October 10th, 2008
You are currently browsing the articles from TOP FootBall Player written on October 10th, 2008.
Two high school girls’ teams get snippy because, depending on whom you believe, either there were racial epithets, or kids’ names sound like racial epithets [News Channel 34]
French football may be heading to a showdown strike by the end of the month [The Offside]
Robinho has no faith in his Brazilian teammates [Reuters UK]
Player has to retire due to testicular cancer [Guardian]
Chelsea want their Mikel money back [Guardian]
Former Lithuanian NT coach heads to parliament. We are only a short time away from Senator Steve Sampson [Taipei Times]
And, finally:
A necessary question. Where are the MLS expansion temas going to get their talent from? [SI]
Written by Darkvader on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Backpasses and ĂĽ75.
With the final stages of the 2nd round of African World Cup qualifying upon up this weekend, here’s a nice article from ESPN’s Jon Carter about this weekend’s games.
Click the link for the full article … below’s a free preview …
African teams have raised the bar at the World Cup in recent tournaments and with Ghana impressing in Germany in 2006 and Senegal having made the quarter-finals in 2002, the expectations of the continent are high. Especially with the next showcase event set to take place in South Africa.
Yet, of all the regions in contention for 2010, the African section of qualifying regularly throws up surprises. Minnows Togo were the shock of 2006, despite failing to register a point once they arrived at the competition, and this year the likes of Rwanda, Benin and Burkino Faso all look well placed to progress to the next round of qualifying.
While it is exciting for such sides to be given the chance to test themselves in the world’s biggest football tournament, their presence could come at the expense of some of the continent’s more dominant forces.
Firstly, and most incredibly, is the situation of Ghana after their impressive run to the knockout stages in 2006. The Black Stars dispatched the highly fancied Czech Republic in Germany, but have looked a shadow of their former selves as they have struggled in their qualifying group.
Written by Darkvader on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
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As the final weekend of the second round of African World Cup qualifying draws near, only Cameroon, Benin and Nigeria have guaranteed their place in the third and final phase.
The 12 group winners and the eight best second-placed sides will stay in the hunt for a place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. So what’s at stake this weekend?
Everything! With the help of FIFA.com’s trusty African Cup qualifying guide, let’s take a look at the scenarios …
Take into account that countries that finish level on points will be separated by: goal difference (GD), goals scored (GS) and then head-to-head record. Also worth noting is that results against the bottom side in each group will not be taken into account when the best second-placed sides are being decided. Confused? I am too … anyways, here goes … The 12 groups of African Cup qualifying are as follows:
Group 1: Lying in second spot and four points behind already-qualified Cameroon, none of Cape Verde Islands’ other group rivals can match their nine-point tally. However, a win away to Tanzania this weekend would greatly increase their chances of qualifying as one of the eight best second-place sides.
Group 2: Though Kenya (10 points) and Guinea (8) are in pole position, Zimbabwe (6) are still in with a shout. Anything other than a reverse on Guinean soil would ensure Kenya qualify in first place, though defeat for Robert Nouzaret’s Guinea would leave them hoping already-eliminated Namibia can deny visitors Zimbabwe all three points.
Group 3: Benin are already safely through and Niger are out of the running. Jostling for second place are Angola (GD +1) and Uganda (-2), currently on seven points apiece, who welcome Niger and Benin respectively.
Group 4: Guaranteed a third-round berth, Nigeria are set to host second-placed Sierra Leone on Saturday. Currently on seven points, three ahead of South Africa, three points for Sierra Leone would send them through to the next round, providing Equatorial Guinea remain in last place. The 2010 hosts, meanwhile, would still fail to qualify even with a win against the struggling Nzalang Nacional.
Group 5: Only a defeat away to Gabon and a Ghana victory over Lesotho can deny Libya a first-place finish. Should that scenario come to pass, the trio would be level on 12 points, their final positions decided by the previously outlined criterion. So, while the Libyans would appear to be well-placed, it could still go either way this weekend.
Group 6: Algeria (9 points) can guarantee their involvement in the next phase with an away win against Liberia, who are marooned in bottom place. Over in the Senegalese capital Dakar, meanwhile, Senegal and Gambia, level on eight points, are both chasing a victory that would seal top spot in case of an Algerian slip-up.
