Archive for soccer
Red Devils Rejoice
Manchester United hoisted its 3rd UEFA Champions League trophy in Moscow today after narrowly defeating bete noire Cheslea FC 6-5 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 stalemate in normal and extra time. The scoreline, however, belied Chelsea’s increasing domination of the game, especially towards the latter stages of normal and extra time.
Soccernet’s Richard Jolly comments on Chelsea’s loss and, in his eyes, United’s deserved the accolades. He points out eloquently,
“Tradition triumphed as, in a country overflowing with new money, the nouveau riche came off second best.”
Hubbard, one of Soccernet’s many erduite and insightful writers, is, of course, referring to Chelsea and its billionaire owner/oil magnate Roman Abramovich. Abramovich has spent truly inordinate amounts on new players during each of the transfer periods he has oversaw, and after this heartbreaking loss, this close-season will surely prove no exception, with beleagured Israeli boss Avram Grant eying a discontented Ronaldinho and Kaka.
Grant deserves more plaudits than his effusively praised counterpart, Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson. Admittedly lacking a personality comparable to charismatic predecessor Jose Mourinho, Grant has attained something the celebrated Mourinho never did: an appearance in the Champions League final. Although falling to United, Grant steadied the unsettled dark-blue London outfit to remarkable second place finish in the Barclay’s Premier League as well. In first place? Ferguson’s Manchester United.
Obviously winning the hallowed double, a Champions League and Premier League trophy, is no simple feat. Nevertheless, the more hands-off approach employed by the Glazer family has proved far easier for coaches to work with, juxtaposed against Abramovich’s intrusive, meddling methods towards managing his expensive team. Facing scrutiny from Abramovich and the media, former Chelsea boss Mourinho found his job untenable and and himself unable to develope the type of rapport with his aloof Russian boss that the Glazers and Ferguson have enjoyed.
Best Advert of the Year
Created by Madonna’s husband, Guy Ritchie, for Nike. Really unique: this was shot using a microscopic camera on a players head: what you see is what the player sees during a match. (I’m going to guess they used Theo Walcott or Robin van Persie as the player.) If your not attuned to soccer at all here’s a short primer to help you understand: Most players start off playing in lower leagues (there are several in a country like England, and teams get promoted and relegated each year based on performance) and get recognized by scouts. Arsene Wenger, who boasts an unequalled eye for talent, watches this player and signs him for his team, the world famous Arsenal FC…the player’s learning curve is profiled against teams like Manchester United and Barcelona…and culminates horatio alger style when he gets called up to play for his home country (im assuming), the netherlands – next to klaas jan huntelaar and against Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. enjoy:
how inglorious the end
John Arne Riise’s late own goal in the 95th minute (the last minute of stoppage time!!) doomed European giants Liverpool to a 1-1 draw withLondon rivals Chelsea just a few hours ago. To be fair, a lucky bounce coupled with an uncharacteristic comedy of errors helped Dutch winger Dirk Kuyt’s opening goal bounce under Petr Cech, but then again, Kuyt’s immense work rate facilitated the play in the first place.
The match at Anfield proved a cagey one, as the British commentators on ESPN2 would say — that is, not exactly the most exhilarating. Tomorrow’s affair at the Camp Nou between hosts Barcelona and the sublime Manchester United will hopefully be more entertaining. United enter the match led by their supremely confident talisman, the scintillating Portugese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, while their Catalan opponents are in disarray, as clubhouse factions between the Brazilians and others at the club have escalated in recent weeks, climaxing with revelations from the team’s economic adviser (and really famous Columbia university professor) Xavier Sala-i-Martin. (Please click that link – his webpage is incredibly funny for such a venerable economist, replete with outrageous pictures of him and beavis and butthead, among other things) The economist reported that the club has been labeling players such as the (previously) irreplaceable Ronaldinho as injured in order to keep the out of the squad –when they are actually not. Ronaldinhois set to put pen to paper with AC Milan at the season’s close.
