What happened this weekend?

Well in Germany, Dortmund secured the top of the Bundesliga table as they confidently defeated Mainz 2-0 in Mainz. 3rd place meanwhile is held by Hoffenheim as they defeated the decently performing Hannover 96 by a margin of 4-0. Bayer Leverkusen likewise have 18 points as they edged out underperforming Schalke 1-0. Italy meanwhile also has a new leader, and they are making themselves comfortable! Lazio defeated Palermo 1-0 to further their 5 game winning streak and strengthen their position at the top of the table. Inter took 2nd place edging Genoa 1-0 while AC Milan lost to Juventus 2-1 in a very interesting game. AC Milan now hold 3rd position. Spain on the otherhand is quite less turbulent. Real Madrid still have a 1 point lead over Barcelona at the top of the legue table as they registered a 3-1 victory over Hercules. Barcelona on the otherhand obliterated Sevilla 5-0 in a brilliant performance that showcased the talents of Messi and Villa. Villarreal were in the opposite position as they couldn't decide anything in a 1-1 draw with Real Sporting de Gijón and lost the chance to retake Barcelona. The French meanwhile have a new Napoleon as the newly promoted minnows Stade Brestois 29 took the top spot ruining AS Saint-Etienne 2-0. Toulouse FC and Montpellier Hérault SC got 1-1 scorelines against RC Lens and PSG respectively. Across the Channel in England, Chelsea had to come from behind to defeat Blackburn 2-1 while Arsenal were in a similar position as they required a very late goal to seperate themselves from West Ham. Manchester United meanwhile competently saw off the challenge from Tottenham in a 2-0 victory. On the otherside of the table, Wolves beat Manchester City 2-1 in a nice upset. Just across the way in Ireland the Shamrock Rovers claimed their 1st league crown since 1994. Finally, in the Netherlands, the total domination of the league by PSV Eindhoven has been lessened to simply a domination as they lost their 1st game, 1-0 to FC Twente, following their destruction of Feyenoord in their last game.

Not to forget the Futsal Grand Prix and the words of AC Milan's leader.

Brazil won the 2008 FIFA Futsal World Cup against Spain. This year, Spain returned the favor however as they beat the South Americans in the sixth installment of the Grand Prix de Futsal which brings the 16 greatest Futsal nations on the Earth together in Brazil for 1 honor. This is the first episode of the tournament where the hosts have not won, also, the loss in the final was Brazil's first in almost 165 matches! The Spanish cut an impressive form though, winning each of their 6 matches while scoring 35 goals while Brazil won all but the most important match scoring 30 goals in the process. The third place team meanwhile was Paraguay as they sniffed Iran out 5-3 in their match. Italy and Russia meanwhile were left standing akwardly. The Russians were embarrassed as they went out in the Group Stage, the Italians however were kicked out by eventual runners-up Brazil in the Quarter-Finals. In Italy meanwhile, AC Milan's Massimiliano Allegri has high goals for the Milanese club as he will be aiming for a triplet of titles: the Scudetto, that is, the Italian league; the Coppa Italia, and the Champions League. Fans of the club certainly wouldn't be disappointed with those...

Final scores, some more news, and a correction.

3-0 sounds like a pretty good scoreline right? Well, in Portugal, Porto decided to make it 4-0 before Leiria brought back one off of a penalty. And then Porto scored a fifth for a final scoreline of 5-1. In Spain, another one-sided game as Real Sociedad made it to 3-0 too, and stayed there to win their game against Deportivo comfortably. In Italy on the otherhand, Napoli made it a close game at the end as they put a goal in near the 80th minute however couldn't continue on and so AC Milan won the game 2-1. I'd also like to highlight the CAF Champions League Final matches which will be coming up as Tunisian club Esperance Sportive de Tunis will attempt to upset the current holders TP Mazembe Englebert. The frst leg of two will happen this weekend and should be a good game. Also, in the U.S., as the Conferences are being decided, the Los Angeles Galaxy secured MLS Western Conference title with a 2-1 home win over FC Dallas. I'll point out that David Beckham actually made quite a nice contribution for his team as well. The Eastern Conference was won by the New York Red Bulls as they sustained a 1 point margin over their nearest competitor, the Columbus Crew. It looks like the Play-offs matches will consist of the Columbus Crew v.s. the Chicago Fire, Real Salt Lake v.s. FC Dallas, the New York Red Bulls v.s. the San Jose Earthquakes, and the L.A. Galaxy taking on the Seattle Sounders. Each of the pairs will play both home and away fixtures to determine who continues. Best of luck to each team. And, in closing I'd just like to correct from my previous post that AC Milan's win doesn't put them on the top of the group, but in 2nd behind Lazio who lead by 2 points. All teams have played 8 games. 

Monday 10/25/2010 happenings.

In Italy today, Napoli take on AC Milan, currently the Milanese lead the game 1-0 thanks to a Robinho goal alittle after the 20th minute. Ibrahimovic tacks on another goal just after the 70th to make it 2-0 for Milan. If Milan win this, they'll be at the top of the league with a 1 point spread, however, this is their 9th game while all their competition has played just 8 games. In Spain meanwhile, Real Sociedad lead Deportivo by a similar margin thanks to a Llorente goal in the 17th minute. In Portugal however is the most gripping scoreline as Porto continue to crush into Leiria 3-0 while the game is still in the first half. I'll catch the final scores of these matches later. For the ost part they've each been pretty good games.

Update for 10/24/2010

In Italy, Lazio won their game to remain and slightly strengthen their hold on the top of the league, AC and Inter Milan both sit in second with 14 points with a game in hand each. Meanwhile Real Madrid won their game yesterday with a free-firing Ronaldo to take the first position in La Liga, Barcelona are just a point behind them with 19 points. In England, their is also quite a bit of movement at the top of the table with Manchester City falling to 4th having lost 3-0 to Arsenal who took 2nd place while Manchester United took 3rd with a win against Stoke. And some good news for Liverpool as they defeated Blackburn 2-1 in their match today. Chelsea still hold top spot with 22 points while Arsenal, Manchester United, and Man. City all have 17 points. Across the Channel in France the early leaders Rennes lost their first match of the campaign, to Brest. With the loss Rennes' lead on the 2nd/3rd place teams fell to just a point. In the German Bundesliga meanwhile Mainz retook the ttop spot as Dortmund fell to 2nd. The two are seperated by 2 points and hold quite a nice advantage over the next best team, Hannover, who have 16 points. In Scotland though, Rangers beat Celtic 3-1 at Celtic Park to seize the top of the league while Celtic still hold 2nd place. The lose of the derby match doesn't bode well for Celtic's chances though. In Portugal meanwhile, Benfica have been bumped back to 4th as they haven't played 8 games yet. Porto also sit at only 7 games but their lead of the league isn't contested by the upstart A. Académica de Coimbra and SC Braga. Sporting Lisbon still aren't looking at all impressive, something the Benfica fans can be happy about. However, possibly the biggest result I can report comes from the Netherlands as PSV Eindhoven put 10 goals in against Feyenoord making this the worst defeat the club have suffered in history. The win wasn't only useful for bragging rights however, it puts PSV 2 points clear at the top of the league. Cheers!

Saturday 10/23/2010 action continued.

Matches in the English League ended with Chelsea winning 2-0 against Wolves, Birmingham finished 2 ahead of Blackpool, 2-0. Wigan meanwhile tied Bolton 1-1 as West Brom finished 2-1 over Fulham. Also, Sunderland beat Aston Villa 1-0 while Newcastle is playing West Ham as I write this, the score is 1-1. Above England, in Scotland, Motherwell finished 2-1 over Dundee United as Kilmarnock lost by the same margin to Inverness. Hearts finished 3-0 above St. Mirren while St. Johnstone edged Hamilton 2-1. On the otherhand, on continental Europe, Spanish giants Barcelona are leading Zaragoza 2-0 thanks to a Messi goal before half-time and another after it. Across the border in Portugal meanwhile, Academica lead Nacional 2-0 however Nacional draw one back to make it 2-1 as the final whistle blows. Pacos de Ferreira put a goal in late against Beir-mar. But how about some more results, now from Germany. Schalke only were able to recieve a 0-0 draw in Franfurt as they were hosted by Eintracht Frankfurt. Despite scoring first, Kaiserslautern couldn't come back as Freiburg scored 2 goals to win the game 2-1. Hannover finished Koln by the same margin however, Bremen finished the distruction of Monchengladbach 4-1! Lastly in Germany, Nurnberg held on for a 2-1 win over Wolfsburg. Not far away, in the Netherlands, Heracles are losing to De Graafschap by just a goal, however the away team scores a late goal to tie the game up. Also in Holland, NEC lead Groningen by the previous scoreline of 1-0, they then extend it to a 2 goal lead. Finally, in France, Brest lead Bordeaux 1-0 thus far while Nancy lead Lorient by the same margin. Caen are also 1-0ing their opposition, St-Etienne, as are Valenciennes against Monaco. Montpellier similarly lead Rennes by the 1-0 margin that seems popular in France today.

