Real Films Meet Reel Football

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“Abas Suan’s life straddles two worlds that seem inexorably locked in eternal conflict. Suan is an Arab citizen of the state of Israel, one of 1.4 million Muslim citizens of the Jewish state. Suan is a hero to the people who support his hometown club team, Bnei Sakhnin. Suan is also a beguiling figure among Israelis — an Arab who played on the country’s national soccer team and scored a crucial goal in a World Cup qualifying match against Ireland in the country’s abortive attempt to advance to the 2006 World Cup in Germany.” (NYT)

South American trio count down to World Cup

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“Four years ago, in the build-up to the World Cup in Germany in 2006, there was a real buzz about South America’s big two. Brazil could boast a dazzling collection of individual talent. Coach Carlos Alberto Parreira had such riches at his disposal that, as he later confessed, he felt obliged to go against his own principles and select a team that was almost a throwback to 4-2-4.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

Barcelona 2009/10: fewer trophies, better team

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“Barcelona’s 2008/09 season was the most successful in their history; the most successful in any club’s history. Surely they couldn’t have an equally good campaign this time around? The most immediate answer to that question is no. Out of the Copa del Rey to Sevilla on away goals, eliminated from the Champions League in desperate circumstances at home to Inter – a repeat of the treble was not achieved. But in the league, Barcelona have exceeded their achievements from last year.” (Zonal Marking)

MRS Original: Dunga Ruins My Marriage (Again)

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“Brazil 1994 — that most unBrazilian of Brazil sides, exemplified by Dunga, ‘the fart aimed at futebol-arte,’ who belied everything a future husband told his future wife about Brazilian football as grace, as style, as art. And here we go again — this time with a 10-year-old’s happiness in the balance… An MRS original.” (Must Read Soccer)

23 for 2010 – Holland: World Cup squad analysis Pt.1 (Keepers & Defenders)

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“Much has changed in the Dutch national team since Euro 2008. Marco van Basten is gone as national coach and after a failed stint at Ajax all but forgotten. His successor, Bert van Marwijk, is probably best known for managing Feyenoord (with whom he won the UEFA Cup in 2002) and Borussia Dortmund, and is a more conservative manager than Van Basten in that he is far less inclined to experiment with tactical formations and his selection of players.” (Just Football: Pt. 1 – Keepers & Defenders), (Pt.2 – Midfielders & Strikers)

Bursaspor claim their place in history

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“It has been quite a long wait – 26 years to be exact – but finally Turkey can claim to have a league that is not completely dominated by the big boys. Besiktas (in the early 90s) and Trabzonspor (in the late 70s/early 80s) have offered resistance to the dominance of Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe in the past, but all too often a smaller side’s challenge for glory has fallen short. Lowly Sivasspor, last year, were the ones to fail at the final hurdle and, just 12 months on, found themselves fighting a relegation battle which they only just won.” (ESPN)

Team USA and the State of the (Soccer) Nation

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“Among the many common critiques of American soccer is the idea that we’ve managed to invert the traditional roots of the game: in most parts of the world football is a diverse sport of the people, but in the US soccer is a homogenous ‘country club’ sport for the suburban elite. The US soccer system, according to this popular narrative, restricts the sport’s power structures in ways that exclude our best ‘athletes’ (which is often code for low-income minorities). I’d like to suggest, however, that after carefully considering the US’s preliminary World Cup roster—the 30 men that ostensibly best ‘represent’ the American system—the actual story is a bit more complicated.” (Pitch Invasion)

League comparison by points

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“An interesting (if ultimately pointless) graph that shows the points tally of equivalent clubs from the Premiership, La Liga and Serie A (all of which play with a 20-team, 38-game season).” (Zonal Marking)

The World Cup, in 32 Murals

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“You may soon begin to notice—as you wander the streets of New York, read your favorite magazine, or surf the web—a series of brightly colored murals depicting men on horseback, eagleback, and elephantback; men dressed as supermen or samurai; men sprouting wings or plated with armor. Do not be alarmed. These are not new comic book characters, created to kick Batman, the Fantastic Four, and Transformers to the curb. No, they are much bigger than that. These are the heroes of the 2010 World Cup, each of them en route to South Africa as they prepare to vanquish their foes and bring glory to their homelands.” (Vanity Fair)

