soccerpedia: The Blog

Salute to Ferguson

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:51:00 +0000

Alex Ferguson unveiled as Man United's manager on 01 November 1986.
Were you even born then?

This year Manchester United celebrate Sir Alex Ferguson’s 25 year-old reign as the manager by naming part of Old Trafford as Sir Alex Ferguson Stand. This marks the first time in the 101-year history of Old Trafford that a stand has been named after an individual.

Next year a present in the form of a specially-commissioned Fergie stature will be unveiled before the new season begins. (So watch out for both the Stand and stature if you happen to be paying a visit!)

First appointed in 01 November 1986, Ferguson continues to move along strongly after an astonishing 12 Premier League titles, two European Cups, five FA Cups, four League Cups, one Cup Winner’s Cup and countless other ‘friendly and pre-season tournament’ trophies in a glittering 25-year old career at United, not to mention overtaking Liverpool as the most successful English club just last year in terms of overall Championship titles.

Good old Fergie he is.

While he continues to keep us guessing when he will eventually retire – he is already 69, by the way, we can only look back and review some of his most quotable lines:

On those exacting early days
“What youth policy? He’s left me a shower of shit.”
-- When asked, in 1986, what he had inherited from Ron Atkinson

“I am not kidding. This isn’t just a job to me. It’s a mission. I am deadly serious about it…we will get there.
Believe me. And when it happens, life will change for Liverpool and everybody else, dramatically.”

-- Reacting defiantly to a failed attempt to win the title in 1988

On the glory years
“At our club, you tend to accept that somewhere deep down in the make-up, there’s something that seems suicidal at times. The players can thrill you and exasperate you at the same time. You’re never safe even if you’re winning two or three nil…they will take you right to the wire. They will wait until the last minute while I’m on the bench having three heart attacks and contorted with stomach pains.”
-- On the United way, 1997

“I can’t believe it. Football, eh? Bloody hell. It’s been the greatest night of my life.”
-- Summing up the feelings of every United supporter after winning the Champions League in 1999

On players
“It was the most emphatic display of selflessness I have seen…as if he would rather die of exhaustion than lose…I felt it was such an honour to be associated with such a player.”
-- Ferguson salutes Roy Keane’s starring role in helping United come from two goals down to beat Juventus 3-2 to reach the 1999 Champions League final.

“He is the most precious, skill-blessed player I have ever had in almost 20 years in management…the greatest talent I have ever been asked to manage.”
-- On Ryan Giggs, 1993

“Some believe the greatest courage in football is the courage to win the ball. The other kind of courage – and it’s a moral courage – is the courage to keep the ball. That’s what Cristiano Ronaldo has. All the great players had it. Best had it, Charlton had it, Cantona: ’I’ll take the kick. I’ll take the injury. But I will keep the ball. I’ll beat the bully’.”
-- 2008

On opponents
“Rival United? Arsenal? Never! They will need three stadiums and 33 teams to rival us as a club. Nobody is as big as Manchester United. Nobody ever will be either.”
-- 2006

“You know when you’ve got a noisy neighbour and they keep the radio on all the time? What can you do? You can complain to the council, you can bang on their wall, but they still keep their music on. So what do you do? You get used to it.”
-- On Manchester City, 2010

On himself
“If someone argues with me, I have to win the argument…that’s where the hairdryer comes in… The manager can never lose an argument.”
-- 2003

“If I lose control of these multi-millionaires in the dressing room, then I’m dead. So I never lose control. And if anyone steps out of my control, that’s them dead.”
-- 2010

“I’ll continue for as long as I feel healthy enough to do the job.”

– Sir Alex Ferguson, 03 November 2011.

World record headed goal

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:41:00 +0000

While most of us are having difficulties executing a simple header, in an amazing show of strength, A Japanese player managed to head in a goal over a distance of more than half the length of a soccer field.

Japanese club Fagiano Okayama defender Ryujiro Ueda did just that in a Japanese Division Two game on 30th October 2011.

His header, off Yokohama FC goalkeeper Kentaro Seki’s goal kick into Okayama’s half, sent the ball sailing 58m over Seki before bouncing into the net.

“I was focused on getting back to my position,“ said Ueda. “I didn’t notice I scored until after it had gone in.”

World Cup Firsts

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:03:00 +0000

The 2010 World Cup has provided us with a few firsts. Among them include:

1) The first time the host was sent packing out of the World Cup at the group stage: South Africa. All other hosts have at least reached the second round prior to this.

2) The first time all South American sides have gone through the group stage undefeated, bearing a single inconsequential blemish with Chile:

Group A:
Uruguay 0 - 0 France
South Africa 0 - 3 Uruguay
Mexico 0 - 1 Uruguay

Group B:
Argentina 1 - 0 Nigeria
Argentina 4 - 1 South Korea
Greece 0 - 2 Argentina

Group C/D/E:
No South American side

Group F:
Italy 1 - 1 Paraguay
Slovakia 0 - 2 Paraguay
Paraguay 0 - 0 New Zealand

Group G:
Brazil 2 - 1 North Korea
Brazil 3 - 1 Ivory Coast
Portugal 0 - 0 Brazil

Group H:
Honduras 0 - 1 Chile
Chile 1 - 0 Switzerland
Chile 1 - 2 Spain

See, only one narrow defeat at the last game of Group H!

