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Demetris D. Ball | News, Sports, Jobs Warren Tribune ChronicleBola.com, Jakarta - Sulit untuk menolak anggapan bahwa Timnas Indonesia menjalani masa emasnya pada era 1950-an di bawah tangah dingin Antun 'Toni' Pogacnik. Sayang, dedikasinya membawa kejayaan ke Tanah Air hancur berkeping-keping akibat skandal suap yang menimpa anak asuhnya sendiri. Pogacnik, satu di antara pelatih paling sukses dalam sejarah sepak bola Indonesia, dikhianati oleh penggawa Merah Putih.
Bisa dibilang, Pogacnik adalah orang yang kembali menempatkan Indonesia di peta dunia usai proklamasi kemerdekaan pada 1945 yang dibacakan oleh Presiden Indonesia pertama, Ir. Soekarno. Ini tidak berlebihan. Sebab, torehan prestasi di kancah internasional sanggup ia berikan selama kariernya di Tanah Air.
Pada Asian Games 1954, Timnas Indonesia mampu dibawanya ke semifinal. Meski pada akhirnya gagal menyabet medali perunggu, keberhasilan itu membuat gairah sepak bola di Indonesia meningkat. Apalagi, pada era 1950-an, nasionalisme rakyat sedang tinggi-tingginya lantaran Indonesia masih berumur jagung pasca kemerdekaan.
Medali akhirnya didapat tim sepak bola Indonesia pada Asian Games edisi berikutnya, tepatnya pada Asian Games 1958 di Tokyo. Indonesia bergabung di grup B bersama India dan Burma. Kali ini Indonesia menyapu bersih semua laga, termasuk membalas kekalahan menyakitkan dari Burma (Myanmar) di perebutan tempat ketiga pada edisi sebelumnya (kalah 4-5). Kali ini, Indonesia menang 4-2.
Kemenangan besar kembali diraih Timnas Indonesia pada perempat final. Berhadapan dengan Filipina, Pogacnik menerapkan permainan indah yang berujung pada kemenangan 5-2. Sayang, untuk kali kedua secara beruntun, Indonesia kandas di semifinal, saat itu Taiwan meraih kemenangan tipis 1-0.
Pada perebutan medali perunggu atau tempat ketiga, Timnas Indonesia kembali bersua India, tim yang sudah mereka hadapi pada babak grup. Tanpa kesulitan berarti, Indonesia menang telak 4-1.
Sejak saat itu, Indonesia tak pernah lagi menggondol perunggu Asian Games dari cabang olahraga sepak bola. Peluang terbaik didapat Bertje Matulapelwa pada Asian Games 1986. Namun tumbang dari Kuwait pada perebutan medali perunggu.
Selain itu, Timnas Indonesia Junior berhasil menjadi juara Piala Asia Muda (kini Piala Asia U-19) bersama Myanmar pada edisi 1961. Yang paling legendaris adalah kala Tim Merah-Putih sukses menahan 0-0 tim raksasa Uni Soviet pada babak perempat-final di Olimpiade Melbourne 1956. Sayang pada pertandingan ulangan Indonesia kalah 0-4 dari tim yang akhirnya jadi juara.
Pogacnik, pelatih asal Yugoslavia, memberikan banyak kenangan buat Timnas Indonesia. Berkat tangan dinginnya, Tim Merah Putih era kepemimpinannya pun mendapat label Macan Asia.
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Maladi yang jadi aktor utama di balik kedatangan Toni ke Indonesia. Kala itu sang perdana menteri yang melihat langsung Olimpiade Helsinki 1952 terpincut dengan gaya permainan tim Eropa timur yang dilatih Toni tersebut. Menurut pandangannya, gaya yang dikembangkan Toni akan pas jika dimainkan oleh para pesepak bola Indonesia.
Maladi kemudian secara terang-terangan meminta Toni untuk melatih Timnas Indonesia. Namun, tentu saja keinginan itu tidak mudah untuk direalisasikan. Toni harus meminta izin ke pemerintah Yugoslavia, yang kala itu amat tertutup dari dunia luar. Indonesia sendiri belum memiliki hubungan diplomatik dengan negara yang kini telah terpecah jadi Serbia, Kroasia, dan Montonegro tersebut.
Oleh pimpinan organisasi sepakbola Yugoslavia, Maladi lalu disarankan untuk mengundang timnas Yugoslavia terlebih dahulu dan membuka hubungan persahabatan antara pemerintah Indonesia dan negara tersebut.
Maladi pun kemudian mengatur agar tim Yugoslavia-B datang ke Indonesia dan melakukan lima kali pertandingan persahabatan, di antaranya melawan Persib Bandung, PSSI Jateng, Persebaya Surabaya, Persija Jakarta, dan tentu saja Timnas Indonesia.
Dukungan besar diberikan Presiden RI, Soekarno, kepada sosok Pogacnik. Sang Proklamator memperbolehkan adanya prosesi menaikkan bendera Yugoslavia serta pemutaran lagu kebangsaan sebelum pertandingan.
