Just thought I'd share this video. Here is fellow youtuber Kurtmac's pre-Euro 2008 video.
I haven't really looked at or analyzed each of the groups very closely except for Croatia's group and when I do, I will have definitely have my predictions in a future post. As Kurt says, Romania's group is definitely the "group of death". Netherlands. Italy, and France are all past cup winners and have fantastic teams. However, I have to disagree and say that it will be France not Netherlands to qualify out of this group although I like Netherlands a lot better than France. The rest of the groups I will talk about in a future post.
The only other thing I'm going to say now is that I hope Greece and Italy do not win it. It is not easy being a Croatia supporter in my neighborhood with Greeks and Italians as my neighbors. I was in Croatia when Greece won Euro 2004 so it didn't bother me then (my Croatian friend who lives in East Elmhurst--near Astoria, Queens was saying that the Greeks wouldn't stop rubbing it in and it pissed him off even more because it was on the 4th of July), but when the Italians won the 2006 World Cup, you can hear them beeping on Francis Lewis Blvd (two blocks away from me) and they wouldn't quit until midnight. Some of the people have never watched a soccer match a day in their life, they watch the final between Italy and France then think they know everything about soccer screaming out "Forza Italia" before the match. Let me stop there because I'm starting to rant.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Sydney Football Stadium Officials skip Ghana Anthem at the beginning of the Australia-Ghana friendly
Australian officials at the Sydney Football Stadium made a huge mistake accidentally misplacing Ghana's national anthem as the friendly between Ghana and Australia began on Friday night.
The incident took place at a horrible time for the Australian Football Association as they were preparing for the arrival of FIFA president Sepp Blatter who was due to arrive in Sydney on Friday night for next week's FIFA Congress. Australia was hosting the Congress in the hopes of introducing their bid to host the World Cup in 2018.
As a matter of fact, the plan was to play Ghana's anthem first but instead there was an awkward delay with no information being given regarding it. The Australian anthem then started to play. After it was over, the officials called for the players to shake hands causing Ghana supporters to complain in protest while the players looked around confused.
No reason was given for the mix up, but Ghana's anthem was played before the second half.
Here is a video from youtube of the incident.
In my opinion, this was a huge mistake on the part of Australia, and until they give a good and honest reason for the confusion, they should not be allowed to host the World Cup in 2018. Brazil has already been confirmed as hosts for 2014 after South Africa 2010.
Australia went on to defeat Ghana 1-0. Here is a youtube video of the goal.
The incident took place at a horrible time for the Australian Football Association as they were preparing for the arrival of FIFA president Sepp Blatter who was due to arrive in Sydney on Friday night for next week's FIFA Congress. Australia was hosting the Congress in the hopes of introducing their bid to host the World Cup in 2018.
As a matter of fact, the plan was to play Ghana's anthem first but instead there was an awkward delay with no information being given regarding it. The Australian anthem then started to play. After it was over, the officials called for the players to shake hands causing Ghana supporters to complain in protest while the players looked around confused.
No reason was given for the mix up, but Ghana's anthem was played before the second half.
Here is a video from youtube of the incident.
In my opinion, this was a huge mistake on the part of Australia, and until they give a good and honest reason for the confusion, they should not be allowed to host the World Cup in 2018. Brazil has already been confirmed as hosts for 2014 after South Africa 2010.
Australia went on to defeat Ghana 1-0. Here is a youtube video of the goal.
Russia destroys Kazakhstan 6-0 at home before leaving for the Euro 2008 Finals
The Russian national team said one last good bye to their fans with a 6-0 trashing of Kazakhstan at home before making there way to Germany for two friendlies against Serbia and Lithuania on their way to Switzerland and Austria for the actual tournament.
Here is a report from the Russia Today Channel on youtube.
Here is a report from the Russia Today Channel on youtube.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Klasnic decides to leave Bremen
According to this article, Croatia's Ivan Klasnic, who was recently in the news when he decided to sue his club's doctors after they failed to spot his failing kidney earlier which eventually led to surgery (see this post), has decided to leave Bremen, the club that he played for in Germany's Bundesliga since 2001. He did, however, have talks to extend his contract.
According to Bremen's director of sports Klaus Allofs, " We improved our offer once again, but Ivan unfortunately decided not to accept it." Allofs stated that he was expecting a "different outcome" being that he is a superb forward who has proved his class at the highest level, despite his kidney transplant."
The 28 year old striker does not yet have plans to join another club, but has been reported that Turkish side Besiktas is interested in signing him.
Slaven Bilic selected Klasnic to be part of Croatia Euro 2008 squad.
While playing for Bremen, Klasnic scored 49 goals in 150 Bundesliga matches.
According to Bremen's director of sports Klaus Allofs, " We improved our offer once again, but Ivan unfortunately decided not to accept it." Allofs stated that he was expecting a "different outcome" being that he is a superb forward who has proved his class at the highest level, despite his kidney transplant."
The 28 year old striker does not yet have plans to join another club, but has been reported that Turkish side Besiktas is interested in signing him.
Slaven Bilic selected Klasnic to be part of Croatia Euro 2008 squad.
While playing for Bremen, Klasnic scored 49 goals in 150 Bundesliga matches.
Another Croatian Band releases song dedicated to Euro 2008 Team
In the weeks leading to the Euro 2008 finals, Croatian bands will be releasing a slews of patriotic songs and music videos dedicated to Croatia and the national team. Here is the most recent I found on youtube from a band called Jole (pronounced Yo-Leh). The song is called Ja Te Volim Hrvatska (I Love You Croatia). Sorry, couldn't find any lyrics so I can translate. I don't know enough Croatian to translate the song directly after to listening. I need the lyrics, but here is the video. Basically (from my listening of it) the singer is calling on Croats from across Croatia (he names a few regions) as well Croats living in the county of Herceg-Bosna in Bosnia and Hercegovina to root for the national team. Here is the video:
First Group of English Football (soccer) fans arrive in Moscow for Champion's League Final
Fans of English Premier League champion Manchester United have recently arrived in Moscow to cheer their club to victory as they face Premier League rival Chelsea for the European Champions League. Here is a short news broadcast posted on youtube from Russia Today:
Since I don't follow the English Premier League or the European Champion's League too closely, I will be watching it. I will be rooting for Chelsea (only because I never really liked Manchester United--see kurtmac's youtube commentary to see why..He says it best!).
Since I don't follow the English Premier League or the European Champion's League too closely, I will be watching it. I will be rooting for Chelsea (only because I never really liked Manchester United--see kurtmac's youtube commentary to see why..He says it best!).
Friday, May 16, 2008
English Premier League Wrap-Up with Youtube User Kurtmac
Since I don't really follow the English Premier League too much, Kurt on youtube has become somewhat of my unofficial source for EPL news. Here is his EPL season wrap up video in which he voices frustration regarding Manchester United winning the title once again!
I also wanted to say that I agree with Kurt that something has to change in the English Premier to make it more competitive. Even though Major League Soccer does have salary caps (or at least last time I heard they did for most players. For players such as David Beckham, they do not...but anyway)...this is starting to become somewhat of a problem in MLS at well. Houston Dynamo has won the MLS Cup title for two seasons already although they are having a slow start this season. New England has made it to the MLS Cup (I think) about three or four years in a row already, and they are currently in the top three of the Eastern Conference standings with a 4-3-1 record.
I will update the MLS season more as it progresses.
I also wanted to say that I agree with Kurt that something has to change in the English Premier to make it more competitive. Even though Major League Soccer does have salary caps (or at least last time I heard they did for most players. For players such as David Beckham, they do not...but anyway)...this is starting to become somewhat of a problem in MLS at well. Houston Dynamo has won the MLS Cup title for two seasons already although they are having a slow start this season. New England has made it to the MLS Cup (I think) about three or four years in a row already, and they are currently in the top three of the Eastern Conference standings with a 4-3-1 record.
