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New York Red Bulls v Manchester City – some notes

July 25, 2010 — by Suman4

Macoumba Kandji - clearly looking to step up

We just sat down after a full day in the city (pick up this morning in some serious heat on the Nike Fields in the LES, followed by dim sum at Ping’s (22 Mott, on the recommendation of the Singaporean who organizes the aforementioned pickup game–good call), followed by an early beer at Der Schwarze Kolner back here in the neighborhood for a friend’s birthday); just in time to see the New York Red Bulls kick off against Man City in the final game of the Barclays New York Challenge.

(Unfortunately we missed seeing Sporting Clube of Portugal play both Fri night v Man City and in the first half of today’s doubleheader in Harrison v Tottenham–of the Portuguese clubs, we’re partial to SCP, just by fact of having visited their stadium last Oct in Lisbon, and having bought a jersey at said store.)

This being only the 2nd Red Bulls game we’ve watched–after Thursday night’s game v Tottenham, we’re only starting to get familiar with their roster. We should also start getting familar with Man City’s roster, as they’ll no doubt be looking to break into the top tier of the Premier League in this upcoming season

See below for some notes on today’s game and on the rosters of the two teams.

Live BlogOpen Thread

Liveblog/Open Thread: Tottenham Hotspurs at New York Red Bulls

July 22, 2010 — by Suman11

"Are we really in Harrison NJ?"

They’ve just kicked off at Red Bulls Arena in Harrison, NJ.  Well, we’re not in beautiful industrial north Jersey–we haven’t left Brooklyn all day.  But we do have a CultFootball contributor on the scene–an Englishman, and a Spurs fan no less.  We’ll be getting a game report from him at some point in the near future..but in the meantime we’ll be throwing up some real-time commentary from the comfort of our couch(es).

We can’t remember a more anticipated game involving an MLS team–because tonight is Thierry Henry’s debut with the Red Bulls.  The game is being televised on both Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports Espanol..and is also being streamed on the oddly named (but rather slick-looking) video broadcaster Veetle.com.

Below the jump (of after the bump, as some prefer to say)…starting lineups and some occasional liveblogging.

Open Thread

Today’s big game! WC2010 Final Open Thread – Netherlands v Spain

July 11, 2010 — by Sean53

Here it is, gentle hippies. The big day! Will Holland come out and attack? Will Spain bore me to sleep with their incessant passing? Will they still be serving breakfast at noon when I get to the bar? All will soon be revealed!

Not sure just how much anyone will be attending to this site during the match, and afterward we’re all heading to the OkayAfrica festival over at the Prospect Park bandshell, so you’re all on your  own. Play nicely!

Live BlogOpen Thread

3rd/4th Place Game, Germany v Uruguay: Liveblog/Open Thread

July 10, 2010 — by Suman3

World Cup 1970 3rd/4th Place Game: Uruguay v Germany (Azteca Stadium, Mexico City)

We live up to our chosen moniker–the 3rd/4th place game is quintessential Cult Football.  We will be liveblogging, and we hope you will join us in the comments!

For a preview, we can do no better than the Guardian:

It’s the most pointless match in all football. An anti-climax like no other. A non-event played out by desperately disappointed, and possibly thunderingly depressed, men who know all too well their only chance of immortailty has gone, some kidding on they still care, others failing dismally to hide their displeasure. All the same, it’s still the World Cup, this, isn’t it. And with 62 matches down, there’s only two to go, after which we’ll be done for another four years. Sniff! Panic! So let’s enjoy it while it lasts, eh?


Open ThreadTactics

2nd Semifinal, Germany v Spain: Preview/Open Thread

July 7, 2010 — by Suman13

Probable starting lineups (via ZonalMarking.net)

We’re just 90 minutes away from kickoff in the 2nd semifinal, to decide who will play the Netherlands in the final game on Sunday.  This matchup between European powers is highly anticipated; more so than yesterday’s Holland-Uruguay match was, but we can only hope that this one lives up to the expectations and turns out to be as exciting as yesterday’s 3-2 victory for Holland.

What better way to get a preview of today’s match than to revisit the finals of the Euro 2008 tournament, played on June 29, 2008 in Vienna’s  Ernst Happel Stadion, when Germany and Spain clashed with nearly as much as stake as today.  Spain prevailed that day 1-0, off a goal by striker Fernando Torres–whose struggles to score in this World Cup have become something of a story line for followers of the Spanish side.

On the other hand, the striker who has been scoring for Spain in this tournament, David Villa, did not even play in that Euro final, due to injury.  And on the other side, Germany’s revelation in the midfield, the young and dynamic Mesut Ozil, was not on the German squad.

Hence the indispensable Zonal Marking begins their tactical preview of today’s match (from whence we’ve pulled the probably starting lineup chart above):