Monday, June 30, 2008

Euro 2008 Wrap: What Clubs and Leagues did the Goals Come From?




These are the clubs where all of the goal scoring players in Euro 2008 were playing leading up to the tournament. Obviously, some of these players will be changing or have changed clubs, but I've used the clubs they played for in the recently finished European season for this list.






# Goals/Club/Players:
8 - Bayern Munich (Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Miroslav Klose, Philipp Lahm)
6 - Real Madrid (Ruud van Nistelrooy, Arjen Robben, Pepe, Wesley Sneijder)
5 - Valencia CF (David Villa, David Silva)
4 - Fenerbahçe (Semih Şentürk, Uğur Boral)
3 - Liverpool (Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt)
3 - BSC Young Boys (Hakan Yakin)
3 - Spartak Moscow (Roman Pavlyuchenko)
3 - Arsenal (Robin van Persie, Cesc Fàbregas)
3 - Zenit St. Petersburg (Andrei Arshavin, Konstantin Zyrianov)
3 - FC Barcelona (Deco, Xavi, Thierry Henry)
2 - FC Porto (Ricardo Quaresma, Raul Meireles)
2 - 1. FC Nuremberg (Jan Koller, Angelos Charisteas)
2 - A.S. Roma (Daniel De Rossi, Christian Panucci)
2 - RCD Mallorca (Dani Güiza)
2 - Werder Bremen (Ivan Klasnić)
2 - Inter Milan (Zlatan Ibrahimović)
2 - Villareal (Nihat Kahveci)
2 - Chelsea (Michael Ballack)
2 - Galatasaray (Arda Turan)
1 - Baník Ostrava (Václav Svěrkoš)
1 - LASK Linz (Ivica Vastić)
1 - Ajax (Klaas Jan Huntelaar)
1 - Getafe CF (Ruben de la Red)
1 - Panathinaikos (Helder Postiga)
1 - Hamburger SV (Ivica Olić)
1 - FC Lokomotiv Moscow (Dmitri Torbinski)
1 - S.L. Benfica (Nuno Gomes)
1 - Legia Warsaw (Roger Guerreiro)
1 - AC Milan (Andrea Pirlo)
1 - Fiorentina (Adrian Mutu)
1 - CA Osasuna (Jaroslav Plašil)
1 - F.C. Copenhagen (Libor Sionko)
1 - Stade Rennais (Petter Hansson)
1 - Manchester United (Cristiano Ronaldo)
1 - Shakhtar Donetsk (Darijo Srna)
1 - Feyenoord (Giovanni van Bronckhorst)
1 - Dinamo Zagreb (Luka Modrić)

Euro 2008 Goals By League
20 - Spain La Liga
13 - German Bundesliga
9 - English Premier League
7 - Russian Premier League
6 - Italian Serie A
6 - Turkcell Süper Lig
3 - Swiss Super League
3 - Portugal BWINLIGA
2 - Dutch Eredivisie
1 - Czech Gambrinus liga
1 - Austrian Bundesliga
1 - Super League Greece
1 - Danish Superliga
1 - Polish Orange Ekstraklasa
1 - France Ligue 1 Orange
1 - Ukrainian Premier League
1 - Croatia Prva HNL


Interestingly, some of the most represented clubs in the tournament ended with zero goal contributing players.

Clubs with a least 5 players represented with no Euro 2008 Goals:

11- Lyon
9 - Galatasaray
7 - Red Bull Salzburg
6 - Steaua Bucureşti
5 - CSKA Moscow
5 - Juventus
5 - Rapid Wien
5 - Stuttgart



Corrections, Thanks to Commenter:
I had missed 2 goals from Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid) and Arda Turan (Galatasaray) and 1 goal from Thierry Henry (FC Barcelona) in the original post. That of course removes Galatasaray from the no goals list as well. Thanks for the correction.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Euro 2008 Final: Pre-Game Recommended Reading

Fortune favours Germany's title bid: euro2008.uefa.com

Excerpt
Final record
Germany have won three and lost two of their five previous UEFA European Championship finals. Mannschaft supporters of a superstitious bent may want to avoid studying their sequence of results, given each final victory has so far been followed by a defeat.
• 1972 USSR W 3-0
• 1976 Czechoslovakia L 2-2 aet, 3-5 on pens
• 1980 Belgium W 2-1
• 1992 Denmark L 0-2
• 1996 Czech Republic W 2-1 aet


Aragonés's Spain scratch 24-year itch: euro2008.uefa.com

Excerpt
Final record
Spain lifted the Henri Delaunay trophy in 1964 when they beat reigning champions USSR 2-1 in Madrid, with Marcelino scoring the decisive goal six minutes from time. Twenty years later they lost the 1984 final to hosts France, succumbing to goals from Michel Platini and Bruno Bellone at the Parc des Princes.
• 1964 USSR W 2-1
• 1984 France L 2-0


Spain bid to end 44 years of stylish failure: The Guardian

Key tactical battles: The Guardian

Fabregas can inspire Spain to final glory: BBC Blog

Fan vs Fan: Germany-Spain: goal.com

Guiza to Propose to Partner if Spain Win: goal.com

Euro-Vienna neutrals favouring Spain over Germany: Yahoo! Sports

Injury threatens German Euro 2008 final hopes: Yahoo! Sports

Final flourish a fitting end to Euro 2008: Times Online

Losers Cesc Fabregas and Michael Ballack both want Euro2008 trophy
: Mirror

Football fever grips finalists: BBC

Aragones: Cesc not a certain starter: Setanta

Saturday, June 28, 2008

MLS Players with Multiple Game Winning Goals

These are the MLS players who have struck for multiple game winning goals so far this season. (Through week 13)

Chicago Fire
Chad Barrett (2), Chris Rolfe (2)

Chivas USA
Jorge Flores (2), Sacha Kljestan (2)

Colorado
NONE

Colombus
Robbie Rogers (2)

DC United
Luciano Emilio (2)

FC Dallas
Kenny Cooper (2)

Houston
Brian Ching (2)

Kansas City
NONE

Los Angeles
Edson Buddle (3)

New England
Steve Ralston (3), Kheli Dube (2)

New York
Juan Pablo Angel (2)

Real Salt Lake
Kyle Beckerman (2)

San Jose
NONE

Toronto
NONE

Friday, June 27, 2008

World Soccer Confederation Ranking Comparisons since 2004


This is a detailed comparison of averaged FIFA rankings taking only the top 10 teams of each confederation into account. I used the January rankings from 2004-2008. I realize the FIFA rankings are (sometimes seriously) flawed but it still gives a decent barometer of where the confederations stand.

It's been pretty similar on a yearly basis, with Asia, South America, and CONCACAF switching places a few times. Every year Europe tops the list and Africa comes in second. Not Surpisingly, Oceania is way off the pace on a yearly basis even when Australia was a member in the 04-06 average.

The average rank is the average of the 1-10 placed nations in each region. The Best Rank represents the top ranked team in each region and the Worst Rank is what the number 10 ranked team in each region was ranked in January of each year.



