“Come June, soccer’s World Cup will be hosted by South Africa. Though only 4 of the 64 games are to be played here in Nelspruit, a $137 million stadium was built for the occasion. The arena’s 18 supporting pylons reach skyward in the shape of orange giraffes. At nightfall, their eyeballs blink with flashes of bewitching light.” (NYT)
“”The fox is wounded,” yelped Gazzetta dello Sport, and they weren’t talking about Goldenballs. David Beckham’s ruptured achilles represents a cruel blow for the player and perhaps also for England (then again, perhaps not) – but on a weekend like this it was never going to get top billing in Italy. As if a Ferrari one-two in the first grand prix of the season wasn’t enough to be getting on with, this was the weekend when the Serie A title race got blown wide open.” (Guardian)
“Longtime reader(s?) of this blog will know that I have something of a soft spot for films that don’t really give much of a damn about plot or story. I may be the only person who seriously considers Le Mans (1971, D: Lee Katzin/Steve McQueen; see article on the film here) every time he tries to assemble a top ten list of films in his head. I am often drawn to films which illuminate action and motion and exteriority.” (Running Downhill), (Must Read Soccer)
“FC Barcelona hosted Valencia in the Spanish Primera Division (La Liga) on Sunday, March 14, 2010 with a chance to go top of the table. With Real Madrid playing the late match, Barcelona could go top of the table, at least for a few hours. They could also gain ground on goal difference which is where Real Madrid have the current advantage. Valencia were in third place and not likely to catch Real Madrid or Barcelona.” (The 90th Minute)
“David Beckham checked into a hospital Monday for surgery on his torn left Achilles’ tendon, hoping for a ‘swift and full recovery’ from an injury that will keep him out of the World Cup. Beckham left a private jet on crutches at Turku airport and was whisked away in an SUV. Minutes later, he arrived at the Mehilainen hospital surrounded by security guards amid cheers from hundreds of fans who had gathered outside the entrance. Surgery is set for later Monday or Tuesday.” (ESPN)
David Beckham Ruptures Achilles Tendon
“Video of David Beckham suffering a ruptured achilles tendon while playing for AC Milan in their 1-0 win over Chievo Verona in the Italian Serie A on Sunday, March 14, 2010.” (Free Soccer Highlights)
“Ross Turnbull enjoyed a mellow afternoon in goal for Chelsea in its 4-1 win over West Ham on Saturday, which briefly took the club back to the top of the Premier League standings. There was nothing he—or anyone—could have done about Scott Parker’s first-half piledriver, which rocketed past him, and his only semitough save, off Carlton Cole in the match’s dying minutes, was competently pulled off.” (WSJ)
“There is a phenomenon in Spain, one that is on the lips of commentators of the Primera División all over the world, one that tinges any match involving Spain’s two biggest teams, Real Madrid and Barcelona: villarato. When I hear the word uttered on GolTv, on ESPN, even on the Fox Sport family of networks, it quickly becomes clear that the depth of this conspiracy is not that evident to those whispering its sinister name.” (Soccer Politics)
“Some ill-advised comments made by the Celtic chairman John Reid at last year’s club AGM may now be coming back to haunt him, as rivals Rangers seem to be coasting to a Scottish Premier League championship. Mark Murphy takes a look at how the two clubs have progressed this season and finds that Reid’s bullishness couldn’t have come with much worse timing.” (twohundredpercent)
“Italian coaches will be everywhere at the Bridge. The Impossible Job has become the Italian Job. Marcello Lippi has won the World Cup while Giovanni Trapattoni wins friends with the Republic of Ireland. Zola, though, is under pressure. Widely considered one of the nicest men in an often heartless profession, the Sardinian who made the ball smile as an elegant maestro with Napoli, Parma and Chelsea, among others, now battles to keep West Ham United in the Premier League.” (Telegraph – Henry Winter)
“Coaches could do worse that scan their opposition for signs of the mental state of their opposition and call their players back in. You can almost imagine Fabio Capello in the middle of a huddle of England players, explaining that they should push the ball wide early on because the opposing full-backs stood like rabbits caught in the glare of a car’s headlamps throughout the duration of, ‘Turks and Caicos, Sweet Home of the Parrot’. Today we sent noted musicologist and patriot Dotmund to cast his ear over the funky fresh sounds of Groups C and D.” (twohundredpercent)
“Paul Hart’s instalment at Crystal Palace last week continued the trend for this 2009-10 Championship season to resemble an episode of Swap Shop. We have remarked more than once in recent months how Chairmen have spent a minimum of time over their re-staffing decisions: the first name that springs to mind has become the main axiom. Hence, the newly sacked have been deemed the most suitable to take clubs forward – current experience has been valued above all and we have Darren at Preston, Brian at Burnley, Alan at Hillsborough and now Paul at the Palace.” (thetwounfortunates)
