Kevin James: I still think about cup final goal that never was

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“He’s had a career in Scottish football that has spanned over 15 years. In that time he has savoured the joy and ecstasy of scoring the equaliser in a Scottish cup semi final against Celtic, and the pain and frustration of being sidelined for 18 months through injury. Kevin James has gone through just about every emotion known to man in a playing career packed full of euphoric highs and devastating lows.” (The Away End)

England’s chances of World Cup glory

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Cesc Fàbregas, football icon
“When we began researching what would become our book Why England Lose & Other Curious Football Phenomena Explained, we decided not to believe a word that anyone said about the game. Instead we would test its shibboleths against data. It was about time, too. For decades, football had escaped the Enlightenment. Clubs are mostly run by people who ignore data and do what they do because they have always done it that way. These people used to ‘know’ that black players ‘lacked bottle’, and they would therefore overpay for mediocre white players. Today, they discriminate against black managers, buy the wrong players and then let those players take penalties the wrong way.” (FI – Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski)

Inter Milan (Internazionale) 2-0 Juventus – Recap and Video Highlights – Serie A – Friday, April 16, 2010

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“Inter Milan hosted Juventus in the Italian Serie A with a chance to go top of the table. Juventus are aiming to move into the top four and play in the UEFA Champions League next season. Inter needed a win as they trailed AS Roma by one point heading into the match while Juventus were in 6th place and three points behind 4th place.” (The 90th Minute)

Inter 2-0 Juventus: I Nerazzurri rely on a sending-off and a wonderstrike
“Inter emerge victorious, but it was far from easy. A surprising system from Alberto Zaccheroni flummoxed Inter, and it took a combination of Momo Sissoko’s madness and Maicon’s brilliance to give Inter the crucial three points. No surprises from Inter – they played what is now their usual 4-2-1-3 shape, with Samuel Eto’o and Goran Pandev switching wings.” (Zonal Marking)

Gillett & Hicks: Overpaid, Over-leveraged And… Over

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Jan Brueghel, Triumph des Todes
“At a time when stock market flotations were all the rage in top football circles, performance-related pay (PRP) was all the rage in public sector/civil service offices. Both ideas proved to be rubbish (see ‘bankers’ bonuses’ for details). But not before both wrought considerable damage. A key part of PRP where I once worked was the concept of ‘SMART’ objectives, which won the ‘misleading acronym of the year’ award so often in the early-90s it got to keep the trophy. SMART stood for ‘Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timeous.’ And while this contained an element of superficial common-sense, it failed utterly as a measure of determining pay, for reasons to numerous and dull to detail here.” (twohundredpercent)

World Cup scouting: Lucas Barrios (Paraguay)

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“A common complaint of international coaches in World Cup year is that they simply don’t have enough time to prepare their squads for the manifold rigours of such an unremittingly high-profile tournament. Teams go into the World Cup backed by supporters who believe their performance will wash away years of accumulated disappointment in one fell swoop, despite having spent only a matter of weeks together by way of preparation in the majority of cases.” (Football Further)

Stoichkov: Bulgaria’s blessing

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“There are some World Cup legends that made an impact in many different tournaments. Some only needed one to elevate themselves to a similar status and Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov is one of them. Stoichkov is now viewed in the same breath as Georgi Asparuhov in his homeland and few have come close to emulating his achievements since – with Manchester United’s Dimitar Berbatov the closest of the current breed so far.” (ESPN)

Meet the luckiest fan in the world

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“While scuffles broke out at South Africa’s ticketing centres and football fans (including myself) grew irritated at yesterday’s computer ticketing collapse, leaving many empty-handed, one man sat exceedingly pretty. He hadn’t needed to sleep overnight on the streets of Cape Town nor Johannesburg – where one devoted couple hired a hotel room near a Fifa centre so they could tag-team for a 20-hour marathon that eventually yielded two much-coveted tickets for the final.” (BBC)

