Belgian (Jupiler League): RSC Anderlecht, (4de Provinciale) VC Terheide
FA: Chelsea, since 1995
Primera Division: Barça, from before whenever ten Dutchmen played there (the Van Gaal period)
Bundesliga: right now Hamburg, because of the Belgians playing there
That U.S. vs Japan game, was IMO, a very strange game. Seems like we couldn't do anything right on the defensive side of the ball, but were damn near perfect while on offense. I'm sure a lot of the defensive problems had to do with the back line and goalie never really playing together, but I still would have expected a more communication between players on a Bruce Arena coached team.
When the U.S. was on the attack though, it was the total opposite. Great ball possesion and distribution. Players being unselfish with the ball. Great setpieces and all around good domination whenever they were in Japan's box. As I said before pretty much the exact opposite of how they played while on defense.
The players that really stood out for me were Clint Dempsey and Taylor Twellman. Twellman has been on a tear the last couple of games and barring a major injury has probably secured a spot in the WC squad. Clint Dempsey has also been in excelent form lately, and really showing what he is capable of on and off the ball. He is also starting to remind me a lot, of Demarcus Beasley, in the way that the only sure way of defending him is to constantly harass and foul him (hard). More and more I see the opposing defense knock him down, trip him, whatever it takes to try and throw him off his game, while hopefully not getting anyone ejected in the process. Pretty much the exact same treatment Beasley gets whenever he is on the pitch. You have to have someone on them at all times, and dont let them hold the ball. The minute you give either one some room with the ball or lose him in traffic they will make you pay.
I would really love to see Dempsey and Beasley onfield at the same time. I think that combo would rip through just about any defense and keep it on it's heels all game long. Unfortunately though, I believe they both play on the same side (right flank), which would make it highly unlikely. I have seen Beasley play the left flank before, but I don't think he's as much of a threat on the left as he is on the right. Who knows though, Arena has a knack for putting together lineups that most coaches would never dream of, so anything is possible. A guy can dream, right?
Just as an interesting continuation to the thread: What teams does the board support?
National Teams - U.S., Portugal
MLS - DC United
Portuguese League - Sporting Lisbon
Dutch League - Ajax Amsterdam
La Liga - Whoever is playing against Real
FA/EPL - Fulham (ATM, since they have not just one, but two U.S. players and a portuguese one as well).
I also have a passing interest in ManU and Chelsea, but that's mostly to see how Tim Howard, and the Portuguese (coaches and players) did that weekend, or the antics they got into.
ATM my favorite is whoever wins the Chelsea vs. Barcelona series. What I wouldn't give to see a Real vs. Barcelona final though. That would be, TEH AWESOME! I'm also rooting for PSV in the hopes of seeing an American (Beasley) playing in a CL final.
Ooh, I forgot national teams and Dutch league.
Holland: PSV Eindhoven, from the days Belgian Luc Nilis (ex-Anderlecht) was topscorer there
national teams: Belgium, Holland. Which is quite rare in Belgium, there's a lot of rivalry between Belgium and Holland in soccer. We played like 125 derby's or so in the history of football, so there are plenty off anti-Holland vibes around here. Well, we did claim our independence by kicking them out
Ooh, I forgot national teams
Me too!
National: US, England, Ireland
I'm a big fan of Dutch football, too, Dejanzie. They've given us Spurs two fantastic pieces of the puzzle - Jol & Davids!
As far as the CL goes, I'd love to Bayern win it, but that's an outside chance, considering their draw for next week. Shev is an amazing player.
The Reds have a better draw against Villareal, but I'd be surprised to see them win it again.
Unless the Blues play like they did last week, I think it will be a Chelsea v Barca final.
I'm going to have to back up the Arsenal-Real sentiment, Pred. With their injuries and general lack of form, I don't see the Gunners winning ANYTHING substantial anytime soon.
Flemish is a crazy redheaded-stepchild language like Welsh, and that half of your nation speaks this mongrel language.