Avg. Rank Best Rank Worst Rank
January 2004
UEFA
8.0
2
14
CAF
38.7
14
54
CONMEBOL
43.5
1
101
AFC
44.7
22
63
CONCACAF
53.0
7
93
OFC
148.7
81
190
January 2005
UEFA
8.2
2
14
CAF
36.6
21
60
AFC
38.0
19
55
CONMEBOL
41.5
1
95
CONCACAF
53.4
7
92
OFC
140.0
58
186
January 2006
UEFA
8.4
2
14
CAF
36.6
23
53
CONMEBOL
41.0
1
97
CONCACAF
46.1
7
84
AFC
48.9
15
82
OFC
145.2
48
187
January 2007
UEFA
8.1
2
14
CAF
25.8
9
42
CONMEBOL
41.6
1
101
AFC
58.2
37
83
CONCACAF
61.9
21
92
OFC
171.4
131
200
January 2008
UEFA
7.5
3
12
CAF
36.5
19
47
CONMEBOL
39.4
1
106
CONCACAF
59.8
15
98
AFC
61.6
34
92
OFC
146.2
94
200





Key: UEFA (Europe), CAF (Africa), CONMEBOL (South America), AFC (Asia), CONCACAF (North and Central America and Caribbean), OFC (Oceania)

Detailed Regional Breakdown after the jump..


UEFA
Jan 2004 - Rank 8.0

2 France
3 Spain
4 Netherlands
6 Czech Republic
8 England
8 Turkey
10 Italy
12 Germany
13 Denmark
14 Republic of Ireland

Jan 2005 - Rank 8.2

2 France
3 Czech Republic
5 Spain
6 Netherlands
8 England
9 Portugal
10 Italy
12 Republic of Ireland
13 Sweden
14 Denmark/Turkey

Jan 2006 - Rank 8.4

2 Czech Republic
3 Netherlands
5 Spain
5 France
9 England
10 Portugal
11 Turkey
12 Italy
13 Denmark
14 Sweden

Jan 2007 - Rank 8.1

2 Italy
4 France
5 Germany
6 England
7 Netherlands
8 Portugal
10 Czech Republic
12 Spain
13 Ukraine
14 Sweden

Jan 2008 - Rank 7.5

3 Italy
4 Spain
5 Germany
6 Czech Repulic
7 France
8 Portugal
9 Netherlands
10 Croatia
11 Greece
12 England

CONMEBOL
Jan 2004 - Rank 43.5

1 Brazil
5 Argentina
21 Uruguay
22 Paraguay
37 Ecuador
39 Colombia
55 Venezuela
74 Peru
80 Chile
101 Bolivia

Jan 2005 - Rank 41.5

1 Brazil
3 Argentina
17 Uruguay
26 Colombia
29 Paraguay
39 Ecuador
63 Venezuela
67 Peru
75 Chile
95 Bolivia

Jan 2006 - Rank 41.0

1 Brazil
4 Argentina
18 Uruguay
24 Colombia
30 Paraguay
38 Ecuador
64 Chile
66 Peru
68 Venezuela
97 Bolivia

Jan 2007 - Rank 41.6

1 Brazil
3 Argentina
29 Ecuador
30 Uruguay
34 Colombia
35 Paraguay
40 Chile
70 Peru
73 Venezuela
101 Bolivia

Jan 2008 - Rank 39.4

1 Argentina
2 Brazil
17 Colombia
21 Paraguay
28 Uruguay
45 Chile
52 Ecuador
59 Venezuela
63 Peru
106 Bolivia


CAF
Jan 2004 - Rank 38.7

14 Cameroon
32 Egypt
33 Senegal
35 Nigeria
36 South Africa
38 Morocco
45 Tunisia
49 Zimbabwe
51 Mali
54 Congo DR

Jan 2005 - Rank 36.6

21 Nigeria
23 Cameroon
30 Senegal
33 Egypt
34 Morocco
35 Tunisia
38 South Africa
41 Cote d'Ivoire
51 Mali
60 Zimbabwe

Jan 2006 - Rank 36.6

23 Cameroon
24 Nigeria
28 Tunisia
30 Senegal
32 Egypt
35 Morocco
42 Cote d'Ivoire
49 South Africa
50 Ghana
53 Zimbabwe

Jan 2007 - Rank 25.8

9 Nigeria
11 Cameroon
18 Cote d'Ivoire
19 Egypt
22 Guinea
28 Ghana
32 Tunisia
36 Mali
41 Senegal
42 Morocco

Jan 2008 - Rank 36.5

19 Nigeria
25 Cameroon
33 Guinea
35 Egypt
38 Cote d'Ivoire
39 Morocco
40 Senegal
43 Ghana
46 Tunisia
47 Mali


AFC
Jan 2004 - Rank 44.7

22 Korea
26 Saudi Arabia
28 Iran
29 Japan
43 Iraq
56 Kuwait
59 Jordan
60 Thailand
61 Qatar
63 Bahrain

Jan 2005 - Rank 38.0

19 Japan
20 Iran
21 Korea
30 Saudi Arabia
40 Jordan
44 Iraq
47 Uzbekistan
50 Bahrain
54 China
55 Kuwait

Jan 2006 - Rank 48.9

15 Japan
19 Iran
29 Korea
33 Saudi Arabia
52 Bahrain
54 Iraq
59 Uzbekistan
73 China
73 Kuwait
82 Korea DPR

Jan 2007 - Rank 58.2

37 Iran
39 Australia
45 Uzbekistan
46 Japan
51 Korea
59 Qatar
64 Saudi Arabia
76 Kuwait
82 Iraq
83 China

Jan 2008 - Rank 61.6

34 Japan
41 Iran
41 Korea
48 Australia
57 Saudi Arabia
66 Uzbekistan
67 Iraq
82 China
88 Qatar
92 Oman


CONCACAF
Jan 2004 - Rank 53.0

7 Mexico
11 USA
17 Costa Rica
46 Jamaica
47 Honduras
70 Trinidad and Tobago
74 Cuba
78 Guatemala
87 Canada
93 Haiti

Jan 2005 - Rank 53.4

7 Mexico
11 USA
27 Costa Rica
47 Jamaica
59 Honduras
61 Trinidad and Tobago
68 Guatemala
72 Cuba
90 Canada
92 Haiti

Jan 2006 - Rank 46.1

7 Mexico
7 USA
21 Costa Rica
41 Honduras
42 Jamaica
50 Trinidad and Tobago
56 Guatemala
75 Cuba
78 Panama
84 Canada

Jan 2007 - Rank 61.9

21 Mexico
31 USA
48 Cuba
56 Honduras
57 Jamaica
66 Costa Rica
80 Panama
81 Canada
87 Trinidad and Tobago
92 Haiti

Jan 2008 - Rank 59.8

15 Mexico
20 USA
54 Honduras
56 Canada
64 Panama
69 Costa Rica
71 Cuba
73 Haiti
78 Trinidad and Tobago
98 Jamaica


OFC
Jan 2004 - Rank 148.7

81 Australia
88 New Zealand
132 Tahiti
149 Fiji
156 Solomon Islands
160 Vanuatu
173 Papua New Guinea
177 Samoa
181 Tonga
190 Cook Islands


Jan 2005 - Rank 140.0

58 Australia
96 New Zealand
125 Tahiti
130 Solomon Islands
137 Fiji
145 Vanuatu
161 Papau New Guinea
179 Samoa
183 Tonga
186 New Caledonia

Jan 2006 - Rank 145.2

48 Australia
121 New Zealand
135 Fiji
140 Solomon Islands
141 Tahiti
147 Vnuatu
166 Papua New Guinea
182 Samoa
185 Tonga
187 New Caledonia

Jan 2007 - Rank 171.4

131 New Zealand
154 Fiji
160 Solomon Islands
167 Vanuatu
173 Tahiti
175 New Caledonia
177 Papua New Guinea
188 Samoa
189 Tonga
200 Cook Islands

Jan 2008 - 146.2

94 New Zealand
117 New Caledonia
122 Solomon Islands
131 Fiji
139 Vanuatu
146 Samoa
159 Tahiti
170 Tonga
184 Papua New Guinea
200 Cook Islands



Thursday, June 26, 2008

ESPN Axis and How it Works

I have really enjoyed the new broadcasting technology that ESPN has introduced in the past season of soccer coverage, especially the "Axis" camera angles in the Euro 2008 games. I wondered how they did it, so I looked around a bit and here's what I found.