World Cup Preview: Group A

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“The 19th FIFA World Cup kicks off in nine weeks today, and as such Dotmund continues his almost-in-depth look ahead to this summer’s festivities. Today is the beginning of his preview of each of the eight groups, having been sent foraging for facts on the internet with only his trusty huge mackerel baguette for company. Predictably enough, we start with Group A.” (twohundredpercent)

Technology and Justice

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“It happens every few months, like the change of seasons or the media’s en masse attempt to wring some fresh significance out of Sarah Palin: a referee misses an important call, a fan base is outraged, a UEFA executive looks on in silence, and lights flare to life over the metaphoric phone banks at the metaphoric talk-radio stations that, in the imaginations of writers, suggest a groundswell of popular interest. One minute Thierry Henry practices saxophone fingerings on the ball and stops Ireland from reaching the World Cup, the next Didier Drogba whaps like a volleyball player and helps secure the title for Chelsea (twice, actually, if you remember Man City 2006).” (Run of Play)

England’s World Cup hosts in a race to be ready in time

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“Just seven weeks remain until the England team move into their South Africa base for the World Cup finals, and yet their headquarters still look like a building site. You cannot miss the Bafokeng Sports Campus, on a right-hand turning off the road between Rustenburg and Sun City, because there is a small platoon of workers building the entry gates. Down the drive, the construction work is more extensive. One building, containing the medical centre, the thermal rehab room and the gymnasium, remains incomplete. Even farther behind in the race for completion is the shell of another building that will be the media centre.” (TimesOnline)

Undercurrents of Violence at the World Cup

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Emmanuel Adebayor
“How easy it is to forget that athletes at their peak are, by the very nature of their tasks, young but expected to be wise in their event, world-traveled but isolated and vulnerable. This week, Emmanuel Adebayor, the goal scorer for Manchester City, gave up the captaincy and, he said, the calling to ever play again for his country, Togo. He is 26 and a millionaire, and he said he just cannot get out of his head the day in January when Angolan separatists fired on the Togo team bus, killing three people in it.” (NYT)

Fabio Capello pinpoints failure to invest for English clubs’ Champions League exits

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“For the first time in seven years, England has no representatives in the semi-finals of the Champions League. ‘It is obvious that the financial crisis has affected the English clubs in Europe after years when they were among the top spenders,’ said Capello. ‘Besides Manchester City, the main exceptions were Real Madrid and Inter Milan. Florentino Perez had to bring Real back into the frame. Inter Milan bought six new players.'” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Europe’s former players gather in Liverpool

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“Sir Bobby Charlton kept a roomful of people spellbound yesterday with stories of his life in football. The pick of the bunch was about Bill Shankly and the first day of the 1967-68 season. It was seven in the morning and Liverpool’s squad had spent the night at a hotel in Lymm prior to visiting Manchester City. Alone in the lobby, Shankly was itching for conversation. On hearing from the porter that ‘Bobby Charlton lives round here’, he headed out.” (WSC)

Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal: Spurs defend deep, narrow – and brilliantly

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“Tottenham record their first league win over Arsenal for a decade, and simultaneously rule Arsenal out of the title race. Arsene Wenger’s side have been written off on at least two previous occasions, but this, surely, is the end of the road. No major surprises in the starting line-ups – with injuries throughout the side, Wenger merely chose what he had. As against Barcelona, the only choice was between Emmanuel Eboue and Theo Walcott, and the Ivorian got the nod. Denilson played in space behind Abou Diaby and Samir Nasri in a 4-1-4-1 shape.” (Zonal Marking)

What a Debut, What a Goal
“What a Premier League debut and what a golazo. Danny Rose, a 19-year-old wing for Tottenham Hotspur, will have a difficult time topping the first goal of his English Premier League career — a 30-yard blast 10 minutes into the north London derby against rival Arsenal on Wednesday. (NYT)

Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Arsenal – Recap and Video Highlights – English Premier League – Wednesday, April 14, 2010
“Two London based clubs met in a derby match in the English Premier League as Tottenham Hotspur hosted Arsenal on Wednesday, April 14, 2010. Arsenal needed a victory to keep their title hopes alive while Tottenham needed a victory to keep pace with 4th place Manchester City. A draw or loss would likely end both club’s chances of their goals.” (The 90th Minute)

