Author Archives: 1960s: Days of Rage

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World Cup scouting: Nicolas N’Koulou (Cameroon)

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Nicolas N’Koulou
“‘When Sochaux’s Martin, Ideye and Maurice-Belay found themselves in a three-on-one against Nkoulou with a match-winning 4-2 goal at their feet right at the end of the game, the goose looked well and truly cooked for Monaco,’ wrote L’Equipe’s Jean-Pierre Rivais in his match report on Monaco’s Coupe de France quarter-final with Sochaux on Wednesday. ‘But the young Cameroonian somehow recovered the ball and, at the end of Monaco’s counter-attack, Pino popped up at the right moment to beat Richert and make it 3-3…’ ” (Football Further)

The Champions League Quarter Finals – A look ahead.

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“As we’re about to seamlessly pass into another Champions League week, what better time is there to look ahead to the mouth watering quarter final ties ahead? Well, slightly later in the week perhaps, or even actually in said week as opposed to just before it maybe, but sod it I’m gonna do it anyway and I’ll be damned if such a trivial thing will stop me. So without further ado…” (Football Fan Cast)

Is this the best season of football in recent years?

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Inter
“A brief break from the in-depth tactical analysis here, to round-up the major European leagues, highlight this weekend’s crucial table-topping fixtures, and celebrate how wonderful European football has been this season.” (Zonal Marking)

Secrets of Bayern’s ungainly schoolmaster

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“Louis van Gaal, Bayern Munich’s coach, was celebrating a goal when he fell over. The scorer, Arjen Robben, had run up to hug him but instead jumped on top of him. Eventually Van Gaal stumbled into his dug-out, blushing and with a bloodied finger. The hug is already a Youtube classic in Germany.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

The World Cup Of National Anthems: Part Four

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“For many people, major sports tournaments are the only occasion that national anthems are heard. These peculiar tunes have become a genre of their own, transcending the mere hymns that many of them were in first place, and they range from the gloriously uplifting to mournful dirges. The selection of words has, in many countries, brought about national debate that has been all-encompassing. In the case of Spain, it was decided that it would probably be for the best just to not bother having any for the sake of national unity.” (twohundredpercent)

Out of form Gerrard living off his reputation

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“Watching Steven Gerrard’s body language this season, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was a man condemned. And in some ways, perhaps he is. Out of the title race by December, FA Cup and Champions League runs ended prematurely, and sidelined at intervals by groin and hamstring injuries, it’s understandable Gerrard could be feeling a little sorry for himself.” (WSC)

The Best? Football As Never Before

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“In looking at George Best Fußball wie noch nie (Football as Never Before) it would be logical to set the work next to the more widely viewed 2006 film, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait and analyze the similarities and differences, but, in my eyes, I don’t think it would be fair to either film. There’s no doubt the Zidane edition is a direct descendant of the 1971 work by German filmaker Hellmuth Costard, with the exact same premise driving both the storyline and singular character focus. But where the two differ is outside the film itself – particularly, in the eyes of this viewer.” (Pitch Invasion)

Belgrade rivals go head to head for the tile

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“The animosity between bitter Belgrade rivals Red Star and Partizan, which is bad enough at the best of times, stepped up a notch as they both set their sights on this season’s championship. Partizan president Dragan Djuric got the ball rolling by claiming referees work in favour of Red Star and that his club’s administrative board would be issuing an announcement regarding refereeing at Red Star’s league games.” (World Soccer)

How the 2000s changed tactics #2: Classic Number 10s struggle

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“The decade started with the most attacking, open tournament in modern football, at Euro 2000. The four semi-finalists all played ‘classic’ Number 10s in the hole between the opposition defence and midfield. France, Italy, Portugal and Holland had Zinedine Zidane, Francesco Totti, Manuel Rui Costa and Dennis Bergkamp respectively – it almost seemed essential to have a player in this mould to be successful – helped by trequartista-less England and Germany’s early exits.” (Zonal Marking)

