Monthly Archives: May 2010

Italy finally going to the World Cup without a #10 headache

“Italy has always been known to produce some of the best creative players in the world. We’re talking about the #10 players, the players that can change games at any instant, the players that are worth the whole ticket price. In Italy, this player is called the “fantasista” (literally one that creates fantasy). Because of Italy’s traditional defensive mindset, years ago there was only room for one creative player on the field, and with usually two of these players on the roster, the whole debate would commence as to who would start and who would ride the pine. There have been many of these debates throughout the years.” (World Cup Blog)

A World Cup Miscellany: Group A

“Back in October of 2009 when Egypt was hosting the U-20 World Cup I wrote a somewhat esoteric preview of the countries in the competition oriented by one of my favorite soccer quotes (from Eric Hobsbawn): ‘The imagined community of millions seems more real as a team of eleven named people.’ It was the start of the ‘Year of African Soccer,’ to be followed closely by the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria, the African Cup of Nations in Angola, and soon the mega event of them all: the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Drawing inspiration from my all-time favorite World Cup preview, Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey’s excellent edited collection of essays and miscellany related to the participants in the 2006 World Cup, the shared goal was ‘to use soccer as a lens and an excuse to learn something about the wider world’.” (Pitch Invasion)

There is a world of difference in how football is played

“On Wednesday nights I play bad football with some other old blokes in Paris. I spend the game shouting instructions at my team-mates in bad French. They don’t listen. What is going on here is a clash of football cultures. I grew up in the Netherlands, where football is a sort of debating society. In France, as far as I can gather, talking during football is rude.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

Hicks The Huckster – Under The Skin Of The Liverpool OwnerHicks The Huckster – Under The Skin Of The Liverpool Owner

“The Liverpool reign of US ‘entrepreneurs’ George Gillett Junior and Thomas O. Hicks has been full of oddball news stories from the two warring co-owners’ busy PR departments. But none were stranger than last week’s space-filler about Liverpool’s (latest) sale process. Had the papers waited a day, they’d have had their story.” (twohundredpercent)

1991-92 FA Cup Semi-Final, Portsmouth v Liverpool: Video Flashback

“In the build-up to the FA Cup Final today between Portsmouth and Chelsea, I thought it’d be interesting to enter the time machine and to go back to 1992 to watch the first ten minutes of the television broadcast of Portsmouth versus Liverpool in the FA Cup Semi-Final from Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium.” (EPL Talk)

Bullets have eyes

Claude Gellée, Idyll: Landscape with a Draughtsman Sketching Ruins
“On the surface, the praise for Lionel Messi during his current extraordinary run has been pure. Astonishing — astonished — praise has followed his every deed. Not for a generation has there been such a rush to consider someone alongside the pantheon of great players past; to name a planet after him; to dress him in armour, plonk him on a horse, dip him in bronze and place him halfway between La Masia and Camp Nou, beside a stall selling miniature bronze-coloured plastic replica hims. Scienticians are rushing to prove by July that he is, in fact, a physical constant.” (Sport is a TV Show) (Must Read Soccer)

Dunga and Diego are at it again

“Bizarre inclusions? Check. Big name exclusions? Check. Wringing of hands, tearing of clothes and gnashing of teeth (largely metaphorically)? Check. Señores y señoras, it’s World Cup preliminary squad announcement time! And while there won’t be many chairs thrown through windows in rage at the choices made by the managers of Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile, South America’s two giants are grabbing the headlines. Well, what did you expect?” (ESPN)

Ten conclusions to make from Arsenal’s season

“Despite another implosion late in the season, the Gunners have plenty of positives to take forward to next season.” (Arsenal Column)

Is Capello set to switch to a three-man defence?