The Game Is Afoot in Spain

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“Even a work stoppage can’t stop Lionel Messi. Strike action had threatened to halt the world’s top striker, but the Barcelona forward is now free to continue his tear through the record books this weekend after Spain’s football players’ union, the AFE, called off a walkout over unpaid wages that would have prevented matches in the country’s top four leagues.” (WSJ)

Burying War Through Football in Lebanon

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“A student posted a link on my ‘Global France’ blog about a fascinating football tournament organized in Lebanon recently as a way of commemorating, but also burying, the wars that tore about the country starting in the 1970s. You can read her post here, and the full story here. Interestingly, while the match was intended to create a context for peaceful encounters between political groups that were once at war, it was considered to delicate an event to allow for spectators, though the event was broadcast on TV.” (Soccer Politics), (Google – Lebanese mark war’s outbreak with political soccer)

Why Video Technology Is Not The Answer

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“Sports have kept in touch with technology as the information age has changed the face of modern games. Cricket, basketball, rugby, tennis, American football, and a plethora of other sports employ video technology in order to help referees make decisions and review calls. However, football, arguably the world’s most popular sport, has yet to integrate video technology into its rules. Although I disagree with the majority of FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s opinions, I am in concord with him distancing football from the use of video technology.” (Soccer Politics)

Al Jazeera Story about Iran’s women’s team & a follow up to last week’s post

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“Reaction to last week’s post about football and hijab has been caught up in the veil (represented by some commentators as the first step in a “slippery slope to fundamentalism”). Some readers seem to have lost sight of the story at hand: whether FIFA’s support of the ban against headscarves specifically, and hijab more broadly, makes sense.” (From A Left Wing)

Roma ready set to take advantage of Inter’s faltering form

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“All of a sudden, we have a contest. For much of this season Internazionale have been the strongest side in Italy with most observers agreeing that they are on course to win a fifth consecutive league title. By the end of January, Inter were cruising along on top of the table, nine points clear of Milan and 11 ahead of Roma. The scudetto looked a mere formality, an annoying but gratifying distraction from the club’s main seasonal objective, namely Champions League glory.” (World Soccer)

First XI: World Cup defenders

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“Following on from last week’s First XI goalkeepers, we have our selection of the top World Cup defenders. While Europeans – and particularly Italians – dominate the list, it’s worth remembering the contribution of South Americans to the art of defence, with the likes of Chile’s Elias Figueroa and Uruguayan Jose Santamaria missing out on the list but having made their mark on the world stage.” (ESPN)

A tactical guide to the Champions League semi-finalists

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The Oaths of the Horatii, Jacques Louis David
“When it comes to surviving in the latter stages of the Champions League, it seems versatility is the key to vitality. One of the most notable things about the four sides that have made it to this season’s semi-finals is that all four have, to a greater or lesser extent, deployed formations and tactical systems that they do not use in domestic competition in order to reach the last four.” (Football Further)

The Question: Why is the modern offside law a work of genius?

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“Nothing in football is so traduced as the offside law. Most seem to regard it as a piece of killjoy legislation, designed almost to prevent football producing too many goals and being too much fun, while for the punditocracy it has become the universal scapegoat, the thing that “nobody understands”. Just because Garth Crooks doesn’t get something, though, doesn’t make it a bad thing. The modern offside law may be the best thing that’s ever happened to football, and it is almost certainly the reason Barcelona have been so successful with a fleet of players whose obvious asset is their technique rather than their physique.” (Guardian)

Fiorentina 0-1 Inter – Eto’o wins the tie, then Inter go ultra-defensive

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“When two teams play each other twice in quick succession, the second game is often boring and predictable – so the fact that there were eleven changes between the sides from the weekend’s line-ups was a welcome surprise. That first game was a league game, where the sides drew 2-2. The first leg of this encounter was, ludicrously, as longago as 3rd February, where a Diego Milito goal gave Inter a 1-0 win. Away goals counted after 90 minutes, so a single Inter goal would leave Fiorentina needing three.” (Zonal Marking)

