I know this is a tad late but I just came across this video and haven’t seen it anywhere else. It’s a fairly thorough highlight segment of Tuesday’s Champions League qualifier between Benfica v. FC Copenhagen.
I don’t speak Portuguese, but it sounded like the commentators were liking what they were seeing from Freddy Adu, who was making his Benfica debut.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: BENFICA · CHAMPIONS LEAGUE · FREDDY ADU
I really like Roy Keane. I’ve liked him so much as a player at Manchester United and now as manager of Sunderland that he has almost singlehandedly made me a fan of the team.
I don’t need to tell you why Keano’s the man but I found these comments he made yesterday about current players wives and girlfriends hilarious. Suffice to say, keep the ladies at home!
‘It’s important you bring the right players to the club. You can’t always be a Steve Bruce but you can be a character who comes in and gives 100% for the club. But I have to say I think the game is getting less and less characters. They are more motivated by lots of different things like money and London and living in shopping areas. Really you’re a footballer and when you’re retired you can live anywhere you want. But players are very much focused on where they are going to live and a lot of that is down to their partners who seem to be running their lives anyway. It concerns me really.’
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It hasn’t been a good week for footballer’s feet.
It was announced today that Steven Gerrard has a hairline fracture in his right foot, though he still believes he’ll play this Sunday against Chelsea. He won’t, however, suit up for the England v. Germany friendly next Wednesday, according to manager, Rafael Benitez.
The injury occurred yesterday during Liverpool’s Champions League qualifier against Toulouse.
The news, of course, comes days after Wayne Rooney suffered a hairline fracture to his left foot against Reading, putting him out of action for the next two months. Consequently, it’s also reignited the discussion of how well players are protected with the current line of football boots.
Regarding that subject, Reuters UK published an interesting article today featuring Adidas Predator designer Craig Johnston, who believes that protection in today’s boots is sub-par at best. “It’s only a matter of time before a player gets so seriously injured that he sues a major sportswear company”. Check it out here.
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As soon as the free kick was called, I knew it was going to happen.
There he was 27 minutes into the first half, David Beckham, in his first start with the Galaxy and wearing the captain armband, in perfect position to do what he does best. It was almost like he HAD to score in order to prove that all the hype of him coming to America was justified.
The whistle blew…he stepped into it…launched it over the DC United defensive wall…top corner.
It was a trademark Beckham goal and I couldn’t feel more happy for him. With everyone on his back about his injured ankle and his limited playing time, he showed everyone, with one masterful kick, that this “has-been” still had a a lot of game left in him.
Tonight, the LA Galaxy played their best game of the season–and by leaps and bounds. They dominated DC United 2-0 in front of their home crowd and are now through to the Super Liga finals.
It’s just amazing how Becks lifts the play of everyone around him. Their defense was tighter, their possession was longer and, most importantly, the Galaxy players looked like they were actually enjoying themselves. You got the feeling that just by seeing David in the starting lineup, the team knew they couldn’t lose.
The second goal in the 47th minute was also a result of some Beckham magic. Former Galaxy captain Landon Donovan (thought I’m not sure if David is the permanent skipper) ran in front of a perfectly finessed Becks pass that allowed L.D. enough space to scamper in on a breakaway. If there was anyone that seems to really appreciate number 23’s presence, it’s Landon. He seemed to have a smile on his face all night long.
And if it wasn’t for an amazing, diving save in the second half by DC goaltender Troy Perkins, Becks would have had himself another free kick tally.
So, the million dollar question (literally) is what about the ankle? Becks did take a few knocks in his 63 minutes tonight, especially one in the beginning of the first half that appeared to hurt him, but he ran well and, obviously, had no problem striking the ball.
For now (fingers crossed) it looks like he’ll be in the starting lineup Saturday night, in front of 50 thousand people at Giant Stadium for his big NY debut against the Red Bulls.
UPDATE: The goal:
P.S. I call for an all out ban of any “Bend it Like Beckham” references when referring to Beckham scoring on free kicks. Please, US soccer commentators, can’t we be a tad more original??