The technology is made by a Swiss company, LiberoVision.

Info from an ESPN press release:

“ESPN Axis” creates "virtual" replays using video captured by cameras covering the live action event. Images fed from the game cameras are calibrated and seamed together to create virtual freeze-frames from multiple angles. The angles of view may be tilted upwards by 90 degrees -- from pitch level to direct overhead shots -- creating three-dimensional, birds-eye views of key plays from multiple vantage points.


Excerpt About "Axis" technology From the Sports Video site, SVG, article By Ken Kerschbaumer:

ESPN ties together two camera feeds from different sides of the stadium to allow for analysts to swing around 90 degrees and show the backside of a play or overhead for a bird’s eye view. It takes approximately 10 minutes to process the video and build the graphics however Liberovision is working hard to shorten the time to air.

“The minimum number of cameras you need is two,” says Stephan Würmlin, LiberoVision co-founder, adding that more cameras will require more processing time but will add more replay angles.

The camera streams are ingested into an EVS server and then fed to the LiberoVision system that is 5 rack-units high. ESPN is using two software products, DiscoverEye, which builds the virtual graphics, and Interactive Telestrator, providing the ability to place 3D telestrator graphics that change perspective as the replay is played out to viewers.

“It gives us five camera angles even though only two camera angles are being used,” says Toms.


Here is a page from the brochure on LiberoVision's Website

Click to Enlarge



Axis really is a cool technology, like bringing a video game replay to the real world. It's unreal to me that no additional infrastructure is needed in the stadium to pull this off. I assumed there were about 100 cameras all over the stadium to do the effect but those smart Swiss have made it much simpler. Hopefully future coverage of Champion's League and MLS will receieve the Axis treatment.

Here is an example of Axis from the "was he offside?" Netherlands goal vs. Italy in the Euro group stages.



Check out the LiberoVision website for videos and more information on the technology.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Euro 2008 Semi-final Stats and Facts

A compilation of statistics from the official Euro 2008 page for the players and teams that are remaining in the tournament. I have left off the stats for players that are suspended or won't play due to injury (which pretty much means half of Turkey's squad).

Goal Scorers

Germany
3 - Lukas Podolski
2 - Michael Ballack
1 - Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schwiensteiger
Turkey
2 - Semih Şentürk
Russia
3 - Roman Pavlyuchencko
2 - Andrei Arshavin
1 - Dimitri Torbinski, Konstantin Zyrianov
Spain
4 - David Villa
1 - Rubén de la Red, Cesc Fàbregas, Dani Güiza, Fernando Torres

Players with Assists

Germany
2 - Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schweinsteiger
1 - Torsten Frings
Turkey
3 - Hamit Altintop
1 - Rüştü Reçber
Russia
2 - Aleksandr Anyukov, Sergei Semak
1 - Yuri Zhirkov, Roman Shirokov, Andrei Arshavin
Spain
1 - Joan Capdevila, Cesc Fàbregas, Andrés Iniesta, Daniel Güiza, Sergio García, David Silva, Fernando Torres

Goalkeeper Saves
27 - Igor Akinfeev (Russia)
17 - Jens Lehmann (Germany)
7 - Iker Casillas (Spain)
5 - Rüştü Reçber (Turkey)

Fouls Committed
14 - Michael Ballack
14 - David Villa
12 - Roman Pavlyuchenko
12 - Yuri Zhirkov
10 - Lukas Podolski
10 - Marcos Senna

Fouls Suffered
12 - Michael Ballack
12 - David Villa
11 - Yuri Zhirkov
10 - Konstantin Zyryanov
8 - Sergei Semak
8 - Marcos Senna

Shots on Goal
11 - Roman Pavlyuchenko
10 - David Villa
6 - Andrei Arshavin
6 - Fernando Torres
5 - Michael Ballack
5 - Marcos Senna
5 - Lukas Podolski

Team Offsides
12 - Germany
11 - Russia
7 - Spain
7 - Turkey

Team Ball Possesion %
55.25% - Spain
52.25% - Turkey
51.75% - Russia
51.00% - Germany

Team Fouls Committed
87 - Turkey
81 - Spain
77 - Russia
57 - Germany

Team Yellow Cards
14 - Turkey
8 - Russia
6 - Spain
5 - Germany

Team Total Passes
2442 - Spain
1938 - Germany
1783 - Russia
1725 - Turkey

Team Total Shots
84 - Spain
79 - Russia
49 - Germany
44 - Turkey

Team Goals Conceded
5 - Turkey
4 - Russia
2 - Germany
2 - Spain

Suspended Players

Turkey
Volkan Demirel, Tuncay Şanlı, Arda Turan, Emre Aşık

Russia
Denis Kolodin, Dmitri Torbinski

The Last Three Euro Semi-Finals with FIFA rankings at the time of the game:

Austria/Switzerland 2008
Germany (5) v Turkey (20)
Russia (24) v Spain (4)

Portugal 2004
Portugal (22) 2:1 Netherlands (5)
Greece (35) 1:0 Czech Republic (11)

Belgium/Netherlands 2000
France (2) 2:1 Portugal (15)
Italy (14) 0:0 Netherlands (21)
(Italy 3-1 Pen)

England 1996
France (2) 0:0 Czech Republic (3)
(Czech Republic 5-6 Pen)
England (12) 1:1 Germany (6)
(Germany 5-6 Pen)

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Suriname Born Players who Don't Play for Suriname

145th ranked Suriname pulled off the upset over their neighboring rivals Guyana in their recent World Cup Qualifier play-in series. Incredibly, Suriname used nearly all home-grown amateur players due to government policies regarding overseas players and will now join a qualifying group with Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Haiti.

Here I've compiled a list of players from the former Dutch colony that have left to play overseas. All of the players listed have one thing in common. They were born in Paramaribo, Suriname.

Active European Based Players Born in Suriname:

Clarence Seedorf - Netherlands (86) and AC Milan
Edgar Davids - Netherlands (74) and Free Agent - LA Galaxy?
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - Netherlands (23) and Cardiff City
Romeo Castelen - Netherlands (10) and Hamburger SV
Andwélé Slory - Netherlands (2) and Feyenoord
Dwight Tiendalli - Netherlands U21 and Sparta Rotterdam
Edson Braafheid - Netherlands U21 and FC Twente
Lorenzo Davids - Netherlands U21 and NEC Nijmegen
Nordin Wooter - Netherlands U21 and AEK Larnarca (Cyprus)
Leroy George - FC Utrecht
Sigourney Bandjar - Excelsior Rotterdam
Fabian Wilnis - Ipswich Town (Released end of 2008)
Mark De Vries - Dundee United
Darl Douglas - Willem II
Kurt Elshot - NAC Breda
Purrel Fränkel - De Graafschap
Cerezo Fung a Wing - De Graafschap
Kelvin Maynard - FC Volendam
Samuel Koejoe - FSV Frankfurt (2.Bundesliga Germany)
Nicandro Breeveld - FC Omniworld
Adilio Augustin - Haarlem
Rodney Cairo - Haarlem
Toevaro Pinas - Stormvogels Telstar


There are dozens of players playing in Holland and elsewhere that could have played for Suriname. However, Suriname's government doesn't allow for dual citizenship, so once a player accepts another nation (generally the Netherlands), he can no longer return to play for his home country. Conversely, Dutch born Surinamese don't play for Suriname either, as they'd have to give up their Dutch citizenship to do so.

