Soccer, football whatever you called the sport

Monday, May 5, 2008

My team
GK: Julio Cesar(Brazil & Inter Milan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ne40nw-qlEs
Slowly, emerging as one of the top 5 goalkeepers in the world.

RB: Massimo Oddo(Italy & AC Milan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yZzUMcdiFI
He can go forward and play defense. He is known for his assists in Serie A. He should play a big role for Italy during the upcoming Euro 2008 due to the poor performances of Zambrotta and Grosso.

CB: Philippe Mexès (France & Roma)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYqkjHjiH-k
Perhaps, one of the top 5 CBs in Serie A this year and probably the top 10 in his position.

CB: Pepe (Portugal & Real Madrid)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJdjgQ6YN6I
Because of injury this season, his performance has not justified his price tag. However, he has put up several performances that lived up to the tag of being the best CB prospect in the world.

CB: Marco Materazzi(Italy & Inter Milan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDaeU4JU8eU
Hate him or like him. He is one of the most phyicscal and aggressive CB in the world. There is a reason why he is the starting CB for Italy.

LB: Manuel Pasqual (Italy & Fiorentina)
When I drafted him, I had 8 or 9 LBs ahead of him on the depth chart. I drafted him because he is one of the best crosser of the ball in Serie A. My left attack is too weak on the left flank, especailly the cross. I do not want that aspect of my game impotent.

MF: Simone Perrotta (Italy & Roma)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X50AYnZLQnY
One of the few players in the world who can be both a midfield enforcer and contribute offensively.

MF: Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina & Inter Milan)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ2VeH4M5V8
He is perhaps one of the top 5 CM in the world. He is probably the best two-way player in the world.

MF: Cristiano Zanetti (Italy & Juventus)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNOKhhCx_gU
The most steady player for Juventus this season..... he also earned a recall from Donadoni, but he turned it down.

MF: Samir Nasri (France & Marseille)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTo6xJoBVlI
The Midfield Maestro ~ I took him earlier because of the lack of quality distributor of the ball in the ball.

MF: Riccardo Montolivo (Italy & Fiorentina)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoTcoA4AlIE
Known as the new "Totti", One of the reason why Fiorentina is in a CL position for next season.

FW: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal & Man Utd)
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=rZyeoKr9kG0
The Best Player in the World this season

FW: Wayne Rooney (England & Man Utd)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN75zKV7K1E
With Ronaldo, the best pair of forwards for the last two seasons.

FW: Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Holand & Ajax)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqZ7krTHC38
Currently stands at 2nd place for the European Golden Shoe competiation

FW: Nihat Kahveci (Turkey & Villareal CF)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4D1Ra6bDs
17 goals so far this season.

FW: Arjen Robben(Holand & Real Madrid)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE8O2gqfIXk
Sine April, he regained his old form. See the link above.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Against megmac

starting lineup
--------Julio Cesar--------
Odd-Mexes-Pepe-Pasqual
---Cambiasso-Perrotta---
------------Narsi-----------
Ronaldo----------Rooney
----------Huntelaar--------

Frankly speaking, I have no idea what his starting lineup would look liked. I only predict that he would use plenty of wing attacks because he only got one real playmaker on his team and plenty of wingers. So I will just play with my own game.

Defense: Five out of my six defensive players came from Serie A. I intended to play a classic Italian “web” defensive system. On paper, it is as good as any Serie A team. All of them, except Pepe, started for one of the top 5 teams in Serie A or Italian NT and should understand the syetem & their roles very well. Ideally, my Serie A defenders will limit space and play a much tighter defense than Sergio Aguero and Cavenaghi have ever encountered before. Perrotta needs to make sure that SWP does not get into his game because Pasqual on the leftback is my weak link. This might be my biggest problem. Oddo and Cambiasso should be able to handle either González or Giggs on the other side.

