Tag: soccer

Unsporting Conduct

therightliberalLeave a comment

In the Champions League clash (in more than one respect) between AC Milan and Tottenham Hotspurs, Gennaro Gattuso lost his head…again.

Gennaro Gattuso has a reputation as a hard man, but so did Joe Jordan during his playing days

After the final whistle, Gattuso went over to the Tottenham bench and got in a verbal argument with assistant coach Joe Jordan. That argument quickly got physical and ended with Gattuso headbutting Jordan.

I have always been a Gattuso fan and that will not change. He is a passionate player who sometimes lets his emotions get in the way of the skill he has. Part of the reason I like him so much is that I have a very similar style. I too lose my head and I play very physical.

Many players have jumped on the “Gattuso is a nasty person” bandwagon. But there is always two sides. Gattuso would not have headbutted Joe Jordan without provocation.

I am not trying to defend Gattuso’s actions because they are not appropriate. However, people should try to understand the circumstances. It is a huge game and AC Milan had just lost. It had been a physical and quite nasty game. supposedly Joe Jordan also said some very nasty insults to Gattuso as well.

UEFA should suspend Gattuso and I am sure they will. Gattuso has already said that he understands that he has messed up and is willing to take any punishment handed out to him.

Gennaro Gattuso and Joe Jordan and Harry Redknapp

In my mind people should accept Gattuso’s apology and move on. Don’t hate a player because he messed up. This is the same as Zinedine Zidane: we can be upset by what happened but we should not let the incident diminish the accomplishments of Gattuso.

The Ventura County Fusion

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For the last 3 years, I have been working part-time with a professional football team in the city of Ventura. The team, The Ventura County Fusion, is going into its fifth season in the PDL.

The PDL is the fourth tier of professional football in the United States. That does not sound like it would make a team prestigious but the Fusion are an exception.

The Fusion have played teams from the highest level including Burnley and Everton. They have also played team such as Real Salt Lake, Columbus Crew and most recently the Portland Timbers (the Fusion were the first team to play Portland’s new MLS team).

In 2009 the Fusion won the PDL Championship, an incredible feat for a team in only its third season. The PDL is made up of 64 teams and the Fusion topped them all. In their last season they finished first place In the Southwest Division of the Western Conference.

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Painting Manchester Red

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Being a loyal Manchester United fan, I awoke at the lovely time of 4:30am to watch the Man U vs. Man City game. The derby always brings out the raw emotions in players and fans, two teams fighting over bragging rights.

This derby did not disappoint. There were moments that I was on the verge of screaming at the television (the only thing holding me back was the fear of waking my mother).

United got a goal near the end of the first half thanks to some great skill by Nani, a player who has stepped up to fill a spot that needed filling. At this point I was confident that this was United’s game to win.

And then that feeling changed. David Silva (who had a marvelous game) scored in the 65th minute. I became very worried. City was able to attack to easily and United looked to have nothing going forward.

But then Wayne Rooney came to the rescue. The goal Rooney got was quite possibly the greatest goal I have ever seen. The skill needed to perform such a shot is out of this world, added to that is the fact that it was in one of the biggest games of the season against United’s hated rival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiVVNax8LVU

When Rooney scored his miraculous goal I could not help but jump off the couch and start pumping my fists (still to scared to yell).

Manchester United was able to hold on and win, despite some great football by City. This game almost certainly knocked City out of the title race. It also keeps United 4 points clear of Arsenal.

Emotions

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Football brings fire to my veins. I am an emotional player by nature. I commit hard tackles, scream my head off and have a tendency to tell the refs my honest opinion of their most recent call.

But one thing in particular that I love about football (and other team sports as well) is the sense of a brotherhood. I love playing for a team where I know that every one of the guys wearing the same jersey as me has my back. I love the confidence it gives me. I love the passion that it brings onto the pitch.

Many people call it a family but I do not see it that way. It is more primordial, raw emotions. There are many times that those emotions overpower my common sense to the point that my actions are run totally off of testosterone. But that is the greatest high in the world.