If their government rules were different, Suriname would very likely be one of the top teams in CONCACAF and the Caribbean region, similar to Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago who've used many players that are based in and were born in England.

It's not only an issue for soccer players as about 350,000 people from the small Brazilian neighbor have left the country to live in the Netherlands. That is about a quarter of the entire population of the country.

I'm sure there are even more players overseas, but without knowing the Dutch language, it is difficult to find player information for the second division and below.

Included with these players are many great players of Surinamese descent that were born in the Netherlands.

Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard, Aron Winter, Gerald Vanenburg, Patrick Kluivert, Ryan Babel, Royston Drenthe, Boy Waterman, Ryan Donk, Gianni Zuiverloon, Maceo Rigters, and many more.

Pretty impressive list.

Suriname's Little Secret
from Fifa.com



Interesting Geography Fact:
Suriname was aquired by the Netherlands in a trade with England for New Amsterdam, the present day Manhattan.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Russia Euro 2008 Squad Map and Facts

This map shows where the players on Russia's Euro 2008 squad came from in the vast country. I assumed that the whole team would be from Moscow and St Petersburg, but they are from all over the country, including one player from eastern Ukraine and two from the Siberian region of Russia.


GK Igor Akinfeev - Moscow
GK Vyacheslav Malafeev - St Petersburg
GK Vladimir Gabulov - Republic of North Ossetia-Alania

DF Sergei Ignashevich - Moscow
DF Aleksandr Anyukov - Samara Oblast
DF Aleksei Berezutski - Moscow
DF Vasili Berezutski - Moscow
DF Denis Kolodin - Volgograd Oblast
DF Roman Shirokov - Moscow
DF Renat Yanbayev - Krasnodar Krai

MF Sergei Semak - Luhansk Oblast (Ukraine)
MF Igor Semshov - Moscow
MF Diniyar Bilyaletdinov - Moscow
MF Vladimir Bystrov - Leningrad Oblast
MF Yuriy Zhirkov - Tambov Oblast
MF Konstantin Zyryanov - Prem Krai
MF Dmitri Torbinski - Krasnoyarsk Krai (Siberia)
MF Ivan Saenko - Voronezh Oblast
MF Oleg Ivanov - Moscow
MF Andrei Arshavin - St Petersburg

FW Dmitri Sychev - Omsk Oblast (Siberia)
FW Roman Pavlyuchenko - Krasnodar Krai
FW Roman Adamov - Volgograd Oblast

By Territory:
8 - Moscow
2 - St Petersburg
2 - Krasnodar Krai
2 - Volgograd Oblast
1 - North Ossetia-Alania
1 - Samara Oblast
1 - Luhansk Oblast (Ukraine)
1 - Tambov Oblast
1 - Prem Krai
1 - Krasnoyarsk Krai(Siberia)
1 - Voronezh Oblast
1 - Leningrad Oblast
1 - Omsk Oblast (Siberia)



Geography Facts:

Krai and Oblast are terms that roughly translate to province, region, or territory.

Dmitri Torbinski and Dmitri Sychev, both from areas of Siberia, are the only two players from the Asian section of Russia.

Vladimir Gabulov's North Ossetia-Alania is a Republic in Russia, or an area of non-Russian Ethnicity. It is in southern Russia's Caucasus region near disputed Chechnya. Many people speak Ossetic in this Republic which is an Iranian language.

Dmitri Torbinski was born in Norilsk, Siberia, which is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city above the Arctic Circle with a population of just over 200,000 (Murmansk in Northwest Russia is the largest). It's also one of only two large cities in a continuous permafrost zone.

Renat Yanbayev is of Tatar ethnicity who are Turkic people that once made up the western part of Genghis Khan's army in the 13th century. Today there are nearly 7 million Tatars in the Caucasus region of southern Russia, with 97% practicing Sunni Islam.

Sergei Semak is from Ukraine's easternmost province, Luhansk Oblast, where nearly 70 percent of the population speak Russian rather than Ukrainian.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Black and White Striped Clubs

Magpies, Zebras, Bianconeri, Os Alvinegros, The Black Eagles, Die Schwarz-Weißen, whatever the nickname, there are quite a few clubs that sport the vertical black and white stripes on their shirts. Newcastle United and Juventus are perhaps the most famous clubs with the look, but there are plenty of top division clubs all around the world with the "zebra" tops.


OMR El Annasser (Algeria)
ES Sétif (Algeria)
LASK Linz (Austria)
SK Sturm Graz (Austria)
Charleroi (Belgium)
Atlético Mineiro (Brazil)
Botafogo (Brazil)
Figueirense (Brazil)
Lokomotiv Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
Tonnerre Yaounde (Cameroon)
Brujas FC (Costa Rica)
Notts County (England)
Borussia Mönchengladbach (Germany)
PAOK Saloniki (Greece)
KR Reykjavík (Iceland)
Juventus (Italy)
Siena (Italy)
Udinese (Italy)
Heracles Almelo (Netherlands)
Club Libertad (Paraguay)
C.D. Nacional (Portugal)
St. Mirren (Scotland)
FK Partizan (Serbia)
Artmedia (Slovakia)
Beşiktaş (Turkey)
Al-Jazira Club (UAE)
Miramar Misiones (Uruguay)
Montevideo Wanderers (Uruguay)
Zamora FC (Venezuela)
NEWI Cefn Druids (Wales)





[Pictures from Fifa.com]

Friday, June 20, 2008

MLS 2008: $12,900 - $17,700 Player Salaries

This is a list of all the players that make the lowest minimum salaries in MLS as of the final October 7 player salary list from the MLS players union website.

