The Best Eleven

AFCON 2012: Goal Scorers Club Team Map

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:38:00 +0000

A map showing the club teams of every player that scored a goal in the group stages of the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

View AFCON 2012 Goal Scorers Club Teams in a larger map

GROUP A

Senegal
Dame N'Doye - Copenhagen (Denmark)
Moussa Sow - Fenerbahçe (Turkey)
Deme N'Diaye - Arles-Avignon (France.2)

Equatorial Guinea
Javier Balboa - Beira-Mar (Portugal)
Randy - UD Las Palmas (Spain.2)
Kily - Langreo (Spain.4)

Libya
Ahmed Saad (2) - Club Africain (Tunisia)
Ihaab Boussefi (2) - Nasr (Libya)

Zambia
Emmanuel Mayuka (2) - BSC Young Boys (Switzerland)
Rainford Kalaba - TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Christopher Katongo (2) - Henan Construction (China)

GROUP B

Angola
Mateus - CD Nacional (Portugal)
Manucho (3) - Real Valladolid (Spain.2)

Burkina Faso
Alain Traoré - AJ Auxerre (France)
Issiaka Ouédraogo - Admira Wacker (Austria)

Cote d'Ivoire
Didier Drogba - Chelsea (England)
Salomon Kalou - Chelsea (England)
Bakary Koné - Lyon (France)
Emmanuel Eboué - Galatasaray (Turkey)
Wilfried Bony - Vitesse (Netherlands)

Sudan
Mohammed Ahmed Bashir - Al-Hilal (Sudan)
Mudather El Tahir - Al-Hilal (Sudan)

GROUP C

Gabon
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (3) - Saint-Étienne (France)
Stéphane N'Guéma - US Bitam (Gabon)
Daniel Cousin - Sapins FC (Gabon)
Bruno Zita Mbanangoyé - Dinamo Minsk (Belarus)

Morocco
Houssine Kharja (3) - Fiorentina (Italy)
Younès Belhanda - Montpellier (France)

Niger
William N'Gounou - IF Limhamn Bunkeflo (Sweden.3)

Tunisia
Khaled Korbi - Espérance (Tunisia)
Youssef Msakni (2) - Espérance (Tunisia)
Issam Jemâa - AJ Auxerre (France)

GROUP D

Botswana
Dipsy Selolwane - Supersport United (South Africa)
Mogakolodi Ngele - Township Rollers (Botswana)

Ghana
John Mensah - Lyon (France)
Asamoah Gyan - Al Ain FC (UAE)
André Ayew - Marseille (France)
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu - Udinese (Italy)

Guinea
Sadio Diallo (2) - SC Bastia (France.2)
Abdoul Camara (2) - Sochaux (France)
Ibrahima Traoré - VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
Mamadou Bah - VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
Naby Soumah - Sfaxien (Tunisia)

Mali
Bakaye Traoré - AS Nancy (France)
Garra Dembélé - SC Freiburg (Germany)
Seydou Keita - Barcelona (Spain)

FIFA Rankings: Top 5 by Language Spoken (Feb 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:31:00 +0000

ARABIC
32 - Algeria
36 - Egypt
37 - Israel
59 - Tunisia
61 - Morocco

DUTCH
2 - Netherlands
40 - Belgium
125 - Suriname
152 - Curaçao
164 - Aruba

ENGLISH
5 - England
21 - Australia
23 - Republic of Ireland
26 - Ghana
33 - USA

FRENCH
15 - France
16 - Switzerland
18 - Cote d'Ivoire
40 - Belgium
43 - Senegal

GERMAN
3 - Germany
16 - Switzerland
40 - Belgium
71 - Austria
122 - Namibia

PORTUGUESE
6 - Brazil
7 - Portugal
58 - Cape Verde Islands
85 - Angola
105 - Mozambique

RUSSIAN
13 - Russia
65 - Belarus
139 - Kazakhstan
140 - Tajikistan
191 - Kyrgyzstan

SPANISH
1 - Spain
4 - Uruguay
10 - Argentina
12 - Chile
21 - Mexico

Notes:

Official and Co-Official Languages

Some nations have multiple Official languages (eg Switzerland, Belgium) and appear in the list more than once.

List made using the January 18, 2012 FIFA Rankings

Some of the most widely spoken languages (eg Mandarin, Hindustani, Bengali, Punjabi, Javanese, Japanese, Korean, etc) were not in the list because they would include less than 5 FIFA nations.

Europe: Average FIFA Ranking Table 1993-2012

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:24:00 +0000

The average FIFA ranking of the 53 UEFA nations from Jan 1993 to Jan 2012.