“There are strong rumours this morning that, in Gareth Barry’s absence, Fabio Capello is considering switching to a system featuring three centre-backs for the World Cup. It would unquestionably be a risky move, completely changing England’s shape that was so successful in qualifying, and installing a three-man defence that hasn’t been used effectively by England for twenty years. The BBC report states that ‘A switch in formation would be a major change for the Italian, who has demonstrated his preference for 4-4-2 throughout his coaching career’, which is certainly true, but a three-man defence has not been alien to him.” (Zonal Marking)

Rewarding Dedication With A World Cup: Randomness, Awesomeness and Identity In Africa

“Rewarding love is a worthwhile endeavor. A reward signifies acknowledgment that the recipient is seen and appreciated. The South African World Cup is an exciting time for South Africans who have been loving soccer for decades. But if you look closely at how Africa has reacted since 2004 when South Africa was awarded the World Cup, you will notice that much of Africa has been acting as if they are co-hosts, as if this is the first communally-hosted World Cup.” (Nutmeg Radio)

In the shadow of the World Cup: ESPN covers the rape of South African soccer players

“ESPN has done a story on the frequency with which South African women soccer players are raped, targeted as lesbians. (Female athletes often targets for rape) It is a good thing that a media outlet with ESPN’s resources decided to cover this story. But there are a couple of dots ESPN avoided connecting. This comes two years after the murder of former national team player, Eudy Simelane. (See On the murder of Eudy Simelane and Girlie ‘S’Gelane’ Nkosi, Eudy Simelane’s teammate and lesbian activist, murdered). The timing of this story implicitly links to the opening of the World Cup next month.” (From A Left Wing)

World Cup Preview: Group E

“With the 2010 FIFA World Cup now just four weeks away, you should by now be able to visualise those wretched pull-out ‘Come On England’ St. George’s flags which come free with The Sun, slowly yellowing at the edges in living room windows up and down the land until mid-September. Nevertheless, we at Twohundredpercent will instead continue to focus on the football. With that in mind, we sent Dotmund on another fact-finding mission with little else than a media badge from the 2006 World Club Championship in his pocket and a dream. Today, he looks at the colourful and exciting Group E.” (twohundredpercent)

World Cup scouting: Antonio Di Natale (Italy)

“The express purpose of the World Cup scouting feature is to shed light on up-and-coming young players to look out for in South Africa, but this week Football Further is focusing on a more established player who tends not to receive the attention his ability richly deserves. Antonio Di Natale was this week named in Italy’s provisional 30-man World Cup squad and if, as expected, he retains his place when Marcello Lippi whittles his group down to 23, it will be the first time that the 32-year-old Udinese captain has been selected for football’s showpiece event.” (Football Further )

SPL awards of season: Those Davis deeds and the Motherwell of all goals

“Walter Smith almost overshadowed Rangers’ off-field trauma by winning the Scottish Premier League title. However, Celtic’s weakness must be taken into account as should the fact that Smith’s squad aren’t as low on quality, high earners or depth – compared with the rest of the league – as the manager might have you believe.” (Guardian)

The Joy of Six: Great teams that never won the World Cup

Ferenc Puskas
“From the mighty Magyars to Maradona’s Argentina side of 1990, here are half a dozen great teams that failed to go all the way” (Guardian)

Authors take hard look at soccer, make predictions

“Does soccer have an impact on suicide rates? What strategy should a goalie use during penalty-kick situations? Which country has the most passionate soccer fans? Using robust data and insightful analysis, Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper and leading sports economist Stefan Szymanski provide answers to such questions in their highly entertaining book, ‘Soccernomics’.” (BNET)

England remain a World Cup long shot

“Most bookmakers have England as third favourites to win the World Cup this summer. Their odds are always fanciful – driven down by patriotic bets made more in hope than belief. But a cursory glance around the competing squads should discourage any drunken wagering. It is not so much the players in the opposing squads that should deter potential gamblers, but who they can afford to leave out.” (WSC)

USA World Cup History (Part I: 1930 – 1950)

USA vs Italy 2006
“If you’re not too familiar with the USA soccer team, then you’d be forgiven for thinking its World Cup history is all fairly recent. If so, then you’re in for a surprise. Though there’s a gigantic 40 year gap smack bang in the middle of this story, the USA’s World Cup history begins at exactly the same time as the tournament itself, as they were one of the teams competing in the inaugural 1930 World Cup.” (World Cup Blog), (Part II: 1990 – 2006)

