“The final game of the season and the champions host Blackpool in what could be their last Premier League game. The outcome of this game alone will not necessarily control Blackpool’s destiny unless the Tangerines achieve the impossible and win at Old Trafford.” Tangerine Dreaming
“Barcelona’s second string warmed up for next weekend’s Champions League final against Manchester United with a 3-1 win at Malaga this evening. Sebas Fernandez gave Malaga the lead after 31 minutes, but a Bojan Krkic penalty levelled the scores just before the break.” ESPN
Chilean political prisoners in 1973
“The history of football is a fascinatingly diverse path. The manner in which it spread across the globe in a rapid, uncompromising fashion led to it becoming increasingly entangled in the social and political issues that were prevalent at any given time. Through such periods clubs and players were granted different connotations as they became associated with varying aspects of society, politics and religion.” The Equaliser
“As the Barclays Premier League season goes in to its final weekend, let’s take a look back at how things have panned out for each club since August…” SI
“Falcao’s trademark header just before half time gave Porto the UEFA Cup trophy. Andre Villas Boas named the side which could reasonably considered his first choice XI for this season, with one exception – Freddy Guarin started on the right of the midfield trio, when Fernando Belluschi has seen plenty of playing time in that position.” Zonal Marking
“FistedAway can today exclusively bring you details of a memo discarded by Swindon Town’s PR department, which was exclusively found after exclusively rummaging through the (exclusive) bins outside the County Ground.” Fisted Away
“Anyone who doubts the truth in the old adage that a week is a long time in football would do well to speak to the jubilant people of Lille. Seven days ago their team had gone 56 years without winning a trophy and were in danger of being overhauled in the league by Marseille. One week on, they are practically assured of their first Coupe de France and Ligue 1 double since 1946.” Football Further
“I begin with a warning and an observation. First, I do not want to dwell on American soccer troll topics. This post is not meant to gauge the ‘effectiveness’ of the college soccer system in producing elite players as compared to European youth academies. Rather, I want to focus on the intangible. I also want to grapple with a topic that has long ached at my soul: does our consumption of top-level European soccer foster child labor exploitation in Africa and elsewhere? As 21st century consumers with unparalleled access to tomes of information, we have a moral obligation to reflect on how our decisions in aggregate affect the world.” Run of Play
“In a recent post on the economic geography of football for The Two Unfortunates, I examined how a region’s economic wealth can have a large impact on the wellbeing of the game. Clubs feed off the prosperity or otherwise of their hinterlands and the role of government and business in a local economy has far reaching effects. Firms that cluster together can achieve mutual benefits as the amenities required for the successful running of a soccer club tend to be in plentiful supply. These include transport infrastructure, hotels, supermarkets and manufacturing suppliers, but the most important commodity of all is the fans.” In Bed With Maradona
“A great encounter with some terrific goals – Porto narrowly recorded an important victory. Porto lined up as expected, 4-3-3 with Fernando dropping deep ahead of his own defence, and Hulk and Silvestre Varela switching wings upfront.” Zonal Marking
“An interesting sub-context to this season has been the running battle between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur fans to ‘prove’ who is the ‘better player’; Theo Walcott or Gareth Bale. Of course, such debates can only be subjective but Spurs currently have the bragging rights on this one as Bale is the PFA Player of the Year. However, if such awards were decided by numbers than intuitive feelings, then perhaps the outcome would have been closer, with arguably Theo Walcott nipping it ahead of the Welshman. (Although we do realise, statistics are not all-conclusive on their own and it is a matter of interpretation).” The Arsenal Column