Group 7: Boasting a three-point lead at the top and an excellent goal difference, CĂ´te d’Ivoire are unlikely to have lost their grip on first place after the visit of closest challengers Madagascar (6pts). And in case of defeat, the Madagascans could even find themselves edged out of second spot, depending on the result when Botswana (5pts, GD -4) host Mozambique (5pts, +1).
Group 8: A Moroccan win at home to Mauritania by any margin would take them ahead of current leaders Rwanda. Even if a one-goal success brings the sides’ level on points and goal difference, Morocco will have the edge on goals scored.
Group 9: With both Burundi and Seychelles out of the running, all that remains is to see who finishes first and second between Burkina Faso and Tunisia. The Burkinabe travel to face Burundi with a three-point lead over the Carthage Eagles and a goal difference of +7 compared to +3. The Tunisians, however, who will host the Seychelles, are still well-placed to qualify either as group winners or one of the best second-placed sides.
Group 10: By some distance the most open group, all four teams still have a mathematical possibility of qualifying in first place. Leaders Mali (9 points), who welcome fourth-placed Chad (6), appear to hold the best hand, given their superior goal difference and goals scored record. Third-placed Sudan (6), meanwhile, could knock Congo (9) from second spot with a win.
Group 11: Swaziland (4 points) will overtake Zambia (7) in top spot with a victory away to Germany 2006 qualifiers Togo (3). The Togolese, currently last in the three-team group, need all three points to stand any chance of taking a best second-place berth.
Group 12: Needing just a draw to ensure qualification in first place, reigning African champions Egypt (12 points) are not expected to come up short at home to Djibouti, bottom after five defeats from five games so far. Things could barely be tighter between Malawi and their visitors this weekend Congo DR, both on nine points. The away side are currently marginally ahead on goal difference and goals scored, but a win for either in Malawi’s largest city Blantyre could seal a best second-place berth.
Written by Darkvader on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on 2010 World Cup and FIFA.
Sometimes I stream World Soccer Daily. One of the nice things about the stream is that it runs on a two-hour loop. It goes live from noon to 2 pm (Central), then the entire show restarts from the beginning about 2 pm. So if you’re not listening at noon, you can just wait for it to finish then flip back to the start again. It’s not a seamless loop as often several minutes pass after 2 pm before the rerun begins.
Today, I started to catch the show sometime during the second hour and, having missed the bulk of the festivities, waited for it to loop back around.
Then I started hearing people fucking.
Really. The silence on my computer speakers was interrupted not by Kenny Hassan but by a woman’s moans. Listen for yourself (warning mp3 link and definitely NSFW). I managed to get an audio recorder app open to catch the streams before the sound cut out and the show cut back in.
Just a reminder if you work in broadcasting, every mic is a live mic.
And if you’re the show’s producer, you probably want to make sure you clean your load off the board before Monday’s show.
Written by Darkvader on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
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Bayern Munich forward Lukas Podolski will again consider his future when the transfer window reopens in January.
Podolski was widely expected to leave the German champions during the summer after two frustrating seasons down the pecking order.
New coach Jurgen Klinsmann suggested the Germany international would be a vital part of his first-team plans this season, but so far Podolski has been left to play second fiddle to the first choice strike pairing of Miroslav Klose and Luca Toni.
Podolski’s attitude was recently questioned by club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and the 23-year-old striker has admitted he will consider his future at the Allianz Arena in the new year.
“Mr Rummenigge has the right to criticise his players,” he said.
“I can only say that I am fully focused on Bayern. It is a difficult situation for me, but I am clear about that.
“Sure, I would like to play from the start sometimes. At the moment I am not concerning myself with anything else.
“I don’t think I will make a decision until the winter.”
Written by eugeniu on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Football-Player.
Juventus’ unbeaten start to the season came to an end when they were beaten 2-1 by fourth-placed Palermo on Sunday.
Former Juve starlet Fabrizio Miccoli put the Sicilians ahead before Alessandro Del Piero equalised just before half-time.