More selected teams.

In Israel, Maccabi Tel Aviv is probably my favorite team. They are actually the only team to have never played in anything other than the top league. They are possibly the oldest team in the Israeli League and definately one of the most successful. In Australia meanwhile, Brisbane Roar are my favorite team. They were previously known as the Queensland Roar but nonethe less they have remained at the top of Australian soccer since 2005. They are very involved on and off the pitch. In Wales, my favorite club has to be The New Saints. They resided for quite a while as a kind of amateur team essentially, before gaining 3 promotions in rapid succession to join the Welsh League in 1993. They won the Welsh League 3 years straight between 2005 and 2007. In South Africa meanwhile, I prefer the historic club of the Orlando Pirates. They've placed reasonably well in recent timmes as well as winning quite a few titles historically. They are part of the Soweto derby between themselves and the Kaizer Cheifs. In Saudi Arabia Al Nasr is my selected team because they have quite a long and successful history. Their home is in the capital city of both Saudi Arabia and the province of Riyadh.

Saturday 10/23/2010 action.

In England Tottenham tied 1-1 with Everton while in Scotland Aberdeen took care of Hibernian 4-2. Meanwhile, games that are going on at this moment include in Germany: Eintracht Frankfurt versus Schalke who are tied 0-0, Freiburg playing Kaiserslautern where Freiburg leads 2-1, Hannover are leading Koln 2-0, Bremen are taking Monchengladbach apart 3-0, and Nurnburg lead Wolfsburg 2-1. Back across the Channel in England Birmingham are leading Blackpool 1-0, Chelsea are leading Wolves by the same margin, as are Sunderland in their match against Aston Villa. West Brom are actually leading 2-1 while Wigan and Bolton are tied 0-0. Returning to the north, in Scotland, Hearts lead St. Mirren 2-0 while Hamilton are losing to St. Johnstone 1-0; the same margin that Kilmarnock and Dundee United are losing to Inverness and Motherwell respectively. Finally, in Romania Gaz Metan lost to league leaders Otelul Galati 2-0. The match going on now is mid-table Astra going up against the low-table club FCM Targu Mures. Uni. Craiova will be taking on the team just above them in the table, Vaslui.

Some interesting news!

First off, English football club Portsmouth may be shutting down in the foreseeable future. This comes after negotiations with their main creditor brokedown. Their are some in the club who are highlighting some things as meaning the club may survive but their circumstances are quite dire. In other news, arguably the World's best footballer, Pele has turned 70. He is the only player thus far in the history of soccer to play in 3 World Cup winning teams. The Brazilain is said to be in good health too! Meanwhile, in the ploitical sphere of football, the scandal of vote-selling for the rights to hold the FIFA World Cup is being investigated. A Nigerian FIFA official refuted allegations that he was part of a group who may have tried to sell his vote. Amos Adamu allegedly wanted money to build pitches in Nigeria. Another representative, Reynald Temarii of Tahiti who is the  president of the Oceania Football Confederation was also alleged to have tried to sell his vote to pay for a sports academy. Both Adamu and Temarii were suspended for 30 days as investigations began. Adamu has actually welcomed the probes as he wants the truth to be known. He is supposed to have told undercover reporters (so cool!) that he wanted around $800,000 for the establishment of 4 artificial pitches. On December 2nd the FIFA committee of 24 members will vote for who will receive the honor of holding the World Cup. Tunisia's Slim Aloulou, Mali's Amadou Diakite, Botswana's Ismael Bhamjee and Tonga's Ahongalu Fusimalohi were also provisionally suspended. On similar grounds, the bids of  Spain/Portugal and Qatar  are also under investigation as they may be guilty of collusion between nation's bids; that is for example, they may have promised their votes for one bid for 2018 if the bid members from the other bid would promise their bids for the 2022 spot.

German notification.

If goals were just alittle bit bigger then Bayern Munich would have lost a 4th consecutive Bundeliga match to Hamburg. Instead, they were saved by the woodwork for the game to go down as a 0-0 draw. Yeah, Bayern had some shots, but they couldn't really compare to the attempt from Hamburg. The Baverians aren't looking so good but Lahm said the "Everything is possible" while acknowledging that the usual giants do need to step up their game and "start racking up some points."

Quick news from around the world.

In South America, quite a few high profile games are taking place this weekend. Argentina's Boca Juniors will be trying to solidify their form in their game against the sometimes hot sometimes cold Independiente. The first and second place teams, Estudiantes and Velez Sarsfield respectively, will also be facing off for 3 points that could tie them with only a seperation by goal difference or the match could solidify Estudiantes's lead. Meanwhile on the derby front River Plate will be taking on historic rivals Racing Club hoping to turn around a recent string of losses. Finally, Huracan will be taking on historic rivals San Lorenzo for almost the 155th time in a game which should be quite entertaining, as they all should. In Brazil there are also quite a few derby matches occuring with Vasco da Gama taking on Flamengo, Internacional will fight it out with Gremio, table-topping Cruzeiro will face-off with relegation threatened Atletico Mineiro, and Corinthians will try to hit Palmeiras where it hurts. Moving north now into Mexico, how about the Superclasico involving America and Guadalajara? If that doesn't interest you, how about Atlas and Atlante, the two will be playing for points to break free of relegation! Or how about the league leaders Cruz Azul attempting to maintain their run, against Monarcas. Well, moving away from South/central America, how about the matches coming up in the Super League of China! Current leaders by 11 points Shandong Luneng have to hold out for just 4 more rounds if they want to win their 4th title in club history. Shanghai Shenhua, the second placed team, would love it if Shandong tied a few more matches or even lost some. Is it possible? Well yes, but maybe not this match as they greet Qingdao in their Shandong Stadium. And if Shandong can pull a win off? They will deservedly be crowned national champions for the second time in three years. Off to Africa now as Etoile Sahel and Club Africain in Tunisia will battle it out, the former holds second place while the latter has possible dreams sitting at a reasonable fifth place. Club African isn't the only team who hopes they can take 3 points from Etoile, first placed Esperance only holds a 3 point lead and wouldn't lose any sleep if their closest rivals were held up. Finally, in Algeria, ES Setif will seek redemption against third-placed El Harrach having dropped points in their last game. Lastly, surprise early league leaders MC Saida will look to continue their excellent start to the season away to WA Tlemcen.

Thank you all.

In the short time I've been writing this blog I've already almost had 100 people come through my blog. Thank you all for your interest in the worrld's game and my blog. Hopefully you'll all keep reading!
Thanks again,
Bennet

"Quick" News Update.

