Maybe My Favorite Goal Ever

It does make me a little sad to see Hargreaves there though. He was so happy then. Poor guy.

I Pity A Fool Named Bursaspor

So I just watched the Champions League draw in the law school library. I had one eye on the laptop and one eye on "Legal Writing and Analysis". I'm obviously a bad student.

Unfortunately, it seems most of the groups are pretty straight forward. In fact, I'm pretty confident I can say right now which 16 teams will be in the group stage:

Group A: Internazionale and Tottenham Hotspur (Whatever, I like Spurs.)

Group B: Lyon and Benfica

Group C: Manchester United and Valencia

Group D: Barcelona and Rubin Kazan (Yes, Rubin Kazan.)

Group E: Bayern Munich and Roma

Group F: Chelsea and Marseille

Group G: Real Madrid and AC Milan

Group H: Arsenal and Shakhtar Donetsk

I'm confident about at least 13 of those calls. So I guess wake me up when the next draw happens.

Also, I'm not at all thrilled to be playing Rangers, who will surely park the bus twice.

Abandoned

I totally forgot I had a blog, and now I'm in law school.

That's my bad.

Here's what's happened while I was away from blogging:

Spain won the World Cup.

Manchester United signed a former homeless person.

I'm going to say that's about it.

Today is the Champions League draw, which is really exciting even though I'm convinced it's fixed. In fact, I'm sure Real Madrid will end up against either Internazionale (Jose Mourinho) or Manchester United (Ronaldo). That will be high drama and I really hope it's United.

Standing Still

So Angel di Maria has signed for Real Madrid. That's nice. Meanwhile, Manchester United continues to do nothing.

If there is one player I want, it is Robinho. I think he is incredibly talented and would thrive at United. Sure, he is technically City scum right now. I think playing for Santos and Brazil has helped wash the city stink off him.

I'm confident in our strikers, but I feel like we could use some added creativity from midfield. I say we go for it.

Tomorrow's picks:

Paraguay-1
Japan-0

Portugal-3
Spain-2

For a team of really classy players, Spain really lacks class. I'm tired of seeing them dive, slap and cry. Seriously, no mas. I think a just punishment for the behavior of the Spainish (yes, Spainish) players is an early elimination. After that, I will stop being mad at them. Well, except for David Villa.

I don't curse on this blog, so EFF DAVID VILLA. I'm so sick of him. I really wish he played for Real Madrid so I could hate him even more. My issues with him will carry on long after he has left South Africa. He is now one of my most hated players.

Look, like Charlie Murphy said, you don't slap a man. I commend Emilio Izaguirre for not retaliating. Hondurans usually have temper issues.

Also, Cristiano Ronaldo is my boy. And yes, I understand how stupid it is to say I love Ronaldo after complaining about diving and crying.

I don't care. I love him.

Damn Shame What They Did to England (And Mexico)

Look, I get it, mistakes happen. The referees didn't mean to cheat England or Mexico, they just made mistakes.

The frustrating thing is that the technology exists to easily correct these mistakes.

What really kills me is that people see the scorelines 4-1 and 3-1 and assume the goals are insignificant because the games were one-sided. That's just ridiculous.

Goals completely change games. England was forced to commit too many men forward in search of an equalizer. This led to quick counters by Germany and easy goals. Mexico also seemed to unravel after giving up that first goal.

It's ridiculous that two quarterfinal games were overshadowed by mistakes that could have been overturned easily.

Whatever.

Netherlands-3
Slovakia-0

Brazil-3
Chile-1

Too Nervous For This

England-3
Germany-1

Argentina-4
Mexico-1

R-R-R-Round 2!

It's time for the real good stuff! Every game is now an elimination game. No more ties!

I didn't do so well in my predictions, but hopefully I can turn things around now. Probably not, because I refuse to put away my biases.

Uruguay-2
South Korea-0

I really like South Korea, but Uruguay is just playing so well right now. I've always believed Uruguay had the offensive talent, but I was shocked by how good their defense has been. I don't think South Korea is good enough going forward to break Uruguay down.

Ghana-2
USA-1

Obviously, I don't think much of the United States. I think the team was lucky to get a draw with England, gave up two goals to Slovenia (whose only other goal came courtesy of a goalkeeping error by Algeria) and took more than 90 minutes to break down Algeria. I don't care what Alexi Lalas says, this team is just not that good.

Also, keep an eye on Asamoah Gyan of Ghana. Why? Because the commentators always say he's "just 24 years old." Please. If that guy is 24, I'm about to turn 13. I dare you to look at him and tell me he looks 24.

Hamlet Joke

Denmark failed today, but then what more could be expected from a team with Nicklas Bendtner on it?

Here's what I have for the last group games:

Portugal-1
Brazil-1

Evil Korea-0
Costa de Marfil-3

Honduras-2
Switzerland-1

Spain-3
Chile-1

I Want To Apologize To...

John Terry.

Yes, it hurts. As much as I hate him, he was just massive today.

Unfortunately, Wazza was not. His wastefulness really cost England because one more goal would have meant a game against Ghana instead of Germany.

On a really sad note, Serbia is gone. This means no more of Nemanja Vidic, my favorite eastern European ever.

These games are seriously stressing me out too much. Thankfully, I don't expect that much drama tomorrow.

Paraguay-2
New Zealand-0

New Zealand has really surprised me, but they won't touch Paraguay.

Denmark-2
Japan-1

Denmark should advance.

Cameroon-1
Netherlands-3

Both of these teams are playing for nothing. Netherlands is better. Easy peazy.

Dear John Terry

Please shut up and go away. Seriously, stop trying to play captain.

Put your head down. Do your job.

Well, that's out of the way.

I almost got really sad today because South Korea came extremely close to being eliminated. It would have been a tragedy if either Nigeria or Greece advanced. Those teams just aren't as good as Good Korea.