Politics and sport fight it out in Bill Shankly’s shadow

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“To the many and storied benefits of the Premier League revolution, chalk up the increasing requirement for committed fans to have a finance qualification. ‘Three years ago,” reflects Everton supporter Dave Kelly, “if you’d have said ‘enabling grant’ to a supporter on the Goodison Road, they’d have thought you were talking about Tony Grant’s brother.’ Tony Grant is a former Everton midfielder, should you be unfamiliar with his work, while his brother Enabling is viewed by some as the saviour of any number of successful football clubs who bafflingly find themselves financially embarrassed.” (Guardian)

Revealed: How Goldman Sachs drew up financial rescue for Liverpool
“One of the world’s greatest football clubs owned by a group of investors put together by the world’s most powerful investment bank. It sounds far fetched doesn’t it? Except, until six weeks ago, it was one of the options being looked at by Liverpool’s beleaguered owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.” (BBC)

“El Clasico” in Haiti

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“Laura Wagner, a UNC Anthropology graduate student who was in Haiti during the earthquake (and wrote a searing account of her experience at Salon.com), has recently returned to continue her research there. On Saturday, she took this photograph in Port-au-Prince, in the neighborhood of Delmas 32. The chalk board in front of this damaged building — you can see a broken gate inside the building, and the tarp is a necessary addition now that the rainy season has begun — invited fans to come watch the Real-Barca game, something that is of course not to be missed under any circumstances.” (Soccer Politics)

Maradona: Pancho Villa in Soccer Shorts

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“I was lucky enough this past Saturday night to see the 2008 film Maradona by Kusturica (it is currently unavailable in the United States). It was the same night that, 30 minutes into the El Clasico matchup with Real Madrid—what was essentially the La Liga championship match—Barcelona’s Argentine striker Lionel Messi catapulted his way into the penalty box, chested an incoming cross in such a way that turned his defender completely around, and then slap-kicked the ball so it bounded past the helpless goalkeeper.” (Vanity Fair) Must Read Soccer

Technology In Football

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“It rather seems as if every time there is a refereeing decision that costs a team a point or two, the usual suspects in the media start stating the case for all manner of whizzy gizmos to make sure that such a travesty of justice never occurs again. FIFA, however, are against the introduction of such technology and Rob Freeman has similar reservations.” (twohundredpercent)

Special

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“Took at this place. Do these look like the living quarters of a criminal mastermind? “A devious architect,” they allege, “who builds his creations for the sole purpose of destroying what is beautiful, what is cherished.” I understand the role I play—that is, the role they have me play. It’s a business, like anything else: of course I know this. It’s just not fair. It isn’t fair that I have to build my own life, my real life, to confirm my existence as I want it to be, not as it has been manufactured by those who disseminate information to the masses.” (Run of Play)

County Deepen Celtic’s Woes

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“When the draw for the Scottish Cup semi-finals was made all the talk was of Rangers and Celtic being kept apart for a potential Old Firm final. It hasn’t quite worked out that way. Rangers didn’t even reach the semis in the end, losing to a scruffy but deserved last minute goal in their quarter-final replay at Dundee United; but it’s Celtic’s semi-final humiliation at the hands of Ross County which is the real story.” (twohundredpercent)

Self-interested SPL clubs must push for change
“Motherwell travel to Celtic tonight for the second time this season, but it won’t be the last. Thanks to the Scottish Premier League’s remarkably pointless innovation of splitting the league in two with five games to go, Motherwell have been allocated a third visit to Parkhead on May Day. The SPL rules guarantee ‘so far as reasonably practicable’ that teams will play an equal number of home and away fixtures, but the Lanarkshire club will end up with 18 home games and 20 away, and has announced that it will exhaust ‘all avenues of protest’ to complain about the lopsided allocation. Expect to see manager Craig Brown chained to the gates of Hampden Park any day now.” (WSC)