“It may surprise the casual fan or those new to the sport to learn that Hungary were once, bar none, the greatest team in all the lands. In fact the Aranycsapat – the Magnificent, Magical, Marvellous or Mighty Magyars – still reign as a team of such hushed majestic legend you wonder if they existed in reality at all. They were tactical revolutionaries, the brainchildren behind Brazil’s dash to prominence and much of the modern game in general, and football’s unparalleled juggernaut; within a frame of six years, they lost one solitary football game.” (World Cup Blog)
“‘Remember Portsmouth’ was Rafa’s rallying call before last week’s game at Wigan. The rationale being, you’d imagine, that by invoking painful memories of that 2-0 defeat in December, Liverpool’s players would never dare tolerate such ignominy again. Unfortunately though, they took the manager’s words a little too literally, performing in much the same way they did at Fratton Park. That is, lumbering about the field with all the precision of a pensioner who’s forgotten where he left his glasses.” (WSC)
“A privileged few have experienced the honour of captaining their country to World Cup glory. Just two have won the competition as player and manager. But only one man has completed the hat-trick by ‘winning’ the World Cup as an administrator as well. It is hardly surprising, then, that the great Franz Beckenbauer will always be inextricably and inescapably associated with football’s greatest competition.” (ESPN)
“The lasting image from France’s anemic, controversial, but ultimately successful campaign to qualify for the 2010 World Cup will be the un-penalized handball by Thierry Henry that helped Les Bleus slip by Ireland in a two-match playoff last November.” (NYT)
“I’m the fan who demands my one year in denial. I cling to the hopes of last season, refusing to believe something can’t be salvaged from this one (as the definition of salvage changes from Can we still finish top four? to Can we still finish top six? Top seven?) With my team so plagued by injury and other abrupt halts to any momentum, I’ve looked to those few inspiring performances to show me that a run of great form is on its way.” (EPL Talk)
“From the British Film Institute, a short film about the 1921 ban against women playing football. You can watch another film about this period in English women’s football history – a compilation of early film footage and photographs documenting the background for the Dick, Kerr’s Ladies football team.” (From a left wing, Las Fútbolistas (Great Grandma on the Left Wing))
Marcello Lippi
“At the start of the season, looking forward to the World Cup finals in June, Italy coach Marcello Lippi said he was ready for any number of tormentoni (literally, pest or nuisance) on the run-in to South Africa. The tormentoni in question, let’s be clear, do not concern player injuries, match schedules or training facilities. No, these torments are media and fan inspired and take the form of pretty forthright “advice” as to who he should take to the finals this summer. In particular, Lippi was bombarded with suggestions for his attack.” (World Soccer)
“Click to enlarge, and debate the strip below the line. Keith Hackett’s official answers appear in Sunday’s Observer and here from Monday.” (Guardian – Paul Trevillion)
“Anyone with an active interest in the history of sport will be glad for an introduction to the Sport in Modern Europe research network. It’s being led by Dr. Chris Young at the University of Cambridge assisted by Professors Alan Tomlinson of Brighton and Richard Holt at De Monfort.” (More Than Mind Games)
1465 Sandro Botticelli, Mardochai lamenting before the gates of the palace
“Just when Lyons’ heroics in the Bernabeu had seemed to cast Liverpool’s Champions League elimination at that club’s hands in a more sympathetic light, Lille provided a reminder of precisely where Rafael Benitez’s side stands in the European scheme of things last night.” (Independent)
Eden Hazard’s late goal for Lille leaves Liverpool with plenty to do
“Lille are known as the Mastiffs and an unnerved Liverpool retreated from their lair nursing a nasty bite. No matter that Eden Hazard’s late, wickedly dipping thoroughly elusive, free-kick appeared flukey; it gave Rudi Garcia’s team a deserved first-leg lead.” (Guardian)
Lille vs. Liverpool
(footytube)
“Milan had come to fail. Despondency was close to the surface and bound to overwhelm the side as soon as Manchester United scored. The visitors were diligent enough, but they could not fend off a weariness of soul and body in the 4‑0 loss. Too much has rested on them for too long.” (Guardian)
