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Thursday, September 9, 2010

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World Cup 2010 Blog: “Cassano’s Superman Streaker Returns With A Kiss” plus 1 more

Link to World Cup Soccer - South Africa 2010

Cassano’s Superman Streaker Returns With A Kiss

Posted: 08 Sep 2010 09:00 AM PDT

You may remember Mario Ferri from the World Cup, back when he was giving Marcello Lippi the old “I told you so” over his refusal to call up Antonio Cassano. Well, new coach Cesare Prandelli has called up the mad genius and with predictable results – he’s quite good at football, you know.

So Mario, ultimately very pleased with these new developments, streaked onto the Franchi pitch last night, having hid in a bathroom since he’s banned in Italian stadia, during Italy-Faroe Islands to show his appreciation with a kiss for Antonio and a thumbs up for an amused Prandelli.

In the end, it’s all about the love.

Goofing Goalkeepers and Slide Tackling Strikers

Posted: 08 Sep 2010 07:09 AM PDT

reina and tevez Two of my favourite things in football combined not once but twice in yesterday’s international games, as a goalkeeper’s goof was met with a striker’s slide tackle in two separate games.

The most embarrassing of the two errors came from Spain’s Pepe Reina, deputizing for the World Cup winning Iker Casillas in the friendly against Argentina. Reina slipped while swinging at the ball for a routine kick up field, and the ever-alert, ever-willing-to-run Carlos Tevez beat Reina to the loose ball and scored with a very manly slide tackle. Argentina won the game 4-1, and Iker Casillas won’t lose any sleep over getting his place back. Spain and Liverpool fans be warned, the video of Reina’s goof is below:

Arguably the more important error came from Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo in a Euro 2012 qualifying game vs Norway. Eduardo took too long to clear the ball, allowing gigantic Norwegian striker John Carew to charge in with a slide tackle, which deflected the ball to Erik Huseklepp to score:

Norway won 1-0, and Portugal’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign is looking all kinds of bad.

Image: AP

- Writer wanted on Norway World Cup Blog

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

World Cup 2010 Blog: “European Club Association Threatens FIFA” plus 1 more

European Club Association Threatens FIFA

Posted: 07 Sep 2010 08:45 AM PDT

khr European Club Association chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had some harsh words for FIFA ahead of today’s Euro qualifying games.

“It is no longer acceptable that we have to give up our players, taking the risk that, in case of injury, we still have to play their salaries,” Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, president of the European Clubs’ Association (ECA), told reporters. “We believe it is the right moment for (world ruling body) FIFA and (Europe’s) UEFA to take care of our players.”

The European Club Association is basically a pressure group representing Europe’s biggest teams. And no big European team currently has a bigger beef with international football than Bayern Munich, where – ever so slightly co-incidentally – Rummenigge is also chairman.

For those with short memories, Bayern’s Dutch winger Arjen Robben played for the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup while carrying a thigh injury, which had become a two-inch hole in his muscle by the time he got back to Bayern. Robben will be out for the rest of 2010 and Bayern are understandably miffed.

FIFA currently shares $40 million of its World Cup profits with clubs of the players called up for duty, but Rummenigge pointed out that the payment Bayern received for Robben covered more or less one week’s pay.

In the club vs country debate, I usually side with country. If only because the clubs usually hold all the cards. And by cards I mean players. But I think some sort of compromise can be reached here. I don’t necessarily agree with Rumenigge that FIFA should be paying out every time a player gets injured on international duty. Can you imagine insuring every international footballer in the world? Covering the big boys like Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo alone would put a hole in FIFA’s fundage. And it’s unfair to expect that no player can get injured on international duty. You can’t player a competitive international covered in bubble wrap (although… write that down and pitch it to Sky Sports for Summer 2013).

Maybe some sort of compromise can be reached for situations like Robben’s where the national team has pushed a player to his limits and caused damage in doing so. (I’m not saying the Netherlands were 100% wrong to do so by the way, the World Cup is worth the risk and Robben came thisclose to winning it for them.) So FIFA should give in, and insure players for exceptional circumstances. But don’t give too much, because the European clubs will be back for more before you know it.

