The Best Eleven

EPL Top Scorers by World Region - 2012/2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:18:00 +0000

Europe
26 - Robin van Persie (Netherlands: Manchester United)
19 - Christian Benteke (Belgium: Aston Villa)
18 - Michu (Spain: Swansea City)
17 - Romelu Lukaku (Belgium: West Bromwich Albion)
15 - Dimitar Berbatov (Bulgaria: Fulham)
14 - Edin Džeko (Bosnia-Herzegovina: Manchester City)
12 - Santi Cazorla (Spain: Arsenal)
11 - Marouane Fellaini (Belgium: Everton)
11 - Olivier Giroud (France: Arsenal)
11 - Juan Mata (Spain: Chelsea)
11 - Lukas Podolski (Germany: Arsenal)

UK
21 - Gareth Bale (Wales: Tottenham Hotspur)
15 - Rickie Lambert (England: Southampton)
15 - Frank Lampard (England: Chelsea)
14 - Theo Walcott (England: Arsenal)
12 - Adam Le Fondre (England: Reading)
12 - Wayne Rooney (England: Manchester United)
11 - Jermain Defoe (England: Tottenham Hotspur)
11 - Steven Fletcher (Scotland: Sunderland)
11 - Daniel Sturridge (England: Liverpool)
10 - Steven Gerrard (England: Liverpool)
10 - Kevin Nolan (England: West Ham United)

Africa
15 - Demba Ba (Senegal: Chelsea)
11 - Arouna Koné (Cote d'Ivoire: Wigan)
8 - Papiss Demba Cissé (Senegal: Newcastle United)
7 - Stephane Sessègnon (Benin: Sunderland)
6 - Victor Anichebe (Nigeria: Everton)
6 - Steven Pienaar (South Africa: Everton)
6 - Yaya Touré (Cote d'Ivoire: Manchester City)
5 - Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo: Tottenham Hotspur)
5 - Jimmy Kébé (Mali: Reading)
5 - Gervinho (Cote d'Ivoire: Arsenal)
5 - Peter Odemwingie (Nigeria: West Bromwich Albion)
5 - Adel Taarabt (Morocco: QPR)

South America
23 - Luis Suárez (Uruguay: Liverpool)
12 - Sergio Agüero (Argentina: Manchester City)
11 - Carlos Tévez (Argentina: Manchester City)
5 - Franco Di Santo (Argentina: Wigan)
5 - Gaston Ramírez (Uruguay: Southampton)
5 - Ramires (Brazil: Chelsea)
4 - Oscar (Brazil: Chelsea)
3 - Philippe Coutinho (Brazil: Liverpool)
3 - Rafael (Brazil: Manchester United)
3 - Hugo Rodallega (Colombia

CONCACAF
10 - Javier Hernández (Mexico: Manchester United)
7 - Clint Dempsey (USA: Tottenham Hotspur)
4 - Emmerson Boyce (Barbados: Wigan)
4 - Bryan Ruiz (Costa Rica: Fulham)
3 - Kenwyne Jones (Trinidad & Tobago: Stoke City)
3 - Garath McCleary (Jamaica: Reading)
2 - David Hoilett (Canada: QPR)
1 - Roger Espinoza (Honduras: Wigan)
1 - Maynor Figueroa (Honduras: Wigan)
1 - Simeon Jackson (Canada: Norwich City)
1 - Mikele Leigertwood (Antigua and Barbuda: Reading)
1 - Adrian Mariappa (Jamaica: Reading)

Asia
6 - Shinji Kagawa (Japan: Manchester United)
1 - Brett Holman (Australia: Aston Villa)

Oceania
1 - Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand: QPR)
1 - Winston Reid (New Zealand: West Ham United)

Map: Relegated EPL Clubs - 2008-2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:15:00 +0000

View Relegated English Premier League Clubs 2008-2013 in a larger map

Blue - 2012/2013
Red - 2011/2012
Green - 2010/2011
Purple - 2009/2010
Yellow - 2008/2009

City Populations in Top European Leagues

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:38:00 +0000

The population of cities with teams in the Top 5 European leagues in England, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. Population statistics from citypopulation.de

English Premier League
7,619,800 - London
1,010,400 - Birmingham
465,900 - Manchester
464,200 - Liverpool
258,600 - Stoke-on-Trent
252,700 - Southampton
236,900 - Reading
200,200 - Newcastle
194,400 - Norwich
177,400 - Sunderland
174,300 - Swansea
140,000 - West Bromwich
82,600 - Wigan

German Bundesliga
1,798,836 - Hamburg
1,378,176 - Munich
691,518 - Frankfurt
613,392 - Stuttgart
592,393 - Düsseldorf
580,956 - Dortmund
548,319 - Bremen
525,875 - Hanover
510,602 - Nuremberg
266,647 - Augsburg
257,208 - Mönchengladbach
256,652 - Gelsenkirchen (Schalke 04)
229,144 - Freiburg
200,957 - Mainz
161,195 - Leverkusen
122,583 - Wolfsburg
116,317 - Fürth
35,373 - Sinsheim (Hoffenheim)

Italy Serie A
2,617,175 - Rome
1,242,123 - Milan
962,003 - Napoli
872,367 - Turin (Juventus, Torino)
657,561 - Palermo
586,180 - Genoa (Genoa, Sampdoria)
371,337 - Bologna
358,079 - Florence (Fiorentina)
293,902 - Catania
252,520 - Verona (Chievo)
175,895 - Parma
149,883 - Cagliari
117,166 - Pescara
115,349 - Bergamo (Atalanta)
98,287 - Udine (Udinese)
52,839 - Siena