First off, in the English Premier League, Wayne Rooney has actually decided to stay at Manchester United having signed a new 5-year contract. Hopefully his form begins to improve then. Also in England, Manchester City will be combatting Arsenal FC on Sunday in a quite important match for both sides. Manchester City has toppled other normal powerhouses at their respective stadiums, namely Chelsea FC and Liverpool FC. Will the Blue's of Manchester be able to defeat the high-flying Arsenal? If Arsenal win they will overtake City who currently sit in second just 2 points beneath Chelsea. Their destruction of FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League could buoy them to further success. Meanwhile, across the border in Scotland, the Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers will also be taking place on Sunday! Currently both teams have 100% records and this is the match that could bump one of them into a record 9 straight wins. Celtic will be at home which may give them the title of favorites however in derby matches, anything is possible. So then how about across the Channel? Well in Germany the recent top spot holders Borussia Dortmund will be taking on the surprise pacesetters of a couple seasons back TSG 1899 Hoffenheim who currently hold the 4th place position. Both teams have had good form domestically this season and both have also been overshadowed by the meteoric rise of 1. FSV Mainz 05 and faltering start of FC Bayern München who play Hamburg today. This is the time for them both to seize the limelight. Moving south now, how about another Sunday derby match between Turkish sides Fenerbahçe SK and Galatasaray AŞ. Galatasaray haven't beaten Fenerbahçe at home in over 10 years and this season they sit 5 places below their rivals in the league, in 9th place. Sunday doesn't look too good for Galatasaray. Staying in the south of Europe, in Italy the European champions Inter will be playing UC Sampdoria in a game that has Inter's name all over it. Yes, they allowed 3 goals to 10 man Tottenham but they still won the match 4-3. Sampdoria on the otherhand haven't looked too good anywhere. They've been eliminated in the Europa league and domestically they sit in 7th place with 10 points from 7 games. Is it possible that they'll upset Inter in Milan? Yes, but the chances are very slim. Completing the survey of the south of Europe, I'd like to look into Spain where Villarreal CF will be playing Club Atlético de Madrid on Sunday while Barca play Zaragoza as Real play Racing on Saturday. Villarreal should be able to get a win against Atletico as they play in Castellón despite the fact that they were held by Hercules to sit at second place instead of first. Barcelona will be expected to beat Zaragoza as Real should conquer Racing in Madrid. Finally, I'll end this post with a look up north in Norway as Rosenborg BK take on Tromsø IL to possibly grab their 22nd domestic title. Rosenborg actually remain undefeated in their 27 league matches, pretty impressive!

• I'll report on leagues outside of Europe later today.

Some more selected teams.

In Brazil, my team of choice is definately Internacional. Formed in 1909, they actually were one of the first teams to bring in blacks and are also known as "The People's Club". Inter's history is quite full of silverware as well, ranging from the 40's, to the 70's, to the defeat of a great Barcelona and Manchester City teams in international competitions. Recently their successes have continued as Inter won the Libertadores Cup in 2006. But not only that; they went on to defeat Barcelona to become Club World Champions. They also have a very good youth training system.
Now in another South American powerhouse, Argentina,  my favorite team is probably Newell's Old Boys. One of the two great clubs from Rosario, they hold the select honor of once having all of their players represent the Argentine national team at the same time. They've won quite a few national champions as well as being the club that developed Leonel Messi between 1995 and 2000!
Across the world meanwhile, in Japan, my selected team is the Kashima Antlers. Their titles since joining the league in 1991 consist of: J1 League champions in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008, and 2009. They also won the League Cup in 1997, 2000, and 2002. Also, they won the Emperor's Cup in 1997, 2000, and 2007. Finally, the Antlers were A3 Champions Cup winners in 2003.
Meanwhile, not far away, in South Korea, my favorite team is probably Suwon Samsung Bluewings. They were founded in 1995 and even as they were just beginning they were making a name for themselves. They have since became one of the most successful teams both nationally and domestically. At their first try to in the Asian Cup Winners’ Cup tournament they got all the way to the final only then losing. Their good performances have essentially continued from then on.
Finally, into Eastern Europe now to look into Romania. The team I would support would be Universitatea Craiova. Founded in 1921, they are very successful domestically as well as holding the distinction of being the Romanian team to go the farthest in the UEFA Cup, in the 1982-83 season. Despite this history, these days they are a mid-table team for the most part and succumbed to the lower divisions for several years. They've fought back every time with success.

Nissan South American Cup as of 10/21/2010

Atletico Mineiro qualified for the next round despite a loss to Independiente Santa Fe. That gives Brazil a total of 3 candidates thus far for the next stage of the contest. Meanwhile on Wednesday Palmeiras qualified for the quarter finals having defeated Universitario of Sucre in Bolivia by a comfortable margin of 3-1. Independiente however, qualified after a night of serious conflict in their 4-2 defeat of Defensor Sporting after losing just barely in Montevideo. Union San Felipe on the otherhand had no one to help them as they were shattered by Liga de Quito 6-1.

Finishing the report on the Europa League matches 10/21/2010

Sporting's day finished gloriously as they scored a total of 5 goals against the struggling Gent's 1 goal. The atmosphere in Lisbon can be now be somewhat happy. Villareal was able to finish their game against PAOK with the 1-0 score line I previously reported. There were some chances, but the 3 points are theirs. Manchester City meanwhile added another goal to their account as they finished 3-1 over Lech. No breakthrough was forthcoming as Aris of Greece tied with Leverkusen of Germany 0-0. AZ of the Netherlands were in the same boat sort of as they couldn't score another goal in their 2-1 loss to Dynamo Kyiv. On a similar note, Dynamo Zagreb couldn't put a goal in against Club Brugge however, the latter side could do no better either, with a final score of 0-0. Juventus were similarly held, this time against Salzburg, to a 1-1 scoreline. On a totally different route, Atletico Madrid embarassed Rosenborg by tacking on another 2 goals in the late 2nd half to put the final score at 3-0 for the Spanish side. CSKA Moskva got the same result against a 10 man Palermo as they tagged on another goal in the late 2nd half to win 3-0. BATE finished Sheriff with the 1-0 scoreline that I reported earlier just as Lille beat Levski by the same score. Finally, probably my favorite comeback, Lausanne came back from a 3-1 deficit to draw level with Sparta Praha 3-3.

Asian Champions League

Seongnam Ihlwa Chunma of South Korea and Zob Ahan of Iran will battle for Asian club football’s biggest prize. They both saw off competition from Saudi Arabia in the Semi-finals which Seongnam won on goal difference (4-4 on aggregate against Al Shabab) while Zob Ahan won in a straight forward manner (2-0 on aggregate against Al Hilal). The South Koreans will be playing in the memory of their old coach Cha Kyung-bok who took them to the 2004 final before dying in 2005. The current coach of the team was actually the captain of the 2004 side!

Results for Europa League 10/21/2010

Dortmund tied PSG 1-1 in a match predicted as evenly matched as it was. Metalist actually defeated Sampdoria 2-1 in a match that provided a good amount of excitement. Rapid Wein in the meantime took the game to CSKA Sofia in a performance deserving of a vistory, which they received, 2-0. Anderlecht destroyed the Greeks from AEK in a game which saw the final score ending 3-0. Meanwhile PSV also found winning form, edging Debrecen 2-1 away from home. Another predictable game, Young Boys v.s. OB ended 4-2 as the Boys pulled off a nice home performance. Stuttgart on the otherhand edged out Getafe in Germany in a close call 1-0 victory. Sevilla beat Karpaty by the same margin at Karpaty in a stadium which obviously wasn't friendly to the Spanish side. Napoli meanwhile couldn't put their home advantage to good use as  they allowed Liverpool to recieve a point in a 0-0 draw. Porto however had no such issues away from home as they defeated the Turkish side Besiktas 3-1. Zenit however gave their home crowd a quality performance as they rolled over Hajduk Split in a 2-0 victory. Utrecht couldn't put their home field advantage to good use as they only tied with Steaua 1-1. The 12 other matches will be reported later as they are still running. As of now, Sporting is taking Gent apart 5-1, Villareal is just maintaining a lead over PAOK with a 1-0 scoreline, Manchester City is holding out against Lech with a 2-1 lead, Aris of Greece are tied 0-0 with Leverkusen of Germany, AZ is actually losing to Dynamo Kyiv by a one goal margin of 2-1, Dinamo Zagreb haven't broken the deadlock against Club Brugge with the 0-0 scoreline, Salzburg are holding Juventus of Italy at 1-1, Atletico Madrid is just ahead of Rosenborg with a 1-0 scoreline, Palermo is losing quite badly to CSKA Moskva 2-0, BATE lead Sheriff 1-0 in England, Lille lead Levski in France, and Sparta Praha are eliminating Lausanne 3-1.

MLS post.

