Barcelona beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the first leg of the Supercopa de Espana. As expected, the
match was filled with heavy challenges and delicate dives, but one of the most graceful and odd
examples of Clasico physicality came early on when Leo Messi and Fabio Coentrao tangled.
The incident really sums up the whole dynamic at play in a Clasico -- Barcelona try to fly over
Real Madrid, but Real counter by rolling over on top of Barca and sticking their face in their
butts.
More than any other matchup, the coming together of Barcelona and Madrid forces apart the
usually shared preferences of the cultfootball brain trust. So today's match was one where both
sides could come away feeling they'd won some important battles, if not the war.
The game was not 90 minutes of pure flowing football.
Acquiring Tiffert isn't a statement that the Sounders are going for it this year. It's a
reiteration that they're always going for it.
For sure, they're a different kind of Seattle sports team.
In constant pursuit of excellence, Sounders find a good fit in Christian Tiffert | Jerry Brewer
| The Seattle Times
Brewer dives into what makes the Sounders a little bit different when compared to the other
Seattle sports teams.
Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that performance this weekend from the Dynamo. I'm not
complaining of course and I've never been happier to be so wrong about a game, especially when it's
beating up the Sounders. In case you missed it, and I doubt if you're reading this blog that you
did, Houston took it to Seattle on Saturday, thumping the inventors of all things soccer, 3-1.
This game was nuts. Inexplicable referee decisions. Overly physical play. Weird penalties. Poor
set piece defending. Golazo! Dives. Goalie Coach ejection. Yellow cards. Two (!) penalty saves.
Nerve racking final minutes. All of this resulted in an ugly, but a rather satisfying (Hi Brimstone
Cup you sexy thing you) victory.
The controversy over Luis Suarez's alleged racial abuse of Patrice Evra may have overshadowed
Liverpool's (forgettable) draw with Man United at the weekend, but it also took the focus away from
two blatant acts of cheating during the game.
As you will see from the evidence below, United's Ashley Young and Liverpool's Stewart Downing were
guilty of trying to con the referee with outrageous dives.
There has been plenty of talk as to referees essentially dictating style of play. Not just of
one game, but on entire leagues and at all levels. The implication is that this has direct
influence on a coach's player selections and the style of play he implements.
Suspended captain John Terry who played no part in the Champions League final lifting the
Champions League was probably as low as it could get. On the other hand, one cannot but feel happy
for Didier Drogba, who lives and dies football everytime he steps out on the pitch. Even his
orchestrated dives cannot be grudged.
The least convincing on-field injury you're ever likely to see Good new for Newcastle fans. Demba
Ba and new signing Papiss Demba Cisse are both on their way back to Tyneside after Senegal crashed
out of the African Cup of Nations. The Dembas secured their early return with last night's 2-1
defeat to Equatorial Guinea.
Until there is a serious crackdown on diving in professional and international soccer, we'll
probably being seeing dives even more horrific than this one by Ryuji Bando in a recent AFC match
between Cerezo Osaka v Jeonbuk FC. While all sports have a certain level of gamesmanship, a certain
level of crossing the lines, the fact that players in club football, like Bando, think there is
something to be gained if they take such a blatant, horrible dive is evidence enough that football
officials need to crackdown and issue stiffer penalties for diving.
Until there is a serious crackdown on diving in professional and international soccer, we'll
probably being seeing dives even more horrific than this one by Ryuji Bando in a recent AFC match
between Cerezo Osaka v Jeonbuk FC. While all sports have a certain level of gamesmanship, a certain
level of crossing the lines, the fact that players in club football, like Bando, think there is
something to be gained if they take such a blatant, horrible dive is evidence enough that football
officials need to crackdown and issue stiffer penalties for diving.
What a Mess Much has been made of the fact that Lionel Messi 'never' dives, especially in
comparison to his nearest rival as the world's best player. And now we know why. It turns out he's
not very good at it. Messi attempted to win a penalty in Barcelona's 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad on
[...]