5.225 - Spain
6.196 - Germany
7.158 - France
7.196 - Italy
7.258 - Netherlands

10.368 - England
13.230 - Portugal
13.542 - Czech Republic
17.584 - Denmark
19.555 - Sweden
19.890 - Russia

20.828 - Romania
23.670 - Norway
24.105 - Croatia
25.627 - Serbia
27.584 - Turkey
28.947 - Greece
29.153 - Republic of Ireland

35.148 - Bulgaria
36.459 - Poland
37.426 - Belgium
38.498 - Switzerland
39.340 - Scotland

40.655 - Slovakia
41.311 - Israel
45.297 - Ukraine

52.182 - Finland
55.584 - Austria
57.675 - Slovenia
58.110 - Hungary

71.722 - Lithuania
71.971 - Northern Ireland
72.330 - Iceland
72.464 - Bosnia-Herzegovina
74.766 - Wales
74.785 - Latvia
79.239 - FYR Macedonia
79.785 - Cyprus

84.646 - Belarus
85.084 - Georgia
89.115 - Albania

93.421 - Estonia
94.800 - Montenegro

101.940 - Moldova
103.035 - Armenia
118.335 - Azerbaijan
124.722 - Malta
129.031 - Kazakhstan
134.096 - Faroe Islands
138.139 - Luxembourg
145.646 - Liechtenstein

164.375 - Andorra
170.091 - San Marino

Canadian Soccer League (CSL) Club Logos

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:45:00 +0000

Club Logos from the Canadian Soccer League (CSL). The CSL currently operates as Canada's third tier league below MLS and NASL in the Canadian Soccer Pyramid.

Toronto Croatia - Mississauga, Ontario

Brampton City United - Brampton, Ontario

Brantford Galaxy SC - Brantford, Ontario

London City - London, Ontario

Mississauga Eagles FC - Erin Mills, Ontario

Montreal Impact Academy - Montreal, Quebec

North York Astros - North York, Ontario

Capital City FC - Ottawa, Ontario

St. Catharines (Roma) Wolves - St. Catharines, Ontario

SC Toronto - Toronto, Ontario

Serbian White Eagles FC - Etobicoke, Ontario

Toronto FC Academy - Toronto, Ontario

Windsor Stars - Windsor, Ontario

York Region Shooters - Vaughan, Ontario

West Europe Regional National Team

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:40:00 +0000

What if Europe divided into Regional National Teams? Here is TB11's West Europe NT.

Rules for squad selection:

20 Players - 3 GK, 6 DF, 6 MF, 5 FW

Maximum of 4 players from a single country
Minimum of 1 player from every nation in the region must be included

West: Andorra, Belgium, England, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Wales

GK (3)
Hugo Lloris (France: Lyon)
Joe Hart (England: Manchester City)
Shay Given (Ireland: Aston Villa)

DF (6)
Vincent Kompany (Belgium: Manchester City)
Jan Vertonghen (Belgium: Ajax)
Ashley Cole (England: Chelsea)
Joleon Lescott (England: Manchester City)
Gregory van der Wiel (Netherlands: Ajax)
Mario Mutsch (Luxembourg: Sion)

MF (6)
Yann M'Vila (France: Rennes)
Franck Ribéry (France: Bayern Munich)
Gareth Bale (Wales: Tottenham Hotspur)
Eden Hazard (Belgium: Lille)
Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands: Inter)
Martí Riverola (Andorra: Barcelona B)

FW (5)
Robin van Persie (Netherlands: Arsenal)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Netherlands: Schalke 04)
Wayne Rooney (England: Manchester United)
Karim Benzema (France: Real Madrid)
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium: Chelsea)

Feel free to make suggestions and/or create your own West Europe team.

Southeast Europe Regional National Team

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:55:00 +0000

What if Europe divided into Regional National Teams? Here is TB11's Southeast Europe NT.

Rules for squad selection:

20 Players - 3 GK, 6 DF, 6 MF, 5 FW

Maximum of 4 players from a single country
Minimum of 1 player from every nation in the region must be included

Southeast: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia

GK (3)
Asmir Begović (Bosnia-Herzegovina: Stoke City)
Nikolay Mihaylov (Bulgaria: FC Twente)
Costel Pantilimon (Romania: Manchester City)

DF (6)
Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbia: Manchester City)
Nemanja Vidić (Serbia: Manchester United)
Branislav Ivanović (Serbia: Chelsea)
Dejan Lovren (Croatia: Lyon)
Darijo Srna (Croatia: Shakhtar Donetsk)
Marko Baša (Montenegro: Lille)

MF (6)
Luka Modrić (Croatia: Tottenham Hotspur)
Miralem Pjanić (Bosnia-Herzegovina: Roma)
Zvjezdan Misimović (Bosnia-Herzegovina: Dynamo Moscow)
Stiliyan Petrov (Bulgaria: Aston Villa)
Lorik Cana (Albania: Lazio)
Miloš Krasić (Serbia: Juventus)

FW (5)
Eden Džeko (Bosnia-Herzegovina: Manchester City)
Stevan Jovetić (Montenegro: Fiorentina)
Mirko Vučinić (Montenegro: Juventus)
Goran Pandev (Macedonia: Napoli)
Mario Mandžukić (Croatia: VfL Wolfsburg)

Feel free to make suggestions and/or create your own Southeast Europe team.