“We lamented a bit last week over the close of the (European) club season, with most of the big leagues decided (and after the weekend, France (Lille) and the Netherlands (Ajax) also crowning champions). So what else is a CultFootball fan to look to, aside from the upcoming Champions League final (10 days away!)? Well, just today there are three tasty matches to watch.” Cult Football
“IT’S the job every supporter wants – and thinks they would be great at. The role of the football scout is one of the most important in the modern game. With stakes high, and pressure and expectation burdening clubs like never before, transfer market prowess has seldom been more crucial. Put simply, a club’s recruitment policy can be the difference between success and failure, boom and bust.” Liverpool Echo
Giampaolo Pozzo
“Following back-to-back victories against Lazio and Chievo Verona, Udinese stand on the brink of achieving the improbable dream of qualifying for the Champions League for only the second time in their history. They only need one more point to guarantee their entrance through the ‘gates of paradise’, as Europe’s flagship competition was described by their down-to-earth coach Francesco Guidolin, but the last game of the season is against this year’s champions Milan, so this objective is still far from a fait accompli.” Swiss Ramble
“The last time Markus Babbel participated in the 1. Bundesliga he was in charge of VfB Stuttgart after a short stint there as a player following retirement. In November 2008 he replaced the outgoing Armin Veh. Veh had a poor first half of the season and left his side stranded in 11th place, closer to relegation than the top half they were accustomed to. Babbel came in and guided Stuttgart to a 3rd place finish and qualification for the Champions League after a quite remarkable Hinrunde. In fact, Stuttgart finished that season just 5 points behind champions Wolfsburg. It was a turnaround few expected.” Bundesliga Fanatic
“Faced with a free weekend of football, our man behind the very successful Daggers Diary, Brian Parish and Dan Campbell headed off to Barcelona for a weekend of football.” The Ball is Round
“How does the World Cup’s best player find himself persona non grata at his club? ITV Football’s James Appell examines the curious case of Diego Forlan. Do fans ask too much of their club’s players? Most supporters, fickle though they can be, are usually satisfied with a bit of elbow grease – winning matches or putting in quality performances are often not even deemed necessary.” itv
“The moment when the Pacific Northwest succumbed to soccer nirvana came during—what else?—a steady downpour at 8:03 p.m. last Saturday at Qwest Field in Seattle. On the night the Seattle Sounders and the Portland Timbers resumed the fiercest rivalry in American club soccer, a sellout crowd of 36,593 watched in awe as the Emerald City Supporters unveiled a 23,000-square-foot display of nine green-and-blue banners telling the pictorial story of the Sounders’ DECADES OF DOMINANCE over their Oregon neighbors—like cave paintings of a modern-day sports culture.” SI
“After months of positively explosive squibs, the performance against Spurs was a bit of a damp one. It disappointed because it came so quickly after the scintillating display at Craven Cottage, that was one of the Reds’ best for a couple of seasons, and several convincing home wins.” Tomkins Times
“Ajax needed to win to clinch the title, Twente needed just a draw – but Frank de Boer’s side emerged victorious. The Ajax manager named an unchanged 4-3-3 side from the one that beat Herenveen last weekend. Michel Preud’Homme’s selection was also unchanged from the previous weekend’s 4-0 thrashing of Willem II.” Zonal Marking
Ajax 3 – 1 Twente: Eredivisie decided in fantastic final
“A home victory over title rivals Twente meant that Frank de Boer’s Ajax secured the 30th Eredivisie title in the club’s history. Both title contenders faced each other on the final match day with Ajax needing a win for the title. And just one week after losing the Dutch Cup final to Twente in overtime, Ajax managed a 3-1 win in a tight and very exciting match that was ultimately decided by small tactical adaptations, which become clear when comparing this match to the Cup final.” 11 tegen 11
We won it 30 times!