Spain La Liga
3,198,645 - Madrid (Real, Atletico, Rayo Vallecano)
1,611,013 - Barcelona
792,054 - Valencia (Levante, Valencia)
698,042 - Seville (Betis, Sevilla)
678,115 - Zaragoza
561,435 - Malaga
402,044 - Palma (Mallorca)
351,356 - Bilbao
311,682 - Valladolid
295,623 - Vigo
245,053 - A Coruña
241,003 - Granada
195,943 - Pamplona (Osasuna)
185,512 - Donostia-San Sebastián (Real Sociedad)
168,642 - Getafe
86,504 - Cornellà do Llobregat (Barcelona Suburb) (Espanyol)

France Ligue 1
2,243,833 - Paris
850,726 - Marseille
484,344 - Lyon
441,802 - Toulouse
343,304 - Nice
257,351 - Montpellier
239,157 - Bordeaux
227,560 - Lille
212,317 - Lorient
207,178 - Rennes
188,320 - Troyes
179,992 - Reims
171,260 - Saint-Etienne
162,650 - Montbeliard (Sochaux)
141,303 - Brest
105,421 - Nancy
65,542 - Ajaccio
52,890 - Annecy (Evian)
43,335 - Valenciennes
43,008 - Bastia

Brazilian Goal Scorers in Top 5 European Leagues - 2012/2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:56:00 +0000

England (7)
5 - Ramires (Chelsea)
4 - Oscar (Chelsea)
3 - Rafael (Manchester United)
2 - Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
2 - David Luiz (Chelsea)
1 - Anderson (Manchester United)
1 - Sandro (Tottenham Hotspur)

France (17)
10 - Brandão (Saint-Étienne)
5 - Michel Bastos (Lyon)
4 - Diego (Reims)
3 - Eduardo (Ajaccio)
3 - Marcos (Troyes)
2 - Ilan (Bastia)
2 - Alex (PSG)
2 - Maxwell (PSG)
2 - Andre Luiz (Nancy)
1 - Betão (Evian)
1 - Nenê (PSG)
1 - Henrique (Bordeaux)
1 - Mariano (Bordeaux)
1 - Jussiê (Bordeaux)
1 - Túlio de Melo (Lille)
1 - Hilton (Montpellier)
1 - Gil (Valenciennes)

Germany (12)
9 - Diego (Wolfsburg)
6 - Naldo (Wolfsburg)
5 - Roberto Firmino (Hoffenheim)
4 - Luiz Gustavo (Bayern Munich)
4 - Michel Bastos (Schalke 04)
2 - Raffael (Schalke 04)
2 - Rafinha (Bayern Munich)
1 - Dante (Bayern Munich)
1 - Edu (Greuther Fürth)
1 - Felipe Santana (Borussia Dortmund)
1 - Anderson Bamba (Eintracht Frankfurt)
1 - Felipe (Hannover 96)

Italy (21)
11 - Hernanes (Lazio)
6 - Eder (Sampdoria)
3 - Nenê (Cagliari)
3 - Jonathas (Torino)
3 - Marquinho (Roma)
3 - Barreto (Torino)
3 - Reginaldo (Siena)
2 - Maicosuel (Udinese)
2 - Robinho (AC Milan)
2 - Danilo (Udinese)
2 - Thiago Riberio (Cagliari)
2 - Rômulo (Fiorentina)
2 - Togni (Pescara)
1 - Zé Eduardo (Siena)
1 - Leandro Castan (Roma)
1 - Philippe Coutinho (Inter Milan)
1 - Matuzalém (Genoa)
1 - Ângelo (Siena)
1 - Anselmo (Palermo)
1 - Ederson (Lazio)
1 - Luciano (Chievo)

Spain (12)
13 - Jonas (Valencia)
8 - Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid)
7 - Léo Baptistão (Rayo Vallecano)
5 - Adriano (Barcelona)
3 - Júlio Baptista (Málaga)
3 - Kaká (Real Madrid)
2 - Weligton (Malaga)
2 - Miranda (Atletico Madrid)
2 - Paulão (Real Betis)
1 - Pedro Geromel (Mallorca)
1 - Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid)
1 - Cicinho (Sevilla)

69 Brazilians have scored a combined 196 total goals in the top 5 European leagues in 2012/2013.

FIFA Confederation Ranking Comparison - May 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:21:00 +0000

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

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

3.8 - Europe (+/-0.0)
1 - Spain
2 - Germany
4 - Croatia
5 - Portugal
7 - England

11.0 - South America (+/-0.0)
3 - Argentina
6 - Colombia
10 - Ecuador
17 - Uruguay
19 - Brazil

24.6 - Africa (+0.6)
12 - Cote d'Ivoire
22 - Ghana
26 - Mali
28 - Nigeria
35 - Algeria

36.2 - CONCACAF (-0.4)
16 - Mexico
29 - USA
38 - Panama
48 - Costa Rica
50 - Honduras

48.4 - Asia (-0.6)
30 - Japan
42 - South Korea
47 - Australia
57 - Iran
66 - Uzbekistan

132.2 - Oceania (-0.2)
87 - New Zealand
104 - New Caledonia
135 - Tahiti
163 - Solomon Islands
172 - Vanuatu

$200,000+ MLS Players - 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 07 May 2013 12:35:00 +0000

MLS Players with Guaranteed Compensation of $200,000 or more for the 2013 season according to the Salaries released by the MLS Players Union on May 1, 2013.