“Barney Ronay is a senior sports writer for the Guardian and a regular contributor to When Saturday Comes. In this edition of the EPL Talk podcast, I pick up when we left off the last time Barney was on the program, talking about the state of the manager in the English game. Barney, who wrote The Manager, talks about the increased use of the continental model and reflects on Mark Hughes’ time at Manchester City.” (EPL Talk)
“It’s springtime, so discussion has started again about how to make the game in Scotland more exciting but, as Gavin Saxton reports, none of those that are being put forward are likely to do much about the two or three elephants that live in the room that is Scottish football.” (twohundredpercent)
“The Champions League match between Manchester United and Milan had been punctuated by what are now starting to become familiar images. The green and gold gold scarves and the “Love United Hate Glazer” flags are starting to feel like part of the furniture at Old Trafford, but the question that was on many people’s lips could probably best be summarised by a four letter acronym: WWDD? Beckham’s appearance on the pitch had been greeted with, in rapid succession, cheers, boos and laughter and, while he didn’t disgrace himelf on the pitch, his presence on the pitch was in itself a sign of the times – a practical demonstration of the gulf in quality between Manchester United and Milan.” (twohundredpercent)
“The experiment with bye-line officials in the Europa League jars somewhat. Not that it’s a bad idea per se — having someone in a position to spot offences in the maelstrom of the penalty area, which are often on the referee’s blind side, could be a good idea. You wouldn’t know that from the number of people poised to pounce on it like spoilt indoor cats who don’t realise what a proper scrap is. But then, it was endorsed by Michel Platini, so, of course, it must be hare-brained/part of a nefarious scheme to erode Britain’s sovereignty and introduce a federal Europe by the back door.” (sport is a tv show)
“The current impression so far is that Trusts or fan ownership largely works. If that were the case, perhaps Exeter wouldn’t be an isolated example. As Brian Burgess of Brentford has said, a lot depends on luck and the people you get involved with the Trust. Without decent people on board, the best-meaning business is liable to fail.” (Pitch Invasion)
“Manchester United brought a 3-2 lead into the second leg at Old Trafford against AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League round of 16. Milan needed a 2-0 win or to score many away goals to have any serious chance. It would be a tough test as Manchester United have a history of being very difficult to beat at Old Trafford in the Champions League. Pato was unavailable for Wayne Rooney was fit for Mancheser United.” (The 90th Minute)
“It was a highly significant game in the Champions League knockout match between Manchester United and AC Milan last night and Wayne Rooney continued his devastating form with two more goals in what is a 30-goal season so far. Nani made one of the assists of the tournament to set up his second, curling the ball into Rooney’s path with the outside of his foot. The 4-0 defeat exposed AC Milan as an aging, blunt shadow of their former selves, increasingly reliant on Ronaldinho’s capricious flashes of brilliance. But guess who stole the show?” (NYT)
“Henry Ford. You wouldn’t want him on your pub quiz team but he certainly knew how to run a business. It must go forward. It must be evolving and improving constantly. Football clubs are the same. Everyone knows Ford’s pithy history quote, but he regularly expanded on the subject to great effect. ‘We don’t want tradition,’ he said. ‘We want to live in the present and the only history worth a tinker’s damn is the history we make today.’” (Daily Mail)
“Headline grabbers are hard to quosh and Derby County’s trip to Reading last night provided a big example of such showmanship as Robbie Savage spent the best part of an hour between the sticks, his first spell in goals in his career. The disruption to the Rams’ evening allows only for assessment with caveats. Savage was the fray’s third incumbent in the goalkeeping position.” (thetwounfortunates)
“Anyone turning up at The High Court on The Strand in London this morning hoping or expecting to see fireworks was disappointed. There was to be no last minute impassioned speech, in the manner of Gregory Peck in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’. For the second time in less than two weeks, the owners of Chester City Football Club didn’t even carry the common courtesy to attend a meeting that would shape the destiny of their club. This time, the reality of their destiny was swiftly delivered. Chester City (2004) Limited was wound up over its unpaid tax bill in a matter of minutes, and that was that. Perhaps this time they knew in their heart of hearts that this was a busted flush.” (twohundredpercent)
