1. Kissing the ref? What now?
2. Ribery ad with a deer? Huh?
August 31, 2009
Disapproving LINKS
Freddie Ljungberg is not impressed with Drew Carey's face tattoo.I'm not impressed with much of what Seattle is doing on the pitch these days at Qwest.
Gotta get that playoff berth.
Now the links.
Return of the N.Y. Cosmos?
Kinda. Sorta. Go check out the link.It's been 20-plus years. And everyone knows the name.
Can't be a bad thing, can it...?
Transfer optimist
Let's get to it:- Shevchenko leaves Chelsea for Dynamo Kiev.
- Barca still in the mood for some Cesc.
- Moyes wants more spending money at Everton.
- PSG loan out Kezman.
- Vieira flirting with MLS.
- No Europe move for Landon Donovan until season's end.
- JT signs five-year deal with Chelsea.
- Tottenham and van der Vaart?
VIDEO: A contrast in brawls
1. An MLS skirmish (same team)
2. An English skirmish (oh my)
Not entirely a fair comparison, but whatever...
2. An English skirmish (oh my)
Not entirely a fair comparison, but whatever...
D.C. fans invade Seattle
OK, United fans. You win this round. Well done.Though the final score will be settled Wednesday.
Don't forget about the U.S. Open Cup final people.
MLS roundup: week 24
The Sounders FC continues to stumble down the stretch. The team hasn't scored a home goal in its last three matches at Qwest! Pathetic.Both Houston and Columbus lost on Sunday, the Crew fell victim to the upstart Red Bulls, which have won two straight since making a management move.
Colorado, New England, Real Salt Lake and L.A. also picked up big wins, which has turned the playoff race into a massive jumbled mess.
Which is awesome and, oh, David Beckham's winner is embedded below:
Sunday
Colorado Rapids 1-0 Houston Dynamo (A: 10,897)
N.Y. Red Bulls 1-0 Columbus Crew (A: 10,323)
Saturday
Seattle Sounders FC 0-0 Toronto FC (A: 32,679)
N.E. Revolution 2-1 San Jose 'Quakes (A: 7,286)
Chicago Fire 0-1 D.C. United (A: 16,324)
Kansas City Wiz 0-1 Real Salt Lake (A: 9,924)
L.A. Galaxy 1-0 Chivas USA (A: 27,000)
Wednesday
Real Salt Lake 4-0 Chivas USA (A: 14,747)
Manchester City's third kit
Three wins, three kits.So far all the spending has turned out well on the pitch. And the money put into new uniforms look to be well-spent also.
VIDEO: Gotta love our boys
1. ESPN guys talking Americans Abroad
2. Charlie Davies earning a PK (0:30)
Gonna need these guys to get us three points on Saturday...
2. Charlie Davies earning a PK (0:30)
Gonna need these guys to get us three points on Saturday...
Usain Bolt loves him some soccer
Apparently the fastest man in the history of the world had some time to take in the Real Madrid game this weekend.Coming off some record-breaking performances at the world championships, I'll cut him some slack for the poor ball skills.
Euro roundup
1. Ronaldo scores in La Liga openerIn wasn't the prettiest season debut for the new-look Real Madrid. But it was a winning one. Cristiano Ronaldo converted a first-half penalty kick for Los Blancos, but in the end they needed a second-half winner from Lassana Diarra to get the 3-2 win against Deportiva La Coruña.
2. Inter pounds Milan, 4-0
What an exciting match-up, the game of all games in the Serie A season. Inter Milan v. AC Milan so early in the year. And what a beatdown for the visitors. Shows Leonardo what's gonna happen when you bench Oguchi Onyewu.
3. Robben nets brace in Bayern debut
What a welcome sight the Dutchman must have been for the suffering Munich fans. Arjen Robben, a Real Madrid castoff, came on at the start of the second half and scored twice to secure Bayern's first win of the season, 3-0 against Wolfsburg.
Now here's an ESPN video covering all the Euro action this weekend (England included):
Wenger puts on a show at OT (EPL roundup)
Perhaps the biggest game of the short Premiership season took place last weekend as Arsenal traveled to Old Trafford, ending in a 2-1 win for the Red Devils.Surprisingly, it wasn't the result that people were talking about afterward. No it was the craziness at the end, when Gunners coach Arsene Wenger was banished to the stands after pouting over a RVP disallowed goal.
And we get a hilarious GIF to savor the moment. Oh, and Wenger will get an apology for the treatment.
