The Euro 2008 Qualification Round is over... And England is NOT going to Euro 2008! It's great to say, hear and type. After playing as bas they possibly can, having an idiot for a coach and overrated players, England still managed to get eliminated from the easiest Euro Qualification group. Fascinating... Ah it's great. Now I can watch(assuming I watch) Euro 2008 without having to watch, listen and red the biased English comments on TV and the internet. Because at the end of the day, England are simply not good enough to go to Euro 2008. If I'm not mistaken this marks the first time that England has not made it to a major International competition since the World Cup in 1994.
Question is, who is to blame? Is it the ex-manager Steve McClaren? Is it the English media? Is it the overrated "World Class" players? All of the above for 1000 Alex. People were complaining that Sven was bad, yet he managed to lead England to 2 consecutive Quarter Final appearances in the World Cup(2002 and 2006), yet McClaren can't even get England to qualify for Euro 2008, let alone win it or make it to the Quarter Finals. Granted the English media doesn't help either, but many countries are like that. Look at Brazil where the media complains that their team is not GOOD. Look at Argentina where half the fans that support the Argentine National Team HATES Riquelme. So England isn't alone in that category. It also must be the "World Class" players. I say "World Class" because they aren't. Gerrard is not even close at being World Class. Heck, look at it this way. Riquelme is better than Gerrard. Heck, Riquelme and Aimar are better than England's midfield. Zanetti, at the freaking age of 34 is better than anyone on the English back line. And it all boils down to the Wonder Kids. Argentina's(and arguably Greatest Player in the World) Lionel Messi and Englands Wayne Rooney. One who is being praised all over the World for his amazing talent, who plays his heart out for his country and club team while the other one is praised all over England(note, I say England and not World like Messi) for his "great" work for United and England. Let's put it this way... No one on the England squad could make it into the World XI team, where Argentina has 2 and even 3 players(Messi, Riquelme, Zanetti) that can make it to the World XI squad.
Champions League only has one day left in Group Stage qualification and pretty much all the power houses(aside from Liverpool) are through. Barcelona, Inter, Milan, United, Chelsea and Arsenal are through. As for Liverpool whoever wins between them and Marseille in the next match goes through to the next round. Since I don't feel like typing the groups and all that I'll just post a link where you can find the latest group standings and everything concerning the 2007-2008 UEFA Champions League. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uefa_champions_league_2007
Back to International, Euro 2008 Groups will be drawn this Sunday(December 2) at Noon Eastern Time if I'm not mistaken. We could have a group consisting of Holland, Italy, Germany, France. Now THAT would be an interesting group. Easily the group of death in the history of the Euro tournament. For more information on Euro 2008, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro_2008
Once the groups are drawn, only then will I be able to pick out a prediction for a winner. BUT, for hell of it, I will pick Germany to win it, but that depends on the groups. But atleast until Sunday, my pick is Germany. That's it for this time, much, much, much more coming once the groups are drawn(that includes an in depth analysis of the Argentina National Team). So until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Huge Champions League Breakdown
Is it just me or is this the most entertaining Champions League Group Stage in a long time? Liverpool in serious trouble with having drawn in Portugal, losing at home and losing in Turkey. One more loss and they are pretty much out of it because 1 point in 4 matches would be too much to overcome. Chelsea is in an interesting group, Madrid is all but through, Group D looks extremely interesting, Barcelona and Rangers with 7 points each for first, United ripping it up, Inter looks like their European wounds are beginning to heal and Arsenal is looking like one of the teams to beat. First off lets look at the standings.
Lets start with Group A. For me, this is the most interesting group. You have Marseille with 7, Porto with 5, Besiktas with 3 and last years finalists Liverpool dead last with 1. We're 50% done the group stages and Liverpool at 6 points behind the leaders(whom they lost to at HOME!). Right now, if Liverpool win their remaining games they will finish with 10 points. What that means is if porto win 2 out of their next 3, Porto is as good as through(the only problem is if Besiktas win their next 3). if Marseille win 1 more and at worst draw atleast one of their last 2, then Liverpool is out of the Champions League. To break it down... Marseille beats Besiktas and 1 other team, Marseille win 1 and draw 1, Liverpool are out. Heck, they might not even need that! Even if Marseille only win 1 of their next 3, Liverpool might not even make it! Ah, one can only dream. For Group A's schedule, click the following link. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/standings/round=15105/group=700480.html
Group B. If group A is the most entertaining group, group B is the most open group. What that means is anyone can go through. What seperates the first place team and the last place team is 1 victory. And all the teams still have to face each other 1 last time. Chelsea's Champions League form for this year I think has surprised people(especially considering what they went through with the whole Jose Mourinho thing). With that said, I expect Chelsea and Valencia to go through. I see Valencia beating Rosengorg next week(at home I might add). Rosenborg's next game will be versus Chelsea(at home, but I think Chelsea can atleast get a draw, but I'm saying win). That will leave Rosenborg away versus Schalke in their last game of the group stage. By then I think Valencia will have picked up 3 points at home versus Rosenborg, 3 points versus Schalke and a loss versus Chelsea. That would bring Valencia up to 10 points leaving Rosenborg with 7-8 points(depends if they beat Chelsea or not). I know this looks like I'm writing Schalke out, but with playing Valencia away and Chelsea(even if its at home, I don't care), I don't think they'll get through. Maybe finishing with 6-7 points. So Chelsea to top with Valencia second.
Group C. Group C is not so interesting. I hate to stae the obvious but we knew ever since the Champions League draw took place that Madrid will walk away with this group and they are. Olympiacos are sitting in 2nd place with 4 points but chances are that it won't last. Bremen I think, is starting to wake up and will get through the group stage. The reason I'm saying this is because Olympiacos drew at home with freaking Lazio. Taking absolutely nothing away from Lazio, but Olympiacos had to win that match. That should of been 3 points in the bank, instead of 1 and I think thats what will eventually cost them second place. But, Bremen lost away to Madrid(same as Olympiacos), lost at HOME to Olympiacos and beat Lazio at home. And that loss at home might be what seperates them from going to the next stage of the Champions League and thinking what could of happened. with all that said, I think it will come down to the last match in that group. Olympiacos vs. Bremen. even if Olympiacos is 2 points ahead or even if Bremen is 2 points ahead, it will come down to this game. Whoever wins this game(assuming it dosn't end in a draw), will walk away with 3 points and finish the group in 2nd place. Damn, 3 groups in and the only thing all but confirmed is that Chelsea and Madrid are going through to the next round.
Group D. After losing their second game, the champions are finally waking up. They barely won their first match at home versus Benfica and lost their second away to Celtic, AC Milan thrashed Shakhtar 4-1. And even with that loss, Shakhtar is in second place(the only thing seperating them and Milan is the goal difference). But unlinke last years finalists, it looks as if Milan will go through to the next round. Question is who finishes second. Much like group B, the only thing seperating the last place team and the second place team is 1 victory(or 1 loss depending on how you wanna see it). I'd like to see Celtic go through because I think they can cause more of a surprise in the group stages than Shakhtar(especially considering that they beat Milan). Not much else to talk about in this group... Next!
Group E. Ah, finally my team. Barcelona have yet to allow a single goal in the Champions League this season but Rangers are right behind them having only allowed 1 goal. Barcelona I think was more than content with having to draw away versus Rangers and next week its Rangers at Barcelona. Following rangers/Barcelona, Messi said that Rangers played "anti-football". I guess what he meant by that was that they defended nearly the entire match. I still think Messi shouldn't of said that, but I guess it makes next weeks match alot more interesting. Because I think that Rangers will try and go for the victory(or a draw if Barcelona score first... assuming they score). i think a 1-0 victory for Barcelona is more than possible. Stuttgart has scored 1 goal and conceeded 6. In other words, they are in last place with 0 points. Lyon have a chance. A very good chance. They host Stuttgart next week(thats 3 points), they place host to Barcelona(ehhh... thats either 2 points dropped in the form of a draw or 0 points in the form of a loss). And finally they go away to play Rangers. If Lyon can get a victory versus barcelona and thats a big if) than I see no reason why Lyon wouldn't be able to beat Rangers or at the very least get a draw. But I'll go with the current standings and say Barcelona and Rangers finish first and second.
Group F. United I think to no one's surprise are in first place. Honestly, its a fairly easy group. Aside from Roma who is their biggest threat, I fail to see how they wouldn't be able to snatch 12 points in their 2 matches versus Sporting and 2 versus Dynamo Kyiv. Dynamo shouldn't even be in this tournament to begin with but they are and they have gave United, Roma and Sporting 3 points each. And they still have United and Sporting away. Sporting is there to take points away from Dynamo, its that simple. Roma is there to maybe take 2 points away in a draw at home versus United and snatch points from Sporting and Dynamo. Nothing shocking here. united to finish first and Roma second.
Group G. It finally seems as if Inter can do well. They have had very good success in Italy but have always underachieved in Europe. Having gotten off to a bad start versus Fenerbahce, they picked it up ant beat PSV 2-0 at home and snatched 3 points away in Russia versus CSKA Moskva. The way I see it they will get a victory out of CSKA Moskva at home, a win versus PSV away and a draw... Nah a win at home versus Fenerbahce. I fully expect Inter to get atleast 7 points in their remaining games and I see no reason why they wouldn't be able to beat Fenerbahce at home to get 9. As for who finishes second in this group... Well to be quiet honest I don't care. but since I sort of have to give my prediction on this(mostly because I have for the other groups), I'll say PSV with Fenerbahce messing up and finishing 1 point behind PSV. There, so I have Inter to finish first and PSV to pick it up and get enough points to advance. And the easiest group of them all...
Group H. Christ can this group get ANY easier for Arsenal? They have Steaua who is group H's winning boy, Slavia who lets be honest like Steaua and Dynamo shouldn't even be near this tournament to begin with. Their only realy opposition is Sevilla who if it wasn't for Steaua and Slavia would be screwed if they were in another group. Arsenal to literally walk away with this group and Sevilla to drop 6 points versus Arsenal and finish with 12.
Well there you have it. Christ that was long. Easily the longest one I've written yet, but one of my favorites to write aswell. Like I said in the beginning, one of the most entertaining Champions League Group Stage in a long time(with group H aside of course), mostly because of the draw. usually it's 2 top teams in each group with 2 crappy teams with the 2 top teams walking away from the group and fighting for first place, but not this time. Until next time, Vamos vamos Argentina!
Lets start with Group A. For me, this is the most interesting group. You have Marseille with 7, Porto with 5, Besiktas with 3 and last years finalists Liverpool dead last with 1. We're 50% done the group stages and Liverpool at 6 points behind the leaders(whom they lost to at HOME!). Right now, if Liverpool win their remaining games they will finish with 10 points. What that means is if porto win 2 out of their next 3, Porto is as good as through(the only problem is if Besiktas win their next 3). if Marseille win 1 more and at worst draw atleast one of their last 2, then Liverpool is out of the Champions League. To break it down... Marseille beats Besiktas and 1 other team, Marseille win 1 and draw 1, Liverpool are out. Heck, they might not even need that! Even if Marseille only win 1 of their next 3, Liverpool might not even make it! Ah, one can only dream. For Group A's schedule, click the following link. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/standings/round=15105/group=700480.htmlGroup B. If group A is the most entertaining group, group B is the most open group. What that means is anyone can go through. What seperates the first place team and the last place team is 1 victory. And all the teams still have to face each other 1 last time. Chelsea's Champions League form for this year I think has surprised people(especially considering what they went through with the whole Jose Mourinho thing). With that said, I expect Chelsea and Valencia to go through. I see Valencia beating Rosengorg next week(at home I might add). Rosenborg's next game will be versus Chelsea(at home, but I think Chelsea can atleast get a draw, but I'm saying win). That will leave Rosenborg away versus Schalke in their last game of the group stage. By then I think Valencia will have picked up 3 points at home versus Rosenborg, 3 points versus Schalke and a loss versus Chelsea. That would bring Valencia up to 10 points leaving Rosenborg with 7-8 points(depends if they beat Chelsea or not). I know this looks like I'm writing Schalke out, but with playing Valencia away and Chelsea(even if its at home, I don't care), I don't think they'll get through. Maybe finishing with 6-7 points. So Chelsea to top with Valencia second.
Group C. Group C is not so interesting. I hate to stae the obvious but we knew ever since the Champions League draw took place that Madrid will walk away with this group and they are. Olympiacos are sitting in 2nd place with 4 points but chances are that it won't last. Bremen I think, is starting to wake up and will get through the group stage. The reason I'm saying this is because Olympiacos drew at home with freaking Lazio. Taking absolutely nothing away from Lazio, but Olympiacos had to win that match. That should of been 3 points in the bank, instead of 1 and I think thats what will eventually cost them second place. But, Bremen lost away to Madrid(same as Olympiacos), lost at HOME to Olympiacos and beat Lazio at home. And that loss at home might be what seperates them from going to the next stage of the Champions League and thinking what could of happened. with all that said, I think it will come down to the last match in that group. Olympiacos vs. Bremen. even if Olympiacos is 2 points ahead or even if Bremen is 2 points ahead, it will come down to this game. Whoever wins this game(assuming it dosn't end in a draw), will walk away with 3 points and finish the group in 2nd place. Damn, 3 groups in and the only thing all but confirmed is that Chelsea and Madrid are going through to the next round.
Group D. After losing their second game, the champions are finally waking up. They barely won their first match at home versus Benfica and lost their second away to Celtic, AC Milan thrashed Shakhtar 4-1. And even with that loss, Shakhtar is in second place(the only thing seperating them and Milan is the goal difference). But unlinke last years finalists, it looks as if Milan will go through to the next round. Question is who finishes second. Much like group B, the only thing seperating the last place team and the second place team is 1 victory(or 1 loss depending on how you wanna see it). I'd like to see Celtic go through because I think they can cause more of a surprise in the group stages than Shakhtar(especially considering that they beat Milan). Not much else to talk about in this group... Next!
Group E. Ah, finally my team. Barcelona have yet to allow a single goal in the Champions League this season but Rangers are right behind them having only allowed 1 goal. Barcelona I think was more than content with having to draw away versus Rangers and next week its Rangers at Barcelona. Following rangers/Barcelona, Messi said that Rangers played "anti-football". I guess what he meant by that was that they defended nearly the entire match. I still think Messi shouldn't of said that, but I guess it makes next weeks match alot more interesting. Because I think that Rangers will try and go for the victory(or a draw if Barcelona score first... assuming they score). i think a 1-0 victory for Barcelona is more than possible. Stuttgart has scored 1 goal and conceeded 6. In other words, they are in last place with 0 points. Lyon have a chance. A very good chance. They host Stuttgart next week(thats 3 points), they place host to Barcelona(ehhh... thats either 2 points dropped in the form of a draw or 0 points in the form of a loss). And finally they go away to play Rangers. If Lyon can get a victory versus barcelona and thats a big if) than I see no reason why Lyon wouldn't be able to beat Rangers or at the very least get a draw. But I'll go with the current standings and say Barcelona and Rangers finish first and second.
Group F. United I think to no one's surprise are in first place. Honestly, its a fairly easy group. Aside from Roma who is their biggest threat, I fail to see how they wouldn't be able to snatch 12 points in their 2 matches versus Sporting and 2 versus Dynamo Kyiv. Dynamo shouldn't even be in this tournament to begin with but they are and they have gave United, Roma and Sporting 3 points each. And they still have United and Sporting away. Sporting is there to take points away from Dynamo, its that simple. Roma is there to maybe take 2 points away in a draw at home versus United and snatch points from Sporting and Dynamo. Nothing shocking here. united to finish first and Roma second.
Group G. It finally seems as if Inter can do well. They have had very good success in Italy but have always underachieved in Europe. Having gotten off to a bad start versus Fenerbahce, they picked it up ant beat PSV 2-0 at home and snatched 3 points away in Russia versus CSKA Moskva. The way I see it they will get a victory out of CSKA Moskva at home, a win versus PSV away and a draw... Nah a win at home versus Fenerbahce. I fully expect Inter to get atleast 7 points in their remaining games and I see no reason why they wouldn't be able to beat Fenerbahce at home to get 9. As for who finishes second in this group... Well to be quiet honest I don't care. but since I sort of have to give my prediction on this(mostly because I have for the other groups), I'll say PSV with Fenerbahce messing up and finishing 1 point behind PSV. There, so I have Inter to finish first and PSV to pick it up and get enough points to advance. And the easiest group of them all...