Andres Iniesta Has Seen World Cup Winning Goal “A Thousand Times”

Posted: 07 Sep 2010 07:27 AM PDT

World-Cup-final-Andres-In-006

Have you ever wondered why Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta is so pale? Well apparently he spends a lot of time indoors watching video of his own games, and as a result has seen his World Cup final winning goal 1,000 times.

“I watch all my matches many times,” the 26-year-old Barcelona playmaker told the Spanish daily El Pais.
“It helps me to improve. Also, they repeat it a lot. So whether I like it or not, I have seen the goal a thousand times,” said Iniesta.

My guess is that Iniesta is exaggerating, so let’s not take that four figure number too literally. But I’m genuinely fascinated to learn that Iniesta rewatches his games in order to improve. Just last week I was complaining that Iniesta makes football look too easy. Now I realize that it only looks easy because he puts so much effort in.

So, if you’re reading Andres, here’s that goal one more time:

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

World Cup 2010 Blog: “Euro 2012 Qualifiers, Matchday 2: Five Games to Watch” plus 1 more

Euro 2012 Qualifiers, Matchday 2: Five Games to Watch

Posted: 06 Sep 2010 07:16 PM PDT

Euro2012

The Road to Euro 2012 continues on Tuesday…

Euro 2012 qualifying continues tomorrow (Tuesday, September 7) after the most countries kicked off their qualification campaign last Friday. And even though we are two years away from the final tournament and its only matchday 2- some countries are already under pressure to get results.

FIVE QUICK FACTS

Only 4 games on Day 1 were draws (Romania-Albania, Portugal-Cyprus, Greece-Georgia, Lithuania-Scotland)

4 teams scored 4 goals in game 1: England, Portugal, Cyprus and Spain

Netherlands scored the most goals matchday 1 with their 5-0 win over San Marino.

1-0 was the final scoreline in 6 games – making it the most common scoreline of Day 1 (Germany 1 – 0 Belgium, Ireland 1-0 Armenia, Slovakia 1-0 Macedonia, Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland, France 0-1 Belarus, Montenegro 1-0 Wales)

16 teams accomplished shut-out victories (Turkey, Germany, Ireland, Russia, Slovakia, Serbia, Northern Ireland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Belarus, Moldova, Sweden, Netherlands, Croatia, Montenegro, England and Spain)

FIVE GAMES TO WATCH

Russia vs Slovakia: Russia and Slovakia approach the second game in qualification having both won all three points on matchday 1. Russia swept past Andorra with a 2-0 victory while Slovakia had a tougher time disposing of Macedonia. Though Russia has more historical success, most recently making it to the Euro 2008 semifinals- they ultimately failed to qualify for the World Cup this summer, losing to Slovenia in the playoffs. Slovakia, on the other hand, did make it to the World Cup this summer where they beat defending champions, Italy. Since then, Slovakia has struggled with injuries and Russia seems intent to avenge their absence this summer. Even in the best conditions, Slovakia would struggle to beat Russia, who hold an intimidating record at home (won 4/5 home games in World Cup qualification). But despite comments by the Slovakian coach indicating a draw “wouldn’t be the worst result” – don’t expect Russia to let them get one. Russia will be confident playing at home and three of their four victories at home during World Cup 2010 qualification were by 2-3 goal margins.

Serbia vs Slovenia: Both teams, having failed to meet expectations this summer at the World Cup, were both hoping to put South Africa behind them and make early, strong statement in their European campaign. Serbia started their campaign in flying fashion winning 3-0 away from home against Faroe Islands. Now, they return home to face Slovenia- and are hoping Belgrade remains the fortress it was during World Cup qualification. In their next match, Serbia will face a Slovenian team who are already struggling after losing their first game to Northern Ireland 1-0 at home. Quotes from the Serbian team indicate they aren’t taking this challenge lightly with defender Neven Subotic saying, “They are a serious team, but will be under pressure because they lost their first game and will be looking to get at least a point in Belgrade."