The San Jose Earthquakes destroyed Chivas USA 3-0. Chris Wondolowski scored the hat-trick that put the game to bed. The MLS play-off games will for sure hold the likes of the L.A. Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, New York Red Bulls, and the Columbus Crew. FC Dallas, the Seattle Sounders, the San Jose Earthquakes, and the Colorado Rapids will be in contention for the wild card spots. Congrats to all the teams that made it and better luck next year to those who fell short.

Champions League Tables: As of 10/20/2010.

Group A

1. FC Internazionale Milano-- 7pts
2. Tottenham Hotspur FC-- 4pts
3. SV Werder Bremen-- 2pts
4. FC Twente-- 2pts

Group B

1. Olympique Lyonnais-- 9pts
2. FC Schalke 04-- 6pts
3. SL Benfica-- 3pts
4. Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC-- 0pts

Group C

1. Manchester United FC-- 7pts
2. Rangers FC-- 5pts
3. Valencia CF-- 4pts
4. Bursaspor-- 0pts

Group D

1. FC Barcelona-- 7pts
2. FC Kobenhavn-- 6pts
3. FC Rubin Kazan-- 2pts
4. Panathinaikos FC-- 0pts

Group E

1. FC Bayern München-- 9pts
2. FC Basel 1893-- 3pts
3. CFR 1907 Cluj-- 3pts
4. AS Roma-- 3pts

Group F

1. Chelsea FC-- 9pts
2. FC Spartak Moskva-- 6pts
3. Olympique de Marseille-- 3pts
4. MSK Zilina-- 0pts

Group G

1. Real Madrid CF-- 9pts
2. AC Milan-- 4pts
3. AFC Ajax-- 4pts
4. AJ Auxerre-- 0pts

Group H

1. Arsenal FC-- 9pts
2. FC Shakhtar Donetsk-- 6pts
3. SC Braga-- 3pts
4. FK Partizan-- 0pts

Predictions for 11/2/2010 and 11/3/2010 UEFA Champions League matches.

On the 2nd of November, Tottenham will be playing Inter once more, this time at home. Bremen v.s. Twente, Hapoel Tel-Aviv v.s. Schalke 04, Benfica v.s. Lyon, Valencia v.s. Rangers, Bursaspor v.s. Manchester United, Rubin v.s. Panathinaikos, and København v.s. Barcelona are the other games which will be happening. Despite Tottenham's come from behind to finish in a slim defeat 4-3 in Italy, Inter should be able to find victory again, even though Tottenham will be at home. Bremen against Twente should give a winner this time around as Bremen were able to tie Twente in the Netherlands; now that they are at home in Germany, Bremen should pick up the 3 points. Hapoel Tel-Aviv will be meeting Schalke once more, this time in Israel. The first match saw the Germans winning 3-1 and I don't see the match going any other way than it did in Germany. Similarly, Benfica will probably lose at home as they did away to Lyon. Maybe they'll be able to give a better showing at home however I just don't know if they have the quality to beat the French side. Meanwhile, Valencia and Rangers will probably give another nice performance. This time around, Valencia should be able to beat the Scotts since the match will be playing in Spain. Bursaspor will probably suffer another loss to Manchester United despite the game taking place in Turkey. However, if Nani doesn't show so well as he did in the previous match-up, the Turkish side may actually find a way to salvage a point. I don't see them winning though. Another close game, between Rubin and Panathinaikos, may turn out a draw again! Despite Rubin's nice performance, they will probably find it hard to score on Pana. No matter, I would give the nod to Rubin before I did to the Greeks. If Pana couldn't score at home, they'll probably find it harder to score in Russia. Finally, København will be at home against the mighty Barcelona in a match that should end up just like the first game. I mean, Barca just look so good, and a home-field advantage probably won't do enough for København.

10/21/2010 Europa League Games.

Tomorrow, Manchester City will be playing Lech in a game one would see as clearly going in City's favor, especially considering their recent form and the home-field advantage. Salzburg will be playing Juventus in the meantime in what will be a difficult game for the Austrians even if they are at home. Atlético on the otherhand will be playing Rosenborg in a game the Spanish side should feel comfortable about. Meanwhile Aris of Greece will take on Leverkusen of Germany. This match should be tipped in Leverkusen's favor due to their recent form, despite having to travel to Greece. Sporting Lisbon meanwhile is taking on Gent in a match that may give Portugal something to be happy about. Lille fights Levski as well in a pretty even match up which the French team should be able to win, but you never know. Villarreal v.s. PAOK will also be occuring. I would say Villareal will win, not only because of their successful form recently in the Spanish League but also because of their home crowd. Dinamo Zagreb against Club Brugge is another match that is a bit hard to predict, but I'd tip Dinamo Zagreb to win. Sheriff of England fights BATE as well which is difficult to predict too. BATE may win in England but who knows? At the same time, AZ of the Netherlands, will strive to defeat Dynamo Kyiv. Once more, the Dutch side should win, however Dynamo have to be taken seriously. Palermo v.s. CSKA Moskva is another match that could throw up some surprising results. That said, I think Palermo should take a win. Sparta Praha takes on Lausanne in a bout which should go Sparta Praha's way. Zenit v.s. Hajduk Split is another match that'll be interesting to watch. Zenit does have a good history in the cup recently, but history means nothing. Nonetheless, Zenit shoukd get the 3 points. Anderlecht may struggle against AEK of Greece, but the match taking place at home should give them an incentive to win. Young Boys will try to see off OB which should occur since the Young Boys are at home and they have some nice form. Elsewhere, Stuttgart will try to beat Getafe. Despite being at home, Stuttgart just isn't having a good domestic season this year. Nonetheless, Getafe isn't the top most opposition so Stuttgart may have a chancce. Metalist will try to at least get a point from Sampdoria which probably won't happen but if they can push the offense, Metalist may just get a draw. Heck, they are even at home so they may be able to upset Sampdoria. It may not be likely but they have some of the winds going their way. Debrecen will likewise at least want a point against PSV. Again, the home advantage may help but the Dutch greats shouldn't have too much trouble away. Across the border in Germany, Dortmund will battle PSG for the 3 points from their match. Both teams haven't had an amazing start domestically but their are some glimmers in both squads, the home-field advantage should help Dortmund though. Karpaty will most likely lose to Sevilla who have had a great start in the Spanish League even if Karpatydo have the home-field advantage. If Karpaty go extremely defensive or just totally surprise Sevilla, they may pull something off but it's difficult to see that occuring. Utrecht against Steaua meanwhile could put Utrecht 3 points ahead and Steaua's recent issues may have an effect on the game as well. Napoli will try to fight the failing Liverpool team which may give the Italians a once in a lifetime oppurtunity to hurt the floundering English Giants. CSKA Sofia will likewise want to win against Rapid Wien in their match as well which may happen, despite the closeness of the teams. Finally, the Turkish side Beşiktaş will want a win against the Portuguese pacestters Porto. The home-field advantage should help the Turks out however Porto may well be buoyed by their current glowing domestic performance.

The games today as they happened.

Inter, Schalke, and Manchester United get early first points in their matches and then Inter put in two more. Barcelona took a bit longer but also scored the first goal in their match against Kobenhavn. Meanwhile in France, Lyon scored first in their match against Benfica. Inter scores another for a total of 4. Rangers scores a goal against Valencia,but Valencia draw level with Rangers in return. Tottenham pulls one back against Inter for a score line of 4-1. Lyon go 2 goals ahead against Benfica as Schalke go ahead 2 goals as well before tacking on another for a 3-0 scoreline against Hapoel Tel-Aviv. And then in the evenly fought match between Twente and Bremen, Twente drew first blood in the second half with Bremen soon equalizing. Barcelona finished the night 2 up against a goaless Kobenhavn while Hapoel Tel-Aviv scored one goal against Schalke salvaging some pride in a 3-1 defeat. Tottenham couldn't complete a comeback as their game finished 4-3, giving Inter 3 more points. And so, the winners of today's action were Schalke winning 3-1 at home, Manchester United edged out Bursaspor with Nani's 7th minute goal, Inter and their first-half dominance, and Lyon and Barcelona each with 2-0 wins over their respective opponents. There were a few draws though as the Greeks of Pana' couldn't find the net as Rubin outperformed them to no avail, final score, 0-0. Valencia meanwhile took a point from Rangers as they were at Rangers in an interesting 1-1 draw while Twente and Bremen finished level as well by the same margin.

