As predicted by my Facebook buddy Bruce of DuNord a spell ago, Clint Dempsey has just put Fulham up
with mere moments to play in leg two regulation by scoring a disturbingly gorgeous goal.Down 4-1 on
aggregate, the home side Cottagers have rallied with four, Dempsey's putting them in front. Stay
tuned for updates until the whistle and the clip.
Click to continue reading...
St Patrick's Day Greetings to all as I fly my ancestral colours and spare passport. Hats off to the
USA for keeping the green alive.Ireland's not much kop at football, 'tis true. Gaelic football is
still the most played sport over there and with 4.5 million people, the player pool is kinda small
anyway.
Click to continue reading...
Your mid 30s are apparently a key time for your Achilles to snap my doctor friend tells me. And
three to four months is the usual time before you can start running again. Realistically it's about
half a year for footballers to get back into action it seems. Funny how soccer fans suddenly become
'experts' on metatarsals, cruciate ligaments et al.
Click to continue reading...
So no cameras or microchips for a while after FIFA shut the door to technology in Zurich. But world
soccer's governing body does often sound a trifle fascistic to my ears:"It is the end of the
potential use of technology in football," FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke intoned. "Now it is
being stopped.
Click to continue reading...
Some sights, sounds and all-arounds from the USMNT v Netherlands friendly, courtesy of Sean's
snappin' finger.As for me, I already have an MLSNet article up on DaMarcus Beasley, creator of the
first goal ever scored by the 'Nats against Oranje. Tomorrow, you can look for two game stories and
my U.S. Player Ratings over at S365, plus one match bit I will drop here.
Click to continue reading...
I keep telling TV fans to get into the stadia but last night was a good advert for the sofa. As the
quality of US soccer plumbed the depths, the temperature in the Arena plummeted too, leaving a
distinctly cold and unappetising dish for all to savour.No-one likes to watch a game like that. The
charge at the end was scant consolation for the surrender that had preceded it and one suspects the
Click to continue reading...
Amsterdam Arena - 20:30 39F/4CKick-off - This should be a friendly international or is it a fashion
show - both nations sporting their new away kits and several players wearing lurid boots in yellow,
green, red or anything but black.3' Arjen Robben jinks past Jonathan Bornstein in the box. The
Chivas USA defender's looking nervous, understandably as Robben ran Frankie Hejduk ragged here six
Click to continue reading...
*MOTD 2 tonight followed the herd blaming Landon Donovan for denying Everton a point at White Hart
Lane today with a 'glaring miss'. Eh? I thought that bouncing diagonal ball was hard for anyone to
control and squeeze in at the far post. For some reason it reminded me of Tony Blair's haphazard
attempt to play soccer.
Click to continue reading...
Finally got around to seeing Clint Eastwood's powerful movie 'Invictus' this week, which opened
here two months after its US release. I was especially impressed by Matt Damon, even if he looked
more like Jay DeMerit than South African rugby skipper Francois Pienaar.I thought its theme of a
divided nation uniting through sport would be just the ticket in South Africa's World Cup year, and
I
Click to continue reading...
I had been getting a bit fed up hearing English commentators say, "It's England v the USA" every
time Jozy Altidore or Tim Howard etc has been one-on-one with a Three Lions man recently.But now
Landon Donovan has inadvertently crocked our best left-back, the phrase takes on new meaning. That
is one way to level the playing field of course, and England players have a long tradition of
falling like
Click to continue reading...
Leaving Warsaw, I began to wonder what had happened to Kazimierz Deyna, the first Polish footballer
I ever heard of. He was another in my sticker albums at the end of the 1970s, playing for
Manchester City. He stood out because there were hardly any foreigners in the old First Division
then.If you remember the NASL you might know this classy midfielder/attacker played for the San
Diego Sockers
Click to continue reading...
WARSAW - Europe's footballing bigwigs are wending their way home after this weekend's Polish
pow-wow.It's not every day the 53 national team coaches from FIFA's strongest region come together,
so a frenzy of recording gadgets accompanied UEFA's big shindig. The maelstrom of suits and
security amid one of Russia's grandest statements of empire, Warsaw's Palace of Culture & Science,
would not have
Click to continue reading...
WARSAW -Greetings from snowy Poland (though probably not as white as the East Coast of the US right
now).I'm sitting in the grandest press room I've ever seen, high up within the chandeliered Palace
of Culture & Science, as Stalinist an edifice as you could imagine. It hogs the skyline of the
Polish capital and still has vestiges of the Communist past - I saw worker statues and the names of
Lenin
Click to continue reading...
It had to happen sooner or later - the US World Cup '98 fall-out is dredged up again because
Terrygate refuses to die in the English press, with five Chelsea players now named as having
dallied with the French waitress.US skipper John Harkes had been caught practising his
keepie-uppies with Eric Wynalda's wife in the run-up to World Cup 1998, which prompted Steve
'3-6-1' Sampson to show the man
Click to continue reading...
