What is Your Favorite Goal of Euro 2008

While the goals are still fresh in our minds, I'd love to find out what your favorite goal of Euro 2008 was. As quid pro quo, my top five are below:


Five: Arjen Robben's near post rocket against France that helped crown the Netherlands the kings of the Group of Death.


Four: Semih Senturk's 122nd-minute equalizer against Croatia to send this quarterfinal to penalties.



Three: Ok, so this is sort of cheating, but Nihat Kahveci's double in the final minutes, including the game winner against the Czech Republic that put Turkey in to the quarterfinals.


Two: Philipp Lahm's 90th minute strike to send the gallant Turkish side back home in the semi finals.


One: Fernando Torres' game winner against Germany in the championship match. For sheer will and determination, Torres takes the top spot!

US Lamar Hunt Open Cup – Third Round Preview

Only three USL Second Division teams remain in the US Lamar Hunt Open Cup race as we head in to the third round. Joining the fray are the eight MLS teams who qualified through MLS’ play in tournament.

Matches across the United States will take place Tuesday night, July 1st to determine who advances to the quarterfinals the following week.

The 3rd round pairings are:

Crystal Palace Baltimore v. New York Redbulls

New England Revolution v. Richmond Kickers

Chicago Fire v. Cleveland City Stars

DC United v. Rochester Rhinos

FC Dallas v. Miami FC Blues

Charleston Battery v. Houston Dynamo

Carolina Railhawks v. Kansas City Wizards

Seattle Sounders v. Chivas USA

Check out http://www.usopencup.com/ for details on broadcasts. Enjoy the fun of the oldest tournament in America!

Spain Exorcise All Their Demons

Spain, in the course of less than one month, have exorcised the demons which have haunted them for over a decade.

Let’s run down the list and show how Spain dispatched the superstitious demons which have haunted them so.

Demon: Quarterfinals. The Spanish have not been past the quarterfinals in the Euroepaan Championship since 1984, and haven’t advanced past the quarterfinals in the World Cup since 1950. Going in to Euro 2008, the mark of success on every Spanish mouth was, “just get us past the quarterfinals!”

Demonbuster: Spain defeated Italy to advance to the semifinal round.

Demon: Yellow Shirts. According to retiring Spanish National Team coach, Luis Aragones, the color yellow was an extremely unlucky color for his lads. A story goes that he once made star striker, Fernando Torres, change out of a yellow t-shirt at a training session.

Demonbuster: Spain were wearing their yellow kits in the semi-final against the speedy young Russians. It took the lads in second kit yellow a good fifty minutes to get going, but three goals later, they had booked a spot in the finals.

Demon: June 22. Spain has historically fumbled on this date in history. On June 22, 1986, Spain lost to Belgium in a dramatic World Cup quarter-final shoot-out. Ten years later to the day, they were ousted from Euro 1996 by England. And finally on June 22, 2002, Spain was sent home from World Cup 2002 by the unlikeliest of foes, the hosts South Korea.

Demonbuster: Spain must’ve thought the stars were surely aligned against them when their gritty match against cross-Mediterranean rivals Italy went to penalties on June 22. But not this day. It was the Spanish who struck flawlessly from the mark and it was brave keeper, Iker Casillas, who parried away the Di Natale shot, which cleared the path for Cesc Fabregas to knock in the final blow.

Demon: Despite being a nation overflowing with football talent, Spain have not one a European championship since 1964.

Demonbuster: Spain defeat Germany 1-0 to win the 2008 European Championship!

Spain Triumphs!

Spain, with style, flair, and a heavy dose of determination, finally did what it took to win the Euro 2008 tournament trophy. Fernando Torres’ lone goal in the first half proved enough to propel this young Spanish side on to victory on Europe’s biggest stage.

Torres’ strike encapsulated his renowned for both powerful running and sheer goal-scoring determination, as he muscled past Philipp Lahm and an onrushing Jens Lehmann, to slot the ball home. Absent from the Spanish attack was David Villa, the tournament’s leading scorer, but this team never looked in doubt.

The second half presented the Spanish with many more great goal-scoring opportunities, while the Germans could muster little in the form of offensive threat. The German captain, Michael Ballack, was little more than a nuisance for the Spanish – but to his credit, battled on despite a sizable gash to his eye.

In the end, Torres’ goal stood alone as the margin of victory as Spain stands alone as your 2008 European Champions.

Euro 2008 Final – Half Time Update

A solid first half of football for both sides. Germany and Spain shared possession but Fernando Torres proved too strong for Philipp Lahm, in what was one of the best displays of sheer will that I’ve seen this tournament.

Torres, who was denied by the post on what was the other best chance of the first half, dug past Lahm, and with power and determination, two strides later found the corner of Jens Lehmann’s net. As the first half comes to a close, Spain look to have the momentum.

Great match so far – let’s hope for an equally exciting second half!