South Europe Regional National Team

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 13:02:00 +0000

What if Europe divided into Regional National Teams? Here is TB11's South Europe NT.

Rules for squad selection:

20 Players - 3 GK, 6 DF, 6 MF, 5 FW

Maximum of 4 players from a single country
Minimum of 1 player from every nation in the region must be included

South: Cyprus, Israel, Italy, Greece, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Turkey

GK (3)
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy: Juventus)
Doudou Aouate (Israel: RCD Mallorca)
Aldo Simoncini (San Marino: Valenzana)

DF (6)
Giorgio Chiellini (Italy: Juventus)
Domenico Criscito (Italy: Zenit St. Petersburg)
Fábio Coentrão (Portugal: Real Madrid)
Gerard Piqué (Spain: Barcelona)
Vasilis Torosidis (Greece: Olympiacos)
Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Greece: Schalke 04)

MF (6)
Yossi Benayoun (Israel: Arsenal)
Constantinos Charalambides (Cyprus: APOEL)
Arda Turan (Turkey: Atletico Madrid)
Andrés Iniesta (Spain: Barcelona)
Xavi (Spain: Barcelona)
Daniele De Rossi (Italy: Roma)

FW (5)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal: Real Madrid)
Nani (Portugal: Manchester United)
Burak Yılmaz (Turkey: Trabzonspor)
David Villa (Spain: Barcelona)
Michael Mifsud (Malta: Valletta FC)

Feel free to make suggestions and/or create your own South Europe team.

North Europe Regional National Team

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:17:00 +0000

What if Europe divided into Regional National Teams? Here is TB11's North Europe NT.

Rules for squad selection:

20 Players - 3 GK, 6 DF, 6 MF, 5 FW

Maximum of 4 players from a single country
Minimum of 1 player from every nation in the region must be included

North: Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden

GK (3)
Thomas Sørensen (Denmark: Stoke City)
Jussi Jääskeläinen (Finland: Bolton Wanderers)
Andreas Isaksson (Sweden: PSV)

DF (6)
Daniel Agger (Denmark: Liverpool)
Jonny Evans (Northern Ireland: Manchester United)
Alan Hutton (Scotland: Aston Villa)
Brede Hangeland (Norway: Fulham)
John Arne Riise (Norway: Fulham)
Ragnar Klavan (Estonia: AZ)

MF (6)
Christian Eriksen (Denmark: Ajax)
Roman Eremenko (Finland: Rubin Kazan)
Gylfi Sigurðsson (Iceland: Swansea City)
Markus Henriksen (Norway: Rosenborg BK)
Kim Källström (Sweden: Lyon)
Scott Brown (Scotland: Celtic)

FW (5)
Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden: AC Milan)
Johan Elmander (Sweden: Galatasaray)
Mohammed Abdellaoue (Norway: Hannover 96)
Christian Holst (Faroe Islands: Silkeborg IF)
Nicklas Bendtner (Denmark: Sunderland)

Feel free to make suggestions and/or create your own North Europe national team.

East Europe Regional National Team

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:07:00 +0000

What if Europe divided into Regional National Teams? Here is TB11's East Europe NT.

Rules for squad selection:

20 Players - 3 GK, 6 DF, 6 MF, 5 FW

Maximum of 4 players from a single country
Minimum of 1 player from every nation in the region must be included

East: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine

GK (3)
Igor Akinfeev (Russia: CSKA Moscow)
Nukri Revishvili (Georgia: FC Krasnodar)
Žydrūnas Karčemarskas (Lithuania: Gaziantepspor)

DF (6)
Kakhaber Kaladze (Georgia: Genoa)
Marius Stankevičius (Lithuania: Lazio)
Aleksandr Anyukov (Russia: Zenit St. Petersburg)
Dmytro Chygrynskiy (Ukraine: Shakhtar Donetsk)
Aleksei Popov (Kazakhstan: Amkar Perm)
Alexandru Epureanu (Moldova: Dynamo Moscow)

MF (6)
Alexander Hleb (Belarus: Barcelona)
Jano Ananidze (Georgia: Spartak Moscow)
Yuri Zhirkov (Russia: Anzhi Makhachala)
Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (Ukraine: Bayern Munich)
Oleh Husyev (Ukraine: Dynamo Kyiv)
Emin Makhmudov (Azerbaijan: Spartak Moscow)

FW (5)
Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Russia: Zenit St. Petersburg)
Andriy Voronin (Ukraine: Dynamo Moscow)
Yura Movsisyan (Armenia: FC Krasnodar)
Sergei Kornilenko (Belarus: Krylya Sovetov Samara)
Artjom Rudnev (Latvia: Lech Poznań)

Feel free to make suggestions and/or create your own East Europe national team.

