What's in a badge?

Research for FourFourTwo magazine

Cagliari Calcio

The colours

Drawn from the Stemma (coat of arms) of Cagliari. The red refers to the House of Savoy and in particular Victor Emmanuel II, who ruled Sardinia from 1849-1861 before becoming monarch of Italy for 17 years. The blue is drawn from the sea and the sky, which surround the enormous Castello, the historic centre of Cagliari. Cagliari’s nickname? The rossoblu. Figure that one out.

The heads

Inside the oval is the Flag of Sardinia. It features four blindfolded heads, which symbolise the victory of the Sardinian people over the Moors, who attempted to invade the island. However, when the heads on the flag were turned from left to right and the blindfolds replaced by headbands in 1999, Cagliari decided not to amend their logo. Merciless. 

The cross

The cross is, in fact, a discoloured St George Cross. Spanish legend says that St George appeared at the Battle of Alcoraz with four severed heads of Saracen kings. Calgiari’s badge up to 1970 had a red cross, but the colour was phased out with a later version only having the vertical stripe red, and on today's badge the cross is gold.

The laurel wreath

Wreaths symbolise different things across cultures. In Rome, it is a martial victory and wreaths are used to crown a successful commander’s triumph. The wreath that encircles Cagliari’s badge is a complete one and is unlike ancient wreaths, which have historically been a horseshoe shape. Cagliari FC literally rest on their laurels. 

The boom of Latin America's latest megastar

Two games was all it took for the star of Brazilian football to shatter any negative preconceptions held about him.

Neymar began the Confederations Cup under enormous pressure. He was expected by the most expectant of footballing nations to lead the Selecao to a third consecutive triumph at the tournament – of which they are hosts. Their belief in the 21-year old Neymar was grounded in the swapping of shirt numbers with Oscar, which saw the former land the esteemed number ten jersey.

Brazil see Neymar as their messiah, the one to lead them to glory.

Added to that, he had to justify to the rest of the football-watching world the 57m euros that Barcelona recently shelled out to sign him.

Shoots too often, unproven in Europe, doesn't pass enough, a ‘YouTube player’ and forgets he has teammates are some of the charges levelled at Neymar. Many of those who hadn't followed his progress at Santos in the Brasileiro even claimed that the transfer was only founded on the masterful work of his PR team.

These criticisms were answered within three minutes of the tournament beginning. As Siphiwe Tshabalala and Philipp Lahm had done before him, Neymar began a tournament with an iconic opening goal for the host nation, a stunning strike that span up and away from the reach of the Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.

If a few sceptics remained, Neymar went closer to appeasing every one of them when he scored a second early opener in Brazil’s following match. This one was of equal brilliance, a perfectly-met left-footed volley in the ninth minute against Mexico. But it was in stoppage time when he gave the greatest demonstration in the tournament to date of his remarkable individual quality.

From an unthreatening position on the left side of the pitch, Neymar glided to the edge of the box, only to be met by two defenders who were obstructing his entrance. Then with a swish of his feet so impossibly quick that it is hard to observe what trick he had conjured even in slow motion, he sliced through those in his way and laid on a tap in.

The best players are judged most critically on their performances in major tournaments. A strong display in a World Cup is the only remaining barrier from Lionel Messi claiming the title of greatest of all time. One more rival to Messi’s hopes of achieving this has emerged, as Neymar has certainly proved he is capable.

photo by Jefferson Bernardes

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While Neymar’s star has risen during the Confederations Cup, another South American’s has floundered.

Edinson Cavani has been the subject of speculation linking him with a transfer to Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid. Napoli have turned down bids of 40m euros plus Fernando Torres from Chelsea already, and are waiting resolutely for his release clause of 63m euros to be met in full.

Cavani has yet to score in this year's Confederations Cup and spurned excellent chances from almost identical positions against Spain and Nigeria. Each time a floated free-kick reached the head of the most clinical striker from last season's Serie A, but Cavani failed to direct the ball at goal on either occasion.

He was guilty of another glaring miss in the match against Nigeria. Similar to the one Diego Forlan converted, only this time falling on the striker's preferred right foot, Cavani shanked an ugly shot that rose high and wide.

With only 14 goals in over 50 appearances for his country, Cavani needs to summon his club form if he is to justify on the grand international stage the price tag that his South American counterpart Neymar has done so emphatically. 

Never say die United - the embodiment of Ferguson's psyche

On a final day when only one position was left to fight for, Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out from football management with a hand in another record of sorts. For once, it was one of entertainment not achievement: the Premier League's first ever 5-5 draw. The manager who brought 38 trophies in 26 years to a single club could set new landmarks without meaning to.

It was fitting for Ferguson's final season that one of Manchester United's greatest traits under his stewardship – their never-say-die spirit – was evident on so many occasions. The number of late winning goals they scored was startling.