Euro Championship to be Expanded from 16 to 24 by 2016

Much to the delight of England, Scotland, and Ireland, a proposal to extend the European Championship from 16 to 24 teams by 2016 won unanimous approval from UEFA's 53 member countries yesterday.

Star 94 Teams Up with the Silverbacks for Promotion

Attention Atlanta parents and fans of the Silverbacks! Star 94 has partnered up with the Silverbacks for a cool web promotion.

If you have a 12 year old or older child who doesn't mind staying on his or her toes during a professional football match, then you can enter to win a chance for your child to be a ball boy/girl during Atlanta's upcoming July 3rd match against the Minnesota Thunder.

What does that get you? Up to six tickets in the owners box, plus a parking pass! Pretty cool I'd say. Details are at Star 94.com.

Euro 2008 Final Preview: Spain vs. Germany Has All the Right Ingredients

I feel like taking a big deep breath right now. One of those breaths where, after you’ve been working at a furious pace, you see there are only a few minutes left on the clock, and just need to fill your lungs before you lower your head and charge in for the final exhaustive burst of energy.

That is how this Euro 2008 tournament has been for me so far. For this incredibly entertaining tournament, we can largely pay tribute to outstanding, attack-minded football from some usual suspects, Holland, Germany, Spain, but should pay special attention to the tournament's unlikely heroes.

Turkey, who came and emphatically announced they had every intention of winning the thing. Who even when decimated by injury and card suspensions, battled to the bittersweet end against a heavily favoured Germany.

Russia, a team full of youngsters who under the tactical genius of Guus Hiddink, decided to show the world what a lightening fast and tireless offense looks like. They dismantled the early favourites, Holland, but finally lost their footing against Spain.

But the matches are played, and now the final is set. And it all comes down to two giants of international football. Spain versus Germany.

Spain is a team of superstars who never seem to get it together in the big tournaments. They are an “on paper” team who always seem to stumble. But not this year, not this Euro. This time they got it right. They played with typical Spanish style and flair and still won the crucial games. They had to dig deep in the quarterfinals to send their friends across the Mediterranean, Italy, home in the penalty shootout. That gave Spain the confidence they needed; to know they too can win the ugly matches. This confidence showed as the moved easily past the Russians in the semi finals.

Germany. Germany is Germany. They just seem to do it. No matter what, Germany seem to do what it takes to make it to the very end of these international affairs. Sure, they have their share of superstars, but they haven’t looked great; yet here they are again! Germany are a team who finish under pressure. They were being out-played ,out-hustled, out-hearted, by the Turks in the semis; yet as soon as they get even a whisper of a chance, and incidentally it was Schweinsteiger’s first good touch on the ball all match to that point, the Germans punch it home for a goal. All they need is a shade of momentum to build on, and Germany are in the finals.

Neither team will bunker down on defense. They both have solid back fours and solid keepers who they will rely heavily on. Both will play attacking football. Both have creative midfielders. Both have dangerous goal scorers. The Germans are bigger. The Spanish are quicker. And, oh by the way, it’s the final of the European Championships. This one has all the right ingredients for an absolute firecracker!

Change the Offside Rule? No, We’re Good, Thank You.

Oh the offside rule, you old devil you. The cause of so much heartache and pain, joy and jubilation. The casual American football observer, seems to have some problem with the offside rule.

I’ve heard on occasion, that the offside rule makes the modern game of football less offensively minded, more confusing, etc. I am here to tell those naysayers, poppycock! (ok, stop me if that sounds too British)

I should start this discussion by saying I don't think the offside rule is broken. My disclaimer here is that I'm a midfielder turned defender (in old age) and so I tend to gain advantage from the rule.

I have heard suggestions, quite thoughtful ones in fact, that football should adopt an offside rule similar to lacrosse or hockey, where a hard line is literally drawn on the field near each side’s defensive third to signify a point of free offense. That being said, I know all the haters will roll their eyes on this one, but a hard line rule would interrupt the flow of the game. The goal in that scenario would be to get the ball past the line and then overload that third of the field as quickly as possible. Right now, that line exists as the midfield line and as it is now, according to a data analysis of 76 Champions League matches, each match averaged 3.2 offside calls. Not a terrible number in my mind.

In addition, one of things that makes a good striker great, is his ability to time his runs. One of things that makes a good midfielder great, is his ability to weight his passing. One of things that makes a good defender great, is his ability to read how a play is unfolding, and decide how best to defend it, i.e., step up, or chase back. The offside rule as it exists today, keeps the blade sharp for all of those positions.

There are also thoughtful yet casual observers who believe the modern game has too few scoring chances. I, on the other hand, believe there are plenty of scoring opportunities in a given match. Unless you're watching Italy, who are notorious for packing the back line, grinding down the game, and ultimately delivering boring football. Juxtapose that style with the recent Germany vs. Turkey Euro 2008 semi final match, where you would have seen attacking football from both sides, the culmination of which would have been the left fullback, Philipp Lahm, making the run and scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 90th minute!

