The Best Eleven

Foreign MLS Cup Winning Players

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:52:00 +0000

Here is a list of Foreign (non-US and Canadian) MLS Cup Winning Players since 1996. To make the list, the player must have made an appearance in the cup final game.

1996
DC United
Mario Gori (Argentina)
Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia)
Jaime Moreno (Bolivia)
Raul Diaz Arce (El Salvador)

1997
DC United
Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia)
Jaime Moreno (Bolivia)
Raul Diaz Arce (El Salvador)

1998
Chicago Fire
Lubos Kubik (Czechoslovakia)
Francis Okaroh (Nigeria)
Jerzy Podbrozny (Poland)
Peter Nowak (Poland)
Roman Kosecki (Poland)
Frank Klopas (Greece)

1999
DC United
Diego Sonora (Argentina)
Marco Etcheverry (Bolivia)
Jaime Moreno (Bolivia)

2000
Kansas City Wizards
Preki (Yugoslavia/Serbia)
Uche Okafor (Nigeria)
Mo Johnston (Scotland)
Miklos Molnar (Denmark)

2001
San Jose Earthquakes
Ronnie Ekelund (Denmark)
Ronald Cerritos (El Salvador)

2002
Los Angeles Galaxy
Tyrone Marshall (Jamaica)
Ezra Hendrickson (St. Vincent and the Grenadines)
Mauricio Cienfuegos (El Salvador)
Simon Elliot (New Zealand)
Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela)
Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala)

2003
San Jose Earthquakes
Ronnie Ekelund (Denmark)

2004
DC United
Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand)
Christian Gomez (Argentina)
Dema Kovalenko (Ukraine)

2005
Los Angeles Galaxy
Naldo (Brazil)
Paulo Nagamura (Brazil)
Guillermo "Pando" Ramirez (Guatemala)

2006
Houston Dynamo
Paul Dalglish (Scotland)
Alejandro Moreno (Venezuela)

2007
Houston Dynamo
Joseph Ngwenya (Zimbabwe)

2008
Columbus Crew
Gino Padula (Argentina)
Emmanuel Ekpo (Nigeria)
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Argentina)

MLS Cup Winners by Nation:
5 - Argentina
3 - El Salvador
3 - Nigeria
3 - Poland
2 - Brazil
2 - Bolivia
2 - Denmark
2 - Guatemala
2 - New Zealand
2 - Scotland
1 - Czechoslovakia
1 - Greece
1 - Jamaica
1 - St. Vincent and the Grenadines
1 - Ukraine
1 - Venezuela
1 - Yugoslavia
1 - Zimbabwe

Players who have appeared for the US national team such as Ugo Ihemelu, Diego Gutierrez, Stuart Holden, Carlos Llamosa were left off the list even though they are technically 'foreign' players.

Map of the 32 World Cup Qualifiers (with FIFA rankings)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:25:00 +0000

Click map for larger view

Videos: Soccer Fans (Ultras) in South America

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:53:00 +0000

Here are three great videos of the "ultras" from the different nations of South America. Warning: The chanting is pretty loud, you might want to turn down your volume before clicking play.

Clips posted at youtube by extremal28.

World Cup Qualifiers: Major Upset Wins

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:05:00 +0000

This is a list of upset wins by nations that were FIFA ranked at least 25 places lower their defeated competition at the time the WCQ game took place. I will be updating this list as the qualifying games continue so stay tuned for more upsets. Most recent upsets in Red.

South America
06/15/08 - Paraguay (28) 2:0 Brazil (2)
06/18/08 - Bolivia (90) 4:2 Paraguay (28)
10/15/08 - Chile (36) 1:0 Argentina (7)
04/01/09 - Bolivia (56) 6:1 Argentina (6)
06/10/09 - Ecuador (44) 2:0 Argentina (7)
09/05/09 - Peru (91) 1:0 Uruguay (28)
10/10/09 - Bolivia (59) 2:1 Brazil (1)
10/14/09 - Colombia (48) 2:0 Paraguay (23)
10/14/09 - Peru (91) 1:0 Bolivia (59)

Africa
06/01/08 - Burkina Faso (111) 2:1 Tunisia (50)
06/07/08 - Kenya (115) 2:0 Guinea (41)
06/14/08 - Sierra Leone (163) 1:0 South Africa (68)
06/14/08 - Kenya (115) 2:0 Zimbabwe (85)
06/14/08 - Uganda (99) 3:1 Angola (55)
06/14/08 - Gabon (94) 2:0 Ghana (46)
06/14/08 - Malawi (126) 1:0 Egypt (23)
06/14/08 - Rwanda (106) 3:1 Morocco (40)
09/05/08 - Algeria (76) 3:2 Senegal (45)
09/06/08 - Sierra Leone (145) 2:1 Equitorial Guinea (87)
09/06/08 - Libya (90) 1:0 Ghana (20)
09/07/08 - Madagascar (141) 1:0 Botswana (115)
09/07/08 - Congo (100) 1:0 Mali (47)
09/07/08 - Benin (104) 3:2 Angola (58)
09/07/08 - Niger (171) 3:1 Uganda (87)
10/11/08 - Sudan(106) 2:0 Congo (57)
10/11/08 - Namibia (126) 4:2 Zimbabwe (91)
03/29/09 - Togo (91) 1:0 Cameroon (16)
06/07/09 - Algeria (66) 3:1 Egypt (40)
09/05/09 - Malawi (105) 2:1 Guinea (55)
10/10/09 - Benin (78) 1:0 Ghana (32)
11/14/09 - Mozambique (84) 1:0 Tunisia (54)
11/14/09 - Togo (80) 1:0 Gabon (45)

ASIA
03/26/08 - Bahrain (82) 1:0 Japan (36)
06/07/08 - Iraq (73) 1:0 Australia (35)
06/22/08 - China (79) 1:0 Australia (35)
02/11/09 - Korea DPR (119) 1:0 Saudi Arabia (55)

CONCACAF
06/15/08 - Bermuda (139) 2:1 Trinidad and Tobago (87)
06/15/08 - Suriname (145) 1:0 Guyana (108)
06/22/08 - Suriname (145) 2:1 Guyana (108)
06/22/08 - El Salvador (120) 3:1 Panama (60)
10/11/08 - Jamaica (116) 1:0 Mexico (24)
10/15/08 - Jamaica (116) 1:0 Honduras (50)
10/15/08 - Trinidad and Tobago (88) 2:1 USA (21)
06/03/09 - Costa Rica (41) 3:1 USA (14)
06/06/09 - El Salvador (100) 2:1 Mexico (26)
09/09/09 - El Salvador (85) 1:0 Costa Rica (39)