World Cup Tales: Colombia 1986 – The World Cup That Never Was

“The upcoming World Cup will the first to take place in the entire continent of Africa but there are several countries that have already held the tournament more that once, such as Italy, France and Germany. The first team to earn the honour of hosting the World Cup finals twice, however, was Mexico and the story of how this came to pass is as much a story of the politics of FIFA as it is of the qualities of Mexico when it comes to hosting the finals of the tournament. The truth of the matter is that the hosts of the 1986 World Cup finals should have been Colombia.” (twohundredpercent)

Potential and Youth

“I often wonder about human potential. We know that young people learn fast both cognitively and viscerally. It’s as if everything has been juiced for children’s easy consumption while we grownups have to eat things raw.” (Run of Play)

Premier League season of the surreal will live long in the memory

“The Premier League may not be home to the best football, an honour belonging to La Liga of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but it is certainly home to the most excitement. The Spanish keep their beach-balls on the beach. The season lacked a star but not drama and there was enough barmy material to keep soap-opera scriptwriters in episodes for years.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

History lessons

“In case you’ve missed the series of articles, Soccernet has been delving into the history of the World Cup with some great lists it calls First XI. Take a look.” (ESPN)

Fast Forward: The World Cup Goes Indie

“Fast Forward is our most ambitious project to date and it has taken over a year to come to fruition. The premise was simple; we asked some of our favourite bands to write about one of the 32 countries participating in South Africa 2010, the only stipulation being that the song be themed on their chosen country and if possible be football related. As you can imagine this definition was interpreted in about 32 different ways but the results are as colourful, imaginative and exciting as the event they will be used to showcase.” (Fast Forward)

Has South Africa Overcome Apartheid?

“This article is dedicated to my dear friend Vince Binder. Vince tragically passed away last month. In the last conversation I had with him, over sushi and sake in Oakland, we discussed, among other things, the World Cup. While we both agreed this was an enormous step in the wake of Apartheid rule, Vince reminded me that the most heinous of the last vestiges of Apartheid economic policy would be within a stone’s throw of some of the new World Cup venues. As usual, my friend was right. To continue the fight against racism, their story not only must be told, it demands us to re-tell it. On Tuesday in Brooklyn, Vince was laid to rest. I’ll miss Vince forever. Hope this makes him proud.” (Yanks Are Coming)

Brazil stay focused – Argentina look muddled

“Dunga’s announcement of his Brazil squad for South Africa was a crushing defeat for the nation’s media in one of its favourite sports – trying to force the inclusion of big names players on to the plane for this summer’s World Cup. But it was the perceived excesses of Brazil’s stars that undermined their campaign in Germany in 2006 and paved the way for Dunga’s appointment. He took over with a message that individuals might win matches but groups win titles. Over three and half years later, coherence has been maintained.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

The mark of Fabio Capello, a man we once knew

“How do you intend to inform those players who are not going to the World Cup, Fabio Capello was asked yesterday. Had he replied that the information would be conveyed through the medium of jazz dance, nobody would be in the least surprised. Not now.
We thought we knew him, before this week. We thought he was the voice of reason. Everything was so logical, so unfussy. He dispatched John Terry as captain in 10 minutes and made Rio Ferdinand his successor without so much as a telephone call. He instilled discipline, he set standards, he won football matches. And then came the Capello Index. It lasted less than 24 hours as a going concern, but that was enough.” (Daily Mail) (Must Read Soccer)

Premier League 2009-10: A tactical review

“As the dust settles on a Premier League season that somehow managed to be full of surprises and yet completely predictable at the same time, Football Further looks at some of the tactical trends that characterised the campaign.” (Football Further)

The 2010 Premier Premiership Revue Review
“Was this a season of disappointment? Of competitive balance? A two horse race with an overpriced and underachieving show pony stealing headlines? Has the European soccer planet shifted gravitational pull towards the Iberian peninsula? The story lines abounded, and a few refreshing moments shall wet your appetite before the MOST IMPORTANT EVENT is explained.” (futfanatico)