Group H. Christ can this group get ANY easier for Arsenal? They have Steaua who is group H's winning boy, Slavia who lets be honest like Steaua and Dynamo shouldn't even be near this tournament to begin with. Their only realy opposition is Sevilla who if it wasn't for Steaua and Slavia would be screwed if they were in another group. Arsenal to literally walk away with this group and Sevilla to drop 6 points versus Arsenal and finish with 12.
Well there you have it. Christ that was long. Easily the longest one I've written yet, but one of my favorites to write aswell. Like I said in the beginning, one of the most entertaining Champions League Group Stage in a long time(with group H aside of course), mostly because of the draw. usually it's 2 top teams in each group with 2 crappy teams with the 2 top teams walking away from the group and fighting for first place, but not this time. Until next time, Vamos vamos Argentina!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Riquelme with 2, Milito and Messi!
Alright, so the name dosn't make much sence, but meh. Argentina started off its World Cup Qualifier on its feet. On Saturday they took on Chile in Buenos Aires and lets just say that if missing 3 months does that to Riquelme, lets hope he misses a year! Kidding! Riquelme hasn't played a single minute of futbol in over 3 months and what happens? He scores 2 goals for his National Team. How is Riquelme not playing for Villa? Better yet, what will it take for Riquelme to play in Villa? He was possibly the best player on the field, scored 2 goals and created chances for Messi and others aswell. Argentina's best match since the Copa America(granted we've only played 2 matches since). Its good to see Riquelme back in that beautiful jersey, now its time for Basile to call up Crespo and we'll be ready to go.
So 3 points in the bag for that match and three days later Argentina is in Venezuela... Maracaibo to be exact. Yup, 3 months after Argentina loses to Brazil in the exact same stadium we're back there for a Qualifier. The match started with Venezuela trying to slow down the game and Argentina did that aswell. So lets just say it wasn't exactly the fastest match in the World. 14 minutes into the match its an Argentine free kick! Who else but Juan Roman Riquelme to take it! Riquelme with the free kick and Gabriel Milito with the header to make it 1-0 Argentina! Milito was unmarked and had all the time to head it in and he did not mess it up. Speaking of mess(i) Lionel Messi scored his first of the Qualifier with in my opinion the goal of the tournament. From Ibarra to Tevez to Messi and a strike from outside the box makes it 2-0 Argentina for the final score.
Overall 2 very good performances by Argentina. These Qualifiers will not be easy by any means. We still have Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Colombia to face. We still have 2 years until the end of the Qualifiers so plenty of time for Basile to think out his tactics(especially versus Brazil). It'll be interesting to see his line-up for Novembers match. Until next time, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
So 3 points in the bag for that match and three days later Argentina is in Venezuela... Maracaibo to be exact. Yup, 3 months after Argentina loses to Brazil in the exact same stadium we're back there for a Qualifier. The match started with Venezuela trying to slow down the game and Argentina did that aswell. So lets just say it wasn't exactly the fastest match in the World. 14 minutes into the match its an Argentine free kick! Who else but Juan Roman Riquelme to take it! Riquelme with the free kick and Gabriel Milito with the header to make it 1-0 Argentina! Milito was unmarked and had all the time to head it in and he did not mess it up. Speaking of mess(i) Lionel Messi scored his first of the Qualifier with in my opinion the goal of the tournament. From Ibarra to Tevez to Messi and a strike from outside the box makes it 2-0 Argentina for the final score.
Overall 2 very good performances by Argentina. These Qualifiers will not be easy by any means. We still have Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Colombia to face. We still have 2 years until the end of the Qualifiers so plenty of time for Basile to think out his tactics(especially versus Brazil). It'll be interesting to see his line-up for Novembers match. Until next time, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Monday, October 08, 2007
World XI
Yup, its been a while. I've been busy with a few things, but enough of that. Its futbol time! FIFPro recently announced it's World XI team and it's an interesting one. Here's how the team looks...
I know Buffon won the World Cup and everything, but he's done nothing ever since. If I'm not mistaken didn't he spend last season in Serie B in Italy? At the moment Casillas has been playing much better, Dida played good, Cech played decent aswell. If it were up to me, I would of put Casillas just because of his recent form. Because if you compare La Liga to Serie B there's no doubt that La Liga is the tougher league.
In the back four we have Nesta, FIFA Player of the Year in Cannavaro(he should not of been anywhere NEAR that by the way), John Terry and Puyol. Nesta and Puyol I can understand. But TERRY? John 'freaking Terry?! No way in hell should he of been in this. World Cup he literally did nothing, for Chelsea this season he's been very bad(that includes the whole Jose Mourinho situation) and last season he was good at best(in my opinion). Cannavaro has to be in it because he won the FIFA Player of the Year award but lets stop there for a second. How in the World can Cannavaro win the POTY award? Because he won the World Cup? Pfft, it's not as if Italy faced any tough teams. The only tough team they faced was Germany and Zidane. Zidane was France and that was the only reason France made it to the final. I would of replaced Terry with former Argentine International Roberto Ayala. Even Javier Zanetti. And no that's not the biased part of me talking. Roberto Ayala and Javier Zanetti are better defenders than John Terry. Hands down, no doubt about it.
Midfield I would of had Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Juan Roman Riquelme. How the HELL does someone who leads his team to a Copa Libertadores and was arguably the best player of the Copa America not get listed in this? Oh right, no South American based player will ever make this list. Why? I have no idea. Gerrard is good and all but he's no magician like Riquelme. If we're couting the World Cup, Gerrard did absolutely shit all. Not only did Gerrard do shit all, the entire Englad squad did shit all. They played the ugliest futbol for a "big" nation and went out to a mediocore team(Portugal). Compare that to Argentina who played the nicest futbol in the entire tournament. Argentina vs. Serbia and Montenegro was all they needed to win that crown. 2 goals of the tournament candidates in that match alone. The first one was the 24 man pass for Argentina's second goal and the second was Tevez's goal for Argentina's 5th goal. Their match versus Mexico in Leipzig was in my opinion the match of the tournament. And it took a superb goal(goal of the tournament) by Maxi Rodriguez. Following the tournament, FIFA had a poll for goals of the tournament. In third place was Carlos Tevez's goal, second place was the 24 man pass goal and in first place was Maxi Rodriguez's goal. And just for the hell of it, here are the videos of the three goals.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JgETMR-6nxs
Third greatest goal of the World Cup - Carlos Tevez
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6R_iYLca2gc
Second greatest goal of the World Cup - Estebeban Cambiasso
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UotOQCJKd2o
The greatest goal of the World Cup - Maxi Rodriguez
Back to the World XI. Up front Lionel Messi is a shoe in, no doubt about it. Drogba? It's debatable to be honest. Him or Ruud Van Nistelrooy? I would of gone with Ruud. Ronaldinho?... Ehh, I really don't know. Again, debatable. Did he do enough in the past year to earn that spot? He had a train wreck of a World Cup(well the Brazilian team in general) and hasn't been up to his standards ever since. But I'll give it to him just for the hell of it. Overall, decent picks. I would of changed 3-4 of them but whatever. Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
I know Buffon won the World Cup and everything, but he's done nothing ever since. If I'm not mistaken didn't he spend last season in Serie B in Italy? At the moment Casillas has been playing much better, Dida played good, Cech played decent aswell. If it were up to me, I would of put Casillas just because of his recent form. Because if you compare La Liga to Serie B there's no doubt that La Liga is the tougher league.
In the back four we have Nesta, FIFA Player of the Year in Cannavaro(he should not of been anywhere NEAR that by the way), John Terry and Puyol. Nesta and Puyol I can understand. But TERRY? John 'freaking Terry?! No way in hell should he of been in this. World Cup he literally did nothing, for Chelsea this season he's been very bad(that includes the whole Jose Mourinho situation) and last season he was good at best(in my opinion). Cannavaro has to be in it because he won the FIFA Player of the Year award but lets stop there for a second. How in the World can Cannavaro win the POTY award? Because he won the World Cup? Pfft, it's not as if Italy faced any tough teams. The only tough team they faced was Germany and Zidane. Zidane was France and that was the only reason France made it to the final. I would of replaced Terry with former Argentine International Roberto Ayala. Even Javier Zanetti. And no that's not the biased part of me talking. Roberto Ayala and Javier Zanetti are better defenders than John Terry. Hands down, no doubt about it.
Midfield I would of had Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Juan Roman Riquelme. How the HELL does someone who leads his team to a Copa Libertadores and was arguably the best player of the Copa America not get listed in this? Oh right, no South American based player will ever make this list. Why? I have no idea. Gerrard is good and all but he's no magician like Riquelme. If we're couting the World Cup, Gerrard did absolutely shit all. Not only did Gerrard do shit all, the entire Englad squad did shit all. They played the ugliest futbol for a "big" nation and went out to a mediocore team(Portugal). Compare that to Argentina who played the nicest futbol in the entire tournament. Argentina vs. Serbia and Montenegro was all they needed to win that crown. 2 goals of the tournament candidates in that match alone. The first one was the 24 man pass for Argentina's second goal and the second was Tevez's goal for Argentina's 5th goal. Their match versus Mexico in Leipzig was in my opinion the match of the tournament. And it took a superb goal(goal of the tournament) by Maxi Rodriguez. Following the tournament, FIFA had a poll for goals of the tournament. In third place was Carlos Tevez's goal, second place was the 24 man pass goal and in first place was Maxi Rodriguez's goal. And just for the hell of it, here are the videos of the three goals.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JgETMR-6nxs
Third greatest goal of the World Cup - Carlos Tevez
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6R_iYLca2gc
Second greatest goal of the World Cup - Estebeban Cambiasso
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UotOQCJKd2o
The greatest goal of the World Cup - Maxi Rodriguez
Back to the World XI. Up front Lionel Messi is a shoe in, no doubt about it. Drogba? It's debatable to be honest. Him or Ruud Van Nistelrooy? I would of gone with Ruud. Ronaldinho?... Ehh, I really don't know. Again, debatable. Did he do enough in the past year to earn that spot? He had a train wreck of a World Cup(well the Brazilian team in general) and hasn't been up to his standards ever since. But I'll give it to him just for the hell of it. Overall, decent picks. I would of changed 3-4 of them but whatever. Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Champions League Preview - Tuesday
The biggest European futbol tournament is upon us. Yes folks, the UEFA Champions League starts this Tuesday with matches on Wednesday aswell. I'll preview the "big" matches for Tuesday and Wednesday. Up first *drumroll*...
Liverpool vs. FC Porto
OFFICIAL UEFA PREVIEW: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301168/index.html
The way I see it Liverpool will make Porto its bitch. This group is Liverpools for the taking, hands down. They say the first match is the most important match of any tournament because you don't wan tto fall behind. Well Liverpool will have to try and grab 3 points or atleast 1 point while playing away because there is no way they are going to lose at home. Maybe an upset with Porto winning 1-0 or Liverpool taking it 1-1? I have no idea what to pick, but if there's one team that can take points away from Liverpool in this group, its this team. So 1-1 draw with Porto scoring late in the game.
Prediction: 1-1 draw
Chelsea vs. Rosenborg
OFFICIAL UEFA PREVIEW: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301169/index.html
All this is going to be is training for Chelsea. Chelsea starts off their Champions League hopes at home and it can't get much easier in my opinion. They've been having a hard time trying to score in the EPL and Didier Drogba is doubtful for Tuesdays match so theres another problem for them. But even with their scoring problems, I think they can take this one atleast 2-0. 3-0 wouldn't be much of a surprise either.
Prediction: 2-0 Chelsea
Real Madrid vs. Bremen
OFFICIAL UEFA PREVIEW: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301171/index.html
In my opinion, this is the match to watch on Tuesday. Madrid has been on fire in La Liga and show no signs of slowing down. Like Chelsea and Porto they start at home and like Porto, they have a tough opponent to deal with. Bremen is no where near being a walk in the park but Madrid is playing at home. Bremen I don't think you can ever count out, but I'm gonna have to lean towards a Madrid victory. 2-1 Madrid with Sneijder scoring the winner off a free kick.
Prediction: 2-1 Real Madrid
AC Milan vs. Benfica
OFFICIAL UEFA PREVIEW: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301173/index.html
The current Champions League winners taking on the other Portuguese team playing on Tuesday. There's no doubt in anyones mind that Milan will easily take this group. Milan coming off a 1-1 tie on Saturday(granted they played their B team). I feel bad for Benfica, I really do. 3-1 Milan.
Prediction: 3-1 AC Milan
And that covers Tuesdays matches, I'll be covering Wednesdays matches in the next entry. Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Liverpool vs. FC Porto
OFFICIAL UEFA PREVIEW: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301168/index.html
The way I see it Liverpool will make Porto its bitch. This group is Liverpools for the taking, hands down. They say the first match is the most important match of any tournament because you don't wan tto fall behind. Well Liverpool will have to try and grab 3 points or atleast 1 point while playing away because there is no way they are going to lose at home. Maybe an upset with Porto winning 1-0 or Liverpool taking it 1-1? I have no idea what to pick, but if there's one team that can take points away from Liverpool in this group, its this team. So 1-1 draw with Porto scoring late in the game.
Prediction: 1-1 draw
Chelsea vs. Rosenborg
OFFICIAL UEFA PREVIEW: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301169/index.html
All this is going to be is training for Chelsea. Chelsea starts off their Champions League hopes at home and it can't get much easier in my opinion. They've been having a hard time trying to score in the EPL and Didier Drogba is doubtful for Tuesdays match so theres another problem for them. But even with their scoring problems, I think they can take this one atleast 2-0. 3-0 wouldn't be much of a surprise either.
Prediction: 2-0 Chelsea
Real Madrid vs. Bremen
OFFICIAL UEFA PREVIEW: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301171/index.html
In my opinion, this is the match to watch on Tuesday. Madrid has been on fire in La Liga and show no signs of slowing down. Like Chelsea and Porto they start at home and like Porto, they have a tough opponent to deal with. Bremen is no where near being a walk in the park but Madrid is playing at home. Bremen I don't think you can ever count out, but I'm gonna have to lean towards a Madrid victory. 2-1 Madrid with Sneijder scoring the winner off a free kick.
Prediction: 2-1 Real Madrid
AC Milan vs. Benfica
OFFICIAL UEFA PREVIEW: http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15105/match=301173/index.html
The current Champions League winners taking on the other Portuguese team playing on Tuesday. There's no doubt in anyones mind that Milan will easily take this group. Milan coming off a 1-1 tie on Saturday(granted they played their B team). I feel bad for Benfica, I really do. 3-1 Milan.
Prediction: 3-1 AC Milan
And that covers Tuesdays matches, I'll be covering Wednesdays matches in the next entry. Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Euro 2008: France/Italy, England/Israel
I'd just like to start off by saying that I'm trying to post as much as I can and time isn't exactly on my side. Enough excuses, its futbol time! In Group B, it was a re-match of the 2006 World Cup final(minus Zidane). Its the second match between these two teams(France beat Italy 3-1 at home). Second match was played in Italy and it ended in a 0-0 draw. Nothing fantanstic of a match, fairly boring in my opinion but it did enough to change the standings in Group B. With Scotland's victory over Lithuania, Group B now looks like this.
1. France(19 Points)
2. Scotland(18 Points)
3. Italy(17 Points)
Keep in mind only 2 teams from each group advance to Euro 2008 itself. So it will be a tough race between those 3 teams. We'll cut to Group E where a desperate England was in need of a victory to practically keep their Euro hopes alive. On Saturday England played host to Israel(yes we're aware that Israel isn't part of Europe but seeing as how no Asian... Well Middle East country hates Israel, UEFA allowed Israel into their confederation). Cut to the match, England won 3-0. It's not so much that England was dominant just that Israel played pretty bad. England fans don't realise that they beat Israel 3-0 and not Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, ect... Let alone the fact that it was at Wembley of all places. The Euro 2008 Qualifying round continues tomorrow with England(once again the host) taking on Russia who is 1 point ahead of them. And here's how Group E looks like.