UEFA
09/06/08 - Lithuania (54) 3:0 Romania (11)
09/06/08 - Austria (101) 3:1 France (11)
09/06/08 - Slovakia (67) 2:1 Northern Ireland (32)
09/06/08 - Macedonia (56) 1:0 Scotland (16)
09/10/08 - Luxembourg (152) 2:1 Switzerland (43)
09/10/08 - Denmark (36) 3:2 Portugal (9)
10/11/08 - Slovenia (73) 2:0 Northern Ireland (35)
10/15/08 - Switzerland (45) 2:1 Greece (17)
10/15/08 - Slovakia (60) 2:1 Poland (30)
10/15/08 - Iceland (103) 1:0 Macedonia (46)
04/01/09 - Slovakia (53) 2:1 Czech Republic (13)
04/01/09 - Austria (88) 2:1 Romania (20)
08/12/09 - Norway (50) 4:0 Scotland (24)
09/05/09 - Latvia (58) 1:0 Israel (22)
09/09/09 - Armenia (125) 2:1 Belgium (68)
09/09/09 - Faroe Islands (163) 2:1 Lithuania (62)
10/10/09 - Cyprus (76) 4:1 Bulgaria (19)
10/10/09 - Belgium (68) 2:0 Turkey (27)
10/14/09 - Estonia (114) 2:0 Belgium (68)
10/14/09 - Lithuania (62) 2:1 Serbia (13)
10/14/09 - Hungary (47) 1:0 Denmark (16)

OCEANIA
11/19/08 - Fiji (137) 2:0 New Zealand (60)

Biggest WCQ Upset So Far:

Luxembourg over Switzerland - (rank difference: 109)

Top 10 WCQ Upsets So Far: (rank difference)

Luxembourg over Switzerland (109)
Malawi over Egypt (103)
Faroe Islands over Lithuania (101)
Sierra Leone over South Africa (95)
Jamaica over Mexico (92)
Austria over France (90)
Niger over Uganda (84)
Fiji over New Zealand (77)
Togo over Cameroon (75)
Kenya over Guinea (74)
El Salvador over Mexico (74)

BIGGEST UPSET BY CONFEDERATION: (rank difference)

CONMEBOL
Peru over Uruguay (63)
AFRICA
Malawi over Egypt (103)
EUROPE
Luxembourg over Switzerland (109)
CONCACAF
Jamaica over Mexico (92)
OCEANIA
Fiji over New Zealand (77)
ASIA
Korea DPR over Saudi Arabia (64)

Notes:
09/09/09 was a good day for many of the smaller soccer nations in Europe. Faroe Islands (163) beat Lithuania (62). Armenia (125) beat Belgium (68). Latvia (58) tied Switzerland (15). Moldova (88) tied Greece (12). Albania (93) tied Denmark (16). Liechtenstein (151) tied Finland (61). Malta (140) very nearly tied Sweden (41).

Non-European German Bundesliga Players (2009-2010)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:27:00 +0000

This is a list of Non-European players in the German Bundesliga as of 11/13/2009. In some cases, the listed players are based on national team affiliation rather than birth nation - for example: Jermaine Jones was born in Germany, but is now affiliated with the USA national team, so he's listed as USA.

Interesting that 1.FC Köln and VfL Bochum each have at least one player from every FIFA region except Oceania.

Bayer Leverkusen (4)
Brazil- Renato Augusto
Chile - Arturo Vidal
Ghana - Hans Sarpei
Togo - Assimiou Touré

Bayern Munich (2)
Argentina - Martín Demichelis
Brazil - Breno

VfL Bochum (7)
Algeria - Antar Yahia
Argentina - Diego Klimowicz
Cameroon - Joël Epalle
Canada - Daniel Imhof
Iran - Vahid Hashemian
Japan - Shinji Ono
Morocco - Mimoun Azaouagh

Borussia Dortmund (5)
Argentina - Lucas Barrios
Brazil - Tinga
Brazil - Dedê
Brazil - Felipe Santana
Paraguay - Nelson Haedo Valdez

Borussia Mönchengladbach (7)
Algeria - Karim Matmour
Argentina - Raúl Bobadilla
Brazil - Dante
Canada - Paul Stalteri
Canada - Rob Friend
USA - Michael Bradley
Venezuela - Juan Arango

Eintracht Frankfurt (3)
Brazil - Chris
Brazil - Caio
Iran - Mehdi Mahdavikia

SC Freiburg (6)
DR Congo - Cedric Makiadi
Cameroon - Mohammadou Idrissou
Cameroon - Alain Junior Ollé Ollé
Morocco - Yacine Abdessadki
Nigeria - Eke Uzoma
South Korea - Cha Du-Ri

Hamburger SV (7)
Burkina Faso - Jonathan Pitroipa
Brazil - Alex Silva
Brazil - Zé Roberto
Cape Verde - Mickaël Tavares
Cote d'Ivoire - Guy Demel
Namibia - Collin Benjamin
Venezuela - Tomás Rincón (Loan)

Hannover 96 (7)
Brazil - Vinicius
Cote d'Ivoire - Didier Konan Ya
Cote d'Ivoire - Constant Djakpa
Tunisia - Karim Haggui
Tunisia - Sofian Chahed
USA - Steve Cherundolo
USA - Sal Zizzo

Hertha Berlin (6)
Brazil - Kaká
Brazil - Cicero
Brazil - Raffael
Brazil - César
Colombia - Adrián Ramos
USA - Bryan Arguez

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (8)
Argentina - Franco Zuculini
Brazil - Maicosuel
Brazil - Carlos Eduardo
Brazil - Gustavo
Ghana - Prince Tagoe
Ghana - Isaac Vorsah
Nigeria - Chinedu Obasi
Senegal - Demba Ba

1. FC Köln (9)
Angola - José Pierre Vunguidica
Burkina Faso - Wilfried Sanou
Cameroon - Marvin Matip
Cameroon - Pierre Womé
Canada - Kevin McKenna
Colombia - Faryd Mondragón
Lebanon - Youssef Mohamad
Morocco - Adil Chihi
Nigeria - Manasseh Ishiaku