$12,900 Annual Salary

Peter Lowry CHI
Brian Plotkin CHI
Michal Banner CHI
Kai Kasiguran CHI
Tyler Kettering CHI
Austin Washington CHI
Steven Lenhart CLB
Stanley Nyazamba CLB
Andrew Peterson CLB
Kevin Burns CLB
Cory Elenio CLB
George Josten CLB
Ryan Junge CLB
Gerson Mayen CHV
Roberto Nurse CHV
Lance Parker CHV
Justin Braun CHV
Kraig Chiles CHV
Eric Ebert CHV
Keith Savage CHV
Brian Grazier COL
Justin Hughes COL
Nick LaBrocca COL
Kwame Sarkodie COL
Cesar Zambrano COL
Spencer Wadsworth DAL
Ryan Miller DC
Jeff Carroll DC
Pat Carroll DC
Greg Janicki DC
Craig Thompson DC
James Thrope DC
Mike Zaher DC
Matt Marquess KC
Rauwshan McKenzie KC
Boris Pardo KC
Michael Kraus KC
Nelson Pizarro KC
Kevin Souter KC
Corbin Waller HOU
Stephen Wondolowski HOU
Erik Ustruck HOU
Guy Kpene HOU
Nick Hatzke HOU
Johnny Alcaraz HOU
Vardan Adzemian LA
Charles Alamo LA
Ely Allen LA
Jeremy Barlow LA
Scott Bolkan LA
Bryan Jordan LA
Julian Valentin LA
Mike Munoz LA
Sam Brill NE
Joe Germanese NE
Chris Tierny NE
Brandon Tyler NE
Matthew Mbuta NY
Mike Palacio NY
Claeb Patterson NY
Daniel Cepero NY
John Gilkerson NY
Diego Jimenez NY
David Roth NY
Sainey Touray NY
Kevin Reiman RSL
Brennan Tennelle RSL
Miguel Arce SJ
Michale Ghebru SJ
Michael Gustavson SJ
Matt Hatzke SJ
Davide Somma SJ
Killian Elkinson TFC
Gabe Gala TFC
Derek Gaudet TFC
Joey Melo TFC
Nana Attakora-Gyan TFC

$17,700 Annual Salary

Stephen King CHI
Nick Noble CHI
Daniel Woolard CHI
Jorge Flores CHV
Anthony Hamilton CHV
Adam Moffat CLB
Ricardo Pierre-Louis CLB
Kenny Schoeni CLB
John DiRaimondo COL
Stephen Keel COL
Kosuke Kimura COL
Jeff Rowland DAL
Jaime Watson DAL
Chase Wileman DAL
Ryan Cordeiro DC
Ibrahim Koroma DC
Dan Stratford DC
Joe Vide DC
Michael Chabala HOU
John-Michael Hayden HOU
Jonathan Leathers KC
Lance Watson KC
Michael Gavin LA
Brandon McDonald LA
Josh Tudela LA
Kheli Dube NE
Gary Flood NE
Brad Knighton NE
Danleigh Borman NY
Luke Sassano NY
Dustin Kirby RSL
Tino Nunez RSL
Kyle Reynish RSL
Jay Ayres SJ
Jamil Roberts SJ
Adam Smarte SJ
Tyler Rosenlund TFC

Never Relegated Top Division Clubs

This is a listing of clubs that have never been relegated after becoming a member of the top division in their country. I've only included clubs that have been in the top-flight since at least 1950, so these are VERY long standing members of each nation's highest division.


Argentina
River Plate, Independiente, Boca Juniors

Austria
Austria Wien, SK Rapid Wien

Bulgaria
Levski Sofia, CSKA Sofia

Chile
Colo Colo

Colombia
Independiente Santa Fe, Millonarios

Egypt
Al-Ahly, Zamalek

Republic of Ireland
Bohemians

Israel
Maccabi Tel-Aviv

Italy
Inter Milan

Mexico
Club America, Chivas Guadalajara, Necaxa

Peru
Universitario Lima

Portugal
SL Benfica, FC Porto, Sporting CP

Romania
Dinamo Bucuresti, Steaua Bucuresti

Scotland
Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen

Spain
Athletic Bilbao, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid

Uruguay
Peñarol, Nacional


There are a few teams entering the top flight for the first time this season that have obviously never been relegated from the highest division. Here they are:

Belgium - AFC Tubize
Brazil - Ipatinga
England - Hull City
Germany - TSG Hoffenheim
Iceland - Fjölnir
Romania - CS Otopeni

Good luck to these clubs, I'll check back 50 years from now to see if any of them can be added to the "never-relegated for half a century" list. Not likely on both counts, but hey, anything can happen right?

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Euro 2008 Group Stage Statistics

This is a compilation of statistics from the Official Euro 2008 page.

Quarterfinal Matchups
Portugal v Germany
Croatia v Turkey
Netherlands v Russia
Spain v Italy

Goals Scored
9 - Netherlands
8 - Spain
5 - Portugal
5 - Turkey
4 - Croatia
4 - Czech Republic
4 - Germany
4 - Russia
3 - Italy
3 - Sweden
3 - Switzerland
1 - Austria
1 - France
1 - Greece
1 - Poland
1 - Romania

Total shots
58 - Spain
53 - Russia
50 - Netherlands
47 - France
45 - Switzerland
44 - Poland
43 - Portugal
41 - Austria
41 - Italy
40 - Croatia
38 - Germany
34 - Czech Republic
34 - Greece
33 - Romania
33 - Sweden
31 - Turkey

Ball Possession %
55% - Portugal
55% - Spain
54% - Netherlands
54% - Germany
53% - Russia
53% - Turkey
51% - France
51% - Austria
51% - Italy
50% - Poland
49% - Greece
49% - Switzerland
46% - Croatia
44% - Romania
43% - Czech Republic
43% - Sweden


Goal times - All teams
4 - Between minute 1 and 15
8 - Between minute 16 and 30
7 - Between minute 31 and 45
0 - In additional time 1st half

8 - Between minute 46 and 60
15 - Between minute 61 and 75
8 - Between minute 76 and 90
7 - In additional time 2nd half

Total 57


Top Scorers
4 - David Villa (Spain)
3 - Hakan Yakin (Switzerland)
3 - Lukas Podolski (Germany)
2 - Arda Turan (Turkey)
2 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)
2 - Nihat Kahveci (Turkey)
2 - Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia)
2 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
2 - Robin van Persie (Netherlands)

Shots on Goal
8 - Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia)
8 - David Villa (Spain)
7 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
6 - Angelos Charisteas (Greece)
6 - Fernando Torres (Spain)
5 - Hakan Yakin (Switzerland)
5 - Gökhan Inler (Switzerland)
5 - Adrian Mutu (Romania)
5 - Ruud van Nistelrooy (Netherlands)
4 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)
4 - Jacek Krzynówek (Poland)
4 - Nuno Gomes (Portugal)
4 - Lukas Podolski (Germany)
4 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands)
4 - Ivica Vastic (Austria)

Pass Completion Percentage
93% - William Gallas (France)
92% - Christoph Metzelder (Germany)
91% - Per Mertesacker (Germany)
90% - John Heitenga (Netherlands)
90% - Marcos Senna (Spain)
90% - Lilian Thuram (France)
90% - Xavi Hernandez (Spain)
88% - Raul Albiol (Spain)
88% - Jacek Bąk (Poland)
88% - Nigel de Jong (Netherlands)
88% - Dorin Goian (Romania)

Fouls Committed
12 - Nani (Portugal)
11 - Rene Aufhauser (Austria)
11 - Giorgos Karagounis (Greece)
10 - Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland)
10 - Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden)
10 - Roman Pavlyuchenko (Russia)
10 - Anders Svensson (Sweden)
10 - Tuncay Şanlı (Turkey)
10 - Marcin Wasilewski (Poland)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

MLS Western Conference Points Chart



Obviously the West has been a little weaker than the East this season, but the high scoring Los Angeles Galaxy have been fairly consistent picking up points so far.

It's interesting that Chivas USA and Real Salt Lake, the expansion partners from a few years back, have been very close to each other in the standings on a weekly basis.

You can also tell that Colorado hasn't put together any winning streaks. They win, then lose a time or two before winning again. They're also the only team in the league with zero draws to this point.

MLS Eastern Conference Points Chart




I wanted to get a visual look at how the different teams in MLS have reached their current point totals. This chart shows a week by week total for each Eastern Conference team. I'm still working on the Western Conference, it should be up in the near future.