I was disappointed today that Chicharito Hernandez is still not starting for Mexico. I don't understand what Javier Aguirre sees in Guille Franco, whom I have officially nicknamed Donkey. Aguirre made an even weirder move today by starting Cuauhtemoc Blanco, who is too old and slow to be effective at this level. He then took Blanco off and replaced him with Chicharito. If he wanted to strikers, why not start Donkey and Chicharito?

Whatever.

I'm really nervous about tomorrow's games, because I will be genuinely heartbroken if Wazza has to go home.

England-2
Slovenia-0

No way England doesn't make it out of this group, right?

United States-1
Algeria-1

I really don't like the American team. I think the players struggle when they're not underdogs because they think too highly of themselves. It happened against Slovenia, and I expect it to happen again against Algeria. England and Slovenia go through.

Germany-2
Ghana-0

Germany just knows how to win these games.

Australia-0
Serbia-2

What's that coming over the hill, is it Nemanja? Is it it Nemanja?

New Rules

Apparently you can just hit dudes in the face if you're from Spain. Whatever.

France-2
South Africa-0

Oh, speaking of things that are a disgrace, what is up with France? All I know is that I would have expected better from Patrice Evra. The saddest part is that I think so little of South Africa that I am still picking France to win.

Mexico-1
Uruguay-2

I don't think these teams will settle for a draw because they are both keen to avoid Argentina in the next round. I think Uruguay will win, but both teams will advance.

South Korea-2
Nigeria-0

Nigeria is just really, really bad.

Argentina-3
Greece-0

Greece is almost as bad as Nigeria.

Ruh Roh

That is how Scooby Doo would perfectly describe how I feel about tomorrow. Honduras is in for a hurting.

Portugal-2
Evil Korea-0

Portugal must win this game to advance, and I think they will. I'm a little worried about this game because Evil Korea is very sound defensively and Portugal has had real problems scoring, but I think Ronaldo will lead his team to victory.

Chile-2
Switzerland-0

Chile likes to attack. Switzerland likes to defend. That pretty much sums up this game I think.

Spain-4
Honduras-0

May God have mercy on Honduras.

Cameroon, We Hardly Knew Ye

So Cameroon lost to Denmark today, becoming the first team eliminated from the World Cup.

I was pretty surprised that people actually expected Cameroon to have a decent showing at this tournament. The team just seemed to be a mess heading in, and then the loss to Japan cemented that.

On to the next day:

Slovakia-0
Paraguay-2

After that draw with New Zealand. I wouldn't pick Slovakia to beat the intramural team I played on last semester. That team had girls on it. Even worse, it had me on it. But we could take New Zealand.

Italy-2
New Zealand-0

I think Italy has serious problems, but not serious enough to make them sweat against New Zealand. I don't want to feel like I'm picking on New Zealand, so let me just say I loved the Lord of the Rings movies.

Brazil-3
Costa de Marfil-1

Brazil is really good.

Oh, England

I don't even know what to say about England right now. The team is just a mess. Algeria and the United States were both inferior teams that should have been dealt with easily.

Emile Heskey needs to never start, or play, for England ever again. He is entirely useless right now. I'm confident England can beat Slovenia and advance, but not with Heskey in the squad.

On the bright side, my picks haven't been that terrible. Here's what I see tomorrow:

Netherlands-3
Japan-0

Ghana-1
Australia-1

Cameroon-1
Denmark-2

Quick Picks

Yeah, I'm way too into this basketball game to worry about explaining my picks for tomorrow, so here they go:

Germany-1
Serbia-2

Slovenia-0
United States-0

England-3
Algeria-0

So That Happened

Today could not have been any worse for Honduras.

Spain losing to Switzerland means the Spanish players will spend the next few days angry and frustrated. They will take those emotions out on poor little Honduras.

It's going to be a bloodbath.

On to the picks!

Argentina-3
South Korea-1

I am really trying to divorce myself from my biases. South Korea is one of my favorite teams in the tournament because of Park Ji-Sung.

Actually, now seems like a good time to list the teams I'm rooting for in this tournament:

1)Honduras
2)England (Wazza)
3)South Korea
4)Serbia (Nemanja Vidic)
5)Portugal (Cristiano Ronald0)
.
..
...
32)North Korea (Kim Jong-il)

Obviously, it's been a rough start for me. South Korea is the only one of those teams off to a good start, and I can't imagine they will have any joy against Argentina.

Greece-0
Nigeria-0

Honestly, I think both these teams are pretty terrible. It hurts my head to talk about them, so it's not happening.

France-3
Mexico-1

Oops, prejudices are back. I hate Mexico. I refuse to believe Mexico can get a result against France, even this terrible version of Les Bleus. I only gave Mexico one goal because I want Chicharito to score. Also, I'm assuming Conejo will remain in goal, and he's terrible. If Memo Ochoa starts Mexico has a better chance. He's one of three Mexican players I don't hate, along with Chicharito and Andres Guardado.

Cuauhtemoc Blanco is still the devil, and I hate him even more for yelling at Chicharito. Exactly what did you add to that game that you felt you had the right to try to dress down one of the younger players right on the field? You are out of shape and useless. Please go home.

Honduras?

So, the next World Cup game is Honduras vs Chile.

Honduras. In a World Cup game. Not on PlayStation 3.

Yeah, it's on.

How am I going to sleep?

Anyway, my picks have been terrible. Obviously, I don't know anything about soccer. Well, not really. The real reason my picks are awful is that I have a lot of biases built up from watching so much soccer. For example, I hate Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. Also, I love Cristiano Ronaldo. So I will probably pick Portugal to get a draw against Brazil and Ivory Coast to tie North Korea. Whatever. I'd rather be wrong than want Drogba to have any kind of success.

That being said, I'm picking Honduras for tomorrow.