(* this basic tactics will be used against ASF again)
Offense: Cambiasso and Perrotta are to take control of the midfield. They need to win the ball back and move it up field. They need to free up Nasri, Ronaldo & my two wingbacks. Nasri will be distributing the ball to the wings or directly to forwards. I need his flare on the midfield. If he is taken out of the game, Cambiasso and Perrotta could easily step up and become the playmakers themselves. Ronaldo would be given a free role to roam the entire offensive half of the field.. He can move from right to left as the game progressed. He can either cut inside and shoot, or move down to the baseline and cross. He would would also play combinations with his pal, Rooney. Oddo & Pasqual would surge forward to support the flank attacks. Pasqual is No Beckham, but he is considered to be one of the best crossers of the ball in Serie A. The left wing will be more direct approach. The Pasqual-to-Huntelaar combo will be an extra option on the attack. However, Zanetti will be tough to beat. Ronaldo, Roony or Nasri needs to support Pasqual occassionally on the left wing.

Despite being the 2nd highest scorer in Europe this year, Huntelaar would not be the main scoring threat. His main job is to be the decoy and to open space for Rooney and Ronaldo. He needs to hold the ball. Of course, he can still bang in a goal or two with services from Ronaldo or Pasqual. Frankly speaking, I don't think megamac's defense can hold up against my offense. He needs to play both his DM's or my attackers(Nasri, Ronaldo, Rooney) will run circles around his team. He only carried five defenders on his team. Which is too thin in my opinion. Ayala is not Ayala anymore. Both Arca and Garay(I like him very much)are too offensive minded.

SUB: If I take the lead: Nihat will come in for Huntelaar and become my “Tevez”. My three forwards will constantly switch roles and sides just liked the new Man Utd. Nasri will be “Paul Scholas”. Finally, at the end, Cristiano Zanetti and/or Materazzi will come in for my attackers.
If I am losing or tied, Montolivo will come in for Perrotta. Ronaldo, Huntelaar and Rooney combined for over 70 goals this year. I doubt it will be their fault if I could not score. So it must be the “supplier”. Montolivo will be the deep laying playmaker and Cambiasso plays as the lone DM as he have done for Argentina before. Finally, Nihat will come in for Pasqual if it still does not work.

Against Teso Dos Bichos & SirManchester

Against Teso Dos Bichos & SirManchester, I am not starting my best lineup. Robben & Materazzi will start ahead of Pepe and Nasri.

Starting Lineup:
----------Julio Cesar--------
Odd--Mexes-Materazzi--Pasqual
---Cambiasso---Perrotta---
Ronaldo-------------Robben
--------Rooney------------
-------------Huntelaar--------
Defense: All six of defensive players(plus keeper) came from Serie A. They will play a classic “web” defensive system. They should understand their roles very well. Since Toni & Kaka are familiar with Serie A defense, it will be tough to stop them. However, my defense should also know how to handle Kaka and Toni. To be honest, this will just be a battle between a Serie A offense vs a Serie A defense. Either of us will have an advantage over the other. At least, on paper, my team is as good as any Serie A team. Except Pasqual, all my defensive players are considered to be one of the best in their positions in Serie A. I started Materazzi for his experienses with Toni on the Italian NT. His size can also match up with Toni.

Offense: Cambiasso and Perrotta need to win the ball back and move it up field. Without Nasri, they need to be the playmakers too. Both of them have done that before. I am not too worried about their qualities, but Team TDB/SM got two effective DM's(Flamini & Demichelis). They can disrupt the flow of my offense. At the same time, those two cannot move the ball forward very well. So Kaka needs to track back and contribute. And I will be happy to see Kaka playing further back from goal. Hopefully, that would isolate Kaka from Toni & Terez. The same situation should apply to Ronaldo, but I am confident that Cambiasso & Perrotta can play the ball forward.

I noticed a weakness in TDS/SirMan's fullbacks. Ujfalus(mistake-prone this season), Cole(not the same player at Arsenal) and Sagnol(slow for a fullback against my fast wingers but he might be playing CB) all have sub par season. So I will start Robben instead of Nasri to give more width. Robben & Ronaldo(Ro-Ro) will run down the flank. They would either cut inside and shoot, or move downfield and cross. They will constantly switch sides causing confusion on their defense. Depending on the game situation, my two wingbacks, will surge forward to support the wingers. Pasqual is No Beckham, but he is considered to be one of the best crosser of the ball in Serie A. My weaker left side might be a surprise for them as Robben should be a boost.. Huntelaar will be ready in the middle ~ either opening up space for the other forwards or scoring himself. With Robben on the team, Rooney does not need to track to the left as much as he should be doing for other games. Thus, he has more freedom to score or help his pal, Ronaldo in the middle. His role will be expanded.