Football is a team sport. Nothing gets done unless players work together. That mentality leads to a relationship among players that cannot be understood by anyone who has not experienced it.

I love football because I know I can leave everything I have on the pitch and my teammates will be there right by me. I love football because no matter what the circumstance we play to win and stop at nothing.

Valentine’s Day Dessert

yrreskrap1 Comment


Last Valentine’s Day, I attempted to be a really cute girlfriend and make him desserts from scratch (after all, the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach). My plan was to make him two desserts. Dessert #1: chocolate dipped strawberries. Dessert #2: heart-shaped sugar cookies with royal frosting.

I had made the desserts the morning of Valentine’s Day and I had all my ingredients laid out. I melted the chocolate, dipped the strawberries, and laid them out to harden. Yum, maybe I’ll taste one (or two…or three) to make sure they are alright. Next were the sugar cookies. I made the dough, flattened it out with a wooden roller into even sheets, and cut out heart shaped cookies. Aww, these are so cute! He’s gonna love these! I placed them on a buttered metal pan and waited. BUT WAIT! TODAY’S OUR SOCCER GAME! I ran up the stairs into my room to dig my uniform out of the abyss of my laundry basket…

The smell of burnt cookies filled the kitchen. I arrived to the scene of the crime and removed the hard, browned cookies from the oven. I sighed. These are ruined! I pulled out the other two pans of cookies. They were just perfect! Yes!! I quickly iced them and set them in the fridge to harden. I’ll get back to those later.

After the game, I wrapped the strawberries in little bags and placed them in a glass jar that I bought from Rain’s specifically for that purpose. Ohmigosh I’m the cutest! Then the cookies. OH NO…oh no…oh. no. The cookies had come out and baked into triangles. I had forgotten that cookies expanded in the oven. The hearts expanded into triangles. I gave them to him anyway, telling him that they were love triangles.


This year, I will send him cupcakes from Cupcake and Cookie. They are based in Thousand Oaks and they won the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars so I know they are tasty. Plus! They deliver! But, I will attempt to make him a treat that is made from scratch this year. I they will come out great. I hope.

First of the Fergu(sons) to Retire

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Gary Neville has retired. This was a surprise for me, I did not see him going another season but I did not think that he would retire at this point, midway through the year.

This is the first of a batch of players to retire that were basically raised by Sir Alex Ferguson. This group of players includes Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, David Beckham, and Gary Neville’s brother Phil.

Sir Alex Ferguson has coached Gary Neville for 20 years, he made him into one of (if not the best) right backs in English Football. Gary Neville and the rest of that group have been like Ferguson’s sons over the years. There have been ups and downs but they have had a fantastic relationship on and off th pitch.

Gary Neville played 602 games for Manchester United, 85 for England. Those 602 games for one team is unbelievable. Ferguson mentioned that he does not think (and he is usually right) that 602 games will ever be matched by a EPL player, especially playing for just one team.

In all honesty I have never been a huge Neville supporter. It was not that I thought he was a bad footballer, his style just never interested me. However, I have immense respect for Gary Neville. He laid it all out on the field. He gave everything he had for Manchester United.

I can not say what Gary Neville’s legacy will be, all I can say is that I have immense respect for what he gave for United; all those times he trashed Liverpool, all the times he got in players faces, all the times when he challenged Ferguson.

Neville always reminded me of a pirate, not just how he looked but his hardened attitude and his tenacity, and for that I say thank you.

Shock Move

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It has just come out that Fernando Torres has signed with Chelsea. This is a shocking move, one that was once considered a silly rumor.

What is being said right now is that Torres has been sold to Chelsea for about £45 million or about $72 million.

The Spanish international Torres has scored 65 goals in 102 EPL games, a very good record. However, Torres form in recent matches has not been like the Torres of old. I do not think he has looked very good since last season.

I was able to watch Torres play at the World Cup this last summer and I know he has talent. But he will be playing up top with Drogba, another great striker. I question whether the styles of Drogba and Torres will fit together for they are very different.