Spanish Teams Eye Breakaway

“After successfully running away with Spain’s league championship this season, turning the title race into a straight shootout between the country’s top two football teams, now Barcelona and Real Madrid could break away from the league altogether. Spain’s two biggest clubs are among the teams calling for the Primera Division to follow the example of rival European leagues and split from Spain’s second tier Segunda Division in a row over television revenue that threatens to create a schism between the country’s leading contenders.” (WSJ)

Health Club

“I can’t be certain, but would hazard a guess that if at 5.45pm on Sunday 24th May 2009 you’d turned to me and cheerfully opined that relegation from the top flight should be welcomed as just the tonic my beloved Newcastle Utd needed, I’d have been inclined to disagree, possibly violently. Hindsight being a wonderful thing and all that, but you’d have been proven right. Far from being (as the mainstream media would have it) a nightmare in which we found ourselves ostracised from the ‘big time’ and haunted by former glories (well, near-glories), this season has actually proven to be one of the most enjoyable in living memory.” (thetwounfortunates)

Memories Of The UEFA Cup

“When I was growing up in the 1970s, it was always the UEFA Cup, of the three European club competitions, which caught my imagination. This was mainly, but not exclusively, because my team at the time, Tottenham, were winners, beaten semi-finalists and beaten finalists during my first three years following the game. It was never properly explained to me why the unlamented Cup Winners’ Cup remained officially regarded as Europe’s second tournament behind the old-fashioned Champions’ Cup (the historical reasons I’ll touch on below). It wasn’t just in England that some dippy teams won the Cup.” (twohundredpercent)

Browsing Bookshelves Until the Games Begin

“Every four years, there are certain unassailable commercial indications that the World Cup is near: sporting goods companies unveil new national team jerseys, companies offer promotions to try to cash in on World Cup fever, and desks begin to groan under an avalanche of (mostly) new soccer books.” (NYT)

Manchester United’s failings down to a lack of attacking variation

“It depends how you want to interpret the number ‘1′. There is no shame in losing a league title by a single point, but the flip side is that when you’re a club as used to success as Manchester United, a mere one season without silverware is considered a failure. The statistics about goals easily sum up United’s problems. They had the best defensive record, despite the fact that first-choice central defensive partnership Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic started just nine of the 38 games together.” (Zonal Marking)

On Zidane, Aging, and the World Cup

“I watched Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait again over the weekend—this time on disc, so I had the chance to watch all the added features, including an interview with Zidane himself. If you missed it when it was showing briefly a year ago or so at Anthology Film Archives and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, you can catch it again at BAM in early June in the run-up to this year’s Cup. It’s more than worth seeing—it’s riveting soccer verité, focused completely on one extraordinarily compelling character: Zinedine Zidane. Multiple cameras follow him in real time through a La Liga match with Real Madrid against Villareal in April 2005.” (Vanity Fair)

Video Of The Week: The World Cup – A Captain’s Tale

“We’ve got a bit of a change from the normal for this week’s Video Of The Week, with a chance to see the rare drama, ‘The World Cup – A Captain’s Tale’. Produced by Tyne-Tees Television for ITV in 1982, it tells the story of the West Auckland FC team that travelled to Turin for the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in 1909 and 1911 – the tournament that became known as the first World Cup. It’s a well known story, but this is a well-crafted dramatisation of it and features a cast with some very well-known names in it, including Tim Healy, Nigel Hawthorne, Dennis Waterman and Richard Griffiths.” (twohundredpercent)

In soccer terms – are we still a colony?

“I have received a breathless announcement from MLS informing me that Manchester United will be coming to the USA this summer. A press release, of course, but one is entitled to wonder which section of the press it is intended for. It also seems likely that much of the wording is designed to impress sponsors and marketing people.” (Soccer America) (Must Read Soccer)

Ronaldinho Misses Out on Brazil Selection

“Ronaldinho’s gap-toothed grin will be missing from the Brazilian team photos from South Africa. The most dazzling player of a generation was omitted from Dunga’s preliminary roster Tuesday, signaling perhaps that supreme talent alone is not enough to be part of the Seleção, and that training habits and commitment may also be important.” (NYT)