In their third match of the campaign, two Robin van Persie goals at 87 and 90 minutes transformed a loss into a win against Southampton. Two games later, a van Persie penalty at 81 minutes against Liverpool secured another victory. Having struck a lateish winner against Chelsea, Javier Hernandez did it again versus Villa, 87 minutes in. Van Persie's free-kick in stoppage time away to Manchester City opened up a six-point lead over their rivals and Hernandez came off the bench to score in the very last minute against Newcastle on Boxing Day.

And all these came in the first half of the season.

The amount of points United gained from losing positions would have been shattering for their opponents. Leading teams often faced in the latter stages of a match a hungry United gunning for them, hunting them down and displaying a deeply ingrained will to win. Inevitably it would end only one way: with United wrestling the points from their possession at the last gasp. United recovered to win 29 points from losing positions this season, the second highest total in the league's history.

Last year's title winners Manchester City threatened, but failed to find their highest gear. They moved to top of the table on November 17 when they thrashed Aston Villa 5-0, and were unbeaten until their 16^th match.

But their loss to United in the dying seconds of the game, inflicted by the player Roberto Mancini craved, was an almighty blow from which City could not recover.

United proved that last season's collapse of form, where they surrendered an eight point lead in April, was an anomaly. Indeed, finishing a campaign strongly has been another characteristic of United under Ferguson. The ability to front-run, combined with a hatred of being behind, made United the ultimate psychologically tough side.

In 2013, Ferguson ensured there would be no repeat of last year's failure, and United marched unflappably to an elusive 20^th league title.   

Brutal Juventus strike as Celtic run out of steam

Champions League last 16, first leg: Celtic 0-3 Juventus

Football can be ruthless. Celtic played with spirit and considerable effort yet were comprehensively beaten by Juventus, whose three away goals render the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie all but meaningless.

To an outsider it would have looked like daylight robbery, but the truth is that Juventus were merely professional and executed their game plan to perfection. 

A third minute goal from Alessandro Matri meant Celtic were always on the back foot and forced to chase the match, which they attempted commendably. Celtic responded to the early set-back in a positive manner by restricting Juventus's time on the ball with intense pressing and closing down. 

This proved to be a high risk tactic. For much of the game it looked as if Celtic's moment would eventually present itself, but Juventus are an incredibly fit side who rarely fail to end their matches in the ascendancy. 

When Celtic inevitably began to tire at the latter stages of the game, they were picked apart. Juventus had conserved their energy and unleashed it when fatigue was starting to set in for Celtic, who reaped no rewards for all their hard work.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon described the defeat as a "harsh reality" but said "some of the young players will learn a lesson from it". This lesson applies to all of Europe: beware of Juventus, innocuous at times, and deadly at others. 

On Monday evening West Brom pulled off the ultimate snatch and grab when they defeated Liverpool 2-0, despite only taking four shots all game in comparison to Liverpool's 23. Juve may have done the same to Celtic tonight, but make no mistake, it was fully intentional. 

Wilshere's England - a force to be reckoned with

International friendly: England 2-1 Brazil

There's a tendency with England to get carried away following an unlikely win or convincing performance, thinking that they just set themselves on course for world domination. This time, however, there may be genuine reason to get excited.

The side that defeated Brazil on Wednesday evening struck a perfect balance of youth and experience, with the last of England's 'golden generation' showing they are not yet looking to retirement. But most promisingly we saw that the young guns were more than ready for the international challenge.

None more so than Jack Wilshere. The Arsenal midfielder was electrifying every time he got on the ball, and is exactly what England needed at Euro 2012. With the qualities Wilshere brings - guts, determination, passion - it is hard to believe that England would have folded in the way they did against Italy, before exiting with a whimper at the first knockout stage. Wilshere wouldn't have allowed it.

Roy Hodgson described what Wilshere brings as "energy, mobility and enthusiasm". He has so many strings to his bow and the superlatives have already come flooding in. Against Brazil he inspired the nation to victory with relentless eagerness. England have missed a player who shows no fear and is willing to take the game to his opponents.

Wilshere is mature beyond his years and this showed in the way he congratulated Wayne Rooney on his opener. Despite being Rooney's junior in terms of experience, Wilshere patted him on the head almost in the way a captain would. With this small gesture he appeared to demonstrate his pleasure at the team for performing to his standard. It was an interesting moment that revealed his natural leadership qualities.

Every team needs a player they can look to for a moment of inspiration. Someone who will not fold no matter what the pressure, a heartbeat that remains constant. At just 21 and in only his seventh match for his country, Wilshere has shown he can be that player.

Good riddance to a troublemaker

He has been a two-and-a-half year nightmare for Roberto Mancini, but the game is now up for Mario Balotelli, and the Manchester City manager can say good riddance to the troublesome striker.

Too often Balotelli appeared to behave more as a celebrity than a footballer, and allowed his profession to play second fiddle as fulfilling showbiz duty appeared to be of the utmost importance. During his time at Manchester City, the most talked about incidents involving Balotelli happened off the pitch. The most famous image of Mario may well be of him partying with Paris Hilton in Ibiza.

