Belatedly, a roundup of links regarding the passing of Brazilian great Socrates a couple weeks ago: Remembering Brazil's Soccer Philosopher King, penned by Gabriele Marcotti, appeared in the WSJ the day after his death: Sunday [December 4] morning marked the passing of Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Souza Vieira de Oliveira, better known simply as Socrates. The Brazilian midfielder was 57. He is survived by his wife and six sons. Brazilian midfielder Socrates, seen during the 1982 World Cup. (European Pressphoto Agency)Sometimes greatness is measured through intangibles like leadership and personality, sometimes it is gauged through empirical achievement, like statistics and championships. Sometimes it's a combination of all those things. But Socrates stood on an even higher plane: Soccer will probably never again produce anyone like him.The 1982 Brazilian team that he captained was perhaps the greatest never to win the World Cup (along with Hungary in 1954 and
As the final matchday of the Europa League group stages approaches Wednesday and Thursday, so does the best chance to see Americans in action overseas on a TV near you. And with some of the Americans’ teams in danger of crashing out of Europa, it may be the last chance for a while. That is, unless your cable package comprehensively covers the Portuguese, Dutch, German and Belgian leagues, in which case you’re really spending way too much for cable. The two Fox Soccer Channels offer regular viewing of Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Brad Friedel in England and occasionally Michael Bradley in the Serie A, and GolTV shows some of the Bundesliga exploits of Steve Cherundolo and the German-Americans in the national team, but to see Oguchi Onyewu (Sporting Lisbon), Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht) or Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City) in a non-streamed format, Europa’s the ticket. Furthermore,
Another El Clasico is upon us--Real Madrid hosts archrivals FC Barcelona at the majestic Santiago Bernabeu for a Saturday night La Liga match (kickoff is at 10pmCET/9pmGMT/4pmEST). This will be, remarkably, the 7th El Clasico of 2011: there were the four matches packed into 18 days last spring (two meetings in the Champions League semifinal, the Copa del Rey final, and their 2nd La Liga match of the season), plus there were two legs to the preseason Spanish Super Copa. But the frequency of El Clasicos hasn't at dampened the anticipation of seeing these two sides face off of the pitch. As we wrote 13 months ago, ahead of the first El Clasico of last season (the one at the Camp Nou that became, shockingly and memorably, "La Manita"), El Clasico means "Catalans vs Castilians, L’Equip Blaugrana vs Los Blancos, La Masia vs Los Galacticos, Los Cules vs Los Madridistas,
Next time, rake the cleats over the Swiss tendons, Rooney, my boy. And as Matchday 6 of the Champions League separated the wheat from the chaff, the next eight into the Europa League knockouts are: Valencia Olympiakos Porto Victoria Plzen Manchester United Manchester City Ajax FC Basel Trabzonspor Manchester United failed to beat Basel, so MUFC goes to Europa, while the Swiss progress to the knockouts. Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich at home, but the team progresses, as it were, to Europa due to Napoli’s victory 2-0 victory over Villareal, which means Napoli goes through. Lyon, after a fantastic 7-1 match overcame all sorts of goal difference, go through over Ajax on goal difference. Of course, there's a whiff of controversy about this one, with Ajax accusing Lyon and Dinamo Zagreb of match-fixing. Sour grapes? Who knows. Would've been nice to have a bet on that
The U.S. Under-17 team took on Brazil in Lakewood Ranch, FL, and never looked outclassed in the slightest, defeating Brazil 3-1. Having drawn 2-2 with France midweek and beaten Turkey 2-1 on Friday, they won the Nike International Friendlies trophy with three first-half goals and an impressive second-half defense. As for witnessing the emergence of the “next Neymar” or “next Clint Dempsey” in the crop of U-17 players, the latter certainly seemed more the case. ("New Pelé" Neymar played in the tournament in 2008.) U.S. attacking midfielder Junior Flores displayed outstanding playmaking abilities and looks a huge prospect for the future. Involved in each of the U.S. goals, he outmaneuvered defenders at will, as Rubio Rubin charged down the right flank, providing excellent service to forwards Corey Baird and Wesley Wade. Meanwhile, right back Shaquell Moore and centerback Tyler Turner looked solid, both in attack and defense. Rubin, Flores and
Betting sites had tipped Tottenham to take home the silverware, but the odds are now against them even exiting the group stages. With two weeks until the final matches of the Europa League group stages, 14 clubs have clinched spots in the knockout rounds of the cup with a game to spare. With the eight teams that finish third in their UEFA Champions League groups transferring over to Europe’s second-tier competition, that leaves 10 spots. Anderlecht, who alone won all 5 of the first 5 group matches, FC Twente and Sporting Lisbon had already qualified even before Thursday’s matches kicked off, as had PSV Eindhoven and Legia Warsaw before Wednesday’s matches. Meanwhile, former frontrunner Tottenham's loss to 10-man PAOK Thessaloniki at White Hart Lane puts makes them unlikely to join the last 32. As punishment, perhaps Jermaine Defoe should write "Panthessaloníkios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstantinoupolitón" 100 times
Arsenal's 1-0 home loss to Manchester City in the Carling Cup match yesterday showed, once again, the power of the petropounds. One goal from over £150 million in transfer fees is a pretty weak return, but a win is a win and even if City are on the ropes in Europe, they've booked their spot in the semifinals of the league cup. Costel Pantilimon (Loan) Kolo Touré (£16 million) Nedum Onuoha (Academy) Pablo Zabaleta (£6.5 million) Aleksandar Kolarov (£16 million) Stefan Savic (£6 million) Owen Hargreaves (Free) Nigel De Jong (£16 million) Samir Nasri (£24 million) Adam Johnson (£7 million) Edin Dzeko (£27 million) sub: Sergio Aguero (£35 million) Transfer fees depend on many factors and are a dubious way to judge a squad, but compare the total of City's transfer fees for this roster, roughly £153.5 million, with that of the side Arsenal fielded (roughly £33 million). Aguero alone cost more than
A variety of matches worth watching this weekend: a couple from England, a couple from Spain, intriguing matches in Munich and in Naples, a Uruguayan super derby, and the MLS championship game. (As usual, all times ET and all TV listings for the United States.) Saturday, Nov 19 England, Manchester City-Newcastle (10amET, Fox Soccer): The match of the weekend in England. Will the new Mancunian juggernaut keep rolling? City is at the top of the table, with 10 wins and 1 draw. More remarkable: 39 goals for vs. 10 goals against. But the Toon are the only other unbeaten team, 3rd in the table (7 wins and 4 draws for 25 points, 1 behind that other Manchester club, 6 behind Man City). Will Newcastle's French revolution keep the Tooners run going? Or will the Newcastle bubble burst? Match of the weekend? Germany, Bayern Munich-Borussia Dortmund (12:30pmET, ESPN
