Tag: Eredivisie

Soccer Spectating Report 10-15 May

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Palermo 2:1 AC Milan (10 May)

It’s been a while since I checked in on Italian football so when I saw that my putative favorite Serie A side was hosting the home leg  of the Coppa Italia semi-final, I decided to check it out.  It was a fun game with some  exciting goals and Berlusconi’s Bandits reduced to ten men.   It looked closer than in reality since the Milan goal did not come until stoppage time.  Palermo are now through to the Coppa Italia final for the first time since 1979 where they face Inter.

Western New York Flash 3:2 Boston Breakers (13 May)

I’m kind of stretching the limits of soccer games I watched since there was no tv or radio coverage of this game and thus I was left to following the online match tracker.  Western NY are rapidly becoming the team to beat and hated rivals as they were able to defeat Boston without Marta, Christine Sinclair and Alex  Morgan playing. The Breakers managed to make things respectable by coming back from 2 goals down twice and playing a good second half but too little too late to steal a point.

New England Revolution 1:0 Vancouver Whitecaps (14 May)

The Revolution are taking their time getting things together as a team, but this game was mostly another positive step forward.  The Revs earned a win and their second straight shutout under sloppy, wet conditions.  Benny Feilhaber drew a penalty shortly after halftime and Shalrie Joseph converted the penalty kick.  Feilhaber should have doubled the score but his goal was erroneously called back as offside.  The Revs strong second half also saw a good shot by Sainey Nyassi stopped by Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly.

Ajax 3:1 FC Twente (15 May)

One of the downsides (for me) of European football it lacks the drama of an end-of-season match to decide the league championship.  By serendipity the Dutch Eredvisie season ended with the first place team Twente (71 points) playing at second place Ajax (70 points) effectively making the final game of the season a championship game.  Twente had the advantage of a win or tie giving them the title, while Ajax had home field advantage.  Siem de Jong scored 2 goals for the home side and a Twente own goal gave Ajax a comfortable win for their first championship in 7 years and 30th total.  It’s very exciting to see one of “my teams” earn a championship.

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Soccer Spectating Report 19 April-9 May

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

The European season is coming to an exciting conclusion while the MLS gets into full swing. Here’s three weeks of soccer highlights.

New England Revolution 3:2 Sporting Kansas City (23 April)

This game was the culmination of an exciting week – striker Rajko Levic’s first home game, the debut of midfielder Benny Feilhaber and the premier of the Revolution’s new shirt sponsor.  While I’m not too excited by corporate advertising on the jerseys themselves I do appreciate that it will improve revenue for the team.  The game was exciting come from behind win with Feilhaber helping set up the first goal and Lekic scoring the game winner with captain Shalrie Joseph scoring as well.

DC United 2:3 New England Revolution (26 April)

The Revs traveled to Maryland for a US Open Cup qualifier, playing an almost entirely different lineup from their previous game against Kansas City.  It was a good sign of the depth of the team as the Revs easily took a 3-goal lead with two goals by Kheli Dube and one by Alan Koger.  They let up towards the end of the game allowing United to get back two points but the Revs held on for the win and advance to the next qualifier versus KC.

Real Madrid 0:2 Barcelona (27 April)

This game had everything: the mad rants and eventual expulsion of José Mourinho, Real’s negative play and hard tackles,  Barça’s excessive play-acting, and lots of fisticuffs on and off the field.  Of course none of these were good soccer and an embarrassment to the game.  Imagine a novice soccer spectator being told that two of the best clubs in the world were playing in the world’s premier tournament and then seeing every soccer stereotype acted out.  Luckily there is Lionel Messi whose two brilliant goals in the final 15 minutes were a joy to behold.

Real Salt Lake 0:1 Monterrey (27 April)

I rooted against Real in the afternoon in one Champions League and for Real in the evening in another Champions League.  Real Salt Lake historically made it to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League and tied against Monterrey 2:2 on the Mexican leg of the final.  Unfortunately, RSL was not able to secure a MLS bye in the Club World Club despite a lot of pressure on the Monterrey goal and good chances in the final 20 minutes.

Chivas USA 3:0 New England Revolution (30 April)

Hello gut punches, I remember you!  The new players and wins against KC and DC built up a lot of excitement for the road game against one of MLS’s weaker sides.  The Revs lost and lost bad as the Goats scored twice in the first half and sealed the game in the 57th minute.  I guess it was lucky that I wasn’t able to get video of the game, just audio from the Revs website.  And the audio cut out after the third goal and I couldn’t restore it.

SC Herenveen 1:2 AFC Ajax (1 May)

An exciting Eredivisie season is coming to a climax and Ajax came from behind to win their second-to-last match.  Herenveen scored in the 19th minute but Ajax calmly responded in less than a minute with Miralem Sulejmani’s equalizer.  Christian Eriksen put Ajax ahead for good right at the start of the second half.  Ajax stands in second place one point behind FC Twente and face that team at Amsterdam Arena for the final game of the season on 15 May that will decide the Eredivisie championship.  Interestingly the same two teams met for the Dutch Cup final on 8 May which was won by FC Twente 3:2.  Hup Ajax!