3) The first time Asian sides South Korea and Japan have made the second round in the World Cup on foreign soil.

4) The first time Japan, making its fourth appearance at the grand stage, have scored 3 goals in a single match. In the final Group E match on 24 June 2010 against Denmark, the Samurai Blues blew away their European opponents with an impressive 3-1 scoreline, with 2 goals coming from dead-ball situations.

5) The first time there are more American sides making it to the Round of 16 than European ones since this competition format was first introduced in the 1986 Mexico World Cup.
1986 - Europe (10 teams), Americas (5 teams) and Asia, Africa and Oceania combined (1 team)
1990 - Europe (10), Americas (5) and Asia, Africa and Oceania combined (1)
1994 - Europe (10), Americas (4) and Asia, Africa and Oceania combined (2)
1998 - Europe (10), Americas (5) and Asia, Africa and Oceania combined (1)
2002 - Europe (9), Americas (4) and Asia, Africa and Oceania combined (3)
2006 - Europe (10), Americas (4) and Asia, Africa and Oceania combined (2)
2010 - Europe (6), Americas (7) and Asia, Africa and Oceania combined (3)

6) The first time mighty Brazil lost a match after leading their opponents at half-time. On 02 July 2010, the Samba Kings lost 1-2 to the Netherlands in a quarter-finals match.

7) The first time a Spaniard has scored in four consecutive World Cup finals matches - David Villa.
21 June 2010: Spain 2 - 0 Honduras (David Villa - 2 goals)
25 June 2010: Chile 1 - 2 Spain (David Villa, Andres Iniesta)
29 June 2010: Spain 1 - 0 Portugal (David Villa)
03 July 2010: Paraguay 0 - 1 Spain (David Villa)

8) The first time a team has managed 4 goals three times in a Finals - Germany.
13 June 2010: Germany 4 - 0 Australia
27 June 2010: Germany 4 - 1 England
03 July 2010: Argentina 0 - 4 Germany

9) The first time Spain scored a win over Germany in a World Cup Finals in 4 attempts during their semi-final encounter on 07 July 2010.

10) The first time an European team has won the World Cup in a Finals held outside Europe.

11) The first time Africa played host to the World Cup Finals.

12) The first time a World Cup final has not featured one of the following teams: Brazil, Italy, Germany or Argentina.

13) The first time the same referee is chosen to take charge of the European Cup (Champions League) and the World CUp final in the same year: Howard Webb from England.

14) The first time a reigning EUropean champion (Spain) has reached the World Cup final since West Germany in 1982.

15) The first time a team (Spain) has won the World Cup after losing their opening match at the Finals.

16) The first time 14 yellow cards were dished out in a final -- a record number!

17) The first time Spain and Holland meet in a major international tournament.

18) The first time the World Cup champions scored only 8 goals in total on their way to victory. The previous low of 11 goals is shared by Italy in 1938 (four games), England in 1966 (six games) and Brazil in 1994 (seven games). Blame Jubalani?

19) The first time Fifa ranked England at 13th spot following a disastrous World Cup campaign. The previous low was set at 1958 following the Munich air incident when England finished 11th.

Hope you have enjoyed reading this post. If you have any 'firsts' that you would like to share with other readers of this blog, you are welcome to drop me an email or simply post it as a comment. Thanks!

England Red Mist

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:00:00 +0000

It was Blitzkreig, a famous German war tactic that employs rapid speed to break into enemy ground.

For over 850 international games, England has never tasted defeat while wearing an all-red outfit. Though some people believe red brings luck, it was exactly fortune that deserted the Three Lions as they went down 1-4 to eternal rivals Germany in the Round of 16 in World Cup 2010.

Wearing all-red for only the sixth time in history, the English suffered their heaviest defeat in World Cup finals history thanks to precise German flair and counter-attacking strategy.

Call it deja-vu. On 30th July 1966 England played Germany in the 1966 World Cup Final and won through a controversial goal scored by Geoff Hurst after the ball rebounded down off the crossbar. Forty-four years later, it was

England who got the receiving end when Frank Lampard sent a dipping volley over German keeper Manuel Neuer. The ball crashed off the horizontal and rebounded miles into the legal goal area before bounding out into open play area. There was absolutely nothing controversial about it -- it was a legitimate goal. The whole world saw it, well, except for Uruguayan linesman Maurico Espinosa, as Russian linesman Tofik Bakhramov did 44 years ago.

Had Lampard's shot counted, the score would have levelled at 2-2. Instead it didn't and England poured forward again in search of another equalizer, left gaps behind and the Germans scored another 2 goals without reply through counter-attacks.

England wanted 1966 but it was cold, cold revenge served whole-heartedly by Germany.

England Undefeated in Red

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 03:03:00 +0000

England may have invented the game of football more than a hundred years ago but the Three Lions players went out in an all-red outfit for only the fifth time yesterday since the last time 40 years ago.

Historically, England players worn red shirts with white shorts and red socks as an away option. The home option is of course all white.