Video Of The Week: Hooligan

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“This week’s ‘Video Of The Week’ is ‘Hooligan’, a 1985 documentary made by Thames Television about a problem which, at the time, seemed to more or less intractably woven into the very fabric of English football. The film focusses upon the ICF, the West Ham United hooligan firm, but also offers a brief history of the problem within the game as well as a look at how the problem affected the English national team (although the makers chose to use footage of the notorious match between England and Belgium in Turin at the 1980 European Championship finals, although there is no doubt that there would have been more recent footage that they could have used in 1985), the growth of the problem abroad and some analysis of the psyche of the football hooligan, including an interview with John Williams, latterly of the Department of Sociology at Leicester University.” (twohundredpercent)

Pulling Back the Curtain on the Wizard of Real Madrid

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“Every time I write on this subject, self-doubt creeps in. Barcelona’s possession game has seeped into the soccer inteligentista social network, forever altering its philosophical foundations and how we view the “beautiful” game. Every time a defender passes to a goalie, we don’t roar with cheers, but rather applaud quietly in a Starbucks while sipping on a latte and flipping through the Guardian. And if the goalie passes to a defender?” (Run of Play)

Never enough

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Michael Bradley
“It’s another heated U.S.-Mexico match — a World Cup qualifier in Columbus, in February 2009, before a typically crazed crowd — and as usual, there’s a flash point. U.S. keeper Tim Howard rises to grab a ball that floats in front of the six-yard box, and as he does he’s kicked in the leg by Mexico’s Rafael Marquez — a flagrant red card. In a flash, American midfielder Michael Bradley has sprinted to the fallen Marquez to loom over him. Just as suddenly, U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra arrives to give his younger teammate a quick, hard shove.” (ESPN)

The Case of the Soccer Con Artist

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“Last summer, CSKA Sofia, the winningest soccer club in the history of Bulgaria, invited an intriguing prospect to train with the team. The player, a Frenchman named Greg Akcelrod, had been climbing the ranks of European soccer, signing with a top-flight Paris club and training with a team in Argentina. He had an agent and a Web site that showed him scoring a goal for the English club Swindon Town. He’d even been chosen as an ambassador for Lance Armstrong’s charity.” (WSJ)

Book Review: Hunting Grounds

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“In Hunting Grounds, Scottish journalist Gary Sutherland undertakes a season long journey around the grounds of all 42 Scottish League clubs, offering a good introductory overview for those encountering the world of Scottish football beyond the Auld Firm, whilst also presenting the hardcore fan with some heart warming stories powered by Scotrail and Tennents.” (thetwounfortunates)

Uruguay rates as Group A favorite

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“The group that drew hosts South Africa, rather than one of the seven other seeded teams, was supposed to be among the easiest in the World Cup. Instead, Group A will be one of the toughest and certainly among the most competitive. Consider that this group could have consisted of South Africa, New Zealand, Slovakia and Paraguay. Instead, the hosts are paired with three teams that place in the Soccer Power Index’s top 17. And South Africa itself will be no pushover, as it’s playing better football of late and is poised to take advantage of its home status.” (ESPN)

Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona: Xavi runs the show yet again

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“The most eagerly-anticipated league match of the 2009/10 season, and a deserved win for Barcelona, who will now surely go on to win the title. Pep Guardiola sprung a surprise with his initial line-up, deploying Dani Alves as a right winger, with Carles Puyol at right-back, and Gabriel Milito coming into the centre of defence. Messi played centrally but drifted around, Pedro played from the left, and Keita was used more centrally than in previous matches.” (Zonal Marking)

Barcelona Win Deals Blow to Madrid
“Spain’s biggest selling daily – the sports newspaper Marca – billed it as the ‘Game of the Millenium.’ Most other media were somewhat more restrained, simply calling it the ‘final’ of La Liga. And while that may have been a bit premature – there are, after all, 7 games left in the Spanish league – there is little question that Barcelona’s 2-0 win at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium dealt a body blow to the ‘Galacticos, v. 2.0’ as some have called Real’s expensively assembled squad.” (WSJ)