Cohesion: We all know about Rooney-Ronaldo. Robben and Huntelaar also played togeher for Holland. My defense also got a Inter Milan presense with Cambiasso-Materazzi-Julio Cesar, and a Roma presense with Perrotta & Mexes. Oddo has played with Materazzi for Italy.

SUBS:
If winning, Zanetti & Montolivo go in for Huntelaar & Robben. Montolivo reunites with Pasqual on the left. Rooney & Ronaldo will move upfront & do their magic liked Man Utd(without Saha). Montolivio provides long & short pass to break up the defense. Pepe will come in late in the game for either Ronaldo or Rooney.
If losing, Nasri goes in for Pasqual and play in front of the DM's. If it does not work, Nihat comes in for Robben in the very end.

Against ASF

My starting lineup:

--------Julio Cesar--------
Odd-Mexes-Pepe-Pasqual
---Cambiasso-Perrotta---
------------Narsi-----------
Ronaldo----------Rooney
----------Huntelaar--------

Defense: Five out of my six defensive players came from Serie A. I intended to play a classic Italian “web” defensive system. On paper, it is as good as any Serie A team. All of them, except Pepe, started for one of the top 5 teams in Serie A or Italian NT, and should understand the syetem & their roles very well.

Riquelme is the key to ASF's team. He has problems playing with another playmaker in the past and needs two DM's to support him.. So I am going to borrow a page out from Dunga's playbook. My defenders will stop Riquelme from getting into his game. They will not allow him to have the ball for too long, but also not to foul him in dangerious position and give him the chance to score on set pierce. They will force him to play backward. With Riquelme out of the equation, his attack will be limited. Yakubu has great European continental experienses, but mostly in the UEFA Cup or the earlier rounds of CL. Pepe should know how to handle his former teammate, Lisandro López. Lavezzi has a wonderful season, but he lacks international experienses. They won't cause my team troubles on their own. However, ASF should also know this better than me. He will use two forwards. Instead, he will start another midfielder to support Riquelme. Can Rquelme co-exist with any creative player? Or can Cambiasso & Perrotta take Riquelme out of the game(easier said than done to be honest)?

Offense: ASF probably will do the same thing to me. He will play two DM's as Riquelme is useless defensively. The game will be a battle of midfield. It will be a sluggish game. His two DM's will cause my team plenty of troubles. Nasri will be invincible from time to time just liked Riquelme to his team.. Cambiasso and Perrotta can carry the ball better than ASF's two DM's. My transitional game will be better than his. This could be the deciding factor of the game.

Below will be the same basic tactics I used against against megamac.

Offense: Cambiasso and Perrotta are to take control of the midfield. They need to win the ball back and move it up field. They need to free up Nasri, Ronaldo & my two wingbacks. Nasri will be distributing the ball to the wings or directly to forwards. I need his flare on the midfield. If he is taken out of the game, Cambiasso and Perrotta could easily step up and become the playmakers themselves. Ronaldo would be given a free role to roam the entire offensive half of the field.. He can move from right to left as the game progressed. He can either cut inside and shoot, or move down to the baseline and cross. He would would also play combinations with his pal, Rooney. Oddo & Pasqual would surge forward to support my wings. Pasqual is No Beckham, but he is considered to be one of the best crossers of the ball in Serie A. The left wing will be more direct approach. The Pasqual-to-Huntelaar combo will be an extra option on the attack. Roony or Nasri needs to support Pasqual occassionally as my left side is weak.

Despite being the 2nd highest scorer in Europe this year, Huntelaar would not be the main scoring threat. His main job is to be the decoy and to open space for Rooney and Ronaldo. He need to hold the ball. Of course, he can still bang in a goal or two with services from Ronaldo or Pasqual.

SUB:
If I take the lead: Nihat will come in for Huntelaar and become my “Tevez”. My three forwards will constantly switch roles and sides just liked the new Man Utd. Nasri will be “Paul Scholas”. Finally, at the end, Cristiano Zanetti and/or Materazzi will come in for my attackers.

