Owner: 18 Yards URL:http://www.18yards.com Join Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 10:23:49 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A blog about the latest soccer news, best players, transfer talk and anything else about the world game, the Jogo do mundo! Site statistics:Click here
Inter vs Roma 2007-09-28 12:27:00 So the hype and comments are flying as Inter
and Roma prepare to do battle to decide the strongest of serie A on the weekend in an epic top of the table clash.Roma is in blistering form and playing some of the most attractive football in all European competitions at the moment. Inter is up and down as usual but Ibrahimovic is also in blistering form and can't seem to put a foot wrong! He is sitting at the top of the scoring charts, tied with Trezeque on 6 goals, 2 above Totti.Inter is somewhat depleted in defense with Materazzi, Maicon and Viera out because of injuries and suspensions. It will be interesting to see what Mancini can do with the players on hand. Roma also has a few injuries to deal with so both teams will have to adjust their regular line-ups.Roma will have the advantage of a home crowd but Inter go into the match off a 3-0 thumping of Sampadoria in the middle of the week. Hopefully it will be another classic like the 06 supercup match between the two teams...[Video len
Romario, the living legend 2007-09-19 09:52:00 324 goals [in 410 games] for Vasco da Gama (Brazil)204 goals [in 240 games] for Flamengo (Brazil)165 goals [in 167 games] for PSV Eindhoven (Holland)71 goals [in 85 games] for the Selecao (Brazil)53 goals [in 84 games] for Barcelona FC (Spain)48 goals [in 77 games] for Fluminense (Brazil)22 goals [in 29 games] for Miami (USA)14 goals [in 21 games] for Valencia (Spain)1 goal [in 4 games] for Adelaide (Australia)+ Plus several goals with other clubs and competitions, the "Baixinho" (Shorty) has completed scoring 1000 goals. A feat only reached by about 3 people I believe (Including Pele' with his 1200+ goals).Romario has always been an amazing player able to convert any half-chance in a split-second and the fact that he's made it to 41 years of age and maintain the ability to play at a professional level is amazing!What's even more amazing is when you consider his lifestyle, totally the opposite of how a player should live their professional life! He swapped day for night, preferring
More problems and controversy for Ronaldo 2007-09-11 09:17:00 Ronaldo is in more hot water, which is probably a good thing to help heal his thigh injury which has been revealed to be more serious than initially thought.It looks like Ronaldo will miss at least another month of action. The AC Milan medics have admitted to getting the diagnosis of his thigh injury somewhat wrong. Earlier Ronaldo's Brazilian doctor, Jose Luis Runco, blasted the medical staff for their diagnosis and treatment. Ronaldo travelled to Antwerp to get a second opinion because his progress had stalled and since received permission to return to Rio de Janeiro to receive treatment there.It is this very treatment that is stirring up a lot of controversy currently because of the use of gene therapy (which is banned in Italy but a-okay in Brazil! :). The Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping prosecutor indicated that he may open an investigation on the use of this therapy. The therapy uses a natural protein to stimulate cell proliferation and is called "growth factor" and was Read more:problems
, Ronaldo
Brazil vs United States friendly 2007-09-11 09:08:00 Quick post with the highlights of Brazil
's 4-2 win over the UnitedStates
. Although the scoreline was good, the performance was still less than convincing, with Dunga not at all satisfied. At least Kaka' and Ronaldinho were playing well (and at the same time too!). Enjoy (Length about 5mins). Read more:United States
Slim Ronaldo not far away! 2007-09-09 06:54:00 It seems that the main reason for Ronaldo