“I still can’t believe what happened yesterday. I woke up this morning and thought that I had a beautiful dream last night. But it’s not a dream. It’s reality. Ajax are champions of Holland. For the 30th time in their history. It’s actually too good to be true. When I watch videos of the boys celebrating it feels unreal. It’s a dream that came true.” World of Ajax
“A second-string Barcelona side were held to a goalless draw by relegation-threatened Deportivo La Coruna in the penultimate round of Primera Division matches at the Nou Camp. The league title was wrapped up with a draw at Levante on Wednesday night and, with a Champions League final meeting with Manchester United to come at the end of the month, coach Pep Guardiola named an experimental side.” ESPN
FC Barcelona v Deportivo La Coruna – Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, and Betting Odds – La Liga
The 90th Minute
“Substitute Ludovic Obraniak netted a lucky/brilliant free-kick to secure Lille’s first major trophy since 1955. Rudi Garcia brought Moussa Sow back into the side upfront, and also selected Idrissa Gueye in the centre of midfield, in the usual fluid 4-1-2-3 shape.” Zonal Marking
“The fascinating 51-year history of the Copa Libertadores has now been further enriched by the emergence of a goalscorer born in England. Antonio Pedroza’s journey has taken him from Chester to Chiapas, the town of his birth to the region in the south of Mexico where he now plays as a striker for Jaguares. The son of a Mexican father and an English mother, Pedroza ensured that the club’s debut campaign in the Libertadores got off to a good start when, just before his 20th birthday, he scored in both legs of their qualifying match against Alianza Lima of Peru.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“The pod reflects on a weekend of league and cup joy in Manchester and relegation woe for West Ham. Plus, the rest of the news from around Europe, and Craig David’s Chechnya gig” Guardian
“‘All referees are good, and all are bad. A referee only needs to make one mistake, or an assumed mistake, against a club and if he lives till he is a hundred he never gets over it.’ So said Charles Sutcliffe, former referee and president of the Football League, d. 1939. Yep, 1939. And you thought your contempt for officials was all modern and shit. Tsk.” Run of Play
“Let it never be said that GhostGoal is afraid of tackling the really big issues in football today. Here’s Oli Baker … English football is almost unrecognisable from 20 years ago. All these changes have been very well documented and argued ad nauseum. One development has been criminally overlooked.” GhostGoal
“Marseille are bloodied but they are not beaten yet. Lille’s 2-1 victory at Saint-Etienne on Tuesday saw OM fall seven points off the pace in the title race, but the champions defeated Brest 3-0 the following day and will be just a point behind Lille the next time the league leaders take to the field if they win at Lorient on Sunday.” Football Further
“Tottenham seized the advantage in the race for the final Europa League spot as Liverpool’s first match since the appointment of Kenny Dalglish as permanent manager ended in a 2-0 defeat. But referee Howard Webb could have been accused of having a helping hand in deciding the outcome with a series of questionable decisions which culminated in the award of a very favourable penalty for the visitors’ second.” ESPN
Liverpool 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur – Video Highlights, Recap, and Match Stats – EPL
The 90th Minute
“For the second time in a month, Scottish football is making headlines around the world. Unfortunately, the first time was because ‘viable’ explosive devices were posted to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and high-profile Celtic fans. The second occurred when Lennon was assaulted by a Hearts fan on the Tynecastle pitch on Wednesday night, as if in a deliberate attempt to prove that this level of football hatred is not unique to the west coast, and that, in terms of football, Scotland is not a civilised country.” WSC
“After a season that has taken in institutional crisis, European humiliation and the departure of a popular head coach, it seems extraordinary that Ajax enter their final game with a chance to become Dutch champions for the first time since 2004. Yet that is exactly the situation ahead of tomorrow’s winner-takes-all meeting with FC Twente at the Amsterdam Arena.” Independent
“When Luis Suarez scored his fourth goal for Liverpool on Monday night at Fulham, there were fans typically beside themselves. They now had ‘the best player in the world’. Now obviously this is nonsense, and Suarez himself probably can’t believe his start. In the past, such form certainly wouldn’t have lasted. One thing you could set your watch by – almost without exception – is that whatever happened in the first year or two for a player signed by Liverpool, he’d end up devoid of spark and a lesser player.” ESPN
“Yaya Toure’s powerful shot 15 minutes from time gave Roberto Mancini’s men the victory. Mancini was able to call upon Carlos Tevez upfront, meaning Edin Dzeko dropped to the bench. Mario Balotelli started on the wing, and Aleksander Kolarov played over Pablo Zabaleta at left-back.” Zonal Marking
