Brazil, Campeonato Série A: 2010 season, with average attendances from 2009

Leave a reply

“At the upper right on the map page is a list of 2009 atendances of all the clubs in Brazil’s 2010 Campeonato Série A season. Reigning champions are Flamengo, the giant club from Rio de Janeiro, who had last won the title in 1992. The final match of the season at the Maracana drew 80,000, to see a 2-1 win over Gremio. São Paulo had an uncharacteristic stumble in the run-up, losing away to both Goiás and Botofogo in the weeks leading up to the finish. That massive gate pushed Flamengo to the top of the average attendance list once more.” (billsportsmaps)

Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham: Spurs deservedly into the Champions League

Leave a reply


Andrea Mantegna, Pallas Expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue
“Tottenham emerged victorious from this Champions League playoff, primarily because they created more clear-cut chances. Peter Crouch’s winner was slightly fortunate, but it was no more than Spurs deserved. Manchester City played their expected line-up in a game they needed to win – two strikers with Emmanuel Adebayor as the targetman, and Carlos Tevez dropping off in behind, in a position he seems to prefer, judging by his recent display at Arsenal. Craig Bellamy and Adam Johnson continued as inverted wingers.” (Zonal Marking)

Manchester City 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1: match report
“Fortune favoured the brave last night and the brave now inherit a fortune. Adventurously set up by Harry Redknapp, Tottenham Hotspur hit the heights of the lucrative Champions League and it was the 6ft 7in Peter Crouch who lifted them and their ecstatic support into dream-land.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Match Of The Midweek: Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur
“When the Champions League play-off suggestion was made earlier this season (and laughed out of court accordingly), few would have guessed that we would be where we are with four and a half days of the Premier League season left to play. Aston Villa’s wobbly second half of the season coupled with Liverpool ably demonstrating that the abjectness that they displayed during the first half of the season was absolutely no flash in the pan have set up something approaching what the originators of the plan had envisaged. With two matches left of the season, either Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur will be taking their chances in the final qualifying round of the Champions League. It has been a very odd season indeed in the Premier League.” (twohundredpercent)

Manchester City 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur – Video Highlights and Recap – EPL – 5 May 2010“The battle for the last UEFA Champions League spot in the English Premier League was at stake on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 as Manchester City hosted Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs had a one point lead over City before the match and would clinch a top four finish with a victory. Both teams will be playing in Europe next season in either the Europa or Champions League.” (The 90th Minute)

England Wary of a New American Revolution

1 Reply

“When England drew the United States, Slovenia and Algeria at the coming World Cup, The Sun tabloid ran a headline that said ‘EASY,’ and added, ‘best English group since the Beatles.’ The British actor Hugh Grant then appeared in New York on ‘The Daily Show’ and told the host, Jon Stewart: ‘I’m always surprised you have a male football team. It’s a female game here.’ As inventors of the sport, the British can be condescending and uninformed about the game in the United States, viewing American soccer with the same smugness that the United States might view English baseball. Not everyone is so dismissive.” (NYT)

2020 Vision of American Soccer’s Future

Leave a reply


Peter Wilt – “I like to look at American soccer in decade long chunks. American soccer in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s looked different in each decade and each decade demonstrated growth over its predecessor. The ‘60s was the last decade of soccer as strictly a foreign sport. In the 70s, the NASL brought the sport to American born spectators in large numbers for the first time. The ’80s introduced the sport to children en masse. The ’90s brought two World Cups (including a USA victory in ’99) and MLS.” (Pitch Invasion)

Bayern Munich’s Success Bolsters Germany Roster

Leave a reply

“Several members of Bayern Munich have parlayed the German club’s success this season into a potential summer sojourn to South Africa with the national team. Germany Manager Joachim Loew announced his 27-man preliminary World Cup roster Thursday, which included seven Bayern players who won the Bundesliga and are vying for the German Cup and European Champions League crowns.” (NYT)

The social hierachy of football freebies

Leave a reply

“Recently I have received several complimentary tickets to watch a Championship team but the experience has been decidedly mixed. When a friend’s son signed for the club near me at the turn of the year, I was delighted for the young man involved but even happier for myself. He was moving hundreds of miles from friends and family and I would be there to support him. Just as importantly, I would get to stuff my face with prawn sandwiches and other delights ordinary paying folk could only dream of.” (WSC)

Tactics: Is the 4-4-2 making a comeback?