The most interesting one for me is the white Kansas City dot. It goes up,up,up,up and then basically flatlines after week four. KC went from first place for a month, to dead last 8 weeks later. Ouch, sorry KC fans. On the other end of the league table, New England has shot off like a rocket since week six to take the league lead.


Did anyone else used to play that board game Mastermind?

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Edson "I'm named after Pele" Buddle


Look at Edson go! The man has had an up and down career, but he can put in the goals when he's on his game, evidenced by his 8 goals in 9 appearances for the LA Galaxy this season. Including his recent hat trick against San Jose, he's now tied for second in MLS history with 4 hat tricks and Edson is now sitting on a decent 61 career goals in 169 MLS appearances. Buddle's best previous season was 2004 with the Columbus Crew, when he knocked in 11 goals.




All-Time MLS Hat Trick Leaders

5 - Stern John
5 - Diego Serna
4 - Edson Buddle*
4 - Mamadou Diallo
4 - Cobi Jones
3 - Amado Guevara*
3 - Eduardo Hurtado
3 - Taylor Twellman*
2 - Raul Diaz Arce
2 - Landon Donovan*
2 - Eddie Johnson

*Active MLS Players


Edson Buddle's Hat Trick Performances

09-18-2004 (4 goals)
Final Score: 4-2
Columbus Crew v NY/NJ Metrostars

08-26-2006 (3 goals)
Final Score: 6-0
New York Red Bulls v Real Salt Lake

05-18-2008 (3 goals)
Final Score: 5-1
Los Angeles Galaxy vs FC Dallas

06-14-2008 (3 goals)
Final Score: 3-0
Los Angeles Galaxy vs San Jose Earthquakes


That's 13 goals in 4 games which is 20% of Buddle's career goal total in 2% of his career league appearances.

Buddle's hat trick against Hollywood United

[picture from MLSnet]

Monday, June 16, 2008

Euro 2008 Head Coach Look-a-likes

It's been a while since I've done a "fun" post around here so I thought I'd do another look-a-like post, this time focusing on the head coaches of some of the Euro 2008 nations. I tried to use up to date photos of the coaches but I couldn't pass up the old school Raymond Domenech photo.


Portugal's Luiz Felipe Scolari and Gene Hackman


Greece's Otto Rehhagel and Walter Matthau


Romania's Victor Piţurcă and Paul Simon


Sweden's Lars Lagerbäck and Fox Soccer Analyst Bobby McMahon


Turkey's Fatih Terim and Kevin Arnold's Dad (Dan Lauria)


Switzerland's Köbi Kuhn and Jack Lemmon


Italy's Roberto Donadoni and Robert Downey Jr.


France's "Old School" Raymond Domenech and "Borat"


Czech Republic's Karel Brückner and Hugh Hefner


Poland's Leo Beenhakker and "Henry Kane" from Poltergeist


Spain's Luis Aragonés and US Vice President Dick Cheney


Germany's Joachim Löw and Tom Cruise



More Euro 2008 Posts:
Foreign-born Players on Euro 2008 squads
Former 'Team of the Tournament' Players returning to Euro 2008
Premiership Players on Euro 2008 squads
La Liga Players on Euro 2008 squads
Serie A Players on Euro 2008 squads
Bundesliga Players on Euro 2008 squads
Club Breakdown of Euro 2008 squads

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Tallest, Shortest, Heaviest, Lightest MLS Players by Position




Goalkeepers

Tallest
6ft6 - Greg Sutton (TOR) and Jon Conway (NY)
Shortest
5ft9 - Nick Rimando (RSL)
Heaviest
236 - Chris Seitz (RSL)
Lightest
165 - Jon Busch (CHI)

Defenders

Tallest
6ft5 - Bobby Burling (CHV) and Andy Iro (CLB)
Shortest
5ft7 - Mike Randolph (LA)
Heaviest
210 - David Horst (RSL)
Lightest
145 - Jonathan Bornstein (CHV)

Midfielders

Tallest
6ft3 - Dave van den Bergh (NY), Shalrie Joseph (NE), Geoff Cameron (HOU), Khano Smith (NE), Brek Shea (DAL)
Shortest
5ft6 - Francisco Mendoza (CHV) and Corey Ashe (HOU)
Heaviest
190 - Khano Smith (NE)
Lightest
132 - Laurent Robert (TOR)

Forwards

Tallest
6ft3 - Alan Gordon (LA), Justin Braun (CHV), Kenny Deuchar (RSL), Kenny Cooper (DAL), Danny Dichio (TOR), Atiba Harris (CHV)
Shortest
5ft4 - Franco Niell (DC)
Heaviest
209 - Danny Dichio (TOR)
Lightest
125 - Argenis Fernandez (NE)


Some of these players play in more than one position, I used the positions listed at MLSnet. The weights are listed in pounds.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Most Capped Euro 2008 Players

This is a listing of the most capped players in the Euro 2008 tournament as of June 14, 2008 before the Sweden/Spain and Russia/Greece games have taken place. The numbers are obviously changing daily at this point but I wanted to get the list done before the group stages were over. I had initially planned to do the list sooner but never got around to it, better late than never I guess.


Overall Most Capped Players:
(min. 80)
142 - Lilian Thuram (France)
127 - Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands)
116 - Rüştü Reçber (Turkey)
109 - Niclas Alexandersson (Sweden)
105 - Patrick Vieira (France)
101 - Thierry Henry (France)
98 - Dario Šimić (Croatia)
96 - Henrik Larsson (Sweden)
96 - Jacek Bąk (Poland)
91 - Anders Svensson (Sweden)
89 - Angelos Basinas (Greece)
89 - Jan Koller (Czech Republic)
88 - Alessandro Del Piero (Italy)
88 - Antonios Nikopolidis (Greece)
84 - Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
83 - Michael Ballack (Germany)
83 - Olof Mellberg (Sweden)
81 - Jacek Krzynówek (Poland)
80 - Patrick Müller (Switzerland)


By Nation:

Group A
89 - Jan Koller (Czech Republic)
77 - Ricardo (Portugal)
80 - Patrick Müller (Switzerland)
116 - Rüştü Reçber (Turkey)

Group B
53 - René Aufhauser (Austria)
98 - Dario Šimić (Croatia)
83 - Michael Ballack (Germany)
96 - Jacek Bąk (Poland)

Group C
142 - Lilian Thuram (France)
88 - Alessandro Del Piero (Italy)
127 - Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands)
65 - Bogdan Lobonţ and Cosmin Contra (Romania)

Group D
89 - Angelos Basinas (Greece)
47 - Sergei Semak (Russia)
78 - Iker Casillas (Spain)
109 - Niclas Alexandersson (Sweden)

Friday, June 13, 2008

2008 USA Home Soccer Shirt


I've got to admit, my first impression of the 2008 USA Home jersey was not very good. The shirt has been debated all over the US Soccer blogosphere. Bill Archer from Big Soccer calls it a Golf Shirt, many of the comments over at Goff's Soccer Insider were not excited by the design, and Soccer by Ives says it looks like a Gap commercial. However, the comments at Football Shirt Culture and Luis Arroyave from The Red Card generally like it and I have to say, my opinion has changed for the better after seeing the shirt on the field a couple of times now.