1. Croatia(20 Points)
2. Russia (18 Points)
3. England(17 Points)
4. Israel(17 Points).
So technically Israel isn't out yet, far from it. So if England lose their match tomorrow and Israel beats Croatia(in October), it'll be like this(assuming Croatia beats Andorra tomorrow).
1. Croatia
2. Russia
3. Israel
4. England
As you can see, it'll be difficult for England to get in second place with a loss and a victory by Israel. For a COMPLETE look at the standings, visit http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/standings/index.html
Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
1. France(19 Points)
2. Scotland(18 Points)
3. Italy(17 Points)
Keep in mind only 2 teams from each group advance to Euro 2008 itself. So it will be a tough race between those 3 teams. We'll cut to Group E where a desperate England was in need of a victory to practically keep their Euro hopes alive. On Saturday England played host to Israel(yes we're aware that Israel isn't part of Europe but seeing as how no Asian... Well Middle East country hates Israel, UEFA allowed Israel into their confederation). Cut to the match, England won 3-0. It's not so much that England was dominant just that Israel played pretty bad. England fans don't realise that they beat Israel 3-0 and not Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, ect... Let alone the fact that it was at Wembley of all places. The Euro 2008 Qualifying round continues tomorrow with England(once again the host) taking on Russia who is 1 point ahead of them. And here's how Group E looks like.
1. Croatia(20 Points)
2. Russia (18 Points)
3. England(17 Points)
4. Israel(17 Points).
So technically Israel isn't out yet, far from it. So if England lose their match tomorrow and Israel beats Croatia(in October), it'll be like this(assuming Croatia beats Andorra tomorrow).
1. Croatia
2. Russia
3. Israel
4. England
As you can see, it'll be difficult for England to get in second place with a loss and a victory by Israel. For a COMPLETE look at the standings, visit http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/standings/index.html
Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Champions League Groups Predictions...
Yup, the draw was held on Friday and here are the results...
Group A:
Liverpool
FC Porto
Marseille
Besiktas
Group B:
Chelsea
Valencia
Schalke
Rosenborg
Group C:
Real Madrid
Bremen
Lazio
Olympiacos
Group D:
Milan
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar
Group E:
Barcelona
Lyon
Stuttgart
Rangers
Group F:
Manchester United
Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kyiv
Group G:
Internazionale
PSV
CSKA Moskva
Fenerbahce
Group H:
Arsenal
Sevilla
FC Steaua
Slavia
As usual there are the tough groups and the easier groups. So here are my predictions...
Group A:
Liverpool will easily top this group hands down. I'll be surprised if they don't. Porto will come in second with Marseille in third and Besiktas not even getting a victory.
Group B:
I'll have to say Chelsea and Valencia will take this group. Who'll top it? I'll take a guess and say Chelsea but it can be Valencia. I'm not counting Schalke out either, it's a possibility that they come in second instead of Valencia, but I can't see it happening. And Rosenborg in fourth.
Group C:
Madrid looks to be in top, top form which is why I'm picking them to top C. Bremen for second, Lazio third and Olympiacos(like Besiktas) in Group A, will be lucky if they get a victory.
Group D:
Ah, the current champions, AC Milan. Like there's even any doubt as to who will top this group. Question is who'll take second? Benfica and Celtic aren't exactly a walk in the park. My mind tells me Benfica, but my gut says Celtic. So Celtic it is. Oh and Shakhtar to finish last.
Group E:
A mouth-watering group to say the least. Barcelona, Lyon, Stuttgart and Rangers. Former La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners in 2005-2006, current LFP champions in Lyon, Bundesliga champions Stuttgart and Rangers. This for me is the group to watch. Not only because I'm a Barca fan, but because Bercelona vs. Rangers will just be amazing. Barcelona to top, Rangers in second.
Group F:
Well, it's going to be a homecoming for Ronaldo and Nani when they play Sporting away. Roma will seek revenge after that humiliating 7-1 loss to United in the Quarter Finals last year of the UEFA Champions League. Dynamo in my opinion is there to give United, Roma and Sporting 6 points each. I can see Roma taking this group with United in second. It depends how will United play.
Group G:
A fairly easy group in my opinion. Since we all know who will top this one(Inter), the fun part is guessing who'll come in second. And I'm gonna have to take PSV for a million Bob. Fener for third and CSKA for last.
Group H:
Quiet possibly the easiest group of the tournament. Arsenal, Sevilla, Steaua and Slavia. Arsenal are playing well in the EPL and Sevilla isn't doing too bad either(but we just finished week 2 in Spain). Arsenal to top and Sevilla to grab second.
Well, those are my predictions for the Champions League group stage. Of course there's always surprises, but I'm pretty confident that the teams I picked to advance, WILL advance. But you never know. Until then, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Group A:
Liverpool
FC Porto
Marseille
Besiktas
Group B:
Chelsea
Valencia
Schalke
Rosenborg
Group C:
Real Madrid
Bremen
Lazio
Olympiacos
Group D:
Milan
Benfica
Celtic
Shakhtar
Group E:
Barcelona
Lyon
Stuttgart
Rangers
Group F:
Manchester United
Roma
Sporting Lisbon
Dynamo Kyiv
Group G:
Internazionale
PSV
CSKA Moskva
Fenerbahce
Group H:
Arsenal
Sevilla
FC Steaua
Slavia
As usual there are the tough groups and the easier groups. So here are my predictions...
Group A:
Liverpool will easily top this group hands down. I'll be surprised if they don't. Porto will come in second with Marseille in third and Besiktas not even getting a victory.
Group B:
I'll have to say Chelsea and Valencia will take this group. Who'll top it? I'll take a guess and say Chelsea but it can be Valencia. I'm not counting Schalke out either, it's a possibility that they come in second instead of Valencia, but I can't see it happening. And Rosenborg in fourth.
Group C:
Madrid looks to be in top, top form which is why I'm picking them to top C. Bremen for second, Lazio third and Olympiacos(like Besiktas) in Group A, will be lucky if they get a victory.
Group D:
Ah, the current champions, AC Milan. Like there's even any doubt as to who will top this group. Question is who'll take second? Benfica and Celtic aren't exactly a walk in the park. My mind tells me Benfica, but my gut says Celtic. So Celtic it is. Oh and Shakhtar to finish last.
Group E:
A mouth-watering group to say the least. Barcelona, Lyon, Stuttgart and Rangers. Former La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners in 2005-2006, current LFP champions in Lyon, Bundesliga champions Stuttgart and Rangers. This for me is the group to watch. Not only because I'm a Barca fan, but because Bercelona vs. Rangers will just be amazing. Barcelona to top, Rangers in second.
Group F:
Well, it's going to be a homecoming for Ronaldo and Nani when they play Sporting away. Roma will seek revenge after that humiliating 7-1 loss to United in the Quarter Finals last year of the UEFA Champions League. Dynamo in my opinion is there to give United, Roma and Sporting 6 points each. I can see Roma taking this group with United in second. It depends how will United play.
Group G:
A fairly easy group in my opinion. Since we all know who will top this one(Inter), the fun part is guessing who'll come in second. And I'm gonna have to take PSV for a million Bob. Fener for third and CSKA for last.
Group H:
Quiet possibly the easiest group of the tournament. Arsenal, Sevilla, Steaua and Slavia. Arsenal are playing well in the EPL and Sevilla isn't doing too bad either(but we just finished week 2 in Spain). Arsenal to top and Sevilla to grab second.
Well, those are my predictions for the Champions League group stage. Of course there's always surprises, but I'm pretty confident that the teams I picked to advance, WILL advance. But you never know. Until then, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Antonio Puerta, Beckham Bashing Part 3432432 and more!
I would just like to say how sad it is to see someone go. I'm not good at these types of things but its sad to see someone pass away, let alone pass away the way he did. But on the bright side(if there even is one in death), he died doing what he loved. Playing the beautiful game for the team he grew up loving. It seems as if FIFA will finally start doing some testing of some sorts, but that will take years to put in effect. With that said, I would like to say R.I.P Puerta, you truly are missed.
Since I can't stand the thought of death, I thought I'd move onto something else. Beckham! If you were to look up Futbol's "Glass Man", you would see David Beckham's picture. Who didn't see this coming from a mile away? Not only was the guy already injury proned, but having to fly overseas every now and then will get to you. And thats not even the CAUSE of Beckhams injury. Basically here's what happened. After what seemed to be a life time of hype, Beckham finally plays his first MLS match. Everything seems to go well. After that he flies to Europe to go play a friendly match versus Germany(England vs. Germany where Germany won 2-1). After the loss he flies his ass back to North America where he plays a match where afterwards his LA Galaxy coach announces that Beckham will get the next match off to rest. What happens in his next match? Beckham get injured and is now sidelined for 6 weeks. Genius! In other words, he could very well miss the rest of the LA Galaxy's season. There goes the first season... Only what, 3 more to go? I'm sure somewhere down the line Beckham will end up playing oh 5-6 heck maybe even 9-10 matches in those 3 years. I can see Beckham is commited to wanting to play and everything, but for once in your life Beckham pick one! Either your national team or MLS. You can't keep flying back and fourth. Now thing this that he has to prove himself in matches to play for the National Team. And the only way he can prove himself is to play in matches. Not only has he screwed his fellow LA teammates, he's also seemed to screw over his National Team. Because England only has a few games left(2-3) in the Euro 2008 Qualification Round and they must win all of them(oe atleast 75% of them) to advance to the actual tournament. So this shall be interesting to say the least...
But Beckham isn't the only player that is made out of glass. Barcelona's own Samuel Eto'o is out for 2 months. The bright side of this(again if there is a bright side), is that Henry will finally get a chance to prove himself. Heck, even little Giovanni Dos Santos has gotten some playing time 2 matches into the season. Speaking of which, Barcelona defeated Atletico Bilbao 3-1 on Sunday with 2 goals from Ronaldinho and very "ehh did that even go in" type of goal from Yaya Toure. Basically he sent an extremely powerful shot that hit the crossbar and landed on the goal line and went out. No sign of a goal until about 10 seconds later where Barcelona players started celebrating. On certain replays it looked like it had gone in, but from other angles it looked like only half of it went in(the whole ball has to go in for it to be counted as a goal). Just a quick note, Ronaldinho and Toure are the only players for Barcelona with goals this season so far. Messi came close, Henry and Dos Santos aswell, heck even Eto'o. And speaking of "glass man"...
Manchester United's own(and everyones favorite "glass man"), Louis Saha made his return to Old Trafford on Saturday where he helped Manchester United beat Sunderland 1-0. Saha became the front man as Tevez moved behind him for the rest of the match following the goal. Cristiano Ronaldo will be making his return after serving a 3 game ban following the red card he received in United's second match of the season. Needless to say, Ronaldo has been missed. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the formation now that Ronaldo's back and United finally has 2 strikers. What about Giggs? Nani? We'll see... Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Since I can't stand the thought of death, I thought I'd move onto something else. Beckham! If you were to look up Futbol's "Glass Man", you would see David Beckham's picture. Who didn't see this coming from a mile away? Not only was the guy already injury proned, but having to fly overseas every now and then will get to you. And thats not even the CAUSE of Beckhams injury. Basically here's what happened. After what seemed to be a life time of hype, Beckham finally plays his first MLS match. Everything seems to go well. After that he flies to Europe to go play a friendly match versus Germany(England vs. Germany where Germany won 2-1). After the loss he flies his ass back to North America where he plays a match where afterwards his LA Galaxy coach announces that Beckham will get the next match off to rest. What happens in his next match? Beckham get injured and is now sidelined for 6 weeks. Genius! In other words, he could very well miss the rest of the LA Galaxy's season. There goes the first season... Only what, 3 more to go? I'm sure somewhere down the line Beckham will end up playing oh 5-6 heck maybe even 9-10 matches in those 3 years. I can see Beckham is commited to wanting to play and everything, but for once in your life Beckham pick one! Either your national team or MLS. You can't keep flying back and fourth. Now thing this that he has to prove himself in matches to play for the National Team. And the only way he can prove himself is to play in matches. Not only has he screwed his fellow LA teammates, he's also seemed to screw over his National Team. Because England only has a few games left(2-3) in the Euro 2008 Qualification Round and they must win all of them(oe atleast 75% of them) to advance to the actual tournament. So this shall be interesting to say the least...
But Beckham isn't the only player that is made out of glass. Barcelona's own Samuel Eto'o is out for 2 months. The bright side of this(again if there is a bright side), is that Henry will finally get a chance to prove himself. Heck, even little Giovanni Dos Santos has gotten some playing time 2 matches into the season. Speaking of which, Barcelona defeated Atletico Bilbao 3-1 on Sunday with 2 goals from Ronaldinho and very "ehh did that even go in" type of goal from Yaya Toure. Basically he sent an extremely powerful shot that hit the crossbar and landed on the goal line and went out. No sign of a goal until about 10 seconds later where Barcelona players started celebrating. On certain replays it looked like it had gone in, but from other angles it looked like only half of it went in(the whole ball has to go in for it to be counted as a goal). Just a quick note, Ronaldinho and Toure are the only players for Barcelona with goals this season so far. Messi came close, Henry and Dos Santos aswell, heck even Eto'o. And speaking of "glass man"...
Manchester United's own(and everyones favorite "glass man"), Louis Saha made his return to Old Trafford on Saturday where he helped Manchester United beat Sunderland 1-0. Saha became the front man as Tevez moved behind him for the rest of the match following the goal. Cristiano Ronaldo will be making his return after serving a 3 game ban following the red card he received in United's second match of the season. Needless to say, Ronaldo has been missed. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the formation now that Ronaldo's back and United finally has 2 strikers. What about Giggs? Nani? We'll see... Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Friday, August 24, 2007
La Liga Preview
In my last post, I was talking about United. Well speaking of United, Gabriel Heinze has been sent to Real Madrid. Heinze went to court trying to convince the jury to let him go to Liverpool but instead got the red light. Heinze made it pretty clear that he didn't want to stay at Old Trafford so he got shipped off to Real Madrid for about 12 million. In other Real Madrid news, La Liga opens its season up tomorrow with Real Madrid taking on Atletico Madrid. Madrid who lost key players such as Roberto Carlos and David Beckham but gaines players in Robben(from Chelsea), Heinze(United), Saviola(Barcelona) and Drenthe(Feyenoord), Pepe(FC Porto) and Sneijder(Ajax). So as you can see Real Madrid has added many players to the already star studded team that they had(Ruud Van Nistelrooi, Raul, Robinho, Cannavaro, Gago and Higuain).
However Madrid isn't the only team that bulked up, Barcelona obviously comes to mind. With an already power house team consisting of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o they added some help on their back line, midfield and yes even up front. Gabriel Milito(Zaragoza), Eric Abidal (Lyon), Yaya Toure (Monaco) and the biggest signing of the entire off season(along with Torres to Liverpool), Thierry Henry from Arsenal for 24 million pounds(32 million USD). Alongside young Giovani dos Santos, Barcelona is as "packed" as they come. So lets just say it will be an interesting season and thats without the usual upsets every now and then. As for who I think will win La Liga I'm gonna have to go with Barcelona. They came extremely close last season and lost because they didn't play too well the last few matches of the season. I think they're going to learn from their mistakes. So Barcelona as champions and I'm sticking to it! Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
However Madrid isn't the only team that bulked up, Barcelona obviously comes to mind. With an already power house team consisting of Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o they added some help on their back line, midfield and yes even up front. Gabriel Milito(Zaragoza), Eric Abidal (Lyon), Yaya Toure (Monaco) and the biggest signing of the entire off season(along with Torres to Liverpool), Thierry Henry from Arsenal for 24 million pounds(32 million USD). Alongside young Giovani dos Santos, Barcelona is as "packed" as they come. So lets just say it will be an interesting season and thats without the usual upsets every now and then. As for who I think will win La Liga I'm gonna have to go with Barcelona. They came extremely close last season and lost because they didn't play too well the last few matches of the season. I think they're going to learn from their mistakes. So Barcelona as champions and I'm sticking to it! Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Put up or shut up
Its put up or shut up for Manchester United come Sunday when they face Tottenham. They drew their first 2 games and lost their last game with only 1 goal to show in 3 games. Needless to say if United drop this one, the chances of them retaining their championship are extremely slim. And of course its not good for my pool either. What with me having Cristiano Ronaldo(who's serving a 3 game suspention), Tevez who hasn't scored and Heizne who just got sent to Real Madrid.