Against Solvenia yesterday in the last Group C match and needing a win to guarantee a spot in the second round, England responded to the Solvenia players who were wearing all-white jerseys with an all-red kit.

The English won the match 1-0 and finished second behind the US team. With that win, England remained undefeated in all the five times they worn all-red. In the other four instances, they finished

1) 3-1 against Belgium in 1970 (friendly)
2) 4-2 against Czechoslovakia in 1963 (friendly)

3) 0-0 against Bulgaria in 1962 (World Cup finals in Chile)

4) 4-0 against Peru in 1962 (friendly)

Maybe Fabio should go an extra mile and make the squad wear red underwear for more good football fortune! LOL

Note: In June 1995, England played in the Umbro Trophy tournament at Wembley wearing a peculiar claret kit, which fashion stylists declined to classify it as red. The Three Lions eventually lost the match 1-0 to their Brazilian opponents.

Heaviest Defeats in World Cup

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 06:45:00 +0000

1938: Sweden 8 Cuba 0

1950: Uruguay 8 Bolivia 0

1954: Uruguay 7 Scotland 0

1954: Turkey 7 South Korea 0

1954: Hungary 9 South Korea 0

1974: Poland 7 Haiti 0

1974: Yugoslavia 9 Zaire 0

1982: Hungary 10 El Salvador 1

2002: Germany 8 Saudi Arabia 0

2010: Portugal 7 North Korea 0

Did Fifa approve of a bigger goal area in 1954? LOL

You have got to be proud of the Koreans. They leaked so many goals at the highest football level but through sheer hard work and humility, they have reached where they are today. *Respect*

EPL Heading Towards Collapse

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:47:00 +0000

The EPL has lost its aura of being the world's most profitable football league. In the latest financial study, it is the German Bundesliga that is ranked first after keeping a tight rein on player wages and expenses.

However, the EPL can continue to boost of being the world's richest going by it £2 billion revenue, more than Germany, Spain, and Italy (£1.3 billion each).

In terms of operating profits, German clubs made a handsome £146 million profits between 2008-09 while the English club saw their profits fell to only £79 million, the lowest level since 1999-2000. This is mainly due to the increasing proportion of wages to turnover, rising to a record 67% compared to 51% in Germany.

In fact only half of the 20 EPL clubs made an operating profit in 2008-09. With most income earned heading directly towards the wage bill, it won't be long before the EPL collapses under a mega heap of debts and bills. Mark my words, the football world will be rocked.

Wage bills for top European Leagues (2008-09)
- England (€1.56 billion)
- Italy (€1.09 billion)
- Spain (€939 million)
- Germany (€803 million)

Evolution of Football

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 06:10:00 +0000

1863 - Formation of The Football Association and creation of the Laws of the game

1870 - Adoption of offside rule

1875 - Goal size established: 8 yards (7.32 m) wide and 8 feet (2.44m) high

1886 - Foundation of the International Football Association Board, which codifies Laws

1890 - Nets added to goals

1891 - Introduction of the penalty rule. The referee is given total authority over the game

1899 - Team size fixed at 11 players, including goalkeeper

1902 - Creation of the penalty area, and use of white lines to mark the playing area

1912 - The goalkeeper may no longer touch the ball outside the penalty area

1927 - Direct scoring from corner kicks allowed

1970 - Yellow and red cards introduced. Substitution of players allowed. The first red card in a World Cup tournament was handed out in the 1974 edition in West Germany when Chile's Carlos Caszely was sent off for a foul on Germany's Berti Vogts. The fastest red card was given to Uruguay's Sergio Batista afer 56 seconds in their first-round match against Scotland held in Mexico in 1986. The first player to be red-carded in a final was Pedro Monzon of Argentina in the match against West Germany in 1990. His teammate Gustavo Dezotti also received a red card later in the same match.

1990 - Change in offside rule requring attackers to remain behind at least two defenders including the goalkeeper

1995 - Up to three substitutions allowed

1998 - Tackling from behind incurs direct expulsion. A fourth official allowed

2004 - Abolition of the Golden Goal rule, in place since 1998

Mad Spending Halted

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:44:00 +0000

The unthinkable has happened.

For the first time in the last three English Premier League seasons, the total January transfer spending for all the soccer clubs failed to exceed £100m.

Since the mid-season transfer window system was introduced in January 2003, the recently concluded window saw a total spending of just £30m, easily the lowest in history.

(2003 - £35m, 2004 - £50m, 2005 - £50m, 2006 - £70m, 2007 - £60m)

Compared to January 2008 and 2009 where the total spending hit £150m and £170m respectively, 70% of all Premier League transactions last month were loan deals. The shocking thrift came at the end of a global financial crisis that lasted nearly two years.

The biggest transfer was courtesy of Manchester United, which at this time of writing managed to chalk up debts well-exceeding £650m, bought towering -- pardon the pun -- defender Chris Smalling from Fulham for £10.7m. He will move to United at the end of this season.

In their bid for Premiership survival and European glory, many clubs have borrowed extensively and spent extravagantly, a disturbing phenomenon well-documented in this blog. Who knows, within the next few seasons, there’s a real possibility of a mid-sized but financially-prudent Premiership club winning the title, while those in heavy debts may go into administration?