So regarding the offside rule, I’ll grant you it gets screwed up. Badly at times. Football is not a perfect game but it's also not a game prone to tinkering. The rules are simple but they work; and have remained pretty much the same since the first "Rules of Association Football" was published in 1863.

Turns Out only a Genetic Heart Defect Can Stop French Defender Lilian Thuram

The same heart defect that killed Lilian Thuram's brother on a basketball court several years ago, may very well keep the French international off the pitch for good.

The condition arose when undergoing testing in consideration of his move from Barcelona to French first division side, PSG.

Thuram retired from international football after this year's Euro Championship - but may very well have to hang up his boots for good depending on the phisios' final call.

Atlanta Soccer Reviews > Leagues > Adult: Updated July 7th, 2008

Below is a list of all of the Adult leagues, both outdoor and indoor, in the greater Atlanta area that I know of. By all means, email me with the leagues I've missed.

I’m looking for feedback from my readers here. Qualities of interest might be playing cost, travel distances, competitiveness, referee quality, field quality, league integrity (do you get your promised number of games, etc.), and so on.

ATLANTA AREA ADULT LEAGUES:

Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League - ADASL
Summary: ADASL is the oldest outdoor league in the Metro Atlanta area. The 40 team league plays host to Atlanta's most competitive amateur soccer in their Division One; however with a total of four divisions, teams tend to find a division that is comfortable for them.

The league also supports promotion and relegation between divisions, which adds to the excitement of each season.

Finally, the ADASL sponsors the Perrin Cup tournament: a fantastic single elimination tournament that pits the minnows against the sharks each year.

The league does encompass the metro area, so be prepared to dedicate about four or five hours on your Sunday, including match time and travel.

Cobb Amateur Soccer League – CASL
Summary: CASL is Cobb County's own amateur outdoor soccer league, but don't let that fool you in to thinking this is a provincial little league. CASL has three open divisions plus a Mens Over 40 and a Mens Over 50 - for a total of 47 teams!

Players from all of the metro area are invited to play; however Cobb County residents have a reduced player registration fee.

North Dekalb - Atlanta Adult Soccer

Greater Atlanta Women’s Soccer Association

Wolf’s Indoor Soccer
Summary: Wolf's Indoor Soccer is a classic (i.e., no walls), single pitch, indoor arena with an artificial turf surface called Astroplay. Located in Marietta, GA, Wolf's typically has a heavily stocked calendar but every attempt is made to conclude matches at midnight. The playing surface has somewhere in the neighborhood of ten years of wear on it now, but that doesn't seem to be slowing Wolf's down.


Street Soccer Indoor
Summary: A new kid on the block on the Atlanta Soccer scene, Street Soccer Indoor is the area's first official indoor futsal complex. Also located in Marietta, Street Soccer Indoor has one regulation size futsal court and one small court for special sessions or 3v3 match ups. Right now the surface is treated concrete, but look to the guys at Street Soccer to be putting down indoor court flooring in the near future.

Check back on this post often for updates to all of these reviews, plus additions as they come in.

Top 10 Goals of Euro Championships Past

Since UEFA appear to be quite diligent on locking down goal highlight footage of the Euro 2008 tournament, I did some searching on the Interwebs for a suitable substitute to tide us over until this tournament's crackerjacks are released. Enjoy the BBC's top 10 goals of past Euro Championships!

Top 10 Flops of Euro 2008

The Sun has compiled a list of the top 10 flops of Euro 2008...no, not that kind of flop...well, except for the holder of the number one spot. Read the article here.

Which Celebrities Love Soccer?

Well, this wouldn't be a proper blog without some "celebrity" stuff now would it? So this is Gruffgoat's first installment of what might become a fun diversion from the normally serious world of football. If tons of celebs start showing up at matches - ahem - then we could turn this in to a weekly sightings post...but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I'm often curious which celebrities are in to the beautiful game. Some have always loved it, and some may be new converts. At any rate, this post is a first cut wrap up of some American celebrity "soccer love."

JT is a fan.


Djimon Hounsou would rather play than act I think.


