World Cup 2010 Blog: “Podcast: Which Euro-Based American Player Will Have the Most Successful 2010/11?” plus 1 more

---

Podcast: Which Euro-Based American Player Will Have the Most Successful 2010/11? Posted: 09 Aug 2010 12:40 PM PDT With the various European league seasons about to start, and the USA about to play Brazil in a friendly in New Jersey, the Total Football Soccer Show podcast (broadcast on WRIR 97.3FM, and published as a podcast here on WCB/The Offside) takes a look at American players in Europe, and who we think looks set for the most successful 2010/11 season. To figure this out we decided to go with a good old fashioned bracket, taking the 16 best American players currently playing in Europe, ranking them #1 to #16 based in international caps, and then deciding who’s going to have the best season. Who do you expect to win? Michael Bradley? Tim Howard? Clint Dempsey? Click play below to listen… - If you like the Total Football Soccer Show then join us on Facebook and/or subscribe via iTunes. Also, if you’re interested in starting your own soccer radio show then read this short article about how the show got started. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

International Friendly Games August 10th and 11th, 2010 Posted: 09 Aug 2010 08:46 AM PDT Whether the various domestic leagues – and Harry Redknapp – like it or not, this is an official FIFA international week. This Tuesday and Wednesday, much of the world’s national teams will be in action. World Cup 2010 is in the history books, and the time for rebirth and rebuilding is about to begin. For example, new Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has called up Antonio Cassano, Amauri and Mario Balotelli, and is rumoured to be considering fielding all three in an attacking trident vs the Ivory Coast on Tuesday, at West Ham’s Upton Park of all places. USA vs Brazil should be equally interesting, with new Brazil coach Mano Menezes starting fresh with young talent like Alexandre Pato, Ganso, Neymar and Sandro. That game will be played at the Red Bulls new stadium New Meadowlands Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday. Kickoff is 8pm US Eastern and it’s on ESPN2 for those in the United States. Fabio Capello kept his job as England manager, and then named a squad that was half old guard, half new-blood. Will be interesting to see whether he prefers youth or experience vs Hungary at Wembley on Wednesday. Also, we’ll see how newly crowned world champions Spain cope at altitude, when they travel up to the Azteca Stadium to play Mexico. Plenty of other good games happening this week too (Ukraine vs Netherlands for example). Complete list of this week’s international friendly fixtures can be found below: [copied and pasted from FIFA's fixtures page]

You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

World Cup 2010 Blog: A Tale of Two Federations: How France and England Cope with Disappointment