Leave a reply


“Having supposedly died out halfway through the last decade, the 4-4-2 formation has enjoyed a surprising renaissance this season. England’s unthinking attachment to the shape first introduced by Alf Ramsey’s ‘Wingless Wonders’ in 1966 (pictured) took a battering when José Mourinho swaggered into English football in 2004 and promptly won back-to-back Premier League titles with a counter-attacking 4-3-3 at Chelsea. The 2006 World Cup, meanwhile, was dominated by teams playing in a 4-2-3-1 to such an extent that hosts Germany were the only side playing in a 4-4-2 to achieve anything of note in the tournament.” (Football Further)

Video Of The Week: Match Of The Eighties – 1980/81

Leave a reply

“This week’s Video Of The Week may be a couple of days late, but it’s well worth the wait – it’s the first episode of the BBC’s ‘Match Of The Eighties’ series. ‘Match Of The Eighties’, hosted by Danny Baker, was a six-part series that first aired in 1997. It follows a fairly simple theme, telling the story of each of the first six seasons of the 1980s (the series stops at the point at which the BBC lost television rights to show Football League matches). There’s nothing too complex going on here, but the sheer volume of the BBC’s football archive carries it along.” (twohundredpercent)

Marc Antoine Fortuné strikes to strengthen Neil Lennon’s case at Celtic

Leave a reply

“This was a night of novel concepts as the unwritten rule of not publicly criticising the other half of the Old Firm was well and truly shot to pieces after Celtic claimed the season’s final derby. A deflected free-kick from Lee Naylor and a close-range effort from Marc-Antoine Fortuné secured victory for the Hoops. Kenny Miller had briefly restored parity, with Rangers feeling they were denied another chance to equalise late on, when Darren O’Dea appeared to handle in his own area.” (Guardian)

Celtic 2-1 Rangers: The Bhoys secure bragging rights but the title is still heading to Ibrox
“Neil Lennon gave his chances of landing the Celtic managers job another boost tonight as he led the Parkhead side to a 2-1 victory over city rivals and newly crowned SPL champions Rangers. Full back Lee Naylor opened the scoring for Celtic before Kenny Miller equalised for Rangers. And on the stroke of half time Marc Antoine Fortune restored Celtic’s lead, a goal which proved to be the winner as Lee McCulloch saw red in the final minute of the game after a lunge on Aiden McGeady.” (ScotZine)

Italy World Cup Team History

Leave a reply


World Cup 1982
“We have trudged through to the final part, a portion which is vaguely familiar to many in the peninsula – some good, some bad. In fact, they just about ran the gamut of Italian emotions from ‘98 to ‘06: disappointment, anger and ecstasy. It all may change in June, but as of right now, this long labor of love that is Italian football history has an awfully nice bookend: they won their first and they won the last.” (World Cup Blog – Pt. I: 1934 & 1938), (Pt. II: 1950-1974), (Pt III: 1978 – 1994), (Pt. IV: 1998-2006).

Barcelona 4 – 1 Tenerife

Leave a reply

“Lionel Messi struck twice as Barcelona overcame some nervy moments to comfortably beat relegation-threatened Tenerife at the Nou Camp to put the pressure back on fierce rivals Real Madrid as the Primera Division draws to an exciting conclusion. Madrid travel to fourth-placed Mallorca tomorrow night in what looks like the hardest remaining fixture for Manuel Pellegrini’s side. And they will need to win it after Barca saw off Tenerife thanks to goals from Messi (2), Bojan Krkic and Pedro.” (ESPN)

World Cup Legends #1: Just Fontaine

1 Reply


Just Fontaine
“Despite the superstars that have graced the World Cup over the decades, there is one record that may never be beaten by any player ever again. Only 3 times has a player scored double figures in a World Cup tournament, once in 1954, Sandor Kocsis scored 11, in 1970 the legendary Gerd Muller scored 10 goals. Yet one man surpassed both of these incredible efforts when he scored 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup, French legend, Just Fontaine.” (EPL Talk)

Do Liverpool Football Club A Favour Rafa: QUIT

Leave a reply

“All great relationships come to an end, the natural course having run as far as it can. Sometimes they start passionately and brightly and quickly burn away to nothingness. Sometimes, they are a slowly burning and taut affair that consumes all within them in a supernova of passion oblivious to all around them. Occasionally, despite saying the opposite, things simply aren’t working. The public face presents a lie, when everything behind the scenes falls apart.” (EPL Talk)