I will update the MLS season more as it progresses.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Zenit St. Petersburg wins UEFA Cup as fights break out in downtown Manchester
It may not be a Champion's League Trophy but at least it is something.
Russian club Zenit based in St. Petersburg won there first UEFA Cup in Manchester after a 2-0 win against Scotland's more well known Glasgow Rangers. Zenit is also the second club to win this competition in the last four years after CSKA Moscow won it in 2005. Moscow's win was the first time a Russian club has ever won a European title. Zenit eliminated big clubs from Germany's Bundesliga such as Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in order to make it to the final. Former Russian prime minister Viktor Zubkov was at the match and celebrated the win with the players in the locker room, and Vladimir Putin called the coach to offer his congratulations.
The first goal was scored late in the match during the second half (at the 72nd minute). However, Zenit "scontrolled the game from the very beginning," according to Arshavin, a player on the team. "We attacked more. When we were were successful against our opponent's goal, I knew we would win," he added through a translator.
The second goal was scored in the final minutes of stoppage time leaving no time for a Rangers comeback.
Swedish referee Peter Frojdfedt started some controversy after not calling a handball against Rangers defener Kirk Broadfoot late in the first half, but another non-call against Zenit player Denisov evened things up. This seems to be a common practice among referees in soccer and it has to stop. Referees should call and give penalty kicks to all players who commit such actions. The same type of thing occurred in the Croatia-Australia match in the first round of the 2006 World Cup in which several handballs and some questionable off side goals were allowed.
The Rangers have not won a European Title since the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1972 when they defeated another Russian club--Dynamo Moscow.
Since the match was played in the home of English club Manchester City, attendance was mostly made of Scottish fans. In addition, more than 100,000 fans watched the game on giant screens in downtown Manchester.
Despite the loss, the Rangers were still hopeful. "We've had a terrific tournament," said the club's coach. "It doesn't take away the disappointment, but in the end I can have no complaints."
This match was not without fan violence which, sadly, had become all too common European matches. In one incident, a Russian fan was stabbed outside the stadium, according to police. His injuries were not severe, however, and six men were arrested. In addition, there were also "isolated pockets of disorder" which Manchester police blamed on excessive alcohol consumption. In another incident in downtown Manchester where fans were watching the match on giant screens, eight fans were arrested before the match even started. Violence also broke out when one screen broke down 15 minutes before kickoff. Most supporters were well-behaved before this, but when the screen broke down, they starts throwing beer bottles at it due to frustration. Council workers were not able to fix the screens which caused more fan frustrations. Despite arrangements to transport fans to a screening at a velodrome next to the stadium, a "significant minority" decided to stay and confronted police. Several police officers and fan were injured during the incident.
Watch this video which contains highlights of the match:
Russian club Zenit based in St. Petersburg won there first UEFA Cup in Manchester after a 2-0 win against Scotland's more well known Glasgow Rangers. Zenit is also the second club to win this competition in the last four years after CSKA Moscow won it in 2005. Moscow's win was the first time a Russian club has ever won a European title. Zenit eliminated big clubs from Germany's Bundesliga such as Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in order to make it to the final. Former Russian prime minister Viktor Zubkov was at the match and celebrated the win with the players in the locker room, and Vladimir Putin called the coach to offer his congratulations.
The first goal was scored late in the match during the second half (at the 72nd minute). However, Zenit "scontrolled the game from the very beginning," according to Arshavin, a player on the team. "We attacked more. When we were were successful against our opponent's goal, I knew we would win," he added through a translator.
The second goal was scored in the final minutes of stoppage time leaving no time for a Rangers comeback.
Swedish referee Peter Frojdfedt started some controversy after not calling a handball against Rangers defener Kirk Broadfoot late in the first half, but another non-call against Zenit player Denisov evened things up. This seems to be a common practice among referees in soccer and it has to stop. Referees should call and give penalty kicks to all players who commit such actions. The same type of thing occurred in the Croatia-Australia match in the first round of the 2006 World Cup in which several handballs and some questionable off side goals were allowed.
The Rangers have not won a European Title since the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1972 when they defeated another Russian club--Dynamo Moscow.
Since the match was played in the home of English club Manchester City, attendance was mostly made of Scottish fans. In addition, more than 100,000 fans watched the game on giant screens in downtown Manchester.
Despite the loss, the Rangers were still hopeful. "We've had a terrific tournament," said the club's coach. "It doesn't take away the disappointment, but in the end I can have no complaints."
This match was not without fan violence which, sadly, had become all too common European matches. In one incident, a Russian fan was stabbed outside the stadium, according to police. His injuries were not severe, however, and six men were arrested. In addition, there were also "isolated pockets of disorder" which Manchester police blamed on excessive alcohol consumption. In another incident in downtown Manchester where fans were watching the match on giant screens, eight fans were arrested before the match even started. Violence also broke out when one screen broke down 15 minutes before kickoff. Most supporters were well-behaved before this, but when the screen broke down, they starts throwing beer bottles at it due to frustration. Council workers were not able to fix the screens which caused more fan frustrations. Despite arrangements to transport fans to a screening at a velodrome next to the stadium, a "significant minority" decided to stay and confronted police. Several police officers and fan were injured during the incident.
Watch this video which contains highlights of the match:
FC Barcelona to tour the US according to agreement with MLS
According to this article on the Sports Illustrated website, La Liga's FC Barcelona, recently coming out of Champions League semifinal loss against Manchester United, has made arrangements to tour the United States later this year as part of a "five year agreement with Major League Soccer signed Thursday that will have the two-time European champion play six games in America over the next half decade."
The last time Barca was in the United States was two years ago when they played against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium in a friendly match in front of a sell out crowd of 70,002--which proves that when big star players come from other countries, Americans will watch (although a good portion of the people in attendance were either Hispanic, from Spain, or Brazilians who wanted to cheer on their own Ronaldhino who played for Barca at the time. Barcelona destroyed the Red Bulls 4-1. The attendance almost broke the record had there been three more tickets sold. Not even David Beckham drew this many people last summer. The one match that currently holds the #1 in attendance was a match between English Premier League's Manchester United and Italy Serie A's Juventus which took place in June 2003.
No dates were decided yet for Barcelona's 2008 matches in the United States. However, officials from Soccer United Marketing (the marketing arm of MLS) and FC Barcelona have stated that the contract will also include "the U.S. soccer league negotiating the club's sponsorship rights and handling the public relations and marketing in the United States." The dates of these matches will depend on UEFA's schedule for qualifying for the 2008-2009 Champion's League since Barcelona's recent bad season had forced them to have to go through qualification instead of getting a free ride to the group stage.
According to FC Barcelona vice chairman Soriano, the Spanish club wants a "global brand" and has admitted that the only way to reach this goal is to have a "permanent presence" in the United States. He also added: "maybe that permanent presence will mean a team here someday."
The idea of MLS clubs being owned by other clubs abroad is "not unprecedented: according to the Sports Illustrated. In addition to the Los Angeles-based Chivas USA (owned by Mexico's Chivas de Guadalajara) which mentioned in the article, one that comes to my mind is the New York Red Bulls (The Austrian Red Bulls Energy Drink Company which also owns the Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg purchased the New York/New Jersey Metrostars about two years ago).
According to Barcelona's marketing research, the La Liga club has 50 million fans in Europe and 10 million in the United States. Because of this, Soriano wants to bring the club to them as well as form a new club that these fans could root for full time. This is the best time for Barcelona's management to from a club MLS since MLS is now working on expanding their league and currently has a goal of 18 clubs by 2010. They currently have 14 clubs after Toronto FC inaugural season in 2007 and the re-formation of the San Jose Earthquakes this season.