Boston Breakers 1:0 Sky Blue FC (1 May)

The Breakers won their first home game and broke a two-game losing streak on Rachael Buhler’s goal in the 53rd minute.  A week later though, they lost 2-0 away to Philadelphia.

Barcelona 1:1 Real Madrid (3 May)

A better game than the first tie of the Champions League semi-finals with the home side dominating the first half and going up 1-0 in Pedro’s goal in the 54th minute.  Real Madrid made things interesting when Marcelo Vieria equalized ten minutes later but it was too little too late.  Barça advances to the final against Manchester United at Wembley on May 28th.

New England Revolution 0:0 Colorado Rapids (7 May)

Accentuate the positive: the Revolution got a point from the defending MLS Cup champions and their first shutout of the season.  On the downside, the Revs failed to score themselves despite having long periods of dominating the attack and shots by both Ryan Cochrane and Benny Feilhaber hit the crossbar and Shalrie Joseph missed a golden opportunity.  I guess this is baby steps for recovering from the Chivas lost and bringing the team together.

Fulham 2:5 Liverpool (8 May)

Things got ugly quick at Craven Cottage as Fulham went down by three goals to Liverpool in the first 15 minutes. Maxi Rodriguez would net a hat trick in this laugher for the Liverpool side.  It’s quite a recovery for Liverpool who were in the relegation zone a few months ago and now are challenging for a spot in the Europa League.  I just wish the Red Sox ownership purchased Everton instead.

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Soccer Spectating Report 22 February – 20 March

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Lots of catching up to do.

USA 3:2 El Salvador (22 February)

I managed to tune in to one match in the 2011 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship, this quarterfinal match.  It was odd to watch what looked like a high-school game (albeit highly-skilled) played in a mostly empty stadium in Jamaica.  It got to a rocking start with each side scoring within the first 10 minutes.  Then it slowed down until the 95th minute when Mario Rodriguez put the USA up 2-1.  Another goal by Marc Pelosi in the 112th minute seemed to seal the deal for the USA.  Then it got weird.  Three players (2 USA, 1 El Salvador) got sent off in the final minutes and El Salvador capitalized on a penalty kick, but the USA held on for the win.  I didn’t watch any of the rest of the tournament but the USA U17 team won the semifinal versus Jamaica 2-0 and the championship versus Canada 3-0.

Ajax 2:0 Anderlecht (24 February)

The Europa League duel of the Low Country capitals continued with another easy win for Ajax who won 5-0 on aggregate.  This competition is derided for being meaningless but the fans at Amsterdam ArenA were having a great time.  Ajax advanced to the Round of 16 versus Spartak Moscow where alas they would lose 0-4.

Everton 2:0 Sunderland (26 February)

Everton continued a successful spell with an easy victory over Sunderland.

Mallorca 0:3 Barcelona (26 February)

Despite missing some key players, Barcelona won another easy game on the road with goals by Messi, Villa, and Pedro.

PSV 0:0 Ajax (27 February)

The Amsterdam side had a chance to gain ground in the Eredivisie but failed to do so in this dull, scoreless tie.

Manchester City 1:1 Fulham (27 February)

There was a soap opera plot regarding former City/current Fulham manager Mark Hughes, but the drama was pretty apparent on the field in this tense match.  Damien Duff earned a point for Fulham with his late first half equalizer.

Everton 0:1 Reading (1 March)

After the high of defeating Chelsea in the the FA Cup replay and some good wins in league play, Everton’s anemic attack and loss at home to Championship side Reading was a huge disappointment. Now Everton doesn’t have much to play for the rest of this season, except to avoid relegation.

Ajax 4:0 AZ Alkmaar (6 March)

Willem II Tilburg 1:3 Ajax (13 March)

L.A. Galaxy 1:1 New England Revolution (20 March)

The Revs kicked off their 2011 MLS season in an uncharacteristically wet and windy Southern California against the defending Supporters Shield champion LA Galaxy.  Shalrie Joseph put the Revs on the board in the first three minutes and then the Revs mostly defended against a relentless Galaxy attack.  New England also benefited from the referees calling back three goals on LA, but the refs called it right on at least two of them.  A nice scrappy point well-earned against one of the top teams in the MLS.

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Soccer Spectating Report 10-23 January 2011

~ Liam ~ 2 Comments

Liverpool 2:2 Everton (16 January 2011)

Everton traveled across town to Anfield for the second leg of the Merseyside Derby.  The Reds dominated the first half with Tim Howard rightly angry with his defenders.  Raul Meireles broke through in the 28th minute to put the home side up by 1.  The Blues came out strong in the second half and within 6 minutes Sylvain Distin and Jermain Beckford put them up 1-2.  Sadly, the come from behind would not last as a Tim Howard foul set up a successful conversion of a penalty kick by Dirk Kuyt.  On the one hand it’s a disappointment that Everton wasn’t able to hold on to a win.  On the other hand a road draw with Tim Cahill and Steven Pienaar not available (and taking 4 points from Liverpool on the season) is not too shabby.