I finally decided to get one for myself from soccerpro.com and I was actually pleasantly surprised when I took it out of the shipping package. The "off-white-grey" color is less prominent than in the pictures, making it look very clean with red pinstripes and not quite as preppy as I thought it would be. I was also impressed with how the inside collar has the Stars and Stripes and the Don't Tread On Me slogan. Good so far.



I even got all excited and pulled the shirt on to pretend I'm a good soccer player in the field behind my back yard. True to my usual form, I dribbled the ball off my shins, whiffed a couple of times, and ballooned a few shots a mile over the goal and decided to call it a day. No really, I'm awful, but the good news is the shirt was comfortable and cool on a very hot and muggy day.

It turns out my initial impressions from the early internet pictures have faded and although I may be in the minority, I actually like the "golf" shirt. My personal style doesn't usually include the polo-shirt look, but I'll definitely be wearing this shirt out and about. As a side note, I just wish that the USSF and Nike would come up with a US shirt that featured red more prominently, even if it's the red and white striped look of the 1994 shirts.

Also, did anyone else find it annoying that the recent Argentina-USA friendly featured very closely colored shirts? I couldn't tell the teams apart very well. (I read somewhere that Argentina refused to wear their darker tops, don't know if it's true though) Maybe it was just my TV.

If you have an opinion on the USA home shirt, good or bad, feel free to share in the comments below.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

European Born MLS Player Map

This is a map showing all of the current Major League Soccer players that were born in Europe.

Click to Enlarge



The map does not include Yura Movsisyan (Azerbaijan) and Vardan Adzemian (Armenia).

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Tallest and Shortest Players on Euro 2008 Squads




The Shortest Euro 2008 Players

1.66m - Florentin Petre (Romania)
1.67m - Gökdeniz Karadeniz (Turkey)
1.69m - Piotr Trochowski (Germany)
1.69m - Santi Cazorla (Spain)

The Tallest Euro 2008 Players
2.02m - Jan Koller (Czech Republic)
1.99m - Andreas Isaksson (Sweden)
1.99m - Konstantinos Chalkias (Greece)
1.98m - Orlando Engelaar (Netherlands)
1.98m - Per Mertesacker (Germany)
1.98m - Pascal Zuberbühler (Switzerland)

Conversion:
2.02m = 6ft 7½in
1.90m = 6ft 3in
1.75m = 5ft 9in
1.66m = 5ft 5½in


Tallest
(1.90m or taller) and Shortest (1.75m or shorter) Players for Each Participating Nation:

Czech Republic
2.02m - Jan Koller (FW)
1.72m - David Jarolím (MF)

Portugal
1.91m - Hugo Almeida (FW)
1.70m - João Moutinho (MF)
1.70m - Simão Sabrosa (FW)

Switzerland
1.98m - Pascal Zuberbühler (GK)
1.73m - Ricardo Cabanas (MF)

Turkey
1.95m - Volkan Demiral (GK)
1.66m - Gökdeniz Karadeniz (FW)

Austria
1.96m - Sebastian Prödl (DF)
1.75m - Christoph Leitgeb (MF)

Croatia
1.95m - Josip Šimunić (DF)
1.95m - Mario Galinović (GK)
1.72m - Danijel Pranjić (MF)

Germany
1.98m - Per Mertesacker (DF)
1.69m - Piotr Trochowski (MF)

Poland
1.94m - Jacek Bąk (DF)
1.94m - Artur Boruc (GK)
1.75m - Rafał Murawski (MF)

France
1.92m - Patrick Vieira (MF)
1.70m - Claude Makélélé (MF)

Italy
1.94m - Luca Toni (FW)
1.70m - Antonio Di Natale (FW)

Netherlands
1.98m - Orlando Engelaar (MF)
1.70m - Wesley Sneijder (MF)

Romania
1.96m - Dorin Goian (DF)
1.66m - Florentin Petre (MF)

Greece
1.99m - Konstantinos Chalkias (GK)
1.72m - Nikos Spiropoulous (DF)

Russia
1.93m - Oleg Ivanov (MF)
1.70m - Igor Semshov (MF)

Spain
NONE over 1.90m
1.69m - Santi Cazorla (MF)

Sweden
1.99m - Andreas Isaksson (GK)
1.75m - Freddie Ljungberg (MF)



Players 1.90m (6ft 3in) and over by Nation:
Switzerland (8), Germany (7), Austria (6), Greece (6), Croatia (5), Czech Republic (5), Sweden (5), Italy (4), Netherlands (4), Turkey (4), Poland (3), France (2), Portugal (2), Russia (2), Romania (1), Spain (0)


Players 1.75m (5ft 9in) and under by Nation:
Spain (7), France (5), Portugal (5), Germany (4), Italy (4), Netherlands (4), Romania (4), Greece (3), Russia (3), Croatia (2), Czech Republic (2), Austria (1), Poland (1), Sweden (1)

Average Height by Nation (in cm):
184.91 - Croatia
184.87 - Germany
184.61 - Switzerland
184.48 - Greece
184.43 - Austria
184.17 - Sweden
184.14 - Poland
184.00 - Czech Republic
183.30 - Netherlands
183.17 - Italy
182.09 - Russia
181.83 - France
181.43 - Romania
180.57 - Portugal
180.35 - Turkey
179.61 - Spain

More Euro 2008 Posts:
Foreign-born Players on Euro 2008 squads
Former 'Team of the Tournament' Players returning to Euro 2008
Premiership Players on Euro 2008 squads
La Liga Players on Euro 2008 squads
Serie A Players on Euro 2008 squads
Bundesliga Players on Euro 2008 squads
Club Breakdown of Euro 2008 squads

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

African Born MLS Player Map

This map shows the birth countries for all of the African Born players currently on Major League Soccer rosters.


click to enlarge


Monday, June 9, 2008

Caribbean Soccer Players in England

These are all of the Caribbean players I could find that are playing in England at semi and full professional level. A good portion of these players were born in England to Caribbean parents and have eventually been called to represent their Caribbean National Teams. It would be interesting to combine all of the small Caribbean Island Nations into one national team. I bet the "Combined Caribbeans" would be fairly competetive in CONCACAF.





The number listed is the league level in the English League Pyramid that the player's clubs will be competing in next season.

Anguilla
Robert Paris - Hampton & Richmond Borough F.C. - Conference South (6)
James Williams-Richards - Maidenhead United FC - Conference South (6)
Brian Connor - Slough Town FC - Southern League (8)
Romell Gumbs - Slough Town FC - Southern League (8)
Jermaine Gumbs - Slough Town FC - Southern League (8)
Emmerson Brooks-Meade - Leighton Town - Southern League (8)
From Slough to the Caribbean, and beyond ... (Story from The Guardian)

Barbados
Emmerson Boyce - Wigan Athletic - EPL (1)
Paul Ifill - Crystal Palace - The Championship (2)
Mark McCammon - Doncaster Rovers - The Championship (2)
Jonathan Forte - Scunthorpe United FC - League One (3)
Ashley Carew - Barnet FC - League Two (4)
Louie Soares - Aldershot Town - League Two (4)
Jon Nurse - Dagenham & Redbridge - League Two (4)
Neil Harvey - Retford United - Division One South (8)
Harewood says No to Barbados (from Soccer by Ives)
Barbados Go Giant Hunting (Story from Fifa.com)

Bermuda
Reginald Thompson-Lambe - Ipswich Town - The Championship (2)