If you look at the table you'll see that Manchester United are currently sitting in 16th place with 2 points where as Manchester City are sitting pretty in first with 9 points. With United's other 2 rivals Chelsea(2nd - 7 Points) and Liverpool(9th - 4 Points). Basically this means if United can snatch 3 points on Sunday they can move up to 5h place. Assuming that everyone else either draws or loses United can go anywhere between 11th place and 5th place. Which is alot better than the 16th place they are currently in. However, if United lose and Villa, Birmingham and Derby win... United will fall to before last place. So its a do or die situation. Time for the squad news... Saha will be on the bench for Sundays game, Brazilian international Anderson will start and Tevez will start aswell. Neville will miss another 2 weeks. So a mixture of good and bad news for United. Cristiano Ronaldo will miss this match and the following match due to the red card that he received. It's going to be an interesting week-end no doubt. Until next time, Vamos Vamos Argentina!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Interesting beginning for the champs...
As I'm typing this, Manchester United is currently standing in 12 place of the EPL. Surprisingly enough Chelsea is third, Manchester City second and Everton first. Of course chances are that will all change from week to week. However I would like to touch on one thing and that is Manchester United's current situation. What is their current situation? Well for one Saha is still injured, O.G.S is still injured, Rooney is injured, Ronaldo just picked up a red card and will miss the next 3 games and Giggs up front isn't going too well. Tevez will really need to explode alot sooner than expected and hopefully it'll come in his second match with Manchester United. Yup, that's right... In the derby match versus Manchester City. It usually takes a player a game or 2 or even 3 to really start gelling with the team but it's going to have to happen soon for Tevez. If United keep dropping points like these, they'll soon be out of the title race. A quick little note though, the last time United drew their first 2 games... Yup thats right... The treble! For those who don't know what the treble is it's winning your own league, your domestic cup and the UEFA Champions League all in the same season. So we'll just have to wait and see.
Onto the Champions League side now. Liverpool beat Toulouse 1-0, Celtic drew with Spartak Moscow 1-1, Weder Bremen beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1, Ajax dropped one at home where they lose 1-0 to Slavia Prague, Sevilla beat AEK 2-0 and Arsenal beat Sparta 2-0. I think all the "big" teams did what they were expected to do and that is win. Aside from Ajax who lost which could end up costing their dreams of playing in the Champions League this season. Liverpool can still end up out of the Champions League if they play pretty badly and lose 2-0, but chances are that won't happen. It's still early to talk, but with the way Barcelona has been playing in the pre-season they could very well end up winning it. Of course pre-season means nothing, but its still interesting. As usual there are the top contenders. Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter, AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid. Milan won it last season with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, can they repeat? We'll just have to wait and see. Don't forget the derby match on Sunday where United need the crucial 3 points to atleast get back in the race! Also on Sunday Chelsea takes on Liverpool in what is always an interesting and important match. Until next time, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Onto the Champions League side now. Liverpool beat Toulouse 1-0, Celtic drew with Spartak Moscow 1-1, Weder Bremen beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1, Ajax dropped one at home where they lose 1-0 to Slavia Prague, Sevilla beat AEK 2-0 and Arsenal beat Sparta 2-0. I think all the "big" teams did what they were expected to do and that is win. Aside from Ajax who lost which could end up costing their dreams of playing in the Champions League this season. Liverpool can still end up out of the Champions League if they play pretty badly and lose 2-0, but chances are that won't happen. It's still early to talk, but with the way Barcelona has been playing in the pre-season they could very well end up winning it. Of course pre-season means nothing, but its still interesting. As usual there are the top contenders. Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea, Inter, AC Milan, Liverpool and Real Madrid. Milan won it last season with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool, can they repeat? We'll just have to wait and see. Don't forget the derby match on Sunday where United need the crucial 3 points to atleast get back in the race! Also on Sunday Chelsea takes on Liverpool in what is always an interesting and important match. Until next time, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Rooney out, Tevez in, Heinze and Beckham
Well, the first week of the EPL is over. Liverpool pulled one out of a rabbit in the dying seconds, Chelsea won and United drew. And it gets worse for United. Aside from being 2 points behind Chelsea and Liverpool, they've now lost Rooney for 8 weeks. Thats 2 months of no Rooney which is a blow for United... But, it's not that bad. Or atleast shouldn't be. Carlos Tevez, Manchester United's new signing will make his Manchester United debut. Sir Alex wanted to wait until the derby versus Manchester City to play him, but we can't wait that long. Now the question is, how will Tevez do? Will it take him several matches until he starts scoring like when he was with West Ham or not? Fact is, if United draw or lose this match, its a very bad start for the current champs. Saha is still injured and so is O.G.S. They might get a few goals from Giggs and Ronaldo will be called upon to create some plays, but the man to watch will be Tevez. Will he play the full 90 minutes? Will he get subbed off? Who knows, all we know is that United spent just over 2 months trying to get Tevez and now they have him. Another thing is Sir Alex stated that Tevez will play Rooney's position, which means no change of tactics. Tevez makes his United debut tomorrow, so we'll just have to wait and see for ourselves if he was worth the trouble or not.
Another question for United fans is Gabriel Heinze. He's going to court later this month where they'll either tell him to pack his bags and go to Liverpool or stay at United. As a United fan, I want Heinze to stay. As an Argentine fan I want Heinze to stay. But it's not up to me, heck its not even up to Heinze! Personally, I want him to stay at United because most of the fans seem to love him and he played very well for them last season. He's not the type of defender that will take the ball and run with it trying to create opportunities. And it shouldn't be either. He's a defender and tough one aswell. He likes to play physical and I think he fits in very well with United.
Ah, David Beckham. Well, he's signed the contract, he's collecting the money and he's giving a big "F You" to everyone. After what seems to be years and years of hype, will be displayed tomorrow. Beckham has missed every LA game this season(including pre-season) except for one where he played for 16 whole minutes! Yup, thats right, 16 minutes! Earlier today Beckham attented his first LA practice and stated that his ankle is 78% healed(the idiot couldn't just say 80%) and that he rpedicts he can play 45 minutes on Thursday. 45 freaking minutes. Beckham is the smartest man alive. Marry what was once something hot, thank God that girls find you attractive and sign a 250 million dollar contract with a company who runs a sport which has no future in that country. Then sit on your ass and collect the paychecks. Genius! Its genius I tell you. Now the guy will make his long awaited debut only to play 45 minutes. Can't get any smarter than that. I can't wait to see what all those fanboys have to say when Beckham dosn't start racking in those goals. And who can forget his England matches! Because the MLS is also FIFA ran, any England soccer match that is under FIFA's consent, Beckham becomes eligible to play. That means if England is playing in October, November, December(which I think they are due to Euro qualifiers), than Beckham will have to go play if called up. What does that mean? That means he's going to have to take a 10 hour flight from North America to Europe to go play. And AFTER the match, take another 10 hour flight back to North America and rest for a few days to a week and than go back to play in the MLS. All the while trying not to get injured. I swear to you, Beckham is probably the smartest player alive. Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Another question for United fans is Gabriel Heinze. He's going to court later this month where they'll either tell him to pack his bags and go to Liverpool or stay at United. As a United fan, I want Heinze to stay. As an Argentine fan I want Heinze to stay. But it's not up to me, heck its not even up to Heinze! Personally, I want him to stay at United because most of the fans seem to love him and he played very well for them last season. He's not the type of defender that will take the ball and run with it trying to create opportunities. And it shouldn't be either. He's a defender and tough one aswell. He likes to play physical and I think he fits in very well with United.
Ah, David Beckham. Well, he's signed the contract, he's collecting the money and he's giving a big "F You" to everyone. After what seems to be years and years of hype, will be displayed tomorrow. Beckham has missed every LA game this season(including pre-season) except for one where he played for 16 whole minutes! Yup, thats right, 16 minutes! Earlier today Beckham attented his first LA practice and stated that his ankle is 78% healed(the idiot couldn't just say 80%) and that he rpedicts he can play 45 minutes on Thursday. 45 freaking minutes. Beckham is the smartest man alive. Marry what was once something hot, thank God that girls find you attractive and sign a 250 million dollar contract with a company who runs a sport which has no future in that country. Then sit on your ass and collect the paychecks. Genius! Its genius I tell you. Now the guy will make his long awaited debut only to play 45 minutes. Can't get any smarter than that. I can't wait to see what all those fanboys have to say when Beckham dosn't start racking in those goals. And who can forget his England matches! Because the MLS is also FIFA ran, any England soccer match that is under FIFA's consent, Beckham becomes eligible to play. That means if England is playing in October, November, December(which I think they are due to Euro qualifiers), than Beckham will have to go play if called up. What does that mean? That means he's going to have to take a 10 hour flight from North America to Europe to go play. And AFTER the match, take another 10 hour flight back to North America and rest for a few days to a week and than go back to play in the MLS. All the while trying not to get injured. I swear to you, Beckham is probably the smartest player alive. Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Friday, August 03, 2007
Random Video #1
Since the video of the week didn't work out too well, I'll do Random Video's. In other words, I'll post videos every now and then.
This Random Video is about none other than the greatest soccer player that ever lived. Argentina's golden boy and favorite son... Diego Armando Maradona.
Beckham and Barcelona
So the almighty great David Beckham is in the States! Blah, he still sucks. Who ever thinks this guy will save the MLS or soccer all together in North America is stupid. Soccer will always be considered to be a 3rd rate sport in North America. ALWAYS. It'll be overshadowed much like it is now by baseball, North American football and hockey. One man cannot save a sport in a continent. Theres absolutely no way. But, I do applaud the MLS because I think they knew what they were getting. I think they knew that they were getting an injury proned Beckham who's past his prime. But thats not why they got him. They didn't want Beckham the player, they wanted Beckham the name. Outside the UK he's nothing. Hell, Madrid didn't even want him which is why they didn't want to re-sign him. 250 million for 5 years is too much for any player in any sport.
And to prove my theory that Beckham will not save soccer in North America, all you have to do is watch the Press Conference or just pictures from the Press Conference. 90% of the people at the Press Conference were teenage girls. And the other 10% was the Press, Beckham and his wife. Your gonna tell me the MLS will live because of teenage girls? Come on, give me a break. I can't believe I'm even wasting my time on this piece of crap.
Now onto something meaningful. Barcelona! It was their fault that they lost La Liga last season. They have no one else to blame but themselves. And in an attempt for Rijkaard to save his ass, he signed a few players. Thierry Henry, Eric Abidal and Gabriel Milito. Add that with the players from last season. Messi, Ronaldinho and Eto'o and you have one hell of an attack. Hopefully Ronaldinho can have a better season than last year for Barca. He was their highest goal scorer and as good as that sounds he had a bad year with them. Beginning of the season was bad for him and there were even reports of him putting on weight. Gotta love the media. I'm not sure at how Rijkaard will play his cards. Will he go with the same tactics as last season and sub on Henry with Eto'o every match? Or will we see Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Henry on the pitch. We'll, time will tell.
Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
And to prove my theory that Beckham will not save soccer in North America, all you have to do is watch the Press Conference or just pictures from the Press Conference. 90% of the people at the Press Conference were teenage girls. And the other 10% was the Press, Beckham and his wife. Your gonna tell me the MLS will live because of teenage girls? Come on, give me a break. I can't believe I'm even wasting my time on this piece of crap.
Now onto something meaningful. Barcelona! It was their fault that they lost La Liga last season. They have no one else to blame but themselves. And in an attempt for Rijkaard to save his ass, he signed a few players. Thierry Henry, Eric Abidal and Gabriel Milito. Add that with the players from last season. Messi, Ronaldinho and Eto'o and you have one hell of an attack. Hopefully Ronaldinho can have a better season than last year for Barca. He was their highest goal scorer and as good as that sounds he had a bad year with them. Beginning of the season was bad for him and there were even reports of him putting on weight. Gotta love the media. I'm not sure at how Rijkaard will play his cards. Will he go with the same tactics as last season and sub on Henry with Eto'o every match? Or will we see Messi, Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Henry on the pitch. We'll, time will tell.
Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
United Talks...
Well its been confirmed. Tevez is now gone to Manchester United. We could of made a soap opera over this damn case. This has been going on before the Copa America and now its finally over! Up front we'll have Rooney and Tevez(Saha is benched) and a supporting cast of one Cristiano Ronaldo. I can see United winning the EPL for a second consecutive year. But this year their aim should be for the Champions League. They lost in the Semi's last season to winners AC Milan and lost in the finals of the FA Cup to Chelsea. FA Cup is nothing compared to the Champions League, which is why I think they should concentrate on the Champions League alot more.
In other United news, Alan Smith has finally been traded aswell. This time to Newcastle. Lets face it, he did nothing for United, except for that 7-1 fiesta over Roma where just about everyone scored. I wold of maybe prefered to keep Saha instead, because they would of gotten more money for Saha, but whatever. Hopefully United(for their sake) aren't injury bound like last season.
Back to Argentine players, Gabriel Heinze is still trying to get out of United to Liverpool. I'm not sure how things will work out for him, but it seems as if he's going to stay at Old Trafford. If he does, hopefully all of this mess dosn't interfer with him getting the #1 spot at being LB. If he ends up going to Liverpool, atleast we'll know he'll more than likely get the starting position. Personally, I would like for him to stay at United because of the fan base he has and the love for Argentines there. Heck, they'd start chanting A-R-G-E-N-T-I-N-A during matches. But who knows, he might end up going to Liverpool... Either way, we'll find out soon. It seems as if the transfer deadline can't come here fast enough.
Something to think about, Inter beat United 3-2 on Wednesday in a pre-season friendly at Old Trafford. Inter didn't have all their key players, where as United was missing Anderson, Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Neville. But still, its something to think about. We'll have to watch Van Der Saar this season aswell, because the last few matches last season he was a total wreck and a half.
Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
In other United news, Alan Smith has finally been traded aswell. This time to Newcastle. Lets face it, he did nothing for United, except for that 7-1 fiesta over Roma where just about everyone scored. I wold of maybe prefered to keep Saha instead, because they would of gotten more money for Saha, but whatever. Hopefully United(for their sake) aren't injury bound like last season.
Back to Argentine players, Gabriel Heinze is still trying to get out of United to Liverpool. I'm not sure how things will work out for him, but it seems as if he's going to stay at Old Trafford. If he does, hopefully all of this mess dosn't interfer with him getting the #1 spot at being LB. If he ends up going to Liverpool, atleast we'll know he'll more than likely get the starting position. Personally, I would like for him to stay at United because of the fan base he has and the love for Argentines there. Heck, they'd start chanting A-R-G-E-N-T-I-N-A during matches. But who knows, he might end up going to Liverpool... Either way, we'll find out soon. It seems as if the transfer deadline can't come here fast enough.
Something to think about, Inter beat United 3-2 on Wednesday in a pre-season friendly at Old Trafford. Inter didn't have all their key players, where as United was missing Anderson, Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Neville. But still, its something to think about. We'll have to watch Van Der Saar this season aswell, because the last few matches last season he was a total wreck and a half.
Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Copa Amreica, U20 World Cup
Well its been a week and I'm still mourning. I cannot believe Argentina lost, let alone 3-0. Granted, it should of been 3-2. Brazil played like a European team and Dunga dosn't seem to care about the beautiful game anymore. He just wanted to win so that he can save his ass because there were rumors going around that if he would of lost he would of been fired. Basically Brazil played the cheap way. Having 3 players at all times on Riquelme, fouling from mid-field so Argentina dosn't get a good chances. And if you watch their goals they all came from counter-attacks. It's ridiculous. Brazil hasn't played the beautiful game since maybe the 94 World Cup which is quiet sad, seeing as how they made it to the finals of France 98 and won it in 2002 and won the Confederations Cup is 2005.