Soekarno menjadikan momen itu untuk memperkuat hubungan diplomasi dengan Yugoslavia. Pada saat itu, memang ada kecenderungan Indonesia lebih dekat dengan negara-negara Eropa Timur. Sambutan hangat pun diterima oleh Presiden Yugoslavia kala itu, Josip Broz Tito.
Broz Tito yang terkesan dengan kepemimpinan Soekarno lantas memberikan izin kepada Pogacnik untuk menjadi pelatih Timnas Indonesia. Padahal, sebelumnya Pogacnik sedang ditugaskan menangani Timnas Yugoslavia. Singkat cerita, Pogacnik menuai sukses dan menggoresan tinta sejarah dalam persepakbolaan Indonesia.
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Match fixing atau pengaturan skor atau suap atau apa pun itu istilahnya ternyata sudah menjadi momok buat sepak Indonesia sejak lama. Ini terjadi pada Asian Games 1962 yang ironisnya digelar di Jakarta.
Sukses di Asian Games Manila 1954, Olimpiade Melbourne 1956, dan Asian Games Tokyo 1958, membuat Toni Pogacnik dibebani target juara. Hal yang cukup realistis mengingat gairah sepak bola Indonesia tengah menanjak dan momentum itu ada tatkala Jakarta ditunjuk sebagai tuan rumah.
Sayang, Toni Pogacnik meninggalkan Indonesia dengan cerita tidak enak. Timnas Indonesia dihantam skandal suap di Asian Games 1962.
Skandal Senayan 1962 mencoreng wajah sepak bola Indonesia. Kasus match fixing yang melibatkan sejumlah pemain pilar Timnas Indonesia mulai terkuak pada awal Januari 1962 dan memuncak pada 19 Febuari 1962 ketika Indonesia berujicoba dengan tim Vietnam Selatan.
Ini bermula saat penggawa Timnas Indonesia, Maulwi Saelan merasa ada gelagat aneh dari rekan setimnya pada 1961 atau ketika Indonesia menjalani beberapa laga persahabatan. Usut punya usut, termasuk dengan melibatkan penyelidikan kepolisian, bukan sekali dua kali saja para pemain timnas bermain mata dengan para bandar judi.
Hasil penyelidikan menyebutkan, pertandingan-pertandingan yang ditemukan telah diatur itu di antaranya adalah pertandingan timnas Indonesia melawan Malmoe (Swedia), Thailand, Yugoslavia Selection dan Ceko Combined.
Setidaknya ada 10 pemain andalan timnas saat itu yang dikenai skorsing. Mereka adalah Iljas Hadade, Pietje Timisela, Omo Suratmo, Rukma Sudjana (kapten), Sunarto, Wowo Sunaryo (Persib), John Simon, Manan, Rasjid Dahlan (PSM Makassar), dan Andjiek Ali Nurdin (Persebaya).
Wowo Sunaryo, satu di antara pemain Timnas Indonesia yang menerima suap, mengaku tak punya pilihan selain menerima suap. Ia merasa terperangkap oleh jerat setan sehingga ia tak cuma mengkhianati Pogacnik saja, tapi seluruh rakyat Indonesia.
"Seperti digoda setan, saya terperangkap. Saya terpaksa menerimanya karena kondisi keluarga," kata Wowo Sunaryo seperti dilaporkan majalah Tempo edisi 14 Juli 1979.
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Masalah finansial menjadi penyebab utama setengah pemain Timnas Indonesia rela menggadaikan nasionalismenya demi segepok uang. Berdasarkan keterangan Pandit Football, bayaran yang diterima pemain Timnas Indonesia hanya berkisar Rp25 per hari.
Kondisi tersebut, menurut pengakuan Wowo, membuat ia dan banyak rekannya sulit menolak tawaran uang dari bandar judi. Bahkan, Wowo mengatakan upah membela timnas seringkali hanya cukup untuk membeli dua butir telur saja sekembalinya dari latihan atau rutinitas lainnya.
"Honor memperkuat timnas hanya cukup untuk biaya perjalanan Bandung-Jakarta. Kalau ada sisa, cuma bisa digunakan membeli dua butir telur atau sabun. Kondisi miris itulah yang memaksa kami melakukan hal tidak terpuji itu", aku Wowo dinukil dari detikSport.
Karena merasa gagal, Toni menyampaikan surat pengunduran diri, tapi ditolak. Pengunduran diri baru diterima setelah Toni mengalami cedera lutut dalam rangkaian tur ke Tiongkok pada 1963. Setahun kemudian ia dengan resmi minta berhenti.
Kejadian suap yang menimpa pemain Timnas Indonesia membuatnya terpukul. Ia seakan tak percaya, 10 tahun kerja kerasnya membangun legacy runtuh begitu saja akibat skandal suap. Sedih, gusar, dan amarah campur aduk. Padahal, kejujuran adalah hal yang sejak awal ditanamkan oleh Pogacnik kepada anak asuhnya.