Most American sports fans know who Steve Nash is; but they might not know that Steve grew up with football and is a still a serious footballer in the off season. Here is a video taken from an all star celebrity match in New York on June 24th. Players included Steve, Baron Davis, Jason Kidd, Leandro Barbosa, Raja Bell, and footballers, Cladio Reyna, Thierry Henry, Steve McManaman, and Robbie Fowler:



Kevin Garnett of the NBA's Boston Celtics is a former high school stand out and still a huge Chelsea fan:


Tony Parker and Eva Longoria-Parker cheering on Tony's native France during the Italy match at Euro 2008:


Everybody knows Drew Carey is a huge fan. Here he is interviewing Landon Donovan:


Rachel McAdams at the MLS All Stars vs. West Ham United Match:


Where would a list of football loving celebrities be without Hollywood United F.C.? Their celebrity players are listed below:
Vinnie Jones, soccer pro turned actor
Jason Statham, actor
Anthony LaPaglia, actor
Richard Gough, soccer pro and manager
Danny Cannon, director and producer
Frank Leboeuf, former soccer pro
Jimmy-Jean Louis, actor
Steve Jones, musician
Alexi Lalas, soccer pro turned MLS president
Eric Wynalda, soccer pro
Vivian Campbell, musician (Def Leppard)
Ray Winstone, actor
Ian Astbury, musician (The Cult)
Billy Duffy, musician (The Cult)
Hollywood United FC's over 40 team:


Maybe Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise, and Kaite Holmes go without saying, but I've said them anyway:


Jennifer Love Hewitt and Arnold Schwarzenegger turned out to watch Beckham's LA Galaxy debut - but I'm not sure how many matches they've made it to sense...




Please email me with others that you know of or with any good pics.

Atlanta Soccer News: ADASL 2007-2008 Season Final First Division Results

ADASL 2007-2008 Season Final First Division Results

The Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League wrapped its 2007-2008 season with 40 teams in the league, across four divisions, playing 18 regular season matches stretching from October to June.

The Atlanta Silverbacks Reserves finished at the top of the first division table, winning the double in Atlanta football as they also bested the newly promoted first division side, Sting Gold, in the Perrin Cup final. Good showing by both teams this season and we are looking forward to more great matches in 2008-2009.

First Division Final Standings

1. Atlanta. Silverbacks Res.
2. Melchester Wings
3. B&H International
4. AC Silverbacks
5. Sting Gold
6. Dasani
7. FC Ljiljan
8. Nuesoft FC
9. Highlanders FC
10. Majestic Fusion

As with any great football league, the ADASL has promotion and relegation within the divisions, so look for Second Division champions, Sting FS Select to join the big dogs of Atlanta amateur soccer this autumn.

MLS Players Remind Saragosa that this is No Place for Divers

If you were able to catch the second half of the Houston Dynamo v. FC Dallas Thursday night (27 June); besides tuning in to a very physical match with both teams playing for keeps, you also may have noticed something else quite interesting.

The Dynamo’s favorite Canadian, Dwayne De Rosario, was running across field and was being hounded…no mauled…by Dallas’ Marcelo Saragosa. De Rosario, to his credit, kept his feet the entire run despite being kicked and having his shirt pulled. Now this is where it gets interesting.

The referee blows the whistle to signal the foul against Saragosa - who then proceeds to drop to the turf, Nani style, as De Rosario is walking away! An incensed De Rosario rushes back to the scene of one of the most pathetic dive attempts I’ve ever seen, and literally drags Saragosa back to his feet. I am happy to report that at this point, Saragosa is promptly rushed by players from both sides and is positively lambasted for his theatrics!

Now, the referee should have produced a card for this display – but I believe he may have been in a bit over his head with this match. However, I was very heartened to see the players deliver such a strong statement to any would be divers out there. Keep the American game honest!

The Texas Derby Ends in a Draw

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Houston and Dallas battled out a very physical 1-1 draw on MLS' Texas Derby Thursday night. Unfortunately for the fans waiting to tune on ESPN 2, the WNBA game in progress went to quintuple overtime or something insane like that.

In addition, at the end of each overtime, the WNBA teams managed to stretch the last 27 seconds out to an additional five minutes of real time. Sorry for the hyperbolic venting, but it's frustrating knowing live action in one sport is being preempted by time outs in another.

Nonetheless, Houston got on the score sheet in the unviewed first half with a flashing header from US National Team player Brian Ching. The second half saw Dallas return the favor getting on the end of an uncontested cross to head home the equalizer. A few flagrant tackles later could of resulted in red cards for both teams, but the cards stayed yellow and the scores stayed equal.

Atlanta Soccer News: Atlanta Silverbacks Tumble Out of the US Open Cup

Sadly our hometown professional football club, the Atlanta Silverbacks, bid adieu to the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup yesterday.

On a day when most of the world's eyes were focused on Switzerland, the Silverbacks took on fellow USL First Division side, Miami F.C. Blues and fell by a heartbreaking 1 - 0 margin.

Miami F.C. advance to face MLS' FC Dallas on July 1st, meanwhile the Silverbacks return to league action against the Portland Timbers on June 28th at Silverbacks Park.

Read the full press release at AtlantaSilverbacks.com

Puerto Rico Creates its First Football League

Puerto Rico has created an 8 team football league to include the following teams: Carolina Giants, Academia Quintana, Guaynabo Fluminense, Caguas Huracan, Sevilla Puerto Rico and Humacao Tornados, affiliated with the Pachuca. Good luck fellas! Here's a link to the league website: PRSL

Want Some Mind Numbing Internet Football Fun?