Valencia & the Spanish Art of War: the Ambush

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“Not all Spanish tribes suffocate their prey like the constricting Catalans. A fierce and respected tribe to the South, Valencia, sits back and springs traps. The Valencians are led by the shifty spy Villa who lives in the enemy’s shadows, and they are a force to be reckoned with… The ambush, like the entrapment of Barcelona, seeks to defeat prey while conserving energy. The ambush requires extensive planning, organization, and coordination. To successfully capture their prey, each and every part must move with precision and in sync. And, of course, the predator must deceive the prey.” (futfanatico)

Ultras in Britain are wrongly persecuted

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“For many, the word “ultra” conjures up images of violence on the terraces or on the streets around the stadiums in countries such as Italy or Greece and in some parts of South America. Incessant chanting, mass crowd participation, choreographed displays and fireworks are all integral parts of the ultra culture throughout the world. But ultras and hooligans are different things and eventually the authorities here will come to realise that. The first group to endorse the phenomenon in the UK were Aberdeen fans, the Red Ultras. Formed over a decade ago, the group announced recently that they would be disbanding with immediate effect.” (WSC)

Teams of the Decade #2: Barcelona, 2008/09

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“What more can you say about this Barcelona side? European champions, La Liga champions and Copa Del Rey winners, all in the first season under the charge of Pep Guardiola. And they didn’t do it by merely winning games, they did it by winning in style, making them perhaps the most universally respected side of the decade. The most astonishing thing about their La Liga performance was how utterly convincing they were in defeating the sides around them at the top of the table.” (Zonal Marking)

How Pep Guardiola is looking to improve on perfection
“Just how does Pep Guardiola improve on the most successful club side in a calendar year? We detail the tactical changes the Barcelona coach has made to his side to make them even better. After Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Estudiantes in the Club World Cup in which the Catalan side recorded a never before paralleled, six cup wins in a calendar year, manager Pep Guardiola turned to his assistant Tito Vilanova, with bleary eyed with tears of joy, seemingly asking ‘where do we go from here?’ Just how does Pep Guardiola possibly improve upon perfection?” (Arsenal Column)

Tactics: Wigan’s Martínez learns Premier League pragmatism

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“When Roberto Martínez arrived at Wigan Athletic in the summer of 2009, he made it clear from the outset that he wanted to do things his way. ‘We’ve introduced a completely different style of play to the team,’ he said in August. ‘We’re allowing the players to think more about their own decisions during the game’.” (Football Further)

For Liverpool, the Great Unraveling Must Now Begin

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“Somewhere deep in the bowels of Anfield there is a timer ticking down. That timer shows about 100 days on it now, and tomorrow it will show about 99, and sometime this July the timer will hit zero. At that point, a bell will ring and Liverpool Football Club will have to begin a massive process of undoing the horrendous financial mistakes of the Rafa Benitez era. Sometime this July a $100 million loan payment will come due, and with no Champions League money coming in for the 2010/11 season, no cache of funds sitting in the bank and no prospect of future earnings to be found, Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett will have to start selling their big names.” (EPL Talk)

Tony Mowbray was foolish to think he could rebuild Celtic at leisure

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Tony Mowbray
“In Scottish football parlance, Wednesday night in Paisley marked Tony Mowbray’s George Burley moment. As Steven Thomson slammed home a fourth St Mirren goal against Mowbray’s Celtic, the manager’s job finally became untenable. Just, indeed, as did that of Burley as Scotland fell to a shambolic friendly 3-0 defeat in Wales last November.” (Guardian)

Stop this illicit trade in bullshit stories

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“David Beckham might not be going to the World Cup in South Africa this year, but 40,000 hookers will be. That is literally what a headline on the NBC sports website claims: ‘40,000 hookers making their way to South Africa for World Cup.’ Other media outlets have been a bit more PC: ‘40,000 prostitutes to enter South Africa’, says the UK Daily Telegraph; ‘40,000 prostitutes bound for South Africa’, says the New York Daily News. Apparently many of these hookers will be trafficked into South Africa against their will, forced into a life of grimy prostitution for the satisfaction of drunken football fans.” (Spiked), (Must Read Soccer)