Get ready for more unthinkable events.

Henry Le Cheat

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 03:35:00 +0000

Judging from video replays of Wednesday's World CUp Qualifying match between Ireland and France, it apears that Thierry Henry's first touch of the ball in Ireland's penalty box was unintentional. The speed of the ball from the preceding free kick was quite simply too fast for him to reasonably react and in the end, it was a case of ball-to-forearm.

Ok, Henry has been a pro half his life, so let's give him the benefit of the doubt.

Handball? Sure. Did the referee spot it? Nope, as both the main and assistant referees' views were somehow blocked by a crowded goalmouth area.

However, following his first handball, within seconds he deftly controlled the ball with a slight flick of his left palm before crossing the ball to his childish team mate William Gallas to head in the winning goal.

What controversy? For there was none. The cameras clearly captured the entire incident. It was clear-cut cheating, as seen by million others around the world.

After the match, Henry readily admitted it was a handball case but Fifa stood by the result as a mark of respect to the referee, prompting Henry to offer a rematch that was expectantly turned down by Fifa.

I say never mind what Fifa say. Henry should have done the gentleman's thing by admitting to the referee the handball DURING the match instead of AFTER it. In any case, the referee would have allowed the goal to stand for the last thing he saw was the ball in the net as the goalmouth area was just too crowded.

There's no running away. It's plain clear to me. Thierry Henry is a bloody cheat. Though missing chance after chance, the Irish played their hearts out and their underwear soaked in honest perspiration. To be fair, France sputtered throughout the qualifying campaign and did not deserve to qualify at all.

Henry is in his early thirties now with retirement beckoning. No matter how many trophies he will eventually win at club and country level, he will forever be remembered by this one ominous incident. I wish him the worst of luck in South Africa 2010, for he deserves none.

Here are other notable cases of cheating on the field, which are no less forgivable:
1) Diego Maradona: Maradona leaps with Peter Shilton, England's keeper during the World Cup quarter-finals in 1986, and sends the ball into the net with his left arm. He shows no remorse, claiming it is the "hand of God". Argentina 2 England 1.

2) Raul Gonzalez: Real Madrid striker Raul fists the ball past Leeds United keeper Nigel Martyn for Real's first goal during the Champions League group stage in 2001. Convicted of handball, he was suspended for one game by Uefa. Real 3 Leeds 2.

3) Lionel Messi: With his team Barcelona trailing to Espanyol in La Liga in 2007 Messi met a cross from Gianluca Zambrotta with his hand and slaps the ball into the net. Barcelona 2 Espanyol 2.

4) Sergio Aguero: Maradona's son-in-law and Atletico's triker gets into the act by turning in Fernando's Torres' cross with his hand in La Liga in 2006. Atletico Madrid 2 Recreativo Huelva 1.

Do all the top players play with their hands?

Diving as Proven by Science

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:07:00 +0000

Diving - not the watery kind - has certainly been in the news of late. In every football season, high-tech cameras analyse every tumble in the penalty box 'suffered' by premium players like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo. No camera angles was spared. No verbal barbs among opposing players were either.

The spotlight on diving came again when Arsenal's Eduardo was infamously suspended for two matches this month by Uefa for allegedly play-acting. This incident came about during Arsenal's Champions League qualifying game against Celtic of Scotland earlier this month. The awarded penalty was duly converted, eventually resulting in Celtic's departure from the lucrative Champions League.

The punishment, meted out by Uefa's Disciplinary Committee, was strangely rescinded by Uefa's main governing committee. Depending on which camp you are in, some champagne glasses were raised and so were a few thick middle fingers. What controversy!

The spotlight on diving turned even brighter this week with the introduction of assistant referees in a soccer match for the first time ever. In the Uefa Cup competition, now revamped as the Europa League, (yes, this is where you now find dumped Celtic), one additional referee is planted behind each goal mouth.

With Uefa firmly against using goal-mouth camera technology (what!), the idea is for the extra officials to aid the main referee in making crucial decisions such as diving in the area (how dare the players!), shirt-pulling and deciding whether the ball has crossed the goal line.

If this experiment proves successful in Europa League, such assistants could be introduced for the next edition of the (yikes!) Champions League.

Apart from human judgement, how then do you define a fall as a dive? Thanks to low-tech scientific studies made by the University of Portsmouth, we think we have the right answers.

According to Dr Paul Morris, the tell-tale signs of a diver - sorry, not the watery kind - are:

1) Holding up of both arms in the air, with open palms, chest thrust out, legs bent at the knee.

2) Clutching of the part of the bdy where he has not been struck (Obvious?).

3) Taking an extra roll when hitting the ground. (Roll, roll, roll your bum, gently down the turf...)

4) After being tackled,, taking fully controlled strides before falling.

And I wonder aloud if the assistant refs have these four points fully memorized.

Cristiano Ronaldo Seals Move

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:57:00 +0000

How can this blog not comment about this? The biggest soccer transfer in history. All £80m of it. For a single metrosexual soccer player, who has an equal number of limbs as most of us reading this blog.