Barcelona 4:1 Malaga (16 January 2011)

Barça demolishes yet another La Liga opponent.  I feel like such a glory hunter watching this time, yet they play so beautiful.  At least Malaga was able to net one goal for themselves.

Ajax 2:0 Feyenoord (19 January 2011)

It feels like a long time since I’ve seen Ajax.  I enjoy the Amsterdam supporters chants and the especially appropriate singing a Bob Marley song (“Three Little Birds”).  This was the second leg of the Klassieker derby, although while Ajax are close to the top of the table, Feyenoord are not very competitive this season.  Ajax easily handled their rivals with a Toby Alderweireld goal in the 31st minute and a Miralem Sulejmani penalty kick in the 77th minute.  This match got my hopes up for Ajax to continue climbing up the Eredivisie table but they then proceeded to lose their weekend match at Utrecht.

Palermo 1:0 Brescia (22 January 2011)

Not for the first time I’m writing about a 1-nil match involving Palermo where the final score gives no indication of the end-to-end play on the field with numerous shots off the crossbar, crosses right across the goal mouth, and great saves by the keepers.  Palermo had the better of possession and chances on goal and their efforts were finally rewarded with a lovely shot in the back of the net by defender Cesare Bovo.

FC Bayern München 5:1 1.FC Kaiserlautern (22 January 2011)

It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a Bundesliga match and it seemed to me that the pace of play both in dribbling and passing was faster than in other  leagues.  The score of the game is a bit misleading as Bayern München piled on 3 goals in the final 10 minutes.  Still, the home side dominated the match overall unlike their earlier meeting at Kaiserlautern when the Red Devils upset the Bavarians.  I need to make sure I fit in more German fußball in my soccer diet.

United States 1:1 Chile (22 January 2011)

The USA opened up their 2011 campaign by hosting a friendly against Chile at the Home Depot Center in Carson, CA.  The American roster included an even greater number of young, inexperienced players than the previous game in South Africa with seven players earning their first caps.  Chile drew first blood with a beautiful set-up and goal by Esteban Paredes in the 54th minute.  Substitutes Teal Bunbury and Juan Agudelo spiced up the US attack in the second half. Agudelo was tripped making a run through the box and Bunbury sealed the equalizer on the penalty kick.  Another decent performance by a young American side giving hope for the future.

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The World of Soccer

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

A lot has happened since my last soccer update.

First, there was the draw for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.  The USA were drawn in Group C with Korea DPR, Sweden, and Colombia which looks like a tough group.  I expect the USA will probably advance, but I could see a scenario where they finish behind Sweden and North Korea as well.  Group A with the  hosts and two-time defending champions Germany, Canada, France, and Nigeria looks like a tough group as well.

The bigger news for many people was the announcement of the hosts for the men’s World Cup in 2018 and 2022.  I find myself have mixed reactions to the whole thing.

On the one hand, I was really hoping the World Cup would return to the US (and to a lesser extent I would have liked the Netherlands & Belgium to get a chance to host).  The USA, England, and some other bidders seemed much better prepared to host a World Cup than Russia and Qatar.  On the other hand, it’s good that countries that have never hosted the World Cup before to get a chance. And the World Cup is going to have great attendance and be a great success no matter where it is held.  Experienced fans will travel anywhere in the world, and new fans from those regions will have a chance to see the games. On the other hand, there seems to be a lot of evidence of corruption in how FIFA awarded the bids.  Yet, corruption or not there is some virtue in the World Cup going from South Africa to Brazil to Russia to Qatar, about as four different places in the world as I can imagine and sign that this is a truly global event. Yet Qatar hasn’t yet built the stadiums and it could be 120 degrees in the summer.  Building a dozen new stadiums and air conditioning them doesn’t seem very economical.  But the plans for Qatar’s systems call for solar power of the air cooling system and the stadiums will be dismantled and donated to developing nations after the World Cup. Still it seems that countries with lots of money are being awarded as hosts rather than countries with a true love of the game.  So what, they have the money, let them spend it on creating a great stage for the world’s greatest sporting event.  Let the US spend money on player development.  Let developing nations spend on more important things than soccer. But Russia is a bastion of racism against black players and Qatar discriminates against Israelis and homosexuals.  This is a tough one to rationalize, but there is a case to be made for the World Cup being a way of pushing a progressive message through in these countries. So, I don’t know what to think, but I’m not going to worry about it too much.

Here are the games I’ve watched the past two weeks.

