Owner: So Many Balls URL:http://somanyballs.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 29 May 2008 14:44:48 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Covering the beautiful game from Audax Italiano to Zenit St. Petersburg Site statistics:Click here
England v. USA: My Complaints 2008-05-29 03:20:00 England 2 (Terry 38', Gerrard 59') - USA 01) Is Josh Wolff all we have? Bob Bradley is to be applauded for turning over every stone, but what part of Wolff's CV did Bradley find intriguing? Wolff has spent the last two seasons at 1860 Munich in the 2. Bundesliga putting together a series of performance like the one we saw last night: lots of effort, but little fire, hardly any (if absolutely no) Read more:England
Boca Juniors 2 - Fluminese 2: YouTube Highlights 2008-05-29 03:01:00 Last night's Copa Libertadores semifinal between Boca Juniors
and Fluminese ended in a 2-2 draw, meaning that both Libertadores semifinals are open -- America and LDU Quito managed a 1-1 draw on Tuesday night.For a match report of Boca-Fluminese, go here.You can see the America - Quito highlights here. Read more:Highlights
, YouTube
Advantage Toronto FC 2008-05-28 04:14:00 Toronto FC blanked the Montreal Impact of USL-1 last night, taking an early advantage in the inaugural Canadian Champions League. A Marcelo Velez header was the difference between the two clubs.For a recap of the match, visit the CBC here. Apparently, Toronto FC played poorly and were lucky to escape with all three points. Might that have had something to do with the club's mindset heading into Read more:Advantage
, Toronto
America v. LDU Quito: Highlights 2008-05-28 03:49:00 LDU Quito traveled to the Azteca last night and managed a 1-1 draw with America
in the first leg of their Copa Libertadores semifinal.For a written report of the match, go here.In the other semifinal, Boca Juniors host Fluminense in Buenos Aires tonight. Read more:Highlights
Australia and the AFC 2008-05-28 03:03:00 John Duerden at the Guardian has written a very interesting piece about Australia
's two-and-a-half-year marriage with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).A key quote:"The couple may not be in love but have much to offer each other. The AFC got a high-profile, wealthy and professional member, and, as Nan Yong hinted, protection against any future attempts to reduce Asia's coveted four ½ spots a
Foxy Ladies Invade Italy Training Session 2008-05-26 17:55:00 Italy's preparations for Euro 2008 were put on hold for a few minutes yesterday when a pair of tanned ladies stopped by to express their, um, "support" for the reigning world champions.I've included pictures, naturally, and chose this one in particular because of Luca Toni's (far right) rather longing expression for the nymph in the white bikini.Find more pictures here. Read more:Invade
, Italy
, Training
Agustion Orion, or, The Loneliest Man on the Pitch 2008-05-26 17:10:00 I have seen the video a hundred times, but I never tire of it. Just imagine what it must be like to know that 40,000 people in a stadium unanimously agree that you're an idiot.Here is how the International Herald Tribune described the event:"Claudio Bieler scored the first goal for Liga [de Quito] in the 36th minute. San Lorenzo goalkeeper Agustin Orion
fielded a loose ball and was juggling it pl Read more:Pitch
Free Online Soccer/Football Via Myp2p 2008-05-26 13:55:00 Whether you are looking for soccer or football, I know where to find it online -- and for free! No, this isn't a scam. I'm not a Nigerian diplomat with money to smuggle out of the country or a wholesaler with Viagra to sell by the pound.The site that has saved me more times than I can remember is Myp2p. I have watched everything from the UEFA Champions League to the Thailand first division via M Read more:Football
, Soccer
CONCACAF Scores, or, MLS Needs More Wheat 2008-05-26 13:01:00 At last, CONCACAF has done something right. The slowly materializing CONCACAF Champions League is a real boon for the game north of South America. Why? Let me count the ways.First, with the U.S. Open Cup winner receiving a qualifiyng spot (see the qualification criteria here), the Cup now has a rasion d'etre. MLS teams have been ignoring the competition of late, which has produced a rather unp Read more:Needs
The Russians Aren't Coming, They're Already Here 2008-05-25 14:57:00 "The season after next we will have three teams in the Champions League." So spoke Russia's sports minister, Vitaly Mutko.An Observer piece titled "The Russians