Chicago Fire
$527,125 - Sherjill MacDonald
$367,500 - Arne Friedrich
$366,666 - Alvaro Fernandez (loan Al Rayyan Qatar)
$273,000 - Dilly Duka
$249,500 - Patrick Nyarko
$248,333 - Chris Rolfe
$231,000 - Jeff Larentowicz
$205,000 - Joel Lindpere

Chivas USA
NONE

Columbus Crew
$604,000 - Federico Higuain
$361,250 - Chad Marshall
$263,333 - Glauber
$230,000 - Matias Sanchez
$225,375 - Jairo Arrieta

Colorado Rapids
$285,000 - Marvell Wynne
$275,000 - Edson Buddle
$247,000 - Drew Moor
$212,933 - Matt Pickens
$200,000 - Hendry Thomas
$200,000 - Pablo Mastroeni

FC Dallas
$730,000 - David Ferreira
$342,500 - Kenny Cooper
$324,250 - Blas Perez
$301,666 - George John
$262,276 - Eric Hassli
$237,500 - Raul Fernandez
$200,000 - Ugo Ihemelu

DC United
$645,333 - Dwayne DeRosario
$361,000 - Chris Pontius
$303,341 - Dejan Jakovic
$284,625 - Rafael Teixera
$273,250 - Brandon McDonald
$205,000 - Lionard Pajoy

Houston Dynamo
$372,062 - Brad Davis
$307,750 - Ricardo Clark
$239,000 - Omar Cummings
$220,000 - Bobby Boswell

Sporting Kansas City
$312,187 - Benny Feilhaber
$302,500 - Kei Kamara
$270,500 - Paulo Nagamura
$256,250 - Aurelien Collin
$220,000 - Jimmy Nielsen
$215,000 - Bobby Convey
$208,000 - Teal Bunbury
$200,000 - Claudio Bieler

Los Angeles Galaxy
$4,333,333 - Robbie Keane
$2,500,000 - Landon Donovan
$290,000 - Juninho
$282,000 - Omar Gonzalez
$248,333 - Sean Franklin

Montreal Impact
$1,937,508 - Marco Di Vaio
$305,000 - Alessandro Nesta
$295,475 - Matteo Ferrari
$290,000 - Davy Arnaud
$236,833 - Troy Perkins
$222,000 - Andrew Wenger

New England Revolution
$445,000 - Kalifa Cisse
$295,000 - Juan Toja
$211,537 - Saer Sene

New York Red Bulls
$4,350,000 - Thierry Henry
$3,625,000 - Tim Cahill
$340,736 - Heath Pearce
$325,000 - Jamison Olave
$222,500 - Dax McCarty
$200,000 - Digao
$200,000 - Juninho

Philadelphia Union
$495,000 - Kleberson
$350,000 - Bakary Soumare
$321,000 - Carlos Valdes (loan Santa Fe Colombia)
$216,500 - Jeff Parke
$212,812 - Sebastian Le Toux

Portland Timbers
$400,000 - Diego Valeri
$300,000 - Donovan Rickets
$266,000 - Darlington Nagbe
$243,754 - Diego Chara
$243,750 - Will Johnson

Real Salt Lake
$453,333 - Alvaro Saborio
$311,250 - Kyle Beckerman
$300,000 - Javier Morales
$213,833 - Luis Gil
$211,972 - Nat Borchers
$210,833 - Nick Rimando
$205,500 - Robbie Findley

Seattle Sounders
$1,725,000 - Obafemi Martins
$856,000 - Fredy Montero (loan Millonarios Colombia)
$599,333 - Shalrie Joseph
$285,000 - Michael Gspurning
$233,000 - Steve Zakuani
$225,000 - Mauro Rosales
$210,000 - Osvaldo Alonso

San Jose Earthquakes
$600,000 - Chris Wondolowski
$217,500 - Steven Lenhart
$208,333 - Jason Hernandez

Toronto FC
$1,663,323 - Danny Koevermans
$456,250 - Darren O'Dea
$310,000 - Richard Eckersley
$200,000 - Stefan Frei
$200,000 - Matias Laba

Vancouver Whitecaps
$1,132,492 - Kenny Miller
$375,000 - Jay DeMerit
$247,500 - Camilo Sanvezzo
$242,250 - Andy O'Brien
$238,833 - Daigo Kobayashi
$237,362 - Nigel Reo-Coker
$231,100 - Young-Pyo Lee
$212,000 - Darren Mattocks

The Next Messi

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:02:00 +0000

There are way too many versions of the "[Fill in Nationality] Messi" out there but just in case you want to keep track, here is a list of players that are often given that impossible to achieve nickname.

Ioannis Fetfatzidis - Greece

Iker Muniain - Spain
Marco Verratti - Italy
Takefusa Kubo - Japan
Marko Marin - Germany

Seung Woo Lee - South Korea

Eden Hazard - Belgium
Viktor Fisher - Denmark

Marco Rojas - New Zealand

Angelo Henriquez - Chile
Walid Soliman - Egypt

Hachim Mastour - Morocco/Italy

Gai Assulin - Israel
Frank Acheampong - Ghana
Jong Il-Gwan - North Korea
Sasha Shadrin - Russia
Youssef Msakni - Tunisia

Alen Halilovic - Croatia

Shimelis Bekele - Ethiopia
Raúl Ruidíaz - Peru

Yevhen Konoplyanka - Ukraine

Giorgi Chanturia - Georgia
Amir Sayoud - Algeria
Rabiu Ibrahim - Nigeria
Andik Vermansyah - Indonesia
Ali Ashfaq - Maldives

Soccer Twins

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 01 May 2013 13:11:00 +0000

Twin brothers that are currently active professional soccer players.