“As Muhammad Ali demonstrated, sports fans will warm to a braggart provided he lives up to his boasts. Followers of Arsenal have waited a long, long time for Nicklas Bendtner to deliver his prophesied knockout performance. ‘Trust me,’ he had said last autumn, ‘it will happen. I look around at other players, I see my own ability, and I can’t see anything that tells me I won’t be among the best strikers in the world.'” (NYT)
“Because today is David Beckham’s much talked about return to Old Trafford, it seems the perfect time to relive one of the key moments in Beckham’s career. At World Cup 1998 the man not yet known as Goldenballs was just 23 years old and competing with Darren Anderton to play right wing back for England. After scoring a trademark free kick vs Colombia in the group stage, Beckham was given the start for the Second Round knockout game vs Argentina. But then it all went a bit wrong.” (World Cup Blog)
“For many people, major sports tournaments are the only occasion that national anthems are heard. These peculiar tunes have become a genre of their own, transcending the mere hymns that many of them were in first place, and they range from the gloriously uplifting to mournful dirges. The selection of words has, in many countries, brought about national debate that has been all-encompassing. In the case of Spain, it was decided that it would probably be for the best just to not bother having any for the sake of national unity.” (twohundredpercent)
“The news that Michael Owen will miss the rest of the season with a damaged hamstring prompted strange paroxysms of grief from those pundits who felt the injury had crushed the 30-year-old’s dreams of playing at a fourth World Cup with England this summer. In reality, his hopes have been dashed for some time.” (Football Further)
“It was, I have to say, one of the cooler goose-bump moments I have witnessed in a long time. As Landon Donovan took what was probably a goodbye lap after Everton’s 5-1 win over Hull City on Sunday, the home fans at Goodison Park stood and cheered the 28-year-old American who came here a European washout and stands ready to depart, just 10 weeks later, as a beloved figure in this soccer-mad town.” (SI)
Aerial view of the park along the Besòs river
“Sooner or later some of the less temperate critics of the Red Knights – who propose, among other things, to move Manchester United from under a mountain of debt – may have to get a bit more specific. At this formative stage of a game plan that is inevitably, to some considerable degree, speculative, an emotional reaction, one way or the other, is surely more valid than the barrage of knee-jerk cynicism that the Nobel Prize-winning novelist John Steinbeck once categorised as ‘slothful self-regard’.” (Independent)
“To anyone that has been following the modus operandi of the British gutter press for the last few years or so, the news that the England hotel at The Grove Hotel at Chandler’s Cross, near Watford in Hertfordshire was bugged prior to their friendly match against Egypt will come as little surprise. In 2007, the News of the World’s royal editor Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were jailed after they were caught – and admitted – tapping the telephones of members of the royal staff. A cross-party parliamentary committee investigating it accused the staff of News International of ‘collective amnesia’ over the matter and stated that it was ‘inconceivable’ that no-one other than those imprisoned knew of what was going on and accused the management of the newpaper of “deliberate obfuscation” over the matter.” (twohundredpercent)
“If you remember the 1998 World Cup in France, then you remember Dennis Bergkamp’s goal for the Netherlands in the quarterfinal vs Argentina. The score was 1-1 in the 89th minute, and extra time looked almost certain. Until Bergkamp produced his moment of magic.” (World Cup Blog)
“When Real Madrid went to Hampden Park for the 2002 Champions League final they thought that winning the trophy was their destiny. The club was in its centenary year and Florentino Perez had assembled a team of Galácticos to win the competition that is so entwined with their history. With half-time approaching and the scores level Roberto Carlos floated a high cross to Zinedine Zidane on the edge of the penalty area. Turning on to his weaker left foot, Zidane volleyed the ball into the top corner of Bayer Leverkusen’s goal.” (WSC)
Le Sacrifice de Polyxène, Jean Cousin le Père ou le Fils
“Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega’s eighth Premier League goal of the season put a huge dent in Liverpool’s top-four aspirations at the DW Stadium. The Colombia international volleyed home Emmerson Boyce’s 35th-minute cross after Dirk Kuyt had needlessly given away possession close to his own penalty area. Liverpool showed little of the quality required for a place in the Champions League once Fernando Torres had hit a post in the eighth minute and the Latics were well worth their victory.” (ESPN)
Gerrard in hot water following Marriner incident