Barcelona 5:0 Real Madrid (29 November 2010)

Deep inside I have no real reason to hate Real Madrid or to support Barcelona, but damn if this wasn’t a satisfying result in the first El Classico I’ve ever watched.  It helped that Real’s Cristiano Ronald was a total brat in pushing Barça  Pep Guardiola for no apparent reason, while Barcelona played a beautiful game of passing and possession.  The goals for lovely too, my favorite being David Villa’s second goal through the keeper’s legs and then gently bouncing into the net.

Chelsea 1:1 Everton (4 December 2010)

After the Blues poor form through November and coming off a 1:4 home loss to West Brom, a trip to Stamford Bridge didn’t look to promising.  Luckily Everton put in a good performance against (an admittedly slumping) Chelsea strong on possession and attacking in the second half.  Jermain Beckford’s header to equalize in the 85th minutes was a lovely sight to see.

Arsenal 2:1 Fulham (4 December 2010)

For a loss to a top side, this was still a pretty impressive game for Fulham.  The goal by Diomansy Kamara in the 29th minute tied the score and Fulham had some good chances to go ahead even as Arsenal squandered some excellent chances of their own.  Unfortunately for Fulham, they were victims of the beautiful footwork and scoring of Samir Nasri and his two amazing goals.

Ajax 1:1 NEC Nijmegen (4 December 2010)

A tense and frustrating match saw Ajax go winless at home for the third straight game.  The disappointing season for Ajax resulted in head coach Martin Jol leaving the team after this game.

Napoli 1:0 Palermo (6 December 2010)

This was a low-scoring game but not for lack of trying as there was lots of end-to-end play with each side attacking well but meeting up with even better defending and some great saves by both goalkeepers.  The game nearly ended in a scoreless tie but for Christian Maggio’s last minute goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Barcelona 2:0 Rubin Kazan (7 December 2010)

Barça finished up Champions League group play (winning Group D) with a pretty easy win over the defensive Russian side.

AC Milan 0:2 Ajax (8 December 2010)

In their first match under their new coach and last match in Champions League play, Ajax had to try to earn a win in hopes of securing a spot in the Europa League.  Unexpectedly, the result was a satisfying road win at Milan with goals by Demy de Zeeuw and an awesome long range shot by Alderweireld.  Milan brought on former Ajax players Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Clarence Seedorf, but didn’t have much fight in them.

Everton 0-0 Wigan (11 December 2010)

Ugh!  The less said about this match the better.  There’s no reason that Everton shouldn’t have won this game dominating play throughout.  To go scoreless defies belief.

Newcastle United 3-1 Liverpool (11 December 2010)

Not teams I would usually watch but I’ve made friends with a NUFC supporter on Tumblr and this game was on the tv at the James Gate pub when I went in for lunch.  I didn’t see the whole match but I did see Liverpool equalize early in the second half and then the impressive goals by Joey Barton and Andy Carroll to give the Magpies a deserved win.

 

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Socceraholic

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been watching a lot of games lately, and the games keep on coming.  So many leagues, so many competitions.  I’m going to need a break.

Canada 1:0 Mexico (8 November 2010):

The final of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup was a bit anti-climactic as both sides had already earned a spot in the 2011 Women’s World Cup through their wins in the semi-finals.  Host nation and giant-killers Mexico returned to Earth after eliminating the United States. Canadian captain Christine Sinclair scored the only goal after her side was awarded a penalty kick on a handball in the box.  As I noted in my last post, I look forward to these two nations representing North America in the World Cup (with the US hopefully joining them) and the continued improvement of competition in women’s soccer worldwide.

Chelsea 1:0 Fulham (10 November 2010):

While others tuned into the Manchester Derby, I was drawn to the less-heralded West London Derby which I imagine is a one-sided affair akin to William & Mary’s athletic rivalry with University of Virginia (that is Chelsea and Virginia are indifferent to those who want to be rivals with them).  Playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge where Chelsea have not lost or even conceded a goal in Premiership play this season was a mighty challenge for Fulham.  Impressively, Fulham put a lot of pressure on Chelsea and controlled the ball for long periods of time with a goal seeming due any moment.  Sadly, it did not come, but I believe that Fulham wore Chelsea down for their match with Sunderland on Saturday.

Everton 1:1 Bolton (10 November 2010):

Here’s a game that can be looked at in two ways.  On the one hand Everton played a great game, controlling the run of play and putting a lot of pressure on the Bolton goal.  Bolton’s only really good moment was the classic counterattack that lead to their goal.  Everton should have really scored a goal or two an won this game, so the end result is rather disappointing.  On the other, after going down 0-1 in the 78th minute and then losing a player to a red card in the 84th minute, I’d pretty much resigned myself to an Everton loss.  Jermaine Beckford’s dramatic goal in the third minute of stoppage time was a pleasant surprise that salvaged a point from the match.

FC Barcelona 3:1 Villareal CF (13 November 2010):

Another exciting game featuring Barça’s attacking style as they faced a rival for one of the top spots in La Liga.  David Villa and Lionel Messi (2) scored to lead Barcelona to an important victory.

