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UEFA Europa League – Fixtures & Results

September 16, 2010 — by Suman — 1

The Europa League has pelotas

As Sean wrote last week, “It’s tough to care much about the beginning of the European footballing season. After the buzz of the World Cup and the always fun transfer drama, club football’s jerky starts seem less urgent.”  But with the Champions League getting started over the past two days, and now the Europa League kicking off today, there are really just too many appealing matches to keep up with.

To be brutally honest, we (or rather I) don’t really understand the Europa League–who qualifies and how and why?  Who knows.  But at the end of the day, it means midweek games between the (not-quite-)top clubs in Europe.

So w/o further ado, here is the link to the fixtures and results.

Notable results: Man City beats Salzburg 2-0 in Austria, but La Liga table-toppers Atletico Madrid lose…to Aris Thessaloniki FC?! We don’t know anything about the latter side..though we think it’s a safe to assume they’re Greek. Villareal also lost to Dinamo Zagreb (we did learn from @SoccerInsiderthat Jozy Altidore got a full 90mins in that match), while Dynamo Kyiv drew with FC BATE Borisov at home…

Well, there are too many matches to give a full run-down. There are 48 teams in this league (split into 12 groups (A-L) of 4 teams each), and they all played today on Matchday 1, so that means 24 matches!  Matchday 2 is in two weeks, on Thursday September 30, with 24 more matches.

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Champions League – Day 2 Fixtures (& return of the liveblog?)

September 15, 2010 — by Suman

It was a fun afternoon yesterday, flipping channels between the 4 games we eventually found on the dial, and we’re looking forward to this afternoon, when it looks like we’ll be able to flip in between 3 of today’s 8 matches (on FSC, FSE & FSP).

We’ll most likely be watching Cesc Fabregas (left) lead Arsenal against visiting Portuguese side Braga, but no doubt we’ll also look in on Mourinho-led Madrid hosting Ajax of Amsterdam (FSE), and Premier League powerhouse Chelsea visiting Slovakian side MŠK Žilina (FSC).  And we may just break out the liveblog this afternoon..

Here’s the full list of today’s fixtures:


Wednesday, September 15 (all games kickoff at 14:45 ET)

Group E
Bayern Munich v AS Roma @ Allianz Arena (DirectTV; rebroadcast on FSE at 19:00 ET)
CFR Cluj-Napoca v FC Basel @ Stadionul Dr. Constantin Radulescu (DirectTV)

Group F
Marseille v Spartak Moscow @ Stade Vélodrome (DirectTV)
MSK Zilina v Chelsea @ Pod Dubnom (FSC; rebroadcast on FSP at 17:00 ET)

Group G
AC Milan v AJ Auxerre @ Giuseppe Meazza (DirectTV; rebroadcast on FSC at 21:00 ET)
Real Madrid v Ajax Amsterdam @ Santiago Bernabéu (FSE; rebroadcast on FSC at 17:00 ET)

Group H
Arsenal v Braga @ Emirates Stadium (FSP; rebroadcast on FSE at 17:00 ET & on FSC at 19:00 ET)
Shakhtar Donetsk v Partizan Belgrade @ Donbass Arena (DirectTV)

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Champions League starts today! Matchday 1 Fixtures

September 14, 2010 — by Suman

What is arguably the World Cup of club soccer starts later today–the UEFA Champions League.  Like the World Cup, it features most of the top players in the world, and consists of 32 teams that will compete in a group stage to advance to a knockout phase.   Unlike the World Cup, however, it’s an annual affair–and stretches over 8 months, with this year’s final to be played on Saturday May 28, on the storied pitch of Wembley Stadium.

The group phase starts today, with “Matchday 1” consisting of 8 matches today (Tuesday Sept 14): 2 games in each in Groups and 8 matches tomorrow (Wednesday Sept 15).   Today’s 8 matches feature the 16 teams in Groups A, B, C, and D, with tomorrow’s from the other 4 groups (E, F, G, and H).

Looking ahead, the group stage consists of 6 Tuesday-Wednesday “Matchdays” to allow for home-and-away round robin within in each group (each team needs to play the other 3 teams in its group twice–hence 6 matches): Sept 14-15, Sept 28-29, Oct 19-20, Nov 2-3, Nov 23-24, and Dec 7-8.  The top two teams in each group will advance to the knockout phase, with the Round of 16 matches February 15-23 and March 8-16 in the new year; the quarterfinals April 5-6 and April 12-13; the semifinals April 26-27 and May 3-4; and the final on May 28.

We’ve got full details on the Matchday 1 fixtures below, but here’s what jumps out at us among today’s 8 matches (and what to watch):

(1) Defending champion Inter Milan starts its campaign for two in a row today against Dutch side Twente Enschede; this match is on Fox Soccer Channel (FSC; and like all of today’s and tomorrow’s matches, kicks off at 2:45pm ET). Ironically, Inter is led on the field by Dutch midfielder and World Cup star Wes Sneijder; but unlike last year, they won’t be led by manager Jose Mourinho (called by some “the special one”), who has moved to Real Madrid, in an attempt to try to repeat his managing success there. See here for some coverage of how Mourinho has taken to some sniping at his successor at Inter, Rafa Benitez.