Grammar is exactly the same in Holland and Flanders, only the vocabulary and accent may differ slightly. But Flemish is not what I'd call a mongrel language. It was one of the reasons for seperation with Holland though: the French Bourgeoisie was afraid they would be forced by the Dutch king to learn Dutch. As a counterreaction after the independence everything even remotely Dutch tongued was not only culturally (because only peasants spoke it back then) but also politically incorrect. So it's kind of a sensitive subject over here. For instance, thousands of Flemish soldiers were sent to certain death in WWI because all the officers orders where in French and French alone.
I do agree Chelsea-wise though, but only out of irrational fanboihood
Chelsea strikers do more than score. Chelsea tactics include fast build-up through direct passing (not really a counter-attack, but still) to Drogba's head or feet, who then lays it down for the upcoming midfielders - mostly Lampard. Never noticed how much Lampard scores in one season? That's because of Drogba.
True enough
Though they did have Zola before the Enlightened one...
That was a damn good game!
Not sure if it lived up to all the hype, but it was still an entertaining game. Great pace throughout, and some amazing individual efforts from Ronaldinho, (yeah, big surprise) and Eto'o for Barca, and John Terry for Chelsea. The Chelsea defense should be forced to buy John Terry dinner every night until the second leg. The game would have been a blowout if it had not been for the two goal line clearances he made, and he was involved in the Barca own-goal. The only mistake he made all game was his own-goal. If Chelsea had won the game Terry would still have gotten my vote for man-of-the-match.
Two things really surprised me about the game though. One, that pitch was just as bad as Barca kept saying, if not worse. I dont recall ever seeing a pitch that fracked up in a CL game. Two, the referee was blowing calls all game long. No way was that foul worthy of a red-card, at the very worst it's a yellow-card. For me the worst part was that there were plenty of far worse collisions and tackles during the game where nothing was called. If you're going to hand out re-cards, at least be consistent about it. Also, there were at least three handballs that were never called, two of which were in the box, and would have been penalty kicks if called. In the end I think the score was pretty much the way it deserved to be.
I keep meaning to post a link to a site called SoccerCommercials.com for a while now, but always end up forgetting. The majority of commercials are from U.S. TV, but there are some from other parts of the globe. Enjoy!
EDIT: My personal favorites are the Eric Cantona pwns Satan, and Brazil vs. Portugal melee. Good stuff.
Football commercials are usually hilarious. I really enjoy the Brazil/Portugal fracas as well. The music in the one 'Broadway Jungle' is also good, though more for the music.
Ronaldinho's flick at the end is un-be-freaking-lievable. You have no idea how many times I've practiced that and I still can't get it quite right.
My favorite is still the 'Let's take two minutes to talk about soccer', which was airing recently. Good tone, good pace, and it really captures the growing essence of American soccer, I think.
My favorite EPL player, Norberto Solano, goes off on Everton. It was a fun game to watch and Mr. Solano's second goal was a thing of absolute beauty.
Solano's a class player, and I'm glad to see him get a couple of notches on the boot. (See what I did there? Its boot, instead of belt!)
And how about Blackburn giving us Spurs a bit more breathing space up top? Honestly, I'm not worried about either Blackburn or Bolton (though moreso about the Wanderers), but rather Arsenal. I guess the Blackburn scoreline reinforces the fact that the team who dominates the game doesn't always win.
So, who's going where in the EPL? Who drops? Who's promoted from the Championship? Who wins a cherished Champion's League spot? Am I the only one who cares?
Thought I'd share a couple of articles, I ran across on Soccernet.com
This one is pretty humorous, but it's nothing compared to the comment made by Bruce Arena, near the end of this article. Just scroll down to "The Adu watch -- Part II" and read from there.
EDIT: Houston 1836 is no more. I wonder who's gonna be pissed off this time.
Oh, almost forgot to mention. I freaking love the new "retro style" U.S. kits.
Great finds, Pred and VicD!
If it's any consolation, according to soccerTV.com, ESPN2 will be showing it tonight at 12:30AM EST.
Now, you just need to avoid all news the rest of the day.
Pred's gonna love this.
Other than the name change though, it sounds like great news for MLS and the team. Especially if building a new stadium is high on the list of priorities, and the new owners move quickly, to start construction.
Another year another quick exit for both MLS representatives (Galaxy and Revolution), in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Worst of all though, L.A.'s president/GM died of a heart attack, while flying back from the game in Costa Rica. Very sad day and a huge loss for both L.A. and MLS.
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