World Cup 2010

This is a late article. I know. It has been months and the American soccer fans have invariably shifted back to the pressing subjects of how bad the MLS is. It is a league so bad that it comes as a shock that David Beckham isn't that good. He shouldn't be good. He was over the hill at 27, back when nobody had heard of Barack Obama.
But back to the World Cup. It wasn't very good. Lets face it. Any world cup where the final is beetween 2 underacheiving teams is bad. Somewhere people got the idea that Spain deserved it because the were, get this, entertaining. Entertaining like an episode of Whale Wars. The fact was that they could maintain a slight sliver of consistency. So heres my world cup heroes and villains.
Heroes:
K'naan: Yep, its a singer who made the catchy and meaningful World Cup song. What does Waka Waka mean anyway, Shakira. Yes, the drumming was overdone, but I preffered it to past World Cup songs, with the exception of Ricky Martin's 1998 effort.
Asamoah Gyan: The Ghanain striker was everything a World Cup should be. He danced, he scored, he came close, he smiled, he cried, he cared, and eventually he missed a penalty. My player of the tournament, because he was fun to watch not in a soccer way, but in an entertainment way.
Nelson Mandela: For one, he's Nelson Mnadela. Also, he cared, unlike other World Cup hosting men. He didn't just smile and clap like Mick Jagger at the USA Ghana game.

Villains:
David Beckham: What was he doing on the England bench? It didn't help, thats for sure.
Alexi Lalas: Didn't make any bad mistakes talkin on ESPN, so no jokes about americans and soccer. The shame.
Luis Suarez: Denied Ghana witha handball. Subconciously, everyone loved Ghana. They just don't know it yet.

All Time Team, Costa Rica!

Goalkeeper: Luis Conejo
Defense: Luis Marin,Roger Flores,Jervis Drummond Gilberto Martinez
Midfield:Walter Centeno, Rolando Fonseca, Mauricio Solis
Offence: Paolo Wanchope, Hernan Mendford, Alexandre Guimaraes

Coach: Bora Milutinovic

RISING STAR: EZEQUIEL LAVEZZI!

Transfer Musings

As the transfer window draws to a close I have been thinking. Real Madrid payed 30,000,000 euros for Xabi Alonso, who is a very good, if not game changing midfielder. In 2003 a certain Ronaldinho signed for Barcelona for 21,000,000 euros, incredibly expensive at the time. Is it believable now that Joleon Lescott a centerback who is good but not revolutionary was signed by Manchester City for 24,000,000 pounds, more than Barca payed for a legend. Interesting.

MAN UNITED'S DILEMMA!

When Manchester United sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid and failed to hold on to Carlos Tevez, they suffered a huge dilemma. They got a huge profit, but their money can never replace Ronaldo and, to a lesser extent Tevez. Although their replacements Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen are able, decent players, the sheer presence of Ronaldo was priceless. Ronaldo was one of the reasons why people signed for United, and his iconic number 7 jersey was available everywhere, from the 13 buck fake copy I bought in Portugal to the glitzy top of the line shirtzillas available on Eurosport.com. Valencia is quite decent, but his strike rate is undesirable. Owen on the other hand is an England great but can't keep living off his form from 1998. Replacing Tevez with Owen is like replacing a Rolex for a barbie watch from a cereal box, while Ronaldo's replacement with Valencia is like replacing Ronaldo's Buggatti for a Honda Civic. This is meant with all due respect to Valencia and Owen whose talents are undoubtable.

ARSENAL'S YOUNG GUNS THRASH SHEFFIELD UNT.!

Arsene Wenger played an Arsenal team with an incredible average age of about 19. 16 year old Jack Wilshere was a sensation scoring a fantastic goal and bossing the midfield. Mexican wonder-kid Carlos Vela, age 20, scored a superb hat-trick as Arswnal rampaged to a 6:0 thrashing. Danish star Nicklas Bentder scored two goals for his team
as the young Gunners tormented the Blades's back line and could have won by ten. They are now Carling cup favorites along with Manchester United, winners 3:1 over Middlesboro.

BERBATOV COMPILATION!

BERBATOV COMPLETES UNITED MOVE!

At long last, Dimitrar Berbatov has completed his move to Manchester United. He had been linked to United for at least two seasons. The reds bought Berbatov as a replacement for French striker Louis Saha. Berbatov was a cult hero at his last club Tottenham Hotspurs. He also has a highly impressive scoring record for Bulgaria ,43 goals in 65 matches. This is undoubtedly an incredible buy for United, as Berbatov will probably form a great partnership with Wayne Rooney or Carlos Tevez. But don't cry Spurs fans as former Barcelona star Giovanni Dos Santos is an able replacement.

NUMANCIA STUN BARCA!

Newly promoted Numancia got off to a dream start with a 1:0 home victory over Pep Guardiola's new look Barcelona. Numancia goal came from midfielder Mario on 14 minutes. Barcelona should have scored when Messi's superb free kick hit the post. Credit to Numancia they played good soccer and were outstanding as a deffensive unit closing down Henry and Eto'o. Henry showed why he is considered a flop with a truly terrible performance. But as Guardiola said, this match won't decide if we win the title. It is a let down for Barca fans though. Top of the table are Athletico Madrid, winners 4:0 over Malaga.

DAVID BENTLEY MOVES TO TOTTENHAM!

BIG NAME TRANSFERS!