Ok, so I had a little bit of down time and somehow found this free kick game from the guys over at Gillette. They're not paying me a cent to tell you about it, but after about an hour of frustration, I realized I'd actually just spent an hour on this infuriating game...enjoy if you dare! Freekick Fusion

Email in the contact form you find some more!

Spain 3 - Russia 0

Well, what can we say other than that was an emphatic victory for a high quality Spanish side. Spain waited until the second half to figure out how find the back of Russia's net - and find it they did. Three goals came from three different players, Xavi Hernández, Daniel Güiza and David Silva, and Cesc Fabregas proved the pivotal playmaker in David Villa's absence.

Russia could never find a rhythm and the Russian hero of the Netherlands quarterfinal, Andrei Arshavin, was barely a threat.

That being said, Russia provided some fantastic moments in this tournament and, much like the Turks who bowed out yesterday, deserve to head back home with their heads held high.

The final is now set: Germany vs. Spain. A clash of titans and a fitting finale to what has been a thrilling tournament so far.

Spaniards Set to Lose Their Hair Over The Finals

According to a report in Yahoo sports, over ten thousand Spanish football supporters have pledged to shave their locks if - IF - Spain win the Euro finals! I'm sure Russia will do their best to let them keep their hair. The article is here for your reading pleasure.

Euro 2008 Semi Final: Spain v. Russia

Today is the second semi final match of Euro 2008. And we'll see two very creative attacking teams go head to head as an experienced Spain take on the youngsters in Guus Hiddink's Russia. Let's hope that Mother Nature doesn't try to spoil our fun like she did yesterday!

Spain analysis: The Spaniards finally finally finally advanced out of the quarterfinals and against the stickiest (no offense) of foes, the Italians. They should be riding a wave of confidence going in to today's match, knowing they can dig down deep and grab the ugly victory. But fortunately for Spain, and fortunately for the fans, that is not their style. They have a speedy attack with a lot of creativity coming out of the midfield. David Villa has more goals than anyone in this tournament, and look for him to add to his collection today. Torres will also be anxious to make his mark!

Russia analysis: What do you get when you mix some of the youngest, fastest players in the tournament with a veteran coach with the reputation of turning a pile of clay in to a work of art? You get Russia! Guus Hiddink knows how to put together a team and how to inspire his players, and you saw that team dismantle what was a seemingly unstoppable Netherlands. Russia are fearless and have perhaps the fastest offense in international football at the moment. Look for Andrei Arshavin to not only be the maestro for Russia in the middle, but he'll probably be connected to every scoring chance Russia sees.

Final Prediction: Russia 2 Spain 1

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Ayhan Akman Gets His Head Stapled, Simon Rolfes Gets Stitched

I am often amused by "soccer haters" in the United States who claim, for no real reason whatsoever that I can think of, that footballers are a dainty species.



No doubt this perception arises among casual observers by watching the likes of a Luca Toni, who dives like Greg Louganis. The reality of course is the vast majority of the footballing world tends to play on at all costs.

Witnesses to the Euro 2008 semi final battle between two nations battling for a spot in the final, Turkey and Germany, saw an example of the fortitude typical of a player wearing their nation's colors.

Right before half time, Ayhan Akman from Turkey and Simon Rolfes from Germany were going full steam toward a header. The back of Akman's head clashed with the left brow of Rolfes just above his left eye. As expected, both players went down in a heap clutching their respective wounds, but quickly hopped up to receive medical attention as both were gushing blood.



The ESPN feed was able to grab a great shot of Akman's head being stapled shut on the sideline as well as Rolfe's eye brow getting stitched. Both players came back in! No magic spray here folks, just desire and determination.

Germany 3 - Turkey 2

Wow, there was lightening in Europe tonight - quite literally - as Germany battled tooth and nail against a Turkish said with indomitable will. In the end, it was not enough for Turkey as the fell to the German giants 3 - 2.

The international feed was dropped three times in the second half - having the effect of lighting up message boards all over the internet in an attempt to find a feed or stay abreast of the ongoing action.

The feed went live just in time to see Philipp Lahm celebrating his 90th minute game winning lazer shot which was the crescendo of a brilliant run up the left flank to send Germany in to the finals.

Turkey showed heart and courage and will be missed.

Germany 1 Turkey 1 - half time report

What a first half of football! It appears as though the Turks did not get the memo that they were supposed to be folded under by the Germans. The first 45 minutes saw scores from both teams is 1-1, blood from both teams (one getting stapled while the other got stitched on the sidelines)...and a lot of end to end action.

Turkey are pressing for the victory here - they have nothing to lose and everything to win!

