It's Ayoba Time! From the Mother Land!

Hello lovers and friends!

Please do not hate me too much, as we are all soccer/futbol lovers here and united by one ball...but I am in South Africa until July 9th!  I am attending several matches and taking in all the incredible sites and sounds of this amazing country!

I'm Max from Hartford, CT.  I graduated from BU last month with the BU folk on here and think about you all daily on my journeys.  I am also disappointed with everyone picking England over USA... : )  Gotta have faith....it would be an incredible country if there was a Bufana, Bufana vs. USA final here(if it is technically impossible...please don't mention it to me...I believe in dreams)
...and I believe!  Yes we can! 1-1 drawn to the red coats is a great beginning!


Anyways...I would love to get technical and analytical, but there is time for that later, wifi here can be expensive!

...for now, think of me as an obnoxious field correspondent...Matt and Prab know I can probably embrace that role pretty well...and also, I

for starters...check out my blog...I upload videos of my journey every day...let me know what you think!  Let me know what you want to see/hear/read more about!

maxcondren.com

Team Donovan vs. Bafana Bafana in the Final!  I was on the Cape of Good Hope two days ago so I have have plenty of hope!

Enjoy this month everyone!  The best month that only comes every four years!

Vuvuzelas for life,
Max

Are These 'The Times That Try Men's Souls'?

I can't believe I woke up at 4:30am Pacific Time to watch the South Korea v Greece match, only to find that I had missed Lee Jung-Soo's 7 minute goal due to my own utter incompetence in the realm of being able to wake up in a timely fashion. The takeaway from this: Living on the earlier end of a time difference AKA 'The Past' is the worst... or, maybe I should just set my alarm for a few minutes earlier.

Nevertheless, I figured now would be a good time to reflect upon the day's eagerly anticipated festivities. After an interesting first day of play that saw everyone in Group A snatch a point (be it through unmitigated grit and pride for country as was the case for the South Africans, through squandered chances of what could have been in Mexico's case, or through defensive desperation against talented dysfunctionality as was the case in Uruguay v France) the day which we have been impatiently waiting for since the draw on 4 December of last year, has finally arrived. This is also the same affair that the ABC family of stations has been selling to the public in the form of a commercial that likens today's on-the-pitch quarrel to that which took place over 235 years ago by way of narration from Thomas Paine's pamphlet The American Crisis. I'm not sure that ESPN/ABC should be going about it in quite this manner, but I have to say that I am nonetheless INCREDIBLY excited to watch Clint, Jozy, and the boys go up against the English juggernaut which fields players from teams that I watch bright and early (Thankfully not 4:30 am early) each and every weekend.

My thoughts/predictions on today's match? Well I'm going to guess that Bob Bradley and Fabio Capello both go with that which got them here, namely a 4-4-2. My guess for the US given the past few weeks of play would be along the lines of this:

Altidore and Buddle up top (given that magnificent performance against Australia), a midfield of Donovan and Dempsey on the wings behind them with Clark and Bradley in the middle, followed by some combination of Bocanegra, DeMerit, Spector, and probably Goodson given that Onyewu's prolonged fitness is questionable at this point, with Timmy Howard in net. If the US plays patiently, with a stout backline, I think they have a solid chance of grabbing 1, or perhaps even 3, points from this match. They would have to play mistake free for all 90 minutes given the talent found amongst the ranks of Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard, Cole and company.

England will go with a 4-4-2 as well, I assume, looking something like this:

Rooney, and in all likelihood Heskey up top with Crouch being subbed in later, followed by a midfield of Lennon on one wing, with a combination of Gerrard, Lampard, and one would assume Joe Cole, given Capello's selection of him to the England squad, in the midfield, with a backline of Glen Johnson, Terry, A. Cole and Ledley King due to Ferdinand's injury, with David James in goal. England's problem could lie in their lack of a holding midfielder like Gareth Barry, who is not available due to an ankle injury. This means that Gerrard, who has been playing on the wing for the Three Lions, will split time in the middle with Lampard (both of whom are essentially attack minded, albeit the former to a greater extent than the latter). Assuming that they are able to deal well with the US attack in the absence of Barry, England should walk away with 3 points given the abundance of talent on the squad.