1. FSV Mainz 05 (4)
Algeria - Chadli Amri
Burkina Faso - Aristide Bance
Colombia - Elkin Soto
Ecuador - Félix Borja

1. FC Nuremberg (5)
Argentina - Javier Horacio Pinola
Australia - Dario Vidosic
Australia - Matthew Špiranović
Ghana - Issac Boakye
Tunisia - Jaouhar Mnari

FC Schalke 04 (7)
Brazil - Marcelo Bordon
Brazil - Mineiro
Brazil - Rafinha
Peru - Jefferson Farfán
Peru - Carlos Zambrano
Uruguay - Vicente Sánchez
USA - Jermaine Jones

VfB Stuttgart (3)
Brazil - Élson
Cote d'Ivoire - Arthur Boka
Mexico - Ricardo Osorio

Werder Bremen (3)
Bolivia - Marcelo Moreno Martins
Brazil - Naldo
Peru - Claudio Pizarro

VfL Wolfsburg (6)
Algeria - Karim Ziani
Brazil - Grafite
Brazil - Rodrigo Alvim
Brazil - Josué
Japan - Makoto Hasebe
Nigeria - Obafemi Martins

Number of Players by Region
45 - South America
36 - Africa
10 - CONCACAF
8 - Asia
0 - Oceania

Old English Premier League Crests

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:32:00 +0000

I ran across the old Arsenal and Fulham logos the other day and felt a bit of nostalgia for the days when I first started getting into the Premier League/European soccer in the mid 90's. This post shows some of the logos/badges/crests that have changed in the past 10-20 years for a few of the current Premiership clubs.

Arsenal FC

Aston Villa

Bolton Wanderers

Chelsea

Fulham FC

Manchester United

Manchester City

Portsmouth

Sunderland

Tottenham

West Ham United

Wigan

2010 World Cup Qualification Maps

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:13:00 +0000

Click for larger view

Unusual Soccer Match Cancellations

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:00 +0000

This is a list of soccer matches that have been cancelled over the past few years due to unusual circumstances. There have been a wide range of reasons for cancellation including government intervention, war and terrorism, deadly disease outbreaks, wild boars, burning toilet paper, David Beckham issues, and more. For this list, I chose to avoid weather issues, player deaths, hooligans, riots and other similar issues. Feel free to add any memorable match cancellations in the comments.

Israel Matches Cancelled over Gaza offensive (Link)

Wales Matches cancelled in ref 'crisis' (Link)

Serie A matches Suspended for the Ailing Pope (Link)

Indian league Matches Cancelled due to Mumbai Terrorist Attacks (Link)

Match cancelled in Gloucestershire as Wild Boar Invades Football Pitch (Link1)(Link2)

PSV v Ajax postponed due to police strike (Link)

Zimbabwe Police cancel Football (Link)

SARS plays havoc with Asia's soccer schedule (Link)

Greek Cypriots pressure English team to call off Friendly with Turkish Cypriot Side (Link)

Major League Soccer postponed games in wake of September 11 attacks (Link)

Armenia-Azerbaijan matches cancelled due to dispute over match venues (Link)

Nepal League matches cancelled when Sports Council office padlocked by Maoist-affiliated group (Link)

Israeli league matches cancelled after three players admit taking bribes (Link)

Wuhan Guanggu ejected from Chinese soccer league causing the CFA to cancel all remaining fixtures (Link)

UC Irvine v UC Riverside match in California postponed due to poor air quality (Link)

Kidnapping Postpones 2001 Copa America in Colombia (Link)

British Government forces Charlton to cancel game with Iran National Team (Link)

1999: Irish ban match with the Serbs on account of events in Kosovo (Link)

FIFA cancels Fiji-New Zealand WC qualifier over Visa disagreement (Link)

Liverpool-Newcastle game Postponed due to death of Princess Diana (Link)

Man United cancel Malaysian match to avoid detracting from the Asian Cup (Link)

Adelaide-Changchun match cancelled because of Chinese mourning period for Earthquake victims (Link)

FC Groningen fans light toilet paper on fire, causing cancellation of match (Link)

Queensland Roar-LA Galaxy match cancelled due to concerns of David Beckham's availability (Link)

Burmese Military team become bad sports against a University team causing a walk-out (Link)

Ghanaian Premier League match called off due to the June Four fun games (Link)

Iran cancels Woman's football match in Berlin due to "technical problems" (Link)

Flashback Video: 10 Goal European Cup Final

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:12:00 +0000

1960 European Cup Final
Real Madrid v Eintracht Frankfurt

In this fifth ever European Cup Final, there were 10 combined goals and a pair of hat tricks for two of the all time greats, Alfredo Di Stéfano and Ferenc Puskás.

Lineups (from Wikipedia)

Real Madrid

GK	1	Rogelio Domínguez
RB	2	Marquitos
CD	5	José Santamaría
LB	3	Pachín
MF	4	José María Vidal
MF	6	José María Zárraga (c)
RW	7	Canário
FW	8	Luis del Sol
FW	9	Alfredo Di Stéfano
FW	10	Ferenc Puskás
LW	11	Francisco Gento

Eintracht Frankfurt

GK	1	Egon Loy
DF	2	Friedel Lutz
DF	3	Hermann Höfer
MF	4	Hans Weilbächer
DF	5	Hans-Walter Eigenbrodt
MF	6	Dieter Stinka
FW	7	Richard Kress
FW	8	Dieter Lindner
FW	9	Erwin Stein
FW	10	Alfred Pfaff (c)
FW	11	Erich Meier

Scoring Summary

Real Madrid
Di Stefano (27', 30', 73')
Puskas (46', 56'pen, 60', 71')

Eintracht Frankfurt
Kress (18')
Stein (72', 75')

2009/10 UEFA Europa League Blowouts

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:06:00 +0000

This is a list of 2009-2010 UEFA Europa League blowouts (games won by 4 goals or more).