The New College Funk's continued adventures!

We just played a game today where we almost won! The final score was 6 to 4 in favor of our opposition, Sarasota FC United. We had a good first half as well as a pretty good second half however we just have issues every now and then that cause us to go down. As we continue to work out any errors, our team is looking pretty good, our goalie had a great game for the most part and Zach, a first yearer scored 3 more goals as Greg I believe scored our fourth. If things keep improving this way, we will probably win sometime!

Results.

Chelsea beat Spartak Moskva 2-0 in quite a good game. Meanwhile Real Madrid defeated AC Milan by the same score, 2-0. Roma actually lost 3-1 to Basel, a bit of a surprise for many. Marseille on the otherhand defeated Žilina by a slim 1-0 margin. Partizan gave Braga no trouble as the Portuguese team won 2-0. Ajax edged out Auxerre 2-1 as Bayern outscored CFR Cluj in the 5 goal 3-2 game. Speaking of 5 goals, Arsenal handed a whipping to Shakhtar Donetsk with a 5-1 scoreline!

Zonal rankings.. Top 3's.

Europe:

1. Spain
2. Germany*
3. Netherlands*

*I'm not so sure between these two teams, I know each of these three teams have remained undefeated thus far, Spain get the top spot because they are world champs, but Netherlands/Germany are more difficult. Germany have been brilliant thus far in qualifying while the Netherlands haven't had quite as much charisma personally.
South America:

1. Brazil
2. Uruguay
3. Argentina

North/Central America and Caribbean:

1. U.S.A.
2. Mexico
3. Honduras

Africa:

1. Ghana*
2. Egypt*
3. Côte d'Ivoire

*I know, Egypt is very big in African soccer, but who got the farthest for Africa in the World Cup? I'll change this decision after the African Cup of Nations if I have to.
Asia:

1. Japan*
2. Australia*
3. South Korea*

*Yes, Australia stands on the top of the FIFA/Coca-Cola for the AFC but performances by Japan and some of the other nations have just changed my mind that, while Australia probably does deserve a top 3 spot, but maybe not a number 1 spot.
Oceania:

1. New Zealand
2. New Caledonia
3. Fiji

The number one spot definately goes to New Zealand. Any other positions are kind of roughly given.

UEFA Champions League matches for 10/20/2010

Well for the 20th of October in Group A the Champions League holders Inter Milan will be facing the english team Tottenham. Meanwhile, Twente will be playing german side Werder Bremen. For these two matches, I'd tip Inter Milan to dismantle Tottenham while Werder Bremen could see off the Twente challenge. That said, it could quite easily be Twente earning the 3 points due to the fact that they are having a very good season while Bremen aren't having a brilliant season. Also, Inter and Twente will be at home, granting the two teams even more of an advantage.
Meanwhile, the Group B games of Schalke 04 against Hapoel Tel Aviv and Lyon versus Benfica give some nice games. Despite Schalke's terrible domestic form, they should be able to find 3 points at home against the Israeli club Hapoel Tel Aviv. On the otherhand, Lyon should beat Benfica, as their domesttic league form has surged recently. However, despite that fact as well as Lyon having the home crowd, I would watch this match just to see how things go down. It could be quite a surprise.
Now on to Group C, how about Glasgow Rangers playing against Valencia as Manchester United take on Bursaspor. Rangers will be playing at home, despite this, I could see Valencia taking the 3 points in Scotland. I know, Rangers can definately shut teams down, but Valencia are running relatively high in the Spanish Leauge, a league much better than the Scottish one. Also, despite their recent poor domestic form Manchester United should rack up another 3 points, playing at home against Bursaspor of Turkey. You never know though...
Finally, in Group D the Greek club Panathinaikos will take on Rubin Kazan, in a game i would predict in Pana's advantage, putting together their recent domestic form as well as the home field advantage. The Spanish giants Barcelona meanwhile will be facing Copenhagen in a quite obvious game I would predict as massively going Barca's way at the Camp Nou.

Update on German Bundesliga

1 Borussia Dortmund--21pts
2 1. FSV Mainz--21pts
3 Bayer 04 Leverkusen--15pts
4 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim--14pts
5 Hamburger SV--14pts
6 FC St. Pauli--13pts
7 Hannover 96--13pts
8 Eintracht Frankfurt--12pts
9 SC Freiburg--12pts
10 Bayern--11pts
11 Bremen--11pts

Bayern and Bremen have risen since my last Bundesliga post, quite a few flip-flops in the top ten, and several disappointments.

Quick update.

In the English Premier League, Liverpool are full of excitement following the trade-off of new ownership following the insane court battles that have taken place. However, their hype was cut short as Everton registered a 2-0 victory over the Liverpool team. Meanwhile, in the Italian League Lazio have recaptured the top spot with a 2-0 win over Bari. Other results are Juventus's destruction of Lecce 4-0 and Inter Milan's 1-0 win over Cagliari gave them a momentary lead in the league. Now into the French League, we find Rennes still at the top of the league, despite a scoreless draw. St. Etienne lost 2-1 to Nice, losing the chance to overtake Rennes after an early lead. On the other side, Lyon continue to regain form as they defeated Lille handily, 3-1. Finally, in Spain, Espanyol overtook the low-flying Sevilla as they beat Real Mallorca 1-0 while Sevilla lost to Sporting Gijon.

Finishing up the prediction for the Champions League matches on 10/19/2010.

Finishing up the matches, I'd like to look at the Group E matches between Roma and Basel, along with Bayern and CFR Cluj. I'll tip the two host teams to seize 3 points in their respective matches, not only because they will have home-field advantage, but also because their squads are simply levels above their opposition's.

Now back to the important stuff......

Sorry about all the personal stuff, back to what's more important! I'll be trying to predict some of the matches in the UEFA Champions League that'll be occuring on 10/19/2010. Looking into Group F, how about the contest between the two highest teams? That is, Chelsea v.s. Spartak Moskva at Spartak. True, Chelsea don't have fond memories at Spartak, however it's difficult to see Chelsea losing as their domestic and international performances aren't exactly too bad. Now how about the underperformers in Group F? This is reference to Marseille v.s. MŠK Žilina, who have only a goal between them and no wins. I would tip this match to Marseille simply for the fact that they will be playing at home, the difference between the two teams isn't quite so one-sided as it would seem. Moving on to the Group G games, I'll say that Ajax will defeat the French team Auxerre in their clash, home-field advantage should help. However, the game to watch I believe will be Real Madrid v.s. AC Milan, both teams will be on highs after taking top positions in their respective leagues and I'll grudgingly say that Real Madrid will win, not only because of the home-field advantage but their star names are still performing whereas AC Milan's aren't quite so fit. Cristiano Ronaldo's form, if it continues, should buoy Real. Now how about the Group H action between the underperformers Braga and Partizan? Both have no points and it seems like it could be a war of attrition. If it turns out not to be a draw I'll be pleasantly surprised however since Braga will be playing in Spain it's possible that they'll be given some kind of an edge. Either way, one of, or both of these teams will be getting some amount of points. But for the two better off teams in Group H, Arsenal v.s. Shakhtar Donetsk, it would seem like Arsenal should take the three points, especially being in the Emirates, however, what if they just have a loose cannon game? (pardon the pun)

• Well, I gotta go to bed but I'll finish my shake-down of the 10/19/2010 games later today.

About the Blogger continued/ Italian League update.

First off, the update: AC Milan lead the Italian league following their, and Pato's, great performance against Chievo. Meanwhile, AS Roma have battled their way out of the lower table and into the... well, middle-ish table. Congrats!