Pogacnik selalu menekankan kepada para pemainnya supaya bermain mengedepankan sikat-sifat ksatria seperti jujur dan tidak bermain curang. "Kalau saja tidak ada itu skandal suap-suapan, Indonesia dapat mencapai standar Internasional," ketus Pogacnik yang sempat menangis di kantor polisi ketika polisi melakukan penyelidikan.
Video wawancara lebih dekat dengan Pelatih Tim Nasional Indonesia, Alfred Riedl.
If you've ever witnessed a whiff on the golf course, either by a friend, family member or a stranger you're paired with, it's a sinking feeling. It's hard to come up with words to say, or with unsolicited swing advice that isn't really going to help there cause anyway. The silence a whiff can produce amongst a foursome is absolutely deafening. You can practically see the hula hoops the whiffer's brain is jumping through trying to make sense of it all. All they're trying to do on the next swing is make any type of contact. Because the only feeling lower than a whiff is a second whiff.
What about seven whiffs?
Seven whiffs is a feeling no man or woman should ever have to endure. I'd imagine it's a "crawl in a hole and never come out" feeling. That one Spongebob GIF come to life. Fortunately, David Livey has a good sense of humor and is not afraid to laugh at himself. Thank goodness, because if not there'd be no coming back from this:
(extreme "the Count" voice) Seven, SEVEN Whiffs! Ha Ha Ha Ha!
For David, the eighth time was the charm, and by charm we mean a ball that may not have traveled a full inch. Props to him for continuing to give it an A for effort while his buddies were laughing at him and telling him things like "eye on the ball" and "don't try to hit it so hard." The best part though comes at the 37-second mark, when David screams "I'm not!" in a high-pitched tone, then coughs and says it much lower. Everything that could have gone wrong for him did. Once the quarantine is over, we'll be rooting for you to make solid contact David. It's not for lack of trying, that's for sure.
CHICAGO — A woman who was struck in the face by a foul ball during a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field two years ago has filed a lawsuit against the team and Major League Baseball.
In her lawsuit filed this week, Laiah Zuniga, 28, says the ball knocked her unconscious, caused fractures under both of her eyes and caused extensive damage to her teeth. She said it hit her because the stadium hadn’t extended the netting that protects fans from foul balls all the way down the third base line, where she was sitting.
“Major League Baseball and the Cubs were aware that severe injuries from foul balls could happen to its fans sitting in rows near the field because it had happened many times before,” Tracy Brammeier, an attorney at Clifford Law Offices representing Zuniga, said in a statement. ”Just last year the MLB announced that all 30 teams would extend netting, … but it’s too late for Laiah.”
The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court also notes that the league’s recommendation for how far to extend such netting still leaves fans like Zuniga at risk of serious injury and points out that had the Cubs extended the netting farther, as some other teams have done, Zuniga would not have been injured.
The lawsuit, which seeks more than $50,000 in damages from the Cubs and MLB, is similar to one filed in 2017 by a suburban Chicago man who was blinded in one eye when he was hit by a foul ball at Wrigley. That case is pending.
Major League Baseball has come under fire from critics, including some players, who say the netting should be extended farther to protect fans. Last season in Houston, a foul ball off the bat of Cubs’ player Albert Almora Jr. struck a 2-year-old girl, fracturing her skull.
Professional sports teams have largely been protected from lawsuits by what is called the “baseball rule” that, as anyone who has read the back of a ticket stub knows, states that the ticket-holder assumes the risks and dangers that come with attending a game. That so-called “assumption of risk” has been spelled out on ticket stubs for more than a century.
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Dr. Anthony Fauci is stepping up to the plate to clarify that he's still hopeful Major League Baseball will be able to salvage at least part of their season beginning this summer, despite his blunt comments to The New York Times that left MLB officials stunned and feeling like the White House adviser on coronavirus was suggesting a cancellation to the entire season was becoming more likely.
"No, no," Fauci told Fox News in a brief telephone interview Wednesday night. "I think they read half my interview," where he used caveats about whether the nation will have broad enough access to testing to make sure major sports leagues can resume safely.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: SPORTS MAY HAVE TO BE ON HOLD LONGER FOR SAFETY
"There are a range of options for baseball," Fauci said to Fox News, though he added the qualification is hard to predict with certainty because of the possibility that COVID-19 will have a resurgence later this year. "We don't know about the summer. We don't know about the fall."
Fauci's new comments to Fox News more closely align with what he told the YES Network on April 20, when he said he was optimistic that baseball would be played in some form. Fauci noted one option is the so-called "Arizona plan" where teams would play at multiple sites around the Phoenix area that are normally used for spring training, and players would live basically in a bubble without their families and would play with no fans in the stands.
MLB was supposed to start its season in March. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Yet in the YES Network interview, Fauci was bullish enough about baseball that he added he could see another option where teams eventually get to play in their home stadiums with some fans who wear masks and observe some social distancing rules.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI: RETURN OF SPORTS LIKELY HINGES ON PLAYING GAMES WITHOUT FANS
“That is possible,” Fauci said earlier this month. “But as you said, and I affirm what I have been saying, it’s going to be the virus that determines what the timetable is. Because if we get the virus under really good control and certain regions of the country can get gradually from the gateway to the phase one to the phase two to the phase three, it is conceivable that you may be able to have some baseball with people practicing physical separation. Namely, you don’t pack a stadium."
