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Why does Germany wear green? The Ireland myth and the truth.
After dropping a few hints over the past few months, Adidas released the new Germany away kit
that will be used throughout EURO 2012. It's green. Really, really green. Like you, we've seen a
German flag before and could not find a trace of green on it.
In the past four seasons, Liverpool have played seven games under three managers against
Manchester United in the league. Four have been Liverpool victories, two have been won by United,
and one has been a draw. And with match number eight coming up on the weekend, it seemed like a
good time to look back at some of the statistics beyond the final score from the seven previous
games to see if any kind of pattern or omen for Saturday's match appears.
In December of 1970, the Italian playwright Dario Fo released a play entitled "Morte Accidentale
Di Un Anarchico" ("The Accidental Death Of An Anarchist"). Based on the aftermath of the 1969
Piazza Fontana Bombing in Milan, which killed seventeen people, it was a play that shone a light
upon the subsequent death of Giuseppe Pinelli, an anarchist activist and railway worker who fell
from the fourth floor window of a Milan police station under suspicious circumstances after having
already been held for longer than Italian law specified was legal without being granted by a
judge.
As you are probably already aware, the weather took an axe to this weekend's non-league fixture
list and only a handful of matches took place anywhere. The FA Trophy Third Round matches were
completely called off and will be played at a later date, so the draw for the quarter-finals, which
is to be made tomorrow, will have a somewhat odd look about it.
This January's Arsenal transfer news was relatively quiet at the Emirates Stadium, with Thierry
Henry returning to the club on loan from New York Red Bulls and German teenager Thomas Eisfeld
arriving from Borussia Dortmund for a modest fee.
However, activity has not always been this sedate at Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger making some
surprising and at times, blockbuster signings in January.
This January's Arsenal transfer news was relatively quiet at the Emirates Stadium, with Thierry
Henry returning to the club on loan from New York Red Bulls and German teenager Thomas Eisfeld
arriving from Borussia Dortmund for a modest fee.
However, activity has not always been this sedate at Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger making some
surprising and at times, blockbuster signings in January.
It was a quite transfer window for Liverpool by last season's standards, with Wrexham's teenage
goalkeeper Danny Ward the only notable arrival. However, since the window was introduced 10 seasons
ago, the Reds have made some excellent signings in what is usually a frenzied period littered with
hit-or-miss transfers.
It was a quite transfer window for Liverpool by last season's standards, with Wrexham's teenage
goalkeeper Danny Ward the only notable arrival. However, since the window was introduced 10 seasons
ago, the Reds have made some excellent signings in what is usually a frenzied period littered with
hit-or-miss transfers.
If the draw for the Fifth Round of this year's FA Cup was notable for anything in particular,
what really stood out was the presence of two clubs for whom an appearance at this stage of the
competition would been inconceivable just a couple of decades ago. Last weekend, both Crawley Town
and Stevenage chalked up notable wins in the Fourth Round of the competition both by a single goal,
with Crawley's coming at Hull City and Stevenage's against Notts County - and the reward for each
is a home match against Premier League in the next round, in the form of Stoke City and Tottenham
Hotspur respectively.
If the early history of the European Championships can be seen as explicitly wrapped up in the
politics of the time, then Spain's victory on home ground in 1964 European Nations Cup could be
regarded as one of international football's ultimate flashes in the pan.
This was a victory that was simultaneously the last gasp of one of the greatest club sides that
European football has ever seen and the beginning of a lull that would last for more than twenty
years, a brief victory for the ultra-nationalism that blighted Spanish political life for the most
of the four decades that followed the Spanish Civil War of 1936 to 1939.
It's the 60th minute at Wembley. Glorious sunshine stream down on the immaculate playing surface.
Kenny Dalglish watches on from the sidelines as the ever-reliable John Aldridge steps up take a
penalty...I don't even need to finish the sentence because all Liverpool fans know exactly what
game I'm talking about.
During his four years in charge at Anfield, Roy Evans produced one of the most exciting and
entertaining Liverpool teams of the last thirty years. With the likes of Robbie Fowler and Steve
McManaman playing alongside club legends John Barnes and Ian Rush, it was pure joy being a fan in
the mid-1990s.