Chelsea, Tottenham and City remain perfect. Everton finally got a win. Liverpool escaped with three points somehow. Portsmouth still in the cellar.
Sunday
Chelsea 3-0 Burnley (A: 40,906)
Tottenham 2-1 Birmingham (A: 35,318)
Blackburn 0-0 West Ham (A: 23,421)
Bolton 2-3 Liverpool (A: 23,284)
Stoke City 1-0 Sunderland (A: 27,091)
Wolves 1-1 Hull City (A: 27,906)
Manchester Utd 2-1 Arsenal (A: 75,095)
Saturday
Portsmouth 0-1 Manchester City (A: 17,826)
Everton 2-1 Wigan (A: 35,122)
Aston Villa 2-0 Fulham (A: 32,917)
August 29, 2009
VIDEO: Elano's first goal
The new Galatasaray boy scored a cracker. Thanks to a reader for this one.
August 28, 2009
Lookin' good LINKS
Rainbow? Photo effects?Regardless, it's a still shot worthy of the beautiful game.
Good times.
Let's link it:
- MLS newcomer rankings. [Center Holds It]
- 1st edition of the world's top 25. [Soccer Source]
- USL has a buyer. [WV Hooligan]
- Barca v. Shakhtar in SuperCup. [SI]
- Indebted clubs out of UCL? [Yahoo!]
- A Mexican club friendly in K.C. [SBI]
- England's got a bikini kit. [The Spoiler]
Multi-transfer day
Some big names and big clubs:- Bayern gets much-needed help in Arjen Robben.
- Sneijder to Inter, rips Madrid on the way.
- Blackburn gets one, loses another.
- Look how's spending big money: Stoke!
- Everton is buying again too.
- A City castoff is bought by Aston Villa.
- Real Madrid's spending could cause some consequences.
Fulham survives artificial turf
Wow, a top-flight team had to play on an artificial surface.I'm surprised more wasn't made of this.
It all worked out though. Clint Dempsey, Roy Hodgson and Co. advanced in the Europa League playoff.
VIDEO: Choking on gum
I had this story in a link dump the other day. Dirty Tackle found some video.
Looks innocuous, until he's driven off in an ambulance.
USMNT boys reconvene
It's time to get ready for some World Cup qualifiers. Here are the troops Bob Bradley called into camp.Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton).Findley for Kenny Cooper is the only surprise to me.
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Jonathan Spector (West Ham).
Midfielders: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Jose Francisco Torres (Pachuca).
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Hull City), Conor Casey (Colorado Rapids), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Charlie Davies (Sochaux), Landon Donovan (L.A. Galaxy), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake).
Go get 'em boys.
Adam Sandler loves him some soccer
Apparently the Hollywood celebrity took in the Chelsea-Fulham match the other day. It was his first soccer game as a spectator.He was in London to promote his movie, Funny People. Turns out he had a great time.
'I couldn't believe how great everyone was singing, on key. It was rough men singing gently.'Thanks to Dirty Tackle for the tip.
VIDEO: Eduardo getting grilled for dive
This has to be the worst in a while.
Especially considering Arsenal was up 2-0 aggregate, with about a 2% chance of dropping out to Celtic.
A ban might be in the works. Totally deserved for my money.
Leo Messi = Euro club player of the year
He won the big award, the position awards went as follows:Forward o' the year: Messi
Midfielder o' the year: Xavi
Defender o' the year: John Terry
Goalkeeper o' the year: Edwin van der Sar
Champions League draw
Group A: Bayern Munich, Juventus, Bordeaux, Maccabi HaifaGroup B: Manchester Utd, CSKA Moscow, Besiktas, Vfl Wolfsburg
Group C: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Marseille, FC Zurich
Group D: Chelsea, FC Porto, Atletico Madrid, APOEL
Group E: Liverpool, Lyon, Fiorentina, Debreceni
Group F: Barcelona, Inter Milan, Dynamo Kiev, FC Rubin Kazan
Group G: Sevilla, Rangers, Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni
Group H: Arsenal, AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos, Standard Liege
The English clubs all got pretty easy draws, including a neighbor up north a bit in Rangers. Group stage looks like a battle between Italy and Spain, though, but who doesn't love the Barca/Inter and Milan/Madrid pairings...?
Bayern fans get free beer
I'm not sure they've suffered enough for 2,000 gallons worth, but surely all is forgiven now, right...?0-1-2? Worst start in 43 season? Tied for 14th in the league?
OK, maybe it's deserved.