---

A Tale of Two Federations: How France and England Cope with Disappointment Posted: 08 Aug 2010 12:09 PM PDT At the World Cup this summer, both England and France fans were dealt some disappointing blows. Sure, the details of what happened in the squads may be different. Arguably, what happened to France was by far worse. While England merely fizzled out (with a few sparks-both good and bad) during the tournament, France exploded. I don’t want to go into details for fear of triggering any post-traumatic stress symptoms fans may still have. So I encourage you to read this (France) and this (England) post at your own risk. World Cup Blog assumes no responsibility for any rage, sadness or deep depression you may fall into after… But, following those disappointing weeks and the furious pace of the media in both countries trying to find someone to blame – the Federations are back in the spotlight to see how effective their changes are when both countries participate in friendlies this week. And while friendlies, especially the August friendly, aren’t normally important and don’t mean anything in terms of qualification points – this friendly may turn out to be very important for both federations, coaches and the players chosen. So here is how each country has attempted to mend the damage that caused their failures this summer.. France Football Federation (FFF) Confirmed Blanc, who had been announced as Domenech’s successor prior to the tournament, as the next coach of Les Bleus; The President of the FFF, Jean-Pierre Escalettes, resigned for his role in causing (and not preventing) the catastrophe; Opened an official investigation into the events that transpired during the World Cup (leading to massive political jockeying to elect new President to replace the one that resigned); Approved Blanc’s request to make all 23 players involved in France’s World Cup ineligible to be called up for August friendly; Celebrated an U19 European Championship win (and then embarrassed themselves by getting into a pissing contest with media consultant during celebratory speech); Unanimously voted that 5 players be held for additional investigation by the Disciplinary Committee; For better of worse – all this (plus a few smaller changes not necessarily worth mentioning here) – led to the call-up of an almost entire new squad for France to face Norway on August 11th. KEEPERS: Stephane Ruffier (Monaco), Nicolas Douchez (Rennes) DEFENDERS: Rod Fanni (Rennes), Adil Rami (Lille), Philippe Mexes (AS Roma), Sakho (Paris SG), Benedict Trémoulinas (Bordeaux), Aly Cissokho (Lyon), Mathieu Debuchy (Lille). MIDFIELD: Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Samir Nasri (Arsenal ), Yohan Cabaye (Lille), Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan), Blaise Matuidi (Saint Etienne). STRIKERS: Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Loïc Remy (Nice), Jimmy Briand (Lyon), Jeremy Menez (AS Rome), Guillaume Hoarau (Paris SG). ENGLAND FA Confirmed Fabio Capello will remain in charge of England after World Cup based on a “football criteria” (then revealed his assessment of players without his permission); “Outlined” the FA’s plans to give England “a better chance in the future” – which included working closely with club academies, encouraging licensing of English coaches and managers and approving Capello’s “request” to have an English coach join his set-up; Lowered ticket prices for England’s upcoming game vs Hungary as a “we’re sorry” olive branch to fans Boys U17 wins Nordic Title Boys U19 successfully progress to semi-finals of the European Championship before losing to Spain These tweaks of the system resulted in Capello calling up a squad filled with familiar and new faces for England when they face Hungary at home on August 11. KEEPERS:  Ben Foster (Birmingham), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Paul Robinson (Blackburn Rovers) DEFENDERS:  Wes Brown (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Bolton Wanderers), Ashley Cole (Chelsea), Michael Dawson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), John Terry (Chelsea) MIDFIELD:  Gareth Barry (Manchester City), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Adam Johnson (Manchester City), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Aston Villa), Ashley Young (Aston Villa), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal) STRIKERS:  Darren Bent (Sunderland), Carlton Cole (West Ham United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Bobby Zamora (Fulham) JUDGMENT TIME The biggest difference between the two strategies, for me at least, is the decision on what was at fault. England seem to think that they have the right people performing the tasks- its just the system they are using that is at fault. Whereas France seems to think they have the right system, just the wrong people managing it.  I’m not so sure you can separate the two so cleanly. For me, it is too early to tell who is right. Of course, they could both be wrong.  I can’t really speak for England fans, but as a France fan I’m cautious in putting my faith in the FFF.  Because despite the public way in which they’ve announced changes to make it seem like real progress is being made, they are still a silly bunch who are more concerned about their egos and saving face than putting the good of the team first (I only have to point to Houllier’s recent public spat as an example).  There are differing opinions on how brilliant of an idea it is to suspend all 23 players considering the Euro 2012 qualifiers are just around the corner.  I, for one, am glad.  Sure, that means we will be entering qualification a little rusty.  But, forcing ourselves to think out of the box instead of relying on what “feels comfortable” isn’t going to work either.  Some of these players may never receive another call-up for France in their careers – but for others, it creates a real chance to challenge the 23 players who had largely owned their spot in the national team for several years.  Though the game means nothing and this young group of players have never played together before – this is a team that will be hungry to prove themselves to Blanc and France. On the flip side of the coin…we have the English FA who, for better or worse, did not bend to media pressure and public sentiment to make significant changes in their team and the way their federation conducted themselves.  And they’ve had their fair share of embarrassments since the World Cup, such as the Capello index being revealed without his approval. So where do you fall on this debate? Do you prefer the tweaking ’till you get it right strategy of England or the blank slate strategy of France (new coach, new team, new captain, new Federation President)?

You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610

World Cup 2010 Blog: “Despite the chaos, the French Federation still finds time to entertain us….” plus 1 more