Bayern and Inter set for Bernabéu showpiece

“Club football’s biggest prize is at stake when two of the great names of the European game, FC Bayern München and FC Internazionale Milano, cross swords in the climax to the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League season in Madrid.” (UEFA)

World Cup Moments: The Wasserschlacht, West Germany v Poland, 1974

“Just because it’s the World Cup doesn’t mean everything about it need be of World Cup quality. Take the pitch in the 1974 semifinal between hosts West Germany and Poland, for example – it looked like it belonged hosting the 400m butterfly at the Summer Olympics rather than a World Cup game. And that’s precisely why it became known as the Wasserschlacht, German for water fight.” (World Cup Blog)

Chelsea’s Premiership win: a lesson in bringing the best out of star players

“Chelsea – Premiership champions 2009/10. A great side? Probably not, but it’s hard to argue that, over the course of the season, they do not deserve to lift the trophy. In terms of the players who have started the greatest number of matches, Chelsea’s XI this season reads: Petr Cech (34); Branislav Ivanovic (21), John Terry (37), Ricardo Carvalho (22), Ashley Cole (25); Jon Obi Mikel (21), Michael Ballack (26), Frank Lampard (36), Florent Malouda (25), Nicolas Anelka (31) and Didier Drogba (31). And yet, on only one one occasion this season has that XI actually started a match together, in the 2-0 home victory over Arsenal in February, when Ancelotti fielded a Christmas Tree formation with Anelka and Malouda playing Didier Drogba.” (Zonal Marking)

Carlo Ancelotti eyes long Chelsea stay & more trophies
“Boss Carlo Ancelotti plans to establish Chelsea as the leading force in English football after winning the Premier League in his first season at the club. The Blues last lifted the title in 2006 but thrashed Wigan 8-0 on Sunday to wrest it away from Manchester United.” (BBC)

Chelsea Wins Premier League Title
“Chelsea regained the English Premier League soccer title from Manchester United with a 8-0 victory over Wigan on Sunday as Didier Drogba scored three goals. Even though United finished the campaign with a 4-0 home victory over Stoke at Old Trafford, the big celebrations were at Stamford Bridge in London where goals by Mr. Drogba, two by Nicolas Anelka and one each by Frank Lampard, Salomon Kalou and Ashley Cole left Chelsea champions by one point in manager Carlo Ancelotti’s first season in English football.” (WSJ)

World Cup Tales: The Shame Of Gijon, 1982

“Algeria make their first appearance in the World Cup finals since 1986 this year, and if they are looking for any more encouragement to perform than the prospect of playing on the world’s biggest stage, then the sense of injustice at their previous treatment by the competition could be enough to spur them on that little bit more. Algeria have previously qualified for two World Cup tournaments, but in one of those circumstances conspired against them to the extent that they may have been excused wondering whether they weren’t even wanted in the tournament in the first place. Was Algeria’s elimination from the 1982 World Cup down to “cheating” by their group rivals West Germany and Austria, though, or was the fundamental flaw in the timing of the final group matches?” (twohundredpercent)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 4-3 Chievo Verona – Video Highlights and Recap – Serie A – 9 May 2010

“The Italian Serie A leaders Inter Milan were only two wins away from clinching the title as they hosted Chievo Verona on Sunday, May 9, 2010. They lead AS Roma by two points and are aiming for their fourth straight Serie A title. They already have the Italian Cup and have a chance to win three trophies by the end of the season.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter’s Milito hoping to book a World Cup spot with Argentina
“Diego Milito’s goal against Roma last week gave Internazionale a 1-0 victory and its first title of the season, the Copa Italia, and put the club on track to challenge for the triple that also includes the Italian League and Champions League trophies. But the final destination Milito is really gunning for is actually in South Africa with Argentina.” (SI)

Players, Lives, and ‘A Beautiful Game’

“‘What makes a player?’ Answers to this question, here quoted from Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger’s foreword to the newish book A Beautiful Game, are plentiful in world football. We debate the right age to go pro, the role of intensive youth academies, shifting population demographics, the dangers and benefits of increasing professionalization, and more in hopes of figuring out how to best tap the potential of millions of children playing the game with unstructured joy.” (Pitch Invasion)