*Delighted to see Egypt win the African Cup of Nations again. As with Spain in Euro 2008, the best
team won...Matchwinner Mohamed Gedo is now one of the great supersubs of all time with his five
from the bench. What a threat they'll be at the World Cup....in 2014.*Landon is taking the plaudits
as the new Yank in town in the Premier League, but Jozy Altidore's progress is catching my eye
Click to continue reading...
Ditto about the shameful lack of African Cup of Nations coverage in England - the BBC is only
showing it from the semi-finals on, and this is a World Cup year! Egypt have looked the best out
there and they did not make it to South Africa, so I don't know how much to read into the top-rated
African nation losing yesterday to the one who scraped into the World Cup via a playoff.
Click to continue reading...
*Brad Guzan, uncharacteristically let in four goals at home for Aston Villa tonight, but the
Midlanders advanced to the League Cup Final at Wembley thanks to six in reply. Ten goals at Villa
Park tonight (7-4 on aggregate), no advert for defending. Man City or Utd, currently performing a
soccer version of Trading Places, await in the final on Feb 28th.
Click to continue reading...
Millwall fans might disagree but I think it's hard to dislike West Ham. History just courses
through their claret and blue veins.Standing on ground named after Henry VIII's queen, the club is
a totem of London's football heritage as the team of the East End, the spiritual heart of the
capital. Alf Garnett, the original Alfie Bunker, supported them, the skipper and hat-trick hero of
England's only
Click to continue reading...
*Waiting inside a balmy Wembley for the Euro '96 semi-final between England and Germany to
kick-off, I heard Jurgen Klinsmann had not recovered from injury in time to play.No schadenfreude
from me then, as I wanted the satisfaction of beating Germany's finest and gaining revenge for the
heartbreaking Italia '90 semi-final.
Click to continue reading...
Nobody likes working for a boss who has just fired them, but when you have to do it on
camera...Mark Hughes' pain was manifest, which made for almost exploitative viewing. The
soccer-schrizophrenic of tigerish player and placid coach was no more - Sparky was bitter and
crestfallen, but tongue-tied for fear of losing his $5m compensation packet.
Click to continue reading...
Walking to work yesterday I took one of the free rags being thrust into commuters' hands as they
exit London's Waterloo Station, only because this had the World Cup on the cover.As I had never
heard of the writers, I expected the sort of scissors 'n' paste previews I had found plenty of four
years ago - the ones which put Chris Armas up front or Greg Vanney in the starting eleven for
instance.
Click to continue reading...
Over the moon, to use the oldest British football cliche in the book. England v USA was the one I
wanted above all. We are "natural rivals" as Bob Bradley says, if not yet big ones: Americans want
to beat England more than vice versa. That the clash comes first means there won't be quite as much
tension as in a decider, so a defeat allows time for wounds to be licked.
Click to continue reading...
Robben Island, famous for being Nelson Mandela's jail for 18 years has hosted a leper colony,
quarantined animals and political prisoners of various hues over its 400-year history.It is a
UNESCO World Heritage Site today, with a population of around 25,000 rabbits. The latest inmates
were the FIFA Executive Committee, the 24 most powerful men in football, who dropped by today for a
chat ahead of
Click to continue reading...
The groupings for Friday's World Cup Finals draw have been revealed, based on FIFA's World Rankings
for October. Eight groups of four to be picked. How about the US with Brazil, Ivory Coast and
France? Can't be much worse than last time can it?Pot 1 (Seeds): South Africa, Brazil, Spain,
Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England Pot 2 (AFC, OFC & CONCACAF): Japan, South Korea,
North Korea,
Click to continue reading...
Scour the website of the game's world governing body and you'd be hard-pushed to find any mention
of the biggest issue in soccer last week. Gotta love them blazers in Zurich, like the three wise
monkeys or Arsene 'I deed not see eet' Wenger when the elephant enters the room.Ah, here we are
"FIFA Media Statement: FIFA Opens Investigation" - that's better!
Click to continue reading...
Ireland's exit was the stuff of nightmares if, like me, you have green blood coursing through your
veins, or just cheer the underdog.Thierry Henry of all people...I've met him twice away from
football and he is unfailingly charming off-field as he is scintillating on. But cross the white
line when the stakes are as high as a place in the World Cup finals and private pleasantries
evaporate in the
Click to continue reading...
Robert Enke's untimely death touched us all.It's almost hard to credit given that he achieved the
sort of dreams millions of us fail to realize - representing your country, signing for Barcelona
and being in line to play at the World Cup, but his personal reasons for dying were valid for him.
Ultimately individuals make their own choices.
Click to continue reading...
When it comes to the Premier League, the arguments could go on all night. The debate could turn
ugly. The question even secretly burns in the mind of true believers.Which English top flight club
has the most cumulative cool in the way of celebrity supporters?The four of us went off to research
five clubs each, then came back with the data, made our individual tables and then averaged them
out.