Euro 2008 Semi Final: What Can a Meatless Turkey do Against Hungry Germans

Today is the first semi final match of Euro 2008. And it pits the Cinderella story, Turkey, against powerful Germany.

Germany analysis: The Germans have been on a bit of a roller coaster in this tournament. They barely made it out of the group stages, only to dispatch with authority their quarterfinal opponent, Portugal. So the down and out Germans have put their best foot forward again in typical fashion and are looking strong going in to this match. Players to watch: Schweinsteiger, Frings, Klose, Podolski, and of course, Ballack. When the number 13 is on his game, with all of the attacking options the Germans possess, they are an extremely formidable opponent for any side.

Turkey analysis: Oh Turkey...I will miss watching you play. This Turkish side which takes the field today against Germany is but a shell of the team that pulled off some of the most gut wrenching comebacks in the history of the Euro's and which earn a spot among the greatest comebacks in International football. But they are a team decimated by injuries to key players (Nihat) and by yellow card suspensions (Tuncay). The hole left in the middle by Tuncay's absence will be a monumental one to fill. Turkey have arguably played with more heart than any team in this tournament, but I just don't think they have the depth to defeat a rising Germany.

Final Prediction: Germany 3 Turkey 0

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North and South Korea Get Along with Football!

Gruffgoat's World Soccer News Blurb: Attention Europe: if North Korea and South Korea can battle it out in a World Cup qualifier without their fans erupting in a firestorm of violence, you really have no excuse. Check out the full story at Yahoo.com.

Iraq Out of the World Cup

Gruffgoat's World Soccer News Blurb: Iraq was eliminated from World Cup during qualifying after losing to Qatar...there will be blood spilled in Baghdad tonight. Oh wait...uh, yeah, nevermind...Here's the story from Yahoo.com.

Brazilian Football Legend Pele Robbed!

Gruffgoat's World Soccer News Blurb Brazilian football legend Pele was robbed by an armed gang while on his way home from Sao Paulo. Good thing Brazil aren't hosting the World Cup any time soon. Yikes! Here's the story from the BBC.

USA vs. Barbados: Leg 1 Observations

The USA destroyed Barbados by a score of 8-0. In football, that is a huge victory. So why, you ask, do I still feel a sense of doom when it comes to our national team?

I can't really put my finger on any one thing. We are lacking creativity in the midfield. We are lacking a vicious goalscorer or goalscoring partnership. We are lacking an organized defense. We are lacking a tactically minded coach. In small units, we are fine. Against weak opponents (no offense to the brave Barbadians who never gave up) we are fine. Against any sort of class, I'm not so sure.

Video of the goal fest:


What we do have are world class goalkeepers, which will help to keep the scores close, but until we start putting the ball in the net against teams like: Spain, England, or Argentina, then we have little hope of making an impact in South Africa.

I hope like hell I'm wrong; and the qualifying tournament may not play that out until the very end.

By the way, I don't have any USA vs. Barbados: Leg 2 Observations because...well, I couldn't find a channel anywhere that was showing the match. I do know that the US won by a margin of 1-nil and moved ahead to the next round with a 9-0 aggregate score. Here is the article from US Soccer for your reading pleasure.

Atlanta Soccer News: Will Atlanta Get an MLS Team???

According to an article written in the...dare I say it...AJC!, Arthur Blank - the current owner of that storied American football team known as the Atlanta Falcons - is seriously considering a bid for an MLS franchise in the Hotlanta!

Folks, the only thing that keeps my interest tangentially focused on the MLS right now is how crazy the Toronto FC fans are...if Atlanta lands a club, then I will be front and center in support.

The quality of the MLS is getting better every season and I think it's high time for a city the size of Atlanta, with the tremendous number of active players, to get behind this.

The original article is linked here for your reading pleasure.

Arshavin: A Name You Better Get Used To Saying

Who is this Andrei Arshavin guy anyway? He has lit up the Russian attack during Euro 2008, but Guus Hiddink for sure, and most hard core watchers of football in Europe have known about Arshavin for quite a while.

He's been scoring goals and orchestrating attacks for Zenith St Petersburg for quite some time...but his star has risen dramatically during the Euros. He dismantled a heavily favored Netherlands side, who many thought were unbeatable after the group stages.

I for one am looking forward to seeing this kid in England in the Autumn. Without seeing any scouting reports, I'm going to guess that he will end up at Arsenal.

Luca Toni's Diving Makes Babies Cry

I was absolutely disgusted by Luca Toni when Italy played Spain on Sunday, 22 June, 08, for the Euro 2008 Semi final spot. Here is a guy who is 6'5", can turn a football on a dime, yet whenever a Spanish defender so much as breathed on him, he would collapse like a house of tinker toys.

Andy Gray had a great quote on one of Toni's more egregious bits of theatrical crap when he said in that wonderful Glasgow phonology, "sure the defender grazed him there, but he's gone down like he's been hit by a sniper."

