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David Weir: Old Guy

September 15, 2010 — by Sean — 2

What's that, sonny?

While we flipped through the Champions League games today one man stood out: David Weir. Not for his defensive prowess, nor for any particularly stellar play, but for the fact that, during a close-up of the man yelling at the ref, he looked amazingly old.

The captain of Rangers did indeed anchor an incredibly stubborn defense in a hostile Old Trafford this afternoon, and managed to hold together his troops without himself causing anyone a horrific injury (see further down for some home-shot video of Valencia’s season-ending ankle break).

Weir’s elderly appearance set us looking for his record. The man is a sturdy 40 years of age, and seems to only be getting more sure with the passing years. He spent the first few seasons of his career in Scotland, working his way through Falkrik and Hearts before signing with Everton, where he captained the side under two managers. After 8 1/2 season in the EPL he went back home and is now with Rangers, where just last year he received the Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year Award (this just 3 days before his 40th birthday).

Footytube has a bit about him after his performance today:

Recently recalled to the Scotland squad, Weir became the oldest player to represent his country when he appeared in their recent Euro 2012 qualifying matches. Last season he was the Scottish Premier League’s player of the year and won the equivalent award from the country’s football writers. He has the lean outline and undemonstrative air of a man who has survived many harsh campaigns and on last night’s display he looks good for another outstanding year in both shades of blue.

And now, as promised, handheld footage of the Valencia injury. They didn’t show replays, so you’ll have to squint some and catch it on the fly. It’s not as horrific as Eduardo’s snapped ankle a couple seasons back, but it’s clearly a clean double break and a floppy foot flying through the air.

CommentarySchedule

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.

NewsVideo

FA Community Shield: Man Utd defeats Chelsea 3-1

August 9, 2010 — by Suman

"Javier Hernández puts United two up – but there is a hint of fortune about the goal, the ball skewing off Hernández's boot before striking him in the face and flying into the net" (via The Guardian)

Yesterday was the traditional pre-opener to the English season–the FA Community Shield. We watched bits and pieces off the DVR later in the day.  Personally, I was impressed by Antonio Valencia, Man U’s newly acquired Ecuadorian winger, as well as (like last season) Nani.

Some additional commentary by our man (and Chelsea supporter) Sumit:

Saw it on replay. Chelsea looked the better team in terms of ball control and movement for very long periods of time. The attack is just not there; Malouda looks his old lazy French self and Salomon still hasn’t got a f’in Kalou while the defensive communication is poor. Terry’s not fast so they need to work cover schemes with the midfielders or the wingbacks right quick before they get torn to shreds in a game that actually matters. Chelsea need some organization quickly. Glad to see the Bison back and playing, big boost there. Chelsea desperately need a quick flank player, o/w the 4-3-3 scheme is going to look a little ponderous and get caught out in a midfield tussle.

ManU didn’t impress me enough to be scared of them (famous last words). Aside from Rooney’s work rate and, oddly enough, Berbatov’s movement and touches there wasn’t much in the way of an attacking threat and the midfield was poor. I stopped really watching at the 75 minute mark.

In case you missed it, here are video highlights of Sunday’s match, via footytube:

NewsUncategorized

AC Milan v Panathinaikos? In the Pontiac Silverdome? On grass?

August 7, 2010 — by Suman

"Panathinaikos' Sotiris Ninis, front left, and AC Milan's Alexandre Pato fight for this ball in the first half at the Silverdome on Friday. (JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/DFP)"

Doesn’t it seem like every club in Europe is somewhere in the United States over these few weeks, playing warmup matches and making odd publicity appearances?  Thierry Henry scoring on Spurs yet again, but this time after “Coming to America” (really MSG?), making a memorable appearance on NY1, and taking the lovely PATH train from Manhattan to Harrison NJ; Sir Alex eating ribs while competing with a gospel choir in Kansas City; Cristian Ronaldo lecturing at UCLA (hat tip for that link to faculty member Steve Lee (although some are pushing him to try out for goalkeer on the 2014 South Korean squad–Be the Reds Steve–literally!)); and hapless Portsmouth on the pre-season tour from hell.

CommentaryHistory

A Premier League Preview

August 5, 2010 — by John Lally

The 19th Premier League season begins on August 14th with an exciting round of opening fixtures, including last season’s 4th and 5th placed teams, Tottenham vs. Manchester City, and two of the “traditional” big 4 squaring off when Liverpool play Arsenal on Sunday 15th. I say “traditional” because it’s good to remember that things weren’t always like this.

Nowadays, the Premier League is the biggest league in the world with huge television revenues and very little turnover in terms of who competes for the title or finishes in the top 4 spots, which bring with them Champions’ League qualification and more money to boot.  But this oligarchic nature of the top flight of English football is a product of the Premier League structure rather than something that has always been in existence.  In its first season, the Premiership looked much different, and was a lot less predictable.

General Knowledge

The next big thing: Ganso

July 13, 2010 — by Sean — 2

Unless you’ve been following Santos—maybe on the trail of Robinho—you may have so far missed the next great midfield prospect in global footbal: Paulo Henrique aka “Ganso”. He’s on many a team’s radar and there are bound to be offers from both Manchester sides, though Lyon is also in play.

Since Brazilians tend to have a hard time settling in England, and Lyon has such a youthful team alongside a fantastic record of bringing in players from overseas and developing them into superstars, it seems like France would be the place to go.

Wherever he lands, expect to hear more from him this season.

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