It was 104 years ago in 1905 when Alf Common switched from Sunderland to Middlesbrough for a record-breaking fee of £1,000. Since then, the price for the most expensive soccer player has ballooned 80,000 times. By comparison, the price of an average Rolls Royce vehicle inflated by a mere 300 times from £650 then to around £200,000 now.

Already Uefa president Michel Platini questioned the wisdom of paying astronomical transfer fees.

"It is very puzzling at a time when football faces some of its worst ever financial challenges."

Indeed, Monsieur Platini. But considering that Ronaldo has gifted Manchester United 118 goals in 292 appearances, his transfer fee would seem quite a bargain for Real Madrid in future if he is able to repeat his soccer magic. And why not? Ronaldo has shown he can score from free-kicks, long range, inside/outside the box, with his smooth kissable head and has enough speed to beat most defenders.

At just 24, Ronaldo has already won the World and European Player of the Year awards. Surely he is not at his peak, which will probably come in 3 years -- only the halfway point of his new shiny six-year Real contract.

Good stuff are worth the wait. Great buy for the Spaniards.

With confirmation of Ronaldo's move, Real Madrid has the dubious honour of breaking the world transfer record twice in a single month after they signed Brazilian Kaka from AC Milan for a then-record £56m.

So when will the world's first £100m soccer player emerge? I wait with bated breath for that day.

World Soccer Transfer Records over time
(Year, Player name, From, To, Transfer Fee (£))

1) 1893, Willie Groves, West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, 100
2) 1904, Andy McCombie, Sunderland, Newcastle United, 700
3) 1905, Alf Common, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, 1,000
4) 1922, Syd Puddefoot, West Ham United, Falkirk, 5,000
5) 1922, Warney Cresswell, South Shields, Sunderland, 5,500
6) 1928, David Jack, Bolton Wanderers, Arsenal, 10,890
7) 1932, Bernabe Ferreyra, Tigre BA, River Plate, 23,000
8) 1952, Hans Jeppson, Atalanta, Napoli, 52,000
9) 1954, Juan Schiaffino, Penarol, AC Milan, 72,000
10) 1957, Enrique Omar Sivori, River Plate, Juventus, 93,000
11) 1961, Luis Suarez, Barcelona, Inter Milan, 152,000
12) 1963, Angelo Sormani, Mantova, Roma, 250,000
13) 1968, Pietro Anastasi, Varese, Juventus, 500,000
14) 1973, Johan Cruyff, Ajax, Barcelona, 922,000
15) 1975, Giuseppe Savoldi, Bologna, Napoli, 1,200,000
16) 1976, Paolo Rossi, Juventus, Vicenza, 1,750,000
17) 1982, Diego Maradona, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, 3,000,000
18) 1984, Diego Maradona, Barcelona, Napoli, 5,000,000
19) 1987, Ruud Gullit, PSV Eindhoven, AC Milan, 6,000,000
20) 1990, Roberto Baggio, Fiorentina, Juventus, 8,000,000
21) 1992, Jean-Pierre Papin, Marseille, AC Milan, 10,000,000
22) 1992, Gianluca Vialli, Sampdoria, Juventus, 12,000,000
23) 1992, Gianluigi Lentini, Torino, AC Milan, 13,000,000
24) 1996, Alan Shearer, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, 15,000,000
25) 1997, Ronaldo, Barcelona, Inter Milan, 19,500,000
26) 1998, Denilson de Oliveira Araujo, Sao Paulo, Real Betis, 21,500,000
27) 1999, Christian Vieri, Lazio, Inter Milan, 32,000,000
28) 2000, Hernan Crespo, Parma, Lazio, 35,500,000
29) 2000, Luis Figo, Barcelona, Real Madrid, 37,000,000
30) 2001, Zinedine Zidane, Juventus, Real Madrid, 46,000,000
31) 2009, Kaka, AC Milan, Real Madrid, 56,000,000
32) 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United, Real Madrid, 80,000,000

USA Shocker

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:31:00 +0000

The US soccer team Cinderealla story continued in one of the biggest shocks in the Confederation Cup competiton held in South Africa by beating top-ranked Spain in the first semi-final. Ranked 14th in the world, the USA scored through Villarreal's Jozy Altidore (25th minute) and Fulham's Clint Dempsey (73rd) to put the Americans into their first soccer final ever in any international competition, where they are expected to meet hot-favorites Brazil.

The US had been 1-7-1 against top-ranked teams, beating Brazil in the 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup and tying Argentina last summer in an exhibition at Giants Stadium. Spain actually plundered the US goal and outshot the opponents US 29-9 but American goalkeeper Tim Howard was equal to the task.

Against the Spaniards, the US have lost their previous three encounters: 3-1 in the first round of the 1950 World Cup, 2-0 in a 1992 exhibition at Valladolid and 1-0 in an exhibition on June 4 last year at Santander

It was the first goals Spain have conceded in 451 minutes, since Turkey's Semih Senturk scored on April 1, and just the third goal the Spaniards allowed in 17 games dating to last summer's European Championship.

