England 1 USA 1
England 0 Algeria 1
England 1 Slovenia 0
USA 2 Slovenia 2
USA 1 Algeria 0
All from South Africa, all from the World Cup, the Biggest Show on Earth, with an official tally of 10 million English people watching the last game that clinched for us qualification to the last 16, and that does not include ex-pats like me who watched while working. The first game against the United States was the most hyped, with people who never had even heard of "soccer" the day before asking me how long each half was and why Fabio Capello, the England manager's tactics were all wrong. England started very brightly, scoring within 4 minutes, but then we seem to have trouble killing off opposition, preferring, it seems, to give the rival goalkeepers goalkeeping practice, rather than the ignoble task of picking up balls from the back of the net. Talking of goalkeepers, it was West Ham's goalie, Rob Green, normally so sure, who gave the USA a point against us, the "fumble of the century" or the "Hand of Clod" resulting in a tame short somehow spinning into the back of the next. We could blame that error for letting the USA win the group, although the USA's tenacity was impressive in every game, and somehow it felt like justice had been done when they got a goal in extra time against Algeria. This is why this game is the best one on earth, with each goal unleashing emotion worthy of 30 3-point baskets being scored all in the same move.
Now, I can sit back—for a few days—and watch the other teams and supporters sweat it out. There have already been scalps, and it is the first time ever in which the current champions, Italy, and the current runners-up, France have both gone out in the group stage. France is in disgrace, the much publicised rift in the game spilling out so much that its manager was told he would not be manager after this championships regardless of what happened in these championshios, a player being sent home for insubordination and the team refusing to train; it all went pear-shaped, and apparently the team flew back second-class, probably to be treated as third-class citizens, or maybe stripped of their citizenship completely.
And then Italy, old (for footballers) and slow, also failed to get into the last 16 when they lost 3-2 to Slovakia, despite coming back to 2-1 and 3-2. The Italian press, I am sure, is in Alsatian mode as we speak.
So, the next round, the Round of 16, includes USA vs Ghana and England vs The Old Foe (Germany).
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Very Important England National Team Information 6/07/10
Very Important England National Team Information
The World Cup is four days away, and the newspapers are picking up on everything remotely connected with the biggest sporting tournament on earth. Expect ridiculous stories on players’ superstitions, peccadilloes and haircuts.
June 7, 2010; Moruleng Stadium, Lesetlheng, South Africa
Platinum Stars 0 England 3
This was the last warm-up game for England before the Big Clash against the Americans on Saturday. The PSs, a local first-division side in South Africa, missed a penalty one minute after Jermaine Defoe opened the scoring for England, and then, despite a little bit of uninspired play, England took the bull by the horns and came out easy winners thanks to goals by out-of-contract Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole (an ex-Hammer) and Wayne Rooney, of which so much is expected. Rooney’s goal was quite wonderful, I have heard, so I look forward to seeing it on some video Website very soon.
England has already changed its captain twice this year. The first change was axing John Terry (who never played for the Hammers but was signed to the club as a youth protégé) for his off-the-pitch shenanigans with a lingerie model (Terry will still be in the side), and this week came the news that new captain Rio Ferdinand ( an ex-Hammer) has injured his ankle and is very unlikely to play, so now the role falls to Steven Gerrard, who is a superb attacking midfielder but one we hope will not be weighed down by his new responsibilities. The bonus is that Gerrard never played for West Ham in any capacity so therefore is a decent footballer.
West Ham News
It’s easy to forget that life had to carry on for club sides like our beloved West Ham. First things first, as was expected, Avram Grant, recently at demoted Portsmouth, where it was considered he did a fine job despite them going down (massive financial debt; several seemingly uninterested owners within a year; still, however, finalists in the prestigious FA Cup final), was announced as the new manager of our side. His first piece of work was the signing of 28-year-old German Thomas Hitzlsperger on a three-year contract. Known as the Hammer (how apt!) for his ability at striking the ball hard form long range has recently been at Lazio, where a new manager chose to ignore those players who could not speak Italian. Before that he was at German side Stuttgart, and he has also played for Aston Villa in the Premiership and the national German team, for which he played 51 times, although, perhaps worryingly, not at the upcoming finals.