Barcelona's 2008 tour will be their third visit to the United States in six years. Their first visit was for the Champions World Series in which they played against Italy's Juventus and AC Milan (current holder of the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup Title) as well as England's Manchester United.
In 2006, Barca played Mexico's two biggest clubs (Chivas de Guadalajara and Club America) in addition to the New York Red Bulls.
Soccer United Marketing (SUM) had also made amendments to deals with the US Soccer Federation, the Mexican Soccer Federation, and the regional soccer governing body of CONCACAF (which takes care of member nations in North and Central America as well as the Caribbean) as well as changes to new competitions such as the North American Superliga (a short tournament that started last season and includes 4 of the best clubs in MLS and 4 of the best clubs in the Mexican League) and the Pan Pacific Championship (a competition that took place in Hawaii this past February).
German Bundesliga club Borussia Moenchengladbachhas also agreed to tour the United States later this year and has already planned matches against FC Dallas and Colorado in July. However, Barca is the only European club that has signed a formal agreement with MLS and SUM.
All of this is part of a larger campaign in which MLS and American Soccer in general is trying to gain more respect from the soccer world. Barcelona may also form schools and camps in the United States. Soriano has already announced that three camps will be opened in the United States this year--the goal of which will be to develop a network of soccer school in US.
For more information regarding the recent additions to the pact with FC Barcelona, check out this official MLS press release.
The last time Barca was in the United States was two years ago when they played against the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium in a friendly match in front of a sell out crowd of 70,002--which proves that when big star players come from other countries, Americans will watch (although a good portion of the people in attendance were either Hispanic, from Spain, or Brazilians who wanted to cheer on their own Ronaldhino who played for Barca at the time. Barcelona destroyed the Red Bulls 4-1. The attendance almost broke the record had there been three more tickets sold. Not even David Beckham drew this many people last summer. The one match that currently holds the #1 in attendance was a match between English Premier League's Manchester United and Italy Serie A's Juventus which took place in June 2003.
No dates were decided yet for Barcelona's 2008 matches in the United States. However, officials from Soccer United Marketing (the marketing arm of MLS) and FC Barcelona have stated that the contract will also include "the U.S. soccer league negotiating the club's sponsorship rights and handling the public relations and marketing in the United States." The dates of these matches will depend on UEFA's schedule for qualifying for the 2008-2009 Champion's League since Barcelona's recent bad season had forced them to have to go through qualification instead of getting a free ride to the group stage.
According to FC Barcelona vice chairman Soriano, the Spanish club wants a "global brand" and has admitted that the only way to reach this goal is to have a "permanent presence" in the United States. He also added: "maybe that permanent presence will mean a team here someday."
The idea of MLS clubs being owned by other clubs abroad is "not unprecedented: according to the Sports Illustrated. In addition to the Los Angeles-based Chivas USA (owned by Mexico's Chivas de Guadalajara) which mentioned in the article, one that comes to my mind is the New York Red Bulls (The Austrian Red Bulls Energy Drink Company which also owns the Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg purchased the New York/New Jersey Metrostars about two years ago).
According to Barcelona's marketing research, the La Liga club has 50 million fans in Europe and 10 million in the United States. Because of this, Soriano wants to bring the club to them as well as form a new club that these fans could root for full time. This is the best time for Barcelona's management to from a club MLS since MLS is now working on expanding their league and currently has a goal of 18 clubs by 2010. They currently have 14 clubs after Toronto FC inaugural season in 2007 and the re-formation of the San Jose Earthquakes this season.
Barcelona's 2008 tour will be their third visit to the United States in six years. Their first visit was for the Champions World Series in which they played against Italy's Juventus and AC Milan (current holder of the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup Title) as well as England's Manchester United.
In 2006, Barca played Mexico's two biggest clubs (Chivas de Guadalajara and Club America) in addition to the New York Red Bulls.
Soccer United Marketing (SUM) had also made amendments to deals with the US Soccer Federation, the Mexican Soccer Federation, and the regional soccer governing body of CONCACAF (which takes care of member nations in North and Central America as well as the Caribbean) as well as changes to new competitions such as the North American Superliga (a short tournament that started last season and includes 4 of the best clubs in MLS and 4 of the best clubs in the Mexican League) and the Pan Pacific Championship (a competition that took place in Hawaii this past February).
German Bundesliga club Borussia Moenchengladbachhas also agreed to tour the United States later this year and has already planned matches against FC Dallas and Colorado in July. However, Barca is the only European club that has signed a formal agreement with MLS and SUM.
All of this is part of a larger campaign in which MLS and American Soccer in general is trying to gain more respect from the soccer world. Barcelona may also form schools and camps in the United States. Soriano has already announced that three camps will be opened in the United States this year--the goal of which will be to develop a network of soccer school in US.
For more information regarding the recent additions to the pact with FC Barcelona, check out this official MLS press release.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Euro 2008 is in 24 days: Is Croatia Ready?
Ever since their defeat of England in November, the Croatian national team has ended 2007 on a high note, but with Eduardo da Silva's recent injury and not winning one friendly so far in 2008, I'm starting to think that the team has a lot more work to do and with only 24 days left to do it.
For Euro 2008, Croatia was drawn into Group B with co-host Austria, Germany, and Poland. Only two teams qualify to advance to the quarterfinals. Many of my Croatian friends think that they will definitely make it out of this group and that Germany will be their only threat, but have they not learned from the 2006 World Cup? In 2006, Croatia was in a group with Brazil (lost 1-0), Japan (everybody thought we would beat them but they ended the match in a scoreless tie), and Australia (they would have advanced with a win but they tied again 2-2).
While Austria is seems to be an easy team being that they have not qualified a major tournament for a while and the fact that they are co-hosting is the only reason that they qualified. This match may seem like a easy 3 points, but with Austria's home field advantage, Croatia may not leave this one with a win. I'm only hoping that they don't take Austria lightly. When comparing friendly results, Austria looks really dangerous. In Croatia's first match of 2008, they lost 3-0 to Netherlands (a team with a very similar style to Germany). Austria, however, fought the Dutch to a 4-3 loss. Austria also played against Germany who they lost to with a score of 3-0. Based on these results, it seems as if Austria and Croatia are almost equal, but Austria may have a edge on Croatia being that they scored three goals against the Dutch. However, being that these are friendlies, they may not mean much and Germany may not have been using their best players due to risk of injuring them before the tournament. Austria have two friendly matches to play before the tournament against Nigeria and Malta before they play their first match of the tournament against Croatia.
If Croatia doesn't shape up soon, the match against Germany will be an automatic loss, and Croatia's recent 3-0 loss to the Dutch (a team with similar styles to the Germans) does not look good. Germany has two friendlies on their schedule before they play their opener against Poland. Germany will play Belarus and Serbia. Serbia has a style very similar to Croatia but lately have not been able to get any significant wins lately and they have not qualified for the Euro. I will be tracking this match very closely though.
Poland is also a very good team, but none of my friends seem to notice the damage the Polish can do. The Polish team also seems to be the smartest in the group--playing three friendly warm-ups (while the others in the group are only playing two) between now and the tournament against Denmark, Albania, and Macedonia. However, there is one result result that does not look good on Poland's record and that is the 3-0 loss to the United States in March. We will see if Poland's one extra friendly will help as they get ready to face Germany in the first round.
Croatia has not won a match yet in 2008 starting out the year with a 3-0 loss to the Dutch as I have mentioned previously and a 1-1 tie against Scotland that in my opinion, felt like a loss. Croatia has two friendlies before they play Austria in their opener. They will play Moldova and Hungary, two fairly easy teams, but at this point, Croatia should not be looking for easy teams to play friendlies with, but instead should be playing tougher teams so that they can prepare more effectively for the Euro. I would have liked them to play France, who they tied in last Euro Cup, or defending Euro Cup champions Greece. Even a rematch against Russia would have been a better idea in my opinion.