Honduras-2
Chile-1



Sure, that wasn't a penalty. But Chile can be beat. There is no reason Honduras should fear this team. Even without Costly and Rambo, I think Honduras can win this game.

Spain-3
Switzerland-0

I don't know why I keep expecting there to be goals in this tournament. I'm sure the Swiss will play very negative and try to get a 0-0 result. Spain should be able to break them down with all those pretty little passes. If not, well then I just don't know anything.

What, there's a third game? Oh, OK.

South Africa-0
Uruguay-2

Uruguay is not going to be as negative as in the first game, and Suarez and Forlan are more than capable than punishing Bafana Bafana. I can't imagine South Africa will manage another surprising result.

Lazy

OK so my picks have truly been terrible. Also, I've been just throwing them out there without explaining them, so I'll be better about that.

I feel reasonably confident that I will get all three of the results right for tomorrow's games. So that means I will probably get all of them wrong.

New Zealand-0
Slovakia-2

Funny story: I think New Zealand is the worst team in the World Cup, but it beat Serbia, which is a team I think can make the semi-finals. So I'm really wrong about one of these teams. Based on the game against Ghana, I'm guessing it was Serbia. Slovakia actually has a decent chance to advance and I'm excited to see what Marek Hamsik can do.

Costa de Marfil-1
Portugal-2

I like saying Ivory Coast in Spanish, so from now on that is how I will be saying it on this blog. If Didier Drogba plays, he won't be effective. If he doesn't, the team can't replace him. I originally thought there would be a lot of goals in this game, but apparently in this World Cup three goals means it's a shootout.

Also, I still kind of have a thing for Cristiano Ronaldo because he played for Manchester United.

Brazil-3
North Korea-0

There isn't really much I can say about this one. All I can say is, in the spirit of Charles Barkley, I don't know anything about North Korean players, but they're in for a hurting. Brazil is just too good.

Germany Still Sucks

OK, Germany looked pretty great today, but I still hate that team so I will remain in denial. To be fair, Australia was pretty terrible.

Today was a pretty terrible World Cup day for me because I genuinely hate seeing Germany do well. Also, one of the teams I'm really rooting for, Serbia, fell flat.

Here are my picks for tomorrow:

Netherlands-3
Denmark-1

Japan-1
Cameroon-1

Italy-1
Paraguay-2

Blerg

I won't be writing today because I won't be able to hide my bitterness about today's result.

So here are my terrible picks for tomorrow:

Slovenia-1
Algeria-0

Serbia-2
Ghana-0
Headers won by Nemanja Vidic- 1000

Germany-2
Australia-0

Rough Start

OK so that was pretty terrible. In hindsight, I should have stuck with a draw in the opener and I should have known Raymond Domenech is a terrible manager.

The South Africa-Mexico match was about what I expected. However, both teams really needed three points. Neither will make it out of the group stage.

Uruguay impressed me defensively. I thought for sure France would be able to score at least twice. I know part of that is France being toothless up top, but I feel pretty confident about Uruguay and France advancing.

On to tomorrow:

South Korea-1
Greece- 0

This game could easily be incredibly boring and end 0-0. I don't usually hate watching specific teams, but I hate watching Greece. I hate the incredibly negative brand of football employed by Otto Rehhagel. I don't know much about South Korea, but I do know that Ji-Sung Park, one of my favorite players ever, is the captain, so I will be hoping he can lead his country to a victory.

Argentina-3
Nigeria-1

This result seems pretty generous to Nigeria, actually. Even with Crazy Diego in charge, Argentina should be able to score at least three goals. In fact, Argentina could sit Messi, Tevez and Higuain and score three goals with Kun Aguero, Diego Milito and Martin Palermo up top.

England-3
USA-0

ESPN will have you believe that this is a huge rivalry game and that the two teams are closer in talent than people think. It isn't, and they aren't. Yes, the United States could win, but it would take a terrible game from England. And yes, Alexi Lalas, it would be a huge upset. The last time these two teams played, England won 2-0, and it really wasn't that close. Has the United States gotten better in the last two years? Sure, but so has Wayne Rooney.

I just don't think the two teams are evenly matched at all and England should stroll.

Maybe I'm wrong though. Maybe all the confidence Jozy Altidore picked up by sitting on the Hull City bench watching the England players play in the Premier League will help him.

Good luck with that.

Christmas Time!

Seriously, I'm so excited. Tomorrow is like Christmas, only better.

It seems like I've been waiting forever for this tournament to start. I might not even be able to sleep tonight.

I will be blogging my picks for all the games the day before they happen, as well as any reactions from that day's games. So today I will be writing about the two games taking place tomorrow.

South Africa-1
Mexico-1

I keep changing my mind about this game. I know Mexico is a better team with better players all over the field. I also know the atmosphere is going to be insane. I would be shocked if the crowd didn't lift the South African players to a higher level. I wanted to pick South Africa to win, but I guess I'm not brave enough. Actually, forget it:

South Africa-2
Mexico-1

Yeah, they're going to do it. They have to, right? Don't answer that.

I know Mexico should be able to control possession and generate chances, but who is going to finish them? Carlos Vela, Giovanni Dos Santos and Chicharito Hernandez are all talented, but they're also very young. Guille Franco is experienced, but he's also not talented. I just imagine the moment being too big for them.

But seriously, how great would it be if Chicharito scored like ten goals?

France-3
Uruguay-2

I know France has been pretty terrible, but they'll be able to score against Uruguay. I also think Uruguay can score because they are so talented offensively. I'm hoping for an open, entertaining shootout.

"Open Wide For Some Soccer" Explained

This is where the name of this blog comes from:

What A Bloody Shambles That Was

Wow. Honduras was shocking today. I mean, incredibly terrible. A 3-0 defeat to a team that did not qualify for the World Cup and is not featuring its top players is just embarrassing.