But then on Wednesday, The New York Times published a new interview with Fauci that was widely described as "stark" and pessimistic about professional sports in general, without directly mentioning baseball.
Gerrit Cole was the Yankees' prized free agent over the winter (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
“Safety, for the players and for the fans, trumps everything," Fauci told the paper. "If you can’t guarantee safety, then unfortunately you’re going to have to bite the bullet and say, ‘We may have to go without this sport for this season.’ I would love to be able to have all sports back. But as a health official and a physician and a scientist, I have to say, right now, when you look at the country, we’re not ready for that yet.”
MLB sources told Fox News that those comments alarmed senior people around the game, just as they they were getting more optimistic about a new plan that would not focus on the Arizona bubble.
MLB'S RETURN CONTINGENT ON ONE MAJOR THING, ROB MANFRED SAYS
The new scenario being reviewed by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred and other officials is targeting a return to the game just before Fourth of July weekend, in which baseball would temporarily break up their traditional American and National leagues in order to create three divisions in the East, Central, and West parts of the country to limit travel.
MLB spokesman Pat Courtney did not react to Fauci's comments to The New York Times but stressed to Fox News that officials are not focused on any specific plan.
"Our primary focus is on the safety of everyone involved," Courtney said.
YANKEES' RANDY LEVINE: MADE-FOR-TV GAMES 'NOT PRACTICAL' FOR ENTIRE SEASON
Randy Levine, president of The New York Yankees, expressed concern about Fauci's more bleak comments in an interview Wednesday on Fox News Radio’s “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”
“I really believe everybody should just work together to do this," Levine said. "I was kind of surprised this morning when I saw one story about Dr. Fauci where he said that now he doesn’t — he thinks some sports might not play till next year, but last week on the YES Network, he said that — quite the opposite."
Fauci told Fox News he is tired of "misrepresentations" that people sometimes glean from his public comments, and that baseball officials should focus on a podcast interview in which he told Ryan Zimmerman, a veteran player for the Washington Nationals, there is a "pathway" to play at least a partial season.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
“I hope that there’s some form of baseball this summer, even if it’s just for TV,” Fauci told Zimmerman. “I feel that strongly, one, because I’m an avid baseball fan but also because it’s for the country’s mental health to have the great American pastime be seen.”
2 min read
CHICAGO -- A woman who was struck in the face by a foul ball during a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field two years ago has filed a lawsuit against the team and Major League Baseball.
In her lawsuit filed this week, Laiah Zuniga, 28, says the ball knocked her unconscious, caused fractures under both of her eyes and caused extensive damage to her teeth. She said it hit her because the stadium hadn't extended the netting that protects fans from foul balls all the way down the third base line, where she was sitting.
“Major League Baseball and the Cubs were aware that severe injuries from foul balls could happen to its fans sitting in rows near the field because it had happened many times before,” Tracy Brammeier, an attorney at Clifford Law Offices representing Zuniga, said in a statement. ”Just last year the MLB announced that all 30 teams would extend netting, ... but it’s too late for Laiah.”
The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court also notes that the league's recommendation for how far to extend such netting still leaves fans like Zuniga at risk of serious injury and points out that had the Cubs extended the netting farther, as some other teams have done, Zuniga would not have been injured.
The lawsuit, which seeks more than $50,000 in damages from the Cubs and MLB, is similar to one filed in 2017 by a suburban Chicago man who was blinded in one eye when he was hit by a foul ball at Wrigley. That case is pending.
Major League Baseball has come under fire from critics, including some players, who say the netting should be extended farther to protect fans. Last season in Houston, a foul ball off the bat of Cubs' player Albert Almora Jr. struck a 2-year-old girl, fracturing her skull.
Professional sports teams have largely been protected from lawsuits by what is called the “baseball rule" that, as anyone who has read the back of a ticket stub knows, states that the ticket-holder assumes the risks and dangers that come with attending a game. That so-called “assumption of risk” has been spelled out on ticket stubs for more than a century.
A complaint was filed in Chicago on Tuesday against Major League Baseball and the Chicago Cubs on behalf of a fan hit by a foul ball in 2018.
Laiah Zuniga, 28, was sitting in the sixth row at Wrigley Field on Aug. 27, 2018, when she was struck in the face during the fifth inning of a game against the New York Mets, according to the complaint filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
The complaint says Zuniga, who was chatting with a friend at the time she was struck, suffered permanent injuries to her "eyesight, smell, taste and teeth." She also suffered a spider fracture under both eyes and suffers recurring bloody noses.
"Major League Baseball and the Cubs were aware that severe injuries from foul balls could happen to its fans sitting in rows near the field because it had happened many times before," said Tracy Brammeier, an attorney representing Zuniga. "Just late last year the MLB announced that all 30 teams would extend netting from foul pole to foul pole this year, but it's too late for Laiah."