‘Galacticos’ in Hell

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The Hell, Coppo di Marcovaldo
“It has become a sign of spring: as swallows crowd the sky over Madrid, Real is eliminated at the knock-out stage of the European Champions League. Yet again, the richest club in the world has spent obscene amounts of money with the sole intention of winning the most important club competition in the world, but on March 10, they were knocked out from the last 16 for the sixth year in a row (in 2003, they were eliminated from the last eight).” (The New Republic)

African Teams Certain on World Cup, but Not on Coaches

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“A World Cup campaign is usually a four-year process that starts when a national team engages in torturous self-examination immediately after its ouster from the last championship. Coaches are fired (or their contracts are not renewed) and aging players retire from the international scene. Even the winner is often in need of a new manager to enliven the roster and refresh tactics for the interspersed continental championship and next phase of World Cup qualifying.” (NYT)

The Cost of Ambition

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“Of the three divisions in the Football League, the Championship is possibly the most fragmented both in terms of the relative sizes of its member clubs and, by extension, their ambitions. Whilst, with four or five exceptions, there is not a huge difference between the size of the clubs in Leagues 1 and 2, there exists great inequality within the Championship in this respect. There are, of course, many parameters dictating how big a club is – history, budget, stadium – but if we take attendance as a barometer, we can see that Newcastle get over five times the average attendance of Blackpool and Scunthorpe. As with everything in football, the pound sign rules supreme.” (thetwounfortunates)

World Cup Moments: The Bittersweet Brilliance Of Totaalvoetbal, 1974.

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“Total Football is such a visual spectacle it seems unjust to describe it by words. It’s football’s art – that which requires no explanation, merely open senses. Fortunately we live in the YouTube era, and as such those spectacles are only a click away. The Johan Cruijff-won Oranje penalty – all ninety seconds of it – from the 1974 final against West Germany, along with a compilation of the side’s finest moments from their bittersweet tournament…” (World Cup Blog)

Is Barcelona’s alternative shape really a 4-2-4?

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“Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona side have generally played with a 4-3-3 since he took over nearly two years ago. His natural ‘plan B’ last season was to switch his striker, Samuel Eto’o, with his outside-right, Lionel Messi. Barcelona aren’t able to do that this season, because Eto’o has left the club, and been replaced by Zlatan Ibrahimovic – a magnificent player, but one who would be uncomfortable being deployed in a role away from the centre of the pitch.” (Zonal Marking)

More Shots the Merrier in Quest for Football Goals

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“Bobby Charlton perfected his shooting technique through hours spent kicking a football against a concrete well. Oliver Bierhoff developed his predatory instinct by practicing with his eyes closed. Brazilian striker Romario even attributed his ability to stick the ball in the net to a penchant for late nights and love making. But what really separates football’s top goal scorers from the rest isn’t ice-cold nerves, a cannon shot or unerring accuracy. It’s being selfish.” (WSJ)

Uruguayan football on the rise

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“In ‘Back Home,’ his excellent account of the 1970 World Cup, Jeff Dawson does a disservice to the first kings of the global game – after 90 minutes of their quarter-final with the Soviet Union, he writes “the score is that old Uruguayan party piece, 0-0″. Just 16 years earlier, Uruguay produced a very different party piece in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. They beat Scotland 7-1, ended England’s campaign in with a 4-2 win in the quarter-finals, but then fell 4-2, after extra time, to the great Hungarians in the semi-final. It was the first time Uruguay had lost a World Cup match and six years later, when World Soccer magazine was launched, its inaugural edition carried a feature arguing that this was the greatest match ever played.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Why tactics say a lot about humanity

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“In theory there are no tactics when you play Sunday league football, or five-a-side, or any type of football that involves normal men for whom the basic nuts and bolts of being able to run and kick and occasionally even head a football are usually enough. This is because of the nature of tactics. Tactics are something you do when you have already achieved physical and technical parity. They presuppose a certain level of reliability; patterns of play that can be predicted and rearranged.” (FourFourTwo)