's weight problems over the last few years has been found. Milan labs have discovered that hypothyroidism caused him to gain a considerable amount of weight, even though you could hardly call him unfit. It seems that a strict training regime in conjunction with medication for the condition has helped him shed an extra 5kgs and he is well on track to returning to his ideal weight and hopefully, the amazing form that lead to him being known as the phenomenon.The illness means that insufficient thyroid hormone is produced in the thyroid gland and this can cause weight gain among many other symptoms that wouldn't have helped Ronaldo to be his best either! The spanish media and fans were ruthless in ridiculing his weight problem, calling him "el gordo" (the fatty) and constantly questioning him over it. Apparently when he arrived at the 2006 world cup training camp he was over 100kgs. Thankfully he is already appearing much more slimmed down, so th
Quaresma 2007-08-30 09:44:00 I still find it hard to believe that Ricardo Quaresma isn't playing for one of the big clubs in Europe (not to say Porto isn't a good club but it isn't thought of as a Madrid or Liverpool or Milan, etc.). I guess he did have a good chance to really take the world by storm when he was younger and Barcelona purchased him but he never really made an impact there. Maybe it was too much expectation, maybe the style of play was difficult to adapt to, Maybe Rijkard and him had some real issues or perhaps any number of the common reasons that players can struggle when changing clubs and leagues.It's not that he's that old (24) but it does seem like he's been around a while now. Recently he's regained the form that attracted such interest in the first place. He is a powerful, fast winger with incredible technique and vision and in my opinion, very much the same player as Christiano Ronaldo. Both share almost all the same qualities and with these wingers on the Portuguese national squad,
Brazil vs Algeria friendly 2007-08-24 22:52:00 So Brazil
recently defeated Algeria 2-0 in a friendly match. The first half was not a great display by the Selecao but they did have a few shots on goal. The second half was quite a different affair and it was obvious why, the bringing on of Kaka' and Ronaldinho. There's a reason why they've been the most important players at their respective clubs for several seasons now, they make the difference.The first goal came about from a well directed Ronaldinho corner which Maicon of Inter converted. The second involved Ronaldinho setting up Diego who's deflected shot was calmly placed by Ronaldinho to seal the 2-0 victory. One of Kaka's characteristic blazing runs almost resulted in a goal as he tore past several defenders, cutting across the face of goal, requiring a simple tap in of Vagner Love that just could not keep up. Which brings me to an important point. Vagner Love is a good striker but certainly should be 6th or 7th on the Selecao list of strikers. He did little during the co
Right back fever 2007-08-23 10:12:00 There's been much interest in right-backs of late!Cicinho's on-again, off-again transfer to Roma seems to be finally complete. It seems that Roma went to great lengths to sign him, going from a 5 million euro offer to 8 million and finally 9 million with 2 million extra based on performance.Chelsea have given up on Daniel Alves after offer upon offer has been knocked back by Sevilla. It's good to see a club that values it's players and future more than a one-off pay cheque and it's good to see that Chelsea can't always buy whoever they want! The last offer was in the region of 36 million euros! They have instead settled for Belleti who's had a tough time going from champions league hero to bench warmer after Barca brought Zambrotta in from the demoted Juventus. Not of the same calibre as Alves but a good right back that opens up attacking options on the flank.So the Brazilian shuffle continues (also with Emerson joining many compatriots at AC Milan)... Read more:Right
, Right back
The next Ronaldinho? 2007-08-21 09:43:00 Okay maybe not, I think there's a bit of hype surrounding Celsinho mostly because of his looks. It may take a few minutes of watching the clip below before you can see that it actually isn't Ronaldinho! hehe. Celsinho really is the spitting image of Ronaldinho but he definitely has some skill, check it out!Apparently Sporting have signed him up, taking him off Lokomotiv Moscow's hands where he only spent a year. Corinthians were in a battle to bring him back to the sunshine of Brazil but may have lost out. He used to play in Brazil for Portuguesa of all clubs, so may already be suited to a Portuguese adventure. Personally I think his face looks more like Andersons...