It will also be interesting to see who will step up to the plate with Eduardo da Silva out with the injury. Right now, Croatia has pretty much the same team they did in the World Cup with only one addition--Rakitic--a player that I have not yet seen play too much yet. However, with Bilic as coach, I do still have a little bit of faith left.
For Euro 2008, Croatia was drawn into Group B with co-host Austria, Germany, and Poland. Only two teams qualify to advance to the quarterfinals. Many of my Croatian friends think that they will definitely make it out of this group and that Germany will be their only threat, but have they not learned from the 2006 World Cup? In 2006, Croatia was in a group with Brazil (lost 1-0), Japan (everybody thought we would beat them but they ended the match in a scoreless tie), and Australia (they would have advanced with a win but they tied again 2-2).
While Austria is seems to be an easy team being that they have not qualified a major tournament for a while and the fact that they are co-hosting is the only reason that they qualified. This match may seem like a easy 3 points, but with Austria's home field advantage, Croatia may not leave this one with a win. I'm only hoping that they don't take Austria lightly. When comparing friendly results, Austria looks really dangerous. In Croatia's first match of 2008, they lost 3-0 to Netherlands (a team with a very similar style to Germany). Austria, however, fought the Dutch to a 4-3 loss. Austria also played against Germany who they lost to with a score of 3-0. Based on these results, it seems as if Austria and Croatia are almost equal, but Austria may have a edge on Croatia being that they scored three goals against the Dutch. However, being that these are friendlies, they may not mean much and Germany may not have been using their best players due to risk of injuring them before the tournament. Austria have two friendly matches to play before the tournament against Nigeria and Malta before they play their first match of the tournament against Croatia.
If Croatia doesn't shape up soon, the match against Germany will be an automatic loss, and Croatia's recent 3-0 loss to the Dutch (a team with similar styles to the Germans) does not look good. Germany has two friendlies on their schedule before they play their opener against Poland. Germany will play Belarus and Serbia. Serbia has a style very similar to Croatia but lately have not been able to get any significant wins lately and they have not qualified for the Euro. I will be tracking this match very closely though.
Poland is also a very good team, but none of my friends seem to notice the damage the Polish can do. The Polish team also seems to be the smartest in the group--playing three friendly warm-ups (while the others in the group are only playing two) between now and the tournament against Denmark, Albania, and Macedonia. However, there is one result result that does not look good on Poland's record and that is the 3-0 loss to the United States in March. We will see if Poland's one extra friendly will help as they get ready to face Germany in the first round.
Croatia has not won a match yet in 2008 starting out the year with a 3-0 loss to the Dutch as I have mentioned previously and a 1-1 tie against Scotland that in my opinion, felt like a loss. Croatia has two friendlies before they play Austria in their opener. They will play Moldova and Hungary, two fairly easy teams, but at this point, Croatia should not be looking for easy teams to play friendlies with, but instead should be playing tougher teams so that they can prepare more effectively for the Euro. I would have liked them to play France, who they tied in last Euro Cup, or defending Euro Cup champions Greece. Even a rematch against Russia would have been a better idea in my opinion.
It will also be interesting to see who will step up to the plate with Eduardo da Silva out with the injury. Right now, Croatia has pretty much the same team they did in the World Cup with only one addition--Rakitic--a player that I have not yet seen play too much yet. However, with Bilic as coach, I do still have a little bit of faith left.
Four Members of the US Women's National Team Appear on NBC's Today Show
As you probably noticed, I have been blogging a bit more about the US Women's National Team. I'm doing so because, as they are playing various friendly matches to warm-up for the Olympics in Beijing, I have noticed that they deserve way more credit and coverage than they have been getting thus far. The last two friendlies against Australia are perfect examples of how hard this team fights for a win.
Four members of the Women's National Team made an appearance in New York City this morning on NBC's Today Show. Here is a video of their visit.
Four members of the Women's National Team made an appearance in New York City this morning on NBC's Today Show. Here is a video of their visit.
Eduardo da Silva is Croatia's "Superman"
I spent a good portion of the last few days looking for news (hopefully any good news) regarding Eduardo da Silva's injury and I came across this video on youtube of a news broadcast from Sky News--it is a fairly old video that was posted when he was first released from the hospital in England where he stayed for about a week after his injury at the end of February. In the video, they give updates regarding his injury and it also includes an interview with representatives from the Croatian Football Association who came to England to visit Eduardo in the hospital.
The last piece of news that I heard about Eduardo, according to an exclusive interview with Hrvatska Radio-Televizijia (Croatian Radio-Television) that took place in the beginning of March, was that he was going to Rio di Janiero to the same rehabilitation center that has taken care of players such as Ronaldo, Ronaldhino, Roberto Carlos and other players from the Brazilian National Team. I'm assuming that Eduardo is in Brazil now.
Even though it is a pretty old interview, I will post it here a soon as I can get a chance to translate it.
The last piece of news that I heard about Eduardo, according to an exclusive interview with Hrvatska Radio-Televizijia (Croatian Radio-Television) that took place in the beginning of March, was that he was going to Rio di Janiero to the same rehabilitation center that has taken care of players such as Ronaldo, Ronaldhino, Roberto Carlos and other players from the Brazilian National Team. I'm assuming that Eduardo is in Brazil now.
Even though it is a pretty old interview, I will post it here a soon as I can get a chance to translate it.
Another interesting article from About Football: "European Championship History: Croatia"
Here is another article I wanted to share from the same website. With a little less than a month left until Euro 2008, soccer websites are starting to come out a lot historical information about different European national teams' Euro campaigns. This article pretty much summarizes Croatia's role in Euro Cup history. Like the last post, I'm going to leave it there and let the article say it all.
Article from About Football Website: "Croatia’s road to Euro 2008: Eduardo’s absence underlined"
In my research for news relating to soccer and world football, I found this article which I thought I would share.
Ever since Eduardo da Silva's horrific injury at the hands of Birmingham's Martin Taylor, I have been trying to get as much information as I can regarding Eduardo's injury. He's not going to make the Euro 2008 finals and at least the beginning of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, but I am hoping for a speedy recovery. He is on track in his recovery so far.
Anyway, back to the article...it pretty much sums up Croatia's qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, which ended on a really high after beating England twice. The article then ends with a short blurb on da Silva.
I'm going to end my post there and let the article speak for itself.
Ever since Eduardo da Silva's horrific injury at the hands of Birmingham's Martin Taylor, I have been trying to get as much information as I can regarding Eduardo's injury. He's not going to make the Euro 2008 finals and at least the beginning of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign, but I am hoping for a speedy recovery. He is on track in his recovery so far.
Anyway, back to the article...it pretty much sums up Croatia's qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, which ended on a really high after beating England twice. The article then ends with a short blurb on da Silva.
I'm going to end my post there and let the article speak for itself.
Slaven Bilic is no ordinary Croatian coach
Croatian National Team Coach Slaven Bilic may seem like the regular "run of the mill" coach, but he is definitely much more than that. In addition to being coach, he was also an important member of the early Croatian National Team between 1994 and 1998 and was part of the 1998 squad that won third place at the World Cup.
Despite the fact that Bilic was a defender and therefore not a big goal scorer when he played for the national team, he may be considered one of the best coaches Croatia has had since their Golden Age of the mid 90's. On April 30th, Bilic agreed to extend his contract with the Croatian Soccer Federation which will make him coach up to the days of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Bilic's new contract is worth 1.2 million Kuna ($257,300) a year, a small sum in comparison to other coaches.