How the 2000s changed tactics #1: The fall and rise of the passing midfielder

Leave a reply


“In 2004, Gabriele Marcotti wrote an article for The Times about Barcelona legend Pep Guardiola. It wasn’t a celebratory piece looking back at Guardiola’s fine career, nor remarking on his ability to defy the critics and keep playing at a high standard, like Paolo Maldini. It was about how, in 2004-spec football, Guardiola was useless. That is not to say that he had declined as a player. A physically unremarkable player, his domain was sitting front of his own defence and spraying passes across the pitch for his more illustrious teammates – Michael Laudrup, Hristo Stoichkov and Romario being amongst the biggest names to have benefited from his presence. When Marcotti wrote the article, at 33, Guardiola should have been at his peak.” (Zonal Marking)

Management matters

Leave a reply

“I can rarely remember a week that has featured so much chit-chat about managers. Sometimes you begin to wonder whether the players matter any more. Mourinho this, Mourinhno that. The implications of Barcelona’s elimination from the Champions League last week spread far and wide, but in Spain all that matters is that Mourinho has allegedly proved himself eligible for the Bernabeu hot-seat.” (ESPN)

Home turf may not be enough

Leave a reply

“Regarding the chances of the African teams in this year’s World Cup, you may have already heard some optimistic prognostication. Something along the lines of this: Ivory Coast will be the first African team to make the semifinals, and perhaps even win the Cup on ‘home’ soil. Ghana is ready to improve on its second-round performance last time out. Algeria is a dangerous dark horse. Host South Africa is sure to do better than expected.” (ESPN)

League Championship, 2009-10 season. The 2 promoted clubs and the 4 Play-Off clubs

Leave a reply

“On the right of the map are the 2 clubs automatically promoted to the Premier League for the 2010-11 season…Newcastle United, and West Bromwich Albion, both of whom bounce straight back to the top flight. Shown in each club’s profile box are major domestic titles and League history; 2009-10 average attendance; 2009-10 kits; and 4 photos of the club’s ground. Ditto for the 4 Play-Off clubs (on the left of the map). The four play-off clubs will vie for the third promotion spot…with two legged match-ups of Nottingham Forest versus Blackpool; and Cardiff City versus Leicester City.” (billsportsmaps)

Soccer legend who supports all African teams – and Brazil

Leave a reply


Luis Fabiano
“The African footballer of the century clutches an icepack against his cheek. He is hurting. ‘I like to chew bones, turkey bones,’ mumbles George Weah, in a Liberian accent that further complicates comprehension. Watching television one day he got distracted and bit too hard. Visiting the Netherlands last weekend, Weah spent a lot of time with Dutch dentists. In between he talked about Africa and the coming World Cup in South Africa – and about whether it will be an ‘African’ World Cup.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

Unlike Europe, Brazilian league preserves its competitive balance

Leave a reply

“In England, Chelsea and Manchester United are fighting for the domestic title. In Spain, it’s Real Madrid and Barcelona. Inter Milan is out front in Italy, as are Bayern Munich in Germany. It’s the same old same old.” (SI – Tim Vickery)

A Mental Game: On Happiness, or Does it Matter Who Wins?

Leave a reply

“Why do we care? Why will hundreds of millions of fans watch the World Cup this summer and hinge their lives around game results? Why does it matter whether the millionaire players, coaches, and owners of Inter Milan beat the millionaire players, coaches, and owners of Bayern Munich in the Champions League final? Why does anybody, no matter how few, bother going to watch FC Dallas play?” (Pitch Invasion)

Good Soccer Writing is Fueled by Love (Duh)

Leave a reply


“Sorry for the long pause (I think longest in AMSL’s history if I’m not mistaken). I was working. Like last Saturday, when I performed at one of those concerts professional musicians are forced to attend once or twice a year. Far removed from the regular stuff—baroque, period performance in a familiar venue with familiar faces who know when to clap and when to sit silent—I ended up in some Coptic church in Richmond Hill performing Coptic music with a mix of Coptic and classical musicians. It was one of those gigs you walk into initially and think, ‘here we go, the things I do for money etc.’ Hip, professional cynicism.” (A More Splendid Life)

Gilberto Silva has become a symbol of Dunga’s regime

Leave a reply

“Nearing 34 and surely on the downward slope, Gilberto Silva prepares for his third World Cup – but the first in which he is guaranteed a place in the starting line-up. In 2002 he was a squad player with a handful of caps, only recently converted from centre-back to defensive midfielder, when on the eve of the tournament Emerson injured himself in a training-ground kickabout and Gilberto had to step in.” (World Soccer – Tim Vickery)