If I am losing or tied, Montolivo will come in for Perrotta. Ronaldo, Huntelaar and Rooney combined for over 70 goals this year. I doubt it will be their fault if I could not score. So it must be the “supplier”. Montolivo will be the deep laying playmaker and Cambiasso plays as the lone DM as he have done for Argentina before. Finally, Nihat will come in for Pasqual if it still does not work.

Tuesday, August 7, 2007


South America
Argentina: World Cup 1994 vs Nigeria & Greece: Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta, Fernando Redondo, Diego Simeone, Roberto Ayala, José Chamot, Claudio Caniggia, Oscar Ruggeri, Daniel Ortega, Roberto Sensini
Brazil (2 times): Gold Cup 1996 vs USA & Carlsberg Cup 2005 vs HK: Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos, Robinho, Savio, Emerson, Juninho Pernambucano, Júlio Baptista, Flavio Conceicao, Dida, Cafu, Lúcio, Ze Roberto, Ricardo Oliveira, Alex, Elano, Juan, Juliano Belletti
Paraguay: Carlsberg Cup 2001 vs HK: Paulo da Silva, Estanislao Struway, Ricardo Tavarelli, Julio César Cáceres
Bolivia: WC 1994 vs South Korea: Erwin Sánchez
Uruguay: 1999(?)

USSR: Friendly match vs USA 1990: Rinat Dasaev, Oleg Protasov, Vasiliy Rats
Bulgaria: Carlsberg Cup 1998: Hristo Stoichkov
The Czech Republic: carlsberg Cup 2000: Marek Jankulovski
Croatia: Carlsberg Cup 2006: Niko Kranjcar, Eduardo Da Silva
Ireland (3 times): Friendly match vs USA 1991, USA Cup 1992 vs Portugal & Italy Tony Cascarino, Paul McGrath, Pat Bonner, Denis Irwin, Ray Houghton, Kevin Sheedy, Terry Phelan, John Aldridge, Steve Staunton
Italy: (3 times) USA Cup vs Ireland 1992, World Cup 1994 vs Spain and Nigeria: Roberto Baggio, Gianluca Vialli, Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Roberto Donadoni, Gianluca Pagliuca, Alessandro Costacurta, Dino Baggio, Demetrio Albertini, Giuseppe Signori, Pierluigi Casiraghi, Gianluca Pagliuca, Daniele Massaro, Roberto Mancini, Walter Zenga, Attilio Lombardo
Norway: Carlsberg Cup 2001 vs HK: Thorstein Helstad, Pa-Modou Kah
Portugal: (twice) USA Cup 1993 vs Ireland, 1996 Olympic vs USA: Luis Figo, Vitor Baia, Fernando Couto, João Manuel Vieira Pinto, Rui Jorge, Jorge Andrade, Paulo Sousa
Slovenia: Carlsberg Cup 2002: Zlatko Zahovič
Spain: WC 1994 vs Italy: Fernando Hierro, Luis Enrique, Josep Guardiola, Andoni Zubizarreta, Julio Salinas
Greece: WC 1994 vs Argentina: Dimitris Saravakos, Stelios Manolas, Stratos Apostolakis, Nikos Machlas
Turkey WC 2002 vs Senegal: Hakan Şükür, Hasan Şaş, Rüştü Reçber, Yıldıray Baştürk, İlhan Mansız, Emre Belözoğlu, Alpay Özalan
Yugoslavia: Friendly match vs South China 2000: Dragan Stojkovic, Savo Milošević, Siniša Mihajlović, Vladimir Jugović, Dejan Stanković, Mateja Kežman, Darko Kovačević

Asia
China: Carlsberg Cup 2002 & 2007 Reunification Cup vs FIFA All-Star: Hao Haidong, Li Weifeng, Li Tie, Shao Jiayi, Qu Bo, Du Wei, Sun Xiang, Sun Jihai, Zheng Zhi, Dong Fangzhuo
South Korea: Carlsberg Cup 2001: Song Chong-Gug, Hong Myung-Bo, Lee Woon-Jae, Park Ji-Sung
Japan Carlsberg Cup 2000: Kazuyoshi Miura, Junichi Inamoto, Shinji Ono, Hiroshi Nanami, Shunsuke Nakamura
North Korea WCQ 1989:
Thailand WCQ 1997
Cambodia WCQ 1997:
Indonesia: WCQ vs Hong Kong 2000: Rochy Putiray
Iran Mohammad Khakpour

