Thursday, August 12, 2010

World Cup 2010 Blog: “England v The White Line: The Rematch.” plus 1 more

World Cup 2010 Blog: “England v The White Line: The Rematch.” plus 1 more

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

England v The White Line: The Rematch.

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 02:48 PM PDT

These friendlies mean nothing, the goals even less and there is certainly no real ‘controversy’, but the nature of the one goal England conceded can only conjure up a laugh the very same day Sepp Blatter confirmed FIFA’s curious eye towards goal-line technology.

It certainly looks as though the whole ball never crossed the line entirely, unlike six weeks or so ago.

The gods must not be done throwing down a bit of retribution for ‘66. (Though Stevie G was throwing down himself. Twice.)

[TV Golo]

Brazil 2-0 USA: Say Hallo to Neymar

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 07:20 AM PDT

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new Brazil. After the more pragmatic and less exciting Dunga years (an approach which won the Copa America and Confederations Cup, but failed at World Cup 2010) new coach Mano Menezes seems to have his team playing the way we all – rightly or wrongly – expect Brazil to play. Even better, he’s doing it with kids.

This new look Brazil beat the USA 2-0 in New Jersey last night. No more Gilberto Silva playing defensive mid in this team, no more workhorses. Just lots of passing, moving and dribbling.

Even established stars like Kaka were not called for this game (though I’m sure he’ll be back). Instead we had the youth and exuberance of international debutant Neymar, who scored the first goal with his head but mostly impressed by playing wide left and terrorizing American defenders. I’ll bet good money that Jonathan Spector had nightmares about little men with mohawks. Alexandre Pato got Brazil’s second, rounding Tim Howard after Ramires had split the US defence with one pass. Ganso did the playmaking, and was unlucky not to score when his shot bounced back off the post towards the end of the game.

Robinho wore the captain’s armband, which may have been because Menezes wanted to send a message about what his team will be like, but is more likely because Robinho was the most experienced player on an inexperienced team. But still: Robinho wore the captain’s armband. I’m going to keep typing that until it makes sense.

Of course this was only one game, and it was a semi-experimental friendly. But the way Brazil passed the ball, dominated play, and made fools of US defenders means that Brazil will at the very least be fun to watch again under Menenez. Roll on Copa America 2011.
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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

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

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

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

Podcast: Which Euro-Based American Player Will Have the Most Successful 2010/11?

Posted: 09 Aug 2010 12:40 PM PDT

transatlantic_n

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

brith and renewalWhether 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:

frlist

[copied and pasted from FIFA's fixtures page]
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Monday, August 9, 2010

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

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

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

A Tale of Two Federations: How France and England Cope with Disappointment

Posted: 08 Aug 2010 12:09 PM PDT

Capello & Blanc A Tale of Two Federations

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)

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

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)?
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