Spain’s World Cup selection dilemma

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“Spain coach Vicente del Bosque doesn’t have many tough squad choices to make going into this summer’s World Cup. Even casual fans can guess the outline of his ideal team, which includes such outstanding talents as Xavi Hernández, Cesc Fábregas, Fernando Torres and David Villa. Only one decision has threatened to undermine Spain’s unity of purpose ahead of a promising summer campaign – who will be called up as third goalkeeper?” (WSC)

The Power Of The Premier League

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“I am not going to pass any moral judgment on the grubby Melissa Jacobs, who secretly recorded a private conversation with the now ex-FA independent chairman, in order to make him the ex-FA independent chairman. I’m sure she had her reasons – quite possibly tens of thousands of them. Nor am I going to pass any moral judgment on the Mail on Sunday newspaper, which facilitated that recording and published the results. I’m sure there is some philosophical argument that moral judgment cannot be passed on something without morals.” (twohundredpercent)

My place in Fabio Capello’s kit bag

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“For most people the World Cup is an experience that steadily recedes. As a kid you believe there is a pretty reasonable chance you will one day score the winning goal in the final. Over time, the World Cup becomes more distant, a four-yearly jamboree only obliquely consumed. Outside of a successful playing career, this seems to be an irreversible process.” (Guardian)

Master and the apprentice

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“Confidence is something José Mourinho has probably never lacked, but if one man more than any other helped the FC Internazionale Milano coach believe in himself, it could be the one who will try to deny him a second UEFA Champions League title on Saturday: FC Bayern München’s Louis Van Gaal.” (UEFA)

Five Reasons Why Brazil Won’t Win the World Cup and Five Reasons Why England Could

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“Predictions, right or wrong go hand in hand with the World Cup like some beautifully ironic couple you see walking down the street. At first glance, the awkwardly short man who’s pulled a 5′8 blond model strikes a questionable chord with your intellect. You immediately resort to predicting and analyzing (if you’re honest with yourself) how you can land said women and how short man has figured out the secret. Your thoughts escape all rationality as you assume he’s either A. loaded and she’s with him for his money, or B. he’s loaded somewhere else.” (EPL Talk)

Siena 0-1 Inter Milan (Internazionale) – Video Highlights and Recap – Serie A – 16 May 2010

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“Inter Milan were one win away from clinching the Italian Serie A title as they traveled to play Siena in the last weekend of the season. Siena were already relegated to the Serie B for next season but could play the role of spoiler if they were to get an upset. Inter Milan had a two point lead over AS Roma heading into the match.” (The 90th Minute)

France coach Raymond Domenech interviewed

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“World Soccer: Do you think that France’s difficult World Cup qualification campaign – including the infamous play-off against Ireland – has helped make the French squad and technical staff a more united group? Raymond Domenech: The qualification a bit tense from France for the World Cup 2010 has been much ink. What do you remember this qualifier and do the problems you have discussed the close-knit staff and staff alike?” (World Soccer – Part 1), (Part 2)

Chelsea and Avram Grant

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“It’s something I think murderers struggle with; there are defining acts. It’s possible to do something that becomes more you than you are. I have no idea whether you live in the Middle Ages, but if you do, and you buy an indulgence, can you ever stop being the guy who bought an indulgence? You had twenty florins, and you thought they were the same as your soul. That’s a forever-type deal, as a priest once said to me. Now, maybe the world is a vale of soul-making, and maybe you’d like that to mean that you’re always freely forging your identity. But at some point, if you do a thing finally enough, it means your soul is already made.” (Run of Play)

Conspiracy theories and intrigue abound on La Liga’s final weekend

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“Desperation makes for strange bedfellows. And no, we’re not talking about David Cameron and Nick Clegg coming together to find the keys for No. 10 Downing Street after a British general election that left a hung parliament and no outright winner — although there is certainly plenty of politics involved.” (SI)

Italy finally going to the World Cup without a #10 headache

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“Italy has always been known to produce some of the best creative players in the world. We’re talking about the #10 players, the players that can change games at any instant, the players that are worth the whole ticket price. In Italy, this player is called the “fantasista” (literally one that creates fantasy). Because of Italy’s traditional defensive mindset, years ago there was only room for one creative player on the field, and with usually two of these players on the roster, the whole debate would commence as to who would start and who would ride the pine. There have been many of these debates throughout the years.” (World Cup Blog)