When Dwayne De Rosario fell to the ground flailing after hardly being contacted by Juan Pablo
Angel on a cross and flicked-on header into the Chivas USA box in second-half stoppage time of a
crucial game on Wednesday night, most figured the D.
So there is general consensus among the Galaxy fans I talked to that Robbie Keane is a good signing
for the squad. One, however, admitted to being a disgruntled West Ham fan and said that the Galaxy
would regret the move. There's a bit of extra pressure on Robbie tonight, perhaps, because the
player moved in order for him to be signed, Juan Pablo Angel, scored tonight for Chivas USA.
So there is general consensus among the Galaxy fans I talked to that Robbie Keane is a good signing
for the squad. One, however, admitted to being a disgruntled West Ham fan and said that the Galaxy
would regret the move. There's a bit of extra pressure on Robbie tonight, perhaps, because the
player moved in order for him to be signed, Juan Pablo Angel, scored tonight for Chivas USA.
It's how he'd want to be rememberedThe man who filled the coveted "Supervillain" role
after Maxim Usanov left town has been unceremoniously dispatched himself. Without having to
sabotage a giant laser, use a submarine Lotus or rake any moons, TFC waived Mikael Yourassowsky
from the roster.
Denis Doyle/Getty Image (Bleacher Report)While some of these may not have been as embarrassing at
first, in the time since they have become much more laughable as in most cases the replay footage
does not lie.
The truth comes out when you get put into slow motion, and with so many to choose from it is hard
to even stop at 14.
Alex Horne, with a little Madonna-esque microphone
FA big-wig Alex Horne believes that the much-debated goal-line technology could finally be
introduced into top level football as early as next season. Horne says that if one of the current
systems which are being tested is found to work reliably, then the technology is likely to be
introduced.
When Dario brilliantly hit the back of the net on 5 minutes it looked as if at last Brisbane's time
had come. Broich had said earlier in the week that they had been lucky. Perhaps that had run
out?
But no. On when the pressure. Fox had asked would Brisbane be able to chase this season, well yes.
Marcio Souza is back at Persela Lamongan. The Brazilian striker was previously there for four
years, or was it five, before moving on to Semen Padang and last season Deltras.
I guess we can expect many more theatrical dives in the box at home games, the more theatrical the
later the game...
After watching Darlington Nagbe and the Portland Timbers show how high the quality of play in
the MLS can be, some of the other matches this weekend served as reminders of how lousy the play
sometimes is.
The weekend featured more than its fair share of uninspired play, cynical dives in the penalty
area, off-target shots that should have been no-doubters, and one keeper who decided to throw up
his hands instead of attempt a save.
The teams scored a goal each in a bracing first few minutes of the match. The first came off
another Eddie Johnson header - a skill Seattle's been trying to acquire for years without much luck
until now. And the answer came shortly after when a Brian Mullan cross on the ground was allowed to
roll all the way through the box to be knocked into the goal by Drew Moor at the far post.
Santos' winless start to the Brazilian Campeonato season was turned around with a 4-2 demolition
of Gremio on Sunday.
Shortly after getting his name on the scoresheet, Neymar fully utilized his pace and skill to
pull off one of the most brazen dives of the season, hitting the deck in apparent agony after
absolutely no contact from Gremio's Werley.
After pounding ACC tournament champion Florida State 3-0 on Friday night in the first
semifinal of the College Cup, Stanford has a chance to play once again for the national title.Â
The Cardinal advanced to soccer's version of the Final Four by completing its third straight
unbeaten season, a feat that parallels the great University of North Carolina teams with Mia Hamm
in the early 1990s.
Olympiakos defender Francois Modesto dives before pulling down an angry AEK defenders shorts.
Thankfully defender Cala seen the funny side of it, but why do players taking their shirts off get
punished while a player inadvertently flashing receives a smile from the officials?
With over £110m spent over the summer and more to come, Liverpool impressively outplayed Bolton at
Anfield over the weekend. As a true measure of Liverpool's stylish performance, Kevin Davies was
substituted in that match. Liverpool completely subdued the Trotters' captain and talisman!