→ 2 CommentsCategories: DAVID BECKHAM · LA GALAXY · MLS · SUPERLIGA
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is a wanted man back in the country he used to be in charge of. Thailand’s Supreme Court issued a warrant for his arrest today on corruption charges.
Thai prosecutors have threatened to seek Shinawatra’s extradition from the U.K. if he doesn’t arrive in Bangkok for a court hearing. The last one that he was ordered to appear at, he didn’t show up to.
OK, so it’s not like City doesn’t know how to deal with warrants and police investigations. Hell, Joey Barton played there for five seasons. But it’s a different matter altogether when the owner of a club faces charges like these. According to the BBC, if Thaksin is convicted it could threaten his status as Manchester City’s owner because it would be in violation of F.A. rules.
This could be the football saga of the year…
→ Leave a CommentCategories: MANCHESTER CITY · Thaksin Shinawatra
Have you seen this new Wayne Rooney “commercial” for Nike? It’s actually more of a segment than a 30 seconds advert.
The Man With The Fragile Feet is paid a visit by the Sanchez Boys who seem to be the English version of Jackass. Despite ripping Johhny Knoxville and friends off, it’s still pretty funny seeing guys getting soccer balls kicked at their faces and groins.
Yeah, I’m easily entertained.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: NIKE · WAYNE ROONEY
I’ve gotta say that it’s so nice to have the Barclay English Premier League back again. Not only am I back to watching hours of great soccer (literally) but it also gets me up out of bed before noon on the weekends. My mom would be proud.
The week 1 games certainly didn’t disappoint. You had Obafemi Martins’ bicycle kick, Arsenal’s last minute goal heroics against Fulham, Steven Gerrards’ unstoppable 87th minute free kick and an impressive Manchester City performance to give Coach Sven Goran Eriksson his first EPL victory.
But let’s give it up to the promoted sides, Sunderland, Birmingham City and Derby County.
First, Roy Keane’s debut couldn’t have been more glorious. Late substitute Michael Chopra scored the injury time winner to hand underwhelming Tottenham an embarrassing but deserved 1-0 loss. I’m telling you, there’s something about Keano that makes people want to play for him. I think they’re on their way being the Reading of this year.
Birmingham City held their own but ultimately fell to the mighty Chelsea, 3-2. And if it wasn’t for some shoddy goaltending by City’s Colin Doyle, they may have stolen a point out of his one.
It’s was nice to see former “next best thing” Chelsea prospect Mikael Forssel finally playing fit and scoring goals for Birmingham and he’s off to a great start as he headed in the match’s opening goal.
Birmingham midfielder Oliver Kapo also looks like a player to keep an eye on this season. His impressive strike that tied the game 2-2 was something to behold. He’ll get a lot of playing time so he might be a deadly darkhorse pick for all you fantasy footie players out there.
Let’s also not forget Derby County, whose dramatic late game equalizer earned them a point against Portsmouth.
A lot of people are picking Portsmouth to be the surprise team of the year, and who might even score a 4rth place Champions League spot. Well, after this week, the Portsmouth bandwagon may have officially been derailed. Tell me, who’s getting goals on this team?
The biggest blow this weekend was, of course, Wayne Rooney suffering a hairline fracture in his left foot that’ll keep him out of the lineup for 2 months. This is Rooney’s third broken foot in four years. You’ll remember that he first cracked his left one back in 2004’s European Cup and last year almost missed the World Cup after banging up his right foot late in the ‘06 Premier season. I can’t recall a player that has had such fragile feet.
This sets up the much anticipated debut of Carlos Tevez, who plays much the same way as Rooney does. But will Carlito need a few games to get used to his new teammates? He didn’t get his first goal with West Ham until March. The International Herald tribune published an article today urging Sir Alex Ferguson to bring back Ruud Van Nistelrooy from from Real Madrid. After this weekend’s draw against inferior Reading, is Manchester United in serious trouble?