Joan Laporta’s homage to Catalonia

Leave a reply

“Outgoing Barcelona president Joan Laporta looks set to run as a candidate for Catalan regional president in elections this November. Although he has yet to announce his candidacy formally, a campaign website is already up and running. “I will continue to dedicate the best years of my life to the country I love,” says a beaming Laporta. “The moment has come for us all to serve Catalonia.” With Catalan voters apparently fed up with their current Socialist-led coalition government, a recent poll already has a nominal Laporta-led party getting 17 per cent of votes. This would give Laporta control of a decisive block of seats in the Catalan parliament and plenty of Nick Clegg style bargaining power.” (WSC)

A Liverpool supporter’s dilemma

Leave a reply

“Liverpool find themselves in the awkward position of potentially crowning bitter rivals Manchester United as Premier League champions today. If Liverpool defeat Chelsea, United could set up their 19th League title by beating Sunderland today and Stoke next week, while also going above Liverpool as the most successful club in the history of English football.” (WSC)

Brazilian Serie A season previewed

Leave a reply


“Last season Flamengo came from nowhere to win their sixth title – and first since 1992 – with perennial stand-in Andrade establishing himself as first-team coach in the process. However, quite apart from the distraction of the Libertadores Cup, a repeat performance will be difficult. The contracts of glamorous strike pair Vagner Love and Adriano run out in mid-campaign – and even if the latter stays his tendency to miss training is always liable to set off mini crises in the club’s ever-turbulent environment.” (World Soccer – Tim Vickery), (World Soccer – Tim Vickery)

Milan 1-0 Fiorentina: Prandelli’s formation frustrates again

Leave a reply

“A game which had a distinctly end-of-season feel to it – Milan’s victory assured Champions League football for next season, whilst Fiorentina’s defeat continued their miserable end to the season. Milan welcomed back Marco Borello after his suspension last weekend, and fielded the 4-2-1-3 shape that Leonardo has persisted with for the second half of the season. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar played a narrow right-sided role, whilst Clarence Seedorf was the link between midfield and attack.” (Zonal Marking)

Van Gaal Works Magic at Bayern

Leave a reply

“Bayern Munich capped the perfect week by beating Bochum 3-1 on Saturday, four days after triumphing at Lyon 3-0 to advance to the Champions League final. Coupled with a 2-0 home loss by Schalke—which had gone into the game tied with Bayern at the top of the Bundesliga—it effectively means the Munich club has won the German league for a record 22nd time.” (WSJ)

Liverpool 0 – 2 Chelsea

Leave a reply


Adoration of the Magi, Sandro Botticelli
“Chelsea edged closer to the Premier League title with a crucial victory over Liverpool at Anfield. An error by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard handed Didier Drogba a simple opening goal in the first half and Frank Lampard added a second after the break. The result ensured Chelsea remained in pole position to win their first championship for four years but also finally put paid to the Merseysiders’ hopes of securing Champions League football next season.” (ESPN)

Liverpool 0-2 Chelsea: goals change games
“In the end, Chelsea were comfortable, and effectively won the title today against a poor, tired Liverpool side that didn’t get a shot on target until the 91st minute of the match – but Liverpool had started the stronger. The home side were without their regular full-backs, and chose to deploy Javier Mascherano at right-back, and Daniel Agger at left-back. Alberto Aquilani started as the most advanced of the three midfield players.” (Zonal Marking)

Didier Drogba says Steven Gerrard’s mistake gave Chelsea confidence
“Didier Drogba, the Chelsea centre-forward, said that Steven Gerrard’s mistake had given the Premier League leaders the momentum they needed to go four points clear of title rivals Manchester United. Drogba nipped in to intercept Gerrard’s back pass to put Chelsea ahead and Frank Lampard added a second after the break.” (Guardian)

Barca back, relegation battle hots up

Leave a reply

“Barcelona bounced back from their disappointing exit in the Champions League at the hands of ten-man Inter Milan with a commanding 4-1 away win over Villarreal. The Catalans, who currently lead La Liga, went ahead in the 19th minute through a classy finish from Lionel Messi who bagged his 27th goal in the league. Their lead was doubled soon after as Xavi curled a free-kick over the wall and past the despairing dive of Diego Lopez.” (ESPN)

Spain: The Year of Success for La Roja?