• Now then, continuing with Italy I'd like to say that, were it not for the political connection in the club, AC Milan would be my favorite team. As it is, I have to say that SSC Napoli are my favorite team. The team from Naples has a vast history going back all the way to late 1904. True, some of their history hasn't been quite so beautiful, they've been relegated to Serie B a couple times, however outshining these low moments are the years when they had Diego Maradona playing for them. Also, they've won the UEFA cup as well as the Italian league and cup among other awards.
•  Following these ex-World Cup winners, how about the domestic league of this year's runners-up? Thats right, Holland or the Netherlands! And my favorite team is, without a doubt, AFC Ajax. The Ajax story is old and one of lore at some points. Total Football can be said to have originated in their profound youth soccer schools and the club's essence is not only on their global impact or the star players they've produced, or even the glorious history; they have also won many many domestic and international titles. Ajax is why the world can never forget the Dutch sides.
• Returning to the south of Europe I'd like to highlight which Portuguese club I most connect with. That club would definately be SL Benfica. No, it isn't because their stadium is Estadio da Luz (the Stadium of Light) but because they have a history full of domination, one of the most profound strikers in Eusebio, and they are the greatest Lisbon club. 
• Now how about back up north to look into the Irish League?  The club of choice for me here has got to be Saint Patrick's Athletic FC, founded in 1929, when they actually came into the Irish league in 1951 they won the league on the first try! But they have had tougher years since then, however, they were once more victorious in the 90's, and their successes have continued into the 2000's.
• Now moving alittle to the north and east, how about my favorite team in the Scottish league? The Bhoys of Celtic are hands-down my favorite team because of their success as the first team from Ireland/Scotland/Britain/Wales to win the Champions League. True, they haven't been quite so brilliant of late, however I would pick them over their rivals Rangers any day!
• Leaving the highlands now, what about the domestic league of the current world champions? Well in Spain I owe allegiance to one team: FC Barcelona. They were the hold-outs against the dictatorship of Spain and my respect from them only grows from there. It isn't all politically oriented, they do play extremely good football, have some great players, and have a building full of silverware. The history of the club is just as brilliant as the present day, with some of the greatest players in the world at one time or another filling their ranks.
• Ending this post, I'd just like to point out one final league: The Swedish League! My favorite team here is AIK Solna. Founded in 1891, their team isn't quite so high this year, however their history in the Swedish league is nothing to scoff at!

About the blogger.

Hallo, my name is Bennet and I am very interested in Soccer (thus, the blog) and I've actually tried to find teams I like in every country. Thus far my list extends to most of Europe, the Americas, and around the world. After all, if you have favorite clubs in every country, you'll always have something to talk about when in the respective country! And so, the list:

• In Austria, I prefer the team FC Salzburg, who have been league champions quite a few times. Likewise, they have a very strong and deep history which is very important to me.
• In Belgium meanwhile I really like the team RSC Anderlicht, who have a similar record of success as well as coming from an important city in Belgium.
• Now in the Danish League I like the team Brondby IF who have been around since 1964.
• While in the English league I like the Wolverhampton Wanderers FC team. Granted, they haven't been so great recently, but Wolves do have quite a brilliant history and heck, you gotta love the name!
• Now across the Channel, in France, my favorite team is FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. They have amassed a record 62 seasons in Ligue 1, France's top league. Their history is expansive, however it isn't exactly star-studded, but they are still my favorite team.
• In my favorite nation, Germany, 1. FC Kaiserslautern is my favorite team. Sure, they only took the name 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1932 but before that their essential precursor was founded in 1900! Not only this deep history but they have won many titles at least once. But the most recent was becoming German Champion in 1998.
• Now in Greece, Aris Thessaloniki FC is my favorite team. Founded in 1914, they are from the city of Salonika. They have quite a history, and while a "newer" club in Salonika, they are nonetheless a team of the "god" Aris, "god" of war.

More Info will be forth coming.

Spanish Domestic League

As predicted in the previous post, Real Madrid did take the top position in the Spanish League with a comprehensive victory over Malaga: 4-1. This result puts them one point above Barcelona, who won against the previously undefeated Valencia 2-1.

Domestic leagues 10/16/2010

In the German Bundesliga, Bayern showed some good form in a 3-0 thrashing of Hannover. However, that isn't the big news; Mainz, the early pace-settters of the league, lost 1-0 in the 89th minute against Hamburg. This result puts them level, with 21 points, with Dortmund, who lead Mainz on goal difference. Other notable results are Schalke drawing 2-2 with Stuttgart, both in the doldroms of the bottom table. Meanwhile, St. Pauli beat Nurnberg 3-2, while Wolfsburg lost by the same margin to Leverkusen. Moving on, in the Scottish League, Rangers seized the league apex with a 4-1 victory over Motherwell. how long they will stay there though depends on Celtic's next match as Rangers have now played one more game than their rivals. Despite the loss, Motherwell still holds third place in the league; however, they only sit two points above the next three teams: Inverness, Hearts, and Dundee United, who each have 11 points. Moving south now, in the English Premier League Chelsea still holds the league with a 5 point gap despite the tie today, 0-0, with Aston Villa. Four teams are in the second place block, each with 14 points: Arsenal, the two main Manchester clubs, United and City, and Tottenham Hotspur make up these four clubs. This occured with Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Birmingham, a game where Arsenal began behind and then scored two goals on either side of half-time. Proceeding with the games, Tottenham edged out Fulham 2-1, scoring first and last in an interesting game. Meanwhile, Manchester United missed an oppurtunity to grab a decisive hold on second place when West Brom managed a 2-2 tie with them. In the topsy-turvy Italian league, AC Milan scored all the goals in their game against Cheivo. The final score was 3-1 because of Ibrahimovic's own goal in the 70th minute. Despite this event, Pato scored twice while Robinho scored the same. Meanwhile, Roma is beating Genoa as I write this by the slim margin of 1-0. Before closing, I'd like to mention happenings in the French League and the Swedish Allsvensken. In France Sochaux lost 2-0 to Montpellier, Marseille defeated Nancy 1-0, Bordeaux beat Auxerre by the same score, and finally PSG leads Toulouse 1-0 as I write this. In Sweden, Malmo holds first place with a 3 point lead over the second place team. Today, AIK took 3 points in a 2-0 victory over Gelfe, both teams are in the lesser portions of the table (13th and 15th respectively). Finally, in Spain, Barcelona is playing Valencia, as I'm writing this Valencia have scored first, but Barcelona has equalized through Iniesta while Puyol has given them a 2-1 advantage. A victory will put Barcelona in top position. That is, until Real Madrid plays, who will be facing the minnows Malaga today in a game that should be a give-away to Madrid.

Special Request: The Greek Super League.

In the Greek domestic league, there have only been two true powers recently. And their dominance continues this year, however they are in no firm standing. After 5 matches, Olympiacos has seized the top position with 12 points, similar to the 12 of the past 14 years they have won the league. Second place is held by Panathinaikos, the other normal title contender who are currently league champions. Pana' have amassed 11 points thus far in a mediocre performance of title defence. Meanwhile, last year's runners-up PAOK FC have had a dreadful start, only getting 5 points from 5 games putting them in 15th place! On the otherhand, the wonder-team of last year FC Kavala have continued their form, finishing in sixth last year in their first year back in the top league since 2000, they are currently in fourth position with 8 points. AEK Athens, another relatively large club, sit in the mid-table with 7 points. Predicting this league I'll go out on a limb and say that Panathinaikos will win, Olympiacos will come in second, and FC Kavala will finish in 3rd place.

Some more domestic leagues.

Kicking this post off, I'd like to begin with the French League. Yes, some will say that it's a league of less quality, but look at the table! Are Lyon or Marseille ruling the league as in years previously? Nope. In fact, they aren't even in the top five. Stade Rennais FC, AS Saint-Etienne, LOSC Lille Métropole, Toulouse FC, and Stade Brestois 29 hold the top five positions after 8 games. Are they big names? Nope. In fact, big name clubs such as Olympique de Marseille, FC Girondins de Bordeaux, and Olympique Lyonnais hold the table positions of 8th, 10th, and 17th;respectively. Quite a poor start for such big name teams, but quite an exciting start nonetheless. Continuing the international league overview, how about the Portuguese League? In predicting this league, its normally between three teams: two from Lisbon, one from Porto, that is SL Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal and FC Porto. Thus far this year, only two of the teams have shown some form. FC Porto is at the top of the table with 19 points and Benfica sits 7 points under with 12 points at 2nd place, tied with SC Olhanense and Vitória SC. As for the green and white Lisbon side? They sit at mid-table in tenth place. Concluding this look through some domestic leagues, let's see what's happening in Scotland! Having played 7 matches, the normal rulers of the league hold their normal positions, surprise! Celtic and Rangers are tied with 21 points each. Yes, that's right, they've both started with perfect records. Once more, it seems like they will only be split by the derby matches because the quality of their domestic opposition is once more lacking at best. Their closest challengers are Motherwell FC who have "just" 13 points, meaning they have an 8 point gap between 1st/2nd and 3rd place. So nothing out of the ordinary domestically in Scotland. Shout-out to the Scottish national team who almost managed a draw with World Champions Spain in Euro 2012 qualifying!