“Bochum are just 180 minutes away from promotion to the Bundesliga after an accomplished performance against Duisburg. This round 34 tie in 2. Bundesliga involved two sides with all still to play for. Bochum, two points ahead of 4th-placed Greuther Fürth, knew that a win here would earn them a place in the Bundesliga two-legged play-off against the top division’s third-worst side, Borussia Mönchengladbach.” Defensive Midfielder
“Udinese currently occupy the fourth position in Serie A, leading challengers Roma, by two points. If they stay in this position, they’ll qualify for next season’s Champion’s League; albeit in the preliminary qualifying round. This would be a remarkable success for a team, who are not regular features on Europe’s grandest stage.” Serie A Weekly
“It is the most beautiful two minutes of football one could ever wish to see. Sometimes it even brings a tear to my eye. The 1974 World Cup Final kicks-off, the Netherlands have the ball and instantly drop into their familiar passing rhythm. A sporting hypnosis begins.” The Equaliser
“Over 62,000 crammed in at Goodison for this one. Brazil, counting Pelé and Jairzinho in their ranks, were well and truly outdone by the masterful Eusebio who notched twice. What’s really worth noting here, is that both starting XI’s played club football in their native country.” In Bed With Maradons
“Even though I spent November and December 2010 pushing for Kenny Dalglish to be given the caretaker’s role – using what little influence I may have had after meeting John W Henry – I didn’t think it would happen. And when it did happen, months later, I didn’t think it would turn out this well.” Tomkins Times
“Paul Visca on how the thorny issue of television rights has rumbled on in the background of what’s been an outstanding season in Serie A.” In Bed With Maradona
Diego Amaya
“Asuncion is currently the capital of South American football – and not just because the offices of the continent’s governing federation are situated on the outskirts of the Paraguayan capital. Eight teams are left standing in the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League, and two of them are based in the Paraguayan capital; Cerro Porteno, who have blown hot, cold and lukewarm during the competition, and Libertad, who have been consistently excellent. No other country can boast more than one club in the last eight.” BBC – Tim Vickery
“With the 2010/11 season coming towards an end in England, attentions turn once again to the Nordics for my regular fix of football. Denmark still has a few rounds of matches left although in the Superliga there is only pride to play for after FCK wrapped up the league two weeks ago. That and second spot, which this season sees the Danes steal a Champions League qualifying place from the Scots. With five games to go three teams were still in with a shout including Brøndby, who if anyone could do with a slice of luck it was them.” The Ball Is Round
“We’ve reached 1994 in our 25 years of WSC retrospective. Many reasons were posed for England’s failure to qualify for the World Cup in America that summer. In WSC 93, Simon Kuper proposed that players in England would become more sophisticated – and more successful – if they were encouraged to express themselves more off the pitch” WSC
“Fernando Torres’ biggest impact on Chelsea’s title challenge this season? Scoring two goals against them in a Liverpool shirt back in November. The Spaniard’s £50million move has prompted more questions than answers, and even though he has broken his goalscoring duck, Chelsea would have been better off without the formation and selection problems Carlo Ancelotti has faced since Torres’ arrival.” Life A Pitch
Gervinho
“Although Lille’s faltering form in recent weeks has caused a few to doubt their ability to sustain their sparkling challenge in Ligue 1, this weekend’s victory over Nancy restored a four point lead at the top of the table. With just four games remaining until the end of the season, Les Dogues are well on course to win their first French title since 1954.” Swiss Ramble
“While nothing should ever detract from the amazing achievements of Jose Mourinho’s Inter, it is equally nonsensical to deny the advantages afforded to the Nerazzurri in the immediate aftermath of the original Calciopoli trials of 2006. Adam Digby on why Serie A may be beginning a new era.” In Bed With Maradona
“Lots of smart, even inspiring, extensions to and rebuttals of the rage piece. But writing on the internet is like Barry Bonds’s head—the more people talk about it, the more it turns into something else. So I want to take a second to tighten a couple of screws before we let the topic go.” Run of Play
“Non-league football is often described as a family, and one of its more recurring themes is that certain names have a tendency to turn up over and over again, like half-forgotten uncles at a reunion. Take, for example, Gary Calder. Calder was the chairman of Hornchurch FC when their money suddenly ran out towards the end of 2004 and he pitched up some time after this at Weymouth, as the Chief Executive of the club. Calder arrived at Rushden and Diamonds at the start of December with the father and son team of Steve and Liam Beasant in tow.” twohundredpercent
“In its early years the FA Cup led a nomadic life. From the first final of 1872 between the Wanderers and the Royal Engineers until 1893 the climax of the tournament was hosted at the Oval. However, Surrey Cricket Club, the owners of the Oval refused permission for the ground to be used as the venue of the 1893 Cup final for fear of damage to the cricket squares.” Ademir to Zizinho