(Summary is not available.)
This week's languagecaster main listening report spotlights the Football League Cup in England -
it's format, history, some statistics, and cracking matches.
Marcos, goalkeeper of the Brazilian team who won the World Cup 2002, announced his retirement,
at age 38. He retires after a career of 20 years, playing only for one team: Palmeiras; the team
informed that no other player will wear jacket #12, the one Marcos used to wear; also, there plans
of building an statue of Marcos to be planted at the stadium of Palmeiras.
A little over a decade ago, South Melbourne FC took part in the FIFA Club World Championship as
champions of Oceania, trying their luck in a group containing England's Manchester United, Brazil's
Vasco da Gama and Mexico's Nexaca. South Melbourne could then claim to be Australia's most
successful club, winners of four National Soccer League titles.
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The mood surrounding Liverpool may have improved with the return of Kenny Dalglish, but with a
pair each of losses and draws to go along with four wins as he and the club entered March, that
renewed optimism hadn't always led to results. At least, though, there was a widespread feeling
that it had become a squad capable of turning the proverbial corner and going on a run if they
could only manage to make all the pieces fit together.
There was hope. Hope in Dalglish's return. Hope in Suarez' arrival. Hope in the introduction of
a more pleasing brand of football. And then, in a moment, it seemed to have all been ripped
away.
People talked about the club being bigger than any one player, and they rationalised that things
would be alright given that that particular player hadn't really made much of a contribution
to any kind of success over the previous eighteen months.
What do we mean by "prehistoric"? We mean before FIFA adopted co-opted, some might say
women's soccer a couple of decades ago, with its history seemingly dated to the 1990s. Though there
has been some coverage of the pre-war era (especially the interesting focus put on Dick, Kerr
Ladies), the period between the end of the Second World War and the fall of the Berlin Wall is
patchily covered, at least to our knowledge (feel free to leave links to any good books, essays,
papers etc in the comments).
Belatedly, a roundup of links regarding the passing of Brazilian great Socrates a couple weeks ago:
Remembering Brazil's Soccer Philosopher King, penned by Gabriele Marcotti,
appeared in the WSJ the day after his death:
Sunday [December 4] morning marked the passing of Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de
Oliveira, better known simply as Socrates.
By Tony Attwood
I have the view that having started this blog a few years ago, and now having a fair old number
of readers each day, I have a duty to try and keep the thing running, while living up to the
original notions behind the blog: that it should be pro-Arsenal at all [...]
I lost a friend and a mentor on Monday when Bob Jordan passed away due to a heart attack. Bob,
and his efforts on behalf of first the Pershing Generals and later the Glendale Falcons, was the
impetus for my efforts here. Without his support and assistance, I would not have been able to pull
it off.
Note: Because of the origins of the Arsenal Statues and because of their obvious historical
context, the launch of the statues has already been covered in depth on our companion site the
Arsenal History blog.
But, I know that many readers of Untold don't always pop along to the History site.
Prior to Liverpool's league victory at Stamford Bridge a couple of weeke ago, Chelsea manager Andre
Villas-Boas argued that Liverpool were 'challenging for the title' this season. The increasingly
outspoken manager has now reiterated that view, but is the idea of Liverpool as title challengers
just wishful thinking?
The road to redemption from Hillsborough has been a lengthy and painful for many, many people.
Hundreds of people lost family members or friends on that day in April 1989, and the feeling that
the establishment was closing ranks in order to cover up the truth behind what exactly happened to
result in the deaths of ninety-six innocent people has been a bitter pill for those that survived
or have otherwise had to live with their loss to have to swallow.
Would you believe it!!!
Sometimes in life, you realise there are things you only realise you can't live without once
it's gone. For me today, the realisation is one to do with computer. My laptop died on me today and
suddenly there's a huge void in my life. Luckily, I've managed to borrow one but I'm sure that's
not what you want to read.
Following the International Soccer League's solid beginnings in a New York relatively starved of
sporting competition in the summer of 1960, the nascent league consisting of the New York Americans
and a variety of high-profile visiting international clubs had begun 1961 with expanded horizons.