USA pulling out of bidding for the 2018 World cup.

After quite a long time the U.S. Bid committee announced that it will be halting its hunt for the hosting rights of the 2018 FIFA World cup to focus on its bid for the 2022 World Cup. Belgium/Netherlands, England, Russia and Spain/Portugal are left in the struggle for the 2018 hosting rights. Meanwhile, the 2022 World Cup seems to be between Australia, Japan, the Korea Republic, Qatar and the USA; since FIFA is now trying to have different continents holding the event every four years.

Soccer in the world.

Not only is soccer the world's game, but it takes a large and active part in the world. For example:

* The 33 Chilean miners trapped for 69 days underground are being flooded with invitations to visit leading European and Latin American soccer teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester United, Boca Juniors, Argentine legend Diego Maradona, as well as Barcelona and David Villa, a child of a miner family.

*Roma captain Francesco Totti is an action hero after he stopped an out of control Opel Meriva as he was being let out. With no one at the wheel of the automobile, Totti apparently jumped into the front seat and brought the vehicle under control. Totti was on his way to recieving his Golden Foot 2010 award in Montecarlo when the incident occured.

Bundesliga-- Bayern Munich

The giants of the German league are having a terrible season. This conclusion is not only drawn from their rather poor results, but also because they are having every kind of injury problem imaginable! Croatian striker Ivica Olic is out due to a broken nose suffered in UEFA 2012 cup qualifying. Similarly, Mark van Bommel and Arjen Robben are out due to injuries; as are Miroslav Klose and Franck Ribery. Is that all? No! Bastian Schweinsteiger, defenders Daniel van Buyten and Diego Contento, the brazilian Breno, as well as midfielder David Alaba are all suspect for the weekend matches. With those injuries alone someone could almost form a starting team!

Spanish League.

Reigning Spanish Champions Barcelona will be taking on this year's current leaders Valencia at the Camp Nou this weekend in a match that could put Barca back on the table top. Or, if the spectacular occurs, it could put Barca in an even worse position that could see them have to fight terribly hard to even get in the top three. Obviously a large part of the back-story in this match will also be the fact that Villa, who now plays for Barcelona, previously played for Valencia; scoring over a hundred goals in his five years there! However, as always, Barcelona also have Real Madrid to look out for. Real sit just two points beneath Valencia and face a pretty easy match against Malaga which, if they and Barcelona win, would possibly put Real above Barcelona at the top two positions in the table.

Forecasting matches on November 17th 2010

On November 17th Finland will play San Marino and Croatia will face Malta. The results of these two games would seem quite obvious but... Well, they probably will turn out as Finland and Croatia winning. However, some factorss to take into account are: both Finland and San Marino have yet to win a game or even take a point from a game so it's possible that San Marino may get lucky! However since the game will be taking place in Finland, San Marino's chances falter once more. On the otherhand, Croatia v.s. Malta offers a more evident scoreline. Croatia will play at home and will most likely continue their winning form having beaten Israel in their last game. Malta meanwhile seem to have no hope as they sit at last place in Group F with no feasible way of salvaging even a point.

Some entertaining soccer games:

Physics cup: Get the ball into the net with physics and speed! http://www.freeworldgroup.com/games9/gameindex/physicscup.htm
Soccerballs: Hit the referees without losing more than three balls! http://www.freeworldgroup.com/games8/gameindex/soccerballs.htm
The Champions 3D: See how far you can go in this World Cup 2010 game! http://www.freeworldgroup.com/games9/gameindex/thechampions3d.htm

This is the Some Simple Soccer Blog

UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying and other news/results.

In case anybody didn't know, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands are the only teams to have thus far (10/12/2010) remained undefeated in qualifying.
On a totally different track: The U.S. Men's soccer team tied with Colombia in Chester, PA.
On yet another thread: Egypt lost their first two qualifying matches in 2012 African Cup of Nations qualifying, losing to Sierra Leone and then Niger, two of the supposedly weaker sides in their qualifying group. Sierra Leone meanwhile also tied with Bafana Bafana of South Africa.
Other African results were Mali 2-1 Liberia, Madagascar 0-1 Ethiopia, and Guinea 1-0 Nigeria. Finally, Benin defeated Rwanda (at Rwanda) 3-0 and also, all of their goals came in the 2nd half!
Asian results: Asian Champions Iraq defeated the hosts of the Asian Cup Qatar in quaifying play 2-1. Japan and the Korea Republic played out a rather boring goalless draw in Seoul. China meanwhile lost 4-0 to World Cup semi-finalists Uruguay in a friendly match. Meanwhile Saudi Arabia beat Gabon 1-0 while losing to Bulgaria in Istanbul 2-0. Similarly, Angola defeated the United Arab Emirates in good fashion: 2-0. Finally, Kuwait destroyed Vietnam 3-1 while Uzbekistan obliterated the Bahrain team 4-2.
CONCACAF: Canada tied 2-2 with the Ukraine. Peru handily defeated the Costa Rica, Costa Rica has now lost 5 consecutive matches. Meanwhile, Panama edged out El Salvador 1-0 in Panama City. Also, New Zealand and Honduras tied 1-1 in Auckland, New Zealand, similar to the U.S.'s 2-2 match with Poland. However, Guatemala defeated Belize 4-2 in an entertaining match which Guatemala actually opened the scoring of and continued to rule. Finally, Jamaica was able to defeat Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 in a close match on October 10th in Kingston, Jamaica.

Top Italian Domestic League 10/12/2010

1 S.S. Lazio--13pts
2 FC Internazionale Milano--11pts
3 SSC Napoli--11pts
4 AC Milan--11pts
5 AC Chievo Verona--10pts
6 Brescia Calcio--9pts
7 Juventus--8pts
8 US Città di Palermo--8pts
9 Calcio Catania--8pts
10 Genoa CFC--8pts
11 AS Bari--8pts
12 US Lecce--8pts

Looking at the recently volatile Italian league one sees the abscence of AS Roma from anywhere near the top 5. In fact, they hold the position of second from the bottom of the table. Similarly, the top position being held, for the moment, by Lazio is quite amazing in itself. Also, Juventus's position outside of the top 5 in 7th place is quite odd as well, however since they were relegated their sides haven't exactly had the same luster as previously. Finally, the old-star studded AC Milan and the current club champions of Europe Inter Milan are tied with SSC Napoli in second position of the table.

The New College Funk's Record

 Our team plays a 7 versus 7 league format with unlimited substitutes. Our first game ended 7-1, our second game finished 10-3. With these two results we have a record of 0 wins, 0 draws and 2 losses. Despite the poor results, there are good points to look at. First of all, our games always promise alot of goals! Secondly, we have improved our scoring record and hopefully will continue to. Another good point of our team is the fact that our goalies are largely the only poor part of our team: our fitness levels are good, no injuries thus far, and several of our players have good ball control. Also, a reason for the 10-3 result may be that we had several fill-ins in as the game occured over Fall break. Nevertheless, one player has scored a hat-trick, a guy named David (a graduate). The only other player to score was Zach (a first yearer). In the assists category, I've set-up two goals, Zach (a graduate) set-up one, and Greg (a third or fourth yearer)set-up one as well. Finally, the captains of our team are Vijay and Brandon, both fourth yearers.

Top English Domestic League 10/12/2010

1 Chelsea FC--18pts
2 Manchester City FC--14pts
3 Manchester United FC--13pts
4 Arsenal FC--11pts
5 Tottenham Hotspur FC--11pts
6 West Bromwich Albion FC--11pts
7 Stoke City FC--10pts
8 Aston Villa FC--10pts
9 Blackpool FC--10pts
10 Fulham FC--9pts

Obviously the big news in the Premier League is the Liverpool debacle who not only sit at 18th place but also have management issues. However, another eye-catcher is the fact that Manchester City sits in 2nd, bumping Manchester United and Arsenal down to 3rd and 4th respectively. Meanwhile, Chelsea sits on top of the table with a 4 point cushion.