Over the summer, several huge transfers have been made, most of them revolving around Barcelona, but the biggest news in the transfer market is Real Madrid not buying Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United after a long negotiation failed. Barcelona have been buying and selling all summer, including Ronaldihno's sale to AC Milan, Deco's sale to Chelsea and buying Arsenal winger Alexander Hleb, who featured against Barcelona in the 2006 Champions league final, Brazilian left-back Dani Alves and Malian midfielder Seydou Keita. Up in England, Liverpool have failed to buy Gareth Barry from Aston Villa
but have bought Republic of Ireland captain and Tottenham Hotspurs striker Robbie Keane. Tottenham have bought Blackburn wonder kid David Bentley. Tottenham have also bought Brazilian keeper Gomes from PSV Eindoven. Quite a busy summer!

SPAIN VERSUS ITALY!

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EURO 2008 SEMIS ARRIVE!

At long last the semifinals of Euro 2008 have arrived. In four thrilling quarterfinals Portugal, Croatia, favorites Holland and World Cup holders Italy have been knocked out leaving space for Germany, Turkey, the Guus Hiddink inspired Russia and Spain to compete in the semifinals. Germany beat Portugal 3:2 in a thrilling and controversial match thanks to a dubious goal by Michael Ballack, while the next day Turkey made yet another improbable comeback by beating Croatia in a shoot out after coming back from a goal behing with six seconds left. Holland, so brilliant in the group stages were left to ponder what could have been after a great performance by Guus Hiddink's Russia left them in the dust. Finally, in a thrilling climax, a lovely performance by Spain,(particularly goalkeeper Iker Cassilas) beat World Cup holders Italy on a penalty shootout after substitute Guiza missed several clear chances. In the end, two penalty saves by Iker Cassilas was enogh to give Spain victory.

HOLLAND THRASH THE HOLDERS!

World cup holders Italy began their Euro 2008 campaign dismally, losing 3:0 to Holland in Basle. The Dutch played well, fending off Italian attacks and doing well on the counter attacks. The Italian team started well and Holland struggled to contain them, but on 26 minutes a refereeing error allowed the Dutch to take the lead. 5 minutes later Wesley Sneijder of Real Madrid beat Buffon with a volley to give Holland a second goal. After that Italy strengthened considerably and until 60 minutes when they started to fade. Finally, on 79 minutes a cross from the left by Dirk Kuyt was headed in by van Bronckhorst. Italy had their chances and Luca Toni should have scored when one on one with van de Sar and Pirlo's free kick tested the Dutch keeper but in the end Holland recorded a deserved victory.

CZECHS BEAT HOSTS IN OPENER!

The Czech Republic beat an impressive Switzerland in the opening match of the 2008 European Championships despite being outplayed by co-hosts Switzerland. The defining moment came when Czech substitute Sverkos latched onto a Galasek header to score the opening goal of the tournament. It is now highly unlikely that the Swiss will make it beyond their group which also includes the Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Portugal and Turkey. Portugal meet Turkey later today in the hope of taking top place in the group. Portugal are definate favorites to win the group followed by the Czechs, but anything can happen as Greece showed by winning the tournament last tournament. Let's see how this turns out.

UPCOMING PLAYER: ALEXANDRE PATO

THE DEMISE OF BARCA!

Despite bringing in world class players over the summer, such as Thierry Henry and Eric Abidal, Barcelona's title dreams have pretty much ended with a 2:0 away loss to Deportivo La Coruna. Injuries have played a major part in this rather weak attempt at the title but still, that is no excuse for home draws against Getafe and Espanyol. Barcelona will not be able to win La Liga unless Real Madrid lose at home to Athletico Bilbao today. Frank Riijkard seems to be on his way out of the manager position for two trophy less years and expect a mass exodus of players this summer. Barcelona are a team destroyed.

CHELSEA STUN LIVERPOOL!

In the first Champions League semifinal today, Chelsea shocked Liverpool with a late goal away at Anfield. So far in the game Liverpool had dominated after Dirk Kuyt had given them the lead just before half time. Chelsea fought hard however and equalized deep into stoppage time when substitute Solomon Kalou, on for Joe Cole, sent in a good cross. Liverpool substitute John Arne Riise unfortunately beat his own keeper Reina. This gave Chelsea there first goal away to Liverpool in the Champions League. This could well mean that Chelsea will make it to the final, for a win or a 0:0 draw at home would see them through to the final between Man United or Barcelona who play tomorrow.

MAN UNITED ROCKET TO THE TOP!

Manchester United have rocketed to the top of the Premiership taking advantage of lapses by Arsenal and Liverpool. Ronaldo's 35
goals this season, twenty five of those in the league have certainly helped along with strong performances by Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez and Nani. The red devils can claim to be the best in the world at this moment. Unlike most teams if a player like Rooney is injured they can still play and, more importantly, win. After beating fierce rivals Liverpool 3:0, they hold a five point lead over Chelsea, second in the table. Arsenal have struggled recently with draws against Middlesboro and Birmingham and with the recent loss to Chelsea they seem to be in decline. The crucial games in the league coming up, it is impossible to guess the winners!

BARCELONA, ARSENAL, FENERBAHCHE AND MAN UNITED THROUGH!

In the most recent Champions League games, Man United beat Lyon 1:0 of Ronaldo's stunning goal. Barcelona easily beat Celtic 1:0 at home to round of their qualification for the Quarter Finals. Arsenal outplayed Milan at the San Siro and shockingly won the match 2:0 because of late goals by Cesc Fabregas and Emanuel Adebayor. Fenerbahche surprised Sevilla on penalties, after the Spaniards had won 3:2. Dependable players Daniel Alvez, Enzo Maresca and Julien Escude fluffed there penalties. The four remaining teams will be decided tomorrow and on the eleventh. Manchester United and Barcelona harbor high hopes of winning there third titles while Arsenal and Chelsea want there first victory. And by the way, don't forget Liverpool, Real Madrid and Fenerbahche. This could well be a classic season in Europe.