Tuesday, March 31, 2009

World Cup 2006 Blog

World Cup 2006 Blog

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

Daily Dose: March 30th, 2009.

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 06:30 PM PDT

Stuff to read while you enjoy a patented Artur Boruc howler……

  • So after South Africa 2010 goes down the tubes we can criticize Polkraine 2012. (101 Great Goals)
  • Dean Gordon makes a rookie mistake at 36, shows up at wrong stadium. (Dirty Tackle)
  • Luton Town attempting to beat the drop via a 30 pt penalty. (Unprofessional Foul)
  • Frank Sinatra now sets Joey Barton’s moods. (The Spoiler)
  • Hoffenheim aren’t an original. (ESPN)
  • The Prem’s unsung heroes. (SoccerLens)
  • Drogba speaks on the Ivory Coast tragedy. (guardian)
  • David Bentley needs help coping with the break. (Studs Up)

Lionel Messi: Worth Twice the Price of Admission.

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 03:30 PM PDT

For each moment that Maradona has been a pompous, self-serving blowhard, he’s matched it with genius - even with his words:


“If that last chance had gone in, we would all have had to leave the stadium, pay for another ticket and come back in again.”

That’s in reference to Messi’s ‘miss’ against Venezuela, capping a brilliant game during which the limelight shone firmly on the halos atop his heaven-sent feet. The boy’s a genius.

For the rest of The Messi Show, highlights after the jump.

[Spotted on 101 Great Goals]

CAF World Cup 2010 Qualifying Roundup

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 10:20 AM PDT

Remember our CAF World Cup 2010 qualifying preview on Friday? The general consensus was that nothing is ever as straightforward as it seems. Yes, there were favourites to win each group (and therefore qualify for WC 2010) but there’s a big difference between favourites and certainties. Just ask Emmanuel Adebayor.


The Arsenal striker seemed a certainty not to play for Togo after being out for six weeks with a dodgy hamstring. But Togo called up Adebayor for the big Group A game vs Cameroon anyway. And they started him. And he scored the winner after just 11 minutes:


Gabon also beat Morocco 2-1 in Casablanca, leaving Group A looking a little bit upside down:


In Group B, Nigeria were held 0-0 away to Mozambique which leaves the Super Eagles already two points behind Tunisia (who beat Kenya 2-1).


Group C is almost perfectly square after draws all round. But you’d still back Egypt to win it, right?


Advantage Ghana in Group D with a 1-0 win over Benin, while Mali and Sudan drew 1-1.


Fantastic result for unfancied Burkina Faso, who pulled off a 4-2 win over Guinea. But there was tragedy in Cote d’Ivoire, where 19 people were killed and 130 injured in Abidjan when a wall collapsed before Cote d’Ivoire’s 5-0 win over Malawi. FIFA are calling for an investigation.


Source: FIFA.com

The next round of CAF World Cup 2010 qualifiers are in June.

Sporting News Today: Wildcats vs. Wildcats - which hoops job wins out?

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Monday, March 30, 2009

World Cup 2006 Blog

World Cup 2006 Blog

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

Craig Bellamy: Not a Good Loser. Or Statistician.

Posted: 30 Mar 2009 04:10 AM PDT

When you lose to a team you expected to beat, you’re supposed to show at least some humility, right? At least credit the opposition with something? Not Mr. Craig Bellamy.

In his post match interview after Wales 2-0 home defeat to Finland, Bellamy showed a worrying lack of humility. According to him, Finland are “not a good side”, which is at least a vague criticism. But he was a little more specific about Finnish goalscorer Jonatan Johansson

“Johansson … yeah … he’s scored. Don’t know how. I don’t think he’s a good enough player to score.”

Quick bit of info:
Craig Bellamy’s international goal tally: 16.
Jonatan Johansson’s international goal tally: 18

OK, Johansson has had 39 more caps and four more years to get those goals. But 18 is still the bigger number.

Also, not sure how Wales fans will feel about Bellamy’s review of the match:

“You’ve just seen two poor sides trying to contest this group, and none of us got a glimmer of hope of qualifying”.

Not sure how Sky Sports will feel about it either, after paying good money to screen the game.

To be fair to Bellamy, he’s doing this interview after a tough tough defeat and is obviously all emotional. And there’s a lot to be said for players expressing their actual opinions instead of just doing the old PR dance. So in a way this is a good thing.

But there has to be a happy middle ground somewhere. A way to express your opinion without insulting your teammates, the opposition team and one particular opposition player in general.

Which I believe is exactly what the YouTuber who added the owl-Bellamy-sheep post-script to that interview is trying to say.

[vid spotted on 101GG]

Sporting News Today: With Final Four set, our predictions are in

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

World Cup 2006 Blog

World Cup 2006 Blog

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

A Few Highlights from This Weekend’s International Matches

Posted: 29 Mar 2009 11:23 AM PDT

I’ve been sitting here waiting for motivation to strike and give me the energy to write up a comprehensive rundown of this weekend’s World Cup qualifiers.

And waiting, and waiting, and…

Oh, screw it. Here are a few highlights instead.

First (just because you knew I would put France first and I don’t want to disappoint you) is Franck Ribery’s wonderstrike (after some sweet moves by Yoann Gourcuff) against Lithuania — the only really brilliant moment in an otherwise kind of lackluster game. (Jeff has a great match summary here.)




Next, we have Portugal-Sweden, a tantalizing rematch of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic! What a scorefest this must have been! True excitement! Goals galore! And…um…

Wait. Ibra suspended…Ronaldo misses late chance… Nil-nil. Never mind.


When does a draw feel like a win? When you’re the US and go down 2-0 playing away. Jozy Altidore and Frankie Hejduk managed to get the US an important road point. (USA World Cup blogger Marlon’s post-game thoughts here.)


And for sheer prettiness (unless you’re a Venezuela fan), you definitely want to check out the highlights of Argentina 4-0 Venezuala. Goals by Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Maxi Rodriguez and Kun Aguero. What do you think? Is Maradona actually a decent coach, or does he just have too much talent under him to screw it up?

For more game highlights, check out TVGolo.com and/or 101 Great Goals.