As the wide world of soccer awaits a weekend featuring the North London derby and the Riyad Mahrez clasico (Manchester City-Leicester for those unaware), this midweek’s Top Five would like to shine a light on those who have disappeared -or could disappear soon- since the weekend.
Missing are Mahrez himself from the cozy confines of the King Power Stadium and super-underdogs Leganes from the Copa del Rey, as well as the certainty that Antonio Conte will manage Chelsea beyond this season.
All this, plus an update on the reconstruction of Italian soccer, in this Thursday edition of 90 Minutes’ Top Five.
1. Piling on
Chelsea’s season is falling through Antonio Conte’s hands like beach sand.
The Blues suffered another embarrassing upset loss, this time to the tune of 4-1 at the hands of Watford. This follows last week’s stunning defeat to Bournemouth at Stanford Bridge, 3-0, and has mde Conte’s managerial seat very, very hot.
To think of Conte in those terms is mind-blowing, considering a year ago around this time, he was well on his way to a Premier League title, made the team into a near-unbeatable force, and the marriage between club and manager could not be better.
Fast forward to this week, and the entire Chelsea brethren looks and sounds tired and defeated, from the players to fans, and Conte himself. And this funk can not come at a worse time, with the Champions League Round of 16 clash with Barcelona looming closer and closer.
But before that come West Brom, and you know what happens to shaky managers who do not beat West Brom…
2. Disappearing act
Throw this mystery in the “million-dollar question” category:
What is going on with Riyad Mahrez?
Here’s what has happened so far. Mahrez has not been shy about his intention to leave Leicester, going back to last summer. Arsenal and Roma were among the interested parties back then, but nothing came to fruition, so he stayed. The same story played out again this winter, as he expressed, once again, his desire to leave. This time, Manchester City came knocking on the door, and came to within shot of acquiring Mahrez on deadline day. However, the deal fell through, leaving the Algerian once again stranded.
He has not been seen at Leicester since.
Claude Puel has insisted that Mahrez will come back, but after he sorts out whatever is going on in his head, but a reconciliation remains very unlikely.
Whether he actually returns to the club or not, the bitterness with which this situation has unfolded can only lead to a bitter end to the best player of Leicester’s magical generation.
3. And the clock struck midnight
Unfortunately, eventually all Cinderella stories have to come to an end.
Such was the case for Leganes, the unlikely underdog story of the 2017-18 Copa del Rey, responsible for Real Madrid’s elimination at the Santiago Bernabeu before succumbing to Sevilla in a tough, entertaining affair Wednesday night at the Sanchez Pizjuan.
But to understand the magnitude of this underdog story, one must understand the history of this previously-unkonwn Madrid club.
Leganes was founded in 1928, mostly oscillating between the lower leagues of the Spanish pyramid. It did not reach the second division until 1993, and it took even longer -88 years to be exact- to reach La Liga.
This is a club that has only been in top-flight competition for a couple of seasons, but it has gone from 17th place to 12th place this season, and its first trip to the semifinals of the Copa del Rey, after going so far as the Round of 16 in their history.
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To go from third division to La Liga in a matter of three years, take out Real Madrid and come within shot of the cup final in just four is nothing short of remarkable.
If only it could have lasted a little longer…
4. Looking for the boss
The search for the next Italian national team manager has produced some white(ish) smoke.
Under-21 team coach Luigi Di Biagio has been appointed the new boss of the Azzurra, but only on an interim basis. The appointment takes care of, at least, the upcoming March friendlies against Argentina and England, making for quite the baptism by fire. But what about after?
Several big names have been bandied about well before Di Biagio’s appointment, like free agent Carlo Ancelotti, Nantes boss Claudio Ranieri, Zenit’s Roberto Mancini, and even Antonio Conte himself. Only one of these, Conte, has previous international managerial experience (with Italy through Euro 2016), an important plus given how different it is to manage a club day-to-day compared to a national team every few months.
The big name obviously seems more appealing to the casual fan still hurt by the World Cup elimination. But do not discount Di Biagio’s chances. He managed many of the players projected to feature for Italy for the next one, two World Cups, like Donnarumma, Calabria, Rugani, Conti, Benassi, Gagliardini, Berardi, Bernardeschi, Chiesa, etc., at the 2017 UEFA Under-21 Championship, going all the way to the semifinals before losing to Spain.
In the same way Julen Lopetegui was chosen to lead the Spanish senior team after his U-21 success and familiarity with a generation, Di Biagio could be the man best suited for the next generation of Azzurri.
5. Hazard shows up
Amid all the anxiety and mediocrity created by Watford’s win over Chelsea, Eden Hazard was, once again, a silver lining in the Blues’ dark reality.
The Belgian, doing what he does best, created his own shot from out of nowhere, nailing a curler out of the reach of Orestis Karnezis, the best goal of this midweek.