Score -- Winning Team -- Losing Team

First Qualifying Round
6:0 -- Zestaponi (Georgia) -- Lisburn Distillery (Northern Ireland)
5:0 -- Anorthosis (Cyprus) -- Käerjéng (Luxembourg)
5:1 -- Zestaponi (Georgia) -- Lisburn Distillery (Northern Ireland)
4:0 -- Randers (Denmark) -- Linfield (Northern Ireland)

Second Qualifying Round
8:1 -- Motherwell (Scotland) -- Flamurtari Vlorë (Albania)
8:2 -- Slaven Belupo (Croatia) -- Milano (Macedonia)
6:0 -- NAC Breda (Netherlands) -- Gandzasar (Armenia)
5:0 -- Rapid Wien (Austria) -- Vllaznia (Albania)
5:0 -- Bnei Yehuda (Israel) -- Dinaburg (Latvia)
4:0 -- Polonia Warsaw (Poland) -- Juvenes/Dogana (San Marino)
4:0 -- Omonia (Cyprus) -- HB (Faroe Islands)
4:0 -- Slaven Belupo (Croatia) -- Milano (Macedonia)
4:0 -- Red Star Belgrade (Serbia) -- Rudar Velenje (Slovenia)

Third Qualifying Round
7:1 -- AS Roma (Italy) -- Gent (Belgium)
6:0 -- Galatasaray (Turkey) -- Maccabi Netanya (Israel)
6:1 -- Lech Poznań (Poland) -- Fredrikstad (Norway)
5:0 -- Sturm Graz (Austria) -- Petrovac (Montenegro)
5:1 -- Sigma Olomouc (Czech) -- Aberdeen (Scotland)
5:1 -- Fenerbahçe (Turkey) -- Budapest Honvéd (Hungary)
4:0 -- Hamburg (Germany) -- Randers (Denmark)

Play Off Round
7:1 -- AS Roma (Italy) -- Košice (Slovakia)
6:1 -- Villarreal (Spain) -- NAC Breda (Netherlands)
5:0 -- Galatasaray (Turkey) -- Levadia (Estonia)
5:0 -- Ajax (Netherlands) -- Solvan Bratislava (Slovakia)
5:1 -- Basel (Switzerland) -- FK Baku (Azerbaijan)
4:0 -- Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia) -- Hearts (Scotland)
4:0 -- Everton (England) -- Sigma Olomouc (Czech)
4:0 -- FC BATE (Belarus) -- Litex Lovech (Bulgaria)
4:0 -- Benfica (Portugal) -- Vorskla Poltava (Ukraine)

Group Stage
5:0 -- Benfica (Portugal) -- Everton (England)
5:1 -- Lille (France) -- Slavia Prague (Czech)
5:1 -- Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel) -- Rapid Wien (Austria)
4:0 -- Lazio (Italy) -- Levski Sofia (Bulgaria)
4:0 -- Everton (England) -- AEK Athens (Greece)
4:0 -- Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) -- Toulouse (France)

Videos: Child Soccer Prodigies

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Who's the next Zidane, Ronaldo, Messi, Pele, Maradona, Henry, etc?? In all honesty, I'd be surprised if it's any of these kids, but they are exceptionally good players at just 5-9 years old (and it's entertaining to watch).

2009 MLS Regular Season Goal Statistics

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:30:00 +0000

Goals Scored

17 - Jeff Cunningham
16 - Conor Casey
12 - Juan Pablo Angel
12 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto
12 - Landon Donovan
12 - Robbie Findley
12 - Fredy Montero
11 - Dwayne De Rosario
11 - Ryan Johnson
11 - Josh Wolff
10 - Luciano Emilio

Goals Per Game Average (Minimum 10 Goals scored)

0.67 - Conor Casey (COL)
0.61 - Jeff Cunningham (DAL)
0.50 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB)
0.48 - Juan Pablo Angel (NY)
0.48 - Landon Donovan (LA)
0.44 - Robbie Findley (RSL)
0.44 - Fredy Montero (SEA)
0.41 - Josh Wolff (KC)
0.39 - Dwayne De Rosario (TOR)
0.37 - Ryan Johnson (SJ)
0.37 - Luciano Emilio (DC)

Shots on Goal (Minimum 30)

38 - Jeff Cunningham (DAL)
37 - Juan Pablo Angel (NY)
36 - Dwayne De Rosario (TOR)
35 - Ryan Johnson (SJ)
35 - Claudio Lopez (KC)
34 - Omar Cummings (COL)
32 - Fredy Montero (SEA)
31 - Conor Casey (COL)
30 - Josh Wolff (KC)

Game Winning Goals (Minimum 3)

7 - Jeff Cunningham (DAL)
5 - Stuart Holden (HOU)
4 - Kheli Dube (NE)
4 - Fredy Montero (SEA)
3 - Chris Rolfe (CHI)
3 - Eduardo Lillingston (CHV)
3 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB)
3 - Eddie Gaven (CLB)
3 - Chad Marshall (CLB)
3 - Luciano Emilio (DC)
3 - Kei Kamara (HOU)
3 - Josh Wolff (KC)
3 - Landon Donovan (LA)
3 - Robbie Findley (RSL)
3 - Ryan Johnson (SJ)

PK Goals Made (Minimum 2)

6 - Jaime Moreno (DC)
4 - Conor Casey (COL)
4 - Steve Ralston (NE)
3 - Cuauhtemoc Blanco (CHI)
3 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB)
3 - Landon Donovan (LA)
2 - Christian Gomez (DC)
2 - Kenny Cooper (DAL)
2 - Stuart Holden (HOU)
2 - Claudio Lopez (KC)
2 - Juan Pablo Angel (NY)

Hat Tricks

2 - Conor Casey (COL)
1 - Jeff Cunningham (DAL)
1 - Kheli Dube (NE)
1 - Robbie Findley (RSL)

Multi Goal Games (Minimum 2)

4 - Jeff Cunningham (DAL)
3 - Guillermo Barros Schelotto (CLB)
3 - Conor Casey (COL)
3 - Robbie Findley (RSL)
3 - Josh Wolff (KC)
2 - Juan Pablo Angel (NY)
2 - Omar Cummings (COL)
2 - Amado Guevara (TOR)

Consecutive Games With Goals (Minimum 4)

6 - Jeff Cunningham (DAL)
5 - Fredy Montero (SEA)
4 - Conor Casey (COL)
4 - Dwayne De Rosario (TOR)