I know it is a friendly, so the result matters, not the performance. But the performance was atrocious.

Anyway instead of focusing on the problems, of which there are many, I will propose one solution: Andy Najar.

Who is Andy Najar?



Najar is an exciting 17-year-old attacking midfielder for D.C. United. According to a story on ESPN Soccernet, he came to the United States at 13. He has gotten in some games recently and impressed.

I know the World Cup is not the place to get your first cap, but if one of the Honduran players is injured and unable to participate in South Africa, he should be the first guy brought in.

He won't solve any of our defensive problems, but at least he will give us something extra going forward. Sure the defense is awful, but Honduras was also unable to breakdown Azerbaijan or Romania.

Azerbaijan, really.

If Wilson Palacios is seriously injured, Hendry Thomas can replace him as the steel in midfield. Honduras can then play a 4-5-1 formation, with David Suazo as the forward. That would allow us to play more of our talented midfielders. The same can be done if Suazo is not fit, by replacing him with Carlos Pavon.

The point is Najar would not be a starter. He'd be able to come in for a 30-minute spell to help out the attack if necessary. Honestly, I really wish he were on the team instead of Pery Martinez, who provides less than nothing.

One last point about Najar, notice how in that video he was called "the future of American soccer." He was born in Honduras and lived there most of his life. Despite going to an American high school, he still speaks through a translator during interviews, presumably because his comfort level with English is not that high. He is Honduran. As much as American fans love to complain about Giuseppe Rossi, they would have no shame about stealing Najar if he becomes eligible to play for the United States.

That is why we need to get him his first cap as soon as possible.

Picks Competition

So I'll be doing my predictions on Yahoo! and anyone who wants to participate in my official Open Wide For Some Soccer picks group is invited to join.

This link should be all you need to sign up: http://y.ahoo.it/O2EdDj2w

The password is "iheardthat".

My England 23

So before Fabio Capello announces who will be on the plane to South Africa, I've decided to list who I think should be going. This does not necessarily mean I think these will be the ones selected, since Capello obviously knows a lot more about football than I do.

By the way, the award for understatement of the year goes to that last sentence.

Of course, if it were really my 23, I'd use some players who didn't even make the 30-man squad. So for this list I'm limiting myself to the players took to camp. Here we go:

Goalkeepers: Robert Green, Joe Hart and David James

I would start Green or Hart. Never, under any circumstances, must David James see the field in South Africa. His nickname is "Calamity." He is a goalkeeper. Do the math. This is obviously a weak spot for England. I mean, Old Red Face even had the nerve to say Ben Foster, who was United's third-choice goalkeeper before being sold, was the best in the country.

New nickname alert: Sir Alex Ferguson = Old Red Face. I mean, look at him.

Picture from The Final Third.

Aww, his face almost matches his tie! You have to love him.

Defenders: Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Glen Johnson, Leighton Baines, Ledley King and Jamie Carragher

I really did want to include Michael Dawson, but Jamie Carragher provides cover as both a central defender and a right back. That means I can drop Dawson for another inexperienced player.

Midfielders: Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, Theo Walcott, Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, James Milner and Adam Johnson

I like including Adam Johnson because he's a creative and skillful player who can come on for a 30-minute spell and change the game. I know he's inexperienced, but if I had to take a risk on someone, it would be him. This is also assuming Barry is healthy. If he isn't, I'd take Tom Huddlestone.

Forwards: Wayne Rooney, Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe and Emile Heskey

I would take these four forwards, but, barring injury, I'd only play Peter Crouch and Wayne Rooney. Defoe and Heskey are strictly cover.

Here's my starting line-up for the game against the United States:

Green

Johnson-Ferdinand-Terry-Cole

Lennon-Lampard-Barry-Gerrard

Rooney

Crouch

Just for kicks, I'll include my predictions for the actual 23:

GK: Green, Hart, James
Def: A. Cole, Ferdinand, Terry, Johnson, Upson, Carragher, King, Baines
Mid: Gerrard, Lampard, Lennon, Walcott, Barry, J. Cole, Carrick and Milner
Fwd: Rooney, Heskey, Defoe and Crouch

More Predicting Practice

Turkey 3
Yanks 2

I feel like I'm going to make the mistake during this World Cup of picking teams based just on which team has the most talent. This is a perfect example.

I know Turkey has better players than the United States. I really don't care about the FIFA rankings that say the United States is the 14th best team in the world and Turkey is 29th.

But the American team will want to perform well in its last game on home soil before the World Cup. I could easily see them wanting to perform well for the crowd. In fact, that's why I said 3-2. If this game were taking place in Europe, I'd go 2-0 or 3-1 in favor of Turkey.

This highlights something I'm kind of sad about: I really have made no connection with this team. I just don't like them. I feel like a traitor, but I don't consider them MY national team. I guess this came from rooting against them every time they played Honduras.

The funniest part about my allegiance being more with Honduras than the United States is that it's probably the opposite with my mom. She was born and raised in Honduras, but she's a proud American citizen and will probably be rooting more for the United States than Honduras. I know she wants Honduras to do well, but she's a certified non-believer (and a front-runner) so she isn't getting her hopes up. I've spent much less time in Honduras than she has, but that's my team.

The only players I even really like on the American team are Deuce, El Gringo Torres and Stuart Holden.

I will still try my best to root for them, but I don't see it happening.

Lowered Expectations?

Well, not really, even though Honduras did look pretty poor in a 2-2 draw with Belarus.

Honduras was without its best player (Wilson Palacios) and captain (Amado Guevara), so this result isn't as bad as it seems.

The reason this doesn't change my expectations is simple: I'm not expecting much out of Honduras anyway.