Terry Needed a Rest Before Month-Long Football Frenzy
I high-tailed it down to Curaçao for five days of pre-football relaxation. Can you imagine the worry and butterflies of the next few weeks! Therefore, I stopped off at the wonderful Lodge Kura Hulanda in Dorp Westpunt where I went scuba-diving six times and saw 10 news species of birds (not at the same time). I liked the northwest coast of this small island very much, its pocket-handkerchief beaches and great dive sites that throw up the occasional turtle, Green moray and juvenile Drumfish, which might be the coolest looking fish ever. Capital Willemstad has little to it, apart from the UNESCO riverfront buildings and the pontoon bridge that you can remain on as it swings on a hinge a complete 90 degrees. I had to run starting at 6 a.m., or it gets too warm, but this was an epic run up and down hills accompanied by Crested caracara, Crested bobwhite quails and Ruby-topaz hummingbirds. Two trips of note were to snorkel into the Blue Cave, where the light makes every water molecule bounce in turquioiseness and a massive lobster scuttled away, and to sail to Klein Curaçao, Curaçao’s second island, an uninhabited speck with a forlorn, crumbling lighthouse and a rusting tanker.
Terry Watches the Football
When: Saturday, June 12; 2:30 p.m.
What: England vs. USA (World Cup group stage)
Where: Jakes Saloon (9th Avenue at 22nd and 23rd sts.), Manhattan
Notes: The game starts at 2:30 p.m., but it will be packed—as I think every pub will be—so if you want to come down, come down at 1 or before; in fact, I have been told that the pub opens at 9:30, and as Argentina play Nigeria at 10, I’ll be there then.
The World Cup is four days away, and the newspapers are picking up on everything remotely connected with the biggest sporting tournament on earth. Expect ridiculous stories on players’ superstitions, peccadilloes and haircuts.
June 7, 2010; Moruleng Stadium, Lesetlheng, South Africa
Platinum Stars 0 England 3
This was the last warm-up game for England before the Big Clash against the Americans on Saturday. The PSs, a local first-division side in South Africa, missed a penalty one minute after Jermaine Defoe opened the scoring for England, and then, despite a little bit of uninspired play, England took the bull by the horns and came out easy winners thanks to goals by out-of-contract Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole (an ex-Hammer) and Wayne Rooney, of which so much is expected. Rooney’s goal was quite wonderful, I have heard, so I look forward to seeing it on some video Website very soon.
England has already changed its captain twice this year. The first change was axing John Terry (who never played for the Hammers but was signed to the club as a youth protégé) for his off-the-pitch shenanigans with a lingerie model (Terry will still be in the side), and this week came the news that new captain Rio Ferdinand ( an ex-Hammer) has injured his ankle and is very unlikely to play, so now the role falls to Steven Gerrard, who is a superb attacking midfielder but one we hope will not be weighed down by his new responsibilities. The bonus is that Gerrard never played for West Ham in any capacity so therefore is a decent footballer.
West Ham News
It’s easy to forget that life had to carry on for club sides like our beloved West Ham. First things first, as was expected, Avram Grant, recently at demoted Portsmouth, where it was considered he did a fine job despite them going down (massive financial debt; several seemingly uninterested owners within a year; still, however, finalists in the prestigious FA Cup final), was announced as the new manager of our side. His first piece of work was the signing of 28-year-old German Thomas Hitzlsperger on a three-year contract. Known as the Hammer (how apt!) for his ability at striking the ball hard form long range has recently been at Lazio, where a new manager chose to ignore those players who could not speak Italian. Before that he was at German side Stuttgart, and he has also played for Aston Villa in the Premiership and the national German team, for which he played 51 times, although, perhaps worryingly, not at the upcoming finals.
Terry Needed a Rest Before Month-Long Football Frenzy
I high-tailed it down to Curaçao for five days of pre-football relaxation. Can you imagine the worry and butterflies of the next few weeks! Therefore, I stopped off at the wonderful Lodge Kura Hulanda in Dorp Westpunt where I went scuba-diving six times and saw 10 news species of birds (not at the same time). I liked the northwest coast of this small island very much, its pocket-handkerchief beaches and great dive sites that throw up the occasional turtle, Green moray and juvenile Drumfish, which might be the coolest looking fish ever. Capital Willemstad has little to it, apart from the UNESCO riverfront buildings and the pontoon bridge that you can remain on as it swings on a hinge a complete 90 degrees. I had to run starting at 6 a.m., or it gets too warm, but this was an epic run up and down hills accompanied by Crested caracara, Crested bobwhite quails and Ruby-topaz hummingbirds. Two trips of note were to snorkel into the Blue Cave, where the light makes every water molecule bounce in turquioiseness and a massive lobster scuttled away, and to sail to Klein Curaçao, Curaçao’s second island, an uninhabited speck with a forlorn, crumbling lighthouse and a rusting tanker.
