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Borussia Dortmund, Eintract Frankfurt and Ricardo Clark

December 19, 2010 — by Sean

Thanks to Jet Blue's DirectTV feed I was able to catch Borussia Dortmund's second only loss of the Bundesliga season, to Eintract Frankfurt. We in the CultFootball bullpen have been meaning to spend more time with the German league, but with our attention split between england, spain, italy and all the cups, sacrifices had to be made. Amazing how a cross-country flight can provide such needed pockets of time. Dortmund have an interesting history, having had some significant successes in the 90s with consecutive league titles followed the next year with a Champions League win over Zidane's Juventus, and a subsequent Intercontinental Cup win over Brazilian side Cruzeiro. Going into the Christmas break they're 10 points above their closest rival in the league though they were unceremoniously dumped from the Europa Cup by Sevilla. But back to Frankfurt, who stopped Die Schwarzgelben from achieving the most points of any team

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CommentaryHistoryThey ReminisceVideo

La Magica Roma: 1982-1984

December 17, 2010 — by Simeone — 1

rosa-1982-83-campioni-italia.jpg
I am an hardcore fan of the "magica" Roma...I fell in love with the "giallorossi" ("red-yellow") when I was a kid, 10 years old (1980), Roma-Udinese 0-0, at the old Olimpic Stadium with my mum and dad. We got there at the last minute and we could only find standing "seats", at the bottom of the Curva Nord (the other curve, Curva Sud, is the home of Roma's fans). Tw years later Italy won the World Cup, defeating Argentina with Passarella and an already famous Maradona.  (Gentile, the rough italian defender, still has a piece of his jersey!)  Then Italy-Brazil, 3-2, an amazing game, with three goals by Rossi (and a great counterattack goal by Antognoni disallowed)....I am talking about the great Brazil of Zico, Falcao (a Roma's player by then), Socrates, Junior, Eder....I think one of the best games ever by the Azzurri, second only to the 1970 semifinal

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Video

FIFA Club World Cup 2009: FC Barcelona 2 – 1 Estudiantes (ARG)

December 17, 2010 — by Suman

Forca Barça!
As part of the run up to tomorrow's FIFA Club World Cup 2010 championship game (between 2009-10 UEFA Champions League winner Inter Milan and 2010 AFC Champions League winner TP Mazembe), we take a look back at the finale of last year's tournament, between FC Barcelona (who qualified by winning the 2008-09 UEFA Champions League) and Estudiantes de la Plata (also known, apparently, as Los Pincharratas–The Rat Stabbers, and who had won the 2009 Copa Libertadores). (Fox Deportes is actually going to rebroadcast the Barcelona-Estudiantes game this afternoon at 5pmET--ahead of their broadcast of Inter-TP Mazembe tomorrow at 12pmET.  But if you don't get to watch the rebroadcast, see below for a 6min highlight clip.) It was a rather exciting game, as Estudiantes took the lead in the 37th minute off a fantastic header by Mauro Boselli. But Pedro pulled Barcelona even in the 89th minute--Pique had moved up

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Commentary

Matches to Watch This Weekend (Dec 18-20)

December 17, 2010 — by Suman

We command you!
For our US-based CultFootballers, see below for our televised/streaming picks for this weekend: 11 matches in Europe (4 in England, 4 in Italy, 2 in Spain, 1 in France); plus, live from Abu Dhabi, an intercontinental matchup in the FIFA 2010 Club World Cup final. If these aren't to your liking, see the SoccerInsider's listings for many more televised matches.  As usual, all times ET: SATURDAY, DEC 18 England, Sunderland-Bolton, 7:30am ESPN2 & ESPN3.com: It is the game on ESPN2, so there's a matter of convenience--but it's certainly not an uninteresting matchup. Bolton is 6th in the standings, Sunderland 7th.  American Stu Holden has been playing well for Bolton (as has his mate in the midfield, Fabrice Muamba).  For Sunderland there's of course Bent and Welbeck and Gyan and maybe even Bolo Zenden..and hence the possibility of dancing. Club World Cup final, Mazembe-Inter Milan,

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Commentary

The 2010 FIFA Club World Cup

December 16, 2010 — by Suman — 2

Seven teams have been competing in Abu Dhabi over the past week in the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup: Inter Milan (Italy), Pachuca (Mexico), Internacionale (Brazil), TP Mazembe (Congo DR), Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma (South Korea), Al-Wahda Sports Club (UAE), and Hekari United FC (Papua Ne Guinea). The final is set for Saturday: Inter Milan vs, surprisingly, TP Mazembe. Hekkari are the first club outside of Australia or New Zealand to qualify; but they immediately fell to host side Al-Wahda in the qualifying round.  Al-Wahda went down to Asian champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the quarterfinals, and they in turn lost to Inter Milan in the semis. The UEFA and CONMEBOL champions go straight into the semifinals--which no doubt has contributed to every previous final match being a UEFA vs CONMEBOL affair (see below).  But this year TP Mazembe made it to the finals by beating Pachuca and then Internacional.  See our

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AfricaCommentaryNewsVideo

FIFA Club World Cup Finalist: TP Mazembe Out of Lubumbashi (DR Congo)

December 16, 2010 — by Suman — 2

Tout Puissant Mazembe - Founded in 1939
How did Tout Puissant Mazembe--based in Lubumbashi, the 2nd largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo--become the first club from outside of Europe and South America to reach the finals of a Club World Cup? Most immediately, by upsetting the Brazilian side Internacionale 2-0 earlier this week in the semis.  (And thus preventing an Inter v Inter final. Inter Milan defeated South Korean club Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma 3-0 in the other semifinal; Internazionale will play Mazembe in the finals this Saturday). The highlights show a couple nice finishes by the Congolese (and some relatively lax defending by the Brazilians): For a more detailed account of how TP Mazembe reached the final, see this Guardian blog entry: "TP Mazembe continue journey from karate kids to the top of the world"; the "karate kids" reference alludes to a shameful showing in

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HistoryVideo

Battles at Old Trafford: A Bit of Man U vs Arsenal History

December 13, 2010 — by Suman

Cole, Keown, van Nistelrooy - The Battle of Old Trafford, Sept 2003
A very highly anticipated Premier League matchup today, with Man U vs Arsenal kicking off in a matter of minutes at Old Trafford.  Certainly it's a significant match for this edition of the Premier League race, with Arsenal one point ahead of Manchester United at the top of the table (Man U do have a game in hand, and in fact are undefeated so far in the Premier League--but they definitely haven't looked invincible).  Beyond just the current standings, however, Man U and Arsenal have developed quite the heated rivalry over the past couple decades--not as historically/geographically rooted as some other English football rivalries perhaps, but given the clashing personalities of their famous managers and especially the strength of their sides, it's become one of the mostly highly anticipated fixtures in the Premier League. Two clashes

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NewsVideo

Stuart Holden Shines in Bolton Win

December 13, 2010 — by Sean — 1

US national team midfielder Stuart Holden (who currently holds first position for tackles won in the EPL) scored a dramatic late winner for Bolton Wanderers on Sunday upon his return from a thigh injury. The prolific twitterer (@stuholden) has become a fixture in Owen Coyle's side, and though Bolton had gone down to ten men Holden continued to attack, turning a chested trap into a powerful one-time volley that slid in at the near post. Fat Sam, having seen his team level with two minutes left and up a man, was more than displeased after the match, calling his squad a bunch of old women. Asked if he was sick from the result, he responded: "Sick is an understatement. We defended like a bunch of old women. I'm sick they went down to 10 men, because, with 11, I thought we were going to go on and win it." Bolton

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