Dominica
Richard Pacquette - Maidenhead United FC - Conference South (6)
Daniel Francis - Canvey Island - Isthmian League First Division North (8)
Ryan Edgar - Canvey Island - Isthmian League First Division North (8)

Grenada
Stephen Peters - Blackburn Rovers - EPL (1)
Jason Roberts - Blackburn Rovers - EPL (1)
Byron Bubb - Farnborough FC - Southern Division One (8)

Guyana
Jason Clive Lloyd - Bolton Wanderers - EPL (1)
Shawn Beveney - Lewes FC - Blue Square Premier (5)

Jamaica
Marlon King - Wigan Athletic - EPL (1)
Demar Phillips - Stoke City - EPL (1)
Ricardo Fuller - Stoke City - EPL (1)
Ricardo Gardner - Bolton Wanderers - EPL (1)
Claude Davis - Derby County - The Championship (2)
Jermaine Johnson - Sheffield Wednesday - The Championship (2)
Deon Burton - Sheffield Wednesday - The Championship (2)
Luton Shelton - Sheffield United - The Championship (2)
Jason Euell - Southampton FC - The Championship (2)
Damion Stewart - Queens Park Rangers - The Championship (2)
Jamal Campbell-Ryce - Barnsley - The Championship (2)
Ian Goodison - Tranmere Rovers - League One (3)
Donovan Ricketts - Bradford City - League Two (4)
Omar Daley - Bradford City - League Two (4)

Montserrat
Junior Mendes - Aldershot Town - League Two (4)
Tesfaye Bramble - Stevenage Borough - Blue Square Premier (5)
Wayne Dyer - Hednesford Town - Northern Premier League (7)
Ellis Remy - Fakenham - Eastern Counties Football League (9)
Sean Howson - Husrtpierpoint FC - Sussex County Football League (11)

Netherlands Antilles
Shelton Martis - West Bromwich Albion - EPL (1)

Saint Kitts and Nevis
Aaron Moses-Garvey - Birmingham City - The Championship (2)
Kyle Collins - Nottingham Forest - The Championship (2)
Patrece Liburd - Dorchester Town - Southern Football League Premier Division (7)

Trinidad and Tobago
Carlos Edwards - Sunderland - EPL (1)
Kenwyne Jones - Sunderland - EPL (1)
Dwight Yorke - Sunderland - EPL (1)
Stern John - Southampton - The Championship (2)
Dennis Lawrence - Swansea City - The Championship (2)
Clayton Ince - Wallsall - League One (3)
Silvio Spann - Wrexham FC - Conference National (5)


Here is a short story about 8 U20 Caribbean players who went to Sunderland to train.
The Eight Caribbean U20 Footballers Ready For Their Journey Of Champions - Jamaicans.com


There's not a ton of resources for this information and I've only used players that are in their National team player pools. If you have knowledge of more Caribbean players in England, let me know and I'll add them to the list.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

2008 Toronto FC Roster Maps

These maps show where the players on the 2008 Toronto FC roster are from. Foreign-born players are mapped by their nation of birth and players born in the USA and Canada are mapped by their hometown, as listed at the official MLS player pages.






California
Marvell Wynne
Maurice Edu

Colorado
Todd Dunivant

North Carolina
Brian Edwards

2008 San Jose Earthquakes Roster Maps

These maps show where the players on the 2008 San Jose Earthquakes roster are from. Foreign-born players are mapped by their nation of birth and players born in the USA are mapped by their hometown, as listed at the official MLS player pages.






California
Adam Sloustcher
Dan Benton
Eric Denton
Greg Curry
Jamil Roberts
Joe Cannon
Jovan Kirovski
Kelly Gray
Matt Hatzke
Ramiro Corrales

Colorado
James Riley

Washington DC
Amir Lowery

Florida
Jay Ayres

Illinois
Ned Grabavoy

North Carolina
Joe Vide

New Jersey
Jason Hernandez

Oregon
Ryan Cochrane

South Carolina
Michael Gustavson

Texas
Nick Garcia
Shea Salinas

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Age-Analysis of Euro 2008 Players



Players 35 and Older

Czech Republic
MF - Tomáš Galásek (35)
FW - Jan Koller (35)
GK - Jaromír Blažek (35)

Switzerland
GK - Pascal Zuberbühler (37)

Turkey
GK - Rüştü Reçber (35)

Austria
DF - Martin Hiden (35)
MF - Ivica Vastić (38)

Germany
GK - Jens Lehmann (38)
FW - Oliver Neuville (35)

Poland
DF - Jacek Bąk - (35)

France
MF - Claude Makélélé (35)
DF - Lilian Thuram (36)
GK - Grégory Coupet (35)

Italy
DF - Christian Panucci (35)

Netherlands
GK - Edwin van der Sar (37)
GK - Henk Timmer (36)

Greece
GK - Antonios Nikopolidis (36)

Sweden
MF - Niclas Alexandersson (36)
FW - Henrik Larsson (36)


Players 21 and Under

Czech Republic
FW - Martin Fenin (21)

Portugal
GK - Rui Patrício (20)
MF - João Moutinho (21)
FW - Nani (21)

Switzerland
FW - Eren Derdiyok (19)
DF - Johan Djourou (21)
MF - Gelson Fernandes (21)

Turkey
MF - Arda Turan (21)
MF - Colin Kazim-Richards (21)

Austria
DF - Sebastian Prödl (20)
FW - Martin Harnik (21)
FW - Erwin Hoffer (21)

Croatia
MF - Ivan Rakitić (20)

Poland
MF - Michał Pazdan (20)
DF - Adam Kokoszka (21)

France
FW - Karim Benzema (20)
MF - Samir Nasri (20)

Romania
DF - Ştefan Radu (21)

Spain
MF - Cesc Fàbregas (21)


Youngest/Oldest Players by Position:

GK
Youngest: Rui Patricio - Portugal (20)
Oldest: Jens Lehmann - Germany (38)

DF
Youngest: Sebastian Prödl - Austria (20)
Oldest: Lillian Thuram - France (36)

MF
Youngest: Michał Pazdan - Poland (20)
Oldest: Ivica Vastić - Austria (38)

FW
Youngest: Eren Derdiyok - Switzerland (19)
Oldest: Henrik Larsson - Sweden (36)


Number of Players 30 and Older on each Squad:


Italy (13), Greece (9), Sweden (9), Czech Republic (8), Croatia (7), Austria (6), France (6), Netherlands (6), Portugal (6), Germany (5), Poland (5), Spain (5), Switzerland (5), Turkey (4), Romania (3), Russia (3)

Average Age by Nation:
29.16 - Sweden
29.12 - Italy
29.07 - Germany
28.74 - Czech Republic
28.18 - Netherlands
27.94 - France
27.50 - Croatia
26.99 - Poland
26.84 - Portugal
26.80 - Romania
26.79 - Turkey
26.43 - Austria
26.43 - Spain
26.40 - Switzerland
26.15 - Russia

More Euro 2008 Posts:
Foreign-born Players on Euro 2008 squads
Former 'Team of the Tournament' Players returning to Euro 2008
Premiership Players on Euro 2008 squads
La Liga Players on Euro 2008 squads
Serie A Players on Euro 2008 squads
Bundesliga Players on Euro 2008 squads
Club Breakdown of Euro 2008 squads
Tallest and Shortest Players on Euro 2008 squads
Euro 2008 Head Coach Look-a-likes