Argentina
Ramiro Funes Mori - River Plate, Argentina
Rogelio Funes Mori - River Plate, Argentina

Australia
Joel Griffiths - Sydney FC, Australia
Adam Griffiths - Selangor FA, Indonesia

Brazil
Rafael - Manchester United, England
Fábio - Manchester United (loan QPR), England

Burkina Faso
Pan Pierre Koulibaly - Montegnée, Belgium
Paul Koulibaly - Al Shorta, Iraq

China
Sun Ji - Hangzhou Greentown, China
Sun Xiang - Guangzhou Evergrande, China

Cyprus
Loukas Stylianou - PAEEK, Cyprus
Demetris Stylianou - Aris Limassol, Cyprus

England
Jaydon Gibbs - Guildford City, England
Kieran Gibbs - Arsenal, England

England U21
Will Keane - Manchester United, England
Michael Keane - Manchester United, England

Estonia
Sander Puri - St. Mirren, Scotland
Eino Puri - JK Nõmme Kalju, Estonia

Finland
Niklas Moisander - Ajax, Netherlands
Henrik Moisander - TPS Turku, Finland

Germany
Lars Bender - Bayer Leverkusen, Germany
Sven Bender - Borussia Dortmund, Germany

Guinea
Alhassane Këïta - Dubai CSC, UAE
Alsény Këïta - US Sénart-Moissy, France

Hungary U21
Ádám Simon - Palermo (loan Haladás), Hungary
Andras Simon - Győri ETO FC (loan Haladás), Hungary

Japan
Hisato Satō - Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Japan
Yūto Satō - JEF United, Japan

Malaysia
Mohd Aidil Zafuan - Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia
Mohd Zaquan Adha - Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

Poland
Piotr Brożek - Lechia Gdańsk, Poland
Paweł Brożek - Recreativo Huelva, Spain

Russia
Vasili Berezutski - CSKA Moscow, Russia
Aleksei Berezutski - CSKA Moscow, Russia

Spain U23
Miguel Flaño - Osasuna, Spain
Javi Flaño - Elche, Spain

Sweden
Marcus Olsson - Blackburn Rovers, England
Martin Olsson - Blackburn Rovers, England

Switzerland U21
Damian Bellón - Panetolikos, Greece
Yagó Bellón - FC Kreuzlingen, Switzerland

Switzerland
Philipp Degen - FC Basel, Switzerland
David Degen - FC Basel, Switzerland

Tahiti
Alvin Tehau - AS Tefana, Tahiti
Lorenzo Tehau - AS Tefana, Tahiti

Turkey
Halil Altıntop - Trabzonspor, Turkey
Hamit Altıntop - Galatasaray, Turkey

USA U17
Gabriel Farfan - Philadelphia Union, USA
Michael Farfan - Philadelphia Union, USA

Criteria: Both currently active and at least one brother has played for their youth or full national team.

Photos from: MLSsoccer.com and forum.ea.com

Best Goal Differences in Europe - 2012/2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:04:00 +0000

+76 - Bayern München
+66 - Barcelona
+60 - PSV
+56 - Benfica
+55 - Shakhtar Donetsk

+54 - Real Madrid
+54 - Cliftonville (Northern Ireland)
+51 - Porto
+48 - Olympiakos
+48 - Celtic

+46 - Juventus
+46 - APOEL (Cyprus)
+45 - Ajax
+45 - Austria Wien
+44 - Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)

+44 - Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia)
+44 - Lusitanos (Andorra)
+43 - Manchester United
+43 - Dinamo Zagreb
+42 - Anderlecht

+41 - PSG
+41 - Maccabi Tel Aviv
+41 - Maribor (Slovenia)
+40 - Borussia Dortmund
+40 - Salzburg

+39 - Steaua Bucureşti
+38 - Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova)
+38 - Crusaders (Northern Ireland)
+36 - Anorthosis (Cyprus)
+35 - Vardar (Macedonia)

+34 - Valletta (Malta)
+33 - Chelsea
+33 - København
+33 - Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
+32 - Napoli

+32 - Fola Esch (Luxembourg)
+31 - Atlético Madrid
+31 - Dynamo Kyiv
+31 - Levski Sofia (Bulgaria)
+31 - Olimpija (Slovenia)

+31 - The New Saints (Wales)
+30 - Manchester City
+30 - Arsenal
+30 - Viktoria Plzeň (Czech Republic)

Not including the European leagues with a Summer schedule
Stats as of Apr 29, 2013

Eredivisie 23+ Goal Scorers since 1992/1993

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:07:00 +0000

Jozy Altidore recently scored his 23rd goal for AZ in the Dutch Eredivisie. Here is a list of the other players that have accomplished this feat in the past 20 Eredivisie seasons.

2012/2013
31 - Wilfried Bony (Vitesse)
26 - Graziano Pellè (Feyenoord)
24 - Alfred Finnbogason (Heerenveen)
23 - Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar)

2011/2012
32 - Bas Dost (Heerenveen)
25 - Luuk de Jong (Twente)
23 - Sanharib Malki - (Roda JC)

2010/2011
23 - Björn Vleminckx (NEC Nijmegen)

2009/2010
35 - Luis Suárez (Ajax)
24 - Bryan Ruiz (Twente)

2008/2009
23 - Mounir El Hamdaoui (AZ Alkmaar)

2007/2008
34 - Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Ajax)

2006/2007
34 - Afonso Alves (Heerenveen)

2005/2006
24 - Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord)
23 - Shota Arveladze (AZ Alkmaar)

2004/2005
29 - Dirk Kuyt (Feyenoord)

2003/2004
31 - Mateja Kezman (PSV)

2002/2003
34 - Mateja Kezman (PSV)
28 - Pierre Van Hooijdonk (Feyenoord)

2001/2002
23 - Pierre Van Hooijdonk (Feyenoord)

2000/2001
24 - Mateja Kezman (PSV)

1999/2000
29 - Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV)
25 - Pierre Van Hooijdonk (Vitesse)

1998/1999
31 - Ruud van Nistelrooy (PSV)
24 - Luc Nilis (PSV)

1997/1998
34 - Nikos Machlas (Vitesse)
25 - Shota Arveladze (Ajax)

1996/1997
None

1995/1996
None

1994/1995
30 - Ronaldo (PSV)

1993/1994
26 - Jari Litmanen (Ajax)
25 - Pierre van Hooijdonk (NAC)

1992/1993
26 - Dennis Bergkamp (Ajax)

MLS TV Markets 2012-2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:37:00 +0000

2012-2013 MLS TV Market sizes based on a report by the Television Bureau of Canada using the January 2013 Nielsen Rankings and the Fall 2012 BBM Rankings.