I mean I'll definitely pick them to get out of the group, but that's just because I refuse to pick against them. Well, except against Spain. I'm stupid, not crazy. I just understand that it's not likely that Honduras will make it out of the group stage.

The most important thing about these friendlies leading up to the World Cup is David Suazo regaining his top form. With him at his best, Honduras can challenge Chile and Switzerland.

If Suazo struggles, they will have to rely too much on 1000-year-old Carlos Pavon. Not only is Pavon old, he has a tendency to not show up in big moments. I know he scored the goal that beat El Salvador, but he also missed a huge penalty against the United States. I'm not ragging on Pavon, because he has scored a lot of goals for Honduras, I just think he's not capable of being at his best for three games in nine days.

Suazo needs to be able to carry the attack, so hopefully he can find his scoring boots before June 16.

Let's be honest, if he's not wearing his scoring boots against Azerbaijan or Romania, he's definitely not wearing them against Chile, Spain or Switzerland.

Thoughts on Mexico and England-USA

Here is my two-word England review: Not great.

Here is my two-word Mexico review: Not bad.

Mexico will definitely be proud of the way they performed in Wembley, specifically in the first half. I was shocked that they were as sharp as they were. Carlos Vela's stunning ability to not score kept England in the game, to be honest.

The Mexicans also went a long way toward convincing me they could win the first game of the World cup. I am 100 percent sure Mexico is better than South Africa, but I wasn't sure if the pressure and atmosphere would be too much for them. The fact that they showed up at Wembley puts my mind at ease about picking them.

England will feel flattered by the scoreline in the end. At times, Mexico looked like the home team. The important thing is that the players were able to find goals even when they were playing poorly. Also, Robert Green was excellent and at this point I wouldn't mind him or Joe Hart being in goal in South Africa. Anyone but David James, really.

I hate to say this, but Michael Carrick was terrible. I really don't know where his game has gone this season, but this is a bad time to be out of form. I actually have to say Tom Huddlestone (the man built like a small house) is a better option in midfield right now.

This game also made me think about what this result meant for England's game against the United States. I think it's a bad sign for the United States because Mexico gave England problems when it was maintaining possession of the ball and attacking the flanks with both wingers and fullbacks. I don't think the United States can emulate that style at all. Obviously the United States is not a team that is as comfortable on the ball as Mexico. Also, the fullbacks aren't all that great at defending, let alone attacking. Landon Donovan can counter with pace, but I don't think that will be as much of an advantage when he will be running at Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole, who both have great pace. Even if Johnson and Cole are caught up the field, as they are likely to do because they love to bomb forward, it will fall on the defenders and midfielders of the United States to spring counters with good passes, and I just don't see the ability there.

Testing My Predicting Ability

During the World Cup, I will be posting my predictions for every game. The day before the games, I will say who I think will win and by what score.

I think this will be fun and it will prove how little I know about soccer.

Spoiler alert: I will pick Honduras to win two times too many.

So a good way to start this off will be by picking today's Champions League final. It's a good thing I didn't choose to pick the Coca Cola Championship playoff winner, because I would have picked Cardiff City to win promotion. I don't know why, but I have a soft spot for Cardiff City.

Anyway, I think Jose Mourinho is a tactical genius and I also think Bayern Munich is a really bad team. Yes, that may be sour grapes because they eliminated Manchester United. Whatever, they got lucky. I think Bayern will struggle to break Inter down, and Inter has great attacking players that can hit them on the counter.

Inter 2
Bayern 0

Fergie Knows Best

When I woke this morning, the first story I read was about David Villa officially moving to Barcelona. I sent my brother the following text message:

"Villa to Barca is officially a done deal. Eff you!"

Except I didn't say "eff."

Needless to say, I was frustrated. After reading the comments by Sir Alex Ferguson, it seems Manchester United might go another summer without making a major signing. Ferguson believes the big spending of Real Madrid and Manchester City has skewed the market and made it difficult to find value.

This, to me, seems like an excuse. Just looking at the Champions League final, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder were offloaded relatively cheaply by Real Madrid.

I'll try to not get frustrated. I know Ferguson has forgotten more about soccer than I know, so I'll just have to trust him.

I think he's planning a big purchase or two this summer. At least I hope so, because if not we will continue to fall behind Chelsea.

Scouting Chile

I'm cautiously optimistic that Honduras can make it out of the group stage at the upcoming World Cup in South Africa.

I know we would need to get at least four points, possibly six. Honduras will not take a single point off of Spain. In fact, Spain's B team would probably wreck us.

With that in mind, Honduras must get something out of its opening match against Chile. That would mean, regardless of the Spain result, the last game against Switzerland will have more at stake than pride.

Sunday afternoon I had one eye on Barcelona winning the league and another eye on Mexico's match at the Azteca against Chile.

I'm not an expert on Chile's players, but I think their best player is striker Humberto Suazo, and he was not playing. Also, their first choice goalkeeper was not available.

All I know is, the players who played for Marcelo Bielsa against Mexico were absolutely dreadful.

While watching the game all I could think was, "Yeah, we can take them."

In other words, I'm now even more excited for the World Cup.

My First Philadelphia Union Game

I said that all it would take for the Philadelphia Union to win me over would be for the guys to play hard, and they certainly did that.

The game against FC Dallas finished 1-1, but the result felt great for the Union because it game on an injury time goal by Danny Mwanga.

FC Dallas scored pretty early, but the Union had the better of possession for most of the game. They created and squandered many chances until finally breaking through in the last minute. I loved that the team kept going forward and was finally rewarded with a goal. The players could have felt defeated after constantly missing opportunities to even the score.

I love to see a team fight like that.

It's almost like they channeled the spirit of, dare I say it, Rocky Balboa.

As for individuals, Mwanga stood out to me because it was a well-taken goal and was such a stark contrast to the wasteful finishing on display the entire game. I was surprised when I learned he is an 18-year-old rookie. I love that he kept his head and put the ball away.