Drogba is a power players, crashing through defenses and blasting shots. Torres on the other hand has speed and agility, combined with a deadly accurate foot. If these two players can work together, Chelsea will be an incredibly deadly team. But if not, one of the strikers will leave, possibly ruining Chelsea.

Liverpool are getting a good deal here. Torres wanted out for quite a while and they are getting a very good price for a players that has not been playing up to his potential. Liverpool just added Suarez who is an attacking force, making up for the loss of Torres’ goal scoring capability.

This is a very interesting deal and the football world will be watching very closely at Fernando Torres’ performance the rest of the season. He now must put out £45 million performances every game.

Soccer?

smackyjackjack2 Comments

Just the other day, my dad and I were talking about what were the most valuable sports teams in the world. He said Lakers, and I said that it had to be the Bulls. When I looked it up, I got a bit of a shock.

With Lakers being worth about 600 million dollars (according to Forbes), and the Bulls worth about 500 million, I figured that not a lot of teams could get much more valuable.  But boy was I wrong.

What I didn’t take into account was the world’s ridiculous obsession with soccer. Manchester United is worth a whopping $1.89  billion. $1.89  billion! How is there a single family owned team that is worth so much?

The answer lies with the strange relationship the world has with soccer (sorry, “futbol”)If you go anywhere in the world other than the US, then you can see what I mean. In places like Spain and Italy, soccer is huge. Why is that? It’s easy, can be played anywhere, and doesn’t require a lot of equipment. 

The one thing that the US has right is that soccer is a bummer. It is really boring to watch, and is frustrating to play. Whenever I play, I just wanna pick up the ball and throw it into the goal.

I guess I’m the odd one out.  The whole world cannot be wrong….usually. But a sport that’s played with your feet? Really?

Overlooked

therightliberal2 Comments

When I am asked who I think the footballer is, I always respond that the questioner must specify the position. For someone who has never played football it might be hard to understand, but the positions out on the soccer field are very different.

By far the most secluded player on any team is the goalkeeper. They have special rules for them , they wear a different jersey and they see a different game. When I say they see a different game I mean that they are able to see everything that goes on during a soccer game, watching from the back.

They have an incredibly hard job; telling people where to be and trying to organize a defence. They also face wickedly hard shots, diving to punch the ball away, slamming into the ground, sacrificing themselves.

As the saying goes, being a goalkeeper means long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror.

My mind is on this subject because today Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin Van der Sar announced he will be retiring at the end of this season. This is not a huge surprise given that he is 40, yet reading the headline I am filled with sadness.

Van der Sar came to United late in his career, after playing at Fulham and Juventus for many years as well as for the Netherlands. He gave United a real force at the back, giving the whole team confidence that even if there was a shot on goal, if it was a shot that could be saved, Van der Sar would save it.

He has been a leader and an inspiration to a position that is to often overlooked. It is the most stressful position on a football pitch and he controlled it gracefully. He has shown talent far above players half his age.

Despite family issues he gave everything he had for United, his most famous save coming against Nicholas Anelka in the Champions League final in 2008.

He will be remembered by United fans and I wish his the best of luck in whatever he does next.

Transfer Time

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As it is January the EPL transfer season is open. Most deals are either completed right at the begining or in teh final hours. This years has not seen many big name transfers in or out of the EPL, mostly inpart due to the economy.

Patrice Evra

Sir Alex Ferguson decided against any big transfers. The players supported him in this choice with Rio Ferdinand saying, “I look around the changing room and I’m happy with the players we’ve got”. This lack of trading comes as no surprise as Man U are top of the league and have a fairly deep roster.

A story that has not received very much attention up to this point is the intrest in 17-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He currently plays for Southhampton but is interested in training with Arsenal. This is very similar to the path that Theo Walcott took, going from Southhampton to Arsenal at a young age.

From the scouting reports, Chamberlin has quite a bit of talent and potential. Arsenal is a very good team for developing youth and Chamberlin would be well suited to go there. Arsenal has a tendency to do a great job developing young players and then selling them. They look to break that cycle, keeping players like Samir Nasri.