Own Goals

2 - Jay Heaps
1 - Gino Padula, James Riley, CJ Brown, Pablo Ricchetti, Jeff Larentowicz, Tyrone Marshall, Chris Leitch, Bryan Namoff, Daniel Torres, Osvaldo Alonso, Darrius Barnes, Jair Benitez, Nick Garcia, Milos Kocic, Eduardo Lillingston, Bobby Burling

TEAM GOAL STATISTICS

Team Goals Per Game Average

1.67 - FC Dallas
1.43 - DC United
1.43 - Real Salt Lake
1.40 - Colorado Rapids
1.37 - Columbus Crew
1.30 - Chicago Fire
1.30 - Houston Dynamo
1.27 - Seattle Sounders FC
1.23 - Toronto FC
1.20 - Los Angeles Galaxy
1.20 - San Jose Earthquakes
1.13 - Chivas USA
1.10 - Kansas City Wizards
1.10 - New England Revolution
0.90 - New York Red Bulls

Team Goals Scored Interval Leaders

Minutes 1-15
9 - FC Dallas

Minutes 16-30
10 - Houston Dynamo

Minutes 31-45
11 - Columbus Crew

Minutes 46-60
14 - Colorado Rapids

Minutes 61-75
10 - Toronto FC

Minutes 76-90
18 - Real Salt Lake

Top 5 Home Goal Scoring Teams

34 - Real Salt Lake
28 - FC Dallas
25 - Chivas USA
25 - Colorado Rapids
25 - Columbus Crew

Top 5 Road Goal Scoring Teams

24 - DC United
23 - Chicago Fire
22 - FC Dallas
18 - Los Angeles Galaxy
17 - Toronto FC, Seattle Sounders, Colorado Rapids

Top 5 Team Records When Scoring the First Goal

12-0-1 - Los Angeles Galaxy (.962%)
9-0-3 - Real Salt Lake (.875%)
5-0-2 - New York Red Bulls (.857%)
8-0-4 - Kansas City Wizards (.833%)
13-1-4 - Houston Dynamo (.833%)

Top 5 Team Records in One Goal Games

8-2-0 - Los Angeles Galaxy (.800%)
8-4-0 - New England Revolution (.667%)
6-4-0 - Toronto FC (.600%)
7-5-0 - Chicago Fire (.584%)
7-5-0 - DC United (.584%)

Famous English Club Anthems

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:21:00 +0000

Here is a video list of just a few of the famous anthems that are associated with clubs in England.

WEST HAM UNITED - I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

MANCHESTER CITY - Blue Moon

PORTSMOUTH FC - Play Up Pompey

LEEDS UNITED - Marching On Together

NOTTINGHAM FOREST - Whole World in our Hands

LIVERPOOL - You'll Never Walk Alone

MANCHESTER UNITED - Glory, Glory, Man United

CHELSEA FC - Blue is the Colour

Highest and Lowest FIFA Rankings in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:43:00 +0000

This list shows the nations that have had their highest or lowest ever FIFA rankings in the 2009 calendar year. (Current October Highest/Lowest Ranks in BOLD)

BEST ALL-TIME FIFA RANKING in 2009

13 - Serbia (September)
14 - Australia (September)
15 - Egypt (January)
18 - Cote D'Ivoire (July-August)
27 - Northern Ireland (April-June)
29 - Algeria (October)
30 - Gabon (July)
47 - Latvia (October)
50 - Burkina Faso (June)
50 - Panama (February)
65 - Gambia (June)
67 - Benin (October)
75 - Montenegro (October)
88 - Granada (July)
92 - Barbados (October)
105 - Antigua and Barbuda (July)
118 - Chad (January)
132 - Nicaragua (February)
155 - Philippines (October)
172 - Mongolia (October)

WORST ALL-TIME FIFA RANKING in 2009

33 - Mexico (July)
36 - Romania (October)
38 - Denmark (March)
42 - Sweden (July)
51 - Colombia (February)
63 - Morocco (October)
91 - Peru (September)
96 - Zambia (October)
108 - China (July)
118 - Congo DR (September)
124 - United Arab Emirates (August)
131 - Zimbabwe (October)
154 - Malta (February)
160 - Liberia (October)
180 - Chinese Taipei (April)
183 - Mauritius (August)
191 - St. Lucia (July)
193 - British Virgin Islands (April-October)
193 - Tonga (September)
194 - Tahiti (October)
197 - Macau (January-March)
198 - Dominica (July)
201 - Andorra (October)
202 - Central African Republic (July)
202 - Cook Islands (April)
203 - Papua New Guinea (July)
203 - San Marino (July)

Tallest Soccer Players in the World

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:05:00 +0000

This is a list of the tallest players currently playing professional soccer around the world.

Kristof van Hout - 2.08m - (6ft10)
Belgian Goalkeeper who plays for the Belgium Jupiler League club, Standard Liege.

Yang Changpeng - 2.05m - (6ft8½)
Chinese striker (pictured above) who currently plays for the club Three Gorges Kangtian in China. He had a one month trial with Bolton Wanderers in 2006.

Vanja Iveša - 2.05m - (6ft8½)
Croatian goalkeeper playing with Turkcell Super Lig club Eskişehirspor

Tor Hogne Aarøy - 2.04m - (6ft8)
Norwegian Striker who plays with Aalesund FK in the Norwegian Tippeligaen.

Øyvind Hoås - 2.03m - (6ft8)
The Norwegian striker plays in the second tier in Norway with Sarpsborg Sparta FK. He is also a former Norway U21 player and has been linked to Norwich City.

Kjell Petter Opheim (GK) 2.03m - (6ft8)
The Norwegian keeper plays for FC Lyn Oslo in the Norwegian Tippeligaen.

Even Iversen - 2.03m - (6ft8)
The 26 year old Norwegain Defender plays way up in the Arctic Circle with Norwegian Tippeligaen club, Bodø/Glimt.

Jan Koller - 2.02m - (6ft7½)
The Czech Striker is currently playing in Russia with Krylya Sovetov Samara after recent years at 1. FC Nuremberg, AS Monaco and Borussia Dortmund.

Nikola Žigić - 2.02m - (6ft7½)
Serbian striker who is currently playing for Valencia in Spain. Many clubs have reportedly gone after the big man, including Tottenham Hotspur, Fenerbahçe, Man City, Werder Bremen, Barcelona and Juventus.

Paolo Acerbis - 2.02m - (6ft7½)
Italian Goalkeeper currently playing with Grosseto in Serie B after a short spell with Livorno in Serie A.