are coming" follows up on a story that I have been following closely (see here and here): the re-emergence of quality football at both the club and national levels in Eastern Europe.And Russia leads the way. Zenit St. Petersburg (2008) a
Italy considering permanent Rome base 2006-10-09 14:17:00 Italian officials are considering making Rome the permanent
home of the national squad, i.e. all of Italy
's matches would be played at the Olympic Stadium in the Eternal City. A number of politicians and players are against the move, and I wholehearteldy second their dissent.Aside from the sickening capital-city bias, why would Italy's federation wish to sequester the national squad from majority
England U21-Germany U21: Match 13 2006-10-07 16:14:00 England U21 1 (Baines 77') - Germany
U21 0A Leighton Baines piledriver decided it late, giving the English a one-goal advantage ahead of Tuesday's return leg in Leverkusen.All in all, the match was interesting, but it never really caught fire. It smoldered at times (as did tempers, especially after Kevin-Prince Boateng studded Theo Walcott in the back), but nothing ever combusted. I expect the r Read more:England
, Match
How to deal with diving 2006-10-06 07:35:00 Jon Carter over at Soccernet has written on the "ugly side of the 'beautiful game,'" arguing that retrospective red cards and suspensions should be used to wipe the scourge of diving from the game.And I agree, but given that it will take the elephantine bureaucracies of the respective leagues, national associations and FIFA some time to debate and re-debate before finally settling on some lukewar
Greg Lalas on Shevchenko 2006-10-04 10:41:00 Have you read Greg Lalas's piece on Andriy Shevchenko
over at Si.com? If not, do give it a read.The jist of the article is that the very expensive Shevchenko, while not scoring, has freed up Didier Drogba and others, Frank Lampard namely, to do just that. In other words, the Ukrainians detractors should shut up and sit down, because Shevchenko is slowly but surely making his transfer fee good.
Europe's Biggest Clubs 2006-10-04 10:24:00 You here it all the time, "So and so is a big club." Just what does that mean, anyhow?Well, looking at average attendance for last season alone (the figures once again courtesy of the good folks at Europe
an Football Statistics), the following are Europe's 13 biggest clubs.(Note: Arsenal's new Emirates Stadium has a capacity of 60,432, so the Gunners are certainly top-10 material, but for the sake Read more:Clubs
A first glance at the UEFA Cup groups 2006-10-03 07:33:00 At long last, the UEFA Cup draw! I love draws. I just love 'em.There's so much to discuss. But before we begin, if you want to get a detailed look at the eight groups drawn today in Nyon, go here.Now some thoughts on the groups:First, the Germans were unlucky. Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt were handed very challenging groups. I see no way that Frankfurt can get through Group H, the Read more:glance
Attendance Figures 2006-10-03 03:40:00 According to the good people at European Football Statistics, here are the top 10 European leagues in terms of average attendance for the current season:1). German Bundesliga - 39,6442). English Premiership - 33,9903). Spanish Primera Liga - 29,6734). French Ligue 1 - 21,8955). Italian Serie A - 21,698 (figure is for the 2005/06 season)6). German 2. Bundesliga - 17,3947.) English Championship - 17 Read more:Figures
Profits for the SPL! 2006-10-03 03:31:00 The 12 Scottish Premier League clubs made a collective profit for the first time since the early 1990s last season, an independent review of the Scottish top flight’s finances showed.According to the 17th Annual Financial Review of Scottish Football published by auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the clubs made a collective profit of £2.8million.The audit also showed that collective debt
If I could determine the UEFA Cup groups 2006-10-02 06:07:00 If I had the power to determine the UEFA Cup groups according to my whim and fancy, I would team these clubs with Bayer Leverkusen:Glasgow RangersSlovan LiberecAustria WienOB OdenseI'd include these clubs in Leverkusen's group because I am interested to see what Liberec, the Czech champions, are all about; because Wien and the Austrian Bundesliga in general also interest me; because I'd like to se
Odense BK – Hertha BSC: Match 12 2006-10-01 14:19:00 Odense 1 (Timm 62’) – Hertha 0I called it, and indeed, not only did Odense hold out against Hertha, they even managed a home win, easing their way into the UEFA Cup group stage.Odense’s tactics were easy to guess: Having managed a draw and two goals in Berlin, the Danes were going to play it coy. And so they did. They rarely had less than eight men back in defense and sprang out of their hal Read more:Match