My Prediction for the match is as follows:

Although I will be actively cheering on the boys of the Stars and Stripes later this afternoon at an English pub in Pasadena, CA, for I'm neither a summertime soldier nor a sunshine patriot, my better judgement tells me to pick the Cross of St. George.

England 3 v USA 1 (With the USA goal coming from Dempsey, and the English goals coming from Rooney, Gerrard and second-half sub Peter Crouch)

Hopefully it's a fantastic match with both teams playing well and living up to high expectations held by many. And maybe, just maybe, the US will pull out 3 points, for as Paine writes, 'The Harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.'

I'd love to hear everyone's predictions.

Enjoy the match (and it's almost time for Lio to put on a show against Nigeria),

Ryan

South Africa 1-1 Mexico

Hi everybody! My name is Eric, and I’m friends with Matt from high school. For the first two weeks of the World Cup, I’ll be writing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where I’m staying with my girlfriend and her family, who only have basic cable—no ESPN. In Wisconsin, football is played with your hands, and cheese is worn on the head.

Today I woke up 15 minutes into the first half of the opening game and scrambled to find it online on ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360). After 10 minutes nursing my 4-year-old laptop (80 in tech years) through the simple tasks of opening the internet browser and getting to the website, I was horrified to find that my girlfriend’s family’s internet service provider does not allow video to be streamed via ESPN360.

I gave myself a couple of minutes to hyperventilate—no World Cup for two weeks? What should I do? Would the fall from my second-story window be enough to end it all? I didn’t have a car to drive to any nearby bars, but even if I did, what kind of impression would it make on her family if I ran off from 6 AM to 3:30 PM every day to watch something besides the Packers? More importantly, where could I get a car, and was there a bar within walking distance?

As my panic subsided, my brain started to think. If I couldn’t watch the games on the internet, couldn’t I just watch the games on…the internet? Yes. Justin.tv. If you haven’t heard of it, hear of it now. It could very well save your life, or at least save you a couple of bruises and the embarrassment of having your girlfriend’s family peel you off their backyard lawn. Justin.tv is a website that posts links to illegal internet broadcasts of all kinds of wonderful gooey TV goodness, including the World Cup.

Once I had sifted through a couple broken links, I found a feed from China, or perhaps Japan. Somewhere probably not in Wisconsin, regardless. Only 40 minutes of the game had gone by—40 scoreless minutes. Sweet Pele was smiling down on me from in front of his TV somewhere in Brazil.

The game was a joy to watch, even if I couldn’t understand a word of the play-by-play. In fact, I rather enjoyed not having to listen to the commentary. It was soccer at its purest, seen and not heard. From what I could tell, the announcers became excited when the goals were scored, which seems natural when you think about it. Also, although Chinese characters are vastly different from English characters in design and mode of representation, the word “live” is written exactly the same in both languages.

Both teams played fast, open football. Tshabalala’s goal for South Africa at the 55^th minute was the stuff of legend. He ran full-speed onto a great feed from many yards behind and pegged the ball right across the keeper into the upper-right hand corner. South Africa goalkeeper Khune also impressed, flying to the near post to deflect a laser from Dos Santos just five minutes later.

Mexico’s goal in the 79^th reflected a lapse in the South African defense more than a quality offensive development. Khune never had a chance as an unmarked (unmarqued?) Marquez buried home from nearly point-blank range. Well played by both teams, though I would’ve tipped South Africa for the win if only based on number of impressive offensive opportunities (though Mexico certainly wasn’t lacking in this category).

Tomorrow I’ll be watching Argentina v Nigeria and USA v Uglyland, full games this time instead of just the second half. Go USA and Argentina!