Zeljko Kalac - 2.02m - (6ft7½)
Australian Goalkeeper who was up until last season, with AC Milan in Serie A. He now plays for recently promoted Kavala in the Greek Super League. Kalac made three appearances in 1996 for Leicester City in England while playing for current Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill.

Stefan Maierhofer - 2.02 m (6ft7½)
Maierhofer is a striker currently with Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EPL after a successful time at Rapid Wien in the Austrian Bundesliga. In 2007, Stefan was with Bayern Munich but he only managed two sub appearances before moving on.

Lazar Jovisić - 2.02m (6ft7½)
The 20 year old Serbian goalkeeper transferred to CD Nacional in Portugal in 2008.

Kevin Vink - 2.02m (6ft7½)
The 25 year old Dutch Striker plays for RKC Waalwijk in the Netherlands

Jurgen Wevers - 2.02m (6ft7½)
Jurgen is a Goalkeeper who also plays for RKC Waalwijk in the Netherlands

Peter Crouch - 2.01m - (6ft7)
Random Fact: The Tottenham striker and his family moved to Singapore when he was 4 and lived there for a year. Early in his career he played for IFK Hässleholm in Sweden.

Dennis Lawrence - 2.01m - (6ft7)
After many years in England at Wrexham, Swansea City, and Crewe Alexandra, Dennis has moved back to his native Trinidad to play for San Juan Jabloteh.

Rob Jones - 2.01m - (6ft7)
English born Defender who recently transferred to Championship side, Scunthorpe United, after most recently playing for Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League.

Morike Sako - 2.01m (6ft7)
Sako is with 2.Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli in Germany after short stints in the lower divisions of England at Torquay United and Rochdale.

Stefan Postma - 2.01m - (6ft7)
Dutch Goalkeeper currently with AGOVV Apeldoorn in the Dutch Second Division. He had previous stints with Aston Villa and Wolves in England.

Ben Futcher - 2.01m - (6ft7)
The 27 year old Englishman made over 100 appearances for Lincoln City before moving around to various lower league clubs. He is current playing with League Two club Bury FC.

Bertrand Bossu - 2.01m - (6ft7)
The French-born keeper has played in the lower leagues in England for many years. He signed with Scottish club Aberdeen in 2008 and has signed with Crewe Alexandra for this season.

Robert Egbeta - 2.00m - (6ft7)
U20 Nigerian Defender who is playing with Dolphins F.C. (Port Harcourt) (I Think?) in the Nigerian Premier League

Lungisani Ndlela - 2.00m - (6ft7)
Ndlela is a South African International (9 caps) who plays in the South African Premier Soccer League with Moroka Swallows.

Marcin Krzywicki - 2.00 m - (6ft7)
Krzywicki recently move to Flota Świnoujście in Polish second division.

Jakub Dziółka - 2.00m - (6ft7)
The big defender plays with Polonia Bytom in Poland's Orange Ekstraklasa.

Adrian Rolko - 2.00m - (6ft7)
The 30 year old Central Defender plays with Czech Gambrinus Liga club FK Mlada Boleslav.

It was tough to find a good source for this list so, once again, feel free to let me know if there are any current professional players that should be included (2.00m or taller).

Original Post: 3/30/08
UPDATE 1/01/09: Kristof van Hout added; THANKS to commenter NKANU
UPDATE 1/07/09: Krzywicki, Maierhofer, and Sako added; THANKS to commenter NKANU
UPDATE 3/10/09: Rolko, Opheim, Iversen, Ndlela, Bossu added; THANKS to commenters NKANU and ANONYMOUS
UPDATE 10/29/09: Vink, Wevers; THANKS to commenter HEGGERS, Also updated current clubs

Video: Asian Champions League Overhead Goal

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:02:00 +0000

Unfortunately, the Asian club team I support (Japan's Nagoya Grampus) crashed out in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League against Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia this morning (they didn't stand a chance anyways after losing the first leg 6-2 a few days ago). Nagoya striker, Keita Sugimoto, did pull off this excellent overhead goal for the home fans though. Congrats to Al-Ittihad, good luck in the final. As for Nagoya, maybe next year...

Big Names from the U17 World Cup (2001-2005)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:01:00 +0000

When you consider the fact that there are 288 players in every U-17 tournament, it comes as a bit of a surprise that more players don't "make it" at a big club or as a full international later in their career. In this list, I've pulled together the players from the '01, '03', and '05 U17 World Cups who have gone on to be, at minimum, fairly important club players or members of their full international team.

I may have left a couple of deserving players off or included some that I shouldn't have, but it was a judgment call on whether a player has "made it" or not. Many of the excluded players have had excellent domestic careers in the 'smaller' leagues around the world since their U17 appearance (including a couple dozen MLS players). I chose not to include them here just to keep the list a reasonable length.

I find tournaments like the U17 World Cup very exciting (The '09 version is going on right now in Nigeria, in case you weren't aware). During any game, you could be watching the next: Fernando Torres, Andres Iniesta, Carlos Tevez, Marcelo, Denilson, Fernando Gago, John Obi Mikel, Cesc Fabregas, David Silva, Diego, Javier Mascherano, etc.

2005
Carlos Zambrano - (Peru; Schalke 04)
Daniel Chavez - (Peru; Club Brugge)
Jonathan Quartey - (Ghana; OGC Nice)
Celso Borges - (Costa Rica; Fredrikstad FK)
Hector Moreno - (Mexico; AZ Alkmaar)
Giovanni Dos Santos - (Mexico; Ipswich Town)
Carlos Vela - (Mexico; Arsenal)
Nuri Şahin - (Turkey; Borussia Dortmund)
Lorenzo De Silvestri (Italy; Fiorentina)
Jozy Altidore - (USA; Hull City)
Neven Subotić - (USA [now with Serbia]; Borussia Dortmund)
Dirk Marcellis - (Netherlands; PSV Eindhoven)
Marvin Emnes - (Netherlands; Middlesbrough)
Marcelo - (Brazil; Real Madrid)
Denilson - (Brazil; Arsenal)
Anderson - (Brazil; Manchester United)
Renato Augusto - (Brazil; Bayer Leverkusen)