Cameroon-Denmark should be key game

“The E stands for eclectic. The group has a colorful set of teams that span from North to South and East to West and range from attack-minded to more defensively oriented. There’s a clear favorite in the Netherlands and a team clearly expected to bring up the rear in Japan, with Denmark and Cameroon expected to fight for advancement.” (ESPN)

Dismal draw for Reds

“Liverpool’s dismal season ended as it began, with a whimper, as they were second best in a goalless draw at relegated Hull. If this was to be Rafael Benitez’s last match in charge – and his future remains very much in doubt – it would be a sad end to his Anfield reign. Hull had the better chances with Mark Cullen missing two close-range chances in the first half, while the closest Liverpool came was when Alberto Aquilani hit the crossbar just before the interval and Steven Gerrard a post moments before the final whistle.” (ESPN)

Sevilla 2-3 Barcelona: Barca on the brink

Jacques Stella (1596-1657), Le Mariage de la Vierge
“Pep Guardiola’s side are almost there: a win at home to Valladolid next Sunday will secure their second consecutive La Liga title. This game ended up closer than it should have been, after Barca went 3-0 up, and Sevilla had a man sent-off. Nevertheless, the three points are in the bag. Barca continued with the Pedro-Messi-Bojan front three that served them so well recently against Villareal and Tenerife, with Messi operating in a false nine role.” (Zonal Marking)

Sevilla FC 2 – 3 Barcelona
“Barcelona survived an unexpected comeback from 10-man Sevilla to move closer to a second successive league title with a vital 3-2 win at the Sanchez Pizjuan on a dramatic evening of Primera Division football. Lionel Messi gave Barca the lead after five minutes and Bojan Krkic doubled the Catalans’ lead just short of the half hour mark. Sevilla then went down to 10 men following Abdoulay Konko’s dismissal 10 minutes into the second period and Barca looked to be out of sight after Pedro struck a third shortly afterwards.” (ESPN)

Sevilla 2-3 FC Barcelona – Video Highlights and Recap – La Liga – 8 May 2010
“Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) leaders FC Barcelona traveled to Sevilla in what would be their toughest test remaining in the 2009-10 season. A win on Saturday would all but clinch the title with a home match against Valladolid next weekend. Sevilla were in 4th heading into the weekend and would boost their UEFA Champions League hopes with a result from the match.” (The 90th Minute)

Brazil coach Dunga faces World Cup selection challenge

“When Dunga was appointed head coach of Brazil four years ago, many of his compatriots were displeased. In a country where so many new talented coaches emerge every season, it seemed an odd choice to install a former player without any managing experience. It did not help that Dunga was seen as stubborn and hot-headed back in the days when he was captain of the national team.” (BBC)

South Africa Comes Far but Has Far to Go

“Lucas Radebe grew up in South Africa playing soccer with a tennis ball, or a sphere made from old cloth and shopping bags. Lacking jerseys in the Diepkloof township, a part of Soweto, he and his friends gathered sacks of mealie meal, a grain staple. They cut out holes for their arms and heads and scrawled numbers on the bags or colored them with dye.” (NYT)

Junito: Emancipaton, Trepidation, Anticipation

“The last time we held an election at Futfanatico, it was an unmitigated disaster. The premise was simple enough – a ‘blog of the year’ award for all soccer blogs with ‘futfanatico’ in the URL. However, a wisecracking tweeter and a Central American dictator-for-campaign manager conspired to blow things to smithereens. And, of course, I did not win. Still, Junito’s national team selection has one distinct advantage – I am not a candidate, as I am a human being, not a nation state. Thus, I reasoned, no evil can come of this. I was wrong. The expected and the unexpected merged into a vortex so profound, so deep and convoluted, that if you wiped your pink finger on the surface’s rim, you’d be elbow-deep in abyss in the blink of an eye.” (futfanatico)

Time for Rafa Benítez to go?