As usual, Argentina gets heartbreaks while playing the beautiful game. 2006 World Cup we played the nicest football and scored the top 3 goals of the tournament(Cambiasso 24 man pass versus Serbia and Montenegro, Tevez versus Serbia and Montenegro and the goal of the tournament Maxi Rodriguez versus Mexico). And what do we get? A biased ref in the Quarter Finals versus the HOST country where we would go on to lose on penalty kicks. And now the same shit happens again. We play the nicest football of Copa America and lose in the finals to a cheap Brazilian team whos lost their touch to the Beautiful Game. That's all I have to say about Copa.
And now time for the sunshine in Argentina! The Albicelestes didn't go 0-2 when it came to tournaments this summer. Argentina beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the U20 World Cup Final yesterday! This is Argentina's 6th World Cup title and they have now won the most World Cup titles in ANY division(Brazil has 5 in the senior team where as we have 6 in the U20 team). Our backline was solid, Romero gave us something to fall back on(he made some great saves in the tournament), Moralez and up front with Aguero... Beautiful team. Crazy part is Messi could of played in this tournament. Imagine, one of the best, if not literally THE BEST player in the entire world playing in an U20 tournament. He already won it in 2005, but was instead picked for the Copa America.
Well, international football is done for the summer(if not year). The transfer deadline for Club football is approaching soon and Tevez is close to signing with EPL champions United. We already know Henry is gone to Barca, Gabriel Milito to Barca, Ayala to Zaragoza and so on. But thats for another time. Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
As usual, Argentina gets heartbreaks while playing the beautiful game. 2006 World Cup we played the nicest football and scored the top 3 goals of the tournament(Cambiasso 24 man pass versus Serbia and Montenegro, Tevez versus Serbia and Montenegro and the goal of the tournament Maxi Rodriguez versus Mexico). And what do we get? A biased ref in the Quarter Finals versus the HOST country where we would go on to lose on penalty kicks. And now the same shit happens again. We play the nicest football of Copa America and lose in the finals to a cheap Brazilian team whos lost their touch to the Beautiful Game. That's all I have to say about Copa.
And now time for the sunshine in Argentina! The Albicelestes didn't go 0-2 when it came to tournaments this summer. Argentina beat the Czech Republic 2-1 in the U20 World Cup Final yesterday! This is Argentina's 6th World Cup title and they have now won the most World Cup titles in ANY division(Brazil has 5 in the senior team where as we have 6 in the U20 team). Our backline was solid, Romero gave us something to fall back on(he made some great saves in the tournament), Moralez and up front with Aguero... Beautiful team. Crazy part is Messi could of played in this tournament. Imagine, one of the best, if not literally THE BEST player in the entire world playing in an U20 tournament. He already won it in 2005, but was instead picked for the Copa America.
Well, international football is done for the summer(if not year). The transfer deadline for Club football is approaching soon and Tevez is close to signing with EPL champions United. We already know Henry is gone to Barca, Gabriel Milito to Barca, Ayala to Zaragoza and so on. But thats for another time. Until then, VAMOS VAMOS ARGENTINA!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Copa America Finals!
The dream final... The 2004 Final... Argentina vs. Brazil in the Copa America Venezuela 2007 final. Let's take an in depth look at how these 2 teams for to the final, starting with the Quarter Final.
Brazil vs. Chile
Quarter Final
It wasn't even close of being a fair match. It was the second time these 2 teams faced off in this Copa America(first time was in the Group Stages, how the hell do they face again I have no idea). First time off was a closer game. Brazil thrashed Chile 6-1 to book their spot in the Semi-Finals.
Brazil vs. Uruguay
Semi Final
What a game. Brazil opened up the scoring in the 13th minute and 1 minute later one of the lights go out and the game is delayed for 13 minutes. In the end it's 2-2 and we're off to the dreaded Penalty Kicks. Fast forward to the last 3 shots. Uruguay with a chance to win it and a miss. Brazil to take the lead and they score! If Uruguay misses this one its over! Uruguay shoots and its saved by the goalkeeper... Controversy time! The goalkeeper was about 5 yards off his line. And the OFFICIAL FIFA Rules are that when taking a Penalty Kick the goalkeeper MUST stay on his line and cannot advance. He can jump before or after the shot is taken, but must stay on his line. In the end Brazil goes to the Final in controversy.
Now that we got those yucky yellow shirts out of the way, lets get down to the beautiful Albicelestes.
Argentina vs. Peru
Quarter Final
All Argentina. Pure domination. Excellent opening goal by Juan Roman Riquelme. Second goal for Argentina was one of the goals of the tournament, not because of the actual goal, but for the pass leading up to it. Magnificent, scientific, heavenly pass by Juan Roman Riquelme which cuts through 3-4 Peru players and little Messi scores his first of the tournament and it's 2-0! Several minutes later, Tevez with the ball, nice pass to Messi, but Messi's shot is saved... No problem, Mascherano is there for the re-bound and scores! 3-0 but we're not done there! Off a Peru free kick, Abondanzieri(goalkeeper) punches the ball out of his box, keeps running for it and kicks it to wards Carlos Tevez who is in midfield. Tevez outruns one player, dekes another and passes it to Riquelme(with Messi beside him) and Riquelme scores his second of the game to make it 4-0 Argentina!
Argentina vs. Mexico
Semi Final
Repeat of the 2004 Copa America in the group stage where Mexico won 1-0, 2005 Confederations Cup Semi Final where Argentina won on penalty kicks and the Round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup where Argentina eliminated Mexico 2-1 with a fantastic goal by Maxi Rodrigues! Now, onto the match. Very close first half with some back and forth action. 45th minute, Argentina free kick. Riquelme takes it from about 45 yards out, towards the defender Gabriel Heinze and Heinze does a KARATE KICK! and kicks the ball into the net and it's 1-0! Second half, Tevez with the ball flicks it back to Messi and Messi with the goal of the tournament so far, raises it over Sanchez and in! 2-0 for Argentina! A few minutes later Tevez in the box gets taken down by Marquez. Penalty kick for Argentina! Riquelme steps in for Argentina to take it. Sanchez jumps to his right and Riquelme with a beautiful flick raises it and into the net and it's 3-0 Argentina!
And now for the Final on Sunday. It was 2004, Copa America finals. Argentina vs. Brazil. 1-1 in the 90th minute(injury time) Argentina scores! It's 2-1 Argentina! 93rd and last minute of injury time, Brazil ties it up! It's 2-2 and we're headed to penalty kicks. Brazil ends up winning on penalty kicks, because as well all know it's a sin for Brazil to lose on penalty kicks. And that sets up the Final on Sunday!
Brazil vs. Chile
Quarter Final
It wasn't even close of being a fair match. It was the second time these 2 teams faced off in this Copa America(first time was in the Group Stages, how the hell do they face again I have no idea). First time off was a closer game. Brazil thrashed Chile 6-1 to book their spot in the Semi-Finals.
Brazil vs. Uruguay
Semi Final
What a game. Brazil opened up the scoring in the 13th minute and 1 minute later one of the lights go out and the game is delayed for 13 minutes. In the end it's 2-2 and we're off to the dreaded Penalty Kicks. Fast forward to the last 3 shots. Uruguay with a chance to win it and a miss. Brazil to take the lead and they score! If Uruguay misses this one its over! Uruguay shoots and its saved by the goalkeeper... Controversy time! The goalkeeper was about 5 yards off his line. And the OFFICIAL FIFA Rules are that when taking a Penalty Kick the goalkeeper MUST stay on his line and cannot advance. He can jump before or after the shot is taken, but must stay on his line. In the end Brazil goes to the Final in controversy.
Now that we got those yucky yellow shirts out of the way, lets get down to the beautiful Albicelestes.
Argentina vs. Peru
Quarter Final
All Argentina. Pure domination. Excellent opening goal by Juan Roman Riquelme. Second goal for Argentina was one of the goals of the tournament, not because of the actual goal, but for the pass leading up to it. Magnificent, scientific, heavenly pass by Juan Roman Riquelme which cuts through 3-4 Peru players and little Messi scores his first of the tournament and it's 2-0! Several minutes later, Tevez with the ball, nice pass to Messi, but Messi's shot is saved... No problem, Mascherano is there for the re-bound and scores! 3-0 but we're not done there! Off a Peru free kick, Abondanzieri(goalkeeper) punches the ball out of his box, keeps running for it and kicks it to wards Carlos Tevez who is in midfield. Tevez outruns one player, dekes another and passes it to Riquelme(with Messi beside him) and Riquelme scores his second of the game to make it 4-0 Argentina!
Argentina vs. Mexico
Semi Final
Repeat of the 2004 Copa America in the group stage where Mexico won 1-0, 2005 Confederations Cup Semi Final where Argentina won on penalty kicks and the Round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup where Argentina eliminated Mexico 2-1 with a fantastic goal by Maxi Rodrigues! Now, onto the match. Very close first half with some back and forth action. 45th minute, Argentina free kick. Riquelme takes it from about 45 yards out, towards the defender Gabriel Heinze and Heinze does a KARATE KICK! and kicks the ball into the net and it's 1-0! Second half, Tevez with the ball flicks it back to Messi and Messi with the goal of the tournament so far, raises it over Sanchez and in! 2-0 for Argentina! A few minutes later Tevez in the box gets taken down by Marquez. Penalty kick for Argentina! Riquelme steps in for Argentina to take it. Sanchez jumps to his right and Riquelme with a beautiful flick raises it and into the net and it's 3-0 Argentina!
And now for the Final on Sunday. It was 2004, Copa America finals. Argentina vs. Brazil. 1-1 in the 90th minute(injury time) Argentina scores! It's 2-1 Argentina! 93rd and last minute of injury time, Brazil ties it up! It's 2-2 and we're headed to penalty kicks. Brazil ends up winning on penalty kicks, because as well all know it's a sin for Brazil to lose on penalty kicks. And that sets up the Final on Sunday!
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Copa America Secound Round Group Matches
"Ladies and Gentlemen... We are... REEEEADYYYY TOOOOO TTTALLK SOCCCCCCER!" Ok, so I needed some cool introduction. Yes, I found it cool. Now that I have your attention, lets talk soccer! Since this month is Copa America and FIFA U20 World Cup month, I thought we'd talk about those. Starting with Copa America and U20 in the next article. We're in the second round of the group stage and let's see the current standings for Group A.
1. Venezuela - 4 Points.(Was 2nd place last stage).
2. Peru - 3 Points.(Was 1st place last stage).
3. Uruguay - 3 Points.(Was 4th place last stage).
4. Bolivia - 1 Point.(Was 3rd place last stage).
Here's what happened this week with this Group. Uruguay defeated Bolivia 1-0 and Venezuela defeated Peru 2-0. If Uruguay can get a good scoreline(anywhere from a draw to a victory) versus Venezuela, then they are through to the next round. However, if Uruguay loses and Bolivia wins, then Bolivia is probably going on to the next round(depending on the resutls in the other groups).
Onto the next Group that is Group B. Here are the current standings for Group B.
1. Mexico - 6 Points.(Was 1st place last stage).
2. Brazil - 3 Points.(Was 4th place last stage).
3. Chile - 3 Points.(Was 2nd place last stage).
4. Ecuador - 0 Points.(Was 3rd place last stage).
Mexico pulled out another victory, this time versus Ecuador 2-1 and Brazil(shall I say Robinho) finally decided to show up as they thrashed Chile with 3 goals from Robinho.
And finally the last Group, that is Group C.
1. Paraguay - 6 Points.(Was in 1st place last stage).
2. Argentina - 6 Points.(Was in 2nd place last stage).
3. USA - 0 Points.(was in 3rd place last stage).
4. Colombia - 0 Points.(Was in 4th place last stage).
As we can see, nothing changed in this group. Paraguay defeated USA 3-1 as Argentina defeated Colombia 4-2. Argentina lost Crespo as he got injured while taking a penalty kick(he kicked it with full power), which means that Diego Milito will probably replace Crespo. Tevez was subbed in for Messi once again and Lucho came on for Veron. No Aimar this time.
That's all for the second round of group matches. Thursday is the last day of group stages and we will find out who will face who in the Quarter Finals and who will be sent home. That's all for now folks.
1. Venezuela - 4 Points.(Was 2nd place last stage).
2. Peru - 3 Points.(Was 1st place last stage).
3. Uruguay - 3 Points.(Was 4th place last stage).
4. Bolivia - 1 Point.(Was 3rd place last stage).
Here's what happened this week with this Group. Uruguay defeated Bolivia 1-0 and Venezuela defeated Peru 2-0. If Uruguay can get a good scoreline(anywhere from a draw to a victory) versus Venezuela, then they are through to the next round. However, if Uruguay loses and Bolivia wins, then Bolivia is probably going on to the next round(depending on the resutls in the other groups).
Onto the next Group that is Group B. Here are the current standings for Group B.
1. Mexico - 6 Points.(Was 1st place last stage).
2. Brazil - 3 Points.(Was 4th place last stage).
3. Chile - 3 Points.(Was 2nd place last stage).
4. Ecuador - 0 Points.(Was 3rd place last stage).
Mexico pulled out another victory, this time versus Ecuador 2-1 and Brazil(shall I say Robinho) finally decided to show up as they thrashed Chile with 3 goals from Robinho.
And finally the last Group, that is Group C.
1. Paraguay - 6 Points.(Was in 1st place last stage).
2. Argentina - 6 Points.(Was in 2nd place last stage).
3. USA - 0 Points.(was in 3rd place last stage).
4. Colombia - 0 Points.(Was in 4th place last stage).
As we can see, nothing changed in this group. Paraguay defeated USA 3-1 as Argentina defeated Colombia 4-2. Argentina lost Crespo as he got injured while taking a penalty kick(he kicked it with full power), which means that Diego Milito will probably replace Crespo. Tevez was subbed in for Messi once again and Lucho came on for Veron. No Aimar this time.
That's all for the second round of group matches. Thursday is the last day of group stages and we will find out who will face who in the Quarter Finals and who will be sent home. That's all for now folks.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Copa America First Round Group Matches
With the recent Chris Benoit news, I couldn't stomach writing a news article, but as the days pass by and the first round of group stage officialy finished in the Copa America... Why not?
Let's get things started off with Group A(Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela). The first match of the Copa America was an upset to say the least. Uruguay got a huge surprise as they lost to darkhorse Peru 3-0! Yup, the surprise of the tournament came 1 match into the tournament. In game 2, host Venezuela got held to a draw versus a brave Bolivia team 2-2. Here are the current standings for Group A.
1. Peru - 3 Points.
2. Venezuela - 1 Point.
3. Bolivia - 1 Point.
4. Uruguay - 0 Points.
On Saturday it'll be Bolivia vs. Uruguay and first place Peru vs. hosts Venezuela.
Thoughts: I'm surprised Peru is in first place. I would of thought 2-1 or 3-1 Uruguay, not the other way around. Uruguay need a win in their match if they want don't want to make it difficult on themselves to make it to the next round. Uhh, lets face it, if Uruguay tie or lose, they're done for. First place will most probably be decided on Saturday between Peru and Venezuela.
Now Group B. The underdogs' Group. I did not expect the results we got, but as an Argentine fan, I love it. Ecuador completely dominated Chile in the match, but Chile score a late winner as they beat Ecuador 3-2. And in possibly the upset of the tournament, Mexico beat current Copa America champions Brazil 2-0! Granted Brazil didn't have Ronaldihno, Kaka, Adriano and Ronaldo, but still. You have to give credit where credit is due, Mexico dominated Brazil in the first half and held on to the victory in the second half. Here are the current standings for Group B.
1. Mexico - 3 Points.
2. Chile - 3 Points.
3. Ecuador - 0 Points.
4. Brazil - 0 Points.
Thoughts: Some more bad news for Brazil, Fred has an injured(I'm guessing broken) toe and will miss the rest of the tournament. I can see Mexico beating Chile and Ecuador and my guess is they will top Group B. Next up for the defending champions is a match versus Chile on Sunday and first place Mexico to take on an unlucky Ecuador.