2003
Cristián Zapata - (Colombia; Udinese)
Freddy Guarín - (Colombia; FC Porto)
Adrián Ramos - (Colombia; Hertha Berlin)
Fernando Gago - (Argentina; Real Madrid)
Ezequiel Garay - (Argentina; Real Madrid)
John Obi Mikel - (Nigeria; Chelsea)
João Moutinho - (Portugal; Sporting CP)
Manuel Fernandes - (Portugal; Valencia CF)
Miguel Veloso - (Portugal; Sporting CP)
Alex Song - (Cameroon; Arsenal)
Stephane Mbia - (Cameroon; Olympique Marseille)
Ederson - (Brazil; Olympique Lyonnais)
Jonathan Spector - (USA; West Ham United)
Freddy Adu - (USA; Benfica, loaned to Belenenses)
David Silva - (Spain; Valencia CF)
Cesc Fàbregas - (Spain; Arsenal)

2001
Kenwyne Jones - (Trinidad and Tobago; Sunderland)
Niko Kranjčar - (Croatia; Tottenham Hotspur)
Brett Holman - (Australia; AZ Alkmaar)
Diego - (Brazil; Juventus)
Eddie Johnson - (USA; Fulham)
Hassan Yebda - (France; Portsmouth, loan from Benfica)
Florent Sinama Pongolle - (France; Atletico Madrid)
Mourad Meghni - (France [now with Algeria]; Lazio)
Chaouki Ben Saada - (France [now with Tunisia]; OGC Nice)
Emerse Faé - (France [now with Cote d'Ivoire]; OGC Nice)
Guillem Bauzà - (Spain; Swansea City)
Andrés Iniesta - (Spain; Barcelona)
Fernando Torres - (Spain; Liverpool)
Javier Mascherano - (Argentina; Liverpool)
Carlos Tevez - (Argentina; Manchester City)
Gonzalo Rodríguez - (Argentina; Villarreal)
Pablo Javier Zabaleta - (Argentina; Manchester City)
Wilfried Sanou - (Burkina Faso; Köln)
Victor Hugo Mareco - (Paraguay; Brescia)
Edgar Barreto - (Paraguay; Atalanta)
Rándall Azofeifa - (Costa Rica; KAA Gent)
Cristian Bolaños - (Costa Rica; IK Start)

Videos: Soccer Animal Intruders

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:56:00 +0000

Biggest Movers in the October 2009 FIFA Rankings

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:41:00 +0000

These are the nations that moved up at least 15 places or down at least 20 places in the latest FIFA rankings. I've included the important results that have affected these rankings one way or the other in the last month. (I'm not sure what Haiti did to deserve it, but they got themselves into the top 100)

POSITIVE MOVERS

+41 - Faroe Islands (122)
Results: Win over Lithuania

+25 - Armenia (100)
Results: Win over Belarus

+23 - Haiti (86)
Results: No matches played

+18 - Colombia (30)
Results: Wins over Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico (Friendly)

+17 - Peru (74)
Results: Wins over Uruguay, Bolivia

+17 - New Zealand (83)
Results: Win over Jordan (Friendly), Draw with Bahrain

+15 - Algeria (29)
Results: Wins over Rwanda, Zambia

+15 - Cameroon (14)
Results: Wins over Gabon, Gabon, Togo

+15 - Malawi (90)
Results: Win over Guinea, Draw with Ivory Coast

NEGATIVE MOVERS

-38 - Libya (120)
Results: Draw with Kuwait (Friendly)

-31 - Sierra Leone (152)
Results: No Matches Played

-28 - Congo (107)
Results: Draw with Korea DPR (Friendly)

-28 - Niger (163)
Results: No Matches Played

-23 - Chad (147)
Results: No Matches Played

-23 - Gambia (122)
Results: No Matches Played

-23 - Madagascar (154)
Results: Loss to South Africa

-21 - Vanuatu (159)
Results: No Matches Played

-20 - Poland (56)
Results: Losses to Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Draw with Northern Ireland

Videos: FIFA 10 Advanced Skill Tutorials and Review

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:36:00 +0000

All-Time Unique Internationals in the Premiership (2009-10)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:37:00 +0000

In this post I've listed the All-Time 'Unique Internationals' since the Premiership began in it's current format in 1992. These players are the only ones from their home nation to ever play in the Premier League.

Jamie Moreno - Pic from BBC

Albania
Lorik Cana - Sunderland (2009)

Angola
Manucho - Manchester United, Hull City (2008-09)

Belarus
Aliaksandr Hleb - Arsenal (2005-08)

Bolivia
Jaime Moreno - Middlesbrough FC (1995-96)

Cape Verde
Pedro Pelé - West Bromwich Albion (2008-09)

Congo
Christopher Samba - Blackburn Rovers (2006-09)

Estonia
Mart Poom – Derby County, Sunderland, Arsenal (1996-03, 2006-07)

Gabon
Daniel Cousin - Hull City (2008-09)

Lithuania
Tomas Danilevicius – Arsenal (2000-01)

Montserrat
Ruel Fox – Norwich City, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur (1992-00)

Oman
Ali Al Habsi – Bolton Wanderers (2007-08)

Pakistan
Zesh Rehman – Fulham F.C. (2003-06)

Zambia
Collins Mbesuma – Portsmouth (2005-06)

Almost.... Nations with only Two Players All-Time in the Premiership

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Muhamed Konjic, Asmir Begovic
Costa Rica - Mauricio Solis, Paulo Wanchope
Cyprus - Alexis Nicolas, Nicos Papavasiliou
Grenada - Jason Roberts, Delroy Facey
Iran - Karim Bagheri, Andranik Teymourian
Liberia - George Weah, Christopher Wreh
Sierra Leone - Al Bangura, Albert Jarrett
Togo - Emmanuel Adebayor, Moustapha Salifou

Map: 2009 MLS Goal Scorers by Birth State

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:25:00 +0000

It's been a while since I've whipped up a "data" map around here. The computer I used to do this with fried long ago. But now, with the help of Inkscape and Linux, my merry map making has resumed, yay!

This map shows the birth states of all the American Born players that scored a goal in the 2009 MLS season.

Click image to enlarge

U20 WC Finals Goal Scorers: Career After the Goal

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:23:00 +0000

Today is the final of the U20 World Cup between Ghana and Brazil. I was curious about goal scorers in the U20 final and what their career has been like since their goals.