Happy World Cup Eve

My name is Jimmy Kuo and tomorrow I graduate from college.

But more importantly,

Tomorrow the World Cup starts.

The first game is mere hours away and I can’t wait for South Africa to pull off a draw against a technically gifted Mexican side.

I also can’t wait for France to get beat out of the group stage on a blatant handball in the 90^th minute (but that’s for a separate post).

There’s not much to say now but I wanted to introduce myself to all four followers before the first kickoff.

I have picked USA (against all rational thought) to win the whole tournament because I’d really like to force the rest of the world to call it soccer.

I will be blogging from Washington D.C. for the majority of the tournament and thankful that I don’t have to wake up for 4:30 am kickoffs (the Premier League is in off season and we all deserve some sleep). However, I think adapting your sleep schedule to South Africa time is a wonderful idea.

Happy World Cup eve everyone!

Jimmy Kuo

First Day Predictions?

In less than 24 hours the 2010 World Cup starts!! In celebration I've decided to post my first day picks (Mexico v. South Africa & France v. Uruguay). In my real bracket I've got Mexico as the first qualifier in group A and France as the second. This could potentially set up a juicy encounter between France and Argentina in the second round. Anyways, on to the picks:

Mexico 2 V. South Africa 1

France 1 V. Uruguay 1

There it is. Let's see all your picks too!

Matt

The Great American Soccer Conspiracy

When I first came to this beautiful country a mere nine years ago I was immediately thrown in to a sporting universe completely alien to me. Baseball, (American) football, and basketball were a long ways away from cricket, rugby, and footy – the colonial sports I knew so well in England and South Africa. At lunchtimes I was relegated to the side of the asphalt, watching as all the other kids played basketball and cursing the day I came to this stupid-ass country.

Back then my one saving grace was after-school soccer (which, as a snub to the name-changing elitism of American culture, I will from now on call football – it’s real fucking name). In South Africa, and even England, none of the schools I went to ever had organized football teams. It was always left either to epic lunchtime games on the green, or after-school pick-up matches with a crushed-up Coke can (yeah, I’m hood. What of it?).

Things are more legit here. FIFA estimates that about 18 million Americans play the game today – more than any other nation in the world. And with the relatively low price of football becoming increasingly attractive to schools with tight budgets that number is on the rise.

But why? If America took the time to create and cultivate it’s own athletic niches, even having the balls to deem them globally competitive (World Series my ass), why not stick to its own games?

Think about it: while the U. S. of A. may have global hegemonic power, with an economy and a military industrial complex that doesn’t come close to being matched by any other nation in the world, it still suffers from a crippling football impotency. No matter how baller we are – baseballer, American footballer, basketballer, big money baller – the fact that we cannot dominate the international football stage leaves us feeling a little like Kobe Bryant with whiskey dick.

Dominating the football world would not only alleviate a cultural helplessness long felt by American football fans, it would also, in a very real sense, mean global dominance. Being the rulers of the most popular sport in the world would extend our power out of the economic and military spheres, and in to the athletic/cultural sphere.

Who knows? Perhaps politicians are plotting The Great American Soccer Conspiracy as we speak. As America becomes increasingly international, both in its domestic diversity and the way in which it deals with the outside world, it is now being forced to play the games other counties play. Bernard Mergan, professor of American Studies at George Washington University claims that “[w]e have been unduly nationalistic and ethnocentric about our professional sports, looking down with some condescension on other cultures that do not play, or come up to our levels, in football, basketball, or baseball. But they, in turn, perceive us as less than civilized because we can't play soccer with them or even discuss it intelligently.”

Indeed. Gone are the days of American exceptionalism, in both a political and sporting sense, and America is in it to win it.