Bilic was born on September 11, 1968 and started playing professionally at a very young age at his hometown club, Hajduk Split, in the Yugoslav League at only 9 years old where he spent nine season. In 1993, he moved to Germany's Bundesliga to play for Karlsruher SC where he impressed many fans and players. He was then bought by English Premier League club West Ham United in January 1996. Due to his good form as an EPL player, the then coach of the Croatian National Team selected him for the Croatian National Team for Euro 96 held in England. This gave Bilic a lot of exposure as Croatia made it to the quarterfinals where they were beaten by eventual winners Germany. Despite this, Bilic's performance impressed Everton's coach Joe Royle who attempted to broker a deal with West Ham in March 1997, but Bilic claimed that he had a debt of loyalty to West Ham that saw him stay with the club until the end of the season to ensure they were not relegated. He moved on to Everton in August 1997. However, his season at Everton was a bad one because of several yellow cards that forced him out of matches due to suspension. Despite this, he was still called to be a part of the 1998 World Cup squad for Croatia, who were considered to be the underdogs of the tournament, but made it to the semifinals where they faced host team France and lost forcing them into the third place game which they won.
In July 1999, Everton allowed Bilic to play for another club but he was unwanted in the Premier League. Therefore, he decided to play in Croatia again so he returned to Hajduk Split where he remained until retirement.
Before coaching the national team, Bilic coached Croatia's Under 21 team where he met current Senior national team players such as Eduardo da Silva. During the qualification rounds for the 2006 U-21 European Championship, the team went through the group stage but lost in a playoff to rival Serbia and Montenegro.
He was appointed head coach of the senior national team on July 25, 2006, succeeding Zlatko Kranjcar (who faced quite a bit of controversy from Croatian fans when he chose his son over Eduardo da Silva to play in the 2006 World Cup). Bilic's assistants included Aljosa Asanovic (his assistant in the U21 team) and Robert Prosinečki (a former teammate from 1998). The team's first competetive match under Bilić was a 0-0 draw in Moscow against Russia, their first match in Euro 2008 Qualifying. Despite this slow start, he led Croatia to a very successful qualifying campaign, in a group consisting of England, Russia, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia and Andorra. They qualified first in Group E, along with Russia. The campaign recorded some impressive results, including two wins over heavy group favorites England (who finished third in the group), 2-0 in Zagreb and 3-2 in London and a 7-0 domination of a weak Andorra side. Croatia also posted a 4-3 nail biter in Israel in which da Silva scored 3 of the 4 goals.
The above is not why I consider him "no ordinary Croatian coach." Neither is it because he's fluent in three languages (German, Italian, and English) nor is it because of his law degree or that he plays guitar in a rock band called Rawbau and recently wrote the official Euro 2008 anthem for the national team--a song called Vatreno Ludilo (Fiery Madness)--named after the nickname for the team ("Vatreni" or fiery ones). There is only one thing that sets him apart from other past Croatian coaches, players--current and past, and fans, and that is that he has class. Sadly, many, especially the fans, have acted absolutely disgustingly towards their win against England--cursing the English national team out and other disgusting behavior. This has gone to the point that many remember Croatian fans for their behavior. As a matter of fact, Croatia was almost disqualified in 2006 World Cup qualifying due to fan behavior. I can understand showing a little bit of patriotism when watching a national team match but some fans go way too far (I will go into this further in a future post).
This class from Bilic is shown in the video below when he was interviewed by English media regarding Croatia's win against England:
Thank you, Mr. Bilic! Your are the coach Croatia needs right now!
.
Despite the fact that Bilic was a defender and therefore not a big goal scorer when he played for the national team, he may be considered one of the best coaches Croatia has had since their Golden Age of the mid 90's. On April 30th, Bilic agreed to extend his contract with the Croatian Soccer Federation which will make him coach up to the days of the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Bilic's new contract is worth 1.2 million Kuna ($257,300) a year, a small sum in comparison to other coaches.
Bilic was born on September 11, 1968 and started playing professionally at a very young age at his hometown club, Hajduk Split, in the Yugoslav League at only 9 years old where he spent nine season. In 1993, he moved to Germany's Bundesliga to play for Karlsruher SC where he impressed many fans and players. He was then bought by English Premier League club West Ham United in January 1996. Due to his good form as an EPL player, the then coach of the Croatian National Team selected him for the Croatian National Team for Euro 96 held in England. This gave Bilic a lot of exposure as Croatia made it to the quarterfinals where they were beaten by eventual winners Germany. Despite this, Bilic's performance impressed Everton's coach Joe Royle who attempted to broker a deal with West Ham in March 1997, but Bilic claimed that he had a debt of loyalty to West Ham that saw him stay with the club until the end of the season to ensure they were not relegated. He moved on to Everton in August 1997. However, his season at Everton was a bad one because of several yellow cards that forced him out of matches due to suspension. Despite this, he was still called to be a part of the 1998 World Cup squad for Croatia, who were considered to be the underdogs of the tournament, but made it to the semifinals where they faced host team France and lost forcing them into the third place game which they won.
In July 1999, Everton allowed Bilic to play for another club but he was unwanted in the Premier League. Therefore, he decided to play in Croatia again so he returned to Hajduk Split where he remained until retirement.
Before coaching the national team, Bilic coached Croatia's Under 21 team where he met current Senior national team players such as Eduardo da Silva. During the qualification rounds for the 2006 U-21 European Championship, the team went through the group stage but lost in a playoff to rival Serbia and Montenegro.
He was appointed head coach of the senior national team on July 25, 2006, succeeding Zlatko Kranjcar (who faced quite a bit of controversy from Croatian fans when he chose his son over Eduardo da Silva to play in the 2006 World Cup). Bilic's assistants included Aljosa Asanovic (his assistant in the U21 team) and Robert Prosinečki (a former teammate from 1998). The team's first competetive match under Bilić was a 0-0 draw in Moscow against Russia, their first match in Euro 2008 Qualifying. Despite this slow start, he led Croatia to a very successful qualifying campaign, in a group consisting of England, Russia, Israel, Macedonia, Estonia and Andorra. They qualified first in Group E, along with Russia. The campaign recorded some impressive results, including two wins over heavy group favorites England (who finished third in the group), 2-0 in Zagreb and 3-2 in London and a 7-0 domination of a weak Andorra side. Croatia also posted a 4-3 nail biter in Israel in which da Silva scored 3 of the 4 goals.
The above is not why I consider him "no ordinary Croatian coach." Neither is it because he's fluent in three languages (German, Italian, and English) nor is it because of his law degree or that he plays guitar in a rock band called Rawbau and recently wrote the official Euro 2008 anthem for the national team--a song called Vatreno Ludilo (Fiery Madness)--named after the nickname for the team ("Vatreni" or fiery ones). There is only one thing that sets him apart from other past Croatian coaches, players--current and past, and fans, and that is that he has class. Sadly, many, especially the fans, have acted absolutely disgustingly towards their win against England--cursing the English national team out and other disgusting behavior. This has gone to the point that many remember Croatian fans for their behavior. As a matter of fact, Croatia was almost disqualified in 2006 World Cup qualifying due to fan behavior. I can understand showing a little bit of patriotism when watching a national team match but some fans go way too far (I will go into this further in a future post).
This class from Bilic is shown in the video below when he was interviewed by English media regarding Croatia's win against England:
Thank you, Mr. Bilic! Your are the coach Croatia needs right now!
.
Argentine Great Maradona Still has it
At 47 years old, Diego Maradona of Argentina can still make great plays. According to this article from Reuters UK, the retired Argentine star played in a charity match in Rome.
According to the article, he "scored a penalty and rolled back the years with some exquisite passing."