August 27, 2009
No shame LINKS
What a get-up. Credit the find to Futbolita.Oh man.
That's wild.
Let's do some links:
- Miami FC owners to buy USL? [MLS Rumors]
- D.C. United desperate for fans. [DCenters]
- John Terry, back in the day. [ONTD]
- New City signings unveiled. [Pies]
- Vancouver's MLS expansion in trouble? [WV Hooligan]
- Head butt = pink slip. [Unprofessional Foul]
- Yellow card for spitting. [The Offside]
- Pompey takeover complete? [BBC]
- Nigerians lie about their age. [Goal.com]
- Holy college soccer recruiting violations. [Hampton Roads]
- Horrible week for West Ham. [Three Match Ban]
- Americans to buy Newcastle? [Guardian]
- Chewing gum choking. [Dirty Tackle]
- Costa Rica deals with fake W.C. qualifying tix. [C. Press]
- Rio Ferdinand says La Liga is best. [SI]
- Milan owner doesn't like team's formation. [The Star]
- A Peruvian ref is busted for weed. [Telegraph]
- American soccer and our best athletes. [ESPN]
VIDEO: Epic kit unveiling
Man, this video is awesome. I'd watch this full-length film for two hours.
Chelsea has horrible fan appreciation day
A bunch of fans showed up to Blues training the other day with hopes of meeting some players and getting some autographs.They only got a victory lap with players waving.
That's it. Due to security reasons. Then they got rightfully booed.
Lame.
Transfer junction
Some new names here:- Ruud van Nistelrooy and Tottenham?
- Roman Pavlyuchenko staying or going?
- Everton wants four signings.
- Pavel Nedved going nowhere. He retires.
- Inter Milan talking to Julio Baptista.
- Wesley Sneijder heading to Mourinho country?
- Chelsea to extend Salomon Kalou?
Brazil team threatened by armed fans
Think your job is bad? Try getting threatened by mad men with guns after a bad day in the office.The coach quit. "What kind of football is this? What kind of world is this?" he said.
No kidding. Unbelievable.
Super League gallery
Arsene Wenger's brainchild got the Guardian treatment.Why did Carlo Ancelotti draw the short straw with Wonder Woman? I dunno...
Upton Park repercussions
A lot of attention still on West Ham after the massive brawl before/during/after some Carling Cup action against Millwall earlier in the week. Claims of racist chants certainly won't help.The reaction, obviously, comes first from British authorities, who vow to never let it happen again. If that's a reasonable promise.
Then comes some speculation.
First, whether or not the grounds will be closed. (Highly doubtful) Also will England's World Cup bid take a hit? (Don't count on it)
Lastly, to leave things on a lighter note. Dirty Tackle has '7 ways to stop a riot.'
Lippi and Mourinho offend people
A while back Italian national team coach Marcelo Lippi made headlines for picking Juve to win the league, thus offending Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho.Now both are offending others.
Lippi is Public Enemy No. 1 in the gay community after making some flammatory remarks.
Mourinho drew ire from the Muslim community for some Ramadan comments.
VIDEO: Jozy's goal, Dempsey's goal
Admittedly not the best of quality for each, but thanks to the finders of these long-range beauties regardless.
1. Altidore = free-kick master (0:15)
2. Dempsey, if you can see it
1. Altidore = free-kick master (0:15)
2. Dempsey, if you can see it
The Robinho
I have a feeling this dance isn't going to catch on mainstream. Also his countrymates might not be happy with him ruining the international perception of Brazilians being smooth, rhythmic and awesome.Great find over at Pies.
Crazy Sounders FC facts
Great, great blog stuff gathered by Jose over at The Times. Apparently the team had a bunch of little campers in training and revealed some fun facts.Here are the highlights:
- Taylor Graham -- I think he said he likes giraffes and Sasquatches.
- Zach Scott -- is a world class bowler.
- Evan Brown -- likes penguins and sea lions.
- Terry Boss -- favorite cereal is Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
- Lamar Neagle -- has 23 aunts and uncles.
- Ben Dragavon -- "gardening with Nate Jaqua."
- Fredy Montero (in English) "I like to dance."
- Tyson Wahl -- favorite TV show is "The Bachelorette."
- Chris Eylander -- likes to build radios.
- Nathan Sturgis -- has reached level 50 in "Halo" video game.
- Sigi Schmid -- Kasey Keller's favorite TV show is "Dancing With the Stars."
- Steve Zakuani -- speaks fluent French and plays "Guitar Hero."