---

Despite the chaos, the French Federation still finds time to entertain us…. Posted: 05 Aug 2010 03:03 PM PDT Houllier’s lack of class this time definitely did not get a thumbs up from me… Well, if you are a France fan, you might replace “entertain” with “mortify” or “embarrass.”  A number of dramatic and laughable incidents have continued to emerge from the French Football Federation (FFF) headquarters- proving that replacing former President Escalettes (who “voluntarily” resigned after World Cup debacle) with more of the same does not miraculously change everything.   The bureaucratic leaders at the FFF continue to remain self-indulgent egos who are more likely to pat themselves on the back than take responsibility for a damn thing (unless, of course, it turned out well). And while Escalettes was indeed the biggest sycophant of them all, there are many who weren’t far behind him in that contest. One of them being former Liverpool and Lyon manager, Gerard Houllier.  Now, Houllier has managed to avoid most of the fall out regarding the crisis of the senior team at the World Cup because as National Technical Director (DTN), he is responsible for every team BUT the senior team (ie youth and development teams only).  Let the games begin (as the insanity continues)! Round 1 Unfortunately, not everyone bought Houllier’s excuse- including former Bleus alum and World Cup tv consultant, Christophe Dugarry.  Dugarry publicly criticised the “triumvirate” in the FFF – Escalettes, Domenech and Houllier- and declared they were all three responsible for the state of French football and needed to go… Round 2 This obviously irked Houllier, who didn’t like the company he was being put in (Domenech and Escalettes). So, felling the need to restore his bruised ego, he took a jab at Dugarry while celebrating the  U19 European Championship the Bleuts won this summer, beating Spain. Essentially, at a time when Houllier was looking pretty good and should  have been high on euphoria, he felt the need to say this… I would first like to pay tribute to the team of France’s U19. This is a great picture that our youth have given the team of France. And I would like to dedicate this victory to Dugarry who doesnt think much about National Technical Director.  This is the fifth time in fifteen years that France has won a European championship. Behind [the team], we [the Federation] work well and contrary to what Christopher said, we get results.” As a France fan, I can’t tell you how great it is when our leaders use our moments of victory to satisfy their own personal disputes. What more could we ask for?  Did I mention he did this in the opening speech at a meeting to celebrate the title at the FFF with the press?  That’s pure class. Round 3 Robert Duggary, proud man that he is, couldn’t let it go and responded in a column in L’Equipe… Gerard Houllier is nice to think of me, I am touched that he dedicated this title to me. I commend the youth for their title, but I hope that the Federation has other global ambitions. From what I see, [by] looking at the history of  the U20 and U17 FIFA World Cup is that France have failed to qualify 24 out of 30 times! The column continues, but basically Duggary accuses the FFF and Houllier of taking credit for more than they have actually accomplished and implied [to put it nicely] that Houllier performance had been sub-par.. Round 4 Now feeling aggrieved, Houllier whipped out his own numbers and stats to prove just how successful he has been… I am delighted that Christophe Dugarry began to document [France's record] himself because before he did not do so.  Among our youth, in the European rankings, we moved from sixth to second. I would add that it’s been two consecutive years that the U17 and U19 teams have qualify for the final tournaments, boys and girls. Finally, since 1996, [there has been] a total of 15 World Championships for the U17 and U20 teams.  France has had 5 entries, which is not bad considering there are a few skilled European [teams]. In fifteen years, France has [won] a World title, the same as Spain. Only Portugal and the former USSR have two. If the U19s refuse to enter the U20 FIFA World Cup, would anyone blame them (I jest..kind of)?  But, you have to agree that it seems even when France wins, the team and the fans lose… I should add that Houllier isn’t the first of the “triumerverate” to get into a public dispute with Christophe – you can see his interactions (to put it nicely) with Rayray in the video below (in French, but still funny to watch them)… To continue keeping tabs on all the French Federation absurdity, visit us at the France World Cup blog. The only guarantee I can make is that you will be entertained…or frustrated.  One of the two.

Croke Park: Green In More Ways Than One Posted: 05 Aug 2010 11:20 AM PDT If you had to guess the most sustainable, greenest stadium in the world, you might understandably assume it was one of the new ones, one of those towering behemoths built for a recent World Cup or Olympics. After all, environmental concerns are certainly a bigger part of planning a new stadium now than they were, say, 30 years ago. But you’d be, as I was, wrong. In at least some respects, the greenest park in world football is Croke Park, appropriately home of the Republic of Ireland, and a stadium first opened in 1913. In May 2010, Croke Park received the BS 8901:2009 certification, making it the first stadium in the world to be given this award for sustainable event management. The park, used mainly for Gaelic football and hurling, is nonetheless the home ground for Ireland during the last two qualifying tournaments, and so counts at least part-time as a football ground. And even though there have been significant renovations for almost the last decade, they’ve managed to keep sustainability and impact management at the top of their priorities the whole time. Well done to Croke and to the Irish for putting an emphasis on this. Too often, we’re awed by the newest stadium fitting 10,000 more people than the last one, or being built to look like a birds nest … or a calabash. It’s worth a nod, I think, to a stadium that looks like a stadium, but run by people that think, perhaps, about a bit more than just the game.

You are subscribed to email updates from World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010 To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610