I also thought Roger Torres looked good and I was pleasantly surprised by Chris Seitz's performance.

The defense needs improvement, but that is to be expected with an expansion team.

Here's the most important thing I found out today: I loved watching them. After about five minutes, I was agonizing over every miss. As Yara can confirm, it was almost like I was watching a Manchester United or Honduras game. Well, maybe not that bad.

First Impressions: Chicharito

Instead of watching the crucial game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals between the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thursday night I watched Mexico play Angola in an international friendly.

Why? Chicharito.

I wanted to see the future Manchester United striker in a game for the first time. Unfortunately, he was only given 15 minutes of action.

Honestly, there isn't much I can say about it, other than he held the ball up well and waited for his teammates try to get involved in the attack. He won some balls in the air and clearly has a good leap on him. He's athletic, that's for sure.

There was something that stood out, though: Mexicans love him.

While he warmed up, chants of "Chicharito" could be heard. Telemundo's Andres Cantor repeatedly stated he was the man the people wanted to see.

Being Honduran, I'm naturally inclined to hate Mexican fans, but I know they're passionate and knowledgeable about their national team. The fact that they were so excited about getting to see this kid means something to me.

Mexico has a tough run of friendlies coming up, and hopefully Chicharito will show Manchester United supporters what the Mexican fans are so excited about.

My Favorite Soccer Nicknames

I'm a sucker for nicknames. I can't help it. I look for any excuse to say Chicharito. So here is a list of some of my favorite nicknames, which I will try to update whenever I remember one.

Der Kaiser-Franz Beckenbauer

Zizou- Zinedine Zidane

Chicharito Hernandez

Kiko Macheda

Pipita- Gonzalo Higuain

Batigol- Gabriel Batistuta

El Gringo Torres

Pato Abbondanzieri

El Piojo Lopez

La Pulga- Lionel Messi

Carlos El Apache Tevez

Pupi Zanetti

Cucho Cambiasso

Bofo Bautista

Rambo De Leon

Deuce- Clint Dempsey

Paco Memo Ochoa

Ginger Prince- Paul Scholes

The Evergreen Welshman- Ryan Giggs

Sergio Kun Aguero

Wow, apparently you can't be a soccer player from Argentina without a cool nickname.

For the purposes of this blog, I should also mention that I've made up my own nicknames for certain players. So this post will also serve as a key.

Gareth "Monkey Man" Bale (Come on, he has some primate features.)

Andres "Ninja" Iniesta

Hargo- Owen Hargreaves

Ando- Anderson

Buckets- Sergio Busquets

Old Red Scalp- Wes Brown

Useless- Ben Foster (Just kidding, but he is useless.)

Pedrito- Pedro (You'll always be Pedrito to me!)

Old One Move- Carlos Costly

Mexico- Rafa Marquez

Oh, and how could I forget my dad's epic nickname from when he was a player: 30 Seconds. That, apparently, came from the fact it usually took him that long to get kicked out of a game whenever he played.


Again, I will update this as I remember more.

Update (6/1/2010):

Sir Alex Ferguson- Old Red Face

Carlos Vela- Ass Dan

Thoughts On World Cup Rosters

First of all, it's sad to see Carlos Costly, a player who worked so hard to help Honduras make it to the World Cup, miss out on a chance to play in South Africa because of an injury.

Sure, he only has one move, this one:



But Honduras has no depth at all. We need every decent player we have to compete against Switzerland and Chile. We couldn't compete against Spain if we were allowed to use all 23 of our players at the same time. It's amazing that Carlos Pavon is still scoring goals for Honduras, but he's old. In the spirit of Kirk Lazarus from Tropic Thunder, he's old, man, he's freaking super old!

Costly is a much more dangerous option than Walter "Pery" Martinez or Georgie Welcome. I would honestly rather see Jerry Bengston get a call-up than either of these guys.

At this point, I think Reinaldo Rueda should start two defensive midfielders, Wilson Palacios and Hendry Thomas, to help cover for a shaky back four and terrible goalkeeper.

In more sad news, Charlie Davies and Owen Hargreaves won't be going to South Africa. At least Davies is young and will have another chance. With Hargreaves, it is hard to tell if his body will hold up another four years.

As great a story as Davies making the squad would have been, I couldn't really argue with any of Bob Bradley's decisions.

Ronaldinho will not be going to South Africa, but it has nothing to do with being injured. Dunga left the toothy one, as well as Diego and Alexandre Pato, off his squad. If he really thinks Grafite (who I actually rate) is better than Pato and Julio Baptista is better than Diego, then more power to him. He's the boss and Brazil will live or, more likely, die by his decisions.

It just baffles me how he can continue to ignore Ronaldinho. I don't follow Serie A at all, but I did see him give Manchester United fits in the Champions League. He has proven himself on the biggest stages and lives for the bright lights.

Really, Dunga, you couldn't use one more experienced play-maker on your team? No? You really had to have Elano and Kleberson (he's alive?) on your plane to South Africa? Alright then.

I've been very critical of Ronaldinho in the past. In fact, during a summer children's literature class I was taking a few years ago, I had to write a poem. This is what I came up with:

Little Ronny had the magical skills
Little Ronny filled the Nou Camp with thrills
Elasticos, stepovers and chilenas wowed the Catalan nation
Even los Galacticos gave a standing ovation
But oh that boy Ronny got fame in his eyes
And soon he decided to eat all the pies
Week after week his performances sputtered
And soon talk of his demise was publicly uttered
Until finally the club could take it no more
And so soon came his shameful walk out the door

Sure, it's a stupid poem. But the point is, Ronny has rejuvenated his career at AC Milan. At the very least, he should have been given a chance to participate in Brazil's friendly against Ireland earlier this year.