Leave a reply


“The 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa is almost upon us and millions around the world will be tuned in with all eyes on this year’s favourites, Spain. They have been regularly touted as potential champions for many years now, and rightly so with the talent they have at their disposal. But somehow it always seems to end in disappointment.” (Just Football)

One Style Does Not Fit All: Deconstructing A Universal Football Style

Leave a reply

“Africa has some of the best footballers in the world dominating some of the world’s best leagues. Yet African nations tend to struggle when their players come together for internationals. What gives? The easy answer to this conundrum almost always begins and ends with what has become a familiar refrain; African football lacks discipline. But if that’s the case, someone needs to explain why African teams have dominated for years at the youth level. Consistently beating the best footballing nations must require a certain level of organization and discipline even at the youth level, no? Surely the answer to this age old problem is more complex than discipline.” (Nutmeg Radio)

Quality time (1954 style)

Leave a reply

“Ay ay all, and fit like theday? Today is a national holiday in The Netherlands, meaning I’ve got to spend quality time with the family, which as anyone with kids and a day off from work will know translates approximately as ‘get awa fae thon computer for once!’. So probably no updates today and probably no Four to Follow either; take a look at the piece we did yesterday for something approaching an SFL preview for this weekend.” (Inside Left)

Lev Yashin: Russian Revolutionary

Leave a reply

“Soviet Union goalkeeper Lev Yashin was a true football revolutionary, who transformed the way people viewed his position and became a shining example to future generations of stoppers. Oozing charisma and talent in abundance, Yashin earned iconic status for pioneering a new approach to playing between the posts and is regularly attributed the title of ‘greatest goalkeeper to have played the game’.” (ESPN)

World Cup scouting: Nicolás Otamendi (Argentina)

Leave a reply


Nicolás Otamendi
“While much of the attention surrounding Argentina’s World Cup campaign will understandably focus on their star-studded attacking line-up, their chances of success in South Africa depend just as much – if not more – on Diego Maradona’s ability to configure an effective defensive unit.” (Football Further)

Football Conference (aka Blue Square Premier League)-Top of the table, 2009-10 season

Leave a reply

“Stevenage Borough will play in the Football League next season for the first time in their 35 year history. Stevenage Borough were famously denied entrance into the Football League in 1996, when, after winning the Conference, their automatic promotion was denied due to their ground being below standards. So 14 years later, it’s payback time for Stevenage and their fans. In the interim, the club had improved their ground, Broadhall Way, to the point where it was considered one of the top facilities in the Conference. This season, Stevenage saw a 30% increase in average attendance, to a very respectable 2,589 per game.” (billsportsmaps)

Security and the World Cup

Leave a reply

“I’ve just had an interesting meeting with a man who runs a big private security company in South Africa. He’s looking after one foreign football team, and many VIPs, during the World Cup. For a variety of reasons he didn’t want his name to be mentioned, but here are some of the main observations he made about the upcoming tournament, and South Africa in general.” (BBC)

Analysing Arsenal’s pressing system

Leave a reply

“Arsenal’s pressing game has suffered since the start of the season mostly due to a matter of distances. Shortened names are all the rage these days. From Subo (Susan Boyle), R-Pat (Robert Pattinson) and Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie), it’s a wonder they still haven’t thought of one for Babyshambles front man Pete Doherty. And after Barcelona swept all before them to bag six trophies last year, with Bordaeux and Chile prevailing as underdogs doing it, Arsenal became the latest side at the start of this season to adopt football’s trendiest tactic – that of ‘high intensity pressing’.” (Arsenal Column)

‘Philosophy Football’

Leave a reply


Antonio Gramsci
“The countdown to the 2010 World Cup South Africa can now be measured in days. And when it comes to the world’s most popular sport, there are often philosophical questions to ponder, but in the eyes of the world’s great thinkers — from Greek stoics to Jamaican Rastafarians — the game of soccer has always occupied a hallowed spot on a higher plain, up there somewhere between a bicycle kick and a diving header, depression and existentialism.” (NYT)

Fulham 2-1 Hamburg: technical quality shines through

Leave a reply

“A game literally ten times more enjoyable than the first leg, and probably a deserved result. Fulham, unbelievably, are in a European final, whilst Hamburg’s first game under their new manager resulted in a more spirited performance, but one that was no more cohesive. Fulham’s side was unchanged from the first leg, with the exception of John Pantsil coming in for the suspended Chris Baird. The formation was the same – 4-4-2 with inverted wingers, and Zolan Gera playing close to Bobby Zamora, who was declared fit to start.” (Zonal Marking)

Video Of The Week: Shouts For City!

