“Everything Barcelona’s Lionel Messi touched at club level in 2009 may have turned to gold but Juan Sebastian Veron wasn’t too far behind his countryman, leading Estudiantes to the Libertadores Cup and retaining his personal crown as South America’s footballer of the year.” (World Soccer)
“There are people who argue that South America’s Copa Libertadores is better than the Uefa Champions League. It’s a perverse view, often motivated by bitterness – a bit like those who like to claim that The Beatles were over-rated. The Champions League congregates the best players from all over the world – it’s where they want to be, and where they need to shine these days in order to be considered truly great. But if Europe’s leading club competition is Lennon and McCartney, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the Libertadores is Herman’s Hermits, as last week made abundantly and gloriously clear.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
TIm Vickery Interview: EPL Talk Podcast
“On this episode of the EPL Talk Podcast we welcome Tim Vickery, who picks up on some of the theses regarding player developed that we addressed with Andy Brassell two weeks ago. Then, Tim talks to us about some notable players in Brazil, talking about how their styles would fit into the Premier League. Then, we talk about Tim’s support of Spurs, the nature of being a club supporter, and how he found his way to Brazil.” (EPL Talk)
Mario Kempes
“Since the dawn of time man has wrestled with this impossible conundrum. And following the glorious football that has generally been on display in Euro 2008 a lot of people are wondering where it stands in the pantheon of great tournaments. Coupled with this excellent Guardian blog and some terrific contributions from posters, it’s got us here at MD Towers thinking. Is it possible to assess which are the best and worst major tournaments? The simple answer is no. So here goes.” (midfielddynamo)
“You may not have heard of Teófilo Cubillas, also known as ‘El Nene’ or ‘The Kid’. I was only vaguely aware of him until reading up a little (and watching a lot of YouTube) this weekend. But Teófilo Cubillas is arguably the greatest player in Peru’s history, and a player who more than made his mark at two World Cups – Mexico 1970, and Argentina 1978 – with a mix of dribbling, playmaking and long range shooting.” (World Cup Blog)
“If one game on Tuesday night is any indication, the 51st edition of the Copa Libertadores — South America’s Champions League — will continue to provide drama and excitement fitting of a premier continental tournament. In one of the most dramatic matchups in recent memory, Universidad Católica ensured its place in the group stage of the competition after a penalty-shootout victory over Colón de Santa Fe in Santiago, Chile.” (SI)
“This week’s Video of The Week continues the World Cup theme of the last few weeks, with all the goals from the 1998 World Cup, which was, of course, held in France. The optimism that may have existed after England’s decent performance at the 1996 European Championships evaporated over the weeks of the tournament. Tabloid exclusives about the behaviour of the players, rioting in Marseille and a defeat at the hands of Romania were just the build up to a penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of Argentina. Meanwhile, France and Brazil made the final of a tournament that was the first to feature thirty-two nations. Iran beat the United States of America in the first round but both teams went out,but Jamaica and Japan, who were both arguably beneficiaries of the expansion, brought colour to the tournament off the pitch but offered little resistance on it.” (twohundredpercent)
“Lionel Messi is probably the top sportsman in the world right now: unless you ask fans in Argentina where the soccer star was born and grew up in a town called Rosario, roughly 180 miles (290 kilometers) north-west of Buenos Aires. After helping his club, Spain’s FC Barcelona, win most of the top awards in 2009, Mr. Messi was named World Player of the Year by FIFA, world football’s governing body. He received the 2009 Ballon d’Or, given to Europe’s top player— winning the honor by the widest margin since it was first awarded in 1956. He even won the Latino Athlete of the Year 2009.” (WSJ)
“One of the less orthodox after effects of swine flu is the headache it gives the administrators of South America’s premier club competition. In last year’s version of the Copa Libertadores, two Mexican sides, Chivas Guadalajara and San Luis, made it out of the group phase. But how could they stage the home leg of their second round ties? It was at the height of the swine flu epidemic, with Mexico at its epicentre. The South American Federation unsuccessfully tried to find an alternate venue, gave up and announced that the fate of the Mexican clubs would be decided on a single match, the away leg.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
“Continuing our series of World Cup compilation videos, this week we have every goal from the 1990 World Cup, which was, of course, held in Italy. Time has a tendency to soften our viewpoint of previous World Cup tournaments – particularly when, as with this one, England surpass everyone’s expectations and scramble as far as the semi-finals – but the truth of the matter is that the 1990 World Cup finals were probably the worst that have been held in recent years.” (twohundredpercent)
“World Soccer: What do Argentina need to do to improve ahead of the World Cup? Sergio Aquero: I think the main problem is that we’ve had very few days training together. Normally we’d get together on a Tuesday and play on the Saturday, which doesn’t give us time to do very much. Now, ahead of the World Cup, we will have plenty of time and we can work on various aspects, like combinations and how we use the ball.” (World Soccer)
“On Tuesday night a home-based Argentina squad took on Costa Rica’s national team in a friendly which saw Diego Maradona’s return to footballing involvement following his two month touchline ban (who noticed?). The match was won 3-2 by Argentina, with goals from José Sosa, Guillermo Burdisso and Franco Jara for the hosts. Michael Barrantes and Diego Madrigal got the visitors’ efforts, and you can watch all of them right here. You can also find out the score of Newell’s Old Boys’ Copa Libertadores qualifier on Wednesday night. Go on. You know you want to.” (Hasta el gol siempre)
“In his first game after rejoining Flamengo, Adriano’s mere presence put an extra 50,000 on the gate. “The emperor has returned,” they chanted – and the 27-year-old striker was looking imperious from day one. His 19 goals – which made him the competition’s joint-top scorer – and his all-round attacking play were vital to the Rio de Janeiro club ending a 17-year wait to win the Brazilian Championship.” (Worlk Soccer – Tim Vickery)
“This week’s Video Of The Week is a curio from the 1980s. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it is a video that features… every goal of the 1986 World Cup. At the time, FIFA’s official films of the tournament were still relatively big business.” (twohundredpercent)
“In an unusual opening tournament, in which the smaller clubs stood out, Banfield from the Greater Buenos Aires suburb of the same name won the first title in their 114-year history.” (World Soccer)
“Tournaments are like time speeded up – teams can suddenly come together, or fall apart. Each tournament has its own dynamics, so it would be unwise to draw definitive conclusions for the World Cup from a competition taking place six months earlier. But if the Africa Cup of Nations is a good opportunity for five World Cup-bound teams to get some competitive match practice, it is also a great chance for their future opponents to do some reconnaissance. From a South American point of view, there’s the possibility of Uruguay meeting Nigeria in the second round, just as Paraguay might face Cameroon, and Chile could come up against Ivory Coast.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
Argentina’s Guillermo Stabile slots the ball past American goalkeeper Jim Douglas
“We’re doing a World Cup team history post for each of the 32 teams at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. However, some teams have a little more history than others. The albiceleste stripes of Argentina have appeared in 14 previous World Cups, stretching all the way back to the inaugural 1930 edition. Theirs is a rich rich story, full of triumph, disappointment, and a fair bit of controversy. Too much for just the one post, and so our history of Argentina at the World Cup has been split into two parts.” (World Cup Blog – 1930 to 1982), (Part II: 1986 to 2006)
Scissors Kick 