Top Spanish Domestic League 10/12/2010

1 Valencia CF--16pts
2 Villarreal CF--15pts
3 Real Madrid CF--14pts
4 FC Barcelona--13pts
5 Sevilla FC--11pts
6 Getafe CF--10pts
7 Club Atlético de Madrid--10pts
8 RCD Espanyol--9pts
9 RCD Mallorca--8pts
10 Málaga CF--7pts
11 Athletic Club--7pts
12 Hercules CF--7pts
13 Real Sociedad de Fútbol--7pts


Surprises? The fact that two teams other than FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF are leading the table. However, they are both very close and capable of retaking their normal positions. We'll see how it turns out though.

Domestic Leagues 10/12/2010

Top German Domestic League- Total points
1 1. FSV Mainz--21pts
2 Borussia Dortmund--18pts
3 Hannover 96--13pts
4 Bayer 04 Leverkusen--12pts
5 SC Freiburg--12pts
6 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim--11pts
7 Hamburger SV--11pts
8 VfL Wolfsburg--10pts
9 FC St. Pauli--10pts
10 Eintracht Frankfurt--9pts
11 1. FC Nürnberg--9pts

Notable abscenses? FC Bayern München who sits at 12th place with 8 points. Likewise, FC Schalke 04 and Stuttgart are missing, comprising 2nd from bottom and bottom respectively with 4 and 3 points.

More UEFA 2012 Qualifying results for October 12th

Switzerland 4-1 Wales. Switzerland opened and closed the scoring in this free-firing Group G game which essentially kicks-off the Swiss's qualifying campaign. Wales meanwhile has yet to win a game let alone manage a point in a thus far disappointing campaign.
Belgium 4-4 Austria The highest scoring Group A game actually had no winner as the two sides both recieved a point having each scored four in a game which allowed Austria to remain in second place above Turkey while Belgium sits in fourth, below Turkey.
Greece 2-1 Israel. Greece finally found victory over themselves in the sixty-third minute after granting Israel a way back with an own goal in the fifty-ninth minute. Despite all three goals coming from the Greeks, the game was quite entertaining and in fact allowed the Greeks to take top spot in Group F, just a point above Croatia. Israel meanwhile is tied with Latvia at almost the bottom of the table in a qualifying campaign with some positives and several negatives.
Italy - Serbia. This match was actually abandoned due to crowd issues with neither team finding a breakthrough.
France 2-0 Luxembourg. Benzema and Gourcuff kept the wind underneath the French wings as they sweeped aside the hapless team from Luxembourg. This result actually put France one point above Belarus, at the top of the Group D table. Luxembourg however are getting used to life at the bottom of the table behind Romania.
Scotland 2-3 Spain. The World Champions Spain were almost undone by an own-goal from Pique, however Llorente regained Spanish dominance in the seventy-ninth minute which solidified the perfect record of the Spanish conquistadors at the top of the Group I table. Scotland however are sitting at the middle of the table even with Lithuania.
England 0-0 Montenegro. Montenegro frustrated England with zeros all around at home to stay on top of the Group G table with ten points while England has to deal with second place with seven points.
Iceland 1-3 Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring and Hélder Postiga closed it as the Portuguese ran over the team from Iceland. This result put Portugal in second place in Group H with seven points while Iceland remains in the doldroms with zero points from three games.

UEFA 2012 Qualifying

Netherlands 4-1 Sweden. World Cup Runners-up Holland took a well deserved three points from Sweden as Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ibrahim Afellay scored twice each to put the game to bed, despite a late Swedish resurgence. With this result, the Netherlands solidified their place at the top of Group E whereas Sweden reside in third place level with Moldova.
San Marino 0-2 Moldova. Moldova took the lead early and never let it go. Moldova now sit in the middle of the Grup E table while San Marino occupy their usual place... bottom of the table.
Estonia 0-1 Slovenia. Slovenia and Estonia weren't able to break the deadlock in the first half however Slovenia took the oppurtunity in the second half with an own-goal from Estonian Andrei Sidorenkov putting Slovenia in second place in Group C while Estonia have to make due with third place.
Slovakia 1-1 Republic of Ireland. Despite drawing first blood in the 16th minute, Ireland couldn't control the game for a win as Slovakia salvaged a point from the match. With this result does the Irish Republic, Armenia, and Slovakia all stand at second place with seven points a piece in Group B.
FYROM 0-1 Russia. Meanwhile, in first place, Russia maintained its dominance with a victory over second from bottom Macedonia. The game however, wasn't too exciting, with the heros of the day being Aleksandr Kerzhakov and his early goal and Igor Akinfeev and his penalty save.

UEFA 2012 Qualifying

Denmark 2-0 Cyprus. Denmark conquers Cyprus in a one-sided performance to jump into second place of Group H. However, for how long? As Portugal plays Iceland today as well.

UEFA 2012 Qualifying

Liechtenstein 0-2 Czech Republic. Necid and Kadlec position the Czech Republic near the top of the Group I table. The Czech Republic led Liechtenstein with both the most shots on target as well as the most number of fouls committed.

First Blog

Some UEFA 2012 Qualifying results:
Estonia 2-1 Faroe Islands
Israel 3-1 Malta
Kazakhstan 0-3 Turkey
Belgium 0-1 Germany
Armenia 0-1 Republic of Ireland
Andorra 0-2 Russia
Slovakia 1-0 FYROM
Faroe Islands 0-3 Serbia
Estonia 1-2 Italy
Slovenia 0-1 Northern Ireland
Romania 1-1 Albania
Luxembourg 0-3 Bosnia and Herzegovina
France 0-1 Belarus
Moldova 2-0 Finland
Sweden 2-0 Hungary
San Marino 0-5 Netherlands
Latvia 0-3 Croatia
Greece 1-1 Georgia
Montenegro 1-0 Wales
England 4-0 Bulgaria
Iceland 1-2 Norway
Portugal 4-4 Cyprus
Lithuania 0-0 Scotland
Liechtenstein 0-4 Spain
Turkey 3-2 Belgium
Austria 2-0 Kazakhstan
Germany 6-1 Azerbaijan
Russia 0-1 Slovakia
FYROM 2-2 Armenia
Republic of Ireland 3-1 Andorra
Serbia 1-1 Slovenia
Italy 5-0 Faroe Islands
Belarus 0-0 Romania
Albania 1-0 Luxembourg
Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-2 France
Sweden 6-0 San Marino
Netherlands 2-1 Finland
Hungary 2-1 Moldova
Georgia 0-0 Israel
Malta 0-2 Latvia
Croatia 0-0 Greece
Bulgaria 0-1 Montenegro
Switzerland 1-3 England
Denmark 1-0 Iceland
Norway 1-0 Portugal
Czech Republic 0-1 Lithuania
Scotland 2-1 Liechtenstein
Kazakhstan 0-2 Belgium
Austria 3-0 Azerbaijan
Germany 3-0 Turkey
Armenia 3-1 Slovakia
Andorra 0-2 FYROM
Republic of Ireland 2-3 Russia
Serbia 1-3 Estonia
Northern Ireland 0-0 Italy
Slovenia 5-1 Faroe Islands
Luxembourg 0-0 Belarus
Albania 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Hungary 8-0 San Marino
Moldova 0-1 Netherlands
Georgia 1-0 Malta
Greece 1-0 Latvia
Wales 0-1 Bulgaria
Montenegro 1-0 Switzerland
Cyprus 1-2 Norway
Portugal 3-1 Denmark
Czech Republic 1-0 Scotland
Spain 3-1 Lithuania
France 2-0 Romania
Israel 1-2 Croatia
Azerbaijan 1-0 Turkey
Faroe Islands 1-1 Northern Ireland
Armenia 4-0 Andorra
Finland 1-2 Hungary
Kazakhstan 0-3 Germany
Latvia 1-1 Georgia
Belarus 2-0 Albania