A World Cup Miscellany: Group A

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“Back in October of 2009 when Egypt was hosting the U-20 World Cup I wrote a somewhat esoteric preview of the countries in the competition oriented by one of my favorite soccer quotes (from Eric Hobsbawn): ‘The imagined community of millions seems more real as a team of eleven named people.’ It was the start of the ‘Year of African Soccer,’ to be followed closely by the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria, the African Cup of Nations in Angola, and soon the mega event of them all: the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Drawing inspiration from my all-time favorite World Cup preview, Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey’s excellent edited collection of essays and miscellany related to the participants in the 2006 World Cup, the shared goal was ‘to use soccer as a lens and an excuse to learn something about the wider world’.” (Pitch Invasion)

There is a world of difference in how football is played

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“On Wednesday nights I play bad football with some other old blokes in Paris. I spend the game shouting instructions at my team-mates in bad French. They don’t listen. What is going on here is a clash of football cultures. I grew up in the Netherlands, where football is a sort of debating society. In France, as far as I can gather, talking during football is rude.” (FI – Simon Kuper)

Hicks The Huckster – Under The Skin Of The Liverpool OwnerHicks The Huckster – Under The Skin Of The Liverpool Owner

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“The Liverpool reign of US ‘entrepreneurs’ George Gillett Junior and Thomas O. Hicks has been full of oddball news stories from the two warring co-owners’ busy PR departments. But none were stranger than last week’s space-filler about Liverpool’s (latest) sale process. Had the papers waited a day, they’d have had their story.” (twohundredpercent)

1991-92 FA Cup Semi-Final, Portsmouth v Liverpool: Video Flashback

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“In the build-up to the FA Cup Final today between Portsmouth and Chelsea, I thought it’d be interesting to enter the time machine and to go back to 1992 to watch the first ten minutes of the television broadcast of Portsmouth versus Liverpool in the FA Cup Semi-Final from Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium.” (EPL Talk)

Bullets have eyes

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Claude Gellée, Idyll: Landscape with a Draughtsman Sketching Ruins
“On the surface, the praise for Lionel Messi during his current extraordinary run has been pure. Astonishing — astonished — praise has followed his every deed. Not for a generation has there been such a rush to consider someone alongside the pantheon of great players past; to name a planet after him; to dress him in armour, plonk him on a horse, dip him in bronze and place him halfway between La Masia and Camp Nou, beside a stall selling miniature bronze-coloured plastic replica hims. Scienticians are rushing to prove by July that he is, in fact, a physical constant.” (Sport is a TV Show) (Must Read Soccer)

Dunga and Diego are at it again

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“Bizarre inclusions? Check. Big name exclusions? Check. Wringing of hands, tearing of clothes and gnashing of teeth (largely metaphorically)? Check. Señores y señoras, it’s World Cup preliminary squad announcement time! And while there won’t be many chairs thrown through windows in rage at the choices made by the managers of Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile, South America’s two giants are grabbing the headlines. Well, what did you expect?” (ESPN)

Is Capello set to switch to a three-man defence?

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“There are strong rumours this morning that, in Gareth Barry’s absence, Fabio Capello is considering switching to a system featuring three centre-backs for the World Cup. It would unquestionably be a risky move, completely changing England’s shape that was so successful in qualifying, and installing a three-man defence that hasn’t been used effectively by England for twenty years. The BBC report states that ‘A switch in formation would be a major change for the Italian, who has demonstrated his preference for 4-4-2 throughout his coaching career’, which is certainly true, but a three-man defence has not been alien to him.” (Zonal Marking)

Rewarding Dedication With A World Cup: Randomness, Awesomeness and Identity In Africa

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“Rewarding love is a worthwhile endeavor. A reward signifies acknowledgment that the recipient is seen and appreciated. The South African World Cup is an exciting time for South Africans who have been loving soccer for decades. But if you look closely at how Africa has reacted since 2004 when South Africa was awarded the World Cup, you will notice that much of Africa has been acting as if they are co-hosts, as if this is the first communally-hosted World Cup.” (Nutmeg Radio)

In the shadow of the World Cup: ESPN covers the rape of South African soccer players

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“ESPN has done a story on the frequency with which South African women soccer players are raped, targeted as lesbians. (Female athletes often targets for rape) It is a good thing that a media outlet with ESPN’s resources decided to cover this story. But there are a couple of dots ESPN avoided connecting. This comes two years after the murder of former national team player, Eudy Simelane. (See On the murder of Eudy Simelane and Girlie ‘S’Gelane’ Nkosi, Eudy Simelane’s teammate and lesbian activist, murdered). The timing of this story implicitly links to the opening of the World Cup next month.” (From A Left Wing)