Leave a reply

“We’ve got another vintage documentary for you as this week’s “Video For The Week”. Produced as part of the “Jaywalking” series of local interest documentaries for the Midlands commercial television station ATV in 1975, “Shouts For City!” follows local television stalwart Sue Jay as she spends some time with local club Stoke City. As a club that had been one of the founder members of the Football League in 1888, they had long been punctuated with great players such as Gordon Banks and Stanley Matthews, but had never built a team that would achieve true greatness.” (twohundredpercent)

World Cup Preview: Group C

Leave a reply

“The 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off in six weeks today, close enough that you can start to hear the vuvuzelas and smell the biltong. Continuing his preview of this summer (winter)’s events, Dotmund has now reached Group C, where he will do his best to cover the large three lions tattoo on his face and behave in the sort of balanced way we like here at Twohundredpercent. Let’s see what he discovered, with his little notebook at his side.” (twohundredpercent)

Liverpool 2 – 1 Atlético Madrid

Leave a reply

“Atletico Madrid striker Diego Forlan scored against Liverpool for the second time in a week to end the Merseysiders’ dreams of a third European final in five years. The former Manchester United forward, who hit the only goal in the first leg, stabbed home the crucial extra-time away goal which booked their place in May’s Europa.” (ESPN)

Liverpool 2 – 1 Atletico Madrid (agg 2 – 2)
“Diego Forlan struck an extra-time away goal to end Liverpool’s Europa League hopes and book Atletico Madrid’s place in the final against Fulham on 12 May. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Spain, Liverpool levelled the tie when Alberto Aquilani converted Yossi Benayoun’s cross with a fine finish. And they added a second early in extra time through Benayoun’s half-volley.” (BBC)

Liverpool 2-1 Atletico Madrid – Video Highlights and Recap – Europa League – Thursday, April 29, 2010
“Liverpool hosted Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Europa League Semifinals second leg on Thursday, April 29, 2010. If they were to advance, they would meet Fulham in final with two English clubs. Atletico Madrid had a 1-0 lead from the first leg and would advance with a draw or a 2-1 score with an away goal. The match took place at Anfield where Liverpool traditionally have been very strong.” (The 90th Minute)

Prologue: A Confidential History of the Brooklyn Asylum (2)

Leave a reply

“‘Salzach had never been right”: this was the widespread agreement in Brooklyn, not only in the hours after the catastrophe but in the days and weeks after it. And in this case the consensus was correct, for when the authorities supervising his case sent back to Europe in an effort to turn up his relations, they unearthed to their astonishment a family of ferocious German dukes, who explained—not personally, of course—that Salzach was in fact the fourth male issue of a creature called the Baron von Salzach, from whose house he had disappeared nine years ago, defeating all his family’s subsequent efforts to find him and restore him to his birthright.” (Run of Play)

U.S. team must maintain its on-field discipline in South Africa

Leave a reply

“Jozy Altidore wandered into a dangerous place last weekend. His red card while playing for EPL struggler Hull City might ordinarily have prompted some head shaking, some mumbling about impetuous youth. U.S. supporters, gazing from afar, could simply have hoped the 20-year-old striker grows out of it. But this is hardly an ordinary time. It’s squeaky-bum time in soccer’s ultimate cycle, the crest of the World Cup loop.” (SI)

Barcelona 1-0 Inter: Mourinho’s side progress – deservedly

Leave a reply


Jan Brueghel the Elder. Orpheus in the Underworld
“There are times when the hype about Jose Mourinho is frustrating and cliched, there are times when it is fully deserved. Tonight was the latter in one of the great defensive performances in recent footballing history. Barcelona reverted to their ‘traditional’ 4-3-3 they had persisted with until recently, with a midfield trio of Busquets-Keita-Xavi, Yaya Toure in defence, and Gabriel Milito surprisingly pushed out to left-back. Pedro Rodriguez stayed wide-left, Lionel Messi cut in from the right, Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the striker.” (Zonal Marking)

Barcelona 1 Inter Milan 0; agg 2-3: match report
“Even the Nou Camp sprinklers set at geyser strength couldn’t douse Jose Mourinho’s fire. Even the combined technical might of Lionel Messi and Xavi couldn’t overcome opponents organised so brilliantly by the Special One. Even the loss of Thiago Motta to a red card and loss of a goal to Gerard Piqué couldn’t perturb composed, calculating Inter. Homage to Catalonia? No chance. Mourinho scripted the reverse.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Barcelona v Inter Milan: Jose Mourinho hails ‘most beautiful defeat of my life’
“A 1-0 second-leg defeat could not prevent dogged Inter, leading 3-1 from the San Siro, heading to the May 22 final against Bayern Munich. Mourinho even received congratulatory texts from his old Chelsea friends.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

