by Philip Mboya on August 30, 2010
This weekend the Spanish and Italian leagues commenced with more excitement than has been witnessed in the last few seasons. There were some very big surprises from the respective league giants as well as enthralling matches that inspired hope for numerous fans across the two countries.
In Spain, the most shocking result was Real Madrid‘s barren draw at Mallorca. Jose Mourinho’s first match as coach of Los Blancos will be one he wishes to forget as quickly as possible. Of course its only the first match of the season, however, that result should give Madrid‘s critics something to talk about. Read more... (645 words, 1 image, estimated 2:35 mins reading time)
by David Wilson on July 24, 2010
New France coach Laurent Blanc wasted no time laying down the law to France’s underachieving World Cup stars. He has dropped them ALL for France’s friendly against Norway in Oslo on August 11.
A French FA statement read:
“Laurent Blanc met this Friday with the federal council, to whom he presented his staff and his sporting project. He also proposed to the federal council, who accepted, not to retain for the friendly against Norway, on Wednesday August 11 in Oslo, any of the 23 players officially selected by the French Football Federation for the World Cup in South Africa. Laurent Blanc will release the list of players retained for this match against Norway on Thursday August 5 at 11.30.”
Read more... (282 words, 2 images, estimated 1:08 mins reading time)
by The Yank on July 14, 2010
Over the last 30 months, I have provided you with plentiful posts about the world and the way people play that crazy game with your feet all over it. Whether you call it soccer, football, futbol, calcio or kick the kiwi, it is the same beautiful game. Over the years, I have written about all the earth’s major leagues and tourneys, like the Champion’s League and the World Cup, and I have always done so with integrity. Um, wait. Nope, I actually mostly wrote about WAGs.
Here are my 10 Best World Soccer Blogs/Series: Read more... (513 words, 2 images, estimated 2:03 mins reading time)
by David Wilson on July 9, 2010
The Bundesliga did Bayern Munich no favors when it released its fixture list this week. The German season kicks off on the 20 August when Bayern will meet the 2009 league winners VfL Wolfsburg at home. .
“The opening Bundesliga match between the current and former champions boasts a certain tradition since last season,” commented FCB chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. “The game against VfL Wolfsburg is a tremendous opening fixture, for the league as a whole, and for Bayern and our fans. As champions, we’ll obviously want to start the season on a positive note, which means beating Wolfsburg.”
Read more... (324 words, 2 images, estimated 1:18 mins reading time)
by Patton on May 25, 2010
England went into a warmup for the World Cup against Mexico without David Beckham and wondering if Darren Bent would be able to make the squad. Well, even though there are all kinds of injuries and little problems the English still managed a 3-1 win over the Mexicans. To me, this is a good victory because we know that the Mexicans can play and England is still searching for the right formula to make South Africa 2010 work.
At this point Fabio Capello is doing the right thing–giving credit to players who played well and keeping his plans to himself. He’s got alot to deal with and he can’t reveal his hand this soon–maybe never at all: Read more... (334 words, 2 images, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)
by Patton on May 24, 2010
When the English National Squad was announced earlier this year Darren Bent was on the team. However, that was the 30-man provisional roster and Fabio Capello only takes 23 men to South Africa. Now, the Sunderland striker is having issues because if he can’t stay healthy then he will probably not be travelling to the World Cup. For some guys this could be a once in a lifetime chance to play for their homeland and Bent is trying to make the most of it.
He’s scored 25 goals in 2009-2010 and that put him behind only Wayne Rooney in scoring. So, what’s the problem? Read more... (309 words, estimated 1:14 mins reading time)
by Patton on May 23, 2010
Bayern and Franck Ribery have come to terms on a new contract after Munich lost the Champion’s League Final to Inter on Saturday. The word was that he would leave Munich this summer, but now a new 5-year deal keeps him in place. I guess this means that the allegations of Ribery being a client in a prostitution ring are not so bad for Bayern.
Frankly, I can’t blame them. If he’s your guy–then he’s your guy. That’s pretty much that. You don’t look very hard when have good players right in front of you. However, I still think there are problems with Ribery’s alleged link to underaged prostitution and that fact that he missed the Champion’s League final–even though it really wasn’t his fault–it’s still hard. Read more... (314 words, 2 images, estimated 1:15 mins reading time)
by Patton on May 22, 2010
Well, the funny part of this is that I’ve been on both sides of the fence during the Champion’s League and I certainly would not have picked either one of these clubs to be here–but here they are!
Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho are both incredible motivational coaches who have nothing you can say negative about them because they’re here–but we haven’t heard alot from Van Gaal and only snippets from Moruinho. So, I guess they went into Super Bowl mode where they sequester themselves before the big game. Read more... (305 words, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)
by Patton on May 17, 2010
Germany just lost its captain. Michael Ballack played in the FA Cup final for Chelsea this weekend in a 4-0 beatdown of Portsmouth. However, if you’ve seen the photographs, Kevin Boateng–I hate the hyphenation in his name–crushed Ballack’s foot in a pretty hideous-looking tackle while Portsmouth was getting destroyed and now Germany has no captain.
I guess the worst part is that he actually sustained an ankle injury while Boateng was stepping on his foot. Um, ouch!
The Germans know they’re cooked–which sucks: Read more... (388 words, 2 images, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)
This is a preview of
Michael Ballack Has Been Ruled Out For The World Cup
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Read the full post (388 words, 2 images, estimated 1:33 mins reading time)
by Patton on May 11, 2010
Vicente Del Bosque has put together a 30-man roster for the Spanish Nationals and it has two very important names on it:
Torres
Fabregas
That’s about all you need. Fernando Torres and Cesc Fabregas–especially Cesc–are not in the best shape, but they were MAJOR players in the whooping Spain put on the world at UEFA 2008. That team was all over the place. They played the game the right way. They put a hurting on teams that are sometimes unbelievable in retrospect.
Courtesy of ESPN–here is the Spanish Provisional Squad: Read more... (314 words, 2 images, estimated 1:15 mins reading time)