(2) Tottenham Hotspur squeezed into the competition a couple weeks ago, by eliminating Young Boys of Switzerland in qualifying; see John Lally’s preview of that game for some idea of what it means for Spurs to be back in Europe.  They’ll visit Werder Bremen today; you can watch that one when it’s rebroadcast on Fox Sports Espanol at 5pm ET.

(3) Manchester United stays at home, hosting Scottish side Rangers.  The story line here is Wayne Rooney, who returns to the field after Sir Alex Ferguson kept him on the bench this past Saturday against Everton (the club that signed him at the age of 10!)–ostensibly to spare him what would have been graphic but creative verbal abuse, following Rooney’s domination of the English tabloids last week (see here if you missed that story!).  That game is being televised live on Fox Sports Net (FSN; as they say, check your local listings), but will be rebroadcast on Fox Sports Espanol (FSE) at 7pm ET.

(4) Finally, the match we’ll likely be watching at CultFootball HQ this afternoon: Barcelona vs. Panathinaikos at the Camp Nou, live on FSE. Barcelona was the favorite to win the Champions League last year, only to be foiled in the semifinals by Mourinho’s Milanese defense. They’re coming off a shocking home loss over the weekend, so it will be interesting to see how they fare today.

See below for the full list of today’s and tomorrow’s fixtures.

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Hércules Hércules! Shocker at the Nou Camp

September 13, 2010 — by Suman — 1

Valdez puts Hercules up 2-0 over Barcelona

The shocking result from this past weekend’s La Liga fixtures was Barcelona losing on the Camp Nou to newly promoted Hércules by a score of 2-0, with Paraguayan international Nelson Valdez scoring both goals.  It was certainly an unexpected result, as Sid Lowe writes in the the Guardian:

Barcelona are the league champions; Herculés are making their first appearance in the first division since 1997 – in fact, they’ve spent just two of the last 26 years in the top flight. Hell, they’ve spent half of the last decade in the regionalised, four group, eighty-team Second Division B. And Barcelona had not been beaten by a newly promoted side for a decade.

Barcelona had won 17 out of 18 at home last season, drawing the other. They had not lost a league game at home for 16 months – and that didn’t really count, what with it being a who-cares-we’ve-already-won-the-title defeat against Osasuna. You have to go back to February 2009 for their last ‘real’ defeat at home – and that was a miracle. Since Pep Guardiola made his managerial debut in La Liga they have not once been beaten by two goals in the league. And Valdez, the goalscorer who doesn’t score, was making his La Liga debut. 2-0? To Herculés? With Valdez getting them both? On Catalonia’s official holiday, too? No chance.

Except that the ‘diada’ marks the bloodiest of Catalan defeats. Except that Herculés have a bit of a habit of this. The last time they were in the first division, back in 1996-97, they beat Barcelona twice. 3-2 at Camp Nou and 2-1 at the Rico Pérez – the game that effectively cost Bobby Robson’s side the title, handing it to Fabio Capello’s Madrid. Thirteen years later, history might just have repeated itself. Last night’s saw the two-point advantage over José Mourinho’s Madrid disappear; Barça now trail by a point.

Click thru to read Lowe’s whole essay–starting with an account of Valdez’s journey from Paraguay to Werder Bremen to Borussia Dortmund and now to Hércules.

Here is video of Valdez’s two goals–the first off a scrambling attack on Barca’s goal following a Herculés free kick in the 26th minute, and the 2nd a clinical finish off a rolling cross from the right side in the 59th minute (note how Valdez pulls up his run at the top of the box and hangs in that unmarked space):

Though this more complete highlights reel seems to show that it was Barcelona that dominated play and created many more chances–numerous near misses by the likes of Villa, Pedro, and Pique (coming up from defense for an aerial attack):

Things get even more interesting for Pep Guardiola’s side this coming week: they’ll get no rest, as they’ll be back on the Camp Nou tomorrow, hosting Panathinaikos in the first set of Champions League fixtures; and then they travel to Madrid next weekend, to play the top team in Spain.

No, not the overyhyped and overpaid collection of stars at the Bernabeu (who at least managed to finally score a goal this past weekend, at home against Osasuna), but rather the guys crosstown at Atletico Madrid.  Led by Uruguayan star Diego Forlan, Atletico Madrid sits atop the table with two wins after two games (Valencia being the only other side with six points).  Forlan has picked up where he left off in South Africa, scoring 3 goals in the first two matches.  Atletico Madrid sits atop the table (Valencia being the only other side with six points).