- James Riley -- nickname is "Giggles."
UCL roundup and draw
Here are the final 10 teams that have qualified for today's draw: Arsenal, Fiorentina, Olympiakos, Stuttgart, Lyon, Atletico Madrid, Maccabi Haifa, FC Zürich, Apoel Nicosia and Debrecen.The draw for the group stage is later today.
Teams like Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Juventus are in the second bowl -- meaning there could be some fun matchups between some big boys.
Here are the protected eight: Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, AC Milan, Arsenal, Sevilla and Bayern Munich.
August 26, 2009
VIDEO: See a ball, take a ball
Couldn't find a new late-night video, so here's something I posted about a year ago.
Very entertaining.
Forever young LINKS
[DISCLAIMER: The pictured ape is not an insult to the subject of this post, just an awesome goalkeeping photo]An Italian goalkeeper is coming out of retirement to play in the amateur leagues.
He's 66 years old.
Also he's the world record holder in the long jump for those over 60.
Now the links:
- ESPN's EPL coverage gets ratings. [EPL Talk]
- JPA has a friend. [The Offside Rules]
- You're saying it wrong -- soccer edition. [The Offside]
- MLS not buying USL. [NY Times]
- Italy league split approved. [ESPN]
- FIFA has classes for W.C. bidding nations. [SI]
- Help Freddy. Please somebody. [AvoidingTheDrop]
- EPL's most popular XI. [Pies]
Intransferous basterds
Couple young Yanks start it off.- Hoffenheim signs two American starlets.
- Vidic plays down speculation.
- Sounders FC and Terry Cooke.
- Modric pledges to Tottenham.
- West Ham and Oddo.
- Sneijder move to Inter called off.
- UAE league after Pavel Nedved.
- Robben chase now includes Liverpool.
- United to dump Anderson?
Equipment manager's nightmare
Some Everton employees can't be happy with the endless name of the team's new signing.Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.
Yikes.
MLS power rankings: week 23
New England flew up the standings and rankings this week with six points from two great wins. L.A. also did well for itself with four points, and a big road win at Chicago.Crazy to see a couple wins from the bottom of the table. It helped San Jose out in the rankings, but New York is too entrenched in the cellar.
I really struggled with Seattle this week. One minute I want to rank 'em below Chivas, but at the moment of hitting the 'publish' button I thought otherwise
Certainly the top and bottom of the league look settled, but in between it gets a bit fuzzy.
1. (1) Columbus Crew 10-3-9
2. (2) Houston Dynamo 11-6-7
3. (5) L.A. Galaxy 8-4-11
4. (3) Chicago Fire 10-5-8
5. (4) Seattle Sounders FC 8-6-9
6. (9) Chivas USA 10-7-3
7. (11) New England Revolution 8-6-6
8. (6) Colorado Rapids 8-7-6
9. (7) Toronto FC 8-8-6
10. (8) D.C. United 6-5-11
11. (10) Real Salt Lake 7-9-6
12. (12) F.C. Dallas 6-11-5
13. (14) San Jose 'Quakes 5-11-5
14. (13) Kansas City Wiz 5-9-6
15. (15) N.Y. Red Bulls 3-16-4
VIDEO: The kick heard 'round the world
This is brutal stuff. Word is the Bolivian-league player could get a three-year ban for the attack.
The guy apologized afterward, but it's looking like he's gonna get prosecuted as much as possible. Which could mean criminally as well.
You'll get no argument from me. That's one of the worst on-field attacks I've seen in any sport.
And check out the repercussion below:
Jozy Altidore... SCORES!!!
In his first start for Hull City in Carling Cup action, our young American scored from long distance and played a full 90 minutes in a 3-1 win against Southend United.That's rave reviews from coach Phil Brown after his second-straight game.
Brown said: "The biggest bonus of the night wasn't just the fact some young lads have made their debuts and done well, it was getting 90 minutes out of Jozy Altidore."Good times. Keep it up kid.
"He hit the winning goal and he's probably still suffering from jetlag having arrived on Friday."
Said BBC: "Jozy Altidore is beginning to look like a masterstroke of a signing by Hull boss Phil Brown."
Coach mad at player for NOT diving
Hilarious, sad and revealing all at the same time.Yes it's true: Urawa Reds manager Volker Finke punished his player for not diving to earn a penalty kick.