The teams playing were made of both players and celebrities. The match ended in a 6-6 draw.
Here is a youtube clip of a tribute to Maradona--one of the best players of all time right up there near Brazil's Pele).
According to the article, he "scored a penalty and rolled back the years with some exquisite passing."
The teams playing were made of both players and celebrities. The match ended in a 6-6 draw.
Here is a youtube clip of a tribute to Maradona--one of the best players of all time right up there near Brazil's Pele).
Croatian National Team Captain Might Retire after Euro 2008
According to this article from Reuters UK, Croatia National Team captain Niko Kovac is considering retirement from the international stage after Euro 2008 where he expects Croatia to make it to the quarterfinals.
36 year old defensive midfielder, whose club team is Red Bulls Salzburg (sister club of the New York Red Bulls), told Croatian newspaper Slobodna Damlacija that he is "...closer to the decision of hanging up my international boots than staying on for another campaign. However, he said that he "will play for another year at Salzburg for sure and the club has made me an open offer to take up any position I choose when I decide to retire."
a member of the Croatian National Team, Kovac has has won 75 caps and scored 12 goals. HIs first match for the national team was in the 2002 World Cup against Mexico which the team lost 1-0.
The only question is who will replace Kovac as captain once he retires. One good choice could be his younger brother Robert who is currently 34 years old and also plays for the national team. One thing I suggest is that Coach Slaven Bilic not choose a younger player since most younger players on the Croatian national team tend to be hot tempered in the middle of matches. Whoever Bilic chooses, the captain should be someone at least 25 years old. Another great choice would Eduardo da Silva assuming that his injury is not career ending.
I will post more regarding Niko Kovac's possible retirement as more information comes out.
36 year old defensive midfielder, whose club team is Red Bulls Salzburg (sister club of the New York Red Bulls), told Croatian newspaper Slobodna Damlacija that he is "...closer to the decision of hanging up my international boots than staying on for another campaign. However, he said that he "will play for another year at Salzburg for sure and the club has made me an open offer to take up any position I choose when I decide to retire."
a member of the Croatian National Team, Kovac has has won 75 caps and scored 12 goals. HIs first match for the national team was in the 2002 World Cup against Mexico which the team lost 1-0.The only question is who will replace Kovac as captain once he retires. One good choice could be his younger brother Robert who is currently 34 years old and also plays for the national team. One thing I suggest is that Coach Slaven Bilic not choose a younger player since most younger players on the Croatian national team tend to be hot tempered in the middle of matches. Whoever Bilic chooses, the captain should be someone at least 25 years old. Another great choice would Eduardo da Silva assuming that his injury is not career ending.
I will post more regarding Niko Kovac's possible retirement as more information comes out.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Manchester United wins English Premier League Title
Just wanted to post a quick update regarding the English Premier League.
The EPL season is now officially over and every single club has played a total of two matches against every other club. In the English Premier League, there is no playoff competition to determine the winner. Instead, a champion is crowned based on how many points they earned by the end of the season. Defending champions Manchester United successfully defended their title beating Chelsea by two points. Arsenal finished third trailing Chelsea by two points.
To see the full 2007-2008 English Premier League standings, click here.
The EPL season is now officially over and every single club has played a total of two matches against every other club. In the English Premier League, there is no playoff competition to determine the winner. Instead, a champion is crowned based on how many points they earned by the end of the season. Defending champions Manchester United successfully defended their title beating Chelsea by two points. Arsenal finished third trailing Chelsea by two points.
To see the full 2007-2008 English Premier League standings, click here.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Konzum to Sponsor Croatia's Euro 2008 Team
Konzum, a Croatian supermarket chain, will be the official sponsor for the Croatia Euro Cup Team. Here is the youtube video of the commercial that is currently on air on Croatia:
For the 2006 World, the national team's official sponsor was Karlovacko, a Croatian beer company that was recently purchased by Heineken (thank God Heineken didn't change anything about beer!). As part of their advertising campaign, they released a series of commercials in which they featured a fan of each team that was in the group with Croatia (Brazil, Australia, and Japan). In each commercial, the fan had to do their bad impression of a popular Croatian song while in a bar in order to have a bottle of Karlovacko handed over to them. In these commercials, they also remind people to watch the match against that particular team advertise and a concert that would take place after the match. Here are the youtube videos of the commercials that aired:
Japanese fan sings Croatian National Anthem (not to mention horribly)
Brazilian fan singing a fairly new song by Croatian band Prlajavo Kazaliste (the guy is actually pretty close on this one but he's overdoing it)
Australian sings an older and a popular song popular during the war also performed by Prlajavo Kazaliste. The name of the song is Hrvatska Ruza--Croatian Rose (my favorite Croatian song of all time and he absolutely kills it).
As you can see from these commercials, every commercial has the words "Svi smo mi Hrvati" ("We are all Croats). This is supposed to be a sign of friendship as the four national teams plays group stage of the 2006 World Cup.
Here are two more commercials with all three of them chanting.
In this first one, they are in the same bar chanting "Mi Hrvati" (We are Croats)--a popular chant in Croatian soccer.
In this last commercial, the three are chanting "Idemo dalje!" (the equivalent of "forza Italia!"). This chant became very popular when the Croatians had the very first World Cup run in 1998 leading to third place.
Although the World Cup ad campaign is much more creative, I really like the one for Konzum for Euro 2008. It shows more patriotism and fan involvement.
For the 2006 World, the national team's official sponsor was Karlovacko, a Croatian beer company that was recently purchased by Heineken (thank God Heineken didn't change anything about beer!). As part of their advertising campaign, they released a series of commercials in which they featured a fan of each team that was in the group with Croatia (Brazil, Australia, and Japan). In each commercial, the fan had to do their bad impression of a popular Croatian song while in a bar in order to have a bottle of Karlovacko handed over to them. In these commercials, they also remind people to watch the match against that particular team advertise and a concert that would take place after the match. Here are the youtube videos of the commercials that aired:
Japanese fan sings Croatian National Anthem (not to mention horribly)
Brazilian fan singing a fairly new song by Croatian band Prlajavo Kazaliste (the guy is actually pretty close on this one but he's overdoing it)
Australian sings an older and a popular song popular during the war also performed by Prlajavo Kazaliste. The name of the song is Hrvatska Ruza--Croatian Rose (my favorite Croatian song of all time and he absolutely kills it).
As you can see from these commercials, every commercial has the words "Svi smo mi Hrvati" ("We are all Croats). This is supposed to be a sign of friendship as the four national teams plays group stage of the 2006 World Cup.
Here are two more commercials with all three of them chanting.
In this first one, they are in the same bar chanting "Mi Hrvati" (We are Croats)--a popular chant in Croatian soccer.
In this last commercial, the three are chanting "Idemo dalje!" (the equivalent of "forza Italia!"). This chant became very popular when the Croatians had the very first World Cup run in 1998 leading to third place.
Although the World Cup ad campaign is much more creative, I really like the one for Konzum for Euro 2008. It shows more patriotism and fan involvement.
US Women's National Team defeats Australia in yet another high scoring match
With less than a 100 days until the Olympic Games in Beijing, the US Women are continuing their friendly warm-ups in preparation for the tournament.
Just six days after the Women's National Team defeated Australia 3-2 in Cary, North Carolina (see this blog post), the Australian and American women faced off again on My 3rd in Birmingham, Alabama in what would become another high scoring nail-biter (even more so than the last one) as the Americans defeated Australia 5-4.
I'm going to keep this post short and let the following link to a video from youtube explain it all (US Soccer does not permit embedding of their youtube videos).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wStYUL8DSeY
For more videos from the US Soccer Federation, check out their official youtube page.