“Steven Gerrard’s conduct is under scrutiny on Tuesday morning but Rafael Benitez insists he did not see the incident in which his captain is alleged to have made a crude gesture towards referee Andre Marriner during Liverpool’s defeat to Wigan. A photo of Gerrard’s alleged insult adorns the back page of multiple newspapers in England, with reports indicating the midfielder could be the subject of disciplinary action from the Football Association. Gerrard also appeared to mouth an obscenity after being booked for a challenge on James McCarthy.” (ESPN)
Rafael Benítez: Liverpool ‘played without intelligence’
“Rafael Benítez cut a dejected figure as Liverpool’s Champions League ambitions suffered a serious setback with a 1-0 defeat at Wigan Athletic last night, though he mustered enough venom to condemn his players for the attitude and lack of character they displayed at the DW Stadium. ‘We didn’t show the right attitude and even though we worked harder in the second half, we played without game intelligence,’ complained the Liverpool manager.” (Guardian)
Fan Diary #28 – Liverpool at Wigan: Give Me Some Triangles
“Last night I hunted down a clip on my 501 goals DVD. It’s Liverpool’s Craig Johnston talking sometime in the 80s about Liverpool’s approach…” (EPL Talk)
You’ve heard this story before
“Honestly, the worst thing about losing a match at such a vital part of the season is to move on and do a damn write-up about it. And having endured the travails numerous times before never makes it easier, but at times like these role-playing as a critic warrants my presence. To say Liverpool played badly is an understatement. No excuse today. We had the main men we always needed. And yet to blow it off even as push comes to shove is an utter disappointment.” (BigFourZa)
Wigan Athletic vs. Liverpool: Video
(footytube)
“Slowly, a behind-the-scenes footballing revolution is growing. Whether it’s Portsmouth’s ongoing demise, the Glazers burdening Manchester United with hundreds of millions of pounds with of debt, Hicks and Gillett at Liverpool, Ashley at Newcastle or, lower down, the Vaughan family taking Chester City to the wall, the spotlight has well and truly turned on the owners. And with fans becoming more alarmed at the mismanagement of their clubs at boardroom level, supporters are asking whether it’s time that the fans took control of their clubs.” (Pitch Invasion)
“There are two sides of Fiorentina. There is the inconsistent Italian Serie A team that has won only three of its eleven games in 2010. And there is the European Champions League contender that won five of six games to finish top of Group E and qualify for the Round of 16. Which group of purple-clad soccer players will take the field in Florence on Tuesday against Bundesliga juggernaut Bayern Munich remains to be seen, but Coach Cesare Prandelli is boisterously optimistic.” (NYT)
“The warm-up work could hardly have gone better for the South American World Cup sides in action last week. Paraguay had trouble finding opposition and had to settle for a visit to Athletic Bilbao, who fielded an under strength side. No problem. Coach Gerardo Martino had plenty to smile about after his side’s 3-1 win.” (BBC – Tim Vickery)
“This week’s Video Of The Week is another episode of the ‘Frontline Football’ series from 2006, featuring a World Cup qualifying match between Palestine and Iraq. The Palestinian national team was not officially recognised by FIFA until 1998, but their qualifying group for the 2006 World Cup saw them briefly head their AFC qualifying group after an 8-0 win against Taiwan.” (twohundredpercent)
“World soccer’s governing body moved from consideration to decisiveness Saturday, abandoning experiments with technology and firmly ruling out the use of video review or goal-line sensors. The International Football Association Board said Saturday: ‘The question posed to the members of the IFAB was simple: should we introduce technology in football or not? The answer from the majority of members was no, even if was not unanimous.’” (NYT)
“The pod squad is suited and booted for your brand new Football Weekly. We start with the FA Cup, where Harry Redknapp could be set for another encounter with Portsmouth, and Aston Villa came from behind against Reading to set up a semi-final with Chelsea – for whom John Terry was the perfect gentleman in his victory celebration and post-match interview. Barry Glendenning gives his thoughts.” (Guardian – James Richardson)
“Making an academic career out of studying soccer might sound (kind of like) fun, but it turns out to be hard work—mostly because you tend to get dissed from all sides. Here’s how Peter Alegi and Chris Bolsmann explain it in their introduction to South Africa and the Global Game, a forthcoming edited collection of scholarly essays addressing issues around the coming World Cup.” (Pitch Invasion)
“A year ago, before Real Madrid went to the banks to borrow money at what seemed a reckless rate, there was no comparison between it and the other Spanish monolith, Barcelona. Barça was on its way to a historic clean sweep of six trophies, including the Spanish, European and World club titles. More than that, its soccer was so stylish, so uninhibited, that no team on earth could touch it.” (NYT)