And for the Americans, surely this ranked alongside the upset of Brazil as one of their top wins, just below victories over England in the 1950 World Cup, Portugal and Mexico in the 2002 World Cup and Colombia in the 1994 World Cup.

Spain Break World Record

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:03:00 +0000

At South Africa's Bloemfontein's Free State Stadium, spectators witnessed a convincing 2-0 victory for Spain over the host in the oft-criticized Confederations Cup competition. For the Spaniards under ex-Real Madrid coach Vicente del Bosque, it marks the 15th consecutive competitive victory and set a new world record in the process.

Del Bosque has won all 13 matches he has been in charge since he replaced Luis Aragones after Spain clinched the Euro 2008 championships.

One goal each from Valencia's David Villa (52nd minute) and Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente (72nd) took Spain past current record holders Brazil, Australia and France, each amassing 14 consecutive wins. At the same time, Spain moved on level with Brazil's record of 35 games unbeaten achieved betwwen 1993 and 1996, with Spain's run stretching back to November 2006, when they lost to Romania.

For the record, Hungary (1950-54) and Argentina (1991-93) both went unbeaten for 31 games.

World Cup Posters

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:40:00 +0000

1930 World Cup Uruguay

1934 World Cup Italy

1938 World Cup France

1950 World Cup Brazil

1954 World Cup Switzerland

1958 World Cup Sweden

1962 World Cup Chile

1966 World Cup England

1970 World Cup Mexico

1974 World Cup West Germany

1978 World Cup Argentina

1982 World Cup Spain

1986 World Cup Mexico

1990 World Cup Italy

1994 World Cup USA

1998 World Cup France

2002 World Cup Korea & Japan

2006 World Cup Germany

2010 World Cup South Africa

Two Records in Blues Win

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Sun, 31 May 2009 02:14:00 +0000

Chelsea won the FA Cup yesterday -- their first trophy in two seasons. And two astonishing records were broken in the process.

First, the Blues' net was breached barely a minute into the contest, when injury-prone Louis Saha scored with a blistering left-foot shot for the Toffees. The goal, recorded on 25 seconds, was the fastest in FA Cup history.

Second, Chelsea and England left-back Ashley Cole won his record-equaling fifth FA winner's medal. This means he became the first player to achieve that since Blackburn's Jimmy Forrest way back in 1891. It has taken 118 years for the record to be matched!

Will this blog be around 118 years from now? :-)

Cole had previously won the FA Cup with Arsenal in 2002, 2003 and 2005, and with Chelsea in 2007. Have a look.

62 Players for Liverpool?

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Following an audit conducted by Europe's governing body Uefa, it was found that the current squad size of Premier League club Liverpool is an astonishing 62 professional players!

It is easily the biggest in the league and represents enough players for five full teams. The other Big Four are also hoarding substantial number of players: Arsenal and Manchester United 50 players each, and Chelsea 46.

In comparison, teams competing in the Champions League are limited to just 25 registered players and of course, we all know that only 11 will make it to the field for each game.

The smallest squad belongs to Bolton with 27 players and they are not faring too badly.

But 62 soccer players on the payroll?

Presently, Liverpool have so many players that the manager Rafa Benitez has to loan out 17 of them this season. Some of those Liverpool players reportedly find the situation "frustrating" and "demoralizing".

To be frank, I'm a little disappointed with the attitude of these large clubs. If you are already rich enough to buy the biggest soccer stars , then set the fringe players free to play for other lesser clubs.

Loaning them out seems to me like simply paying lip service.

Beckham's most Capped Outfield player

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 01:56:00 +0000

In a 4-0 friendly win over Slovakia at Wembley yesterday, England's most eye-catching footballing son in recent years David Beckham came on as a halftime substitute and earned his 109 th England cap.

And with this, he became England's most capped outfield player at age 33. He beats the late Bobby Moore, England's 1966 World Cup-winning captain, into second place in number of total caps. Only goalkeeper Peter Shilton, on 125, made more appearances for England.

Here are some key moments in the midfielder's international career.

MOLDOVA 0 ENGLAND 3, September 1 1996
Glenn Hoddle gives Beckham a first cap in the World Cup qualifier in Chisinau. He plays the full 90 minutes.

ENGLAND 2 COLOMBIA 0, June 26, 1998
Beckham finally does for country what he has regularly been doing for club, scoring a first international goal - a trademark free-kick - to move England towards the World Cup knockout phases.

ENGLAND 2 ARGENTINA 2, June 30, 1998 (Argentina win on penalties)
Beckham swiftly turns from hero to villain in the following game, when he is sent off for kicking out at Diego Simeone. England go on to lose the game and the midfielder is made a scapegoat by fans and the media.

ITALY 1 ENGLAND 0, November 15, 2000
Caretaker boss Peter Taylor hands Beckham the captain's armband for the first time for the friendly in Turin but Gennaro Gattuso spoils the occasion with the winner. Sven-Goran Eriksson decides to stick with him as skipper.

ENGLAND 2 GREECE 2, October 6, 2001
Arguably Beckham's greatest moment in an England shirt. He caps a superb display with a stunning 93rd-minute free-kick in front of his home Old Trafford crowd to book his country's World Cup finals place. The goal confirms his re-emergence as the nation's darling.