Colorado 1:0 San Jose (13 November 2010):

The MLS  “Eastern” Conference Championship was one by one of the most exciting goals I’ve seen in my soccer-watching experiment.  At first, I thought the goal was scored by Omar Cummings  on a brilliant assist by Kosuke Kimura, but it turns out that Cummings never touched the ball and at best distracted Earthquakes’ goalkeeper Jon Busch as Kimura’s shot rolled in.  That was enough to send Colorado to the MLS Cup Final for the first time since 1997.

AZ Alkmaar 2:0 Ajax (14 November 2010):

Ajax played a road match in Alkmaar,  a city I totally wanted to visit on my recent trip to the Netherlands because of their famed cheese market.  The teams slogged through the rain with neither side getting their passing side started or managing a good shot on goal for much of the match.  AZ (pronounced Ah-Zed by the English commentator) scored at the 74th minute and put the death knell in the 89th minute with Ajax looking pretty much anemic in return.  This disappointing loss was the second straight in Eredivisie play.

Los Angeles 0:3 FC Dallas (14 November 2010):

I have a bias against Los Angeles and LA sports teams in general, and against the LA Galaxy in particular due to their frequent MLS success (especially two MLS Cup victories at the expense of New England).  So I admit a certain bit of schadenfreude seeing FC Dallas not just defeat, but also embarrass, the Galaxy in the Western Conference Final.  Now we should see two good teams in the MLS Cup Final with no “stories” other than the fact that the Eastern Conference champion is from a city 8° longitude west of the Western Conference champion’s hometown.  Sports in the USA have never been strong on geography.

Speaking of the MLS cup, I was listening to the a recent A Football Report podcast and the MLS playoff format was discussed.  The European commentators were pretty much dismissive of the American playoff system emphasizing that the team that plays best over the course of a long season.  A fair point and there is much I like about the European way of doing things but I also find it anticlimactic to end a season without a championship game or series.

I’m probably going way behind my ken, but I thought up a system for the MLS that would reward the best team(s) of the regular season while still having an exciting playoff system.  This concept assumes that the MLS will expand to 20 clubs by 2012 and at that point I’d divide them into two geographical conferences of 10 teams each (listed below).  There would be no inter-conference play and thus each team would face one another 4 times (2 home/2 away) for a total of 36 regular season games.

The advantages of two ten-team conferences include:

  • Encouraging regional rivalries
  • Allowing for fans to travel to more away matches.  While I never expect this to be as big a factor as it is in Europe, I would say that a diehard Red Bulls supporter, for example, would be able to go to more games in New England, Philadelphia, and Washington than in Seattle and San Jose.
  • Increase the draw for CONCACAF Champions League, US Open Cup, North American SuperLiga, and Canadian Championship matches due to the novelty of teams from the two conferences facing one another.
  • Reduce wear and tear on players traveling long-distance.  European players have complained about the long road trips necessary in the United States, so perhaps more players from abroad would be attracted to playing in the MLS.
  • And it would probably save on travel expenses.  MLS could even tout it as a green initiative.

The top 3 teams would qualify for the playoffs for a total of 6 teams (down from the currently overgenerous 8).  In the conference semifinals the top-ranked teams would earn a by while the 2nd and 3rd place teams faced one another in home-away aggregate goal series.  The winners of the semifinals would face the first place teams in a one-game conference championship hosted by the first place team.  The conference champions would then play the MLS Cup Final at a neutral location.

Probably a crazy idea, but I think it would be more fair and entertaining than the current system.  Of course, what would really make it work would be if the MLS developed a second division either through expansion or collaboration with the new NASL and begin a promotion/relegation system but I think that’s a long way off, if ever.

Eastern Conference

  • Chicago Fire
  • Columbus Crew
  • D.C. United
  • Kansas City Wizards
  • Montreal Impact
  • New England Revolution
  • New York Red Bulls
  • Philadelphia Union
  • Toronto FC
  • 2012 Expansion Team (New York / Detroit ?)

Western Conference

  • C.D. Chivas USA
  • Colorado Rapids
  • F.C. Dallas
  • Houston Dynamo
  • Los Angeles Galaxy
  • Portland Timbers
  • Real Salt Lake
  • San Jose Earthquakes
  • Seattle Sounders F.C.
  • Vancouver Whitecaps F.C.

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Soccer Update

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been too busy to watch much soccer lately with Halloween & my son’s birthday one weekend and an out-of-state conference the next.  I’m not complaining.  There are  more important things in life than spectator sports.  With that being said I’m going to use this post to catch up on the teams and competitions I purportedly am following with scores on the matches played since I last wrote as well as their current place in the standings.  The games I actually watched are bolded with links to the match report.

In related news I will be participating in the 30 Day Football Challenge on my Tumblog.

