Los Angeles Galaxy 1 -- 0 Chivas USA
While I may hate MLS, I have to acknowledge
David Beckham's match winning goal last night (ESPN2,MLS Game of the Week) against Chivas USA.
Photo(s): David Beckham
Monday, August 31, 2009
Weekend Recap
My FIFA 09 humiliation aside; enjoyable weekend of football.
Living in the United States without satellite television leaves me unable to watch many football matches, yet I'd like to provide weekend recaps for those games which I was able to watch.
Chelsea 3 -- 0 Burnley
The match looked like Rocky vs. Mr. T (Clubber Lang) in Rocky III. Burnley, fresh of impressive victories over Manchester United on 8/19 and Everton on 8/23, looked like the under-dog who gets brutally beaten in the beginning of the movie--maybe they'll rebound and reappear at least before the closing credits.
Chelsea looked phenomenal.
With the ongoing feud between strikers Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast) and Nicolas Anelka (France) and the transfer-season turmoil, the two strikers performed wonderfully together throughout the match. I'm looking for Chelsea to top the Premier League this year, especially with a "post-Michael Jordan 1993 Chicago Bull-esque" Manchester United this year.
Real Madrid 3 -- 2 Deportivo la Coruna
La Liga is going to be a joke this year. Real Madrid is simply stacked. With this year's signings of Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Unted/Portugal), Karim Benzema (Olympique Lyonnais/France) Xabi Alonso (Liverpool F.C./Spain), and Kaka (A.C. Milan/Brazil), Real simply has more individual talent on the pitch than any team they'll face this season.
While Real did concede one goal leads on two occasions during the match, their offensive potency will consistently prove to outperform their opponents.
**PREDICTION: 2010 UEFA Champions League Champions REAL MADRID C.F.**
Manchester City 2 -- 0 Crystal Palace
While I'd say that Manchester City will surprise both fans and skeptics this season, they're success doesn't exactly come out of nowhere. With a current attacking line of Carlos Tevez (Argentina), Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), and Robinho (Brazil), they're sure to excite City fans. Crystal Palace seemed surprise that Manchester City started their superstar trio, but Crystal Palace lost the match once they permitted City to continue to push the tempo.
Bayern Munchen 3 -- 0 VFL Wolfsburg
Fortunately for Bayern, drunken fans (see post) weren't left disappointed. Bayern dominated from kickoff to finish, controlling 61% possession. With transfer rumors surrounding star playmaker Frank Ribery nearly deceased, the traditionally regarded Bundesliga giant should rebound from the start of their disastrous campaign.
With their recent victory, Bayern is now 8th in the Bundesliga Tables, up from a historically worse 14th.
Manchester United F.C. vs. Arsenal F.C. (English Premier) via ESPN Gamecast
Manchester United 2 -- 1 Arsenal
I've always thought of arsenal as that really nice,
shy guy in high school who everybody pulls for and hopes that they get the sexy
cheerleader, but, in the end, they always fall short to the rich, athletic d-bag
who wears two polos, ripped jeans, and has a dirty goatee. Arsenal are the feel good story we all expect from in the Disney PG-13 sports flick, while Manchester United are the bank-robbers you cheer for in the Rated R movie. Manchester United epitomize the arrogance of English football; wearing about a sense of entitlement and omniscient self-efficacy not dissimilar to MLB's New York Yankees, NFL's Dallas Cowboys, and the NCAA's The Ohio State University, Notre Dame, and University of Southern California.
Photo(s): Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Frank Ribery, Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsenal
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Humiliation
Libations or not, my guys Mikey D. and JJ both worked me in my own game, FIFA 2009, on separate occasions. With my representation of -- fellow Barvarians and beer-loving blue-eyes -- Bayern Munchen and their same selection of my -- pre-transfer of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to FC Barcelona -- Italian league favorite Internazionale, I was expecting instant victory. Yet, in each match, I, at first, was faced with vigorous and surprisingly competitive match back and forth exchanges. However, I was twice brutally beaten in the end like the 13-year-old Screech Powers that I was.
Fortunately, I was able to lament with friends from Latrobe Brewery, as well as search for comfort in my knowledge that I perform better in sobriety. . .
Friday, August 28, 2009
Do they realize how drunk Bundesliga Fans Get???
Look out for particularly drunk Germans on Saturday as Bayern Munchen host reigning Bundesliga champions VFL Wolfsburg; Bayern Munchen is giving away more than 7,000 liters of beer of before the match.
LEDERHOSEN + FOOTBALL + BAVARIAN BEER + FRANCK RIBERY'S SCAR = BALLET FOR THE MASSES & DRUNKEN HOOLIGANISM
Its reported
to be part of a promotion with a Munich-based brewery--which involved the Bayern players and coach dressing up in traditional Bavarian costume for a photo shoot earlier in the week (Photo Here), but the specifics haven't been disclosed yet.
As a Bayern fan, I know I could use a libation or two (Bayern is currently 14th in the tables, 0-1-2).
Read on: ESPN Soccernet, Sports.Scotsman.com
2009 UEFA Awards
UEFA has announced its Euro Club Players of the year:
Forward of the Year - Lionel Messi
**Discussions are ongoing concerning Lionel Messi's new contract at Camp Nou.
With FC Barcelona's signing of Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Internazionale, Messi is looking to best Zlatan's €9.5 million annual salary. Its rumored that Messi's new mandatory release cause will be set at €300m. Via: Goal.com
Photo(s): Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Thursday, August 27, 2009
"Pow! Right in the Kisser"
Bolivian League Football at its finest. . .
A Small Gift:
Zinedine Zidane of France headbutts Marco Materazzi of Italy (2006 World Club)
A Small Gift:
Zinedine Zidane of France headbutts Marco Materazzi of Italy (2006 World Club)
Swiping the Blog V-Card
Fellow Football followers and Posh Spice admirers,
Welcome.
Though my football expertise is fairly limited to executing give-and-go passes, lob shots, and the slide tackle in FIFA 2009 on XBOX 360, I take pride in being an informed fan and hope you will too. Taming Posh Spice will focus on Euro Leagues (English Premier, Spanish La Liga, Itialian Serie A, French Ligue 1, and German Bundesliga), but look for the occasional mention of South American leagues and maybe a plug for the USA squad.
As the debate over, even the conversation on, the appropriateness of whether the USA's use of "soccer" as an acceptable term to describe the sport that the rest of the world calls "football" has grown tenuous, immature, and more boring than watching an early season MLB game, football will be the accepted terminology for the purpose of blogging.
While my readers will likely ordain me as the Gary Coleman (not Arnold Jackson) of the football blogosphere, it is my sincere hope that you will find my stories informative, my nuances bearable, my attempts at humor . . . well, humorous, and my antics only moderately offensive.
I've grown to accept that I generally perform poorly in my first impressions and, as a result, consider it my general duty to make up for my first impression inadequacies with overt attempts at reconciliation in future conversations. . .
In the meantime . . . stay peaceful, stay sober, and don't watch any Major League Soccer.
-BarryLird
Photo(s): Gary Coleman
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