The Beauty Of The Ugly Relegation Scrap

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“Speaking as a Reading fan, I remember the day vividly. In my time away at University in Portsmouth, we were playing Middlesbrough away in an utter dog fight of a match in 2007/2008. This was not going to be pretty, with both teams languishing in the relegation zone, the deepest, darkest echelon of any league table where nobody wants to be in May. With 91 minutes of this dire spectacle gone, terrier like midfielder James Harper popped up to score a priceless winner for us. Sheer jubilation.” (EPL Talk)

What Ian Watmore’s Resignation Tells Us About The FA

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“Eighty days before the World Cup finals and not more than a year after he took the job in the first place, Ian Watmore has quit as the Chief Executive of the Football Association. When Watmore spoke at the Supporters Direct annual conference in Birmingham last October, he didn’t inspire a great deal of confidence. His with the Premier League’s Richard Scudamore’s comment that, ‘You can’t bar people because you don’t like the cut of their jib’ seemed ill-placed, considering the audience that he was addressing that he may even have already been in the pocket of the Premier League to some extent. That the rumours are that he is leaving because he has been unable to bridge the implacable gap in values between the FA and the Premier League comes both as something of a surprise and no surprise at all.” (twohundredpercent)

Czech Republic: 1.Liga (aka Gambrinus Liga), 2009-10 season.

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“The Czech Republic’s Gambrinus Liga is the top tier of football in the country, and has been around since the late summer of 1993, which was half a year after the Czech Republic and Slovakia peacefully separated. That was two and a half years after the modern, 20th century Russian empire, also known as the Soviet Union, collapsed (hallelujah), in August 1991. Which was 20 months after the Vaclav Havel-led Czechoslovakian ‘Velvet Revolution’ occurred, in 1989, at a similar point in time as when the Berlin Wall fell (in November, 1989).” (billsportsmaps)

Football Weekly: Manchester United in pole position

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“Manchester United sit on top of the Premier League today after beating Liverpool, while Chelsea dropped more points against Blackburn Rovers. On your brand new Football Weekly, James Richardson, Sean Ingle, Paolo Bandini and Fernando Duarte analyse the various machinations of the title race. Can the Blues regain their confidence? Are the Red Devils utterly unstoppable? And will Arsenal still have a say, or will the Champions League prove too much of a distraction?” (Guardian – James Richardson)

Man … Superman … Leo Messi

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“It’s not big and it’s not clever but sometimes swearing is the only thing that will do. Sometimes you’ve used up every other word and nothing else quite hits the spot. You’ve rummaged round the back of the sofa, rifled through the drawers, turned out your pockets and still come up empty. Pep Guardiola insisted that he was clean out of adjectives and frankly so was everyone else. Spain was suffering a severe shortage of superlatives last night.” (Guardian)

Manchester United 2-1 Liverpool: a contest about the small details

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“No major tactical surprises here, and no surprise outcome either. Ferguson’s default line-up for these ‘big’ games is a flexible 4-5-1 shape (which means no Dimitar Berbatov) whilst Benitez was always going to go with Lucas ahead of Alberto Aquilani for a more solid midfield away at Old Trafford.” (Zonal Marking), (Zonal Marking – “Defending Steven Gerrard’s Old Trafford display“)

American beauties, the MLS free agency fight, more mailbag topics

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“On perhaps the best first day ever of the NCAA basketball tournament — and believe me, folks, I still watch — the madness wasn’t confined to the U.S. side of the Atlantic. As soon as U.S. midfielder Clint Dempsey scored his brilliantly delicate chip for Fulham to cap a four-goal rally that sank mighty Juventus in the Europa League Round of 16 and sent Cottagers fans into hysterics, variations of this question started rolling into my Twitter account: ‘Best, biggest goal by an American outside of international play?’ — Adam Belz, Cedar Rapids, Iowa” (SI)

Video Of The Week: The Saturday Men (West Bromwich Albion 1962)