Latest Transfers Update (21st Aug 07) 2007-08-21 09:18:00 Chelsea continue to throw their money around and build on their ability to field 3 first-class teams (talent-hoarding, hehe). They've offered Sevilla 30 million euros for Daniel Alves, I wonder if the temptation will be too much for them.Tottenham have put together 15 million euros in a bid for Riquelme, a steal for such a quality player. Problem is that creative players like him don't always do well in the fast-paced and physical EPL. Don't forget Veron's less than memorable spell at Manchester United.It seems that the Cicinho deal may be off (yet again) as now Real Madrid appear to want to feature him in their plans for the current season. Either way Panucci doesn't seem to be worried about losing his spot in the starting 11 suggesting that Cicinho would have a tough battle to take his position. Read more:Transfers
, Update
Ribery Magic! 2007-08-20 10:31:00 Just a quick post to show a youtube clip of Ribery
's excellent ball control which helped Bayern demolish Werder Bremen 4-0. Left the defender swinging in the air.Bookmarkz Read more:Magic
Lots of transfer action in Serie A 2007-08-20 09:55:00 It seems that the big Italian clubs have been busy securing (or at least trying to) transfer
s before the deadline.Roma seem to have sealed the Cicinho deal which works out well for the player since Real Madrid's new coach has him playing on the left but mostly had the Brazilian out of his plans anyway. Since Cicinho has an Italian passport, he won't take up a foreigners spot which is advantageous for Roma.As for Juve, they're madly chasing after Gilberto Silva, but will Arsenal sell another of their experienced, core players? It seems that they're at least considering it by asking for about 50% more than Juve have offered so far...Inter have Deco in their sights but so do Newcastle. Inter has more money to throw at Barca but an auction isn't going to help get Deco for a reasonable price. He's definitely a player that can make the difference with creative play and hard work, Inter can surely do with him.AC Milan are trying to nab Emerson from Real Madrid. They seem to like their o Read more:Serie
Milan's new duck 2007-08-18 08:59:00 It seems that Milan
have finally got their Duck. The duck I mean is Alexandre Pato from Inter (Inter of Brazil). Pato means Duck in Portuguese and Alexandre was given this nickname as he is from a place near Pato Branco (white duck) in Brazil. It's funny that he played for a team named after Inter Milan but ended up with AC Milan, oh well, all the best to him! He has many Brazilians there to help him accustom.He's probably got a little coverage over the last year as he was involved in Inter's Intercontinental Cup. They defeated Barcelona in the competition that used to be the Toyota Cup that puts the Champions League winners up against the Copa Libertadores winner. Brazil has had a good run over the last couple years actually (Sao Paulo defeating Liverpool the year before).Alexandre definitely has much potential and AC Milan can probably thank Leonardo for bagging them another Brazilian talent (who almost signed up Kaka' from Sao Paulo some time ago). In my opinion, I think they'l
Recoba seals it for Inter, against Milan! 2007-08-18 08:47:00 An unlikely heroe of late sealed a 1-0 victory for InterMilanagainst
arch rivals AC Milan in the final of the TIM cup (A small preseason tournament). See the goal below, pure Recoba of old, so good to see again.I've always admired Recoba, he's been at Inter for such a long time, it's always been said that he could('ve) been the worlds best. What happened to all that immense potential? I guess some of it was realised from time to time but he has always been plagued with injuries. It's pretty tragic and I know what it's like to have long term niggling injuries that don't seem to go away.It seems like he'll move away from Inter finally which is probably a good choice for him as he's now on the wrong side of 30 and probably doesn't have much playing time left. He finds world-class competition for a starting spot with Ibrahimovic, Crespo, Adriano, Cruz and now Suazo.Check out below why he was always highly rated and the moments that etched him into the hearts of many an Inter fa Read more:seals
Amazing 9 year old whizz kid signs for Man U 2007-08-17 12:25:00 An amazing young talent has signed up with Manchester United after his grandfather sent their youth staff a DVD of his skills. Rhain Davis is British born but was playing in Brisbane, Australia. It's hard to say who will be the next big thing at this age but you can certainly see he has an amazing amount of skill and talent!Check it out below...Bookmarkz Read more:Amazing
, signs
Ronaldo R9 - The original and the best 2007-08-17 10:55:00 Okay, first off, I've got nothing against Christiano Ronaldo
(I'm half-Portuguese, half-Brazilian so I have loyalties in both camps :) but I got into football during R9's time, when he was unquestionably the best player in the world. He inspired me to start playing soccer (I started quite late) and really got my interested in the world game.Christiano has got so much going for him, his pace, technique, strength and height. The only thing is the ugly side of his game, that is, the diving, etc. (which he seems to be cutting down on thankfully). But while he was still in primary school, Ronaldo Luis Nazário de Lima was already making a name for himself.He began his professional career with Cruzeiro as soon as he was old enough to sign up. He didn't last long there before he was snapped up to play at PSV Eindhoven in Holland where he scored 55 goals in 57 appearances, a truly phenomenal statistic a testament to his alias "O Phenomeno". A good striker is one with about 1 goal per 2 gam