Click to continue reading...
*Even ardent Italophobes sometimes have to doff their cap to La Dolce Vita. The Stadio Olimpico was
so sparsely attended for tonight's Roma v Fulham clash, that despite being a veggie, I thought
about eating Saltimbocca alla Romana in honour of the stayaway fans.When they consider a game
meaningless, Italian tifosi vote with their feet.
Click to continue reading...
Recognise these happy chaps, wallowing in the champagne lifestyle as they take a stretch limo to
Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea play Liverpool earlier this month..?They're none other than Daryll
(r) and Daryan Warner, sons of CONCACAF Chief Jack.Daryan administered father Jack's elaborate
ticket-scalping operation at the last World Cup, for which the FIFA Vice-President was found guilty
of
Click to continue reading...
Real Madrid's 0-4 calamity at Alcorcan, a wee club from the suburbs of the same city, is my
highlight of the week. Oh to have been an ADA fan that night! Here's the awesome fortress of the
Santo Domingo (cap. 4,000) and the Real lineup that made history: Dudek; Arbeloa, Albiol,
Metzelder, Drenthe; Diarra, Guti (Gago 46'), Van der Vaart, Granero (Marcelo 63'); Raúl (Van
Nistelrooy 72'),
Click to continue reading...
No shock after all as Argentina made it to the Finals after downing Uruguay 1-0 in Montivideo
thanks to an 84th minute goal from Mario Balotti. Emotional scenes followed the final whistle as
Diego Maradona and old Carlos Bilardo hugged each other in ecstatic relief. The albiceleste's task
had been made easier by Chile eliminating Ecuador, ensuring at least a play-off spot, Uruguay's
consolation.
Click to continue reading...
*As Greg noted, Highbury is now open as an apartment block.Having lived only a long ball from
England's most historic stadium for most of the past decade, I've followed the metamorphosis
closely, and I made sure I got on one of the last stadium tours to see it all before it fell. I'd
been several times as a fan but I was amazed by the locker rooms, literally a museum piece like the
rest of the
Click to continue reading...
"Win every game!" was the advice Graham Taylor offered to his successor as England manager in 1994.
Well Fabio Capello has done that competitively thus far, raising expectations in the land of false
football optimism once more.In their fascinating new book 'Soccernomics'/'Why England Lose(UK)',
out in the States October 27th, Simon Kuper & Stefan Szymanksi argue that the Three Lions have
actually
Click to continue reading...
Leaving Colombia after a short vacation, I have noted the parallels with my ancestral Ireland -
very friendly folk with a very unlucky history, and I wonder how Colombians come together when
their country is in the World Cup, given so many of them were up for their recent qualifier.I had
never seen a country so behind its national team like Eire was for USA '94, where every man, woman
and priest
Click to continue reading...
A colorful week in Colombia's capital for me, spiced up by snacking on the Beautiful Game. Like a
medieval pilgrim seeking a shrine, the first thing I seek in a foreign capital is its stadium, and
like my ancestors, I come home with tales and tacky trinkets. My family heirlooms will include a
South Korea World Cup CD case, a Sparta Prague ashtray and an Atletico Madrid singing alarm clock
with
Click to continue reading...
London - Coming home late tonight I rubbed my eyes in semi-disbelief at the news from Upton Park.
Having worried swine flu would claim me after three colleagues had succumbed, I thought I was
hallucinating when I saw the English disease had broken out again in the year 16*.Last night the
BBC showed First Blood, in which Sly Stallone plays a veteran plagued by flashbacks.
Click to continue reading...
It's Thursday so it's UEFA Europa League time and the first of of two legs with a place in the
group stage for the winners:19:15 Rapid Vienna v Aston Villa (Friedel)19:30 Steaua Bucharest v St.
Patricks Athletic (Guy)20:30 Lech Poznan v Club Brugge (Jeffrey)21:00 Everton (Howard) v Sigma
Olomouc21:00 Fulham (Dempsey) v Amkar Perm21:00 Stabaek (Diskerud) v ValenciaIn addition, NAC
Breda, with ex
Click to continue reading...
*The English sack race bagged after just ONE game??? League One Norwich have fired their coach
Bryan Gunn after 90 minutes of the new league season, a 7-1 home hammering by Colchester. Here are
the Canaries in better days beating Bayern Munich at the Olimpiastadion in the 1993 UEFA Cup with
an all-British eleven.
Click to continue reading...
"The best thing about him is his personality, his character - which is brilliant...and he has the
ability to put a smile on your face. He was like a father to me." Ronaldo, speaking in 2003"He is
immortal because he leaves in everybody who knows him a mark of his personality. A great coach but,
more than that, a great person,"- Jose Mourinho, todayFunny things, obituaries -they bring out the
best
Click to continue reading...