This including growing the league from 12 to 15 teams, and moving beyond its home at the Polo
Grounds in Manhattan by setting up a second location in Montreal, Canada.
Apart from Kenny Dalglish's first spell in charge at Anfield, the Roy Evans era is the happiest
I've ever been as a Liverpool fan. From 1994 to 1998, Liverpool played fantastic, entertaining
football, and were arguably the most exciting team in the country. Indeed, if it wasn't for a
suspect defence, Evans' team could've (and should've) won the league title in 1996 or 1997.
Records must have broken this year as a plethora of Forest books hit the shelves – the postman
serving the LTLF offices is currently taking three months off with a crippled spine from carrying
all the review copies that have dropped through our letterbox in the last few months. But aside
from giving postal workers back problems, what purpose are all these books serving?
By Tony Attwood
In early August 2010, I was privileged to get a meeting with Ivan Gazidis the chief executive of
Arsenal FC. I was there as part of a delegation of fans putting forward ideas about Arsenal and the
wider world. And because (as you may know) I am interested in Arsenal's history, I [.
Earlier this week I received formal notification that Tottenham Hotspur PLC is proposing to
de-list its shares and become a private company again. As a shareholder, I've been kept fully
informed even though the postage on the thick wad of legalese cost twice as much as the value of my
holding. I have one share, literally a share holder, so that's very sweet of them, although as a
responsible shareholder I feel disappointed and concerned that the board have wasted this expense
on schmucks like me for whom it makes no difference.
Booker Prize winner: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy John Peel Festive 50 Number 1:
Cornership: Brimful of Asha Poet Laureate: Ted Hughes President of Libya: Muammar al-Gaddafi In
recent years, parachute payments have helped ease the agony of relegation even if their
bounteousness can lull a club into thinking the cash flow is never ending.
First year coach Tom Guinn didn't know what to expect when he took the job as head coach of the
boys soccer team at Springfield Catholic. He had never even seen them play. Guinn knew about the
team's recent success but he was told the Irish had lost quite a few seniors and he would have his
work cut out for him.
Last week, in the wake of England's heroic (cough) win against Spain at Wembley in what can only
be described as the friendly international to end all friendly internationals, we took a look at a
few matches from their past in which the national team had managed to pluck a result from somewhere
against a decent team, but failed to capitalise upon it.
After a few weeks off due to international breaks and facing sides nobody really cares
about—or ones we simply find too distasteful to bother talking to—Tea and Crumpets decided it
was about time to shake off the rust, so we headed out for a bite and a chat with Graham MacAree of
We Ain't Got No History, one of the more approachable Chelsea sorts out there and also our
boss.
Two weeks without club football? Check. The potential for the club's most important players to
pick up injuries? Check. All the time in the world to stew over a bad performance leading into the
break? Check. A fully functioning liver? That might depend on how many Liverpool players go to
sleep Tuesday night without having picked up an injury between now and then.
For those amongst you that hadn't noticed, England beat Spain, the current World and European
champions, by a single goal in an international friendly match at Wembley over the weekend. The
celebrations were tempered Spain haven't given the impression of taking friendly matches very
seriously of late and played poorly but there will always be a small corner of England that will be
forever triumphalist, and some may be tempted to start believing that England are now capable of
winning next summer's European Championships.
The International Soccer League's modest but successful start in 1960 had made waves in the
American soccer community. Its twelve team league eleven of them imported from overseas, alongside
the New York Americans (who weren't really American at all) saw Brazil's Bangu beat Scotland's
Kilmarnock in a final of impressive quality, 25,440 fans attending the game at the Polo Grounds in
Harlem, New York City, broadcast on network television.
For Jack Taylor, the referee for the 1974 World Cup final, handling players was much like
handling the clientele at the Wolverhampton butcher shop he worked at throughout his career.
"I think my experience behind the counter at the butcher's shop helped because it made me fairly
good at chatting people up," he wrote in his 1976 autobiography, Jack Taylor: World Soccer
Referee.