“After a woeful season, many Liverpool fans would be forgiven for wanting to see the back of a manager whose sole CV highlight in six years is one implausible achievement in Istanbul. But on Merseyside, they don’t and it’s perplexing. That Rafa Benítez got Liverpool to another Champions League final, won an FA Cup and finished second last season should not cloud the matter that he has had ample time and funds to forge a regular title-challenging squad. Seventh, if that’s where they finish this season, is a woeful effort for a side boasting Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard, Pepe Reina, Javier Mascherano, Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher” (WSC)

’94 squad put U.S. soccer on the map

“The summer of 1994 will always be remembered as a defining moment in the history of American soccer. The World Cup brought the game’s international talent to a curious nation’s doorstep in the form of Baggio, Batistuta and Stoichkov as legions of budding American soccer fans began to learn what soccer at its highest level was all about.” (ESPN)

Match Of The Week: Blackpool 2-1 Nottingham Forest

City Ground 25 Sept 85
“From up on the north-western coast of England has come one of the surprise stories of the season. Very few people would have anticipated Blackpool surging into the Championship play-off places this season, but Ian Holloway’s team have managed it while other clubs with bigger ambitions such as Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town have struggled. Even though Holloway tends to divide opinion, few would deny his achievement in taking a club with an average home crowd of just over 8,000 – the second lowest in the division after Scunthorpe United – to the brink of a place in the Premier League. Blackpool’s geography means that a Premier League place may mean more to them than most – derby matches against Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers as well as matches against the four massive clubs from Liverpool and Manchester would lay in wait if they can negotiate their way through the play-offs.” (twohundredpercent)

The Thursday Preview: Blackpool Vs Nottingham Forest
“Speaking as a fan of a club that’s just been relegated, I am more than relieved to see the back of this season. It’s been an utterly forgettable campaign; one so full of misery that I’m physically struggling to muster the enthusiasm to log on to the messageboards and the like these days. What little interest I had left for 2009/2010 was effectively killed off by David Conn.” (thetwounfortunates)

Blackpool 2-1 Nottingham Forest – Video Highlights and Recap – Championship – 8 May 2010
“The English Championship began its promotion playoffs with the a first leg match between Blackpool and Nottingham Forest on Saturday, May 8, 2010. It should be a very competitive and fierce match with a chance to play in the Premier League on the line. Blackpool would host the first leg while Nottingham Forest is hosting the second in the midweek.” (The 90th Minute)

“Goal by Garrincha:” Eduardo Galeano Reads from Soccer in Sun and Shadow, Part Three

” In the third of six excerpts for Fair Play, Galeano reads ‘Goal by Garrincha,’ in which he recalls the on-field wizardry—and ultimate tragedy—of Brazil’s original free spirit.” (Fair Play – Part Three), (Part One), (Part Two)

Watching PSG-Valenciennes with Lilian Thuram

“I was in Paris this week, and got to catch up with Lilian Thuram, who we hosted here at Duke last fall. He invited me to attend a PSG match with him at the Parc des Princes, and I of course jumped at the opportunity. The police have been heavily cracking down on some fan organizations at PSG, but they seemed spirited as ever, with the Boulogne Kop on one end, and Auteuil and the Paname United Colors on the other.” (Soccer Politics), (Lilian Thuram), (Soccer Politics – Lilian Thuram Visit)

World Cup Moments: Eusebio In ‘66

Eusebio
“In doing the Portuguese history I popped across this video of Eusebio in his prime – the prime of his prime, even – running rampant all over England in ‘66, and it needs a spotlight. In a word: peerless. Nine goals led the tournament and earned him a wax statue at Madame Tussaud’s tells part of the story, but the gap of quality between he and those around him – Pele was quite injured – was simply staggering: bursting by defenders as though they weren’t really there; running full lengths of the half before stopping on a dime and cutting into the box; hitting balls with the ferocity of an angry jackhammer.” (World Cup Blog)