At least 130,000 World Cup tickets already have been bought in the U.S., more than any other country outside South Africa. There is also now a huge domestic demand for football to be shown on T.V. Initiative Sports Futures, a London-based analysis firm claims that the U.S., having ranked 23^rd in World Cup viewing in 1998, jumped to 13^th in 2002, and 8^th in 2006.

And the U.S. team has performed in tandem with demand. In the 2002 World Cup they somehow made it to the quarterfinals, eventually losing to hosts and fourth-place runners-up South Korea. After coming last in the Ghana-Italy-Czech Group of Death in the 2006 World Cup, the U.S. made a spectacular bid for the Confederation Cup last year, beating top-ranked Spain in the semi’s only to lose their two-goal lead in the second half of the final against Brazil. This year, there are high hopes for the Yanks to up the ante.

But try as they may, the U.S. football team will NOT win the World Cup. At least not this year anyways. If they did, chances are angry football fans from across the globe would lash out, ramming vuvuzela’s in our George Bush-loving asses and choking us with their national flags. The fact of the matter is, Amurrka just isn’t considered as freakin’ awesome to foreigners as it is to its patriotic inhabitants. In fact, empirical evidence has shown that many people in other countries actually think we’re ignorant douchewad’s. WTF??

Right now, football is America’s main global concession (That, along with having a black president in a country run by old white men). Bar the financial crisis, the U.S. is still just about pwning every other country. Being shite at footy gives the rest of the world some cultural weaponry, no matter how futile.

But if the U.S. isn’t going to dominate the World Cup athletically, it’ll sure as hell do so economically. Aside from Coca-Cola being the official soft-drink sponsor (the Third World loves that shit), Budweiser has won the coveted bid for official beer sponsor. During the Confed. Cup the company cut a deal that made sure Bud Diesel was the only beer that could be sold within a 5-km radius of the stadiums.

Luckily, Bud has loosened the restrictions since then. Germans reacted angrily to Bud’s 2006 World Cup beer monopoly, with one university student even setting up a website, BudOut, to slander the ‘dishwater’-making brewery, calling Budweiser’s exclusive rights "an insult to beer lovers, taste buds and football fans." Bud seems to have taken the hint, and this year will allow other brewers to sell their beer around the stadiums.

Economics aside, it’s only a matter of time before the Great American Soccer Conspiracy is realized. In their book Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the US, Japan, Australia, Turkey — and Even Iraq — Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport, authors Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski single out wealth, population size, and a nation’s experience with international football as the primary indicators of future success. America only lacks the latter.

If, however, for some absurd reason – extraordinary luck, extraordinary skill, or a deeply entrenched and widespread plot on the part of the U.S. government – Landon Donovan you find yourself about to score the winning goal in the dying seconds of this year’s final, do everyone a favor and take a fucking dive. The world doesn’t need America running around and kicking everyone’s ass in sports too.

Too Many Games for Players at Big Clubs?

In light of Arjen Robben's hamstring injury picked up in the friendly with Hungary (a 6-1 win by the Netherlands) I have listed below the total number of games that several world-class players have played in the 2009-2010 season.

Wesley Sneijder (Inter Milan, Netherlands): 46
Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool, Netherlands): 57
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich, Netherlands): 43 (would be significantly higher if not for another injury earlier in the season)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, England): 55
Frank Lampard (Chelsea, England): 64
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, England): 52
Jermain Defoe (Tottenham, England): 50
Peter Crouch (Tottenham, England): 53
Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea, France): 60
Patrice Evra (Manchester United, France): 62

Are there too many games for the top class players? The players listed above often play in 3 tournaments for their club team (the league, the league cup, and the champions league or Europa League) meaning that they play on the weekend for their club team and in midweek for one of the other tournaments. Over the course of games from September through May this takes a toll on players bodies and their ability to heal from injuries. As an avid England supporter, I worry about the likes of Rooney (who never wants to sit on the bench even if he is injured), Lampard, and Gerrard staying fit for the group stages. Rooney has struggled with injuries, likely because of overuse with Manchester United, in recent months (groin, ankle, thigh) and appears to just be getting back to 100%. only 6 days before England's crucial first match with the USA. England are a completely different team with Rooney at 100% and as a long suffering England fan it would be great to see the whole team (with the exception of Ferdinand and possibly Barry) at full strength.