Terry Watches the Football
When: Saturday, June 12; 2:30 p.m.
What: England vs. USA (World Cup group stage)
Where: Jakes Saloon (9th Avenue at 22nd and 23rd sts.), Manhattan
Notes: The game starts at 2:30 p.m., but it will be packed—as I think every pub will be—so if you want to come down, come down at 1 or before; in fact, I have been told that the pub opens at 9:30, and as Argentina play Nigeria at 10, I’ll be there then.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
VIENTI, June 06/10
Very Important England National Team Information
Well, the domestic season has ended, and that means—at least in 2010—all attention is on the World Cup finals. England had a couple of warm-up games that mean little but were of course poured over and speculated on by seven zillion inches of newspaper and Internet column inches.
May 24, 2010; Wembley Stadium, Northwest London, England
England 3 Mexico 1
May 29, 2010; UPC-Arena, Graz, Austria
Japan 1 England 2
I personally do not get het up about these “friendlies.” If you win 6-0 and 6-0, then people start saying, well, the World Cup might as well be given to us now; if you play badly or so-so (as was the case in both games), then the naysayers start calling for blood, and there is the real and stupid risk of injury. The football bosses will say that these game give the manager a chance to see who his final 23 players will be, but he knows that anyway. No, this is more revenue-generating that anything else.
So, on Monday, June 1, manager Fabio Capello announced his final squad who will fly to South Africa from Austria, where they trained (in case you were thinking that Graz is an odd place for Japan to meet England). Out of the provisional squad are West Ham hero Scott Parker, who was always an outside chance of being picked anyway, but remaining in are goalkeeper Robert Green and defender Matthew Upson.
All the action and stomach butterflies begin on June 11, and England’s first game (in the group stage of three games) is against a little-known nation called the United States of America. If you’re going, get there 90 minutes before the 2:30 p.m. EST kick-off, as I guarantee you every pub in Manhattan showing it will be mobbed and hysterical.
On a side note, the one Mexican goal scored against England was scored by Guillermo Franco, a West Ham player…well, he was for less than 24 hours following his admittedly weak goal, but then the Hammers decided not to renew his contract. This had nothing to do with the goal, but it is indicative of something that I cannot quite work out.
Well, the domestic season has ended, and that means—at least in 2010—all attention is on the World Cup finals. England had a couple of warm-up games that mean little but were of course poured over and speculated on by seven zillion inches of newspaper and Internet column inches.
May 24, 2010; Wembley Stadium, Northwest London, England
England 3 Mexico 1
May 29, 2010; UPC-Arena, Graz, Austria
Japan 1 England 2
I personally do not get het up about these “friendlies.” If you win 6-0 and 6-0, then people start saying, well, the World Cup might as well be given to us now; if you play badly or so-so (as was the case in both games), then the naysayers start calling for blood, and there is the real and stupid risk of injury. The football bosses will say that these game give the manager a chance to see who his final 23 players will be, but he knows that anyway. No, this is more revenue-generating that anything else.
So, on Monday, June 1, manager Fabio Capello announced his final squad who will fly to South Africa from Austria, where they trained (in case you were thinking that Graz is an odd place for Japan to meet England). Out of the provisional squad are West Ham hero Scott Parker, who was always an outside chance of being picked anyway, but remaining in are goalkeeper Robert Green and defender Matthew Upson.
All the action and stomach butterflies begin on June 11, and England’s first game (in the group stage of three games) is against a little-known nation called the United States of America. If you’re going, get there 90 minutes before the 2:30 p.m. EST kick-off, as I guarantee you every pub in Manhattan showing it will be mobbed and hysterical.
On a side note, the one Mexican goal scored against England was scored by Guillermo Franco, a West Ham player…well, he was for less than 24 hours following his admittedly weak goal, but then the Hammers decided not to renew his contract. This had nothing to do with the goal, but it is indicative of something that I cannot quite work out.
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