As far as my adopted team goes, I was pretty satisfied with Fabio Capello's choices. I don't like to question the man who fixed the mess made by Steve McClaren, but Jamie Carragher? I just hope he doesn't make the 23-man roster. It's good to see Michael Dawson and Adam Johnson get a chance too. Capello is obviously one of my readers and knows how much I like Johnson.

I can't believe I've been rambling so much about rosters being named, but I can't help it. It's the World Cup!

Wait, We Didn't Win The League?

It hurts, and it's a feeling I don't even much remember.

It started to seem like a given that Manchester United would win the Premier League every year.

Of course, I do remember what it was like before Manchester United won the league three years running. I remember watching Chelsea celebrate and being disgusted. I remember seeing Arsenal's Untouchables and thinking, "Untouchable my foot, we can take them."

When I saw Nicolas Anelka score at Wigan, I was finally ready to concede the title to Chelsea.

Even though we didn't win the league, there are positive things to take away from the season. We were really hurt by injuries, but managed to take the title race down to the last day. United never gave up and pushed Chelsea all the way.

If any team should be embarrassed about this season, it should be Chelsea. Yeah, I know they won the league, but boy did they struggle. Chelsea had every opportunity to run away from United, but never could. If United stayed healthy, the trophy would be at Old Trafford right now.

The fight United showed this year made me excited for the title race next season. So, to wrap up the season, I will say what I thought about these players this year and give them a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Nani finally came into his own and showed he understands what it means to play for United. However, he's still inconsistent. Thumbs up

Antonio Valencia was great and should only get better. Thumbs up

Giggs, Scholes and Neville showed they still have something to contribute. These three will also benefit from having the summer off. Thumbs up for the pensioners

Rooney became a goal-scoring machine. Thumbs up

Berbatov became a goal-missing machine. I'm just kidding, but he did miss a lot of goals. I actually think a lot of United supporters are harsh on Berbatov. I think he's a very useful player. He just needs to be a little less wasteful. One thumb up, one thumb down

Michael Carrick was all over the place. He's usually one of my favorite players so it hurt me to see his form dip. Thumbs down

Anderson was injured most of the season, that was sad. He remains one of my favorite players, but it was frustrating to see him not play. One thumb up, one thumb down, one thumb sideways

Edwin van der Sar proved that he is still a wonderful keeper. The back four just seem much more confident with him in goal. I'm glad he keeps coming back. Thumbs up

Patrice Evra was our best defender this year. Thumbs up

Michael Owen beat City. Thumbs up

Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, unfortunately, didn't get to play together consistently this season. I put them together because they were both down this year. I will give them both one thumb up, and one thumb down.

Tomasz Kuszczak was actually decent and established himself as the second-choice keeper. I wanted to mention him because he is a player I really changed my mind about. I give him credit for winning me over. Thumbs up

Darren Fletcher is another player I changed my mind about. I used to think, "What does Fergie see in him?" Then he slowly started to win me over, and I was absolutely gutted when I found out he would be missing out on the Champions League final in Rome. He had another great season. Thumbs up

Darron Gibson was OK when he played. Thumbs sideways

Ben Foster was shocking. I really wanted to love Ben Foster, but wow. In the words of Dave Chappelle (as Rick James): I wish I had more hands, so I could give Ben Foster four thumbs down.

John O'Shea and Wes Brown were injured a lot this season, so I'll give them each one sideways thumb.

No thumbs for Fabio, Gabriel Obertan and Kiko Macheda because they didn't play enough.

Jonny Evans had a decent season, but all I can remember is how shocking he was at the San Siro. One thumb up, one thumb down

Park Ji-Sung scored massive goals and always impresses me with his effort. Thumbs up

Rafael was great at times, but showed he's still a kid. Two thumbs up, one thumb down

(This is my blog, I'll have as many thumbs as I want!)

Players I Love, No. 1: Owen Hargreaves

Sadly, I missed the Philadelphia Union game today. So instead, I'm starting a new thing where I will write about players I love and players I hate. I'm not listing them in any particular order, just because it would be impossible for me to pick a favorite player.

All I knew about Owen Hargreaves was that he was supposed to be good. I mean, he had to be if Sir Alex Ferguson spent so much time trying to sign him from Bayern Munich.

Well once he got to the club it was easy to see why the manager liked him so much. He an excellent holding midfielder, but has also filled in at right back and on the right side of midfield for United.

He is great at winning the ball back and picking out great passes. When I first saw him played on the right side of midfield, I was worried he wouldn't be effective there. He proved me wrong by showing more pace than I thought he had and consistently delivering dangerous crosses. He can also do this:



That stunning free kick was the most memorable moment of that entire season for me, well, not including the Champions League.

Unfortunately, his time in England has been mostly spent nursing injuries. This past weekend against Sunderland, Hargreaves saw first-team action for the first time in 19 months. While watching the game against Manchester City, I almost cried when I saw him warming up. I can only imagine what it has been like for him, having to go through surgery after surgery. I wonder if at some point he thought about quitting. Regardless, he has fought all the way back and it is inspiring to see. It obviously means a lot to him to get back out there, and I can't wait until next season when he is a regular in the starting eleven.

I really hope Fabio Capello gives him a chance to go to the World Cup. It is obviously a risk because of his lack of football over the past two years, but if he is healthy enough to play for United, he can be a contributor in South Africa.

I'll let my favorite Manchester United fan sum it up:



I want curly hair too!

Chicago Fire? Never.

On Friday, I found out I had been accepted to the DePaul University College of Law. So I have that going for me, I guess.

Because I am a freak, one of the first things I thought about was whether I could see myself supporting the Chicago Fire. Obviously, I can't.

Why? Just look at this guy:

www.chicagotribune.com

I'm sorry you had to see that.