MLS TV Markets

Rank	Market	Pop. (000)
1	New York	19,790
2	Los Angeles	16,897
3	Chicago	9,339
4	Philadelphia	7,432
5	Toronto-Hamilton	7,362
6	Dallas-Ft. Worth	6,910
7	San Francisco-Oak-San Jose	6,705
8	Boston	6,272
9	Houston	6,137
11	Washington DC	5,851
13	Montreal (French and English)	4,714
15	Seattle-Tacoma	4,584
19	Denver	3,900
21	Vancouver	3,526
24	Montreal (French)	3,273
27	Portland, OR	3,003
32	Salt Lake City	2,495
35	Kansas City	2,282
36	Columbus, OH	2,270
60	Montreal (English)	1,441

Biggest Non-MLS TV Markets in USA/Canada

Rank	Market	Pop. (000)
10	Atlanta	5,910
12	Detroit	4,910
14	Minneapolis-St. Paul	4,614
16	Tampa-St. Petersburg	4,462
17	Phoenix	4,439
18	Cleveland-Akron	4,054
20	Miami-Ft. Lauderdale	3,745
22	Orlando-Daytona Beach-Melbourne	3,502
23	Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto	3,400
24	Charlotte	3,398
25	Pittsburgh	3,136
26	St. Louis	3.034
28	Raleigh-Durham	2,830
29	San Diego	2,677
30	Baltimore	2,669

Foreign Players in the Chinese Super League

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:53:00 +0000

Beijing Guoan
Darko Matić - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Joffre Guerrón - Ecuador
Frédéric Kanouté - Mali
André Lima - Brazil
Egor Krimets - Uzbekistan

Changchun Yatai
Éder Baiano - Brazil
Zé Carlos - Brazil
Isac - Brazil
Anzur Ismailov - Uzbekistan
Matt McKay - Australia

Dalian Aerbin
Fábio Rochemback - Brazil
Guillaume Hoarau - France
Peter Utaka - Nigeria
Seydou Keita - Mali

Guangzhou Evergrande
Elkeson - Brazil
Muriqui - Brazil
Dario Conca - Argentina
Lucas Barrios - Paraguay
Kim Young-Gwon - South Korea

Guangzhou R&F
Jumar - Brazil
Davi - Brazil
Rafael Coelho - Brazil
Yakubu - Nigeria
Rostyn Griffiths - Australia

Guizhou Renhe
Zlatan Muslimović - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Zvjezdan Misimović - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Rafa Jordà - Spain
Nano - Spain
Jonas Salley - Australia
Xavier Chen - Chinese Taipei

Hangzhou Greentown
Marek Jarolím - Czech Republic
Mazola - Brazil
Davy Claude Angan - Cote d'Ivoire
Kim Dong-Jin - South Korea
Masashi Oguro - Japan

Jiangsu Sainty
Eleílson - Brazil
Cristian Dănălache - Romania
Hamdi Salihi - Albania
Aleksandar Jevtić - Serbia
Sergey Krivets - Belarus
Kamoliddin Tajiev - Uzbekistan

Liaoning Whowin
Edu - Brazil
James Chamanga - Zambia
Miloš Trifunović - Serbia
Pablo Brandán - Argentina
Shavkat Mullajanov - Uzbekistan

Qingdao Jonoon
Gustavo - Brazil
Bruno Meneghel - Brazil
Gabriel Melkam - Nigeria
Sherzod Karimov - Uzbekistan
George Mourad - Syria

Shandong Luneng
Leonardo Pisculichi - Argentina
Gilberto Macena - Brazil
Marius Niculae - Romania
Ryan McGowan - Australia
Roda Antar - Lebanon

Shanghai Shenhua
Rolando Schiavi - Argentina
Dady - Cape Verde
Giovanni Moreno - Colombia
Patricio Toranzo - Argentina
Firas Al-Khatib - Syria

Shanghai Shenxin
Jaílton Paraíba - Brazil
Kieza - Brazil
Johnny - Brazil
Antônio Flávio - Brazil
Michael Marrone - Australia

Shanghai SIPG
Chris Dickson - Ghana
Ransford Addo - Ghana
Luis Carlos Cabezas - Colombia
Iban Cuadrado - Spain

Tianjin Teda
Éder Lima - Brazil
Dinélson - Brazil
Carmelo Valencia - Colombia
Vladimir Jovančić - Bosnia and Herzegovina
Erik Paartalu - Australia

Wuhan Zall
Novak Martinović - Serbia
Santos Junior - Brazil
Bentley - Nigeria
Garra Dembélé - Mali
Cho Won-Hee - South Korea

MLS: American-born Goal Scorer Birthplace Map

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:45:00 +0000

The birthplaces of the American-born players that have scored in the first 8 weeks of the 2013 MLS season

View MLS USA-born Goal Scorer Birthplace Map in a larger map

Chris Wondolwoski - Danville, California
Adam Jahn - El Macero, California
Andrew Jacobson - Palo Alto, California
Daniel Paladini - Northridge, California
Eric Avila - San Diego, California
Amobi Okugo - Hayward, California
Landon Donovan - Ontario, California
Jack McBean - Newport Beach, California
Jeff Larentowicz - Pasadena, California
Luis Gil - Garden Grove, California
Jose Villareal - Inglewood, California
Carlos Alvarez - Los Angeles, California

Josh Williams - Akron, Ohio
Ben Speas - Stow, Ohio
Chris Rolfe - Kettering, Ohio
Justin Morrow - Cleveland, Ohio

Graham Zusi - Longwood, Florida
Dax McCarty - Winter Park, Florida
Eddie Johnson - Bunnell, Florida
Jeremy Hall - Tampa, Florida

Brad Davis - Saint Charles, Missouri
Will Bruin - St. Louis, Missouri

Eric Alexander - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Corey Hertzog - Reading, Pennsylvania

Brad Evans - Phoenix, Arizona
Robbie Findley - Phoenix, Arizona

Dillon Powers - Plano, Texas
Davy Arnaud - Nederland, Texas

George John - Shoreline, Washington

Ricardo Clark - Atlanta, Georgia

Justin Braun - Salt Lake City, Utah

Kenny Cooper - Baltimore, Maryland

Perry Kitchen - Indianapolis, Indiana

Conor Casey - Dover, New Hampshire

Jack McInerney - Chattanooga, Tennessee

Mike Magee - Chicago, Illinois

MLS Week 8 - Total Goals by Nationality

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:11:00 +0000

The total number of goals scored by different nationalities in the first 8 weeks of the MLS season.

