SoccerBlogs

I remember so very well where I was when Steve McClaren was stood stony-faced beneath an umbrella in the pouring rain as England surrendered their opportunity to feature at Euro 2008. I was in a pub in Holloway in North London, and the patrons of the establishment had come together under a cloud of false hope.

If you haven't seen this amazing penalty by now then you've probably been on the moon.

Real Betis forward Calvente, invents a new technique never seen before (ok, ok, Pele did it way back before TV was invented).

The skill shown by the young Spaniard is simply break taking, watch his run up closely, the keeper and everyone else watching thinks he's going to shoot with his right foot, but some how he manages to shoot with his left without breaking stride.

Sven McClaren's controversial 'index' which caused so much controversy has finally been published.

Despite the clowns at the FA persuading Capello to postpone, the England teams ratings are available for everyone to see.

Unsurprisingly, Robert Green's blooper against the USA makes him the lowest rated player, while Joe Cole and Gareth Barry also failed to make much of an impression.

Two rules permeate all when it comes to penalties:

i. The player who suffered the foul never, ever takes the penalty. Largely due to the fact that he's likely to have just suffered a knock, but also because it's just bad juju.

ii. Never take the ball from a teammate. Even if you don't know who the hell he is due to a recent arrival in the January transfer window.

After Manchester United's lackluster performance against Rangers last night, what struck me most was how Fergie's assistant Mike Phelan was motionless while United struggled to breakdown the Rangers defense. It made me come to the conclusion that maybe Phelan is not the man for the Number two job at United.

1. Spain wins Euro 2008
Spain cruised through their group stage matches with three wins and a +5 goal difference. After knocking out Italy 4-2 on penalties, Spain then defeated Russia 3-0 in the semis. Fernando Torres scored the winner in their 1-0 victory over Germany in the final.

Croatia have qualified for three successive World Cups since Independence, reaching the Semi Final in 1998. It's a remarkable record for a nation of 4 Million. It could be about to end.

Croatia may have been resurgent under Slaven Bilić, qualifying emphatically for the EURO 2008 tournament, pimping McClaren's England along the way, but 2007-8 was a long time ago.

McClaren's " let me become a respectable football manager again" dream had taken one step forward and then two steps back when FC Twente lost by two goals to Arsenal in the first leg.The dream took another 4 steps back yesterday as Arsenal completed a 4 goal demolition of his team.
Arsenal London vs Twente 4-0 goals

Because normal life isn't quite frustrating enough for me, a buddy and I spend 3-4 days a week coaching ten year olds in the fine art of how-not-to-fall-over-while-dribbling-a-ball (AKA – developmental youth soccer). Besides the occasional burst blood vessel and constant migraines, one of the more intriguing things to watch is the way that naturally talented players adapt to the game.

Last night was all about the result and on that basis nobody can have any complaints this morning.

Yes, we all know how light the squad is, we know how many players we had out injured, but there really is no need to cover all the old ground again. As expected we started with Ramsey and Denilson in the centre of midfield and I thought overall they did pretty well.