FC Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan – Unbreakable Inter far from Wile E. Coyote
“Do you remember the Looney Tunes cartoons, and the scene that always takes place in which the ‘baddie’ character overruns a cliff but grabs onto a branch and clings on for dear life, sweat dripping, slowly losing his grip as he stares ominously down at a shark tank or bear pit or similar great peril? That, to me, symbolised Inter Milan against FC Barcelona at Camp Nou tonight. And while Inter hung on desperately, we watched – nervous, tense, enthralled – waiting to see if they would hang onto that branch, somehow, and clamber back to safety, or if they would eventually tire, arms weary from the struggle, and plunge helplessly into the abyss.” (Just Football)

Barca in need of a Plan B
“It is hard to criticise a team who have scored 83 goals in La Liga this season for lacking the firepower to see them through but, against Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan, reigning European champions Barcelona showed that their fluid attacking style has weaknesses. After the heights of the sextuple last year, this season’s Barcelona had a lot to live up to, but the decision to sell Samuel Eto’o to their eventual conquerors in Europe could be one that comes back to haunt them.” (ESPN)

Barcelona dethroned by resilient Inter
“An immense display of intelligent defending and sheer determination took FC Internazionale Milano into the European Champion Clubs’ Cup final for the first time since 1972, ending FC Barcelona’s hopes of becoming the first team to defend the UEFA Champions League.” (UEFA)

Champions League: Inter Milan Holds On
“ITV pundit Clive Tyldesley likes to invoke ‘magical nights’ in Barcelona whenever he gets the chance (even when he’s commentating on a fourth-round FA Cup tie between Blackpool and Stoke). But his patented tagline actually fits the occasion today. It’s the second leg of Barcelona and Inter Milan’s Champion’s League semifinal from Camp Nou in Barcelona.” (WSJ)

FC Barcelona 1-0 Inter Milan (Internazionale) – Recap and Video Highlights – Champions League – Wednesday, April 28, 2010
“The UEFA Champions League finished its semifinal round on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 with the second leg of FC Barcelona v Inter Milan aka Internazionale. Inter Milan held a 3-1 lead after the first leg at the San Siro but would have to try and hold Barcelona at the Camp Nou. The winner would move onto the final to play Bayern Munich in the final in late May.” (The 90th Minute)

Tactics: Van Gaal crafts a very modern Bayern

Leave a reply

“Rarely can a team have qualified for a Champions League final as easily as Bayern Munich did against Lyon. ‘Has anyone seen a Champions League semi-final?’ asked one wag in the Stade Gerland media centre after Tuesday’s hopelessly one-sided semi-final return leg. ‘I was told there’d be one here but I couldn’t see it.’ Comprehensively outplayed in both legs, Lyon’s limp performance over the tie was an appalling advertisement for French football and in the grim post mortem of the after-match analysis there was no disguising the simple fact that Claude Puel’s side had been beaten by a far superior team. Time and again in his post-match press conference, a shell-shocked Puel returned to the theme of Bayern’s remarkable physical capacities.” (Football Further)

England World Cup History

Leave a reply


Scientist – Wins the World Cup (1982)
“Before I start typing this, and before you start reading, I should ‘fess up that I’m an England fan. Hopefully I’m not too biased and can write a post about the World Cup history of England in an objective manner. Even when discussing the events of 1966 and 1986. But I thought it was only fair to warn you before we get started. The England football team is the joint oldest in the world, with he first international match being between England and Scotland in 1870. So England should have loads of World Cups, right? Unfortunately, England didn’t play at their first World Cup until 1950 Why? Mostly arrogance. England left FIFA in 1928 (two years before the first World Cup) and didn’t rejoin until 1948. So the Three Lions managed to miss the first three World Cup tournaments, which means we pick up the story in 1950.” (World Cup Blog – Part I, 1950 – 1970)), (World Cup Blog – Part II, 1982 – 2006)

Carlos Carmona could be a player to watch in South Africa

Leave a reply

“Praise has flooded in for coach Marcelo Bielsa for leading Chile to the World Cup finals in such convincing and attractive style – and rightly so. The Argentinian has clearly done an exceptional job, inheriting a squad in some disarray following the 2007 Copa America and moulding them into a side considered by some to be dark horses in South Africa.” (World Soccer – Tim Vickery)