So, far all of those soccer haters who say the sport is full of diving pansies, I'll humbly ask for you to revise your over generalization and say, "the Italian national team is full of diving pansies," or even better, "Luca Toni is a diving pansy."

Now that wasn't so hard was it?

Euro 2008 Magic

It has been an incredible Euro 2008 tournament. With hard fought battles in the group stages, incredible comeback stories, old giants barely escaping only to push ahead to the semis, and so on.

So now, we are looking at the first semi final match tomorrow. An invigorated Germany take on a much depleted Turkish side who have only heart and confidence to spurn them forward.

I think the Turks will again fight valiently, but with so much of their international talent either injured or suspended, I feel like the Germans should march easily on to the final this Sunday.

My prediction: Germany 3 - Turkey 0

Why is Football so Popluar?

In the US, it's an inevitable occurrence. Especially when the big tournaments are on mainstream television and highlights make it to ESPN's SportsCenter.

The normally quiet reserve of soccer fandom in the States starts to rise to more than a whisper. And someone, maybe a guy at the bar or a cube-mate at the office, usually with an unnecessarily condescending tone will say, "soccer is only popular because of X". With "X" being whatever unthoughtful nay saying generalization they can conjure at the time.

There are a lot of theories, certainly beyond the scope of this single post. But for someone who is really trying to answer the question, "why is football so popular," a good starting point might be the following comment I read on fark. "I don't get why soccer is so freakin' popular, all you do is kick a ball around a field. wow."

To that comment I say, now your finally starting to understand it!!
One of the many reasons behind football's global popularity is in its apparent simplicity. You think, "hey, this ball is round, all I need to do is kick it right?" Sounds easy enough. My human instincts, what with these prehensile thumbs, is to reach down and pick it up. But not this game. In fact, save one lone position, neither you, nor 9 of your other teammates can use your hands. Yet you have to work together to put the ball past the one guy who can use his hands, on a playing surface that's roughly 55000 square feet!

Here's the thing - have you ever tried controlling a round object on a flat surface without using your hands? Try sending the ball to a teammate. Try catching the ball out of the air. Try sending a perfectly flighted ball, over the defense, 70 yards to a 2'x2' spot on the field. Now try doing that during a World Cup match, with 500 million people watching, like Frank de Boer did for Dennis Bergkamp in World Cup 98. See where I'm going here?


Dennis Bergkamp's WonderGoal. Netherlands v. Argentina World Cup 1998.

Still simple right. In concept certainly. So just when you think you've mastered the ability to control the ball without the use of these incredibly adapted hands, add 11 opposing players whose job it is to take the ball away from you, or at the very least, interrupt any momentum you may be building.

So here you'll notice we have the game of football starting to develop. We'll give you 10 players to coordinate with and we'll give you 90 minutes to score - no timeouts by the way - and that's it.

There is no "direction" on the field other than the location of your goal and your opponent's goal, so be prepared to run between 5 and 7 miles in all directions in your attempts to get open for the ball, defend, make runs at goal, and so on.

By the way, with the sole exception of your goalkeeper (and even that is arguable) every player on the field is simultaneously on offense and defense - meaning you have to always be thinking, reading the game, understanding your leverage, testing, committing, tackling, etc.

Now imagine every nation on the planet Earth plays this game and understands these basic concepts. Billions of people. From the smallest, podunk dictatorships to the largest democracies and everything in between, irrespective of Gross Domestic Product or national history, on every continent save Antarctica.

So basically, aside from basic Maslowian functions, such as having sex, eating bread and drinking water, football is the only higher order connection humanity has! Farther reaching than any religion, literature, music, cuisine - football is the language that humans speak!

So yeah, you kick a ball around a field. And it's really quite amazing.

The Globalization of Football - Linked Article

http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/09/19/q-a-soccer-globalization/

This is an interesting little phone interview from the NY Times' Jeffrey Marcus with Franklin Foer, the editor of The New Republic, who wrote “How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization,” and published in 2004.

For the most part, I agree with the premise presented in these interview excerpts - but the book is definitely deserving of a proper review by yours truly. I have no idea why I haven't read it yet - but it's next up on my reading list.

I'll follow up soon.

Why the World Doesn't Care About American Football (gridiron) - Part 1

American Football. Because my football shares its name with this version, I find myself constantly "defending" the beautiful game against the lovers of the padded game. It's quite silly actually, as the only thing these two sports have in common is the term, "football".

At any rate, I’ve just come across a news story on Yahoo titled, “Grads in pads: First U.S. national football team prepares for trip to Japan”. I’ve linked to the article for your reading pleasure. Good on 'em for trying to export gridiron to different parts of the world, but I believe the lads in pads have quite a hill to climb.

My thoughts on the exportation of gridiron to the rest of the world is summed up as follows: it will not happen.