World Cup Preview: Group E

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“With the 2010 FIFA World Cup now just four weeks away, you should by now be able to visualise those wretched pull-out ‘Come On England’ St. George’s flags which come free with The Sun, slowly yellowing at the edges in living room windows up and down the land until mid-September. Nevertheless, we at Twohundredpercent will instead continue to focus on the football. With that in mind, we sent Dotmund on another fact-finding mission with little else than a media badge from the 2006 World Club Championship in his pocket and a dream. Today, he looks at the colourful and exciting Group E.” (twohundredpercent)

World Cup scouting: Antonio Di Natale (Italy)

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“The express purpose of the World Cup scouting feature is to shed light on up-and-coming young players to look out for in South Africa, but this week Football Further is focusing on a more established player who tends not to receive the attention his ability richly deserves. Antonio Di Natale was this week named in Italy’s provisional 30-man World Cup squad and if, as expected, he retains his place when Marcello Lippi whittles his group down to 23, it will be the first time that the 32-year-old Udinese captain has been selected for football’s showpiece event.” (Football Further )

SPL awards of season: Those Davis deeds and the Motherwell of all goals

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“Walter Smith almost overshadowed Rangers’ off-field trauma by winning the Scottish Premier League title. However, Celtic’s weakness must be taken into account as should the fact that Smith’s squad aren’t as low on quality, high earners or depth – compared with the rest of the league – as the manager might have you believe.” (Guardian)

Authors take hard look at soccer, make predictions

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“Does soccer have an impact on suicide rates? What strategy should a goalie use during penalty-kick situations? Which country has the most passionate soccer fans? Using robust data and insightful analysis, Financial Times journalist Simon Kuper and leading sports economist Stefan Szymanski provide answers to such questions in their highly entertaining book, ‘Soccernomics’.” (BNET)

England remain a World Cup long shot

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“Most bookmakers have England as third favourites to win the World Cup this summer. Their odds are always fanciful – driven down by patriotic bets made more in hope than belief. But a cursory glance around the competing squads should discourage any drunken wagering. It is not so much the players in the opposing squads that should deter potential gamblers, but who they can afford to leave out.” (WSC)

USA World Cup History (Part I: 1930 – 1950)

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USA vs Italy 2006
“If you’re not too familiar with the USA soccer team, then you’d be forgiven for thinking its World Cup history is all fairly recent. If so, then you’re in for a surprise. Though there’s a gigantic 40 year gap smack bang in the middle of this story, the USA’s World Cup history begins at exactly the same time as the tournament itself, as they were one of the teams competing in the inaugural 1930 World Cup.” (World Cup Blog), (Part II: 1990 – 2006)

World Cup Tales: Colombia 1986 – The World Cup That Never Was

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“The upcoming World Cup will the first to take place in the entire continent of Africa but there are several countries that have already held the tournament more that once, such as Italy, France and Germany. The first team to earn the honour of hosting the World Cup finals twice, however, was Mexico and the story of how this came to pass is as much a story of the politics of FIFA as it is of the qualities of Mexico when it comes to hosting the finals of the tournament. The truth of the matter is that the hosts of the 1986 World Cup finals should have been Colombia.” (twohundredpercent)

Premier League season of the surreal will live long in the memory

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“The Premier League may not be home to the best football, an honour belonging to La Liga of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but it is certainly home to the most excitement. The Spanish keep their beach-balls on the beach. The season lacked a star but not drama and there was enough barmy material to keep soap-opera scriptwriters in episodes for years.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)

Fast Forward: The World Cup Goes Indie

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“Fast Forward is our most ambitious project to date and it has taken over a year to come to fruition. The premise was simple; we asked some of our favourite bands to write about one of the 32 countries participating in South Africa 2010, the only stipulation being that the song be themed on their chosen country and if possible be football related. As you can imagine this definition was interpreted in about 32 different ways but the results are as colourful, imaginative and exciting as the event they will be used to showcase.” (Fast Forward)

Has South Africa Overcome Apartheid?