“The Stade Sylvio Cator, Haiti’s national soccer stadium, is a low concrete building with floodlights poking skyward on the Rue Oswald Durand, across the street from a cemetery. It comes out of nowhere, like a small college football stadium crammed into the capital’s downtown. Tall archways with tight turnstiles lead inside, where the good seats are red-and-yellow plastic in the covered section by the midfield line. The rest are old-school standing-room terraces. They’ve been baking in the sun since 1960. Seven weeks ago, after Haiti convulsed, it all turned into an improvised refugee camp.” (SI)
“The England manager will call a team meeting of all 30 players in his provisional World Cup squad after the May 30 friendly with Japan to announce which seven players will miss out on the trip to South Africa. Rather than tell each of the seven dropped players on an individual basis, Capello will read out his 23-man squad list to the group either at the team hotel after the game or possibly even on the flight back to London that evening.” (Telegraph)
1994 World Cup Gold
“So, there are just ninety-eight days left until the start of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. As a very small number of you may be aware, this site started out as a World Cup site almost four years ago and we plan to mark the coming of our second World Cup finals with a build-up to and coverage of the tournament that will make your eyes and ears bleed with their luxuriousness. Some of you may note a slight change of tone over our coverage of the World Cup – there may be a tendency for this site to let its hair down for the World Cup and treat it with the curious mixture of mockery and reverence that it deserves.” (twohundredpercent)
“Nigeria has appointed Swede Lars Lagerback as their new national team coach on a five-month contract. I’m still trying to figure out why. I wrote an earlier piece about African nations’ perpetual need to hire foreigners to lead African teams. With the firing of Nigerian Shaibu Amodu, there’s only one remaining African coach poised to lead a side at Africa’s first World Cup, Algeria’s Rabah Saadane.” (Nutmeg Radio)
“AS Roma and AC Milan met in the Italian Serie A with both teams looking to keep their Scudetto hopes alive. Milan is now four points back of Inter Milan and could close that gap to one with a win at AS Roma. Roma could move back to within four points and tied on points with Milan if they were to win. Both teams are several points above 4th place and likely to earn a Champions League spot for next season.” (The 90th Minute)
“A common strategy for managers taking a team up into the Premier League is to “give the lads who got us there half a season, it it doesn’t work, bring in new blood”. A parallel technique has largely been used over the past couple of seasons on descending into the Championship. Newcastle decided to bank on those who ushered the club down to usher them back up and this is a policy that appears largely to have succeeded. True, some particularly coveted jewels were offloaded in Owen and Martins, but the Magpies’ decided to gamble on an automatic return.” (thetwounfortunates)
Bulgaria, 1994
“Here’s the dirty little secret about the World Cup: It’s the world’s biggest sporting event, but most of the world doesn’t actually do very well at the tournament. The World Cup has been held 10 times since 1970, and just six countries account for the 20 spots in the championship games: Germany/West Germany with five, Brazil and Italy with four each, Argentina with three, and France and the Netherlands with two each.” (ESPN)
“French football may not be regarded as one of the financial powerhouses of the European game, but you really shouldn’t feel too sorry for the players plying their trade in Ligue 1 at the moment. Take Moussa Sow, for example. The Rennes striker (three league goals in 20 matches so far this season and with just the barest handful of international selections for Senegal to his name) has opted to join Lille when he becomes a free agent in June.” (World Soccer)
“Barcelona twice came from behind to win a point at Almeria in a match blighted by some bizarre refereeing decisions from Carlos Clos Gomez. Clos Gomez delayed the start of the match for almost a quarter of an hour, harshly sent off Pep Guardiola and Zlatan Ibrahimovic and incorrectly awarded a free-kick to Barcelona which led to their first equaliser.” (ESPN)
Almeria vs Barca Match Report
(All About FC Barcelona)
“It’s been a week of bizarre contrasts in preparing for World Cup commentaries without forgetting the pressing need to keep on top of the Premier league scene. Michael Owen’s latest injury nightmare took me back to a hot evening in St Etienne 12 years ago. England’s penalty shoot-out defeat by Argentina remains one of the most dramatic games I have ever covered. Owen’s scintillating goal had the tournament gasping in awe – he had the world at his feet.” (BBC)