Central Europe Regional National Team

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:36:00 +0000

What if Europe divided into Regional National Teams? Here is TB11's Central Europe NT.

TB11's Rules for squad selection:

20 Players - 3 GK, 6 DF, 6 MF, 5 FW

Maximum of 4 players from a single country
Minimum of 1 player from every nation in the region must be included

Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland

GK (3)
Petr Čech (Czech Republic: Chelsea)
Manuel Neuer (Germany: Bayern Munich)
Wojciech Szczęsny (Poland: Arsenal)

DF (6)
Philipp Lahm (Germany: Bayern Munich)
Mats Hummels (Germany: Borussia Dortmund)
Martin Škrtel (Slovakia: Liverpool)
Stephan Lichtsteiner (Switzerland: Juventus)
Johan Djourou (Switzerland: Arsenal)
Emanuel Pogatetz (Austria: Hannover 96)

MF (6)
Jakub Błaszczykowski (Poland: Borussia Dortmund)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany: Bayern Munich)
Balázs Dzsudzsák (Hungary: Dynamo Moscow)
Marek Hamšík (Slovakia: Napoli)
Sandro Wieser (Liechtenstein: 1899 Hoffenheim)
Gökhan İnler (Switzerland: Napoli)

FW (5)
Milan Baroš (Czech Republic: Galatasaray)
Josip Iličić (Slovenia: Palermo)
Tim Matavž (Slovenia: PSV)
Eren Derdiyok (Switzerland: Bayer Leverkusen)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland: Borussia Dortmund)

Feel free to make suggestions and/or create your own Central Europe team.

Europe Regional National Teams

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:34:00 +0000

What if Europe divided into regional national teams? Obviously that's not a question based in reality, but I decided to entertain myself by dividing Europe into 6 separate National Teams of 8-10 nations each:

Central: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland

East: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine

North: Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden

South: Cyprus, Israel, Italy, Greece, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Turkey

Southeast: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia

West: Andorra, Belgium, England, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Wales

TB11's Rules for squad selection:

20 Players - 3 GK, 6 DF, 6 MF, 5 FW

Maximum of 4 players from a single country
Minimum of 1 player from every nation in the region must be included

I'll post my teams as I come up with them. I mostly did this to entertain myself but feel free to come up with your own regional national teams or make suggestions.

Monday: Central
Tuesday: East
Wednesday: North
Thursday: South
Friday: Southeast
Saturday: West

CONCACAF: Average FIFA Ranking Table 1993-2012

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:25:00 +0000

The average FIFA ranking of the 35 CONCACAF nations from Jan 1993 to Jan 2012.

13.278 - Mexico
18.498 - USA
49.244 - Costa Rica
51.091 - Honduras
58.373 - Jamaica

63.062 - Trinidad and Tobago
73.981 - Canada
88.976 - Cuba
91.187 - Guatemala
94.976 - El Salvador

103.139 - Panama
103.522 - Haiti
114.718 - Barbados
131.775 - St. Vincent and the Grenadines
133.627 - Grenada

136.239 - St. Kitts and Nevis
137.464 - Suriname
140.196 - Antigua and Barbuda
144.469 - St. Lucia
149.718 - Bermuda

150.359 - Guyana
155.692 - Curaçao
159.244 - Dominican Republic
163.912 - Dominica
166.053 - Cayman Islands

169.043 - Puerto Rico
170.679 - Nicaragua
175.308 - British Virgin Islands
177.665 - Belize
179.673 - Bahamas

187.172 - Aruba
191.079 - Turks and Caicos Islands
195.678 - US Virgin Islands
197.640 - Anguilla
202.059 - Montserrat

FIFA Confederation Ranking Comparison - January 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:40:00 +0000

Comparing FIFA Confederations using the average ranking of the top 5 teams from each region.

Top 5 Avg. - Confederation (+/- December)

3.6 - Europe (+/- 0.0)
1 - Spain
2 - Netherlands
3 - Germany
5 - England
7 - Portugal

11.8 - South America (-0.4)
4 - Uruguay
6 - Brazil
10 - Argentina
12 - Chile
27 - Paraguay

31.0 - Africa (-1.2)
18 - Cote d'Ivoire
26 - Ghana
32 - Algeria
36 - Egypt
43 - Senegal

36.2 - Asia (+1.8)
19 - Japan
21 - Australia
30 - South Korea
44 - Iran
67 - Uzbekistan

40.8 - CONCACAF (+1.4)
21 - Mexico
33 - USA
47 - Panama
51 - Honduras
52 - Jamaica

153.8 - Oceania (+/- 0.0)
118 - New Zealand
150 - Samoa
161 - Fiji
166 - New Caledonia
174 - Vanuatu