Africa
Nigeria: WC 1994 vs Italy & Argentina: Rashidi Yekini, Jay-Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Emmanuel Amuneke, Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George, Peter Rufai
Senegal WC 2002 vs Turkey: Papa Bouba Diop, El Hadji Diouf
Egypt Carlsberg Cup vs Bulgaria 1999: Hossam Hassan


USA(3 times) Friendly match vs USSR 1990, Gold Cup 1996 vs Brazil, Friendly match vs Nigeria 1995: Claudio Reyna, Kasey Keller, Tab Ramos, Thomas Dooley, Alexi Lalas, Cobi Jones, John Harkes, Tony Meola, Jeff Agoos, Eddie Pope, Hugo Perez
Mexico (3 times) Carlsberg Cup 1999 vs HK, Carlsberg Cup 20o0 vs Japan & the Czech Republic : Jorge Campos, Luis Hernández, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Rafael Márquez, Claudio Suarez, Ramon Ramirez, Francisco Palencia, Oscar Perez
Honduras: Carlsberg Cup 2002 vs China & Slovenia: Saul Martinez, David Suazo, Samuel Caballero






Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Cool club names


Anguilla

Mr. Cool Attackers
Roaring Lions

Argentina
Newell's old boys
Chaco For ever

Bahamas
Quality Superstars
Playtime Tigers
Insurance Management Bears FC

Bolivia
The Strongest:
Jorge Wilstermann
ALWAYS READY
DESTROYERS

Botswana
Meat Commission
ECCO City Green
Mosquito Selibe-Pikwe
Township Rollers
Naughty Boys
Miscellaneous
Killer Giants
Young Strikers
Stonebreakers
Boteti Young Fighters
Wonder Sporting
Maun Terrors
Maun United
Maun Heroes
Man Machine
Home Sweepers
Roman Cosmos
Tip Toe Boys
Mountain Birds
Elephants
Smiling Boys
Golden Bush
Triple Action
Thunder Stars
Desert Wind
Desert Sky
Brothers of Peace
Crocodile
Big Five


Brazil

Botafogo: Means "set it on fire"

Chile
Colo Colo

Colombia
Los Millonarios

Denmark
MIDDELFART


England

Rushden & Diamonds
Sheffield Wednesday
Tottenham Hotspur

Ethiopia
Harrar Beer Botling FC

Finland
FC Jazz
KooTeePee Kotka

Ghana
Cape Coast Dwarfs
King Faisal Babes

Holland
Go Ahead Eagles

Ireland
Shamrock Rovers F.C.

Jamaica
Wadadah FC
Naggo Head FC

Japan
Apple Sports College FC
Benditonce Kobe
Nagoya Grampus Eight

Nambia
Eleven Arrows
Golden Bees
OFC Life Fighters
Silent Killers
Eleven Brothers
Black Africa
Eleven Morning Stars
Poison Arrows
Mighty Gunners
Touch & Go
Bee Bob Brothers
Flying Eagles

Womens Teams
Golden Delicious FC
Bad Girls FC
Eleven Sisters FC
Full Ham FC


Nigeria
Shooting Stars FC
Wikki Tourists FC

Peru
Deportivo Wanka
Total Clean

Italy
Boy's Caivanese(lower division)

Scotland
Peterhead


South Africa

Kaiser Chiefs
Dangerous Darkies
Moroka Swallows
Golden Arrows

Spain
Hércules

Swaziland
11 Men in Flight

Suriname
Robin Hood

Switzerland
Grashoppers FC Zürich: insects for a name of the club.
Young Boys Bern: They should play against Newell's Old Boys of Argentina


Trinidad and Tobago

Joe Public

Ukraine
Dnjepr Dnjepropetrovsk

USA
Pennsylvania Stoners(in 1980's)
Real Salt Lake: Sorry, in the USA, "real" does not mean "royal".
Tampa Bay Rowdies: Only club in the world to promote hooligan culture.
New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers


Uruguay

Deportivo Moron

Wales
Total Network Solutions F.C.(now The New Saints F.C.)

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Beckham = sexy




Certainly, Beckham brought many fans to Real Madrid.