However, almost immediately Juve were reduced to ten man when Mo Sissoko was dismissed for a second bookable offence and Palermo grabbed the winner with just nine minutes left when Georgian starlet Levan Mchedlidze netted.
Udinese are second after beating Torino 2-0 thanks to Fabio Quagliarella’s brace, while Atalanta are fifth after a 4-2 victory against Sampdoria.
Atalanta had to come from behind to clinch all three points though after Antonio Cassano had given Samp a seventh-minute lead.
Goals by Sergio Floccari and Gyorgy Garics before the break put Atalanta ahead, only for Cassano’s second-half penalty to make it 2-2.
Late goals by Floccari and Cristian Doni finally ended Sampdoria’s resistance after the visitors had been reduced to nine men.
AC Milan are only three points off the top of the table despite only managing to draw 0-0 with rock-bottom Cagliari in Sardinia, while hapless AS Roma are still pointless on their travels after losing 1-0 to Siena, Mario Frick scoring the only goal in Tuscany.
Goals by Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Alberto Gilardino helped Fiorentina cruise to a 2-0 victory against Chievo, while Genoa beat Napoli 3-2, who slip to sixth
Ezequiel Lavezzi put Napoli ahead only for Socratis Papastathopoulos to make it 1-1 just before the break.
Genoa moved 3-1 ahead in the second half through Raffaele Palladino and Diego Milito, while German Denis’ late effort was too little too late for the side from Naples.
Reggina secured only their second point of the season with a 1-1 draw against Catania. Michele Paolucci gave Catania a 69th-minute lead, but was then sent off and Reggina took full advantage when Andrea Costa grabbed a late equaliser.
Written by eugeniu on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
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In-form Barcelona thrashed Atletico Madrid 6-1, scoring five goals inside the first 28 minutes of a thrilling encounter at the Camp Nou.
Barca made a flying start to be 3-0 ahead after nine minutes, with Rafael Marquez, Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi getting on the scoresheet, before Maxi Roriguez pulled a goal back for the visitors.
Eto’o’s second of the evening made the score 4-1 18 minutes in and Eidur Gudjohnsen added the fifth ten minutes later.
The second half was a more sedate affair, with Thierry Henry completing the scoring 17 minutes from time.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola told the club’s official website: “I want to give thanks to the fans. I would like them to understand that with them we are stronger.
“We know very clearly we play for the people, not only for us.
“We have fulfilled our mission and we want to always play with this intensity. It is a good sign and one to convince us that we can do the same again.”
Meanwhile, Villarreal scored twice in two minutes to come from behind to beat Real Betis 2-1 at El Madrigal.
Abella Damia gave the visitors a 20th minute lead, but the Yellow Submarine hit back through Gonzalo Rodriguez and Joseba Llorente to take the victory and remain top of the table.
Written by eugeniu on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
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…and by conquer we mean they’ve signed on for a tentative “football and commercial development plan” with the San Jose Earthquakes of MLS. Apparently Steve Schmidt and Karl Rove have taken over at the Lane, because this is the lamest attempt to distract an angry/distraught public since “Who is the real Barack Obama?”
Thankfully, the English media still has a bit of its bollocks left. Like that Ma ‘n’ Pa outfit at Sky Sports News:
The Earthquakes will benefit from the training and coaching models of Tottenham, who currently sit bottom of the Premier League.
Great, I’d nearly forgotten. The real reason Spurs made this deal… after the jump.
Spurs statement:
“The agreement will focus on football and commercial development that will see the implementation of a best practice exchange programme, with the objective of creating a lasting bond between the two clubs.”
“This agreement with San Jose Earthquakes will provide us with an excellent opportunity to access a key region in a global market,” said Spurs executive director Paul Barber.
“As a club we are continually looking for innovative ways to evolve and our partnership with the Earthquakes will enable us to market Tottenham to a wider audience.
“We already have a fan base within the state of California and the opportunity to grow the brand in the US is very appealing.”
YADA YADA. We all know the real reason…
Spurs are angling for another winger! Bigus says this could never happen, as Mr. Darren Huckerby would never return to England for fear of any untoward encounter with yellow-shirted man, woman, child, beast, or beast-child. Likely says: As long as he sits out the cup ties, this will never be an issue.