2012 Africa Cup of Nations: Players from Top 5 European Leagues

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:20:00 +0000

Players at the 2012 African Cup of Nations that play for clubs in the top leagues of England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain

ENGLAND

Cote d'Ivoire
Kolo Touré (Manchester City)
Yaya Touré (Manchester City)
Cheick Tioté (Newcastle United)
Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
Salomon Kalou (Chelsea)
Gervinho (Arsenal)

Morocco
Adel Taarabt (QPR)
Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal)

Senegal
Demba Ba (Newcastle United)
Armand Traoré (QPR)
Mohamed Diame (Wigan Athletic)

FRANCE

Burkina Faso
Germain Sanou (Saint-Étienne)
Bakary Koné (Lyon)
Charles Kaboré (Marseille)
Jonathan Pitroipa (Rennes)
Alain Traoré (Auxerre)

Cote d'Ivoire
Daniel Yeboah (Dijon)
Siaka Tiéné (PSG)
Benjamin Angoua (Valenciennes)
Kafoumba Coulibaly (Nice)
Max Gradel (Saint-Étienne)

Gabon
Moïse Brou Apanga (Brest)
Bruno Ecuele Manga (Lorient)
Lloyd Palun (Nice)
André Biyogo Poko (Bordeaux)
Eric Mouloungui (Nice)
Pierre-Emerick Aubamey (Saint-Étienne)

Ghana
John Mensah (Lyon)
Jonathan Mensah (Evian)
John Boye (Rennes)
André Ayew (Marseille)
Jordan Ayew (Marseille)

Guinea
Abdoul Camara (Sochaux)

Mali
Drissa Diakité (Nice)
Mohamed Fofana (Toulouse)
Ousmane Coulibaly (Brest)
Abdou Traoré (Bordeaux)
Bakaye Traoré (Nancy)
Sidy Koné (Lyon)
Samba Diakité (Nancy)
Modibo Maiga (Sochaux)
Cheick Diabaté (Bordeaux)

Morocco
Abdelhamid El Kaoutari (Montpellier)
Ahmed Kantar (Brest)
Younès Belhanda (Montpellier)
Youssouf Hadji (Rennes)

Niger
Olivier Harouna Bonnes (Lille)

Senegal
Rémi Gomis (Valenciennes)
Ludovic Sané (Bordeaux)
Souleymane Diawara (Marseille)
Kader Mangane (Rennes)
Moussa Sow (Lille)
Souleymane Camara (Montpellier)
Moustapha Bayal Sall (Saint-Étienne)
Omar Daf (Brest)
Cheikh M'Bengue (Toulouse)

Tunisia
Aymen Abdennour (Toulouse)
Jamel Saihi (Montpellier)
Issam Jemaa (Auxerre)
Saber Khelifa (Evian)

GERMANY

Angola
Nando Rafael (Augsburg)

Cote d'Ivoire
Arthur Boka (VfB Stuttgart)
Didier Konan Ya (Hannover 96)

Ghana
Issac Vorsah (Hoffenheim)

Guinea
Mamadou Bah (VfB Stuttgart)
Ibrahima Traoré (VfB Stuttgart)

Mali
Garra Dembélé (Freiburg)

Morocco
Mohamed Amsif (Augsburg)

Senegal
Papiss Cissé (Freiburg)

Tunisia
Karim Haggui (Hannover 96)
Ammar Jemal (FC Cologne)
Sami Allagui (Mainz 05)

ITALY

Ghana
Masahudu Alhassan (Genoa)
Sulley Muntari (Inter)
Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese)
Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese)

Morocco
Mehdi Benatia (Udinese)
Houssine Kharja (Fiorentina)

SPAIN

Senegal
Pape Diakhaté (Granada)

Guinea
Alhassane Bangoura (Rayo Vallecano)

Mali
Seydou Keita (Barcelona)

2012 Africa Cup of Nations: Nations of Player's Club Teams

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 14:08:00 +0000

Players from clubs all over the world are converging in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. This list shows the nations where the ACN player's club teams are based.

GROUP A

Equatorial Guinea
10 - Spain
6 - Equatorial Guinea
2 - Oman
1 - Brazil
1 - Colombia
1 - DR Congo
1 - Portugal
1 - Free Agent

Libya
13 - Libya
5 - Tunisia
2 - Morocco
1 - Portugal
1 - Lebanon
1 - Serbia

Senegal
10 - France
4 - England
2 - Senegal
2 - Turkey
1 - Denmark
1 - Germany
1 - Qatar
1 - Spain
1 - USA

Zambia
8 - South Africa
6 - Zambia
4 - DR Congo
2 - China
1 - Russia
1 - Sudan
1 - Switzerland

GROUP B

Côte d'Ivoire
7 - England
6 - France
3 - Turkey
2 - Germany
2 - Russia
1 - Belgium
1 - Netherlands
1 - Qatar