The Case Against The Play-Offs

“Depending on which levels of football you follow, you may not have noticed that we’re in the middle of play-off season. The Championship Play-Offs begin tomorrow as Nottingham Forest travel to Bloomfield Road, and the make up of the League One and Two Play-Offs this season will be decided tomorrow afternoon. As far as non-league is concerned, Oxford United and York City are selling tickets for their Wembley final a week on Sunday, and this Sunday, Fleetwood Town, and Bath City host Alfreton Town and Woking respectively for the right to play in the Blue Square Premier next season. Below the Blue Square the Play-Offs are already over, and the winners are already planning next season’s campaign at a new level. But while the Play-Offs produce money for the club and excitement for television and the neutrals – are the Play-Offs all they are cracked up to be? Are the Play-Offs even fair?” (twohundredpercent)

French artistry prevails in the Guadalajara heat

“France entered the 1986 World Cup in Mexico as newly crowned European Champions having annexed the title on home soil two years earlier. Michel Platini inspired his country to victory in that tournament and was still the heartbeat of a side desperate to bounce back from their harrowing penalty shoot-out loss to West Germany at Spain ‘82. France also included ace defender Manuel Amoros, Alain Giresse and renowned shot-stopper Joel Bats in their 1986 squad.” (Danger Here)

Managers get a major role in Premier League plot

“The Premier League’s most exciting ever season will end this Sunday. Well, that’s what I heard on the BBC and Sky during the weekend. They have had less to say about it being three of the same old big four swapping places at the top of the table. As a close contest it had more to do with the inconsistency and obvious flaws of the top teams than the excellence of their football. And the sub-plot of teams competing to get their snouts in the fourth place of the Champions League trough has been taking place 16 points distant from the top – hardly an advert for competitive balance.” (WSC)

Italy soccer dispute becomes national case

“Italy is the land of divisions: North vs. South; left vs. right; religious vs. secular. In soccer, perhaps no division is as bitter as the one between fans of the two Rome teams, AS Roma and Lazio. Now, a dispute between the two teams over a crucial match Sunday has spilled into politics and become a national case. On Sunday night, Lazio lost 2-0 at home to Inter Milan, the club that is locked in a fight with Roma for the Serie A title.” (Google)

Totti Cuts Loose
“Yesterday afternoon I watched the final of the Coppa Italia, a match between Inter Milan and Roma, Serie A’s two top teams, at an Italian soccer café on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Despite being ’emblazoned in the gold and burgundy hues of Rome’s soccer team’ and offering ‘a restroom emblazoned with oversized trading card pictures of the team players,’ the café attracted only three native Italian speakers for the match, all Inter supporters. The game was shown on some sort of jerry-rigged glorified computer monitor. The sound system blared volume from an English Premier League match being shown on the proper high-definition, flat-screen TV above the Italian game. It seemed only fitting that the Coppa Italia final turned out to be the ugliest match of the 2009-2010 European soccer season.” (Vanity Fair)

Totti Vs. Balotelli: Italy’s Double Standard
“We’ve written a bit about the issues facing Mario Balotelli in Italy. While many have been quick to direct blame squarely on the youngster, Francesco Totti’s actions yesterday went a long way towards showing the double standard that exists in Italian football when it comes to the treatment of its petulant football stars. For those who didn’t see the horrific incident near the end of the Copa Italia final, below is a clip of Totti’s attack on Balotelli.” (Nutmeg Radio)

Inter Milan vs. AS Roma (footytube)

23 for 2010 – Argentina: World Cup Squad analysis pt.1 (Keepers & Defenders)

“How do you begin to predict the Argentina squad for the 2010 World Cup? Who knows what goes on inside Maradona’s head? Maradona used 37 players in his 8 South American qualifying matches, and many more in friendlies. In the last 12 months alone Maradona has called up a whopping 79 players, some of which were admittedly for friendlies in which Maradona selected Argentina-based players only.” (Just Football – pt.1), (pt.2 – Midfielders & Strikers)

Letter from Lagos

“The World Cup is not being hosted by ‘Africa’ but by a country in southern Africa, the Republic of South Africa. Nigeria is not hosting this year’s World Cup, but late last year it hosted FIFA Under-17 World Cup. I watched the Under-17 matches in Lagos with my family. Enthusiasm was slow in building, but once Nigeria progressed in the tournament, people got into it, and you began to see clusters of young men around television sets in cafes and canteens.” (Vanity Fair)