“Liverpool may be about to be knocked off their perch by Manchester United but they showed they might just mount a serious challenge for a 19th league title of their own next season by destroying Fulham 5-2. The Reds made it 13 goals in their last three games and Maxi Rodriguez completed his second hat-trick over the same period, with Dirk Kuyt scoring his 12th in 13 matches for club and country and Luis Suarez wrapping up the rout.” ESPN
“It was fitting that it should be at the former home of the erstwhile excellent Fulham manager (and subsequently awful Liverpool manager) that Luis Suarez should encapsulate everything that was wrong about Roy Hodgson’s approach between August 2010 and January 2011.” Tomkins Times
Action Between the Will of Liverpool and a French Privateer, February 21, 1804 1823, Robert Salmon
“I have to admit that I wholeheartedly bought into the Spanish revolution at Liverpool; so much more than the French one that went before it. The big difference, of course, was that we got the best of Spanish: best manager, best players. By contrast, we had a second-rate French manager (by comparison with Arsene Wenger, at least). Given that Arsenal had not only got the better French manager, but got their first (two years earlier, in 1996), Liverpool was never going to be the primary destination for elite French talent.” Tomkins Times
“Perhaps the thing that Gabonese football has been mentioned for most in recent years is its national team’s respectable FIFA World Ranking although not for the reasons you might think. The upcoming African Cup of Nations could change all that…” In Bed With Maradona
“THERE are occasions in a gal’s life when she just can’t say no. Jose Mourinho, Ipad2, weekend in New York, In Bed With Maradona. Temptations were made of this. Sadly Jose has not yet been on the blower, and neither Apple nor the Big Apple look likely, so thank goodness for IBWM. The chat-up line went something like this: Write as much as you want on anything you want. Ah, sweet nothings; I’m such a sucker. (I’m also a sucker for a semi-colon, a grammatical hiccup widely regarded as a deadly sin in tabloid world. Which. Is. Why. I. Go. For. A. Full point. Usually.)” In Bed With Maradona
“In a match that superseded all expectations, Twente claimed the victory with a dramatic overtime winning header by Janko to win the Dutch Cup for the third time in the club’s history. In contrast to what might have been derived from both team’s managers pre-match, when they stressed the importance of next week’s fixture deciding the Eredivisie title, both teams did not hold back and a true football fest was the result.” 11 tegen 11
“A shimmy and shammy as purty as a Tennessee beauty queen saw Iniesta glide through a sluggish Espanyol defence to set Barcelona on their way in what was, considering the bust-ups of recent years, a somewhat boring Catalan derby. Barcelona just need a single point against Levante on Wednesday to win the title, providing Real Madrid dodge their local civic duty and beat Getafe the day before.” FourFourTwo
“Clever footballers seem destined to fail. When Craig Bellamy questioned Roberto Mancini’s tactics at Manchester City last season, he was punished – and rightly so, said the pundit mafia – but what if he was right? What if an eloquent, insightful player did know better than his consistently average manager?” surreal football
Pieter Brueghel the Elder
“In his earliest days at Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo would react to tackles on the training ground with a yelp and sometimes a quick roll on the ground. His new team-mates – Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs among them – took him aside and advised him to be less theatrical: not out of righteousness, but because they knew it was the wrong signal for him to send to opponents in the Premier League.” Guardian
“Below are MOTD video highlights for all the EPL matches on May 7, 2011. The full edition of MOTD can be viewed here.” The 90th Minute
“Every Monday I look at my email account with trepidation. Since the first week of the season around 3pm I get that ‘ping’ sound signifying the arrival of the latest excuse from the pen of Avram Grant. Although it is obviously not from Avram, but rather from someone employed in the club to make such trivial facts such as we are bottom of the Premier League with just three games to go seem inconsequential.” The Ball is Round
“Soccer fans, heave a collective sigh of relief – no pun intended. So much theater, so much wrestling, so much on the line, so much falling over coupled with ankle grabbing and head embracing — the four Clásicos are finally over. Now back to football. Is there so much on the line (millions of dollars aside) when Real Madrid and Barcelona meet that the players have to forsake playing the game for a bout (or four consecutive rounds) of shadowboxing? Do we even have anything close in MLS?” Yanks are coming
“Late drama saw both sides pick up a point at White Hart Lane. Harry Redknapp left out Aaron Lennon, using Rafael van der Vaart on the right, and two strikers. Danny Rose made a rare start at left-back. Ian Holloway played his usual 4-3-3 formation. Sergei Kornilenko started as part of a front three, probably as he’d done well against Spurs earlier in the season. This was an open game with plenty of goalscoring chances. A draw was probably an accurate reflection of the balance of play, though neither goal seemed to owe much to tactics.” Zonal Marking