Sudan
23 - Sudan

Burkina Faso
5 - France
2 - Belgium
2 - Moldova
2 - Poland
2 - Turkey
1 - Austria
1 - Burkina Faso
1 - Egypt
1 - Gabon
1 - Iran
1 - Malta
1 - Portugal
1 - Qatar
1 - Romania
1 - Russia

Angola
11 - Angola
2 - Belgium
2 - Cyprus
2 - Germany
2 - Portugal
1 - Free Agent
1 - Greece
1 - Kuwait
1 - Spain

GROUP C

Gabon
11 - Gabon
8 - France
1 - Belarus
1 - Hungary
1 - Spain
1 - Tunisia

Niger
7 - Niger
3 - Cameroon
2 - France
2 - South Africa
2 - Tunisia
1 - Algeria
1 - Belgium
1 - Cote d'Ivoire
1 - DR Congo
1 - Morocco
1 - Sweden
1 - Thailand

Morocco
4 - France
4 - Morocco
2 - Netherlands
2 - England
2 - Italy
2 - Russia
2 - Saudi Arabia
2 - Turkey
1 - Germany
1 - Qatar
1 - Scotland

Tunisia
11 - Tunisia
4 - France
3 - Germany
2 - Switzerland
2 - Turkey
1 - Russia

GROUP D

Ghana
5 - France
4 - Italy
3 - Germany
2 - Ghana
2 - Ukraine
1 - Belgium
1 - China
1 - England
1 - Netherlands
1 - Norway
1 - Turkey
1 - UAE

Botswana
16 - Botswana
6 - South Africa
1 - Free Agent

Mali
14 - France
2 - Mali
1 - Algeria
1 - Denmark
1 - Germany
1 - Greece
1 - Portugal
1 - Spain
1 - Tunisia

Guinea
4 - France
3 - Belgium
3 - Tunisia
2 - Germany
2 - Spain
2 - UAE
1 - Free Agent
1 - Guinea
1 - Mali
1 - Romania
1 - Saudi Arabia
1 - Switzerland
1 - Turkey

Overall

62 - France
24 - Sudan
23 - Tunisia

16 - Botswana, Spain, South Africa

15 - Germany
14 - England
13 - Turkey
13 - Libya
12 - Gabon
11 - Angola
10 - Belgium

7 - Morocco, Niger, Russia

6 - DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Italy, Portugal, Zambia

4 - Qatar, Netherlands, Switzerland

3 - Cameroon, China, Free Agent, Mali, Saudi Arabia, UAE

2 - Algeria, Cyprus, Denmark, Ghana, Greece, Moldova, Oman, Poland, Romania, Senegal, Ukraine

1 - Austria, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Brazil, Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malta, Norway, Scotland, Serbia, Sweden, Thailand, USA

26 - Europe
21 - Africa
9 - Asia
2 - South America
1 - North America

59 - Total

Photos: Craven Cottage

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 13:17:00 +0000

I had the opportunity to wander around Craven Cottage, home of Fulham FC, on a trip to London last October. Here are some photos I took on the tour.

Prominently Displayed inside The Cottage

View From The Cottage

Player Area

UEFA Intertoto Cup - 2002

View from Television Studio

Ballon d'Or Winners by League

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:16:00 +0000

Ballon d'Or "Golden Ball - European Footballer of the Year" winners organized by league.

Italy
Omar Sívori (Juventus: 1961)
Gianni Rivera (AC Milan: 1969)
Paolo Rossi (Juventus: 1982)
Michel Platini (Juventus: 1983, 1984, 1985)
Ruud Gullit (AC Milan: 1987)
Marco van Basten (AC Milan: 1988, 1989, 1992)
Lothar Matthäus (Inter Milan: 1990)
Roberto Baggio (Juventus: 1993)
George Weah (AC Milan: 1995)
Ronaldo (Inter Milan: 1997)
Zinedine Zidane (Juventus: 1998)
Pavel Nedvěd (Juventus: 2003)
Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan: 2004)
Kaká (AC Milan: 2007)

Spain
Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid: 1957, 1959)
Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid: 1958)
Luis Suárez (Barcelona: 1960)
Johan Cruyff (Barcelona: 1973, 1974)
Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona: 1994)
Rivaldo (Barcelona: 1999)
Luís Figo (Real Madrid: 2000)
Ronaldo (Real Madrid: 2002)
Ronaldinho (Barcelona: 2005)
Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid: 2006)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona: 2009, 2010, 2011)

Germany
Gerd Müller (Bayern Munich: 1970)
Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich: 1972, 1976)
Allan Simonsen (Borussia Mönchengladbach: 1977)
Kevin Keegan (Hamburg: 1978, 1979)
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich: 1980, 1981)
Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund: 1996)