And finally onto the massacre Group. Which is Group C. Why Massacre? Well in the first match of Group C, Paraguay massacred Colombia 5-0! Complete domination by Paraguay. And in the second match we had my Argentina! Argentina embarassed the States, 4-1. The Americans only goal came on a penalty. Second half was all Argentina one Pablo Aimar came on for them and the rest was history. Here are the current standings for Group C.
1. Paraguay - 3 Points.
2. Argentina - 3 Points.
3. USA - 0 Points.
4. Colombia - 0 Points.
Thoughts: Next up for the crushed Americans is a match versus Paraguay and next up to the destroyed Colombians is a match versus Argentina. Much like Group A, the deciding match as to who will finish first will be between Argentina and Paraguay.
That's all for the first round of the group matches. Friday is off for everyone and the tournament continues on Saturday with Group A matches.
Let's get things started off with Group A(Bolivia, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela). The first match of the Copa America was an upset to say the least. Uruguay got a huge surprise as they lost to darkhorse Peru 3-0! Yup, the surprise of the tournament came 1 match into the tournament. In game 2, host Venezuela got held to a draw versus a brave Bolivia team 2-2. Here are the current standings for Group A.
1. Peru - 3 Points.
2. Venezuela - 1 Point.
3. Bolivia - 1 Point.
4. Uruguay - 0 Points.
On Saturday it'll be Bolivia vs. Uruguay and first place Peru vs. hosts Venezuela.
Thoughts: I'm surprised Peru is in first place. I would of thought 2-1 or 3-1 Uruguay, not the other way around. Uruguay need a win in their match if they want don't want to make it difficult on themselves to make it to the next round. Uhh, lets face it, if Uruguay tie or lose, they're done for. First place will most probably be decided on Saturday between Peru and Venezuela.
Now Group B. The underdogs' Group. I did not expect the results we got, but as an Argentine fan, I love it. Ecuador completely dominated Chile in the match, but Chile score a late winner as they beat Ecuador 3-2. And in possibly the upset of the tournament, Mexico beat current Copa America champions Brazil 2-0! Granted Brazil didn't have Ronaldihno, Kaka, Adriano and Ronaldo, but still. You have to give credit where credit is due, Mexico dominated Brazil in the first half and held on to the victory in the second half. Here are the current standings for Group B.
1. Mexico - 3 Points.
2. Chile - 3 Points.
3. Ecuador - 0 Points.
4. Brazil - 0 Points.
Thoughts: Some more bad news for Brazil, Fred has an injured(I'm guessing broken) toe and will miss the rest of the tournament. I can see Mexico beating Chile and Ecuador and my guess is they will top Group B. Next up for the defending champions is a match versus Chile on Sunday and first place Mexico to take on an unlucky Ecuador.
And finally onto the massacre Group. Which is Group C. Why Massacre? Well in the first match of Group C, Paraguay massacred Colombia 5-0! Complete domination by Paraguay. And in the second match we had my Argentina! Argentina embarassed the States, 4-1. The Americans only goal came on a penalty. Second half was all Argentina one Pablo Aimar came on for them and the rest was history. Here are the current standings for Group C.
1. Paraguay - 3 Points.
2. Argentina - 3 Points.
3. USA - 0 Points.
4. Colombia - 0 Points.
Thoughts: Next up for the crushed Americans is a match versus Paraguay and next up to the destroyed Colombians is a match versus Argentina. Much like Group A, the deciding match as to who will finish first will be between Argentina and Paraguay.
That's all for the first round of the group matches. Friday is off for everyone and the tournament continues on Saturday with Group A matches.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Argentina List, Gold Cup
Well the Argentina list for the Copa America has been released and here's how it looks like.
Goalkeepers:
Roberto Abbondanzieri
Juan Pablo Carrizo
Agustin Orion
Defenders:
Javier Zanetti
Roberto Ayala
Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Milito
Daniel Diaz
Hugo Ibarra
Nicolas Burdisso
Midfielders:
Luis Gonzalez
Juan Roman Riquelme
Javier Mascherano
Esteban Cambiasso
Fernando Gago
Juan Sebastian Veron
Pablo Aimar
Forwards:
Lionel Messi
Hernan Crespo
Diego Milito
Carlos Tevez
Rodrigo Palacio
And there's the 22 man squad. Personally, I think this is one of the best squads we've ever had. Every position has a mixture of veteran and youth. I'm disappointed that Saviola wasn't on the team(he was replaced with Palacio), but I guess you must of seen it coming. Our first match is on June 28 versus USA. It'll be interesting to see the formation.
Alright, the Gold Cup. I watched some of the highlights last night(it was Canada vs. USA) in the Gold Cup Semi-Finals(the tournament is held in the USA). Canada was ROBBED. For anyone that dosn't know the current situation, let me explain. One of the other teams in the other Semi-Final match was/is Mexico. So naturally Mexico will go to the finals. And for some odd reason everyone wants to see a USA/Mexico final. USA were awarded their THIRD penalty kick of the tournament. THIRD! So the score is 2-1 and there's about a minute left to play. Canada has the ball, he passes it, it goes off an AMERICAN defender, back to the Canadian and the Canadian scores. Goal right? Wrong. The MEXICAN referee called it Offside even though it deflected off the American defender. The score would of been 2-2 and there would have been Extra Time. But their playing in the States, Mexico will go to the final, it's a Mexican referee, ect... The sad part about this is that USA will move up in the FIFA Rankings and Americans will truly believe that they are one of the best teams in the world which is pretty sad.
They have their hero who wears the Number 10 who's supposed to be the best player in the entire world according to American Soccer, yet he still plays in the MLS. MLS in Europe and South America would be considered as third division. Not second or first, THIRD. So if Landon is that good why isn't he playing in Europe? Because he knows that he would be sent back to the States where he can continue to show off the little skill he has on 3rd rate players. This rant is over for now, Argentina/Copa America analysis in the next column. Oh and remember, soccer is the only sport that matters!
Goalkeepers:
Roberto Abbondanzieri
Juan Pablo Carrizo
Agustin Orion
Defenders:
Javier Zanetti
Roberto Ayala
Gabriel Heinze
Gabriel Milito
Daniel Diaz
Hugo Ibarra
Nicolas Burdisso
Midfielders:
Luis Gonzalez
Juan Roman Riquelme
Javier Mascherano
Esteban Cambiasso
Fernando Gago
Juan Sebastian Veron
Pablo Aimar
Forwards:
Lionel Messi
Hernan Crespo
Diego Milito
Carlos Tevez
Rodrigo Palacio
And there's the 22 man squad. Personally, I think this is one of the best squads we've ever had. Every position has a mixture of veteran and youth. I'm disappointed that Saviola wasn't on the team(he was replaced with Palacio), but I guess you must of seen it coming. Our first match is on June 28 versus USA. It'll be interesting to see the formation.
Alright, the Gold Cup. I watched some of the highlights last night(it was Canada vs. USA) in the Gold Cup Semi-Finals(the tournament is held in the USA). Canada was ROBBED. For anyone that dosn't know the current situation, let me explain. One of the other teams in the other Semi-Final match was/is Mexico. So naturally Mexico will go to the finals. And for some odd reason everyone wants to see a USA/Mexico final. USA were awarded their THIRD penalty kick of the tournament. THIRD! So the score is 2-1 and there's about a minute left to play. Canada has the ball, he passes it, it goes off an AMERICAN defender, back to the Canadian and the Canadian scores. Goal right? Wrong. The MEXICAN referee called it Offside even though it deflected off the American defender. The score would of been 2-2 and there would have been Extra Time. But their playing in the States, Mexico will go to the final, it's a Mexican referee, ect... The sad part about this is that USA will move up in the FIFA Rankings and Americans will truly believe that they are one of the best teams in the world which is pretty sad.
They have their hero who wears the Number 10 who's supposed to be the best player in the entire world according to American Soccer, yet he still plays in the MLS. MLS in Europe and South America would be considered as third division. Not second or first, THIRD. So if Landon is that good why isn't he playing in Europe? Because he knows that he would be sent back to the States where he can continue to show off the little skill he has on 3rd rate players. This rant is over for now, Argentina/Copa America analysis in the next column. Oh and remember, soccer is the only sport that matters!
Monday, June 18, 2007
U20 FIFA World Cup
Yes, there's another tournament this summer and it's the FIFA U20 World Cup. Yup, the Under20 World Cup is actually coming to Canada! "It's only the juniors! Why else should I watch this tournament?!" you ask? Well it's simple. Most of these players already play with clubs(big clubs and small clubs). Sure some are probably rookies and most if not all are making their international debut, but the future stars are made in this tournament and I'm not just making that up either. Great soccer players have come out of this tournament. Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Javier Saviola, Ronaldihno, Kaka, Adriano and more. These guys made their name on the international scene via this tournament. The question is, who'll be the next superstar? Personally(and I'm not just saying this because I'm an Argentina fan), but I think Sergio "Kun" Aguero will explode in this tournament. This guy is a great player and I think he will(much like previous players) benefit from this tournament. Here are the current groups.
Group A:
Canada(host)
Austria
Chile
Congo
Group B:
Spain
Uruguay
Zambia
Jordon
Group C:
Mexico
Portugal
Gambia
New Zealand
Group D:
Brazil
Korea Republic
Poland
United States
Group E:
Argentina
Czech Republic
Korea DPR
Panama
Group F:
Costa Rica
Japan
Nigeria
Scotland
As usual, in every tournament there's a group of death(see link below for more details about Group of Death).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_death
However in this tournament there seems to be 3 groups of death. Groups C, D and E. Group A seems to be the easiest one of all with Group F behind but you never know. By the way, did I mention I'm going to Argentina vs. Korea DPR and Brazil vs. USA? Yes, I'm special I know, I know. Until next time, remember soccer is the only sport that matters!
Group A:
Canada(host)
Austria
Chile
Congo
Group B:
Spain
Uruguay
Zambia
Jordon
Group C:
Mexico
Portugal
Gambia
New Zealand
Group D:
Brazil
Korea Republic
Poland
United States
Group E:
Argentina
Czech Republic
Korea DPR
Panama
Group F:
Costa Rica
Japan
Nigeria
Scotland
As usual, in every tournament there's a group of death(see link below for more details about Group of Death).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_death
However in this tournament there seems to be 3 groups of death. Groups C, D and E. Group A seems to be the easiest one of all with Group F behind but you never know. By the way, did I mention I'm going to Argentina vs. Korea DPR and Brazil vs. USA? Yes, I'm special I know, I know. Until next time, remember soccer is the only sport that matters!
Copa America, Transfer News, More
Well the Copa America is soon approaching and so is the deadline for the final squad list. All coaches have until June 21st to send in their final list of players that will be participating in the competition. And it looks as if the Argentine coach will take his time. Only a few players have been confirmed. Lionel Messi, Pablo Aimar, Hernan Crespo and Roberto Abbondanzieri. Some are more-or-less confirmed, but nothing 100%. One player however that I feel should be on the team is Javier Saviola. This guy is one of the most underrated players in the world right now and it would be a loss for the team if he isn't included. This kid has the speed, the skill, EVERYTHING. However his timing is horrible. He was in the U20 World Cup with Argentina(where he really shined) in 2001 and seeing as how the World Cup was the following year, he wasn't able to be included. And in 2006 he was in the starting line up but was overshadowed by Messi and Tevez. Now Copa America time he's overshadowed by Messi, Tevez and Milito. The kid really has no luck what so ever. Well it's that time of the year again, let the transfer talk begin! Saviola to Madrid? Henry to Barca? Tevez to Inter/Madrid?
Javier Saviola: Once again rumors have surfaced that Argentine striker Javier Saviola will go from Barcelona to rivals Madrid. This would be HUGE for Madrid seeing as how Ruud Van Nistelrooy is doing just about everything for Real Madrid right now. And Saviola hasn't played a match for Barcelona in the longest time(again overshadowed, this time by Messi, Eto'o and Ronaldihno). Not only would this benefit Madrid, but obviously Saviola aswell. He would finally get the respect he deserves over there and he would be able to show his skills.
Thierry Henry: Saviola gone and in comes Henry. Henry hasn't done anything to deny the rumors that he is in talks with Barcelona. It seems as if he wants out of Arsenal(and maybe England all together). And Barcelona is leading the race to get Henry. Of course many clubs would love to get their hands on Henry, but Barcelona seems like it's going to go through a major overhaul this summer, so what better way to start off than by signing Henry? Thing is what would they do with Messi, Eto'o, Ronaldihno and Henry? Who's going to be the sub?
Carlos Tevez: Carlos Tevez, the most loved player in West Ham. Rumors are circuling that he's gotten bids from Inter(Italy), Real Madrid(Spain), Barcelona(Spain) and even Chelsea(England) and from West Ham to stay with them. The question is, who's in the lead? A few weeks ago it was Inter who was throwing out all the money. Now we hear that Madrid is involved in the race. Barcelona to some extent, but I doubt they'll throw much for him especially seeing as how they're main problem isn't forwards. Chelsea seems out of the running and West Ham is still a possibilty. The only realistic clubs that are willing to throw the money are Inter, Madrid and West Ham. With that said, I still think he'll end up going to Inter, especially since they have several Argentine players(Crespo, Cruz, Cambiasso, Burdisso, Zanetti, Samuel, Solari and Mariano Gonzalez.) Those are 8 Argentine players with Tevez 9. But who knows, he might end up going to Madrid where fellow Argentina teammate Saviola seems to be going. Or he might stay at West Ham.
Those are 3 players that can end up going just about anywhere right now. Stay tunned for my next column, where I will post my video of the week and much more! Until next time, remember soccer is the only sport that matters!
Javier Saviola: Once again rumors have surfaced that Argentine striker Javier Saviola will go from Barcelona to rivals Madrid. This would be HUGE for Madrid seeing as how Ruud Van Nistelrooy is doing just about everything for Real Madrid right now. And Saviola hasn't played a match for Barcelona in the longest time(again overshadowed, this time by Messi, Eto'o and Ronaldihno). Not only would this benefit Madrid, but obviously Saviola aswell. He would finally get the respect he deserves over there and he would be able to show his skills.Thierry Henry: Saviola gone and in comes Henry. Henry hasn't done anything to deny the rumors that he is in talks with Barcelona. It seems as if he wants out of Arsenal(and maybe England all together). And Barcelona is leading the race to get Henry. Of course many clubs would love to get their hands on Henry, but Barcelona seems like it's going to go through a major overhaul this summer, so what better way to start off than by signing Henry? Thing is what would they do with Messi, Eto'o, Ronaldihno and Henry? Who's going to be the sub?Carlos Tevez: Carlos Tevez, the most loved player in West Ham. Rumors are circuling that he's gotten bids from Inter(Italy), Real Madrid(Spain), Barcelona(Spain) and even Chelsea(England) and from West Ham to stay with them. The question is, who's in the lead? A few weeks ago it was Inter who was throwing out all the money. Now we hear that Madrid is involved in the race. Barcelona to some extent, but I doubt they'll throw much for him especially seeing as how they're main problem isn't forwards. Chelsea seems out of the running and West Ham is still a possibilty. The only realistic clubs that are willing to throw the money are Inter, Madrid and West Ham. With that said, I still think he'll end up going to Inter, especially since they have several Argentine players(Crespo, Cruz, Cambiasso, Burdisso, Zanetti, Samuel, Solari and Mariano Gonzalez.) Those are 8 Argentine players with Tevez 9. But who knows, he might end up going to Madrid where fellow Argentina teammate Saviola seems to be going. Or he might stay at West Ham.Those are 3 players that can end up going just about anywhere right now. Stay tunned for my next column, where I will post my video of the week and much more! Until next time, remember soccer is the only sport that matters!
Friday, June 15, 2007
The other stuff! Wrestling Reviews! - Part 2
Alright, I said I'd post 2 wrestling reviews and I only posted one. So here's the double header(ewww, that sounds wrong).
Event: The Main Event(Saturday Night Main Event).
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Macho Man Randy Savage.
Other: Ted Dibease has Sensational Sherri in his corner.