Prior to the 2020 season, Major League Baseball did not require netting to extend past the opening of the dugouts nearest to home plate. The league implemented new rules for this season after several high-profile incidents involving fans getting hit by foul balls, including a young girl in Houston last season in another game against the Cubs. Teams were instructed to extend netting to at least the far end of their dugouts.
According to the complaint, the same law firm is also representing a Chicago-area man who was blinded in one eye after being hit by a foul ball at Wrigley Field in 2017.
Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported Tuesday that guard LaMelo Ball of the National Basketball League's Illawarra Hawks has declared for the 2020 NBA draft:
Shams Charania @ShamsCharaniaSources: Potential top pick LaMelo Ball has declared for the 2020 NBA Draft. Ball was under “professional” category of early-entry candidates distributed to teams Tuesday night. Virtual pre-draft process can now begin with teams.
Ball averaged 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists in 12 games for the Hawks. His season was cut short because of a bone bruise, per ESPN's Jonathan Givony.
Ball's landing spot is arguably the most intriguing storyline in the 2020 NBA draft.
First, there is an air of uncertainty surrounding Ball, who has only 12 professional games on his 2019-10 basketball resume. He showed the potential to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft at times, but the game tape on him is limited.
Second, teams may not get a chance to do too much with Ball in the pre-draft process because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has suspended the NBA season, shut down team facilities and significantly threatens events such as the NBA Scouting Combine and in-person workouts and interviews.
Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report explained more in March:
"Will prospects be able to fly to workouts or participate with others? Will there be an NBA combine for teams to test and meet players, schedule interviews or collect medicals?
"Teams may have to fly semi-blind during the months leading up to the draft, which also seems likely to be moved back."
That being said, Ball might have the most potential out of anyone, and multiple sources have been praising him in recent months.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic mocked Ball third in his latest draft and said that the 6'7" point guard was his "favorite player" in the 2020 class.
Vecenie did say that Ball's draft range is "pretty wide" but that "he'll be the top prospect on my board come draft day."
Ball also might have the most star potential out of everyone in this draft class. Ricky O'Donnell of SB Nation has him No. 1 on his big board and explained why:
"The case for Ball as the top prospect in the 2020 draft begins with the acknowledgment that no NBA archetype has more value than the lead initiator of a top offense, and that Ball has the greatest potential in the class to turn into exactly that. Start with the size: at 6'7" and perhaps still growing, Ball might be the league's tallest pure point guard (read: a player who also defends point guards) from the moment he's drafted, and he's able to leverage that height to accentuate his gifted creation ability."
As for Wasserman, he mocked Ball third in his latest draft to the Minnesota Timberwolves and noted the following: "Ball's signature strength early will be playmaking, but there is still plenty of scoring upside to unlock from his creativity, floater game, finishing package and confident three-point shot-making."
Wasserman also listed Ball first on his big board and explained why he'd pick him over another No. 1 candidate in Georgia's Anthony Edwards: "Ball has more potential to make teammates better with his passing, and he still has significant scoring upside to unlock from his creativity off the dribble, deep threes, floaters and transition attacks.The issue is his defense and shot-making abilities."
Ball's game does have its flaws. Vecenie called Ball's defense at times "disastrously bad," and Ball also made just 37 percent of his field goals.
Then again, Ball is just 18 years old. He's not supposed to be a finished product right now. Certain areas of his game must improve, but it's not as if he's five years into an NBA career.
ESPN's Mike Schmitz is bullish enough on his upside that he would choose Ball with the No. 1 overall pick, even if the Golden State Warriors, who have veterans Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson in the backcourt, land the selection post-lottery:
Mike Schmitz @Mike_SchmitzJumped on @SportsCenter with @notthefakeSVP to talk NBA Draft. GSW’s options at #1, who I would take at the top, and why a limited pre-draft process could actually benefit teams. https://t.co/YvPzccjBE5
He also called Ball "the most talented player" in the draft and said Golden State would be "a great place for him to develop."
Ultimately, the plusses outweigh the minuses with Ball, and he should have an inside track on being a top-three pick regardless of how the lottery shakes out.
Verdi
Ekspresi striker Liverpool FC, Fernando Torres, dalam pertandingan Liga Inggris 2010-2011 menghadapi
BOLASPORT.COM - Liga Inggris menjadi salah satu liga paling bergengsi di dunia dan juga paling mengerikan tentunya.
Memiliki slogan Kick and Rush, Liga Inggris mengandalkan fisik serta permainan super cepat yang bisa membuat pesepak bola manapun tak bisa mengikuti ritmenya.
Artinya, banyak pesepak bola yang kariernya mati di sana karena tak cocok dengan gaya permainan Liga Inggris yang ketat dan keras.
Baca Juga: 5 Pesepak Bola Besar yang Kariernya Tewas di Barcelona! Ini Daftarnya
Namun meski begitu, ada pesepak bola yang mampu melakukan musim debutnya dengan baik di sana dan menjadi yang tersukses.