Werder Bremen - Barcelona: Match 11 2006-09-28 07:56:00 Bremen 1 (Puyol 56' (o.g.)) - Barcelona
1 (Messi 89')So close, and yet so far for Bremen. Yet it all didn't have to end with Lionel Messi sticking a dagger into Bremen's heart.The Germans thorougly controlled a very demure Barcelona, and by all accounts should have won. Ronaldinho's failure to materialze was symoblic of the greater malaise gripping the Catalans last night. The Brazilian maestro Read more:Bremen
, Match
, Werder
, Werder Bremen
Steaua Bucharest: Upset Special 2006-09-25 07:30:00 Romanian champions Steaua Bucharest
don't get much press, playing as they do in unfashionable Eastern Europe, but this club has the look of Jose Mourinho's old Porto sides - disciplined when in their own half, crafty and wry on the attack, and generally full of spit and vinegar. The way they manhandled Dynamo Kiev in their UEFA Champions League Group E opener a fortnight ago opened a few eyes aro Read more:Special
, Upset
AS Monaco, or, How not to run a club 2006-09-22 10:16:00 The story of AS Monaco
's rise (they appeared alongside Porto in the 2004 UEFA Champions League final) and fall (they are currently 17th in Ligue 1), is a case stuy in how NOT to manage a sporting club - or any organization, for that matter.Read about the Monaco experience here.
The 1999 European Cup goes to ... 2006-09-21 06:53:00 I am no Bayern Munich sympathizer, but their last-gasp defeat to Manchester United in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final (thanks to two extra-time goals) still brings me no joy. What a cruel way to lose.Watch the drama unfold for yourself. Read more:European
Shalrie Joseph, nightclub brawler 2006-09-21 06:22:00 Shalrie Joseph
, New England's midfield enforcer, will be out "indefinitely" after injuring his hand in a nightclub
brawl. As Grant Wahl tells it, Joseph wasn't to blame for the fracas, but he will nonetheless be sidelined with tendon and nerve damage to his right hand.Or will he?Franz Beckenbauer played a long stretch of West Germany's 1970 World Cup semi-final in Mexico City with a broken collarb
USA Player Development: The Debate Continues 2008-05-30 06:20:00 Rudd Gullit's comments last month on the quality of players coming out of the college game got the ball rolling, but Wednesday's 2-0 defeat at the hands of England has added fuel (i.e., more empirical evidence) to the debate. The latest to address the issue of player development (aside from me, of course) is Jeff Carlisle at ESPNsoccernet.Rightfully blaming the very poor midfield performance at W Read more:Debate
, Development
Fact and Rumor, or, Lukas Podolski in the Midfield for FC Cologne? 2008-06-02 13:12:00 There are two bits of very interesting Lukas
Podolski-related news this afternoon.The first, and most pressing, is that Germany coach Joachim Löw is toying with deploying Podolski on the left-side of the midfield. The soon-to-be 23-year-old (he celebrates his birthday June 4) Polish-born German made his debut in that position during Saturday's friendly with Serbia, and Löw was pleased with the Read more:Cologne
, Rumor
The Beckham Debate 2008-06-02 02:00:00 Almost as if he had read last night's post on David Beckham
(see below) and felt the need to add his two cents, The Guardian's Dominic Fifield entertains the value of Becks to England and comes to a favorable conclusion.The comments which follow the piece, however, nicely illustrate the two divergent schools of thoughts on Beckham. For the con argument, see what marsman has to say (the second pos Read more:Debate
In Defence of David Beckham 2008-06-01 14:01:00 As England prepares for tonight's friendly with Trinidad and Tobago (I say "tonight's friendly" because the match starts at 10 o'clock BST), I must confess that I don't understand the vendetta that certain members of the English press have against DavidBeckham
.I don't understand it. The man works hard. Generally plays well. Is dangerous when play has been stopped. Crosses well. Provides lead Read more:David Beckham
LDU Quito v. America: YouTube Highlights 2008-06-04 05:55:00 LDU Quito held America
to a goalless draw last night, which on top of a 1-1 draw at the Atzeca last week means that Quito are through to the Copa Libertadores final.For a recap of the events in Quito, go here.Enjoy the highlights! Read more:Highlights
, YouTube
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