In this post, I've listed the finals goal scorers and the clubs they've played for since. I've also listed senior national team caps and goals. Interestingly, 7 of the 17 U20 Final goal scorers since 1995 have not gone on to play for their full International team.

2007
ARGENTINA
Mauro Zarate (Al-Sadd, Birmingham City, Lazio, 0 Caps)
Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid, 20 Caps, 7 Goals)

CZECH REPUBLIC
Martin Fenin (Eintracht Frankfurt, Galatasaray, 10 Caps, 1 Goal)

2005
ARGENTINA
(2) Lionel Messi (Barcelona, 40 Caps, 14 Goals)

NIGERIA
Chinedu Ogbuke Obasi "Edu" (Lyn Oslo, 1899 Hoffenheim, 15 Caps, 2 Goals)

2003
BRAZIL
Fernandinho (Shakhtar Donetsk, 0 Caps)
Shakhtar Donetsk Player of the Season 2007/08

2001
ARGENTINA
Diego Colotto (Estudiantes, Tecos UAG, Atlas, Deportivo La Coruna, 0 Caps)
Javier Saviola (Barcelona, Monaco, Sevilla, Real Madrid, Benfica, 44 Caps, 12 Goals)
Maxi Rodriguez (Espanyol, Atletico Madrid, 29 Caps, 9 Goals)

1999
SPAIN
(2) Pablo Couñago (Ipswich Town, Malaga, 0 caps)
Barkero (Real Sociedad, Toulouse, SD Eibar, Poli Ejido, Albacete, Numacia, 0 caps)
Gabri (Barcelona, Ajax, 3 Caps)

1997
ARGENTINA
Esteban Cambiasso (Independiente, River Plate, Real Madrid, Inter, 44 caps, 4 goals)
Diego Quintana (Newells Old Boys, Real Murcia, Cordoba, Barcelona SC, Skoda Xanthi, 0 caps)

URUGUAY
Pablo Garcia (Penarol, Atletico Madrid, AC Milan, Osasuna, Real Madrid, PAOK FC, 68 Caps, 3 goals)

1995
ARGENTINA
Leonardo Biagini (Atletico Madrid, CP Merida, Mallorca, Rayo Vallecano, Sporting Gijon, Albacete, Arsenal Sarandi, 0 Caps)
Francisci Guerrero (Independiente, Zurich, Estudiantes DLP, Hurucan, YF Juventus, FC Aarau, APEP Pitsilia, 0 Caps)

Video: Double Bicycle Kick Goal

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:18:00 +0000

Check out this unique goal from a cup game in Brazil (Caio (Rio Branco) vs Serra) last weekend.

via (101 Great Goals)

World Cup Semi-Finalists by Region

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:04:00 +0000

I think it's interesting that the 2009 U20 World Cup has a representative from four different regions in the semi-finals (it happened at the '89, '93, '99 U20's also). It gave me the idea for this post, where I've broken down the regions of the semi-finalists in all of the knockout stage format World Cups and all of the U20 World Cups since that tournament began in 1977.

WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALISTS

2006
4 - Europe (Germany, Italy, Portugal, France)

2002
2 - Europe (Germany, Turkey)
1 - Asia (Korea Republic)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1998
3 - Europe (Croatia, Netherlands, France)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1994
3 - Europe (Sweden, Bulgaria, Italy)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1990
3 - Europe (Italy, Germany, England)
1 - South America (Argentina)

1986
3 - Europe (France, Germany, Belgium)
1 - South America (Argentina)

1982
4 - Europe (Poland, Italy, Germany, France)

1970
2 - Europe (Italy, West Germany)
2 - South America (Brazil, Uruguay)

1966
4 - Europe (England, Portugal, USSR, West Germany)

1962
2 - Europe (Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia)
2 - South America (Brazil, Chile)

1958
3 - Europe (France, Sweden, West Germany)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1954
3 - Europe (Austria, Hungary, West Germany)
1 - South America (Uruguay)

1938
3 - Europe (Hungary, Italy, Sweden)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1934
4 - Europe (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Germany)

1930
2 - South America (Argentina, Uruguay)
1 - CONCACAF (USA)
1 - Europe (Yugoslavia)

U20 WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALISTS

2009
1 - Africa (Ghana)
1 - Europe (Hungary)
1 - South America (Brazil)
1 - CONCACAF (Costa Rica)

2007
2 - Europe (Austria, Czech Republic)
2 - South America (Chile, Argentina)

2005
2 - Africa (Morocco, Nigeria)
2 - South America (Argentina, Brazil)

2003
3 - South America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia)
1 - Europe (Spain)

2001
2 - Africa (Egypt, Ghana)
2 - South America (Argentina, Paraguay)

1999
1 - Africa (Mali)
1 - Europe (Spain)
1 - South America (Uruguay)
1 - Asia (Japan)

1997
2 - South America (Argentina, Uruguay)
1 - Africa (Ghana)
1 - Europe (Republic of Ireland)

1995
2 - Europe (Portugal, Spain)
2 - South America (Argentina, Brazil)

1993
1 - Africa (Ghana)
1 - Europe (England)
1 - Oceania (Australia)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1991
2 - Europe (Portugal, USSR)
1 - Oceania (Australia)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1989
1 - Africa (Nigeria)
1 - CONCACAF (USA)
1 - Europe (Portugal)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1987
3 - Europe (East Germany, West Germany, Yugoslavia)
1 - South America (Chile)

1985
2 - Europe (Spain, USSR)
1 - Africa (Nigeria)
1 - South America (Brazil)

1983
2 - South America (Argentina, Brazil)
1 - Asia (South Korea)
1 - Europe (Poland)

1981
3 - Europe (England, Romania, West Germany)
1 - Asia (Qatar)

1979
2 - Europe (Poland, USSR)
2 - South America (Argentina, Uruguay)

1977
2 - South America (Brazil, Uruguay)
1 - CONCACAF (Mexico)
1 - Europe (USSR)

Africa has obviously had much more success at the youth level with 7 different semi-finalists in the last 7 U20's.

South Korea's semi-final appearance in Korea/Japan '02 broke the 72 year European/South American stranglehold on the final four of the World Cup.

Argentina and Brazil have been semi-finalists together in the same year 4 different times at the U20's ('83, '95, '03, '05)

I'd like to see a CONCACAF or African (more likely) team sneak into the semis in 2010! The final draw on December 4 will have much to say about that possibility.