English Premier League (after 11 matches)

Everton (Position-11, Points – 14)

  • 30 Oct: Everton 1 – 0 Stoke City
  • 6 Nov: Blackpool 2 – 2 Everton

Everton continue to hang in there in the EPL with a 6 game undefeated streak.  They do need to get more wins than draws though as they always seem within striking distance of making an impressive move up the EPL table but never get there.  Even Liverpool is ahead of them now.

Fulham (Position-13, Points – 13)

  • 30 Oct: Fulham 2 – 0 Wigan Athletic
  • 6 Nov: Fulham 1 – 1 Aston Villa

Fulham is also hanging in there with USMNT star Clint Dempsey providing both goals versus Wigan, and a last-minute goal by Brede Hangeland to earn a draw versus Villa.  A friend on Facebook told me that the goal was totally undeserved but he’s a Villa supporter.  Next up, Fulham faces Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (yikes!).

Eredivisie (after 13 matches)

AFC Ajax (Position – 3, Points – 27)

Ajax did not look at all in top form in their loss to ADO for their second loss on the season in the Eredivisie.  I missed a much better win a week earlier, but apparently their mid-week Champions League match threw the club into a funk.

La Liga (after 10 matches)

FC Barcelona (Position – 2, Points – 25)

The one team I follow that I don’t really have to worry about is Barça who cruised to four straight victories in the Spanish Primera División.  I watched the match on Sunday and while the hot pink uniforms were ugly the play was beautiful.  My son enjoyed saying “Goaaaaaaaalllll!!!” along with the announcer.

UEFA Champions League (after 4 matches)

FC Barcelona (Group D, Position – 1, Points – 8)

Barcelona did face a challenge in their rematch at Copenhagen with each side scoring their goal within a minute of the other in the first half, and that score held.  Barça had lots of chances that bounced off the crossbar.  Needless to say, Copenhagen are the biggest challengers in this group and Barça should inevitably advance to the next round.

AFC Ajax (Group G, Position – 3, Points – 4)

A very unfortunate loss for Ajax to the French club who up to this point had no points in the Champions League.  Now Ajax has to hope to get some points from much tougher opponents in Milan and Madrid.  This game was weird to listen to as the Auxerre supporters had a constant, creepy chant that was so loud it sounded like they were using bullhorns.

CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying

US Women’s National Team

Had I written last week I would have commented on how easy everything is for the United States and that there’s just not very much competition in women’s football, especially in CONCACAF.  This was especially true in the 9-0 drubbing of Guatemala in group play that I watched (the US outscoring opponents 18-0 in three group matches).

Then came Mexico’s defeat of the US in the semifinals in the greatest upset in team history.  I’m not surprised that the US won the third club match tonight and expect they’ll win the two-leg playoff against Italy to gain entrance into the 2011 Women’s World Cup.  In a way this is a good thing.  The US gets a wake-up call that will help them hone their competitive edge.  The women’s soccer world gets to see Mexico and Canada participate in a growing world competition.

Other teams I am theoretically following and supporting:

  • Kaiserlautern – 11 games, 12 points, 15th place
  • Kyoto Sanga F.C. – 29 games, 16 points, 17th place (out of 18) and in the relegation zone.
  • Melbourne Heart – 13 matches, 17 points, 6th place.
  • Maccabi Haifa F.C. –  8 matches, 18 points, 3rd place.

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Getafe 1 – 3 Barcelona

End of Summer Soccer

~ Liam ~ 1 Comment

Major League Soccer played their final regular season games the past week spelling the end of summer soccer.  The playoffs have begun but for the first time in a decade the New England Revolution will not be participating in them.  What a year to start following the Revs after all those years of post-season success (albeit without a MLS Cup trophy to show for it).

Summer soccer is one of the idiosyncrasies that set America apart from the major European leagues that play from August to May.   It’s not obstinacy on the part of United States soccer, but the fact that parts of the United States have far more severe winters  than much of Europe.  Teams playing in Massachusetts, Colorado, and New Jersey just could not host home games in the winter, or at least draw a devoted crowd in the midst of a blizzard.

In my ongoing effort to learn more about football worldwide, I decided to see if anyone else plays in the winter.  I figured that Russia is a cold, cold place so they  must play in the summer.  And I was right.  Except not for long because Russia will be switching to an autumn-to-spring calendar in 2012-13.  Good luck to fans of FC Zenit Saint Petersburg in February.  Brrr.  Scandinavian nations also play on a summer schedule and, oddly enough, the League of Ireland switched to a summer schedule in 2003 (I haven’t figured out why).  The Australian A-League also plays a summer schedule although their summer is our winter.

Anyhow, here’s the matches I’ve watched in the past week and a half.