Safe to say that didn't go over well with guys that make more money than him:
"He's not qualified to be a manager," Japan Football Association (JFA) president Motoaki Inukai was quoted as saying in Tuesday's Japanese media.Though it did get Japan soccer in the news, can't be all bad...
"It's unbelievable he said that. It's hopeless. Is that how low we have sunk?"
Upton Park, disaster zone
It was supposed to be just a ho-hum round of Carling Cup action, then West Ham and Millwall happened.Unruly hooligans, pitch invasion, stabbings, riot police, people bloodied and battered all over the place. You name it, it happened.
Green Street Hooligans, the unrated version.
The FA wants all trouble makers to be banned for life. Yeah, we'll see about that.
Must have been hell.
August 25, 2009
Beach soccer LINKS
Great picture find by The Original Winger.Beauty.
To the links:
- VIDEO: Kenny Cooper scores. [SBI]
- Grown man punches a child. [Sports Rubbish]
- Tevez thinks Fergie is scared of City. [ESPN]
- A soccer brawl in India? [Dirty Tackle]
- Veron done with Argentina after W.C. [Goal.com]
- Ref changes goal decision three times. [101GG]
- Italian passport coming to Amauri. [SI]
- Sunderland advances in Carling Cup. [Daily Mail]
- VIDEO: Barca made Ibra cartoon? [Kickette]
- Sky Blue wins WPS title. [NY Times]
- DC coach Tom Soehn is swine flu negative. [Goff]
- Peru refs boycott team after attack. [Yahoo!]
- Ramadan and soccer. [AFP]
Transfer theory
We start off with a move for a 35 year old that the whole world was talking about:- Manchester City sign Sylvinho.
- Anelka pledges self to Chelsea.
- Puyol does the same with Barca.
- Manchester United after Modric?
- Julio Baptista is not EPL-bound.
- New deal for Ronaldinho.
- Barca buying a new centerback?
- Bakary Soumare and some French club?
- Red Devils and Arjen Robben.
- Chamakh and West Ham.
- Notts County gets Sol Campbell as play-coach?
- Vidic staying, Anderson going?
Oasis dude hates pictures
Or hates Wolves. One of the two.How else can you explain this look from Liam Gallagher? The camouflage makes it scarier...
A Real bromance?
Kickette thinks something might be brewing between the highly-paid, highly-skilled Real Madrid duo (as mentioned in a link dump).I don't know anything about that, but I wouldn't mind hanging at CR9's new pad.
Looks swell.
MLS playoff glance
Here's a look at who's in (top two from each conference, plus four wild cards) and who isn't. Plus some goals o' the week at the bottom.Western Conference
1. Houston (11-6-7, 40 pts)
2. Los Angeles (8-3-11, 35 pts)
Eastern Conference
1. Columbus (10-3-9, 39 pts)
2. Chicago (10-5-8, 38 pts)
Wild cards
1. Chivas USA (10-7-3, 33 pts)
2. Seattle (8-6-9, 33 pts)
T3. New England (8-6-6, 30 pts)
T3. Colorado (8-7-6, 30 pts)
Outside looking in
Toronto FC (8-8-6, 30 pts)
D.C. United (6-5-11, 29 pts)
Real Salt Lake (7-5-9, 27 pts)
FC Dallas (6-11-5, 23 pts)
Kansas City (5-9-6, 21 pts)
San Jose (5-11-5, 20 pts)
New York (3-16-4, 13 pts)
Bayern fans not happy
And no, it's not over this picture -- though it might be now.The German club's piss-poor form has got the fans at a new level of upset. They are penning a open letter to the club, detailing the shortcomings and possible solutions.
Here's a taste.
1.5 The principle of performance and his lack of applicationGo check out 1.1-1.4.
The players need to be selected on merit, not reputation. Bastian Schweinsteiger is again the target here.
1.6 False pride during transfers, media spectacle of the Board
The club should have sold Ribery to Real Madrid and used that money to strengthen the team.
U2 hates your soccer field
The music-making Irishmen have been on tour, and their concerts are ruining soccer fields.A Saturday game between Queens Park and Albion Rovers was postponed after a pregame field inspection.
Nails and glass were found in Rotherham before a game against Rochdale, according to assistant manager David Flitcroft:
“We had a report done before the game at about 1320. We found shards of glass and we found two nails as we came off the pitch. Just doing a warm-down session with the players, I found five pieces of glass. I don’t know where the blame lies for the state of the pitch but I do know the referee took responsibility for that game and, if one of our players had torn a big gash out of his leg due to glass or something, well.“That's crazy stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