And cue the lame jokes! (ooh, they’ve already begun…)
Written by Darkvader on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Darren Huckerby and San Jose Earthquakes and Tottenham and destiny manifested.
CocaĂna. Nieve. Basuco. No, this isn’t a story about Adrian Mutu. It’s about Mexican second division (which is actually the third level of footy) club Mapaches de Nueva Italia, which plays its matches in Michoacan. Mapaches plays in the Bajio group of the Liga de Nuevos Talentos, which is described as being composed of teams that have no interest in being promoted and are solely interested in developing talent. Unfortunately, Mapaches members may be developing their talent in singing narcocorridos.
The Guardian has noted that Mexican prosecutors are investigating Mapaches for possible links to several drug cartels. After conducting a raid on the club after a game in Mexico City which resulted in the arrest of numerous Mapaches players and club officials, federal authorities are convinced that the club is involved in money laundering activities. For the past several years, Michoacan has been one of the centers of Mexican drug-trafficking (the preferred route now that Miami is considered too visible) as drug cartels look for effective smuggling routes for cocaine.
But the story out of Morelia (the capital of Michoacan) is more confusing by the month. After cartel members threw grenades into a crowd in September (on Mexican Independence Day), President Felipe CalderĂłn, who is from Morelia, mobilized thousands of soldiers to root out those responsible. Initial reports claimed that two cartels are potentially responsible, although it remains unclear. One possible cartel is the Zetas, based out of Matamoros (fun side-trip when on South Padre Island for Spring Break!). They have in turn blamed La Familia, a smaller cartel that the Zetas trained, for the attacks. For now the Mexican authorities seem to believe them, as they have rounded up and beaten several members of La Familia. Although it’s unclear why the cartel would target civilians, it does increasingly look like Mapaches provided them with a way to launder all of their ill-gotten gains.
I would keep an eye on Torres and Orozco.
Written by Darkvader on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Drugs and Mexican Soccer Blows and Mexico and The NY Kid.
If the momentum of the US racing quickly toward becoming a Third World economy doesn’t slow quickly this trend might reverse itself, but for the time being our porous southern border might finally be paying dividends where it matters most: Soccer.
According to this piece in the Washington Post, Jose Francisco Torres—and no, his armband didn’t say he was a Red, wrong Torres—will likely make an appearance for the USMNT in the next week against either Cuba or Trinidad and Tobacco (intentional).
The significance of this?
Though born and raised in the eastern Texas city of Longview, Torres is eligible to represent Mexico because of his father’s roots. And having evolved into a starter for Pachuca, one of the Mexican league’s most decorated clubs, he has appeared on the Mexican national team’s radar.
But as FIFA rules stipulate, one you’re capped for one country, your ass is there’s for this life and the next (and yes, there is both soccer and nation-states in the afterlife… Sorry, John Lennon was totally wrong). So by appearing in a US kit, Torres, in the blue and white above, can only ever play on the world’s stage for the Red White and Ranked 20th (or thereabouts).
Torres isn’t alone in making the US his preferred international home, Michael Orozco, who has Mexican-born parents and plays on the backline for the Mexican club San Luis, also made a run north of the border when he was capped for the US U-23 team in Beijing.
“The situation is unique because they are eligible for two countries. So you are balancing those issues with whether the player is ready for the national team,” U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said. “And because they are part Mexican, we only have to pay them a fraction of what we’d pay American born players.”
Okay, we totally made up the second half of that quote.
It’s not like Torres, who stands at a Messi-like 5′5″, has been captured against his will and is being enslaved to a USMNT jersey. No, he willing chose it. It’s his dream. He even said so. “It’s my choice and I made it. My dream was always to play for the U.S. national team.”
See, America is still the land where dreams can come true, even if it will soon be as bankrupt as Iceland.
Written by Darkvader on October 10th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on Mexico and Sunil Gulati and Torres (the other one) and USMNT.
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Two high school girls’ teams get snippy because, depending on whom you believe, either there were racial epithets, or kids’ names sound like racial epithets [News Channel 34]