First post 2007-08-17 10:39:00 So this is obviously my first post for this soccer blog. I guess I hope to bring you the latest soccer news and add some insightful comments based on my opinions about what's going on in the football world at the moment. I'm probably going to post my favorite youtube clips with commentary cause they're a lot of good ones out there to watch!Anyways, I hope you find this blog interesting and informative, it's sure to grow as I'll try to post as often as I can! Read more:First
UEFA Champions League Oct 2 wrap 2007-10-03 10:05:00 As I posted earlier, Manchester United were able to seal another 1-0 result at home against Roma. A Wayne Rooney effort made the difference.Dynamo Kyiv faced off against Sporting Lisbon with a score that ending 2-1 in favour of Lisbon. The Kyiv goal was quite spectacular with a backheal assist. This left Group F with Manchester United comfortably on top, Roma and Sporting equal on points in 2nd and 3rd respectively (goal difference helping Roma). While Kyiv sit on the bottom with no points at all and a very difficult campaign ahead of them.Rangers played a spectacular match against Lyon and were able to brush them aside 3-0 in France for some valuable points. Very strange indeed to see Lyon so overwhelmed. Puyol scored the first goal for Barca against Stuttgart after the keeper couldn't hold on to a Ronaldinho header. The match ended 2-0 when the man of the moment, Messi, slammed home a Henry cut-back.Robin van Persie slotted a nice goal after Fabregas performed a cut-back of his own Read more:Champions
, League
, UEFA Champions
, UEFA Champions League
Manchester United vs Roma (UEFA CL) 2007-10-02 15:52:00 Manchester united have managed yet another 1-0 victory at home, this time over Roma in matchday 2 of the UEFA champions league competition.Proving their defensive dominance, Roma was left with few chances to score and they wasted most of these chances anyway. The man of the match was Nani who was popping up everywhere, causing many headaches for Roma and created many opportunities. In fact it was Nani's pass that enabled Rooney to quickly fire a shot into the far post, just outside outside the keeper's reach. Tevez also added a real spark after coming on for Saha who had a less than memorable match.It wasn't until the goal that Roma woke up and Spaletti started making the right changes (such as bring on Pizzaro). The best chance of the night went to Esposito who blasted what was basically a sitter out wide. A fair result that Roma shouldn't be too disappointed with (especially considering their recent record at old trafford!).Christiano Ronaldo almost scored one of the goals of the Read more:United
, Manchester United
Soccer technology 2007-09-30 01:51:00 Ever wondered about the amount of technology that goes into soccer? I've always known that many products have a lot of technology and research involved, from the high quality leathers and synthetics on modern shoes to the latest innovations in ball design and testing. But I decided to have a good look into these technologies starting with soccer balls.Historically (based on references and legend), early balls ranged from human heads, stitched up cloth, animal and human skulls to pig or cow bladders! Glad that's not the case anymore!!Before vulcanised rubber, balls were made from inflated pig bladders. This made the shape very irregular so you can imagine how hard it was to curl in a well-placed free-kick. In 1855 the first rubber soccer ball was made and we were on the path to our modern soccer balls.Even though the English FA created the rules to the game in 1863, it wasn't until 1872 that they agree on a size for the ball and the fact that it had to be spherical! It's interesting Read more:Soccer
Julio Batista Wondergoal! 2007-09-30 01:15:00 Check out the awesome overhead kick that finished up Real Madrid's win over Real Betis. A very cool finish with perfect technique by Julio Baptista. Read more:Batista
Kaka’, off to England and World Player of the Year? 2007-10-11 12:34:11 I love it whenever a player speaks out hypothetically and the press goes wild. Kaka’ was interview earlier this week by Esquire magazine and was quoted as expressing interest in playing in England
or Spain if he were to ever leave Milan… Well shock, horror! If you’re not playing in Italy, what are the other major leagues in Europe? That’s right, in England and Spain.
He merely stated that he’d want a move to a club with the history, ability and stature of Milan. He did elaborate somewhat and went on to say that he prefer’s Arsenal and Manchester United over Liverpool and Chelsea. He was actually quite diplomatic in his manner of basically saying that neither Liverpool or Chelsea are playing the sort of inspiring, attractive football he’d want to be involved in. Can’t blame him!
He was also recently named FIFPro World
Player of the Year. Many saw him as not only the inspiration but the main driving force in taking Milan to their seventh E
Soccer technology 2 2007-10-10 11:29:01 Continuing on from my earlier post about soccer ball technology I wanted to explore some other high-tech advances that are going on behind the scenes of the modern game. The areas of match analysis, game statistics and player performance monitoring may have a limited impact on most followers of the world game but they are becoming invaluable to coaches and technical staff of major clubs.
There are basic systems that analyse match footage and can provide statistics such as the number of tackles and passes, etc. The more advanced systems use GPS tracking for real-time positional and movement data. Later on (post-match), computer tracking is added and this can be complemented with a video analysis montage system. The analyst can then jump to areas of interest very quickly and view the footage for that action. Some systems can positions and track movements using an autonomous vision system based on cameras installed around the pitch.