Region
85 - CONCACAF
24 - Europe
29 - South America
7 - Africa
1 - Asia

Nation
60 - USA
11 - Argentina
9 - Brazil
8 - Colombia
6 - France
6 - Jamaica
5 - Canada
5 - Costa Rica
5 - Ghana
5 - Wales
4 - England
3 - Italy
3 - Mexico
3 - Panama
3 - Scotland
2 - Honduras
1 - Ecuador
1 - Japan
1 - Liberia
1 - Nigeria
1 - Northern Ireland
1 - Republic of Ireland
1 - Spain
1 - St. Kitts and Nevis

Updated: I previously posted the statistics with a week of goals missing. These are the corrected statistics.

Wigan Athletic - Player Birthplace Map

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:52:00 +0000

View Wigan Athletic Player Birthplace Map in a larger map

EPL African Goal Scorers - 2012/2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:47:00 +0000

African players, by birth or national team affiliation, that have scored in the English Premier League this season.

Goals	Player	Nationality	Club
15	Demba Ba	Senegal	Chelsea
10	Arouna Koné	Cote d'Ivoire	Wigan Athletic
8	Papiss Demba Cissé	Senegal	Newcastle United
6	Victor Anichebe	Nigeria	Everton
6	Stephane Sessègnon	Benin	Sunderland
5	Jimmy Kébé	Mali	Reading
5	Gervinho	Cote d'Ivoire	Arsenal
5	Peter Odemwingie	Nigeria	West Brom
5	Steven Pienaar	South Africa	Everton
5	Adel Taarabt	Morocco	QPR
5	Yaya Touré	Cote d'Ivoire	Manchester City
3	Emmanuel Adebayor	Togo	Tottenham Hotspur
3	Sebastien Bassong	Cameroon	Norwich City
3	Mohamed Diamé	Senegal	West Ham United
2	Modibo Maïga	Mali	West Ham United
1	Shola Ameobi	Nigeria	Newcastle United
1	Benoit Assou-Ekotto	Cameroon	Tottenham Hotspur
1	Gaël Bigirimana	Burundi	Newcastle United
1	Karim El Ahmadi	Morocco	Aston Villa
1	Kei Kamara	Sierra Leone	Norwich City
1	Victor Moses	Nigeria	Chelsea
1	Youssouf Mulumbu	DR Congo	West Brom

Stats as of April 18, 2013

FIFA Confederation Ranking Comparison - April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 12:27:00 +0000

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

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

3.8 - Europe (+/-0.0)
1 - Spain
2 - Germany
4 - Croatia
5 - Portugal
7 - England

11.0 - South America (+/-0.0)
3 - Argentina
6 - Colombia
10 - Ecuador
17 - Uruguay
19 - Brazil

25.2 - Africa (-1.0)
12 - Cote d'Ivoire
22 - Ghana
26 - Mali
31 - Nigeria
35 - Algeria

35.8 - CONCACAF (+2.0)
14 - Mexico
28 - USA
38 - Panama
47 - Costa Rica
52 - Honduras

47.8 - Asia (-2.2)
29 - Japan
42 - South Korea
46 - Australia
56 - Iran
66 - Uzbekistan

132.0 - Oceania (-3.0)
86 - New Zealand
105 - New Caledonia
134 - Tahiti
162 - Solomon Islands
173 - Vanuatu

MLS Week 6 - Total Goals by Nationality

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:01:00 +0000

The total number of goals scored by different nationalities in the first 6 weeks of the MLS season.

Region
58 - CONCACAF
21 - South America
19 - Europe
5 - Africa
1 - Asia

Nation
38 - USA
8 - Argentina
6 - Brazil
6 - Colombia
5 - Canada
5 - Costa Rica
5 - Jamaica
5 - Wales
4 - France
4 - Ghana
3 - Italy
3 - Scotland
2 - Honduras
2 - Panama
1 - Ecuador
1 - Japan
1 - Liberia
1 - Mexico
1 - Republic of Ireland
1 - Spain