Tomorrow: Manchester United v Barcelona. 2.30 ET. ESPN2. Prediction: Man Utd 2-1.
Ah Finally: Here’s video of the tremendous own goal. Wow. Hopefully this video will still be working in a few hours, UEFA and the Premier league are notorious for taking down soccer videos due to copyright claims.
it’s official: ronaldinho is rich
(First, Apologies for the lack of posts lately — teachers have been piling on the work with only one week left before spring break!)
Indeed, the Portugese website Futebol Finance, which I’m guessing analyzes and pours over soccer-related data and statistics, released a list of the 50 highest paid socccer players in the world a few days ago. In terms of salary, AC Milan Brazilian midfielder Kaka is the most affluent soccer player, taking home 750,000 euros a month — 9 million euros (well over $10 million US) a year. His compatriot Ronaldinho (pictured) is number 2, making about 8.5 million euros a year. However, this list does not include endorsement deals from commericals or boot manufacturers such as Nike, Adidas or Lotto – including these factors, Ronaldinho and the LA Galaxy’s talisman David Beckham (a mere 44th on the list) would most likely rank 1 and 2.Other notables include 18 year old Atletico Madrid sensation Sergio “Kun” Aguero, who takes home a cool 5 million euros a year — more than the prolific Juventus duo of Alessandro Del Piero and David Trezeguet. Moreover, Arsenal FC, currently in first place in the English Premier League, has no players on the list - a statistic that astute manager Arsene Wenger (and the owners) will extol. Few possess a sublime eye for young talent like Mr Wenger, who often purchases unknowns for cheap and makes them into stars (or sells them for a tidy profit).
It’s especially interesting to juxtapose these astronomical salaries of European-based players with those in MLS. Aside from Beckham, Designated Players Juan Pablo Angel, Claudio Reyna, and Cuahtemotec Blano were the exclusive ones to earn upwards of $1 million in MLS. Landon Donovan was the highest-paid American, receiving 900,000 from the Galaxy – despite the fact that he could easily make twice that amount in Europe. Several players, especially the young ones, make the laughably low “developmental” salaries of $12,900 or $17,700. Others mostly make salaries below $100,000. A few established “stars” and veterans in the league make slightly more than $100,000.
European soccer salaries are slightly higher than those of prominent NFL players, but roughly proportionate with simply how good that player is, or how marketable they are. The Dallas Cowboys throw $8 million dollars at Terrell Owens a year – Cristiano Ronaldo makes 8 million too, but in euros, which comes out to about 1.5 times what TO gets. After sifting through the salaries of even notoriously prolifigate NFL teams (aka the Redskins), I was shocked at how low the median salary was (even though I shouldn’t have since I take AP Statistics and thus fathom that the median is a better measure of spread in this instance because it is non-resistant to extreme observations like Clinton Portis’s salary…). Although such a list has not been released with the salaries of all players on a high-profile squad, say AC Milan, I would assume the median salary to be about the same or a tad higher at the $1 million mark.
what we’re watching (updated)
THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RETURNS.
Liverpool FC vs. Inter Milan
Tue., Feb. 19 at 2:30 pm ET
Winner: Liverpool 2-0 in dramatic fashion, scoring both goals in the closing minutes after a tedious first half noted only for the sending-off of Marco Materazzi (infamous for his role in the 2006 World Cup Final Head-butt). Roma shocked Real Madrid 2-1 in Rome while Chelsea and Olimpiakos drew 0-0.
Arsenal FC vs. AC Milan
Wed., Feb. 20 at 2:30 pm ET
And in honor of the oft-injured Ronaldo, here’s one of his best games, scoring a hat-trick against Manchester United in the Champions League. (To novices, the Champions League is European Soccer’s NCAA tournament, except exponentially bigger. The best sides from the best European leagues square off in a group stage and then a knockout round to determine the best team in Europe. AC Milan are the current holders.)