Bret Hart vs. Ted Dibease
The bell sounds and we are under way. They hook up as Ted over powers Bret and pushes him onto the ropes. A knee to the stomach by Ted. A few knife edge chops to Bret. Bret goes into the corner, and some right hands by Ted. Ted sends Bret Hart to the corner, but Bret reverses it. Ted bounces off the turnbuckle pad and a hip toss by Bret. Ted gets up and a clothsline by Bret. He gets up again, and another clothsline by Bret. Ted gets up once again, and Bret clothslines Ted over the top rope onto the outside. Bret jumps over the top rope and lands on Ted. Some right hands by Bret. Sherri about to sneak up behind Bret, but Bret looks at Sherri and Sherri begins running away. Bret turns his attention back to Ted and sends him back into the ring. A headlock take down by Bret as he goes for the cover, 1..2.. but Ted reverses it and rolls Bret over for the cover, 1..2.. but Bret kicks out. Bret reverses it back into a headlock as both men get up. Bret still with the headlock on as Ted sends Bret to the ropes. Bret comes back and a shoulder block by Bret. Bret runs to the ropes, Ted goes for a clothsline, Bret ducks and continues running. Sherri trips Bret. Bret quickly gets up and looks at Sherri. He grabs her by the hair as she goes on the ring apron. Ted gets up and goes to attack Bret from behind, but Bret moves out of the way as Ted nails Sherri with a knee to the face taking Sherri down to the outside. Bret rolls Ted from behind, 1..2.. but Ted kicks out. The crowd loving every second of this match as they start cheering.
A standing headlock by Bret. Ted sens Bret to the ropes, Bret takes him down with a shoulder block. Bret runs to the ropes, jumps over Ted, comes running back but Ted picks Bret up and throws him onto the ropes. Ted picks Bret up and a piledriver. A cover by Ted, 1..2.. but Bret kicks out. Ted picks Bret up and sends him to the ropes. Bret comes back and jumps behind Ted. Bret pushing Ted to the ropes, but Ted moves out of the way as Bret lands on the outside. Ted catches his breath for a second and goes to the outside. He smashes Bret's head on the ring steps. Ted gets in the ring and distracts the ref as Sherri punches Bret. Ted goes back to the outside and sends Bret inside the ring. Ted begins chocking Bret by using the ropes as the referee breaks it up. Ted gets up and begins arguing with the ref. Meanwhile, Sherri takes off her coat and begins chocking Bret. She lets go as Ted goes back and chockes Bret with the ropes again. Referee breaks it up as Ted begins arguing with the ref. Sherri takes off her shoe, grabs Bret and hits him with the shoe across the throat. Ted grabs Bret and smashes his head onto the turnbuckle pad. A chop across Bret's chest by Ted. Ted sends Bret to the turnbuckle and Bret goes down. Ted gloating. Ted getting ready for the sleeper(Million Dollar Dream). He goes behind Bret and locks it on. Bret trying to get out of it, finally backs Ted into the turnbuckle and the hold is broken. Ted gets up and climbs the turnbuckle. He goes for a double ax, but Bret hits him in the stomach as Ted goes down. Ted gets back up. A right hand by Bret, Ted goes for a shot, but Bret blocks it. Some more right hands by Bret finally takes Ted down. Ted begging for mercy. Ted goes to the corner and a few right hands by Bret. Bret grabs Ted out of the corner and an attomic drop. Bret runs to the ropes and an elbow smash takes Ted down. Bret goes for the cover, 1..2.. but Ted kicks out. Ted gets back up and a russian leg sweep by Bret. Bret goes for the cover, 1..2... but Ted kicks out. Vince doing commentating is saying it was a three. Bret gets up and argues with the ref. He turns his attention back to Ted.
He picks Ted up and a back breaker. Bret climbs the turnbuckle. The ref telling him to get down, and Bret with an elbow drop. He goes for the over, 1..2.. but Ted kicks out. The announcers going crazy saying it was a three. Bret begins arguing with the ref, telling him it was a three, but the ref saying nothing. He goes back to Ted a right hand by Bret and he locks on the headlock. Ted sends him to the ropes, Bret runs, jumps over Ted, but Sherri holds Bret's leg. The ref seeing nothing. Bret goes to the outside and follows Sherri. He grabs Sherri by her jacket, but Ted from behind with a double ax off the ring apron. Piper who was doing commentating begins walking down to the outside. The fans literally going crazy. On the inside of the ring, Bret takes Ted down and a few right hands by Bret. The camera cuts to the ouside. Piper telling Sherri to leave. But she begins walking away from him. He begins chasing her outside the ring. Piper looking under the ring and grabs a broom. He begins hitting her with the broom on her ass. And chases her outside the ring. He puts the broom between his legs and chases her. He chases her out of the ring side area to the back. Back inside the ring, a rake to the eyes to Bret. Ted looks on the outside of the ring. He goes outside and begins walking to the back. Bret goes to the outside and follows Ted. They tie up and exchange right hands. The ref calls for the bell as both men are counted out. Bret knocks Ted down and begins walking back to the ring. Ted gets up and follows him. Bret slides back into the ring and begins arguing with the ref as both men are furious.
Final Thoughts
4 out of 5. Great match for a Saturday Night Main Event. The fans were really into it, especially the commentators.
Alright, that's it for the double header(God, I hate those words). Until next time, remember soccer is the only sport that matters!
Event: The Main Event(Saturday Night Main Event).
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Macho Man Randy Savage.
Other: Ted Dibease has Sensational Sherri in his corner.
Bret Hart vs. Ted Dibease
The bell sounds and we are under way. They hook up as Ted over powers Bret and pushes him onto the ropes. A knee to the stomach by Ted. A few knife edge chops to Bret. Bret goes into the corner, and some right hands by Ted. Ted sends Bret Hart to the corner, but Bret reverses it. Ted bounces off the turnbuckle pad and a hip toss by Bret. Ted gets up and a clothsline by Bret. He gets up again, and another clothsline by Bret. Ted gets up once again, and Bret clothslines Ted over the top rope onto the outside. Bret jumps over the top rope and lands on Ted. Some right hands by Bret. Sherri about to sneak up behind Bret, but Bret looks at Sherri and Sherri begins running away. Bret turns his attention back to Ted and sends him back into the ring. A headlock take down by Bret as he goes for the cover, 1..2.. but Ted reverses it and rolls Bret over for the cover, 1..2.. but Bret kicks out. Bret reverses it back into a headlock as both men get up. Bret still with the headlock on as Ted sends Bret to the ropes. Bret comes back and a shoulder block by Bret. Bret runs to the ropes, Ted goes for a clothsline, Bret ducks and continues running. Sherri trips Bret. Bret quickly gets up and looks at Sherri. He grabs her by the hair as she goes on the ring apron. Ted gets up and goes to attack Bret from behind, but Bret moves out of the way as Ted nails Sherri with a knee to the face taking Sherri down to the outside. Bret rolls Ted from behind, 1..2.. but Ted kicks out. The crowd loving every second of this match as they start cheering.
A standing headlock by Bret. Ted sens Bret to the ropes, Bret takes him down with a shoulder block. Bret runs to the ropes, jumps over Ted, comes running back but Ted picks Bret up and throws him onto the ropes. Ted picks Bret up and a piledriver. A cover by Ted, 1..2.. but Bret kicks out. Ted picks Bret up and sends him to the ropes. Bret comes back and jumps behind Ted. Bret pushing Ted to the ropes, but Ted moves out of the way as Bret lands on the outside. Ted catches his breath for a second and goes to the outside. He smashes Bret's head on the ring steps. Ted gets in the ring and distracts the ref as Sherri punches Bret. Ted goes back to the outside and sends Bret inside the ring. Ted begins chocking Bret by using the ropes as the referee breaks it up. Ted gets up and begins arguing with the ref. Meanwhile, Sherri takes off her coat and begins chocking Bret. She lets go as Ted goes back and chockes Bret with the ropes again. Referee breaks it up as Ted begins arguing with the ref. Sherri takes off her shoe, grabs Bret and hits him with the shoe across the throat. Ted grabs Bret and smashes his head onto the turnbuckle pad. A chop across Bret's chest by Ted. Ted sends Bret to the turnbuckle and Bret goes down. Ted gloating. Ted getting ready for the sleeper(Million Dollar Dream). He goes behind Bret and locks it on. Bret trying to get out of it, finally backs Ted into the turnbuckle and the hold is broken. Ted gets up and climbs the turnbuckle. He goes for a double ax, but Bret hits him in the stomach as Ted goes down. Ted gets back up. A right hand by Bret, Ted goes for a shot, but Bret blocks it. Some more right hands by Bret finally takes Ted down. Ted begging for mercy. Ted goes to the corner and a few right hands by Bret. Bret grabs Ted out of the corner and an attomic drop. Bret runs to the ropes and an elbow smash takes Ted down. Bret goes for the cover, 1..2.. but Ted kicks out. Ted gets back up and a russian leg sweep by Bret. Bret goes for the cover, 1..2... but Ted kicks out. Vince doing commentating is saying it was a three. Bret gets up and argues with the ref. He turns his attention back to Ted.
He picks Ted up and a back breaker. Bret climbs the turnbuckle. The ref telling him to get down, and Bret with an elbow drop. He goes for the over, 1..2.. but Ted kicks out. The announcers going crazy saying it was a three. Bret begins arguing with the ref, telling him it was a three, but the ref saying nothing. He goes back to Ted a right hand by Bret and he locks on the headlock. Ted sends him to the ropes, Bret runs, jumps over Ted, but Sherri holds Bret's leg. The ref seeing nothing. Bret goes to the outside and follows Sherri. He grabs Sherri by her jacket, but Ted from behind with a double ax off the ring apron. Piper who was doing commentating begins walking down to the outside. The fans literally going crazy. On the inside of the ring, Bret takes Ted down and a few right hands by Bret. The camera cuts to the ouside. Piper telling Sherri to leave. But she begins walking away from him. He begins chasing her outside the ring. Piper looking under the ring and grabs a broom. He begins hitting her with the broom on her ass. And chases her outside the ring. He puts the broom between his legs and chases her. He chases her out of the ring side area to the back. Back inside the ring, a rake to the eyes to Bret. Ted looks on the outside of the ring. He goes outside and begins walking to the back. Bret goes to the outside and follows Ted. They tie up and exchange right hands. The ref calls for the bell as both men are counted out. Bret knocks Ted down and begins walking back to the ring. Ted gets up and follows him. Bret slides back into the ring and begins arguing with the ref as both men are furious.
Final Thoughts
4 out of 5. Great match for a Saturday Night Main Event. The fans were really into it, especially the commentators.
Alright, that's it for the double header(God, I hate those words). Until next time, remember soccer is the only sport that matters!
The other stuff! Wrestling Reviews! - Part 1
Alright, seeing as how it's written in my blog description "Information about Argentina's soccer team... And I think that's it... No wait, other stuff too!", I think it's only fair to talk about other stuff too! In this case, wrestling. Yup, time for a good old fashion wrestling review. Heck, 2 of them! So without further a-do, The reviews.
Event: Survivor Series 1992.
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan
Other: World Champion vs Intercontinental Champion(World Title On The Line ONLY).
Bret Hart(WWF Champion) vs. Shawn Michaels(Intercontinental Champion)
Before the match, Shawn is backstage getting interviewed. The usual cockyness about how he's gonna beat Bret Hart. Backstage Bret is getting interviewed by Mean Gean. A huge ovation for Bret as the bell rings. Both men hook up as Shawn goes into the corner. Hebner breaks it up. They hook up again as Shawn takes Bret down with a take down. They exchange multiple reversals while on the mat. Shawn gets up as he pushes Bret. Bret pushes him back. They hook up again, an armbar by Bret, armbar by Shawn as he takes Bret down. Bret kicks up(like Shawn) and some right hands by Bret. Bret keeps working on the arm applying an armbar. A standing armbar for a minute or so and a right hand by Bret. Shawn grabbing some of Bret's hair as he sends him to the ropes, Bret jumps over Shawn but a drop toe-hold by Shawn takes Bret down. But Bret quickly moves out of the way before Shawn can apply any type of move as he locks in an armbar once again. Both men on the mat. They get up and Bret still with the armbar. Shawn reverses the armbar. Bret runs for a second and catches Shawn off-guard as Shawn goes through the ropes onto the outside.
Shawn on the ring apron, but Bret flips him in and locks in the armbar. Shawn sends Bret to the ropes, Bret jumps over Shawn, he tries to go for a roll-up, but Shawn hangs onto the ropes as Bret flips back. Shawn turns around and a cross body by Bret Hart. He goes for the cover, 1.. 2.., but Shawn kicks out and Bret rolls to the outside. Bret gets onto the apron, a shoulder thrust, Bret flips over Shawn, goes for the cover, 1.. 2.., but Shawn kicks out. An arm drag by Bret and another armbar by Bret. The fans slowly getting back into the match up. A right hand by Shawn as Bret lets go of the hold. Elbow to the head by Shawn. He sends Bret to the ropes, Bret reverses it, sending Shawn. Bret goes for an arm drag by Shawn lands on his feet and a clothsline by Bret. Bret goes for the cover, 1..2.. but Shawn kicks out. Bret goes back to the arm using an armbar. Shawn trying to reach the ropes but Bret drags him away. Still with the armbar, Shawn sends Bret to the ropes, a shoulder block by Bret, a leap-frog by Bret and Shawn with a flapjack onto the ropes. Shawn gets up first. Some right hands by the two in the corner. Bret sends Shawn to the other turnbuckle. Bret goes for a shoulder block, but Shawn moves out of the way as Bret's shoulder hits the steel post. Bret's down as Shawn gets up. He picks Bret up and a drop by Shawn. Some right hands by Shawn. Bret gets into the corner. He sends Bret to the turnbuckle and Bret runs chest first onto the pad. Shawn quickly goes for the cover, 1.., 2.. but Bret kicks out. A sleeper hold by Shawn. Both men resting. Lots of rest holds in this match so far. Both men get back up, Bret tries to escape the hold, but Shawn drops him back down and locks in the sleeper. Vince mentions the fact that it looks like a choke, but Hebner does nothing about it. Both men get up and Shawn still with the sleeper hold. Heenan says that if Bret loses the title, it's going to be a lonely dinner at Bret's house with 65 brothers and sisters and relatives all trying to eat that 2 pound bird. Bret escapes the hold, Bret runs to the ropes but a dropkick by Shawn. Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out.
Heenan asks if they(Hart family) even take the feathers off the bird or if they just throw it into the microwave and press hot. A back breaker by Shawn, 1.. 2.. but a kick out. Another sleeper by Shawn. Heenan says that with the travelling, with the matches and the pressures of being the WWF champion, the pain is taking it's toll on Bret Hart. Shawn still with the sleeper hold on Bret. Bret with some right hands by Shawn. Bret runs to the ropes, and a swinging neck breaker by Bret takes both men down. A right hand by Shawn to the throat takes Bret down. Shawn kicks Bret a few times. He picks Bret up and a modified sleeper by Shawn as both men are on the mat. Bret not giving up as both men are slowly starting to get up. Bret rams Shawn into the turnbuckle. A few shoulder thrusts by Bret. He sends Shawn to the corner, but Shawn reverses it. Shawn goes for a splash, but Bret kicks him in the face. Bret with a running bulldog on Shawn. He climbs the top rope, he goes for an elbow drop, but Shawn moves out of the way. Both men down again, Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out. Shawn picks Bret up, he sends Bret to the ropes and a running elbow to the face by Shawn. Shawn quickly goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out. And Shawn once again, a modifies sleeper hold by Shawn. Bret gets on his feet, Shawn goes for what seems to be a suplex, but a small package by Bret, 1.. 2... but Shawn just kicks out. Shawn gets up first and a right hand by Shawn. He sends Bret to the corner. Shawn goes for a shoulder thrust, but Bret jumps over him. Bret behind Shawn delivers a back drop. Shawn still somehow gets up before Bret. Shawn sends Bret to the ropes, a leap-frog by Shawn. Shawn goes for another leap-frog but Bret catches him. He throws Shawn down and a slingshot(catapulte) by Bret sends Shawn face first into the turnbuckle pad.
