“Mountains. Flowers. Hearts. Stars. These are not elements of a new children’s breakfast cereal, but visual signifiers of the world’s second-most prominent international football tournament. Since 1996, UEFA and the local organizing committees have commissioned ever-more elaborate (and expensive) brand identities to define the European Football Championship.” (Pitch Invasion)
“So Dunfermline, somewhat against the odds, manage to salvage their Scottish Cup campaign as their expulsion from the competition is successfully overturned on appeal. A replay and a massive fine are the end result, one which, given the circumstances, is probably the correct one. For Dunfermline, preparations for the replay can begin but the club must feel the pressure as the stakes where raised considerably once the verdict was announced.” (Inside Left)
“Michael Owen knows the question is coming. It always does. ‘England, England, England,’ he says, with sadness and affection, as if talking of a far-off place. The intelligence that has always burned behind his diplomatic exterior confronts its biggest test when the conversation turns to Fabio Capello’s policy of excluding the country’s fourth-highest scorer from the England squad.” (Guardian – Paul Hayward)
“Clarence Seedorf, the A.C. Milan midfielder, participates in a monthly exchange with New York Times readers. On Friday, two days before his team will take on Inter Milan in the season’s second derby at the San Siro, he answered questions about Milan, how club’s can better manage their business affairs and the World Cup. Previous discussions can be found here.” (NYT)
“The stadia may be there or thereabouts and the police are confident about security. However, it is transport and accommodation that remain the great unknowns ahead of this summer’s World Cup in South Africa. Fans who are able to travel and find places to stay between June 11 and July 11 will enjoy some of the venues: the steel and concrete giraffes which hold up the stadium in Nelspruit, the enveloping calabash at Soccer City and, above all, the magnificent Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.” (World Soccer)
Ghana
“Mark Murphy has been slumped on his couch watching the African Cup of Nations for the last couple of weeks. He peeled himself away to bring us up to date with the goings-on in Angola.” (twohundredpercent)
“With the United States trailing by a goal in the waning seconds, Jonathan Bornstein looked at his fellow defender Steve Cherundolo as the team prepared to take a corner kick.” (NYT)
“You can blame the weather, I suppose. England’s deep freeze has wreaked havoc on the Premier League calendar, which is great for U.S.-based fans — there have been midweek (and therefore, mid-day) games galore, like Wednesday’s Liverpool-Tottenham showdown of underachievers. In the meantime, both the FA and Carling Cups have been raging on, and selected other European action — mixed in with some awesome African Cup of Nations games — have made mid-January a smorgasbord of excellent soccer. Plus, with everyone finally off winter break, we can start picking apart the leftovers again. Enjoy this week’s rundown — we recommend you nuke on high for two minutes, flip, then zap for another two minutes on medium.” (SI)
“The stadia may be there or thereabouts and the police are confident about security. However, it is transport and accommodation that remain the great unknowns ahead of this summer’s World Cup in South Africa. Fans who are able to travel and find places to stay between June 11 and July 11 will enjoy some of the venues: the steel and concrete giraffes which hold up the stadium in Nelspruit, the enveloping calabash at Soccer City and, above all, the magnificent Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.” (World Soccer)
Scissors Kick 