El Clasico
“I spent twelve hours sorting through the clichés and evasions trying to get to the truth, only to realize that the truth was in the cliché. Early in the first half, maybe even before the game started, Phil Schoen said Pellegrini would be fired if Madrid lost, because ‘right or wrong, that’s just how Madrid do business’.” (Run of Play)

Strikers’ Goal: Get Paid on Time
“Another goal from Lionel Messi and another inspired display by Barcelona decided Saturday night’s El Clásico derby against Real Madrid. Football fans are advised to savor the performance: It will be the last we see of La Liga for some time. There will be no football matches in Spain next weekend after the Spanish players union, the AFE, called a strike Friday over unpaid wages, which will halt games in the country’s top four leagues between April 16-19.” (WSJ)

Barcelona Makes Real Look Second Best
“The hour is midnight, but Madrid is not about to sleep anytime soon. Its team, Real, has just been outplayed and outclassed by Barcelona in Madrid’s own cathedral to sport, the Bernabéu. The 2-0 score line does not settle the Spanish league title, because each team has seven games yet to play. But, with goals from Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodríguez on Saturday, each of them created by the master passer, Xavi Hernández, this was indeed a defining night, another one in Barcelona’s omnipotent season.” (NYT)

The best player in the world plays in Spain
“English football has always had an uneasy relationship with all things continental. The absence of any teams from ‘The Best League In The World’ in the semi-finals of the Champions League this season has been greeted as a national disaster but this would not have always been the case. When the tournament was first created in 1955, Chelsea were forbidden from entering it by the Football League chairman, Alan Hardaker, and even the England team did not play in a World Cup until 1950.” (WSC)

Fiorentina 2-2 Inter: The same goal three times, and a good result for neither

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“An exciting game that finished with a deserved point for either side, but it is a result that isn’t of much help to either at the moment – Fiorentina’s vague Champions League hopes are almost dead, whilst Inter are off the top of the table for the first time in months.” (Zonal Marking)

Immigrant pride and working-class thrift

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Italy
“A century ago when the Velez Sarsfield club was founded in Argentina their shirts were plain white – the cheapest they could find. Then they went with stripes of red, green and white – a tribute to the Italian origins of the club’s founders. Finally they settled on the current strip – which, with a blue V on a white background looks like something out of rugby league. This is no coincidence. The story goes that they were offered a good deal on the shirts, which a rugby club had ordered and not bothered to collect.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Terrorism threat to England opening match against USA at football World Cup

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“British intelligence officials have been alerted after the North African group, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, issued a statement warning that suicide bombers using ‘undetectable’ explosives would target the England versus United States match in Rustenburg in June. The group have been behind a string of kidnaps of Westerners, and last year were condemned for the ‘barbaric’ execution of a British hostage.” (Telegraph)

FCDSTT – Scars of the “D”/Sins of the Debt

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“Let’s start out with the goods news first – we (1) closed on our lease for an office for our Worthwhile Inspection Tribunal-Court Hearing and (2) had our first such hearing. The bad news? Well, Pusky has not responded to our death threat and I’m starting to feel that people don’t take this project seriously.” (futfanatico)

Real Madrid 0 – 2 Barcelona

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Francesco Guardi, The Doge of Venice goes to the Salute on 21 November to Commemor
“Barcelona struck a potentially decisive blow in the Primera Division title race by ending Real Madrid’s perfect home record to go three points clear at the summit. Lionel Messi’s 40th goal of the season in all competitions put the reigning Spanish and European champions on the road to victory in ‘El Clasico’, and Pedro Rodriguez completed the scoring 10 minutes after half-time.” (ESPN)