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“This article is dedicated to my dear friend Vince Binder. Vince tragically passed away last month. In the last conversation I had with him, over sushi and sake in Oakland, we discussed, among other things, the World Cup. While we both agreed this was an enormous step in the wake of Apartheid rule, Vince reminded me that the most heinous of the last vestiges of Apartheid economic policy would be within a stone’s throw of some of the new World Cup venues. As usual, my friend was right. To continue the fight against racism, their story not only must be told, it demands us to re-tell it. On Tuesday in Brooklyn, Vince was laid to rest. I’ll miss Vince forever. Hope this makes him proud.” (Yanks Are Coming)

Brazil stay focused – Argentina look muddled

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“Dunga’s announcement of his Brazil squad for South Africa was a crushing defeat for the nation’s media in one of its favourite sports – trying to force the inclusion of big names players on to the plane for this summer’s World Cup. But it was the perceived excesses of Brazil’s stars that undermined their campaign in Germany in 2006 and paved the way for Dunga’s appointment. He took over with a message that individuals might win matches but groups win titles. Over three and half years later, coherence has been maintained.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)

The mark of Fabio Capello, a man we once knew

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“How do you intend to inform those players who are not going to the World Cup, Fabio Capello was asked yesterday. Had he replied that the information would be conveyed through the medium of jazz dance, nobody would be in the least surprised. Not now.
We thought we knew him, before this week. We thought he was the voice of reason. Everything was so logical, so unfussy. He dispatched John Terry as captain in 10 minutes and made Rio Ferdinand his successor without so much as a telephone call. He instilled discipline, he set standards, he won football matches. And then came the Capello Index. It lasted less than 24 hours as a going concern, but that was enough.” (Daily Mail) (Must Read Soccer)

Premier League 2009-10: A tactical review

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“As the dust settles on a Premier League season that somehow managed to be full of surprises and yet completely predictable at the same time, Football Further looks at some of the tactical trends that characterised the campaign.” (Football Further)

The 2010 Premier Premiership Revue Review
“Was this a season of disappointment? Of competitive balance? A two horse race with an overpriced and underachieving show pony stealing headlines? Has the European soccer planet shifted gravitational pull towards the Iberian peninsula? The story lines abounded, and a few refreshing moments shall wet your appetite before the MOST IMPORTANT EVENT is explained.” (futfanatico)

Spanish Teams Eye Breakaway

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“After successfully running away with Spain’s league championship this season, turning the title race into a straight shootout between the country’s top two football teams, now Barcelona and Real Madrid could break away from the league altogether. Spain’s two biggest clubs are among the teams calling for the Primera Division to follow the example of rival European leagues and split from Spain’s second tier Segunda Division in a row over television revenue that threatens to create a schism between the country’s leading contenders.” (WSJ)

Health Club

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“I can’t be certain, but would hazard a guess that if at 5.45pm on Sunday 24th May 2009 you’d turned to me and cheerfully opined that relegation from the top flight should be welcomed as just the tonic my beloved Newcastle Utd needed, I’d have been inclined to disagree, possibly violently. Hindsight being a wonderful thing and all that, but you’d have been proven right. Far from being (as the mainstream media would have it) a nightmare in which we found ourselves ostracised from the ‘big time’ and haunted by former glories (well, near-glories), this season has actually proven to be one of the most enjoyable in living memory.” (thetwounfortunates)

Memories Of The UEFA Cup

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“When I was growing up in the 1970s, it was always the UEFA Cup, of the three European club competitions, which caught my imagination. This was mainly, but not exclusively, because my team at the time, Tottenham, were winners, beaten semi-finalists and beaten finalists during my first three years following the game. It was never properly explained to me why the unlamented Cup Winners’ Cup remained officially regarded as Europe’s second tournament behind the old-fashioned Champions’ Cup (the historical reasons I’ll touch on below). It wasn’t just in England that some dippy teams won the Cup.” (twohundredpercent)

Manchester United’s failings down to a lack of attacking variation

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“It depends how you want to interpret the number ‘1′. There is no shame in losing a league title by a single point, but the flip side is that when you’re a club as used to success as Manchester United, a mere one season without silverware is considered a failure. The statistics about goals easily sum up United’s problems. They had the best defensive record, despite the fact that first-choice central defensive partnership Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic started just nine of the 38 games together.” (Zonal Marking)

On Zidane, Aging, and the World Cup

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“I watched Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait again over the weekend—this time on disc, so I had the chance to watch all the added features, including an interview with Zidane himself. If you missed it when it was showing briefly a year ago or so at Anthology Film Archives and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, you can catch it again at BAM in early June in the run-up to this year’s Cup. It’s more than worth seeing—it’s riveting soccer verité, focused completely on one extraordinarily compelling character: Zinedine Zidane. Multiple cameras follow him in real time through a La Liga match with Real Madrid against Villareal in April 2005.” (Vanity Fair)