Just six days after the Women's National Team defeated Australia 3-2 in Cary, North Carolina (see this blog post), the Australian and American women faced off again on My 3rd in Birmingham, Alabama in what would become another high scoring nail-biter (even more so than the last one) as the Americans defeated Australia 5-4.
I'm going to keep this post short and let the following link to a video from youtube explain it all (US Soccer does not permit embedding of their youtube videos).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wStYUL8DSeY
For more videos from the US Soccer Federation, check out their official youtube page.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
American Soccer Pioneer dies at age 74
Before Major League Soccer was established in the mid 90's, the United States did not have a major soccer league since 1985. This league was the NASL (North American Soccer League). The heyday of this league ran parallel with success of the New York Cosmos (most notably because of Brazilian player Pele and their coach Gordon Bradley).
Coach Bradley, who was a big catalyst to the success of the New York Cosmos, died Tuesday at the age of 74, according to an Associated Press article that I just found on the Sports Illustrated website.
Bradley coached a New York Cosmos team that brought 70,000 fans to Giants Stadium for almost every match. Nowadays, that many spectators is extremely rare for a soccer match. The only match of my lifetime (or the only one that I've at least been old of to watch live at the stadium) that had close to this many people was when David Beckham came to Giants Stadium for the first time to play the New York Red Bulls last August. This match ended with a 5-4 victory for the Red Bulls in front of 66,237 fans. It was an unexpected high scoring match and is probably the closest we will ever get to have such a large number of people flocking to Giants Stadium to watch a soccer match of such high quality.
I never knew much about the New York Cosmos and the NASL since the league ended about a year before I was born, but I found a little bit about it from my father who had just arrived in New York at the heyday of the New York Cosmos. At this time, soccer was doing very well in the United States.
While some great coaches would probably be belittled by lowering their standards to coach at the college level after bringing such large crowds to soccer matches, Bradley did exactly this--coaching George Mason where had a .606 winning percentage and brought their team to the NCAA tournament six times.
Bradley earned a spot in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1996 and was always as a pioneer of American soccer. He also played in England and Canada before coaching the Cosmos in 1971.
He leaves behind his wife of 49 years, two sons, and five grandchildren.
For more information regarding the North American Soccer League, see this website.
Here is an excerpt of a documentary about the New York Cosmos and their well known coach that I found on youtube:
Here is another good video about the New York Cosmos:
Coach Bradley, who was a big catalyst to the success of the New York Cosmos, died Tuesday at the age of 74, according to an Associated Press article that I just found on the Sports Illustrated website.
Bradley coached a New York Cosmos team that brought 70,000 fans to Giants Stadium for almost every match. Nowadays, that many spectators is extremely rare for a soccer match. The only match of my lifetime (or the only one that I've at least been old of to watch live at the stadium) that had close to this many people was when David Beckham came to Giants Stadium for the first time to play the New York Red Bulls last August. This match ended with a 5-4 victory for the Red Bulls in front of 66,237 fans. It was an unexpected high scoring match and is probably the closest we will ever get to have such a large number of people flocking to Giants Stadium to watch a soccer match of such high quality.
I never knew much about the New York Cosmos and the NASL since the league ended about a year before I was born, but I found a little bit about it from my father who had just arrived in New York at the heyday of the New York Cosmos. At this time, soccer was doing very well in the United States.
While some great coaches would probably be belittled by lowering their standards to coach at the college level after bringing such large crowds to soccer matches, Bradley did exactly this--coaching George Mason where had a .606 winning percentage and brought their team to the NCAA tournament six times.
Bradley earned a spot in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1996 and was always as a pioneer of American soccer. He also played in England and Canada before coaching the Cosmos in 1971.
He leaves behind his wife of 49 years, two sons, and five grandchildren.
For more information regarding the North American Soccer League, see this website.
Here is an excerpt of a documentary about the New York Cosmos and their well known coach that I found on youtube:
Here is another good video about the New York Cosmos:
Pachuca wins second straight CONCACAF Champion's Cup Title
Mexican powerhouse Pachuca has won their second consecutive CONCACAF Champion's Cup title defeating Saprissa of the Costa Rican league, according to this article from Sports Illustrated.
Like the Champion's League in Europe, the CONCACAF Champion's Cup, although a much smaller tournament, also sends the winner to the FIFA Club World Cup at the end of the year.
Pachuca defeated thier Costa Rican opponents 2-1 in the second leg at home after a 1-1 tie in the first leg that took place in Costa Rica.
Argentine middielder Christian Gimenez opened up the scoring early in the match at the 2nd minute to give Pachuca the early lead. Rey scored the second goal in the 54th minute to put Pachuca up 2. After 90 minutes and still scoreless, Saprissa looked for a two goal miracle that could possibly send the match into overtime. Jairo Arreola did score Saprissa's first goal of the match during stoppage time but was unable to tie it before the final whistle sounded.
Pachuca now joins the European champion (either Chelsea or Manchester United), the Oceanian champion, the South American champion, the Asian champion, the African champion, and the Japan's league winner (host) in the FIFA Club World Cup in December.
Like the Champion's League in Europe, the CONCACAF Champion's Cup, although a much smaller tournament, also sends the winner to the FIFA Club World Cup at the end of the year.
Pachuca defeated thier Costa Rican opponents 2-1 in the second leg at home after a 1-1 tie in the first leg that took place in Costa Rica.
Argentine middielder Christian Gimenez opened up the scoring early in the match at the 2nd minute to give Pachuca the early lead. Rey scored the second goal in the 54th minute to put Pachuca up 2. After 90 minutes and still scoreless, Saprissa looked for a two goal miracle that could possibly send the match into overtime. Jairo Arreola did score Saprissa's first goal of the match during stoppage time but was unable to tie it before the final whistle sounded.
Pachuca now joins the European champion (either Chelsea or Manchester United), the Oceanian champion, the South American champion, the Asian champion, the African champion, and the Japan's league winner (host) in the FIFA Club World Cup in December.
MLS Player of the Month Award Goes to Landon Donovan
According to Sports Illustrated, an player for the Los Angeles Galaxy has won the Player of the Month Award for April.
No, it's not David Beckham.
It's Landon Donovan, one of the best players on Los Angeles Galaxy (other than Beckham) and possibly the best player on the US National Team.
After the arrival of David Beckham, one would think that such a high caliber player would have stolen the spotlight for much of Major League Soccer. Although David Beckham jerseys are selling really well, Beckham--the player-does not seem like the sort of person that would brag. As a matter of fact, during several interviews with American media, he has admitted that he is pleasantly surprised at the quality of play that Landon Donovan has shown.
Landon Donovan has shown some stunning statistics in only one month (five matches) of the MLS season. In just five matches, he has scored eight goals and two assists. This is also his third career player of the month award, previously winning the same award in April 2003 and September 2003. He has also won the league's player of the week title twice this season for Weeks 4 and 5 and has led his team to a 2-2-1 record and second in the Western Conference.
In only month, Landon Donovan is already the early favorite to win the Budweiser Golden Boot Award given to the player that scores the most goals in a season. As a matter of fact, his not only first at this point but he has also scored twice as many goals as his nearest competitor, Alejandro Moreno of the Columbus Crew. If Donovan continues at this pace, he could break the "all-time MLS single season goals record." This record is currently held by Roy Lassiter who scored 27 goals in the 1996 season.
Since the past year, the league has done a lot to increase growth and talent in MLS. This includes adding clubs to the league (more on this in a latter blog) and requiring designated players from other countries to increase the talent of the league. A perfect example of this is David Beckham (LA Galaxy), but also includes players like Cuauhtemoc Bianco of the Chicago Fire and Juan Pablo Angel of the New York Red Bulls among others.