The question I'm really getting at is should there be a cap on the number of games that players can play for their club teams? This could be regulated monthly, yearly, per competition or otherwise. Another piece of the puzzle is the amount of travel that can be required for these tournaments (not to mention the ridiculous and suicidal pre-season tours many top teams partake in during July and August). A cap seems to be in the best interest of both club teams and national teams, assuring the best players are fit for the most important games. I do realize that for many club teams not playing their best player or two means losing money (ticket sales, TV rights, winning smaller tournaments, etc) and has other negative affects such as not attracting top class talent to that team; however, my visceral, England-centric, reaction is that there should be a cap on games to protect players (and fans!) and help prevent them from long term injuries (and depression, in the case of the fans).

What are your thoughts/opinions/concerns/questions/smack talk?

Matt

Live from Cape Town

Whats up y'all,

Just wanted to extend a thanks to MFlem for allowing me to become a part of this blog as I'm pretty fired up about the World Cup, especially since I'm spending my summer working in Cape Town and going to some matches.

I got into Cape Town about a week ago and its been a blast so far, the city is beautiful and I'm going to need a second liver by the time I leave this place as they party pretty aggressively. It should be a great site for some potentially awesome matches. The matches that I'll be heading to are England vs. Algeria, Cameroon vs. Netherlands, Round of 16 in Cape Town (G,H), Round of 16 in Joburg (A,B) and possibly the quarter final in Cape Town. My goal is to provide an account of these actual matches, as well as what the scene is like around both Cape Town and when I visit Joburg.

You can already see a buzz in Cape Town as its the most popular world cup match site out of the 7 cities and tourists are really starting to flock in. The first match here is France vs. Uruguay on Friday and the city will pretty much be shut down. Theres a 2 mile path called "Fan Fest", which leads up to the stadium on the waterfront and will be filled with vendors, bars, and jumbotrons for people to watch the game.

A few of us tried to go see the stadium a couple days ago, but were denied by security as they are still doing some construction in the area. From what we saw, its an awesome looking stadium and being right on the water doesn't hurt. It seems like the World Cup has allowed Cape Town to do a lot of work/construction that was needed, which should go up to the last second before being completed.

Bafana Bafana (The Boys), is the nickname for the South African soccer team and they are well supported in the country. After meeting some locals, I'm really hoping they can emerge out of Group A although they're clearly not predicted to. I think if they beat Mexico on Friday, it could become a real possibility and I can tell you that its going to be mayhem around here. An interesting fact that people keep pointing to between this team and the rugby team of 1996 is the rugby team had all white players except one black player and this team has all black players and one white player. Race is an extremely prevalent issue here and people are very open talking about it, but I think if the SA team does well it could really increase the spirit and ease tensions in the country. Most of the locals say that if South Africa doesn't emerge, that they will support any African team that does. The USA is generally not well received around here, as you barely see any American flags but do see the flags of many other countries. Either way, my hopes are starting to increase for our team especially after Buddle and Gomez tore up Australia yesterday but our defense is still really sketchy.

My main question is whether people feel that Onyewu should start against England? I'm really liking how Goodson is playing so I think Onyewu should ride the pine but when he's on top of his game, Onyewu does make our D much stronger. Clearly, Bocanegra should be playing left back so hopefully we shore up our D before the England match which I cannot wait for. Theres a few interns from England in my program as well so the trash talk will certainly increase as we start getting towards the game

Anyway, I'll hope to post again after this first weekend of matches and look forward to hearing from other people on the blog. Hopefully, no more marquee players get injured as its starting to affect the chances for certain teams. USA! USA ! USA!

Cheers,
PD