When the world thinks about football, they think about action. They think in terms of football, rugby union, rugby league, Aussie rules; all games where the downtime is minimal and the players are in constant movement. The stop/start nature of the Americanized game kills it. Gridiron has hundreds of rules, scores of finite roles for players, special teams within teams, coaches, assistant coaches, special teams coaches, stops, breaks, huddles, conferences, reviews, warnings, 2 minute breaks, quarters, half time spectaculars, etc. All of which equals a big "huh?" for most people...except the half time spectaculars - everybody likes a good concert.

By way of anecdote, the NFL tried a series of exhibition games, called "American Bowls" as a part of their international strategy. One such game was held on August 7, 1999 between the Chargers of San Diego and the Broncos of Denver in Sydney, Australia. From first hand accounts, a large chunk of the audience left at half time. They were expecting action punctuated by stoppages, not stoppages puncuated by action.

All things being equal, I don't want to be a "sports hater." But being an American fan of football, and having listened to so many sanctimonious sports casters, writers, and fans of armoured football belittle the game I love, has left me a bit stabbish. The reality is, like I said at the beginning, is that while these two sports share a common ancestor, much like humans and apes -ahem- they now bear little resemblance to each other.

Soccer Haters: Guess Who is in your Rear View Mirror?

Good lord, American fans, how many times have you heard it? "Soccer will never make it in the US" "Soccer is a game for kids and girls" "Soccer fans in America have been saying for years they will catch up" "Soccer tried this in the 70's" "Soccer sucks"...etc.

What the people who suggest “soccer will never be popular in the US” are trying to say is, 'soccer as a professional spectator sport will never be popular in the US'. Near term - probably, long term - maybe, never - highly unlikely.

What most conscious people have known for about a decade or so now is that football is the most popular participation team sport (approx. 18 million) in the US and the numbers are still trending upward.

One may not find a statistical correlation between participation and spectatorship in the US; but overall the game makes more sense to more Americans than ever. What does that mean? It means for the first time in the history of soccer in American, there are people who have spent their lives playing and watching football, who are having children and raising those children with a deep understanding of the game.

When I played as a kid in the 1970s, our coaches were our fathers. Our fathers, through no fault of their own, knew nothing about soccer. There was never a match on television, never a professional team to latch on too, never a program in high school to try, and so on. The history is captured nicely that Beach Boys classic, Be True to Your School:
"I got a lettermans sweater
With a letter in front
I got for footbal and track
Im proud to where it now"

Yet our dads did their best, they persevered, they bought what few books they could find, they attended what few coaching classes were offered. And somehow, kids like me learned to play this game and learned to love it!

The popular spectator US sports will still benefit from a long and storied social and cultural history that football in the States just does not have – i.e., peanuts at the ballpark, tailgating and Superbowl parties, binge drinking at your NCAA game, saturated television coverage and the massive advertising machine behind it, etc.

But the "generational understanding gap" is closing. Unprecedented numbers of soccer fans can all sit at the pub and enjoy a match, confident we understand exactly what to look for. Add to that unprecedented access via cable and internet to great leagues and great players all over the world and decent leagues in the US, and the sport that my father (and mother) didn’t even have the chance to play, will continue to grow in cultural significance, albeit slowly.

Finally, factor in the influence of immigration on US US culture and you begin to see some serious handwriting on the wall.

For all the naysayers who insist the game will never arrive in the States, I say it depends on how your measuring. If you look at the numbers and not the dollars. you will discover that the beautiful game has been here for quite a while. 18,000,000 players and growing, can’t be wrong.

Diving in Soccer Sucks For Everyone!

Diving sucks. Period. It is cheating, pure and simple. It sullies the beautiful game and I think there is not a fan anywhere in the world who would disagree. But to those who say diving is an epidemic ruining football, that it's a world wide problem - I say not even close. Diving is a case of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch if ever there were a case.

I know it's not an American problem, an English problem, nor an Australian problem. I was in Australia last year and joined Tuggeranong Football Club. I saw no evidence of diving week after week - nor did I see it in the A League matches I caught on television.

Now, being back in the US and playing every weekend and watching a great many EPL matches and a few MLS matches, I rarely see diving. When you do see it (refernce Nani's actual headbutt and then faked retaliation against Lucas Neil) - the divers are lambasted by the players, fans, and the press.

So I'm not sure what football the "soccer is full of divers" crowd are tuning in to...maybe it still happens a lot in Serie A; but I hear a lot bandwagon haters who can't back up their claims with real data.

It should be noted that casual observers should not mistake players going to ground on contact as diving - as any athlete knows, it takes very little contact to bring someone down when they are running at full speed concentrating on a ball at their feet.

As fans of the game and particularly as sports writers, we have a responsibility. We need to hold divers accountable for theatrics. We need to encourage honest football, and let the unscrupulous wallow in their own shame and be properly hated by lovers of the game.