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“This week’s Video Of The Week goes all the way back to 1962, and a short film called ‘The Saturday Men’. Produced as part of a shot series of films sponsored by the Ford Motor Company called ‘Look At Britain’, ‘The Saturday Men’ spends a week following West Bromwich Albion around. It follows them to training, the inner workings of the boardroom (to the extent to which the inhabitants of said room were going to be honest when there were cameras around), takes the time to meet a former player who is about to embark on a new career as a salesman and even stops in on a pre-match team talk by the club’s then manager, Archie McAuley.” (twohundredpercent)

World Cup Moments: Geoff Hurst, 1966. Did the Ball Cross the Line?

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Geoff Hurst, 1966
“Can you imagine if both YouTube and blogs had existed in sixties? The events of the 1966 World Cup final would have caused internet meltdown. For those unfamiliar, here’s what happened: It was hosts England vs West Germany in the final. West Germany had equalized to make it 2-2 late in the match and take it to extra time.” (World Cup Blog)

The son of the USA coach is gradually disproving accusations of nepotism

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“Accusations of nepotism and the misuse of patronage are standard procedure for any son playing in a team run by his father. So when, in 2007, USA coach Bob Bradley began to regularly select his son, Michael, in midfield, the ‘daddy’s boy’ taunts were as loud as they were virulent. But assembling a posse is no proof of guilt and, with the young Bradley slowly but surely carving out a niche for himself in international football, the hunting hordes have had to look elsewhere for their kicks.” (World Soccer)

Unstoppable Messi runs riot

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“Lionel Messi continued his remarkable goalscoring form with a hat-trick as Barcelona moved level once more with Real Madrid at the Primera Liga summit with victory at Real Zaragoza. The Argentina winger, who also scored a hat-trick in his last league match against Valencia, opened the scoring with a header after five minutes and added two more after the break to send his side 3-0 ahead.” (ESPN)

Barca vs Zaragoza Highlights
(All About FC Barcelona)

Per Capita Player Production in American Men’s Soccer: A Sort-Of MLS Season Preview

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“With the good news that the MLS season will indeed start this week, I’d like to offer my esoteric version of a season preview: where exactly does the current crop of elite American players come from? Who are the boys (Luis Gil at 16 is—as far as I know—the youngest player in the league) and men (Pat Onstad at 42 is—as far as I can tell—the oldest) we’ll watch this season?” (Pitch Invasion)

Fernando Torres and Wayne Rooney set to turn on the magic

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Philips Wouwerman, Cavalry Battle in front of a Burning Mill
“Torres sat enthralled as this footballing Fab Four enthused about Liverpool’s great history, about the philosophy behind the Kop’s chant of “attack, attack, attack” and rivalry with foe such as Sunday’s opposition, Manchester United. As they left the restaurant, Torres murmured his appreciation to these charismatic club ambassadors for giving him such an insight into such a special club.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Park Ji-sung gives Manchester United the edge over Liverpool
“The game embodied all tensions of this year’s contest for the Premier League, with Manchester United coming from behind to end a bad recent record against Liverpool with a winner from Park ji-sung. The reigning champions, who now lead the League, will feel relieved that the substitute Yossi Benayoun merely headed into the hands of the United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar in the 90th minute.” (Guardian)

Fernando Torres reduced to pouting isolation by United’s defence
“In the end, Manchester United won because they passed the ball with more authority and provided greater support for Wayne Rooney in attacking positions than Liverpool did for Fernando Torres. There were parts of this game when Torres looked as though he would terrorise Old Trafford single-handedly but he was an isolated, pouting and aggravated figure for most of the second half, muttering under his breath and making those little hand gestures that Iberian footballers are so fond of.” (Guardian)

United beat Liverpool to go back to the top
“Manchester United came from behind to clamber back to the Premier League summit, trampling on Liverpool’s top-four hopes in the process. Park Ji-sung headed home the winner after an hour, securing the spoils after Wayne Rooney’s 33rd goal of the season had controversially levelled Fernando Torres’ fifth-minute opener.” (Independent)