England
Stanley Matthews (Blackpool: 1956)
Denis Law (Manchester United: 1964)
Bobby Charlton (Manchester United: 1966)
George Best (Manchester Untied: 1967)
Michael Owen (Liverpool: 2001)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United: 2008)

Ukraine/Soviet Union
Oleg Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv: 1975)
Igor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv: 1986)

Czechoslovakia
Josef Masopust (Dukla Prague: 1962)

Russia/Soviet Union
Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscow: 1963)

Portugal
Eusébio (Benfica: 1965)

Hungary
Flórián Albert (Ferencváros: 1967)

France
Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille: 1991)

Netherlands
Johan Cruyff (Ajax: 1971)

FA Cup Fourth Round Teams by League Position

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:06:00 +0000

Ranking the Fourth Round FA Cup teams by current overall league position in England. As of Jan 8, 2012.

EPL 1-20
Championship 21-44
League One 45-68
League Two 69-92
Conference National 93-116

_______________________

33 - Brighton
93 - Wrexham
v
7 - Newcastle United
_______________________

26 - Hull City
v
69 - Crawley Town
________________________

90 - Dagenham & Redbridge
41 - Millwall
v
21 - Southampton
________________________

10 - Sunderland
v
24 - Middlesbrough
________________________

49 - MK Dons
17 - QPR
v
4 - Chelsea
________________________

15 - West Bromwich Albion
v
9 - Norwich City
________________________

27 - Blackpool
v
46 - Sheffield Wednesday
________________________

5 - Arsenal
28 - Leeds United
v
13 - Aston Villa
________________________

51 - Stevenage
v
55 - Notts County
________________________

38 - Watford
v
3 - Tottenham Hotspur
________________________

6 - Liverpool
v
2 - Manchester United
________________________

29 - Derby County
v
8 - Stoke City
________________________

11 - Everton
v
14 - Fulham
________________________

83 - Macclesfield Town
18 - Bolton Wanderers
v
12 - Swansea City
________________________

48 - Sheffield United
v
34 - Birmingham City
16 - Wolverhampton Wanderers
________________________

42 - Nottingham Forest
32 - Leicester City
v
72 - Swindon Town
________________________

Ranking the Remaining Teams

2 - Manchester United
3 - Tottenham Hotspur
4 - Chelsea
5 - Arsenal
6 - Liverpool
7 - Newcastle United
8 - Stoke City
9 - Norwich City

10 - Sunderland
11 - Everton
12 - Swansea City
13 - Aston Villa
14 - Fulham
15 - West Bromwich Albion
16 - Wolverhampton Wanderers
17 - QPR
18 - Bolton Wanderers

21 - Southampton
24 - Middlesbrough
26 - Hull City
27 - Blackpool
28 - Leeds United
29 - Derby County

32 - Leicester City
33 - Brighton
34 - Birmingham City
38 - Watford

41 - Millwall
42 - Nottingham Forest
46 - Sheffield Wednesday
48 - Sheffield United
49 - MK Dons

51 - Stevenage
55 - Notts County

69 - Crawley Town

72 - Swindon Town

83 - Macclesfield Town

90 - Dagenham & Redbridge
93 - Wrexham

_______________________

17 - EPL
12 - Championship
5 - League One
4 - League Two
1 - Conference National

Supporter Videos: Al-Ahly and Zamalek (Egypt)

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:10:00 +0000

Al-Ahly (Ultras Ahlawy)

Zamalek (Ultras White Knights)

ZZ Top Players

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 13:36:00 +0000

Current and former players whose First and Last names begin with a "Z"

Zinedine Zidane

Zhi Zheng - Guangzhou Evergrande (China)
Zheng Zou - Qingdao Jonoon (China)
Zuojun Zhao - Nanchang Bayi FC (China)
Zhongting Zou - Nanchang Bayi FC (China)
Zheng Zheng - Shandong Luneng (China)
Zhaohui Zhang - Beijing Guoan (China)
Zhivko Zhelev - Slavia Sofia (Bulgaria)
Zdeněk Zlámal - Sigma Olomouc (Czech Republic)
Zulfadli Zainal Abidin - Singapore Armed Forces FC (Singapore)
Zeynal Zeynalov - FK Standard Sumgayit (Azerbaijan)
Živko Živković - Metalac GM (Serbia)
Zoubir Zmit - CS Constantine (Algeria)
Zahir Zerdab - Rouen (France)
Zaid Al Zaid - Al Riffa (Bahrain)
Zoran Zukić - Proleter Novi Sad (Serbia)
Zlatko Zečević - APOP Kinyras (Cyprus)
Zhanhong Zhou - Shek Kip Mei (Hong Kong)
Zelvin Zepeda - Alacranes del Norte FC (El Salvador)
Zdenek Zahalka - Hlučín (Czech Republic)
Zulham Zamrun - Mitra Kukar FC (Indonesia)
Zaman Zadran - Rosengård (Sweden)
Zaim Zeneli - Melbourne Victory (Australia)
Zaw Oo Zaw - Myanmar DF
Zdravko Zdravkov - Former Bulgaria GK
Zlatko Zahovic - Former Slovenia MF
Zdeněk Zikán - Former Czechoslovakia FW
Zulkarnaen Zainal - Former Singapore DF

All-Time EPL Top Four Finishes

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:09:00 +0000

Teams that have finished in the top four in the English Premier League since 1992/1993.