ENGLAND 1 ARGENTINA 0, June 7, 2002
Four years on, Beckham lays his World Cup demons to rest, drilling a penalty past Pablo Cavallero to keep England on course for the knockout phases and hammer a nail in the coffin of Argentina's own doomed campaign.

PORTUGAL 2 ENGLAND 2, June 24, 2004 (Portugal win on penalties)
Having missed a penalty against France in the group stages, Beckham misses from the spot again as England exit Euro 2004 on penalties.

ENGLAND 1 AUSTRIA 0, October 8, 2005
Beckham suffers the ignominy of becoming the first England captain to be sent off and the first England player to be red-carded twice after receiving two yellow cards in two minutes for fouls on Andreas Ibertsberger.

ENGLAND 3 ARGENTINA 2, November 12, 2005
Fitting that Argentina, the side with whom Beckham has so much history, are the opponents when he captains England for the 50th time in a friendly in Geneva. Beckham's knock-down sets up Wayne Rooney for England's first before two late Michael Owen goals pinch victory.

ENGLAND 0 PORTUGAL 0, July 1, 2006 (Portugal win on penalties)
Portugal inflict further penalty shoot-out heartache on England in Beckham's final game as England skipper at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Beckham is forced off after half-time with an ankle injury and watches from the sidelines as England crash out in the quarter-finals. Beckham stands down as skipper the next day.

ENGLAND 1 BRAZIL 1, June 1, 2007
Steve McClaren bows to growing clamour for Beckham's return by recalling him for the first game at the new Wembley as Brazil are the visitors. The decision is vindicated when Beckham crosses for John Terry to open the scoring.

FRANCE 1 ENGLAND 0, March 26, 2008
Beckham wins his 100th cap in Fabio Capello's second match in charge, an otherwise forgettable defeat as Franck Ribery scores the only goal for the hosts from the penalty spot.

SPAIN 2 ENGLAND 0, February 11, 2009
Beckham equals Bobby Moore's England record for outfield caps with his 108th, coming on as a half-time substitute in Seville.

Congratulations, David!

Torres just short of Reds Record

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:08:00 +0000

Feranando Torres, born 20 March 1984, played his 50th league game yesterday against fifth-placed Aston Villa in a 5-0 crushing at Anfield but failed to get on the score sheet.

Already with 33 goals in his second season with the Reds, he would have broken the best Liverpool scoring record in 103 years had he score at least two goals.

Perhaps Steven Gerrard should have given the opportunities to Torres instead with his two well-taken penalties.

The century-old record is being held by Jack Parkinson who hit the back of the net 35 times in his first 50 league games for Liverpool.

HQ Soccer Club Logos

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 05:45:00 +0000

Not sure if any of you guys would need them. Click on the images directly to get a larger view.

Champions League Hurt

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 02:52:00 +0000

This week Round of 16 Champions League competition saw three top Italian clubs Inter Milan, Juventus and AS Roma all crashed out.

In bright contrast, all Big Four English Premier League clubs, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, advanced into the quarter-finals for the second successive year.

Has Europe's premier soccer club competition turned English, you may ask?

But I say, what's so wrong with English domination? One only needs to look back to history and understand dominance is merely cyclical.

As Newton say, what goes up must come down. So relax and enjoy the rest of the Champions League series.

1956 - 62 (dominant country: Spain): Teams made it to the first seven finals; Real Madrid won the first five!

1969 - 73 (Holland): Five straight finals on the trot; Ajax won three and Feyenoord one.

1974 - 77 (West Germany): Four finals in a row; Bayern Munich won three.

1977 - 82 (England): Six titles for Liverpool (3), Notthingham Forest (2) and Aston Villa (1).

1989 - 98 (Italy): Nine of 10 finals; AC Milan in five, Juventus three.

1998 - 2002 (Spain): Five finals; Real won three; three semi-finalists in 2000, when Real vs Valenica was the first final with teams from the same country.

2005 - present (England): Five finalists in four years; three semi-finalists in 2007 and 08.

Chew on the stats, man. Sit on it if you want but don't even think about grumbling.

Soccer or Football? That is THE Question!

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 00:32:00 +0000

It's time this debate was settled once and for all.

Football or soccer? What do you think the round-ball game should be called?

While it may be a basic discussion; arguing whether the beautiful game should be called "football" or "soccer" is one of the most fundamental debates of the code.

On the face it, the answer should be simple. The world body -- FIFA -- has the word "football" in its title. End of story? Not quite.

The term soccer was coined as slang for "association," in England in the 1880s. The Oxford University Association Football Club's Web site explains that former England captain Charles Wreford-Brown is commonly credited with its origin.

Soccer would have been used to differentiate between University sports rugby football ("rugger") and "association" football.

Therefore, contrary to popular belief, the word soccer is a British term, not an American one.

Soccer is more commonly used in countries that play other forms of football, i.e. Americans also play gridiron football and Australians who play "Aussie Rules" football -- a completely different sport entirely.

Soccer was initially referred to as football in the United States. In 1913 the United States of America Football Association was formed. In later years, it became the United States Soccer Football Association and today is known as the United States Soccer Federation.