Grays Athletic 2-1 Forest Green Rovers

Leave a reply

“All of the decisions at the top of the Blue Square Premier table have already been made, but the final day of the season brings an intriguing battle to avoid relegation from the league and the most poignant of the fixtures is the one at The Recreation Ground, Bridge Road, Grays. As football venues go, The Recreation Ground is a pretty unprepossessing one. When the club somersaulted into the Blue Square Premier five years ago new terraces were built at either end of the ground and small covered enclosures popped up in front of the flats that run the length of side of the pitch. In spite of these developments, The Recreation Ground, hemmed in by buildings on all four sides, remained a defiantly non-league ground in a league that has started to assume many of the pretentions of professionalism over the last few years.” (twohundredpercent)

‘World Class’ World Cup a Difficult Proposition for African Fans

Leave a reply

“With only 43 days to go before the start of the World Cup, the head of the South African organizing committee said Wednesday that the host country’s infrastructure is superior to any previous tournament host; the stadiums are pristine; and the country is ready to welcome more than 370,000 visitors for the biggest party in the world.” (NYT)

After 44 Years, England Wonders if Its Time Is Now

Leave a reply


Hieronymous Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights
“It has been reported that England’s national soccer team will sleep in special tents to prepare for the altitude in South Africa, site of the coming World Cup. This undoubtedly came as a relief to many, given where a couple of high-profile players were said to be slumbering lately in scandals that cost defender John Terry his captaincy and his fellow defender Ashley Cole his marriage.” (NYT)

Inter v. Barcelona Preview: Buy the Hype!

Leave a reply

“Everybody, including me, wants to paint Mourinho as the Dark Lord, the scheming scientist locked in a dungeon in a castle atop a mountain. Due to his playful and sarcastic media mind games, his personality gets depicted in a negative light. Accordingly, we transpose this ‘abrasive’ personality onto his team – if Mourinho is such a downer in press conferences, then surely his Inter play negative catenaccio. Right? Wrong.” (futfanatico)

One Team’s Dream Is Another Team’s Obsession

Leave a reply

“With a 3-1 lead going into the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinal on Wednesday, it is fair to say that Inter Milan’s chances are better than 50/50. Perhaps Jose Mourinho was trying to be generous to his hosts. More likely, Mourinho, the Inter Milan manager, was trying to ease the pressure on his players and tweak Barcelona.” (NYT)

Looking Beyond Seats On A US Soccer Plane

Leave a reply


“Every four years when the World Cup rolls around, you’re guaranteed to come across countless versions of the “who gets a seat on the plane/bus/boat to [insert World Cup host country]” game. In the United States, the game typically involves an analysis of players who are yet to secure a ticket on the relevant mode of transportation, and often an analysis of where the U.S. team lacks depth. Now trust me, I love Seats on a Plane as much as the next man, but surely there must be more if the goal is to critically assess our talent.” (Nutmeg Radio – Part I), (Nutmeg Radio – Part II)

World Cup Songs: #3 Waka Waka (This Time For Africa) by Shakira

2 Replies

“This is the tune FIFA, in their infinite wisdom, have chosen to be the official song of the 2010 World Cup. Shakira gets the chance to belt out some pretty pedestrian inspirational lyrics. Well, you wouldn’t expect anything less from an official World Cup song, would you?” (Off the Post)

Prologue: A Confidential History of the Brooklyn Asylum Itself (1)

Leave a reply

“It happened in the early years of the City of Brooklyn that a man called Salzach, a German of Bavarian descent, lost his mind. He was ripping apart old sacks in the yard behind the hostelry when it happened. The innkeeper, who glanced out from the kitchen window a few minutes later, was alarmed to see him shaking his fist and furiously addressing a cat that was sunning itself on the tree stump. Brooklyn Asylum postcard, 1893. Evidently harboring some inkling of suspicion against Herr Salzach already, the innkeeper wasted no time in dispatching the Irish boy, Michael, to the police.” (Run of Play)

Lyon 0-3 Bayern: Lyon disjointed, Bayern take advantage

Leave a reply

“A resounding victory for Bayern, a disappointing end to France’s exciting adventures in European football this season, and an underwhelming display from Lyon in their first European semi-final. Lyon started with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with three out-and-out attacking players lining up behind Lisandro Lopez. Sidney Govou was recalled in place of Ederson, whilst Jean-Alain Boumsong replaced Jeremy Toulalan, a centre-back in the first leg, at the back.” (Zonal Marking)

Lyon 0-3 Bayern Munich – Recap and Video Highlights – Champions League – Tuesday, April 27, 2010
“Lyon hosted Bayern Munich in the 2nd leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals needing to overcome an 0-1 deficit. The winner would move on to face the winner of the Barcelona/Inter Milan semifinal. The match could go either way and neither team was an overwhelming favorite to move into the final.” (The 90th Minute)