic trophies and European final appearances. Since then the Violette haven’t managed to make it back to the top. But this match was a chance to finally test themselves against the giants. Despite it finishing 4-0 to ‘RB’, ‘SV’ can be proud of their display as they themselves sit in the third tier and have done so for a few years now. Fans filled the small stadium with flares and chanting heard all match. This got me thinking about the other teams that have found themselves in this position, fighting for the title of being the ‘true’ club. The obvious is Wimbledon and MK Dons who have recently found themselves at similar levels in the third and fourth tier of England. Taking it over to eastern Europe where we find CSKA Sofia and CSKA 1948, both emerging in 2016 when the original club went bankrupt. One made by fans who were unhappy with the way the club was being run. Even tougher competition for a club’s ‘name’ comes from FCSB and Steaua Bucuresti. Both claiming to be the former European champions of the same name. They are yet to play in the same league also but the top flight team - FCSB - have often been caught trying to sabotage the club with name rights (who began life back in the fourth tier in 2017) by loaning out players to rival teams. There are other similar cases such as when MLS clubs create new franchises in cities with pre-existing teams, and in almost most cases there’s never a definitive answer as to who actually is telling the truth… It’s without shame I admit I’ve never experienced or watched the K League before today, therefore I had no idea what to expect when I attended the Friday evening kick off between second placed Pohang Steelers and third placed FC Seoul in South Korea’s capital. From a footballing minds perspective, a close game was expected due to both teams sitting contently at the upper echelons of the league table, and so it proved to be. My recount of the game is boosted massively by the fact I could sit a few rows back from the pitch for under £20 in the west stand. A brilliant seat which had a close view of the north ‘ultras’ stand (pictured) where masses of noise was generated. Approaching the stadium I was taken aback by the beauty of the ground, built for the matches that were to be held in South Korea at the 2002 FIFA World Cup and seating around 66,000, it was raised off the ground with Seoul’s skyline and northern mountain in view on the horizon. What’s more, the venue had multiple food shops inside and a whole cinema, crazy!
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