Meanwhile they now have the Football Federation of Australia, it's hard to imagine a change to the national side's "Socceroos" nickname anytime soon. The "Footyroos" doesn't quite have the same sound to it.

Now, you may be sitting back in Britain reading this and wondering why there should be any debate at all about the name of football? If you are thinking that, just remember one of the most popular shows in Britain is called "Soccer Saturday", so it's not as clear cut as you may think!

Even the sport's governing body seems to be open to both options. At next year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the area where fans will gather during the tournament is to be called "Soccer City". Maybe the word "football" just doesn't work?

No European Record for Man U

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 00:56:00 +0000

Despite registering yet another Premiership victory to extend United's lead over second-placed Liverpool, it left Sir Alex with a bitter-sweet feeling as the list of walking wounded grows.

The 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at Old Trafford on Saturday (21 Feb) meant that United failed to surpass the European record of 1,390 minutes without conceding a goal. This record is held since 1990 by Belgian Club Brugge stalwart Danny Verlinden.

Playing in place of the rested first-choice goalie Edwin van der Sar, stand-in Polish goalie Tomasz Kuszczak let in a soft goal after an uncharacteristic United mix-up.

First, midfielders Nani and Paul Scholes waited for each other to collect a loose ball on halfway, allowing Andre Ooijer to step in and dart forward.

After beating left-back Patrice Evra, Ooijer then slipped a pass to Rovers striker Santa Cruz. With Rio Ferdinand closing in on Cruz, Kuszczak muddled by needlessly darting out and somehow allowed Cruz to calmly continue his run and tap into an empty net.

United's new British record now stands at 1,334 minutes after a 3-0 victory over Fulham on Wednesday (18 Feb) raised hopes of United beating the European record with a 15th consecutive shut-out in the League.

The ball is round. I think there's nothing to be ashamed of after putting up an unbreakable defence for a dozen games. On the contrary, this could mark the start of an amazing journey in which United challenge for four additional trophies this season: the Premiership title, League Cup, FA Cup and of course, the Champions League title.

I say: let the good times roll!

Edwin the Great!

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:54:00 +0000

A 13th consecutive Premier League clean sheet were enough for Manchester United to reclaim top spot from Liverpool with a 1-0 win over West Ham at Upton Park yesterday.

United goalie Edwin van der Sar never looked in serious danger of being denied a British record for not conceding a goal that now extends to 1,212 minutes, after demolishing Chris Woods' British record of 1196 minutes, established when he played for Glasgow Rangers during the 1986-87 season.

Actually, when the 33rd minute ticked by, van der Sar eclipsed the record of old Aberdeen stalwart Bobby Clark, who went 1,155 minutes of league action without conceding a goal during the 1970-71 campaign to claim that British record.

"It's down to hard work from everybody," said Van der Sar. "Of course you make a couple of saves but the defenders are incredible. Everybody tracks back and it's a team effort."

"It's fantastic and I'm very happy with it, but the main thing is we're back on top - let's hope we can stay there."

Only God knows how much longer he can keep this record going.

Yawn, What a Boring January!

noreply@blogger.com (kumcheong) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:42:00 +0000

Download your FREE EPL Player transfer guide now!

In a bizarre transfer scene, the January transfer window saw the majority of English Premier League clubs hardly flxing their supposedly finance might. Funny, it appears that the economic woes have finally taken its toil.

Despite losing the lead for the title chase after amassing a seven-point lead over Christmas, floundering Liverpool chose not to buy a single new player. With its captain Steven Gerrard still embroiled in a assault court case and manager Benitez disputing the new contract offfering, it will be interesting to see how things eventually pan out.

On the other hand, the mighty Red Devils brought in two youths from Serbia with a keen eye for the future. As legendary 80s player Steve McMahon points out, they probably have the most balanced squad right now.

Meanwhile, the remaining two of the Big Four (one of them being less 'Big' nowadays), Arsenal and Chelsea, hardly moved a muscle to justify their heavenly stature. Guess how many players they bought between them? Download the player guide above and find out more!

The headlines undoubtedly belong to Big Four wannabe Manchester City, which made an incredible world-record bid for AC Milan's Kaka only to have its representative return from Italy with his tail firmly locked between his butt-crack. Nonetheless, with a bottomless piggy bank, the club imported a few pricy VEPs (Very Expensive Piggies).

I hope they don't get roasted when the money runs out...Haha...

At the other end of the table, there was a hive of activities with the lesser clubs exercising financial prudence by taking in players on loan deals, instead of splashing money to buy. Good for them, I say!

Concurrently, many of these clubs wisely cut their wage costs by sending their fringe players out on season loans rather than have them warm the bench.

In the second half of this season, these clubs will be throwing their guts out to stave off relegation and remain in the top tier, an endeavor made critically important amid the current financial tsunami. Indeed, besides the paranoid, only the fittest will survive the dreaded drop.

Hey, who knows? January 2009 may turn out to be a major turning point for the EPL clubs when they finally (TY Jesus!) realised that spending big is not everything. It does not guarantee success at all and worse, it can easily rock the club's balance sheet.