Kira-kira siapa saja? Berikut ulasannya!
5. Fernando Torres
estu
Penyerang Sagan Tosu, Fernando Torres saat timnya menjamu V-Varen Nagasaki pada lanjutan Liga Jepang
Penyerang asal Spanyol ini memulai debutnya di Liga Inggris musim 2007/08 bersama Liverpool usai hengkang dari Atletico Madrid.
Di Liverpool, Torres menjadi momok menakutkan bagi bek lawan berkat intuisinya dalam mencetak gol.
LONDON, KOMPAS.com - Pelatih Tottenham Hotspurs Jose Mourinho menyampaikan pesan tegas di tengah pandemi corona yang juga melanda Inggris.
"Bawa kembali sepak bola, bahkan bila harus dipertandingkan tanpa penonton," katanya.
Baca juga: Jose Mourinho: Soal Talenta, Tak Ada yang Bisa Melebihi Ronaldo
Bagi Mourinho, laga sepak bola ada penyegar semangat bagi para suporter yang haus menonton pertandingan lantaran pandemi corona.
Ilustrasi virus coronaLiga Inggris sejak 9 Maret 2020 terhenti sementara waktu.
Hingga kini, Liga Belanda dan Liga Perancis sudah menyatakan menghentikan permanen kompetisi musim 2019/2020.
Bagian utara Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.Sementara, di Liga Primer, pada Jumat (1/5/2020), para petinggi klub bakal bertemu untuk membahas Proyek Memulai Kembali.
Topik utama pertemuan nanti adalah bagaimana klub-klub menuntaskan kembali perjalanan kompetisi di tengah kesulitan logistik.
Striker Tottenham Hotspur Korea Selatan Son Heung-Min (kiri) merayakan dengan gelandang Belanda Tottenham Hotspur Steven Bergwijn setelah mencetak gol ketiga timnya selama pertandingan sepak bola Liga Inggris antara Aston Villa dan Tottenham Hotspur di Villa Park di Birmingham, Inggris tengah pada 16 Februari , 2020."Saya rindu sepak bola," kata mantan pelatih Chelsea dan Manchester United ini.
Mourinho mengatakan pula bahwa sepak bola adalah bagian dari dunianya.
"Namun, kami mesti bersabar karena hal ini adalah pertempuran (melawan virus corona) dan semua dari kita harus berjuang," ujarnya.
Bek Tottenham Hotspurs, Toby AlderweireldSaat ini, Stadion Tottenham Hotspurs dialihkan fungsinya sebagai pusat tes untuk mengetahui terjangkit atau tidaknya seseorang oleh virus corona, pendukung rumah sakit lokal, dan pusat jaringan distribusi makanan untuk membantu pemerintah memerangi corona.
“MLB executives, including the commissioner, and players have acknowledged this danger posed to patrons,” the suit states. “Some players refuse to allow their loved ones to sit close to the field unless they are directly behind the netting. The players, through their union, have even demanded that the netting be extended.”
Andrew LopezESPN
ON THE SECOND day of the New Orleans Pelicans' training camp in September, the media was permitted to observe only one play -- and what a play it was.
Lonzo Ball stood on the sideline preparing to inbound with Zion Williamson at the elbow closest to him. Williamson quickly went into motion.
After faking a screen on Frank Jackson, Williamson instead darted toward the basket. Ball launched a pass at the rim, but it was slightly off, hitting the backboard as Williamson began his ascension.
It didn't matter. Williamson grabbed the ball and dunked it.
"Yeah, that wasn't the best pass," Ball said at the time, "but you saw what he did with it. It's really hard to throw him a bad lob."
0:18
Zion Williamson completes the alley-oop jam off a pass that first hits the backboard before the No. 1 pick dunks it down.
It was the beginning of a now-promising relationship -- one that has been put on hold twice: first, by the knee injury that cost Williamson the first 44 games of this season, then by the coronavirus pandemic that forced the league to suspend operations last month.
The instant chemistry between Williamson, the franchise's great hope, and Ball, a former No. 2 overall pick looking to make his mark on the league, has tantalized New Orleans and its fans and given a peek at what the team's future could look like once play resumes.
"We think the fit is really, really good," Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said, before admitting, "I didn't think it would look quite like this this quickly."
BALL AND WILLIAMSON have shared the court for just 437 minutes in 19 games this season. But they've spent far more time together, forming a bond shortly after Ball arrived in a trade last summer from the Los Angeles Lakers. The two frequently posted on social media about joking around with each other before training camp got underway. That chemistry continued to grow as the two spent time together in the training room while rehabbing injuries in November.
Once they actually got on the court, they quickly proved to be one of the NBA's most effective partnerships. Ball averages three assists to Williamson per game, and only two duos in the NBA connect more often on a per-game basis: Trae Young to John Collins (3.6) and LeBron James to Anthony Davis (3.2). Three of those four players are All-Stars.