Update
We’re still alive. Sorry for the dearth of posts lately; school, after school activities, papers, and tests have caught up with us.
Expect posts in the coming days or next week. Here’s some news that should keep you busy until next time:
First an interesting, random tidbit from The Lede of the New York Times:
Iranian government officials, (not so much actual Iranians) already incensed by their portrayal in the film 300, have similarly taken umbradge to the new film Persepolis. Apparently an advisor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad trashed it as “U.S. psychological warfare.”
It’s a unique, animated film that has received critical acclaim worldwide. It follows the life of a young Iranian during the Islamic Revolution.
As for the grossly undercovered presidential primaries (kidding, of course), Obama swept Virginia, DC, MD, and the absolutely pivotal voting demographic of Calvert County. (Kidding, of course). Barring a remarkable comeback, it looks as if McCain and Obama will be the 2008 ticket. The two have already exchanged pleasantries. (Kidding, of course).
Finally, the English Premier League’s audacious (and vacuous to many) new plan to have an extra 39th regular season game has some fans and managers incredibly dismayed. Especially since they were not even consulted prior to the announcement! Under the plan, each team will play another regular round of fixtures – but in an international city, such as New York, Los Angeles, or Sydney. ESPN Soccernet’s Norman Hubbard and the Wall Street Journal comment.
English Premier League Fandom To Decide Election.
The Sun’s mockup of Presidential hopeful Barack Obama.
Yes that is Barack Obama. Wearing a West Ham kit. In Anton Ferdinand’s body.
Edited by England’s notorious tabloid The Sun, Bizzare Editor Gordon Smart (yes that is his title and no I am not making this up) entitled the scoop: Obama forever blowing bubbles – an allusion to the club’s storied anthem, often sung at games.
Campaign advisors revealed “Mr Obama watches Premier League games whenever his schedule allows. ‘Obama is a big sports nut and loves his soccer.’”
“He never really followed it, though, until he was told all about the passion of West Ham fans by some of his English relatives. He’s always keen to find out how his adopted club are getting on.”
Do any other candidates have EPL clubs? Well, Mitt Romney could buy one…More after the jump.
Ersatz Apparel
Most likely much to your dismay, I, Shaj Mathew, am an unabashed soccer fan – (I had to clear that up so Kyle’s name isn’t affixed to such un-American heresy). Anyway, you should be safe, EIC readers, since I won’t delve into too much soccer here. As you see above, there lies the new USA Men’s National team kit — or, as my fellow soccer bloggers (at Sideline Views, SBI, and du Nord) have deemed, the Boring collection from Tommy Hilfiger. The USA’s uniform troubles have not gone undocumented indeed – Slate’s Michael J. Agovino wrote last year about the lack of a recogizable color or design juxtaposed against other prominent nations. Brazil has it’s canary yellow, France is les Bleus, and even Croatia is notable for their unique, checkered uniforms.
Frankly I think the new uniform looks incredibly vacuous, inappropriate (this isn’t polo), and just ugly. An improvement over the World Cup Kit was going to be difficult, but the designers at Nike really bungled this one. Indeed, The US jersey is just one of Nike’s many casualties: the commensurately atriocious Holland away kit and vapid Portugal home demonstrate their utter lack of sartorial prowess. The jury is out on the new adidas kits of the venerable European sides as well, as Germany ’s and France’s have failed to impress either.
However, it’s a good thing when uniform designs are one of the most pressing matters at hand. More Americans are heading abroad, and a plethora of young talent (Freddy Adu, Jozy Altidore – see the what we’re reading archive for more on Freddy) awaits the next World Cup in South Africa in 2010. The Nats first test on the pitch is coming up, as they take on Mexico February 6 on ESPN2 at 9 having enjoyed the better of their perennial rival as of late.
Shaj Mathew
kahutzler