Bret gets up. Shawn gets up, a right hand by Bret. He sends Shawn to the corner and Shawn's chest bounces off the turnbuckle pad and lands in the middle of the 2 top ropes. Shawn horizontally on his stoamach. Bret kicks Shawn and Shawn lands groin first onto the ropes. Bret shakes the ropes as Shawn gets off. A headbutt by Bret. He sends Shawn to the ropes and a back body drop by Bret. Bret goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out. He sends Shawn to the ropes again, and a punch to the lower abdomen by Shawn. A russian leg sweep by Bret. Bret goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out. A back breaker by Bret takes Shawn down. Bret climbs the turnbuckle and lands the elbow drop. He goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out once again. Bret picks Shawn up in a suplex position but puts Shawn on the top rope. Bret gets up and a superplex off the top rope. Both men down. Bret with his arm on Shawn, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out. Shawn goes for a right hand, but Bret catches his arm. Both men back into the refree taking him down. Bret turns around and check up on the referee as Hebner gets back up. Bret turns around, Shawn goes for a kick, Bret catches his foot, Bret turns him around. He goes for a backdrop, but Shawn lands on his feet. Bret rolls in back of Shawn. They run towards the ropes, Shawn ducks and Bret goes flying through the second rope. Shawn rolls to the outside as he backs Bret into the steel post. Shawn rolls back into the ring as Bret is down on the outside. Shawn goes back to the outside and a bodyslam on the outside by Shawn. Shawn rolls back into the ring and rolls back to the outside. He grabs Bret by the hair and sends him back into the ring. He sends Bret to the turnbuckle and Bret's back bounces off as he goes down. Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out. Shawn sends Bret to the ropes and a back body drop by Shawn. Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out once again. Shawn argues with Hebner for a second saying it was a 3 count. Bret rolls Shawn up, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out. Both men get up and a Sweet Chin Music by Shawn. Remember that was not Shawn's finishing move at the time. Shawn still standing as he picks Bret up. Shawn goes for his finishing move, The Back Drop, but Bret with a rache to the eyes slowing Shawn down. Bret with a right hand. He goes for another, Shawn ducks and The Back Drop! Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out. Shawn cannot believe it and the announcers cannot believe it aswell. Shawn sends Bret to the ropes but Bret with a forarm on Shawn. Shawn backs up into the ropes and gets tied up in the ropes. Bret runs, he goes for a splash, but somehow Shawn escapes and Bret collides with the ropes going down. Shawn climbs the turnbuckle. He goes for a dropkick, but Bret catches his feet. Bret locks on the sharpshooter. Shawn quickly taps out. Hebner hands the World Title to Bret as Bret kisses the gold. The fans going crazy and here comes Santa Clause! Vince says "Look who's coming!" Heenan replies by saying "What do you mean look who's coming. It's not the Easter Bunny, stupid!" Bret holds the ropes for Santa as Santa gets into the ring. They hug as Santa hands Bret a Santa Hat. Snow begins falling down the arena. Bret poses for the crowd. Santa raises Bret's arm in the air. Both Bret and Santa pose for the crowd as the Copyright Sign appears on the screen and the camera fades away.
Final Thoughts
3.5 out of 5. A pretty good match. The rest holds really killed the match at times, but I guess it added some good to the match.
That's all for now(now means 2 minutes) until I post my next review! Oh and remember, soccer is the only sport that matters!
Event: Survivor Series 1992.
Commentators: Vince McMahon, Bobby Heenan
Other: World Champion vs Intercontinental Champion(World Title On The Line ONLY).
Bret Hart(WWF Champion) vs. Shawn Michaels(Intercontinental Champion)
Before the match, Shawn is backstage getting interviewed. The usual cockyness about how he's gonna beat Bret Hart. Backstage Bret is getting interviewed by Mean Gean. A huge ovation for Bret as the bell rings. Both men hook up as Shawn goes into the corner. Hebner breaks it up. They hook up again as Shawn takes Bret down with a take down. They exchange multiple reversals while on the mat. Shawn gets up as he pushes Bret. Bret pushes him back. They hook up again, an armbar by Bret, armbar by Shawn as he takes Bret down. Bret kicks up(like Shawn) and some right hands by Bret. Bret keeps working on the arm applying an armbar. A standing armbar for a minute or so and a right hand by Bret. Shawn grabbing some of Bret's hair as he sends him to the ropes, Bret jumps over Shawn but a drop toe-hold by Shawn takes Bret down. But Bret quickly moves out of the way before Shawn can apply any type of move as he locks in an armbar once again. Both men on the mat. They get up and Bret still with the armbar. Shawn reverses the armbar. Bret runs for a second and catches Shawn off-guard as Shawn goes through the ropes onto the outside.
Shawn on the ring apron, but Bret flips him in and locks in the armbar. Shawn sends Bret to the ropes, Bret jumps over Shawn, he tries to go for a roll-up, but Shawn hangs onto the ropes as Bret flips back. Shawn turns around and a cross body by Bret Hart. He goes for the cover, 1.. 2.., but Shawn kicks out and Bret rolls to the outside. Bret gets onto the apron, a shoulder thrust, Bret flips over Shawn, goes for the cover, 1.. 2.., but Shawn kicks out. An arm drag by Bret and another armbar by Bret. The fans slowly getting back into the match up. A right hand by Shawn as Bret lets go of the hold. Elbow to the head by Shawn. He sends Bret to the ropes, Bret reverses it, sending Shawn. Bret goes for an arm drag by Shawn lands on his feet and a clothsline by Bret. Bret goes for the cover, 1..2.. but Shawn kicks out. Bret goes back to the arm using an armbar. Shawn trying to reach the ropes but Bret drags him away. Still with the armbar, Shawn sends Bret to the ropes, a shoulder block by Bret, a leap-frog by Bret and Shawn with a flapjack onto the ropes. Shawn gets up first. Some right hands by the two in the corner. Bret sends Shawn to the other turnbuckle. Bret goes for a shoulder block, but Shawn moves out of the way as Bret's shoulder hits the steel post. Bret's down as Shawn gets up. He picks Bret up and a drop by Shawn. Some right hands by Shawn. Bret gets into the corner. He sends Bret to the turnbuckle and Bret runs chest first onto the pad. Shawn quickly goes for the cover, 1.., 2.. but Bret kicks out. A sleeper hold by Shawn. Both men resting. Lots of rest holds in this match so far. Both men get back up, Bret tries to escape the hold, but Shawn drops him back down and locks in the sleeper. Vince mentions the fact that it looks like a choke, but Hebner does nothing about it. Both men get up and Shawn still with the sleeper hold. Heenan says that if Bret loses the title, it's going to be a lonely dinner at Bret's house with 65 brothers and sisters and relatives all trying to eat that 2 pound bird. Bret escapes the hold, Bret runs to the ropes but a dropkick by Shawn. Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out.
Heenan asks if they(Hart family) even take the feathers off the bird or if they just throw it into the microwave and press hot. A back breaker by Shawn, 1.. 2.. but a kick out. Another sleeper by Shawn. Heenan says that with the travelling, with the matches and the pressures of being the WWF champion, the pain is taking it's toll on Bret Hart. Shawn still with the sleeper hold on Bret. Bret with some right hands by Shawn. Bret runs to the ropes, and a swinging neck breaker by Bret takes both men down. A right hand by Shawn to the throat takes Bret down. Shawn kicks Bret a few times. He picks Bret up and a modified sleeper by Shawn as both men are on the mat. Bret not giving up as both men are slowly starting to get up. Bret rams Shawn into the turnbuckle. A few shoulder thrusts by Bret. He sends Shawn to the corner, but Shawn reverses it. Shawn goes for a splash, but Bret kicks him in the face. Bret with a running bulldog on Shawn. He climbs the top rope, he goes for an elbow drop, but Shawn moves out of the way. Both men down again, Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out. Shawn picks Bret up, he sends Bret to the ropes and a running elbow to the face by Shawn. Shawn quickly goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out. And Shawn once again, a modifies sleeper hold by Shawn. Bret gets on his feet, Shawn goes for what seems to be a suplex, but a small package by Bret, 1.. 2... but Shawn just kicks out. Shawn gets up first and a right hand by Shawn. He sends Bret to the corner. Shawn goes for a shoulder thrust, but Bret jumps over him. Bret behind Shawn delivers a back drop. Shawn still somehow gets up before Bret. Shawn sends Bret to the ropes, a leap-frog by Shawn. Shawn goes for another leap-frog but Bret catches him. He throws Shawn down and a slingshot(catapulte) by Bret sends Shawn face first into the turnbuckle pad.
Bret gets up. Shawn gets up, a right hand by Bret. He sends Shawn to the corner and Shawn's chest bounces off the turnbuckle pad and lands in the middle of the 2 top ropes. Shawn horizontally on his stoamach. Bret kicks Shawn and Shawn lands groin first onto the ropes. Bret shakes the ropes as Shawn gets off. A headbutt by Bret. He sends Shawn to the ropes and a back body drop by Bret. Bret goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out. He sends Shawn to the ropes again, and a punch to the lower abdomen by Shawn. A russian leg sweep by Bret. Bret goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out. A back breaker by Bret takes Shawn down. Bret climbs the turnbuckle and lands the elbow drop. He goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out once again. Bret picks Shawn up in a suplex position but puts Shawn on the top rope. Bret gets up and a superplex off the top rope. Both men down. Bret with his arm on Shawn, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out. Shawn goes for a right hand, but Bret catches his arm. Both men back into the refree taking him down. Bret turns around and check up on the referee as Hebner gets back up. Bret turns around, Shawn goes for a kick, Bret catches his foot, Bret turns him around. He goes for a backdrop, but Shawn lands on his feet. Bret rolls in back of Shawn. They run towards the ropes, Shawn ducks and Bret goes flying through the second rope. Shawn rolls to the outside as he backs Bret into the steel post. Shawn rolls back into the ring as Bret is down on the outside. Shawn goes back to the outside and a bodyslam on the outside by Shawn. Shawn rolls back into the ring and rolls back to the outside. He grabs Bret by the hair and sends him back into the ring. He sends Bret to the turnbuckle and Bret's back bounces off as he goes down. Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out. Shawn sends Bret to the ropes and a back body drop by Shawn. Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out once again. Shawn argues with Hebner for a second saying it was a 3 count. Bret rolls Shawn up, 1.. 2... but Shawn kicks out. Both men get up and a Sweet Chin Music by Shawn. Remember that was not Shawn's finishing move at the time. Shawn still standing as he picks Bret up. Shawn goes for his finishing move, The Back Drop, but Bret with a rache to the eyes slowing Shawn down. Bret with a right hand. He goes for another, Shawn ducks and The Back Drop! Shawn goes for the cover, 1.. 2... but Bret kicks out. Shawn cannot believe it and the announcers cannot believe it aswell. Shawn sends Bret to the ropes but Bret with a forarm on Shawn. Shawn backs up into the ropes and gets tied up in the ropes. Bret runs, he goes for a splash, but somehow Shawn escapes and Bret collides with the ropes going down. Shawn climbs the turnbuckle. He goes for a dropkick, but Bret catches his feet. Bret locks on the sharpshooter. Shawn quickly taps out. Hebner hands the World Title to Bret as Bret kisses the gold. The fans going crazy and here comes Santa Clause! Vince says "Look who's coming!" Heenan replies by saying "What do you mean look who's coming. It's not the Easter Bunny, stupid!" Bret holds the ropes for Santa as Santa gets into the ring. They hug as Santa hands Bret a Santa Hat. Snow begins falling down the arena. Bret poses for the crowd. Santa raises Bret's arm in the air. Both Bret and Santa pose for the crowd as the Copyright Sign appears on the screen and the camera fades away.
Final Thoughts
3.5 out of 5. A pretty good match. The rest holds really killed the match at times, but I guess it added some good to the match.
That's all for now(now means 2 minutes) until I post my next review! Oh and remember, soccer is the only sport that matters!
Copa America - Argentina or Brazil?
For those none-soccer fans looking to follow and actually pay attention to my columns, let me just inform you of a few things about me and my columns. Reason for the Vamos Vamos Albicelestes? Albicelestes means Sky Blue/White(which are Argentina's colors, so naturally you can tell I'm a huge Argentine fan. Vamos Vamos essentially means Go Go! Put them together and you get Go! Go! Argentina!). Now that we've got that out of the way, onto the actual news!
Well Copa America(South American version of the Euro Cup) is coming up shortly later on this month. June 26 to be exact. Let's be honest, the heavy favorites as always are Argentina and Brazil. The States have been invited to take part in it for the first time this year. Before I go into detail about everything, let's take a look at the groups.
Group A:
Venezuela
Uruguay
Peru
Bolivia
Group B:
Brazil
Chile
Mexico
Ecuador
Group C:
Argentina
Paraguay
Colombia
United States
Now onto the details! Group A is the toughest to pick from because any team from that group can go to the next round. Venezuela of course has the home advange(did I mention this year it's in Venezuela?) Uruguay is always tough, Peru can pull it off and Bolivia is the true dark horse of the tournament. I see Uruguay finishing first with hosts Venezuela finishing second to advance to the next round.
Group B of course you have to mention Brazil going through to the next round. That's a definite. Question is who will join them to the next round? With the way Mexico is playing in the Gold Cup, they look beatable. Chile is like Peru, they can pull it off and Ecuador is a tough team to beat. However, even though Mexico isn't playing the way they can in the Gold Cup, I'll still have to say they will join Brazil in the next round.
And now onto Group C. My Argentina is more or less in the group of death with Paraguay, Colombia and the States in there. Argentina really wants revenge for their last Copa America appearance(they lost on penalty kicks in the final versus Brazil). And they have THE team of the tournament with Crespo, Tevez, Messi, Saviola, Zanetti, ect... As for who will join them in the next round... My money's on Paraguay. I've been watching FSC lately(Fox Soccer Channel) for the Gold Cup and they're building up the States like there's no tomorrow. It's going to be funny watching them fall FLAT on their face when they lose their opening match versus Argentina on June 28th. Colombia's the dark horse of the group and I just can't see them going through.
So I picked...: Uruguay/Venezuela for Group A, Brazil/Mexico for Group B and Argentina/Paraguay for Group C. Let's see how well I do. This is only my first column, expect alot more news, rumors and even soccer reviews! Because remember, soccer is the only sport that matters!
Well Copa America(South American version of the Euro Cup) is coming up shortly later on this month. June 26 to be exact. Let's be honest, the heavy favorites as always are Argentina and Brazil. The States have been invited to take part in it for the first time this year. Before I go into detail about everything, let's take a look at the groups.
Group A:
Venezuela
Uruguay
Peru
Bolivia
Group B:
Brazil
Chile
Mexico
Ecuador
Group C:
Argentina
Paraguay
Colombia
United States
Now onto the details! Group A is the toughest to pick from because any team from that group can go to the next round. Venezuela of course has the home advange(did I mention this year it's in Venezuela?) Uruguay is always tough, Peru can pull it off and Bolivia is the true dark horse of the tournament. I see Uruguay finishing first with hosts Venezuela finishing second to advance to the next round.
Group B of course you have to mention Brazil going through to the next round. That's a definite. Question is who will join them to the next round? With the way Mexico is playing in the Gold Cup, they look beatable. Chile is like Peru, they can pull it off and Ecuador is a tough team to beat. However, even though Mexico isn't playing the way they can in the Gold Cup, I'll still have to say they will join Brazil in the next round.
And now onto Group C. My Argentina is more or less in the group of death with Paraguay, Colombia and the States in there. Argentina really wants revenge for their last Copa America appearance(they lost on penalty kicks in the final versus Brazil). And they have THE team of the tournament with Crespo, Tevez, Messi, Saviola, Zanetti, ect... As for who will join them in the next round... My money's on Paraguay. I've been watching FSC lately(Fox Soccer Channel) for the Gold Cup and they're building up the States like there's no tomorrow. It's going to be funny watching them fall FLAT on their face when they lose their opening match versus Argentina on June 28th. Colombia's the dark horse of the group and I just can't see them going through.
So I picked...: Uruguay/Venezuela for Group A, Brazil/Mexico for Group B and Argentina/Paraguay for Group C. Let's see how well I do. This is only my first column, expect alot more news, rumors and even soccer reviews! Because remember, soccer is the only sport that matters!
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