Manuel Pellegrini fears for Real Madrid future after Barcelona defeat
“‘I am not the one responsible for answering that question,’ said the Chilean when asked if he expected to be granted a second season at the Bernabeu by Florentino Perez, the club’s president and the man who appointed the former Villarreal coach. ‘And I am not the one who has to talk about my qualities as a manager.’ After an impressive run of form, Real went in to last night’s clasico – decided by goals either side of half-time from Lionel Messi and Pedro – level on points with the Spanish, European and World champions. Though mathematically they now lie just three points behind, Barcelona’s superior head to head record effectively gives the Catalans a four-point lead.” (Telegraph)

Buoyant Barcelona close in on title
“Deportivo, Espanyol, Xerez, Villarreal, Tenerife, Sevilla, Valladolid – those are the names of the teams that Barcelona have to play in La Liga during the next five weeks. However, to quote the succinct front page of the Spanish sports newspaper As on Sunday: ’21 points remain but the title seems already decided.’ Barcelona’s 2-0 victory at Real Madrid on Saturday returned them to the top of the table and gives them a three-point advantage in their bid to be crowned champions for the second successive season and the 20th time in their history.” (BBC)

Lionel Messi punishes Real Madrid to give Barcelona title lift
“This time Lionel Messi scored only once and it was not a particularly special goal, yet it could prove as significant as the four against Arsenal. The architect of Barcelona’s victory was the peerless Xavi Hernández but it was Messi’s 40th goal of a spectacular season that set Barcelona on the way to victory in the match that was declared the title decider. Real Madrid’s 14-game winning run at the Bernabéu came to an end and the feeling as disappointed fans left early was that so too did their chances of winning the league.” (Guardian)

Ronaldo and Messi duel in El Clasico
“Cristiano Ronaldo has never scored against Barcelona, so tonight would be a good time to start. Having heard the universal acclaim bestowed on Lionel Messi this week, Ronaldo will get the chance to overshadow him and take Real Madrid a giant step closer to winning La Liga in a match that has had the whole of Spain holding its breath and the sport scientists working overtime.” (Independent)

Real Madrid 0-2 FC Barcelona – Recap and Video Highlights
“The El Clasico was renewed once again on Saturday, April 10, 2010 as FC Barcelona traveled to the Bernabeu to face Real Madrid. The two teams were tied on points in La Liga with the result of this match likely to determine who will win the title. A win or draw for Barcelona would give them the advantage if the two points are tied on points. Real Madrid led the table on goal difference heading into the match.” (The 90th Minute)

Liverpool 0 – 0 Fulham

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“Liverpool badly missed Fernando Torres as they dropped two more points in their increasingly forlorn pursuit of fourth place in the Premier League. The Reds had numerous opportunities to beat their fellow Europa League semi-finalists Fulham but, without the cutting edge of the injured Torres, drew a blank at Anfield.” (ESPN)

Liverpool run into a Fulham’s Champions League roadblock
“Liverpool lost ground in their pursuit of the fourth Champions League place this afternoon after being held to a goalless draw at home to Fulham. Rafael Benítez’s team dominated from start to finish against opponents who parked the proverbial bus at Anfield, but the thought that this could be a dress rehearsal for the Europa League final is chilling.” (Guardian)

Liverpool 0 – 0 Fulham
“Liverpool’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League took another huge blow as they failed to break down resolute Fulham despite dominating possession. Alberto Aquilani’s early overhead kick was easily collected by Mark Schwarzer.” (BBC)

Liverpool 0-0 Fulham – Recap and Video Highlights – 11 April 2010
“Liverpool hosted Fulham needing a win to keep their Champions League hopes alive. They trail Manchester City for 4th place and would likely need to win all their remaining matches to have a realistic shot at overtaking them. Fulham are in the middle of the table and focusing primarily on the Europa League. Liverpool would be the favorites heading into the match but were without striker Fernando Torres.” (The 90th Minute)

Ross end Lennon’s hopes of succeeding Mowbray

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“Neil Lennon, when given the chance to cut his managerial teeth at Celtic following Tony Mowbray’s dismissal, cited Pep Guardiola as proof that inexperience was not necessarily an impediment to success. It was an unwise comparison to draw and, in the light of Celtic’s calamitous Scottish Cup exit to Ross County, looks all the more wildly misplaced.” (ESPN)