AFC Ajax 2:1 Auxerre (19 Oct 2010) –  This match saw Ajax win their first match of the Champions League this season to go with a loss & a tie.  The first half was all Ajax as the Amsterdammers went up 2-0.  The second goal in particular was a brilliant example of team passing and running setting up the goal for El Hamdaoui.  The second half got a little crazy after André Ooijer’s professional foul earned him a red card and forced Ajax to defend their lead with 10 men.  But then the French side went down to 10 men on a handball attempt on the goal. Then in the waning minutes of the game an Auxerre sub was sent off before he even made it on the field!  Comical, to say the least.  Match report.

FC Barcelona 2:0 FC Copenhagen (20 Oct 2010) – Lionel Messi scored both goals for Barça moving them to the top of Group D in the Champions League.  The Danish side had some moments where they seemed to be in control but never really threatened.  Really, Barcelona should have taken advantage of their offensive superiority and score more.  Match report.

New York Red Bulls 2:0 New England Revolution (21 Oct 2010) – The Revs finished off their 2010 campaign with a road game versus the Eastern Conference champions.  It ended as one would expect as a loss, the first time the Red Bulls have defeated the Revs since 2005 breaking a 16-game undefeated streak.  New England looked the better side in the second half but failed to score and then gave up a stoppage time goal.  Wait ’till next year.  Match report.

Tottenham Hotspur 1:1 Everton FC (23 Oct 2010) – One thing I love about European football is the names and there is no better combination than Tottenham and Hotspur who play at the romantically named White Hart Lane.  There also a Premier League power nipping at the heels of the big three so it was something for Everton to earn a point and extend their unbeaten streak to four games.  Everton scored on a fantastic first half free kick by Leighton Baines.  Alas, a rare error by goalkeeper Tim Howard contributed to the Spurs’ equalizer a few minutes later.  Match report.

West Bromwich Albion 2:1 Fulham FC (23 Oct 2010) – Speaking of great names, here is West Brom and their home grounds The Hawthorns.  Things started well for Fulham with a Zoltan Gera strike (scored as an own goal against West Brom) but in the pouring rain the Baggies (lovely nickname too) were able to equalize and then go ahead before the break.  Match report.

Real Zaragoza 0:2 FC Barcelona (23 Oct 2010) – It was all Messi again as Barça earned another easy victory against the La Liga cellar dwellars.  I confess I didn’t watch the whole game as I went to the yard to play soccer with my son, but I did see both of Messi’s goals.  Match report.

AFC Ajax 3:1 Heerenveen (27 Oct 2010) – El Hamdaoui was the hero again with 2 of the goals  in what was a pretty easy victory for Ajax.  Luis Suarez had several chances that were either just stopped by the keeper or bounced off the cross-bar (including two in a matter of seconds) so the score could have been much higher for Ajax.  Match report.

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Footy Report

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

Another fine weekend of European football.  The Revolution won too but I didn’t watch due to the MLB playoffs.  It was a very sport-filled week.

Fulham FC 1:2 Tottenham Hotspur (16 Oct 2010) – I tuned into this London Derby live from Craven Cottage but alas the feed cut out for several minutes, including the minute in which each side scored their first goal.  Fulham opened the scoring with a great run by USA’s Clint Dempsey who fed the ball to Diomansy Kamara to tap in the goal.  The Spurs equalized with a Roman Pavlyuchenko tap-in a few moments later.  In the second half, which I was able to view live, the Spurs would controversially take the lead with a beautiful long-range goal by Tom Huddlestone.  The assistant referrer flagged Tottenham’s William Gallas offside by the referee overruled him and allowed the goal to stand.  Fulham put some pressure on the Spurs goal at the end of the match but were unable to finish and thus earned their first loss of the season (to go with one win and six draws).  Match report.

AFC Ajax 3:0 NAC Breda (16 Oct 2010) –  Ajax hosted the football club with the longest name in the world: Nooit opgeven altijd doorgaan, Aangenaam door vermaak en nuttig door ontspanning, Combinatie (I love little bits of trivia like that).  While long on name, NAC was short on goals and were easily dispatched by Ajax.  Jan Vertonghen, Mounir El Hamdaoui  &
Luis Suárez scored the goals.  Suárez had a particularly beautiful goal on a free kick.  Match report.

FC Barcelona 2:1 Valencia (16 Oct 2010) – A big game for Barcelona as they faced the team at the top of table, playing at Camp Nou where they have lost to Hercules and drawn with Mallorca.  Granted it wasn’t that big a deal because Barcelona has won every other game they’ve played this season and well, they’re Barcelona.  Valencia dominated play in the first half and scored a well-earned goal in the 37th minute.  A rejuvenated Barça squad came out after half-time and equalized within 90 seconds on a great finish by Iniesta.  Barça went ahead with good on a Puyol header in the 69th minute.  They had to make things interesting after all.  Match report.

Everton FC 2:0 Liverpool FC (17 Oct 2010) – The biggest match of the weekend for me was the Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park where Liverpool visited Everton in their first game since being acquired by the Boston-based NESV group.  The new owners haven’t had a chance to fix the Reds yet and the Toffemen took the opportunity to kick them while they are down.  Tim Cahill put Everton ahead in the 33rd minute but Mikel Arteta’s long-range blast in the 49th minute was a thing of beauty.  All in all a satisfying match and a great second consecutive win for Everton .   Match report.