His name is Cuauhtemoc Blanco. I hate him. I hate his stupid signature move. I hate his goal celebration. I hate his face. I hate the way he runs up to the ball on penalty kicks. I hate that he's really good at what he does. I hate that I had to Google him to make sure I was spelling his name correctly.

And I hate that he is, at least in my brain, the face of the Chicago Fire. That's not at all fair to the team and the players that are there now, but that's how it is.

I can't separate his smug face from the team.

On a more positive note, I'm really excited to watch the Philadelphia Union against Real Salt Lake in a bit. I'll post my reaction after the game.

Philadelphia Union vs Manchester United: Great News or Greatest News Ever?

Today it was announced that Manchester United will be playing the Philadelphia Union in the second game of their North American tour.

(Victory dance.)

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, this is incredibly exciting for me. If I manage to go to the game, my first live Manchester United game will double as my first live Philadelphia Union game. What could be more perfect than that?

I'm aware that Sir Alex Ferguson won't use his regulars too much, if at all. This game will come soon after the World Cup so he will need to get his key players some rest.

But I love Manchester United so much that I don't care who is out there. In fact, one of my favorite players, Owen Hargreaves, is sure to figure prominently in the pre-season fixtures because he's had so much time away from the game due to injury. It will be a big summer for him because he must prove to the manager, and to himself, that he is still capable of being a key United midfielder.

I'm also excited to possibly see some of the younger players, like Kiko Macheda.

It would also be exciting to see the Philadelphia Union, even though I'm not quite as familiar with their players just yet. I'm sure by then I will have fallen in love with a few of them.

That's enough victory dancing and blogging, time to go try to make this trip happen.

Spurs, City Have Brighter Futures Than Liverpool

While watching Wednesday's match between Tottenham and Manchester City, I realized that this season was not a fluke.

It seems to me that both these teams are better equipped than Liverpool to challenge for fourth place next season. In fact, Aston Villa will also likely finish ahead of Liverpool, unless it sells one of its talented young players.

Now that Tottenham has sealed a Champions League place, it can be expected to attract one or two more top players during the summer. The club has a great manager in Harry Redknapp, and Daniel Levy, chairman of the club, knows what he's doing (as evidenced by the fact he forced Manchester United to overpay for Dimitar Berbatov). Being in the Champions League will also allow the team to hold on to players like Gareth Bale and Luka Modric.

Manchester City will still be able to attract great players because some guys, like Robinho or Adebayor, will care more about money than winning. As much as I hate this club, I have to admit that it has some quality players. In particular, I'm a big fan of Adam Johnson and think he deserves to be on the plane to South Africa more than Theo Walcott. An important factor for them going forward is managerial stability. If Roberto Mancini is sacked, the next manager should be given at least one full season to prove himself. Unless the club can attract Jose Mourinho, I think its better off keeping Mancini (and his scarves).

Liverpool, on the other hand, seems to be very much in decline. The club is dealing with internal turmoil and may lose its manager to Juventus. Which top player is going to go there? It seems more likely to lose a world class player (Fernando Torres or Steven Gerrard) than attract one.

Spurs and City are not ready to challenge for the title, but they are closer to getting there than Liverpool, which is sad considering how close Liverpool came to winning their 19th title just last season.

I'll sign off with this:

This is how it feels to be City
This is how it feels to be small
This is how it feels when your team wins nothing at all
Nothing at all!

Sorry, City, I had to do it.

Me and the Philadelphia Union

Ever since the Miami Fusion ceased to exist, I have been a free agent fan looking for the perfect team to sign with.

I had a short spell with Toronto FC because I loved their home atmosphere, but something about our relationship just didn’t feel right. I had to opt out of my deal after one year.

I signed a short-term contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy when they signed David Beckham, but I was always just a fan of him, not of the team. It’s never a good idea to follow a team just because you like one player. This has worked for me (Tottenham Hotspur), but only because I started to care about the team on a much deeper level than just, “Oh, Wilson Palacios plays there.” This never happened with the Galaxy.

It was starting to look like I should just retire, but I decided to give it one last chance.

This fall I will be starting law school. I’m still not sure where, but since I’ve already paid a seat deposit at Temple, that is looking a likely destination.

When I first got in to Temple I was excited because I knew Philadelphia had an expansion team in MLS. One of the most important things for me when picking a team was that I wanted it to be a team that was relatively young. Well, you can’t get any younger than an expansion team. I hope to one day be able to say I was there for the first season of Philadelphia Union soccer.

Also, one of the great things about Philadelphia is the fact they have many professional teams, ranging from great (Philadelphia Phillies) to, um, not so great (Philadelphia 76ers). I couldn’t really adopt any of the teams from the major sports because I already love the Dolphins, Heat, Marlins and Panthers. I would not feel guilty about loving the Union because there is no Miami team to betray (sorry, Miami FC).

That was two weeks ago, and now I feel fully committed to becoming a fan. I refuse to call myself a fan of the team now, because I have never seen one of their games and that would be an insult to the true fans. I’m excited to watch their game Saturday against Real Salt Lake.

Really, they only have to do one thing to win me over: Play hard.

If they do, I think I might be signing a long-term contract with them soon.

Welcome To My Brain (There’s Not A Lot In Here)

I’ve decided to make the most awesome blog about soccer ever. So, be excited.

After interviewing Brian Quarstad from Inside Minnesota Soccer, I was inspired to blog about soccer, my biggest passion. An important thing I learned from him is that it’s important to provide more than just opinion. That is why, starting in the fall, I will be trying my best to write news about the local team of whatever city I happen to move to.

Until then, opinion it is.

I will be writing mostly about the Philadelphia Union, Manchester United, the United States Men’s National Team, the Honduran national team and Tottenham Hotspur.

Over the next few months, I will dedicate a post to explaining why I care about these specific teams.

It’ll be a fun ride, and I promise to update as often as possible.