Bosnia and Herzegovina vs France: After dumping Domenech and replacing him with Les Bleus legend, Laurent Blanc – France was hoping to restore credibility to it’s national team after a chaotic, drama-filled summer. The new regime, which introduced several young players to the mix, struggled to gel in their game 1 loss to Belarus. The lack of chemistry is natural considering that most of the players on this team has never played together before. After South Africa, many of France’s “core” players under Domenech retired or were suspended for several games by the French Football Federation. This only allowed Blanc one friendly (vs Norway) to experiment with new players- that combined with serious injuries to key players (Benzema, Lass, Cabaye and Nasri were all declared unfit for the Belarus game and Loic Remy and Louis Saha joined that bunch after they left the field injured). Luckily for Blanc, Benzema has been declared fit enough to face Bosnia and Lyon’s Jimmy Briand has been brought in as a reinforcement. For France to win this game, they will need to strike quick and early- and hope to hold on to a lead. This Bosnia team is dangerous and feeling incredibly confident after collecting all three points game 1. If France lose, it will be hard even for a man of Blanc’s stature to control the fan and media backlash.

Switzerland vs England: England will hope to follow-up their 4-0 game 1 victory against Bulgaria with another stunning victory. As the Spanish learned during the World Cup, this may be harder than most want to admit. The Swiss are a disciplined, patient team that are willing to sit back and defend, until the time is right to strike. In the build up to this game, many have questioned if Wayne Rooney will be involved…and if he is, how will he play? Until I hear otherwise, I assume the answer to the first question is yes – and though I’m not an England fan, I have enough respect for Rooney to expect him to give 100% tomorrow.

Spain vs Argentina: Alright, this one isn’t a Euro qualification game – but even with nothing “real” at stake, it is bound to be entertaining. In their qualification game vs Liechtenstein on Friday, Spain easily disposed of their first challenge with a 4-0 win. Argentina will undoubtedly be a much tougher task for the World #1. The two teams should both be familiar with each other - Messi, Higuain, Milito, Mascherano, Villa, Iniesta, Xavi, Pique, Casillas, Alonso, Ramos, Busquets etc- all play together in La Liga. Add Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas to the mix and it sounds like the makings of a pretty amazing game.

To check out who Ozil and Arjen Robben will be playing with Germany and the Netherlands this weekend , see the list below (courtesy of UEFA.com)….

UEFA EURO 2012 QUALIFICATION GAMES, MATCHDAY 2 SCHEDULE

UEFA.com - UEFA EURO 2012 - Matches_September 7 2010

Wayne Rooney, The Hooker and Why It Shouldn’t Matter to England Fans

Posted: 06 Sep 2010 09:17 AM PDT

First Day out.gif You’ve probably read the Wayne Rooney in Not Very Good Role Model Shock! stories, detailing how the Manchester United and England striker (allegedly) paid prostitute Jennifer Thompson for sex while his wife Coleen was pregnant. Click that link if you want to read a story that’s part Rooney exposé, part advertisement for said prostitute.

Obviously it’s no surprise that the English press is publishing scandalous stories about England players again. It reminded me of something from Ethan’s Rafa Honigstein interview on the England blog. German born but English based journalist Honigstein suggested that German tabloids are just as capable of digging up dirt on German national team players, but are more judicious about what’s worth publishing. Honigstein’s exact line was “Bild have tons of material on people that they won't use.” I don’t imagine the News of the World or the Sunday Mirror has any material they wouldn’t use. Because scandal sells papers. But in a weird way, this story doesn’t feel like a big deal to me.

We already knew from way back that Wayne Rooney enjoys the pleasures of paid lady company. That’s not news. We know he smokes as well, and we know he sometimes swears at referees. We shouldn’t try and pretend that he’s any sort of role model, and I’m with Rob on the England blog in hoping that Rooney plays vs Switzerland and plays well.

Does that mean I’ve lowered my standards of what to expect from England footballers? Maybe as an England fan I’m now fully desensitized to scandal after the exploits of Ashley Cole, John Terry and others. Maybe the News of the World would have to publish an exclusive revealing that Joe Hart played a pivotal role in starting World Wars I and II and that Frank Lampard Jnr. is actually Satan himself for me to be genuinely outraged at this point.

There’s an argument that footballers are representing their nation and so should uphold certain moral ideals. And I agree with that up to a point. If Joe Hart did start both World Wars or Lampard was Beelzebub, then neither should be allowed to play for England again. But in the case of Rooney, maybe we have to accept that footballers are just people and that people do weird things and make stupid mistakes. If we’re really interested in them as footballers and not just celebrities then we should all be mature enough to just ignore the scandal and go back to watching them play football. And that includes you, English tabloids.