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What to Watch This Weekend (Sept 11-12)

September 10, 2010 — by Suman — 1

Milan's new signings

We’re finally launching what will be a weekly feature (aimed at our US readers): a guide to the televised matches you’ll want to schedule your weekend around.  With the plethora of leagues (Prem, Champion, Bundes, La Liga, Serie A, etc.) and channels (FSC, FSE, ESPN/2/3, GolTV)*, plus all the time zone and tape delay issues–and it can be no small task to figure out when and where to watch (or record) the most relevant game(s) of the coming weekend.  Our plan is to do that task for you.

WaPo’s SoccerInsider usefully compiles and posts a full listing of televised matches for the coming weekend; see here for this weekend’s edition. But nothing really jumps out of that long list as must-see TV.

Indeed, I checked in with the CultFootball brain trust and got feedback from Coach Larry:

There isn’t much to watch this weekend in terms of known quality playing each other.  I am hesitant to highlight an internet-only broadcast and I especially don’t like ever recommending a match being shown on tape.

Having said all that, the best pure matchup is Bilbao v Atletico Madrid, unless you guys have an insight into the Mexican league.  If forced to watch one of the “big” teams play, I’d lean toward either the Gelled One returning for Real, or Arsenal hosting Bolton (true live and most accessible).

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UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifiers Begin Today

September 3, 2010 — by Suman

UEFA Euro 2012 official logo

The road to the 2012 UEFA European championship gets going today, with a full slate of matches: England v Bulgaria is perhaps the one to watch (and is the most accessible to watch in the US: it’s on FSC & FSE at 3pm ET), with a number of additional matches to be streamed on ESPN3.

Most of the latter look to be mismatches (Andorra v Russia, Estonia v Italy, San Marino v Netherlands, Portugal v Cyprus…Liechtenstein v Spain!).  But a few matches that look like they could be more interesting: Sweden v Hungary, Belgium v Germany, and France v Belarus (given the extraordinary French showing in South Africa).

The aim for all these European sides is to end up in Poland and Ukraine in June 2012 (via UEFA,com: “The final tournament of the 14th UEFA European Football Championship will be held in Poland and Ukraine from 8 June to 1 July 2012. It will be the third time that the final tournament is jointly hosted by two countries (after Belgium/Netherlands in 2000 and Austria/Switzerland in 2008).”)  But the road to Gdansk, Poznan, Warsaw, Wroclaw, Donetsk, Lviv, Kharkiv and Kyiv is a long and nearly indecipherable one…

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Tottenham v Man City Starting Lineups

August 14, 2010 — by Suman — 1

Guardian Squad sheets: Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City

If you’re not up early (kickoff was at 7:45am ET) watching this opening game of the 2010-11 English Premier League, you’re missing a doozy.  As the inimitable Guardian liveblog put it, “a cracking start, real 200mph This Is What The Premier League Is All About™ stuff.”

We have a Spurs season preview from cradle-to-grave Tottenhamite John Lally up here, and we expect he’ll also post a match recap later today or tomorrow.  At some point we’ll also have to comment on Man City’s chances, as they’ve been more active in the transfer market than any other EPL side (having spent an astounding ~$156 million to bring in international stars David Silva (Spain), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast), Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbia), Jerome Boateng (Germany), and just in the last 24 hours, Mario Balotelli (Italy).

That list points out the internationalization of the Premier League.  Here’s a run through the starting lineups in this morning’s match, along with the national side of each player:

Tottenham: Gomes (Brazil); Corluka (Croatia), Dawson (England), King (England), Assou-Ekotto (Cameroon); Lennon (England), Modric (Croatia), Huddlestone (England), Bale (Wales); Crouch (England), Defoe (England).

Man City: Hart (England); Richards (England), Kolo Toure (Ivory Coast), Kompany (Belgium), Kolarov (Serbia); Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast), De Jong (Netherlands), Barry (England): Wright-Phillips (England), Tevez (Argentina), Silva (Spain).

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Tonight: USA v Brazil — em Nova Jersey

August 10, 2010 — by Suman

USA v Brasil - Aug 10, 2010 @ New Meadowlands Stadium

An exciting day here at CultFootball HQ, and more generally in the NYC metro area–if one is a soccer fan, and in particular a fan of the USMNT and/or the Seleção Brasileira, as the two national teams will be facing off this evening em Nova Jersey, i.e., in New Jersey–at the brand spanking New Meadowland Stadium.

Yours truly will be heading out soon to make the trip out to NJ for the game, and so I’d been planning to write up some sort of match preview–at the very least to acquaint myself with who’s going to be on the pitch tonight, in particular for the Brazilian team.  As has been widely reported, Brazil’s new coach Mano Menezes has chosen to bring along only 4 players who were on the squad that went to South Africa for the World Cup (Robinho, Thiago Silva, Ramires and Daniel Alves), and so the remainder of the roster will be players that most of us haven’t seen play before–though in the weeks since the WC ended, we have reported on tranfer news regarding two highly touted players that we should be seeing tonight, Ganso and Neymar.

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