Grim scandal in Germany

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“Barely two months ago, Michael Kempter was considered as the up-and-coming referee in German football, having progressed from Bundesliga to FIFA level at the age of only 27. Today, it is highly unlikely that he will ever be in charge of a professional match again. Manfred Amarell’s career as refeereing supervisor has fallen to pieces, too, and the most intimate details of his private life are currently the subject of public discussion.” (WSC)

Barcelona & the Spanish Art of War: the Siege

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“So I realized that in my two years of blogging, I have made a huge mistake – I have somehow avoided the trite comparisons of sport/war and sport/chess. Well, I did touch on weapons in an ages old MLS power ranking, but this simile, like a virgin forest in Alaska, is ripe for a plundering. I also have seen some eery similarities between ancient military tactics and the current state of La Liga. I promise this is not just a rehash of my Argentina piece at Run of Play, but that is a nice intro.” (futfanatico)

Inter prospect breaks new ground

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“Amid the hullabaloo surrounding Jose Mourinho’s return to Chelsea on Tuesday, there was one player at Stamford Bridge who also has claims to be a ‘special one’. The moment may have gone unnoticed in London but not in Nairobi where McDonald Mariga’s mum was blowing, yes, a vuvuzela as her son became the first Kenya – and the first East African – to play in the Champions League.” (BBC)

World Cup scouting: Jonathan dos Santos (Mexico)

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Jonathan dos Santos
“Fraternal similitude is a difficult thing to predict in football. For every pair of brothers like Kolo and Yaya Touré or Gabriel and Diego Milito playing at the very highest level, there’s a John and Paul Terry (currently at Rushden and Diamonds) or a Ryan and Rhodri Giggs (last seen playing for Bacup Borough in the North West Counties Football League Premier Division).” (Football Further)

Fan Diary #31 – Fernando Torres, Liverpool’s Number Nine (Bounce!)

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“Babel lofted the clearance from deep inside Liverpool’s half. The ball somehow latched on to Torres’ homing beacon. The defender let it bounce. Torres ate it up like a starved Bengal tiger. He kept the other defender just at bay, picked his moment and flicked the ball over the sliding keeper. The ball went softly into the net. Liverpool were up 2-0.” (EPL Talk)

We bid farewell with a look back

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Steven Gerrard
“As a lone infantryman wistfully bugles a lamenting Last Post into the chill twilight air, Team Limey stands forlornly on the battlements of Castle Limey contemplating our final EPL column for SI.com. Together, over a last pint of ale, let’s relive some highlights from our five years here. And what a five years it’s been.” (SI)

French Contenders to Play in Champions League Quarterfinal

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“Could this be the year that a French team wins the European Champions League? The last team to do so was Marseille, which won the title in 1993, the first year the current format for the European Cup was adopted. But no team from France has lifted the trophy since. Olympique Lyon and Girondins Bordeaux aimed to end that drought this season; both teams advanced to the quarterfinals in impressive fashion. But it will be one or the other as the two teams were drawn Friday to face each other in the quarterfinal round.” (NYT)

Brazil coach Dunga still has issues to resolve before South Africa

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“With just under 100 days to go until Brazil’s 2010 World Cup gets under way against North Korea, coach Dunga stomped away from Emirates Stadium in London aware that, for at least half of it, that time will be dominated by appeals for the recall of Ronaldinho.” (World Soccer – Tim Vickery)

Inside-out wingers confuse defences

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“When we first play football, a left-footer will automatically go to the left, and a right-footer to the right. It is essentially unnatural to swap sides and, speaking from experience as a lifelong left-winger, unremittingly difficult. Either a coach will prompt the move, or the player might have an innate understanding of where he should be. Mostly, though, the possibility of having to use one’s weaker foot brings most wingers out in a cold sweat.” (WSC)

The Joy of Six: Footballing brawls

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Chile 2-0 Italy, World Cup first round, 1962.
“Chile was recovering from an earthquake that had killed nearly 6,000 people, and didn’t have much money in the first place, so its countryfolk weren’t particularly disposed to tolerate the two Italian journalists who swanned into Santiago ahead of the World Cup finals, sifted through the wreckage, and sent home dispatches painting a picture of Chile’s capital as a poverty-stricken hole full of loose women.” (Guardian)