Having been offered a chance to prove himself again at Milan, Balotelli needs to distance himself from hedonistic indulgences and study how a serious sports person, such as Jessica Ennis, behaves. In a professional sense, Ennis is the anti-Balotelli. When on the Graham Norton Show alongside Ricky Gervais and Daniel Radcliffe, Ennis talked passionately about her training, brought her Olympic heptathlon gold medal to show and share, and left the joke cracking to the others.

Acting foolishly isn't her domain and she made no attempt to pretend it was. Were Balotelli on the show Norton could have quizzed him about the time he set fireworks off in his bathroom and nearly burnt his house down in the process, or when he threw a dart at a youth team player at training, or whether the fake Santa driving around Manchester handing out wads of cash was indeed him. He would hardly be recognisable as a footballer, but it's not a bad way to earn £180,000 a week, eh?

Aside from the outlandish tomfoolery, Balotelli scored 30 goals in 80 games for City and was a certainty from the penalty spot. However, he received four red cards and 23 yellows; that's just three fewer cards than goals scored. He fought Micah Richards, he fought his manager. He made it extremely difficult for any sincere City fan to take to him.

In an unforgettable demonstration of his huge potential Balotelli scored two pivotal goals to fire Italy to the Euro 2012 final, which led many believers to predict that he would start the 2012/13 season in the same devastating form. That never happened. Balotelli has scored one league goal all season; his attitude in training and on the pitch coupled with his antics off it led him to become the club's fourth choice senior striker, and subsequently being sold halfway through their title defence.

When Milan swooped with an offer of around £20m for the talent-wasting striker, Mancini could have hardly believed his luck. It allowed him to end the nightmare of nurturing Balotelli from wild to world beater with minimal transfer fee lost. Balotelli's ability is obvious but his application is sadly lacking.

photo by Piotr Drabik

Tennis in 2013: momentum with Murray but can Rafa make a return?

Will Nadal recover from knee tendonitis once again, or will the big four of tennis become a big three?

Men's tennis is experiencing a golden era. At the top of the game are four titans - Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal - who perform so consistently that it's almost the norm for them to occupy all semi-final berths of a tournament. When they do not, eyebrows are raised.

For a perspective on how challenging it is to break the dominance of the game's elite, consider that it took Murray five attempts to win a grand slam final. He wrestled the 2012 US Open away from the clutches of  Djokovic, but only after an epic struggle. Djokovic found a champion's spirit when two sets behind and forced Murray to defy his nerves in a deciding fifth set.

Of the four, Djokovic was third to climb the ladder to tennis greatness. He did so by lifting the 2008 Australian Open title which presented him as a genuine rival to the then top two, Federer and Nadal. But Djokovic only continued to snap at their heels until 2011 when he dominated the calendar year, winning his first 41 matches and three of the four majors.

He has had a career-long rivalry with Andy Murray, who mirrored his progression through junior to senior ranks. However, Murray has had to endure many more painful defeats during his rise; he lost once to Djokovic and three times to Federer in grand slam finals before finally winning one of his own.

It is testament to the supremacy of the top four that some tennis circles contend that any one of them would be world number one in a different era. The performances in last year's Australian Open final from Djokovic and Nadal were seen as superhuman. The top four shared all four grand slams in 2012. Them aside, only Juan Martin Del Potro has won a major since Marat Safin won the Australian Open in 2005.

Things are likely to change in 2013. Age has been a recent threat to the longevity of Federer's career, but his play shows few signs of relenting. He has always found a way to adapt his game - by adding an extra few miles per hour to his serve, for example - and his simple yet slick technique continues to be devastating. Despite this, the gap between Federer's decline and the rise of Djokovic and Murray will inevitably increase.

The season-starting Australian Open is missing a big four name. Rafael Nadal has not played since losing surprisingly in the second round of Wimbledon and his absence leaves a major hole in the tournament. Nadal has suffered with knee tendonitis throughout his career, but for him to face another lay off of this magnitude is very worrying.

It is a chilling absence. Nadal is only 26 and has been faced with career-threatening injuries at the regularity that most players suffer mere niggles. His high-intensity style lends to heavy impacts on his joints and Nadal has paid the price of his successes. At the highest level, tennis is about building up momentum and maintaining steady form throughout a major, and there is a fine line between winner and runner-up. The spectacular 2008 Wimbledon final ended tamely when Federer hit a routine forehand into the net with both players competing at the brink of exhaustion.

Whether Nadal can continually return from an injury as serious as knee tendonitis to the pinnacle of the game is uncertain. It is a recurring problem that he will face throughout his career and while Nadal is getting his knees back to working order, Murray and Djokovic will be fine tuning, tweaking and honing their arsenal. It puts him at an obvious disadvantage.

Murray has proven he is now one of the very best and barring the extraordinary 2013 will see him battle with Djokovic for the game's highest honours. Federer will be there or thereabouts, as there are no indications to say otherwise. The question mark looms over Nadal and whether he is able to recover from his latest bout of injury.