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Soccer Heartbreak and Gut Punches

~ Liam ~ Leave a comment

The local teams provided the heartbreak and gut punches this week although I also watched some entertaining European matches, albeit lacking the same emotional commitment.

AFC Ajax 5:0 MVV Maastricht (22 Sep 2010) – This KNVB Cup match saw Ajax hosting a Eerste Divisie (Dutch first division) opponent.  There was no upset by the minnows from Maasricht with the game clearly a romp by Ajax.  Ajax even started some of their younger players such as Florian Jozefzoon who scored his first goal.  The rout wasn’t interesting but the web stream I watched had Dutch commentary in the first half and no commentary at all in the second half.  I enjoyed listening to the crowd chants and drumming, and even the shouts of the players on the field.  Match report.

FC Dallas 2:2 New England Revolution (22 Sep 2010) – This is my fault.  I started writing the match report in my head at about 75 minutes.  I was excited that the Revs could play on the road versus a team with a 15-game undefeated streak and carry out a convincing shutout.  They even survived a penalty kick by FC Dallas that went wide.  Then in the 80th minute Darrius Barnes took down David Ferreira in the penalty area and he didn’t miss the PK this time.  Suddenly it was a knuckle-biter to see if the Revs could hold on for the win but Jeff Cunningham’s stoppage-time equalizer seemed almost inevitable.  Match report.

Boston Breakers 1:2 (OT) Philadelphia Independence (23 Sep 2010) – The WPS Super Semifinal started well with the Breakers hosting in Harvard’s new soccer stadium which has less seating more spacious field and a complete absence of football gridiron markings.  The Breakers scored first on Lauren Cheney’s 22nd minute goal and had the better run of play in the first half although Caroline Seger equalized for Philadelphia in the 29th minute.  Boston looked outmatched and tired in the second half but held the score to a 1-1 tie into overtime.  Then came the heartbreak on an apparent handball by Philadelphia’s Danesha Adams.  Handball or not, the Breakers lethargic play allowed too many opportunities for Philadelphia.  They put together a great desperation attack in the final minutes with one excellent chance on goal, but it was too little, too late.  Match report.

FC Twente 2:2 AFC Ajax – Another hotly contested Eredivisie match for Ajax this time against the reigning title holders.  The pre-game histrionics at Twente’s Grolsch Veste included banners the size of entire section of the stadium, explosions and red flares, and unison singing of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (at least Wikipedia says it is that song, it sounded like something else, maybe being sung in Dutch?).   They put US sports’ fans to shame. Ajax went down early on a gorgeous finish by Twente’s midfielder Theo Jansen.  Ajax equalized a few minutes later with a clean follow-up by Morrocan star Mounir El Hamdaoui.  Jansen scored again an hour into the game but Ajax fired back six minutes later with a blistering long-range shot by Eyong Enoh.  That was all the scoring but this was an exciting, fast-paced game with lots of end-to-end play, shots deflected by the wood, and great saves by the keepers.  A point well earned for Ajax.   Match report.

Athletic Bilbao 1:3 FC Barcelona (25 Sep 2010) – In the pouring rain, Barça faced off their host in a another Messi-less league match.  I learned that Bilbao tries to maintain a roster of players entirely from the Basque country and despite the limited player pool have never been relegated and are among the top La Liga teams of all time.  Nevertheless, they were no match for the champions who may have been a little sloppy in the mud and should’ve had more goals.  Bilbao should get some credit for managing to hold Barcelona goalless for almost an hour despite losing a player to a red card.  Things were interesting in the last five minutes of the match when Barça lost David Villa to a red card and Bilbao scored their goal to make it 1:2.  Busquets ended any intrigue with Barça’s third goal in stoppage time.  Match report.

New England Revolution 2:2 Columbus Crew (25 Sep 2010) – I hate reruns.  In this case, the Revolution had a convincing 2-0 lead (scoring the first goal 80 seconds into the match) against one of the top teams in the MLS, only to allow their opponent to score two goals late in the second half and settle for a tie.  How can a team so low in the standings with no realistic hope for the playoffs still have so many gut-punching loses?  Match report.

FC Gold Pride 4:0 Philadelphia Independence (26 Sep 2010) – The WPS Championship match featured the best team by far in the WPS facing the upstart spoilsports from Philadelphia.  I actually hoped that the Independence would make something of their unlikely position in the final after eliminating the Breakers, but it was not be.  I’ve grown fond of Amy Rodriguez and glad that we have her on the US national team at least.  The star for the Independence however was goalkeeper Val Henderson who made several great saves while the rest of her team could do little before in front of her.  Still, 4 goals ended up in the Independence’s net and that was that for the WPS season and congratulations to FC Gold Pride for dominating the 2010 season. Match report.