→ Leave a CommentCategories: BIRMINGHAM CITY · CHELSEA · DERBY COUNTY · ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE · MANCHESTER UNITED · MIKAEL FORSSEL · OLIVER KAPO · READING · ROY KEANE · SUNDERLAND · WAYNE ROONEY
This will probably go down as the most famous sports call in the history of the Middle East. Here’s what it sounded like when Younis Mahmoud Khalef scored his game winning goal.
If this doesn’t give you goose bumps every time you hear it, you’re probably related to Bush or Cheney.
And here’s the call when the referee blew the final whistle–giving the “Lions Of The Two Rivers”, a team comprised of Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, its first Asian Cup in its first ever appearance in the tournament.
Here are some quick post game notes:
Finally, here’s a great description of what it was like to watch the game from inside a Baghdad cafe. Arwa Damon, the CNN reporter I mentioned last entry, nicely sums up why this victory is such a big deal.
→ 1 CommentCategories: ASIAN CUP · IRAQ
Do you believe in miracles? Iraqis do.
If there was ever an example of the power of soccer, this was it. Iraq, under incredible odds, beat Saudi Arabia today in Jakarta, Indonesia 1-0 to win the Asian Cup–a victory that has, if only temporarily, turned the war-torn nation’s streets into avenues of mass celebration.
From the start you could sense that the Iraqi squad was playing for more than just a trophy. Their midfield was tenacious, their defense was almost impenetrable and their fitness was astounding. For a country known for their oil, they were clearly running on high octane-as they had all tournament long, which no one gave them a chance of winning.
Team captain Younis Mahmoud Khalef’s game winning header off a corner kick in the 71st minute was the deserved result after frustrating and out-hustling a tough Saudi Arbian side for the majority of the game.
After the final whistle blew, CNN International broke away from their regularly scheduled programming and went live to the streets of Iraq where the reality of the victory was just beginning to sink in. A reporter inside a Baghdad cafe could barely be heard over of all the singing, cheering and waving of Iraqi flags going on all around her. It was a scene, she quickly and accurately pointed out, that no one had seen in a very, very long time.
Most amazing of all was a camera overlooking the Baghdad skyline that picked up the audio of hundreds of rounds of celebratory gunfire going off in the streets. It was like the 4rth of July without the fire works.
The only disappointing thing of all this was how our “World Sports Leader” covered it. Actually, they didn’t “cover” it at all. In what was arguably the most important victory for any nation since the U.S. beat the Soviets in ice hockey in the ‘80 Olympic Games, both ESPN and ESPN News went with a rerun of SportsCenter and a show about Area Football. What??? Does anything that happens outside of the United States matter to these people?? Will this even make their Top 10 Plays Of The Day? It was absolutely appalling.
Broadcasting aside, the real question is whether this historic victory will have any palpable effect on Iraq and the sectarian violence that goes on there every day.
Unfortunately, I seriously doubt it.
But what WAS encouraging was that for 90 minutes today, terrorists, pacifists, Sunnis and Shiites forgot all about who they hated and came together over the game they loved. Here’s to having that moment last.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: ASIAN CUP · IRAQ · SAUDI ARABIA
Juan Veron was a bust. Carlos Tevez can’t sign because no one knows who ‘owns’ him and now Gabriel Heinze is suing his own team.
Argentinians on Manchester United?? No Bueno!
Sir Alex Ferguson has another interesting dilemma to deal with. Gabriel Heinze wants to go to Liverpool but Ferguson won’t allow it. It’s not that he doesn’t want to sell the oft injured defender–it’s just that he doesn’t want him to go to Anfield. In fact, The Red Devils haven’t sold a player to their northwest rivals in over 40 years.
According to soccernet.com, Liverpool has already met the asking price so Heinze hired a bunch of lawyers to argue whether United has a right to block the transfer.
To me, this sounds like a very open and shut case. Manchester United have a right to sell a player to whoever they want to. If they don’t want him going to Liverpool, they don’t have to shop there. Sorry Gabby.
The only thing clear in all this is that Mr. Heinze will never play in a Red Devil shirt again.
Here’s the story link.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: ARGENTINA · GABRIEL HEINZE · MANCHESTER UNITED · SIR ALEX FERGUSON