With this said, it is definitely significant that an American player would win this kind of an award in Major League Soccer, but is he good enough to play in Europe? This is an important question to ask because playing in a club in the English Premier, Budesliga, Spain's La Liga, or other strong clubs could bring quite a bit of experience to Landon Donovan that could be beneficial to the national team. In my opinion, he is wasting his time in Major League Soccer. He should follow the example of American players such as Claudio Reyna who recently returned from Manchester City (a lesser known Manchester-based club in the EPL) to play for the New York Red Bulls. He played for Manchester City for several years before returning. Reyna, as far as I know, has not played that much for the national team, but he has brought some talent to the New York Red Bulls after getting some EPL experience playing in one of the best leagues in the world. Another great player that is currently a prospect for the national team is the young Freddie Adu, who played for DC United and Real Salt Lake, and has recently took the role of captain in this past summer's FIFA Under 20 World Cup for the United States. New York Red Bulls players Jozy Altidore is also expected to leave for Europe very soon.
Here are a few youtube videos of some of Landon Donovan's best goals for both the nation team and the clubs he has played with throughout the years:
Goal against North American RIVAL Mexico to put the United States up by 2-0 in the beginning of the second half
(sorry--this is a really good play but I can only find it in Spanish)
Landon Donovan scores hat trick against Ecuador (first goal in the first minute!!)
Check out this video from the MLS Official Youtube Channel of some Landon Donovan Highlights
Video of the goal that made Landon Donovan the all time leading scorer for the national team (his 35th goal)
A Fan's Tribute to Landon Donovan
For more information regarding David Beckham's life and career, check out his Wikipedia entry.
No, it's not David Beckham.
It's Landon Donovan, one of the best players on Los Angeles Galaxy (other than Beckham) and possibly the best player on the US National Team.
After the arrival of David Beckham, one would think that such a high caliber player would have stolen the spotlight for much of Major League Soccer. Although David Beckham jerseys are selling really well, Beckham--the player-does not seem like the sort of person that would brag. As a matter of fact, during several interviews with American media, he has admitted that he is pleasantly surprised at the quality of play that Landon Donovan has shown.Landon Donovan has shown some stunning statistics in only one month (five matches) of the MLS season. In just five matches, he has scored eight goals and two assists. This is also his third career player of the month award, previously winning the same award in April 2003 and September 2003. He has also won the league's player of the week title twice this season for Weeks 4 and 5 and has led his team to a 2-2-1 record and second in the Western Conference.
In only month, Landon Donovan is already the early favorite to win the Budweiser Golden Boot Award given to the player that scores the most goals in a season. As a matter of fact, his not only first at this point but he has also scored twice as many goals as his nearest competitor, Alejandro Moreno of the Columbus Crew. If Donovan continues at this pace, he could break the "all-time MLS single season goals record." This record is currently held by Roy Lassiter who scored 27 goals in the 1996 season.
Since the past year, the league has done a lot to increase growth and talent in MLS. This includes adding clubs to the league (more on this in a latter blog) and requiring designated players from other countries to increase the talent of the league. A perfect example of this is David Beckham (LA Galaxy), but also includes players like Cuauhtemoc Bianco of the Chicago Fire and Juan Pablo Angel of the New York Red Bulls among others.
With this said, it is definitely significant that an American player would win this kind of an award in Major League Soccer, but is he good enough to play in Europe? This is an important question to ask because playing in a club in the English Premier, Budesliga, Spain's La Liga, or other strong clubs could bring quite a bit of experience to Landon Donovan that could be beneficial to the national team. In my opinion, he is wasting his time in Major League Soccer. He should follow the example of American players such as Claudio Reyna who recently returned from Manchester City (a lesser known Manchester-based club in the EPL) to play for the New York Red Bulls. He played for Manchester City for several years before returning. Reyna, as far as I know, has not played that much for the national team, but he has brought some talent to the New York Red Bulls after getting some EPL experience playing in one of the best leagues in the world. Another great player that is currently a prospect for the national team is the young Freddie Adu, who played for DC United and Real Salt Lake, and has recently took the role of captain in this past summer's FIFA Under 20 World Cup for the United States. New York Red Bulls players Jozy Altidore is also expected to leave for Europe very soon.
Here are a few youtube videos of some of Landon Donovan's best goals for both the nation team and the clubs he has played with throughout the years:
Goal against North American RIVAL Mexico to put the United States up by 2-0 in the beginning of the second half
(sorry--this is a really good play but I can only find it in Spanish)
Landon Donovan scores hat trick against Ecuador (first goal in the first minute!!)
Check out this video from the MLS Official Youtube Channel of some Landon Donovan Highlights
Video of the goal that made Landon Donovan the all time leading scorer for the national team (his 35th goal)
A Fan's Tribute to Landon Donovan
For more information regarding David Beckham's life and career, check out his Wikipedia entry.
Manchester United and Chelsea punch ticket to European Champions League Final in Moscow
Just six months after the English suffered possibly the biggest downfall in the history of their national team at the hands of Croatia, the English Premier seems to have had very minimal damage despite this. In a recent post, I mentioned that the English Premier League was dominating the Champion's League with Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea making up three of the four clubs that advanced tot he semifinals. Since then, the second legs of the two semifinals resulted in Manchester United eliminating FC Barcelona and Chelsea eliminating EPL rival Liverpool. This would finally give Manchester United the chance to avenge their recent loss against Chelsea in a recent EPL match.
According to this article from Sports Illustrated, this will be the first time in history that the Champions League final will be an "all-English affair."
In the most recent Sports Illustrated world power rankings, sports writer Jonah Freedman has Manchester United and Chelsea ranked #1 and #2 respectively. He also believes that these two clubs "will end the season as two heavyweights duking it out." These two clubs are not only in the running for this title (the most important as the winner qualifies as the only club from Europe for December's FIFA Club World Cup) but also two of the most prestigious English competition, the FA Cup and the Premier League. In the EPL, they are currently tied on points for the top spot and the title (there are no playoff matches in the EPL unless the season ends with the two clubs tied. If this happens, the clubs--unless any rules were changed--will play one playoff to determine the champion of the league).
The fact that two English clubs have been successful in the Champion's League does not prove that the English national team has made any progress since their embarrassing defeat last November, but it does not prove that they haven't either. Both clubs include players from outside England or even from outside the UK that would not be eligible for the national team. England's next competitive match will not be until after the Euro 2008 final tournament when they will play Croatia in a crucial rematch to open Europe's World Cup 2010 qualifying tournament for their group. This will be a crucial match for both teams and a dramatic way to open qualification. England defeating Croatia will show that England has made a lot of progress since last November.
According to this article from Sports Illustrated, this will be the first time in history that the Champions League final will be an "all-English affair."
In the most recent Sports Illustrated world power rankings, sports writer Jonah Freedman has Manchester United and Chelsea ranked #1 and #2 respectively. He also believes that these two clubs "will end the season as two heavyweights duking it out." These two clubs are not only in the running for this title (the most important as the winner qualifies as the only club from Europe for December's FIFA Club World Cup) but also two of the most prestigious English competition, the FA Cup and the Premier League. In the EPL, they are currently tied on points for the top spot and the title (there are no playoff matches in the EPL unless the season ends with the two clubs tied. If this happens, the clubs--unless any rules were changed--will play one playoff to determine the champion of the league).
The fact that two English clubs have been successful in the Champion's League does not prove that the English national team has made any progress since their embarrassing defeat last November, but it does not prove that they haven't either. Both clubs include players from outside England or even from outside the UK that would not be eligible for the national team. England's next competitive match will not be until after the Euro 2008 final tournament when they will play Croatia in a crucial rematch to open Europe's World Cup 2010 qualifying tournament for their group. This will be a crucial match for both teams and a dramatic way to open qualification. England defeating Croatia will show that England has made a lot of progress since last November.
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