Titles Won
12 - Manchester United
3 - Arsenal
3 - Chelsea
1 - Blackburn Rovers

Runners-up
5 - Arsenal
4 - Chelsea
4 - Manchester United
2 - Newcastle United
2 - Liverpool
1 - Aston Villa
1 - Blackburn Rovers

Third
5 - Liverpool
3 - Arsenal
3 - Manchester United
2 - Newcastle United
2 - Chelsea
1 - Leeds United
1 - Manchester City
1 - Norwich City
1 - Nottingham Forest

Fourth
5 - Arsenal
5 - Liverpool
2 - Chelsea
2 - Leeds United
1 - Aston Villa
1 - Blackburn Rovers
1 - Everton
1 - Newcastle United
1 - Tottenham Hotspur

Total Top Four Finishes
19 - Manchester United
16 - Arsenal
12 - Liverpool
11 - Chelsea
5 - Newcastle United
3 - Blackburn Rovers
3 - Leeds United
2 - Aston Villa
1 - Everton
1 - Manchester City
1 - Norwich City
1 - Nottingham Forest
1 - Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester City Player Birthplace Map

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 13:50:00 +0000

View Manchester City Player Birthplace Map in a larger map

Mexican Primera División - Official Club Websites

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:48:00 +0000

The official websites of teams in Mexico's Primera División.

América
http://www.clubamerica.com.mx

Atlante
http://www.atlantefc.com.mx/

Atlas
http://www.atlas.com.mx/

Club Deportivo Estudiantes Tecos
http://www.tecos.com.mx/

Club San Luis
http://www.sanluisfutbol.com.mx/

Club Tijuana
http://www.xolos.com.mx

Cruz Azul
http://www.cruz-azul.com.mx/

Guadalajara
http://www.chivasdecorazon.com.mx/

Jaguares de Chiapas
http://www.jaguaresdechiapas.com.mx/

Monarcas Morelia
http://www.fuerzamonarca.com/

Monterrey
http://www.rayados.com

Pachuca
http://www.tuzos.com.mx/

Puebla
http://www.pueblafutbolclub.com.mx/

Querétaro
http://www.clubqueretaro.com

Santos Laguna
http://www.clubsantoslaguna.com.mx/

Tigres de la U.A.N.L.
http://www.tigres.com.mx/

Toluca
http://www.deportivotolucafc.com/

UNAM
http://www.clubpumasunam.com

Oceania National Team Logos

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:43:00 +0000

American Samoa

Cook Islands

Fiji

New Caledonia

New Zealand

Papua New Guinea

Samoa

Solomon Islands

Tahiti

Tonga

Vanuatu

East African Players in Europe

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 13:37:00 +0000

East African (EAC) Players currently with 1st or 2nd division European clubs.

Burundi
Cristophe Nahimana - FC Brussels (Belgium.2)
Dugary Ndabashinze - KRC Genk (Belgium)
Gael Bigirimana - Coventry City (England.2)
Saidi Ntibazonkiza - MKS Cracovia (Poland)
Valery Twite Nahayo - KAA Gent (Belgium)

Kenya
Amos Ekhalie - IFK (Finland)
Arnold Origi Otieno - Fredrikstad FK (Norway)
Dennis Oliech - AJ Auxerre (France)
George Odhiambo - Randers FC (Denmark.2)
Jamal Mohammed - FCM Targu Mures (Romania)
James Situma - KF Tirana (Albania)
Johanna Omolo - Beerschot AC (Belgium)
McDonald Mariga - Real Sociedad (Spain)
Moses Arita - KF Tirana (Albania)
Patrick Oboya - Baník Most (Czech Republic.2)
Patrick Osiako - Mjällby AIF (Sweden)
Victor Wanyama - Celtic FC (Scotland)

Rwanda
Edwin Ouon - AEL Limassol (Cyprus)
Henri Munyaneza - WS Woluwe (Belgium.2)
Mohamed Tchité - Standard Liège (Belgium)

Tanzania
Henry Joseph Shindika - Kongsvinger IL (Norway.2)

Uganda
Abel Dhaira - ÍBV (Iceland)
David Obua - Heart of Midlothian (Scotland)
Eugene Sseppuya - FK Borac Čačak (Serbia)
Hassan Wasswa - Kayseri Erciyesspor (Turkey)
Ibrahim Sekagya - Red Bull Salzburg (Austria)
Tonny Mawejje - ÍBV (Iceland)