La Liga Non-European Goal Scorers

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:14:00 +0000

SOUTH AMERICA (209)
43 - Lionel Messi (Argentina: Barcelona)
24 - Radamel Falcao (Colombia: Atlético Madrid)
13 - Gonzalo Higuaín (Argentina: Real Madrid)
11 - Jonas (Brazil: Valencia)
7 - Léo Baptistão (Brazil: Rayo Vallecano)
7 - Javier Saviola (Argentina: Málaga)
7 - Diego Costa (Brazil: Atlético Madrid)
6 - Gary Medel (Chile: Sevilla)
6 - Roque Santa Cruz (Paraguay: Málaga)
5 - Gonzalo Castro (Uruguay: Real Soceidad)
5 - Adriano Correia (Brazil: Barcelona)
5 - Nelson Valdez (Paraguay: Valencia)
5 - Christian Stuani (Uruguay: Espanyol)
5 - Dorlan Pabón (Colombia: Real Betis)
4 - Martin Demichelis (Argentina: Málaga)
4 - Ángel di María (Argentina: Real Madrid)
4 - Alejandro Domínguez (Argentina: Rayo Vallecano)
4 - Auguston Fernandez (Argentina: Celta de Vigo)
4 - Alexis Sánchez (Chile: Barcelona)
3 - Abel Aguilar (Colombia: Deportivo La Coruña)
3 - Emiliano Armenteros (Argentina: Osasuna)
3 - Federico Fazio (Argentina: Sevilla)
2 - Diego Colotto (Argentina: Espanyol)
2 - Kaká (Brazil: Real Madrid)
2 - Diego Ifrán (Uruguay: Real Sociedad)
2 - Miranda (Brazil: Atlético Madrid)
2 - Pedro Morales (Chile: Málaga)
2 - Paulão (Brazil: Real Betis)
2 - Júlio Baptista (Brazil: Malaga)
1 - Juan Albín (Uruguay: Espanyol)
1 - Brayan Angulo (Colombia: Granada)
1 - Ever Banega (Argentina: Valencia)
1 - Diego Buonanotte (Argentina: Malaga)
1 - Gustavo Cabral (Argentina: Celta de Vigo)
1 - Alberto Costa (Argentina: Valencia)
1 - Federico Fernández (Argentina: Getafe)
1 - Pedro Geromel (Brazil: Mallorca)
1 - Diego Godín (Uruguay: Atletico Madrid)
1 - Cicinho (Brazil: Sevilla)
1 - Weligton (Brazil: Malaga)
1 - Pablo Piatti (Argentina: Valencia)
1 - Cristian Rodriguez (Uruguay: Atletico Madrid)
1 - Francisco Silva (Chile: Osasuna)
1 - Franco Vázquez (Argentina: Rayo Vallecano)
1 - Franco Zuculini (Argentina: Real Zaragoza)
1 - Filipe Luis (Brazil: Atletico Madrid)

AFRICA (43)
8 - Manucho Gonçalves (Angola: Real Valladolid)
7 - Obafemi Martins (Nigeria: Levante)
4 - Youssef El-Arabi (Morocco: Granada)
3 - Lass Bangoura (Guinea: Rayo Vallecano)
3 - Abdelaziz Barrada (Morocco: Getafe)
3 - Sofiane Feghouli (Algeria: Valencia)
3 - Odion Ighalo (Nigeria: Granada)
3 - Wakaso Mubarak (Ghana: Espanyol)
2 - Nabil El Zhar (Morocco: Levante)
2 - Emilio Nsue (Equatorial Guinea: Mallorca)
1 - Rodolfo Bodipo (Equatorial Guinea: Deportivo La Coruña)
1 - Michael Essien (Ghana: Real Madrid)
1 - Fabrice Olinga (Cameroon: Malaga)
1 - Alexandre Song (Cameroon: Barcelona)
1 - Nosa Igiebor (Nigeria: Real Betis)

CONCACAF (20)
13 - Carlos Vela (Mexico: Real Sociedad)
3 - Giovani dos Santos (Mexico: Mallorca)
2 - Joel Campbell (Costa Rica: Real Betis)
2 - Hector Moreno (Mexico: Espanyol)

ASIA (4)
3 - Chu-Young Park (South Korea: Celta de Vigo)
1 - Masoud Shojaei (Iran: Osasuna)

Stats as of April 14, 2013

FIFA Best/Worst Rankings - April 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 16:36:00 +0000

Nations currently at their best or worst all-time ranking position in the April 2013 FIFA Rankings.

Best Ranking
10 - Ecuador
36 - Venezuela
38 - Panama
48 - Albania
59 - Equatorial Guinea
112 - Tajikistan
139 - Afghanistan

Worst Ranking
19 - Brazil
165 - Singapore
174 - Yemen
177 - Fiji
183 - Curaçao
196 - Cayman Islands
198 - Eritrea
202 - Macau

German Bundesliga Non-European Goal Scorers

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 11:58:00 +0000

Non-European goal scorers (by birth or national team affiliation) in the 2012/2013 German Bundesliga season.

SOUTH AMERICA (44)
7 - Diego (Brazil: Wolfsburg)
6 - Jefferson Farfán (Peru: Schalke 04)
5 - Juan Arango (Venezuela: Borussia M'gladbach)
5 - Roberto Firmino (Brazil: Hoffenheim)
4 - Naldo (Brazil: Wolfsburg)
4 - Claudio Pizarro (Peru: Bayern München)
3 - Luiz Gustavo (Brazil: Bayern München)
3 - Michel Bastos (Brazil: Schalke 04)
1 - Raffael (Brazil: Schalke 04)
1 - Dante (Brazil: Bayern München)
1 - Rafinha (Brazil: Bayern München)
1 - Edu (Brazil: Greuther Fürth)
1 - Felipe Santana (Brazil: Borussia Dortmund)
1 - Anderson Bamba (Brazil: Eintracht Frankfurt)
1 - Elkin Soto (Colombia: Mainz 05)
1 - Felipe (Brazil: Hannover 96)

ASIA (32)
9 - Heung-Min Son (South Korea: Hamburger SV)
6 - Takashi Inui (Japan: Eintracht Frankfurt)
4 - Hiroshi Kiyotake (Japan: Nürnberg)
4 - Robbie Kruse (Australia: Fortuna Düsseldorf)
3 - Ja-Cheol Koo (South Korea: Augsburg)
2 - Takashi Usami (Japan: Hoffenheim)
1 - Makoto Hasebe (Japan: Wolfsburg)
1 - Dong-Won Ji (South Korea: Augsburg)
1 - Shinji Okazaki (Japan: Stuttgart)
1 - Atsuto Uchida (Japan: Schalke 04)