When Williamson and Ball are on the court at the same time, the Pelicans have a 114.6 offensive rating and a 99.4 defensive rating. That plus-15.2 net rating ranks fifth in the West among duos who have played at least 400 minutes.
"Z is really a different type of talent," Ball said on teammate JJ Redick's podcast on April 13. "I never really played with a guy like him before. He complements my game tremendously. I'm just happy to be with him."
Though the sample size is small, the production has been exactly what the Pelicans hoped for when they paired Williamson, a once-in-a-generation finisher, with Ball.
"Zo was a guy who was a great passer who isn't overly ball-dominant," Griffin said. "Because of the fit with [Brandon Ingram] and Zion, we knew there'd be some ball-dominance there. He was the perfect fit to exploit what those guys did well and to complement them."
That fit was on full display on March 8, when the Pelicans were in Minnesota for what would turn out to be their last game before the NBA suspended its season. In the first quarter of an afternoon matinee, the Timberwolves' D'Angelo Russell put up a layup to tie the score. Before the ball had even dropped through the basket, Williamson began streaking down the floor to wreak havoc.
Ball took an inbounds pass from Derrick Favors and quickly looked up court, where Williamson -- more than 60 feet away -- was already two steps ahead of Timberwolves center Naz Reid. So, from just outside the opposing 3-point line, Ball let it fly.
Williamson caught the pass on the other end, right where he needed to flush it home for a slam. Not even a minute and a half later, the duo did it again.
The two passes measured 64.7 feet and 51.5 feet, according to Second Spectrum data. It marked the first time since the company began collecting data on lob passes (2013-14) that one player assisted on two 50-foot lobs in one game and that one player finished two 50-foot lobs in the same game.
Add that to a 56.9-foot lob on Feb. 2 against Houston, and they are the first duo with three such connections since Second Spectrum started tracking.
"Honestly, sometimes I don't even think he's going to throw it, but then he just throws it," Williamson said following the Timberwolves game. "I'm like, 'All right, let me try and go get it.' He does a great job even though they're from so far away. He just puts it, like, in a spot like he's throwing a lob from the close elbow. He puts it in the perfect spot, and I just go get it."
As a spectator when the lobs go down, All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday said the chemistry between the two seems "effortless."
"They just have this connection," Holiday said. "It's kind of like a quarterback and receiver. It's like, where he throws it, I'm not saying Zion can't jump out the gym, but he places in the right place, Zo does. I love to see it."
The connections aren't an accident. Ball said the duo first started practicing the full-court lobs when the entire team was scrimmaging just before training camp opened in September. But he didn't exactly tell Williamson the passes were coming.
"I knew I could throw it," Ball said, "I just wanted to see if he could catch it."
How's that worked out?
"I don't think he's missed one yet."
WILLIAMSON MADE HIS NBA debut on Jan. 22. Since then, Ball has been playing some of the best basketball of his career, averaging 13.1 points, 8.4 assists, 7 rebounds, 1.8 steals and nearly a block per game. He shot 45.7% from the field and 43.2% from deep over that 20-game stretch.
It's the most fun he has had in the NBA, perhaps in part because it's the healthiest he's been in his three NBA seasons.
"It's the most freedom I've had," Ball told ESPN last month. "Just trying to do what I can, I'm out there 35 to 40 minutes a night now."
Ball struggled to start the season while nursing an ankle sprain that prevented him from having any summer workouts, and then missed six games in November due to a strained adductor. Griffin said that in mid-December, Ball started changing his routine in the weight room and started to lift more on game days. It made him feel more explosive, Griffin said. In his last five games before the league's suspension, Ball took it to another level, averaging 20.8 points, 7.8 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals while pushing his shooting averages to 53.5% and 51.2% from 3-point range.
Griffin credited assistant coach Fred Vinson for Ball's improved shooting.
"That's made him an even better complement," Griffin said. "I think we'd hoped [the fit] would be, but I think it'd be disingenuous for anybody to say they thought it'd look like that that fast."
Playing with a lob and post-up threat such as Williamson has made Ball's game "very easy," Ball said.
"Whether it's pick-and-roll or throwing lobs for him to go get it, he requires a lot of attention on the offensive end, so he frees up a lot of shots for the other guys, including myself," Ball said. "It's been a lot of fun playing with him on both sides of the ball."
Ball is eligible for an extension this offseason -- whenever that might be -- but given the uncertainty with the future of the salary cap, he might end up deferring any contract decisions until the following summer, when he would become a restricted free agent. Ingram, a 2020 All-Star, will be a restricted free agent this summer, but the Pelicans have indicated they plan on bringing him back for the long term.
With those two, along with Williamson, the Pelicans believe they have a solid core moving forward -- one that was ahead of schedule, as New Orleans was just three games out of the playoffs when the season was shut down.
"We look at them as just now scratching the surface of what they can do," Griffin said. "The thing excites me the most about their future is that they are so excited about one another. They see the potential of something special between them."
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Northeast Ohio got its look last year at LaMelo Ball, when he played for a season with SPIRE.