Liverpool 3 Lille 0, agg 3-1: match report

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“Far from a ‘sinking ship’, the ferry cross the Mersey showed no sign of being holed below the waterline whatever Albert ‘Dock’ Riera might think. It was never plain sailing against Lille but Steven Gerrard’s penalty and a brace of typically adroit Fernando Torres finishes allowed Liverpool to steam into the quarter-finals of the Europa League last night.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Liverpool vs. Lille
(footytube)

The World Cup Of National Anthems (Part Three)

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“For many people, major sports tournaments are the only occasion that national anthems are heard. These peculiar tunes have become a genre of their own, transcending the mere hymns that many of them were in first place, and they range from the gloriously uplifting to mournful dirges. The selection of words has, in many countries, brought about national debate that has been all-encompassing. In the case of Spain, it was decided that it would probably be for the best just to not bother having any for the sake of national unity.” (twohundredpercent)

World Cup 2010 National Anthems: South Africa, France, Mexico, Uruguay
“Seems like the most popular part of our World Cup 2010 preview podcast was the national anthems segment. I would agree, in that any segment where we’re not talking is instantly preferable to the segments where we are. But since those podcasts contain only 10-15 second lyric-less samples, I thought it was worth expanding the idea into a full series of posts about national anthems.” (World Cup Blog)

Football At The World Cup: Part One (1966-1978)

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“Four years ago, we ran an article on the subject of the theme music used by British television companies for World Cup finals series. It seemed to touch a nerve at the time and today it’s back. It’s a little more complete than it was four years ago, although there are still one or two gaps and we would gratefully appreciate anybody that can help to fill these for us.” (twohundredpercent)

Spain are the team to beat in South Africa

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“Spain’s last game before they name their final squad in June could be summed up in a single word. The same word that could also be used to sum up their qualifying campaign for the 2010 World Cup. The same word could be used again for their Euro 2008 campaign.” (World Soccer)

The changing Champions League

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“UEFA officials at this morning’s Champions League quarter-final draw will have been delighted that the number of nations represented is at its highest since 1999. Indeed, it’s exactly what UEFA president Michel Platini was aiming for when he talked about democratising the top level of European club football. A major surprise this year is the inclusion of two French teams in Lyon and Bordeaux.”(WSC)

Tactics: United, Lille shirk midfield confrontation

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Francois Perrier, Orphée devant Pluton et Proserpine
“Manchester United have already demonstrated this season that they are capable of overwhelming teams despite fielding what on first glance appears to be a conservative 4-5-1 formation, notably in the 3-1 Carling Cup semi-final victory over Manchester City in January. They were at it again in the 4-0 win against Milan last week, when a side fighting hard for the Serie A title were simply torn apart by a United team fielding only one dedicated attacking player in the form of Wayne Rooney.” (Football Further)

Keeping Score on the Best Goal Makers in Europe

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“Quick—who’s the best goal scorer in Europe right now? If you answered Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi or Didier Drogba, think again. Those three players top the standings in the race for the European Golden Shoe, given annually to the leading scorer in Europe, but according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal, the continent’s most dangerous finisher is actually plying his trade for an unfashionable Italian team currently fighting relegation from Serie A. Step forward, Udinese striker Antonio Di Natale.” (WSJ)

Our Wednesday: Developing an Official Social Networking Site for Fans

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“A few weeks ago, following our piece on Man City’s innovative online work, I was tipped off to a website in beta being built by Sheffield Wednesday’s web team that is one of a kind as an official club production in England: a social networking site that gives fans a forum, the ability to blog, upload photos and videos, make ‘friends’ and create groups. Unlike Manchester City’s expensive effort, this was built by a Championship club at a much smaller cost, and is an interesting experiment in how clubs can use social media to reach out to fans and build community online.” (Pitch Invasion)