Video Of The Week: The World Cup – A Captain’s Tale

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“We’ve got a bit of a change from the normal for this week’s Video Of The Week, with a chance to see the rare drama, ‘The World Cup – A Captain’s Tale’. Produced by Tyne-Tees Television for ITV in 1982, it tells the story of the West Auckland FC team that travelled to Turin for the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy in 1909 and 1911 – the tournament that became known as the first World Cup. It’s a well known story, but this is a well-crafted dramatisation of it and features a cast with some very well-known names in it, including Tim Healy, Nigel Hawthorne, Dennis Waterman and Richard Griffiths.” (twohundredpercent)

In soccer terms – are we still a colony?

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“I have received a breathless announcement from MLS informing me that Manchester United will be coming to the USA this summer. A press release, of course, but one is entitled to wonder which section of the press it is intended for. It also seems likely that much of the wording is designed to impress sponsors and marketing people.” (Soccer America) (Must Read Soccer)

Ronaldinho Misses Out on Brazil Selection

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“Ronaldinho’s gap-toothed grin will be missing from the Brazilian team photos from South Africa. The most dazzling player of a generation was omitted from Dunga’s preliminary roster Tuesday, signaling perhaps that supreme talent alone is not enough to be part of the Seleção, and that training habits and commitment may also be important.” (NYT)

World Cup Moments: The Wasserschlacht, West Germany v Poland, 1974

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“Just because it’s the World Cup doesn’t mean everything about it need be of World Cup quality. Take the pitch in the 1974 semifinal between hosts West Germany and Poland, for example – it looked like it belonged hosting the 400m butterfly at the Summer Olympics rather than a World Cup game. And that’s precisely why it became known as the Wasserschlacht, German for water fight.” (World Cup Blog)

Chelsea’s Premiership win: a lesson in bringing the best out of star players

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“Chelsea – Premiership champions 2009/10. A great side? Probably not, but it’s hard to argue that, over the course of the season, they do not deserve to lift the trophy. In terms of the players who have started the greatest number of matches, Chelsea’s XI this season reads: Petr Cech (34); Branislav Ivanovic (21), John Terry (37), Ricardo Carvalho (22), Ashley Cole (25); Jon Obi Mikel (21), Michael Ballack (26), Frank Lampard (36), Florent Malouda (25), Nicolas Anelka (31) and Didier Drogba (31). And yet, on only one one occasion this season has that XI actually started a match together, in the 2-0 home victory over Arsenal in February, when Ancelotti fielded a Christmas Tree formation with Anelka and Malouda playing Didier Drogba.” (Zonal Marking)

Carlo Ancelotti eyes long Chelsea stay & more trophies
“Boss Carlo Ancelotti plans to establish Chelsea as the leading force in English football after winning the Premier League in his first season at the club. The Blues last lifted the title in 2006 but thrashed Wigan 8-0 on Sunday to wrest it away from Manchester United.” (BBC)

Chelsea Wins Premier League Title
“Chelsea regained the English Premier League soccer title from Manchester United with a 8-0 victory over Wigan on Sunday as Didier Drogba scored three goals. Even though United finished the campaign with a 4-0 home victory over Stoke at Old Trafford, the big celebrations were at Stamford Bridge in London where goals by Mr. Drogba, two by Nicolas Anelka and one each by Frank Lampard, Salomon Kalou and Ashley Cole left Chelsea champions by one point in manager Carlo Ancelotti’s first season in English football.” (WSJ)

World Cup Tales: The Shame Of Gijon, 1982

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“Algeria make their first appearance in the World Cup finals since 1986 this year, and if they are looking for any more encouragement to perform than the prospect of playing on the world’s biggest stage, then the sense of injustice at their previous treatment by the competition could be enough to spur them on that little bit more. Algeria have previously qualified for two World Cup tournaments, but in one of those circumstances conspired against them to the extent that they may have been excused wondering whether they weren’t even wanted in the tournament in the first place. Was Algeria’s elimination from the 1982 World Cup down to “cheating” by their group rivals West Germany and Austria, though, or was the fundamental flaw in the timing of the final group matches?” (twohundredpercent)