Research is being undertaken into some fairly interesti Read more:Soccer
Inter vs Napoli 2007-10-08 09:27:09 Inter were able to retain the top spot of serie A after defeating Napoli
2-1.
This time it wasn’t Ibrahimovic grabbing a brace, it was in fact Cruz who put two away. One thanks to Ibrahimovic who did the hard work to allow Cruz a simple tap in on 19 minutes. While the second goal was a well timed pass and run for Cruz to chest down and blast past the keeper under some pressure at the 35 minute mark. Napoli were able to pull one back on the 39th minute in the second half but it wasn’t enough to ensure any points.
Will Inter’s domination of the league continue again or has AC Milan found it’s feat again after drubbing Lazio 5-1? Perhaps Juventus or Roma will still be able to put together a serious challenge for the title. Anyways, enjoy the highlights…
Read more:Inter
Moved to wordpress! 2007-10-08 07:36:52 Hey all, I decided to move my blog to wordpress for a few reasons. Hopefully the move won’t be too disruptive and I can get back to posting again soon!
Adriano - The Emperor 2007-10-06 11:52:00 Just a quick post with a good Adriano
compilation.
He’s been out of form for quite a while now and is probably 5th in line at the Inter striker pecking order but this wasn’t the case a couple of seasons ago. The tank was one of the top few players in the world for a brief period and I’m sure a lot of Inter and Brazil fans would be ecstatic to see him find that form again! What happened to him, who knows but for now, sit back and enjoy his best!
[Video length 8m26s]
Read more:Emperor
UEFA Champions League Oct 3 wrap 2007-10-04 11:34:00 Apart from Liverpool’s lackluster match against Marseille, the rest of the fixtures for groups A,B,C and D played out as follows…
Real Madrid and Lazio battled their way to equal points and a 2-2 draw. A brace from Van Nistelrooy took the prolific striker to 56 champions league goals but Pandev had a brace of his own for Madrid. The defensive ability of the great club was brought into question yet again as they were left exposed on various occasions. They were lucky to take any points away from this trip to Italy.
AC Milan traveled to meet Celtic in Glasgow and weren’t up to the task of defeating the “hoops” at home. The club with few wins in serie A of late can’t even turn to their usually good performances in Europe at the moment as Celtic took all points with a 2-1 win. McManus headed in from a corner to make the score 1-0 and Milan leveled after Kaka’ put away a penalty awarded for a foul on Ambrosini. Celtic made it 2-1 at the death after Read more:Champions
, League
, UEFA Champions
, UEFA Champions League
Liverpool vs Marseille (UEFA CL) 2007-10-04 11:07:00 Liverpool hosted Marseille in a game where the former failed to deliver. Liverpool seemed to be lacking inspiration and motivation but the same was not true for Marseille. The visitors controlled the match right up until they scored in the 77th minute and it was only then that Liverpool seemed to wake up and tried to pull a goal back and at least grab a point. The goal was scored by Valbuena and was perhaps the goal of the matchday. A perfectly driven strike from outside the area into the top-right corner which bounced off the cross-bar into the net and left Reina as a mere spectator.
[Video length: 1m21s]
Read more:Liverpool
UEFA Champions League Oct 2 wrap 2007-10-03 10:05:00 As I posted earlier, Manchester United were able to seal another 1-0 result at home against Roma. A Wayne Rooney effort made the difference.
Dynamo Kyiv faced off against Sporting Lisbon with a score that ending 2-1 in favour of Lisbon. The Kyiv goal was quite spectacular with a backheal assist. This left Group F with Manchester United comfortably on top, Roma and Sporting equal on points in 2nd and 3rd respectively (goal difference helping Roma). While Kyiv sit on the bottom with no points at all and a very difficult campaign ahead of them.
Rangers played a spectacular match against Lyon and were able to brush them aside 3-0 in France for some valuable points. Very strange indeed to see Lyon so overwhelmed. Puyol scored the first goal for Barca against Stuttgart after the keeper couldn’t hold on to a Ronaldinho header. The match ended 2-0 when the man of the moment, Messi, slammed home a Henry cut-back.
Robin van Persie slotted a nice goal after Adebayor performed a cut-back of Read more:Champions
, League
, UEFA Champions
, UEFA Champions League
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