AFRICA (29)
10 - Mame Biram Diouf (Senegal: Hannover 96)
5 - Didier Ya Konan (Cote d'Ivoire: Hannover 96)
3 - Joël Matip (Cameroon: Schalke 04)
3 - Ibrahima Traore (Guinea: Stuttgart)
2 - Cedric Makiadi (DR Congo: Freiburg)
2 - Nando Rafael (Angola: Fortuna Düsseldorf)
1 - Joseph Akpala (Nigeria: Werder Bremen)
1 - Diagné Fallou (Senegal: Freiburg)
1 - Karim Haggui (Tunisia: Hannover 96)
1 - Karim Matmour (Algeria: Eintracht Frankfurt)

CONCACAF (8)
3 - Fabian Johnson (USA: Hoffenheim)
1 - Timothy Chandler (USA: Nürnberg)
1 - Júnior Díaz (Costa Rica: Mainz 05)
1 - Jermaine Jones (USA: Schalke 04)
1 - Olivier Occéan (Canada: Eintracht Frankfurt)
1 - Daniel Williams (USA: Hoffenheim)

Stats as of April 9, 2013

MLS Week 5 - Total Goals by Nationality

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 23:15:00 +0000

The total number of goals scored by different nationalities in the first 5 weeks of the MLS season.

Region
52 - CONCACAF
18 - South America
14 - Europe
4 - Africa
1 - Asia

Nation
33 - USA
8 - Argentina
5 - Brazil
5 - Costa Rica
4 - Canada
4 - Colombia
4 - Jamaica
4 - Wales
3 - France
3 - Ghana
3 - Scotland
2 - Honduras
2 - Panama
1 - Ecuador
1 - Japan
1 - Liberia
1 - Mexico
1 - Republic of Ireland
1 - Spain

Soccer Look-Alikes

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:34:00 +0000

In the first year of The Best Eleven I did a handful of look-alike posts that readers seemed to enjoy. It's been a few years since then so I decided to give it another go with Movie and TV characters (mostly villains). It's admittedly much harder to be original these days with so many great blogs/websites/forums posting look-alikes, but here are a few of the better doppelgangers that I've seen, heard about, or thought of recently.

Andy Garcia - Dimitar Berbatov

Rafa Benitez - "Al" from Toy Story

Cobra Kai Sensei from Karate Kid - Dunga

Owen Hargreaves - Robb Stark from Game of Thrones

Herve Renard (Zambia Coach) - Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones

Jonjo Shelvey - Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter

Gus Fring from Breaking Bad - Chris Hughton (Norwich City)

Alvaro Negredo - Sylar from Heroes

Tony Montana from Scarface - Pablo Hernandez (Swansea City)

Rüştü Reçber (Former Turkey GK) - Ardeth Bay from The Mummy

EPL Non-European Goal Scorers

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:02:00 +0000

Africa (88)
15 - Demba Ba (Senegal)
10 - Arouna Koné (Cote d'Ivoire)
7 - Papiss Cissé (Senegal)
5 - Victor Anichebe (Nigeria)
5 - Jimmy Kébé (Mali)
5 - Gervinho (Cote d'Ivoire)
5 - Peter Odemwingie (Nigeria)
5 - Steven Pienaar (South Africa)
5 - Stephane Sessègnon (Benin)
5 - Adel Taarabt (Morocco)
5 - Yaya Touré (Cote d'Ivoire)
3 - Sebastien Bassong (Cameroon)
2 - Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo)
2 - Mohamed Diamé (Senegal)
2 - Modibo Maïga (Mali)
1 - Shola Ameobi (Nigeria)
1 - Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Cameroon)
1 - Gaël Bigirimana (Burundi)
1 - Karim El Ahmadi (Morocco)
1 - Kei Kamara (Sierra Leone)
1 - Victor Moses (Nigeria)
1 - Youssouf Mulumbu (DR Congo)

South America (71)
22 - Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
10 - Carlos Tévez (Argentina)
9 - Sergio Agüero (Argentina)
5 - Franco Di Santo (Argentina)
4 - Gaston Ramírez (Uruguay)
4 - Ramires (Brazil)
3 - Rafael (Brazil)
3 - Hugo Rodallega (Colombia)
2 - Philippe Coutinho (Brazil)
2 - Pablo Zabaleta (Argentina)
1 - Jean Beausejour (Chile)
1 - Anderson (Brazil)
1 - Oscar (Brazil)
1 - Jonas Gutiérrez (Argentina)
1 - Ángelo Henríquez (Chile)
1 - David Luiz (Brazil)
1 - Sandro (Brazil)

CONCACAF (27)
8 - Javier Hernández (Mexico)
5 - Clint Dempsey (USA)
3 - Kenwyne Jones (Trinidad and Tobago)
2 - Emmerson Boyce (Barbados)
2 - David Hoilett (Canada)
2 - Bryan Ruiz (Costa Rica)
1 - Maynor Figueroa (Honduras)
1 - Simeon Jackson (Canada)
1 - Mikele Leigertwood (Antigua and Barbuda)
1 - Adrian Mariappa (Jamaica)
1 - Gareth McCleary (Jamaica)

Asia (6)
5 - Shinji Kagawa (Japan)
1 - Brett Holman (Australia)

Oceania (2)
1 - Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand)
1 - Winston Reid (New Zealand)

2012-2013 Season, stats as of April 5, 2013.

MLS Week 4 - Total Goals by Nationality

noreply@blogger.com (Steve) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:09:00 +0000

The total number of goals scored by different nationalities in the first 4 weeks of the MLS season.

Region
42 - CONCACAF
14 - South America
13 - Europe
3 - Africa
1 - Asia

Nation
27 - USA
7 - Argentina
5 - Costa Rica
4 - Canada
4 - Wales
3 - Brazil
3 - Colombia
3 - France
3 - Scotland
2 - Ghana
2 - Honduras
2 - Jamaica
1 - Ecuador
1 - Japan
1 - Liberia
1 - Mexico
1 - Panama
1 - Republic of Ireland
1 - Spain