At 6-foot-8, Ball is a rare point guard with court vision and a flare that draws a crowd — not just because of the fanfare that comes with his father, LaVar Ball. LaMelo left the United States last year after his season with SPIRE to play in Australia for the Illawarra Hawks.
He is back to enter the 2020 NBA Draft. Here is a look at Ball with stats, biographical information and video. The draft is scheduled for Thursday, June 25, but teams are reportedly encouraging the NBA to push it back to August or later.
THE LAMELO BALL FILE
Height: 6-foot-8
Weight: 180 pounds
Age: 18 (Aug. 22 birthday)
2019-20 stats: 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.6 steals, 37.5 field-goal percentage, 25.0 3-point percentage, 72.3 free-throw percentage in 31.3 minutes per game.
What you should know: A native of Chino Hills, Calif., Ball played there and committed to UCLA. He played two seasons as a freshman and sophomore before skipping his junior to play overseas with older brother LiAngelo. Ball returned in November 2018 to play at SPIRE, which is not a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association, in Geneva.
• Many prominent high school teams canceled games with SPIRE because the matchups threatened their eligibility in the state. Ohio teams were permitted to play SPIRE. St. Vincent-St. Mary, St. Edward, Brush and Lutheran East were among area teams that faced Ball and SPIRE. Check out those matchups below.
• SPIRE coach Jermaine Jackson left the program last year to join Ball in Australia and is now his manager.
• Ball won NBL Rookie of the Year during his one season with the Illawarra Hawks, but he was shut down after 12 games with a foot injury.
• He returned to Chino Hills in preparation for the draft. Ball reportedly tried to purchase the Hawks, but the NBL denied a transaction had been made.
• Ball signed in late April with Roc Nation Sports, which is part of Jay-Z's Sports Management company, and represents Kyrie Irving, Markelle Fultz and Spencer Dinwiddie.
What they’re saying: “Elite passer and handle,” wrote The Stepien’s Spencer Pearlman. “Ability to string together multiple dribble moves pretty seamlessly, gets into his shot quickly and has a pretty quick first step when he’s decisive with his attack. See the court at an elite level.”
“Smooth but not an incredibly explosive athlete. Doesn’t get much pop off two feet or in half court situations, especially compared to other guards in his class,” wrote Evan Tomes of NBADraft.net.
“Defensively Ball doesn’t bring the same effort and energy that he brings to the offensive end,” according to NBADraftRoom.com. “He lacks the strength to guard bigger guards and his average quickness can lead to blow-by’s. He doesn’t always hustle back on defense and seems more concerned with the offensive end of the court.”
“NBA executives have expressed skepticism about his development path, questionable approach to defense and shot selection -- along with potential off-court distractions, most notably revolving around his father, LaVar,” wrote ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
How he can fit the Cavs: Taking Ball could make it difficult for Darius Garland to remain on the roster in the long-term picture. Garland averaged 12.3 points with 3.9 assists and showed promise after the Cavaliers took him last year with the fifth pick in the draft.
Draft projection: Top five pick
Today we'll evaluate Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL) to determine whether it could have potential as an investment idea. In particular, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), as that can give us insight into how profitably the company is able to employ capital in its business.
First of all, we'll work out how to calculate ROCE. Then we'll compare its ROCE to similar companies. Then we'll determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE.
ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. In brief, it is a useful tool, but it is not without drawbacks. Author Edwin Whiting says to be careful when comparing the ROCE of different businesses, since 'No two businesses are exactly alike.
The formula for calculating the return on capital employed is:
Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)
Or for Ball:
0.10 = US$1.2b ÷ (US$17b - US$5.6b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2019.)
So, Ball has an ROCE of 10.0%.
Check out our latest analysis for Ball
When making comparisons between similar businesses, investors may find ROCE useful. We can see Ball's ROCE is around the 9.6% average reported by the Packaging industry. Independently of how Ball compares to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms appears decent, and the company may be worthy of closer investigation.
We can see that, Ball currently has an ROCE of 10.0% compared to its ROCE 3 years ago, which was 6.7%. This makes us think the business might be improving. The image below shows how Ball's ROCE compares to its industry, and you can click it to see more detail on its past growth.
It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. Companies in cyclical industries can be difficult to understand using ROCE, as returns typically look high during boom times, and low during busts. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. What happens in the future is pretty important for investors, so we have prepared a free report on analyst forecasts for Ball.
Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. The ROCE equation subtracts current liabilities from capital employed, so a company with a lot of current liabilities appears to have less capital employed, and a higher ROCE than otherwise. To check the impact of this, we calculate if a company has high current liabilities relative to its total assets.
Ball has total assets of US$17b and current liabilities of US$5.6b. As a result, its current liabilities are equal to approximately 32% of its total assets. Ball has a middling amount of current liabilities, increasing its ROCE somewhat.
Ball's ROCE does look good, but the level of current liabilities also contribute to that. There might be better investments than Ball out there, but you will have to work hard to find them . These promising businesses with rapidly growing earnings might be right up your alley.
If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