Reyna’s appointment a step in the right direction

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“Marshalling our nation’s vast soccer resources is complicated and heavily layered stuff. All efforts by the domestic establishment to take the legions of little shin kickers and polish them into world-class talent should be greeted with nods of cautious approval. The trick is not getting carried away. This week, U.S. Soccer announced Claudio Reyna as U.S. Soccer’s youth technical director. A day later, Major League Soccer announced new initiatives aimed essentially at bettering the youth-development endeavors of its teams.” (SI)

Geoff Hurst: Hat-trick hero

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“Sir Geoff Hurst was an unlikely World Cup legend. He had been playing international football for little over five months when he appeared at the 1966 World Cup final. Almost exactly two years earlier, he had been playing cricket for Essex Second XI. It was only a week before the ’66 final that he made his competitive debut for his country.” (ESPN)

I Returned!

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“And it was about time, too. I mean, don’t get me wrong. Honduras is an amazing country is I can do footnotes on here now. A person is about to spread his wings. with a proud people who have stood firm through decades of hardship. I am not denying that. And they completely took me in and helped me lay low when that international criminal ring was trying to kill me. That is a given, for real. Much credit for that, Honduras.” (Run of Play)

Tony Mowbray’s time at Celtic is over

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“Tony Mowbray breezed into Parkhead in the summer of 2009, looking every bit the likely messiah. Nine months later his reign came to an inglorious end – nominally ‘by mutual consent’ but smacking every bit of a forced exit. A popular Celtic player in his day, he had earned his managerial stripes in the SPL helping Hibernian to overachieve while playing eyecatching football – a philosophy further developed while taking West Brom into the Premier League.” (World Soccer)

What’s in a Name? – Sport Club Corinthians Paulista

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“The story of the mighty Brazilian football club Corinthians begins in the fertile mind of N. Lane Jackson, assistant secretary of England’s Football Association in the 1880s. Jackson came up with the idea of putting together a club that could seriously challenge the dominance of Scottish football (yes, incredibly, there was a time when Scotland was THE world power in football).” (Pitch Invasion)

How Many Africans Bound for South Africa Remains to Be Seen

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“As the 32 national team managers evaluate players consider injuries and plot strategy ahead of the 2010 World Cup, millions of soccer fans around the world are completing their own plans for the qaudrennial tournament. Most will watch on TV (some in 3-D). Still, organizers expect as many as 450,000 fans to travel to South Africa and join almost a million vuvuzelas-blowing local fans attending the tournament.” (NYT)

‘English clubs did not under-perform; they did what economics suggested they would’

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“As an academic with an interest in economic analysis, the downfall of the English teams in the Champions League this season did not surprise me, even while it disappointed me as a Manchester United fan. Earlier this season, I was actually expecting that the English teams would “under-perform” in the competition, when set against general expectations, and now that United have followed Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool out of the Champions League, they have done so. Except I would argue they did not actually under-perform; they did what economic analysis suggested might happen.” (Sporting Intelligence)

Tactics: What’s wrong with Alberto Aquilani?

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Alberto Aquilani
“When Xabi Alonso left Liverpool for Real Madrid last summer, Alberto Aquilani was swiftly brought in from Roma as an ostensible replacement. It was by no means a like-for-like exchange – Aquilani typically played further forward in Italy, poses more of a direct goal threat and cannot quite match Alonso’s superb passing range – but it is worth remembering that Alonso himself was a more attacking player when he arrived at Anfield from Real Sociedad in 2004 and the expectation was that Aquilani would be groomed to succeed him in the deep-lying midfield regista role.” (Football Further)

Liverpool 4-1 Benfica – Recap and Video Highlights

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“Liverpool hosted Benfica in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Quarterfinals on Thursday, April 8, 2010. The winner would advance to the semifinals and Benfica had a 2-1 lead from the first leg. Benfica have had strong performances on the road in the Europa League but going to Anfield would be their toughest test of the competition.” (The 90th Minute)